text
stringlengths 213
24.6k
| id
stringlengths 47
47
| dump
stringclasses 1
value | url
stringlengths 14
499
| file_path
stringlengths 138
138
| language
stringclasses 1
value | language_score
float64 0.9
1
| token_count
int64 51
4.1k
| score
float64 1.5
5.06
| int_score
int64 2
5
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Courtesy of Randi Cartmill
Josh Walling and Randi Cartmill with their children, Jacqueline, Josh and Ryan. Josh Walling says his family, whose household income is below the national median, would lose a substantial amount of money if the Bush tax cuts expired.
Josh Walling and Randi Cartmill with their children, Jacqueline, Josh and Ryan. Josh Walling says his family, whose household income is below the national median, would lose a substantial amount of money if the Bush tax cuts expired. Courtesy of Randi Cartmill
The first in an occasional series, Fiscal Cliff Notes, which breaks down the looming "fiscal cliff" of expiring tax cuts and deep automatic spending cuts set to hit around the first of year.
If the Bush-era tax cuts expire at year's end for all income groups, here's how much Americans with different annual income would be affected, on average.
1/2 = The reduction in the child tax credit. The child tax credit would drop from $1,000 per child to $500 per child.
50 percent = The tax increase on the first $17,500 of taxable income for families and couples and $8,750 for single individuals. The 10 percent tax bracket would disappear if the tax cuts are allowed to expire, meaning the first $59,300 of taxable income for families and $35,500 for individuals would be taxed at a 15 percent rate.
$1,800 = The average estimated tax increase to be experienced by people in the middle of the income distribution (range $33,500 to $59,500).*
95.9 percent = The percentage of middle-income taxpayers expected to see their taxes go up if the tax cuts expire.*
4 percent = The average percentage decline in after-tax income for middle-income households if the tax cuts expire.*
*Source: Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center Microsimulation Model
Much of the political focus when discussing the Bush-era tax cuts is on the wealthy, but they're not the only ones who would be affected if the tax cuts are allowed to expire at the end of this year.
The vast majority of American taxpayers would take a hit, including Randi Cartmill and Josh Walling, who live in Madison, Wis., with their three children.
The family's household income hovers a little below the national median, in the $40,000 to $50,000 range. Cartmill says the tax cuts have helped the family's bottom line.
"I remember when they went into place and being pleasantly surprised by how much more money we got back," she says.
In part, that's because the tax cuts doubled the tax credit for each child from $500 to $1,000. The cuts also created a new tax bracket for the lowest levels of income, which gives most families an $875 break. If these cuts were to expire, the Cartmill-Walling family's after-tax income would drop by about $2,500.
"That's a substantial amount of money," says Cartmill. "Generally ... what we do with our tax refund is we use that as kind of our savings in the bank for [if] the car breaks down or the water heater goes or whatever and we have a big expense all at once."
The way Walling sees it, that's like a 5 percent cut to their income on top of other blows they've taken as a result of the tough economy.
"I don't think my wife was explaining quite how hard it is, you know, but that's pretty much where it's at," Walling says.
And they're not alone.
The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center estimates 96 percent of taxpayers at the middle of the income distribution would see their taxes go up "an average of about $1,800 a year," says Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the center.
"That will reduce their after-tax income by about 4 percent," Williams says. "Four percent if you're spending every dollar you've got makes a noticeable dent in your budget."
To give a sense of the other side of the ledger, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation, extending just the higher child tax credit over the next decade would add almost $270 billion to the deficit.
|
<urn:uuid:e8e829df-d7b8-41c3-a7e7-71b1795de23e>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.npr.org/2012/07/10/156493984/bush-tax-cuts-the-new-middle-class-norm?ft=1&f=1006
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.969673
| 882
| 2.21875
| 2
|
Programs / Classes
September is Suicide Prevention Month. Aspen Hope Center, a project of the Aspen Valley Medical Foundation, will present a community suicide prevention training at the Rifle Branch Library on Tuesday, September 27, at 5:30 p.m. The training is free and open to the public but registration is required. Call 544-1241 for more information and registration.
If you love words, games, and having fun, this club is for you! Our adult Scrabble Club meets from 6-8 p.m. on the first Tuesday of every month at the Glenwood Springs Branch. Beginners and experts alike are encouraged to join and the club is free and open to the public. Make new friends and learn new Scrabble strategies. Bring your own board if you have one. Scoring materials and dictionaries will be provided. For more information, call the Glenwood Springs Branch at 945-5958.
Your future job may depend on your ability to communicate your skills in just one or two pages! On Tuesday, October 4, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Silt Branch Library, Dan Mickelson will present a program on ways you can create or update your resume. He will show a variety of tools and library resources that can help you with your resume and will discuss topics such as cover letters, applications, and tailoring resumes for specific jobs. If you already have a resume, feel free to bring it with you if you want it to be privately reviewed for suggestions.
Teens and manga artists, join your peers at the New Castle Branch Library every Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. to learn techniques and share your talents. All levels are welcome - just bring a pencil, paper, and your imagination. For more information call 984-2346.
Children in grades K through 5 are invited to join us for games at the Gordon Cooper Branch Library on the fourth (and occasionally fifth) Tuesday of each month from 4-5 p.m. Have fun playing board games and card games with other kids while developing reading and critical thinking skills at the same time.
We're adding a new element to our popular Wii Wednesdays! Join us at the Rifle Branch Library after school every Wednesday, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., and learn how to play the exciting new Math Wiz card game. Playing Math Wiz is a fun way to make math easier and quicker, while keeping your mind sharp and developing confidence in your mental math ability. Whether you're a dedicated mathlete or you're just waiting for your next turn with the Wii, come solve puzzles and earn points with us at the Math Wiz Club.
Monday, September 12, from 6-8 p.m. at the Rifle Branch Library
Each of us has a story from our ancestors or even our own story to tell. Author Linda Weaver Clarke will teach you how to turn your family history into a variety of interesting stories, make your ancestors come alive on paper, and learn the most important elements of writing. This program is free and open to the public.
Picture It @ your library: Teen Read Week 2011
Save $100 to $1000+ per year on groceries by learning the secrets to saving money with coupons. Limit 20 participants. There is a $5 fee that must be paid before class. This class will be the first in our Super Saver Series.
Sponsored by the Friends of the Rifle Branch Library.
Literacy Outreach continues the series of financial literacy classes this month with the topic “Using Credit to Your Advantage.” This class includes all the basic information you need to understand what credit is and how to make it work for you. Learn about your credit score and credit report, and how to use credit cards and loans the smart way. Ways to deal with debt problems will also be discussed. This financial literacy course will be offered at two sessions.
|
<urn:uuid:1220d111-e824-4cdb-adc9-8ad356d44837>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://garfieldlibraries.org/category/event-type/programs-classes?page=73
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00051-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.939602
| 805
| 1.710938
| 2
|
Tuesday, February 26, 2013 1:58 PM EST
By Brad Plumer, The Washington Post
Retailers have long known that tiny changes in price can have a huge impact on consumer psychology. An item listed at $9.99 sounds a lot cheaper than one listed at $10. But does this effect ever pop up anywhere else?
In the used-car market, apparently. A new paper from the National Bureau for Economic Research finds that the price of a used car plummets by about $448 on average every time it crosses a 10,000-mile threshold on the odometer. That is fairly unexpected. A car with 29,999 miles on it is not that much less valuable than a car with 30,000 miles on it. "These changes in prices," the authors conclude, "appear to be driven by changes in consumer perception of vehicle value."
The research follows up on a 2011 paper that found a similar effect for wholesale car prices. In an essay on the phenomenon, the study's co-authors chalk this up to our limited attention spans — buyers tend to focus on left-hand digits and not the right-hand digits when looking at mileage. At a glance, a car with 20,001 miles on it seems much less valuable than a car with 19,999 miles.
For the car market, at least, the aggregate impact is fairly large. In their 2011 study, Nicholas Lacetera, Devin Pope and Justin Sydnor looked at 22 million car auctions and estimated that they were mispriced by about $2.4 billion because of this right-digit bias.
In any case, it's a minor study in the grand scheme of things, though the authors wonder whether similar biases might pop up in other settings, such as "hiring or admissions decisions based on GPAs and test scores, the evaluation of companies based on financial reports (e.g., revenues), the treatment of medical test results, and how the public reacts to government spending [programs]."
|
<urn:uuid:315b93d0-9c7d-4ec6-942e-49b63578a309>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://theoaklandpress.com/articles/2013/02/26/life/doc512d0550544a5100457442.prt
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.955312
| 408
| 2.421875
| 2
|
The old saying (which I'm sick of) is that “you can't manage what you can't measure.” It's a statement with a lot of truth to it, but so is this: “you measure what you manage, so you'd better be sure you're measuring what you want to manage.”
While most other high school kids were simply worried about passing math and physics or finding a job for the summer, … MoreMore Contributors
- Want More Loyal Customers? Just Smile!
- Funding 101: How to Position Your Startup as a Good Investment
- 6 Approaches to Problem Solving For You & Your Team
- Marketing to Millennials: Welcome to The Participation Economy
- Can Franchising Survive The Baby Boomers?
|
<urn:uuid:73259aad-fbcc-49a8-a7f2-5fb84ce0d87a>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.bizsugar.com/Strategy/the_art_of_measurement/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.949404
| 156
| 1.554688
| 2
|
Meditation | Meditation Quick Note: What is Meditation?
In the grandness of all the stars, the solar systems, the world within worlds, the great beyond and all that which this feeble human mind would shutter to understand, we are such a speck; a tiny, tiny speck. We, and when I say we, I really mean I, have fancied ourselves as little kings, self-important, self-proclaimed gods to which all should bow to recognize our trite conquests, trials, problems and achievements. It is like a drop of water telling the ocean how important it is.
Perhaps a grand statement to thoughts of David as he wrote to God, "Who is man that you are mindful of him?"
Which brings us full circle to the great question of The Way Out and which way we go with our bicycle on the hill? Do we allow ourselves to be consumed by the natural state of this flesh? Do we accept the fear and grip it tight as we plummet to the deepest regions of abyss? Or, do we go against the mechanics of this place, this great big finely crafted Swiss watch with all its delicate gears working in harmony until both hands hit zero. The moment when all illusion stops.
Perhaps that is the moment that we find
The God in a Nutshell Project is very close to my heart. It began as merely one letter I had written during some of the roughest times during my run from the TV Pastor Mike Murdock. That letter --- now called Letter One --- was truly me crying out: "Who is God! And where is He!"
The material has a curious appeal, particularly to intellectuals and those seeking answers to what is just beyond human reach. God in a Nutshell is spiritual, attentive to history (ancient cultures), scientific in approach, and expresses questions that mankind has asked since our earliest beginnings. Let me be clear about this: I (Trey Smith) am NOT a pastor, religious authority, or spiritual guru of any kind. To the contrary, I am merely a man searching for more details to three questions I find very important: Who are we? Where did we come from? What happens next? Those three questions are the God in a Nutshell Project.
"If you feel as I do, that those three seemigly simple questions are worthy of our attention, then you are welcome to join me on a journey of mankind's grandest exploration. The project grows." ---------Trey Smith
To see what is happening with God in a Nutshell now... God in a Nutshell Official Site
|
<urn:uuid:5e6fa249-665b-4381-8512-5d5676a4f8c0>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.treysmithbooks.com/page31.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.955651
| 529
| 1.679688
| 2
|
The longer the White House and Congress remain at odds, the more difficult it becomes for governors and lawmakers who are trying to piece together their own budgets. Many states depend on federal grants to help finance education, environmental and community programs that are on the chopping block. Their economies are powered by military bases and defense contractors that could get whacked. And their state income tax revenues could rise or fall as a direct result of federal tax hikes.
All that of that is to say that states have a lot riding on the strained negotiations between national Democrats and Republicans over some way of raising revenues and reducing spending that would avoid a more drastic deficit-reduction plan, known as the "fiscal cliff" because it could send the country back into an economic recession.
"From a general economic standpoint, the sooner they could do something the better," said Missouri budget director Linda Luebbering in a bit of understatement.
Even if there is no agreement in Washington by January, a deal still could be struck later to lessen the effect of the automatic spending cuts and tax hikes. But some states are bracing for the most ominous of outcomes.
If nothing is done, states stand to lose $7.5 billion in federal funding in 2013 for 161 grant programs subject to automatic spending cuts, according to the Federal Funds Information for States, a Washington-based organization that tracks the effects of policy decisions on states. The biggest of those cuts could come to federal aid for schools that teach large numbers of low-income students. Funding for special education, early childhood programs and food subsidies for women and children also could take sizable cuts.
If nothing is done, state economies could get jolted by an automatic $33.6 billion of spending cuts for defense contracting and military wages — hitting especially hard in places such as Virginia, California and Texas, according to the FFIS report.
And if nothing is done, state budgets also would feel the ramifications of federal tax increases, though not necessarily in a negative way. Because of how their tax codes are linked to federal regulations, more than half the states could see an increase in state income tax collections if cuts are made to federal income tax deductions and credits.
But that potential boost in state revenues could be wiped out if the plunge over the fiscal cliff were to result in another recession, said Ingrid Schroeder, a research director at the Pew Center on the States. Rising unemployment could mean more people qualifying for Medicaid and other government services, costing states additional money.
This past week, bipartisan groups of governors and state lawmakers met with President Barack Obama to urge a solution that doesn't pass the buck to local governments.
"Don't make the states pay the lion's share of whatever this medicine is that we've all got to swallow," said Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe.
As governors pressed for resolution, state financial directors churned out dire predictions.
New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli warned that state and local governments may have to consider additional tax hikes to counter a projected $5 billion reduction in federal funding over nine years. The burden would fall on some residents who "are literally digging out from (Superstorm) Sandy's devastation," he said.
A report prepared for the Texas Senate estimated that nearly 4,000 jobs could be lost as a result of a projected $565 million cut in federal funds for child care, job training, cancer and AIDS screenings and other services affecting nearly 2 million Texas residents.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin said the state could lose as many as 8,000 jobs in the aerospace and defense industries, and Minnesota state economist Tom Stinson forecast "ultimate gloom" under a fiscal-cliff induced downturn that he said could cost 115,000 jobs in 2013-2014 and hundreds of millions of dollars of lost state tax revenues.
In California, letters have been sent to 360,000 jobless residents warning that a federally funded extension of their benefits could expire.
Even through the federal spending cuts and tax hikes have yet to kick in, some state officials believe they already are suffering the effects. Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick ordered spending cuts this past week to help close a projected $540 million budget hole that he blamed largely on the federal stalemate. Businesses are reluctant to make capital investments without knowing what will happen, he said.
"By all accounts, that uncertainty and the resulting slowdown in economic growth is the direct cause of our budget challenges," Patrick said.
In many states, confusion reigned. Governors often must present a budget to legislators early in 2013. That means their financial experts are working now on estimates of how much tax revenue they'll receive and how much federal funding they can rely upon. The ongoing negotiations in Washington are forcing some to leave question marks in their calculations.
"States have already had to make really tough budget decisions over the last couple of years," said Schroeder, of the Pew Center. "This uncertainty about exactly what their revenue is going to be makes an already difficult process that much more difficult."
|
<urn:uuid:bdf947f5-f9a9-49c5-a57e-2c3a8d33613b>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.dailypress.com/topic/pnr-fiscal-cliff-stalemate-spurs-anxiety-in-states-20121210,0,4550683.story
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.966376
| 1,015
| 2.34375
| 2
|
Shows & Panels
- Accelerate and Streamline for Better Customer Service
- Ask the CIO
- The Big Data Dilemma
- Carrying On with Continuity of Operations
- Client Virtualization Solutions
- Data Protection in a Virtual World
- Expert Voices
- Federal Executive Forum
- Federal IT Challenge
- Federal Tech Talk
- Feds in the Cloud
- Health IT: A Policy Change Agent
- Improving Healthcare Outcomes through IT Policy
- IT Innovation in the New Era of Government
- Making Dollars And Sense Out of Data Center Consolidation
- Navigating the Private Cloud
- One Step to the Cloud, Two Steps Toward Innovation
- Path to FDCCI Compliance
- Take Command of Your Mobility Initiative
Shows & Panels
Special counsel letter details air safety concerns
Wednesday - 5/9/2012, 9:48am EDT
The disclosures originated from eight employees of the Transportation Department's FAA to the Office of the Special Counsel. The disclosures were not made in unison, but were made in close enough proximity to raise Lerner's concern about aviation safety.
Seven of the eight whistleblowers had brought their concerns to the FAA first before filing them with the OSC. Of those eight, four filed repeat disclosures with OSC when corrective measures failed to remedy the problems or promised changes were not implemented.
In her letter, Lerner summarized the seven specific disclosures:
- Helicopters used by first responders in emergency situations nationwide were incorrectly retro-fitted with night vision goggles. This created a potential threat to the pilots' ability to read instruments.
- Air traffic controllers who were overseeing the greater New York airspace were criticized in a number of areas, including sleeping in the control room and using imprecise language when communicating with pilots.
- Departing aircraft at New Jersey's Teterboro Airport were cleared with inadequate separation from heavy jet aircraft making their final approach to Newark Liberty International Airport.
- Maintenance inspections of fuel tank and electrical wiring interconnection systems by Delta were not in compliance with federal standards.
- Unauthorized aircraft often entered the U.S. airspace near San Juan, Puerto Rico.
- Controllers at Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW) were unable to maintain necessary separation from parallel runways and follow rules for missed approaches at the same time.
- DTW was relying on faulty wind instruments.
Lerner shared this information with Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, who then referred it to DOT's inspector general and the FAA's Office of Audit and Evaluation, both of whom conducted investigations and filed reports.
After reviewing those investigations, Lerner found one DOT report reasonable; two reports reasonable, but with unreasonable delays in taking corrective measures; and four reports unreasonable in total.
"These disclosures paint a picture of an agency with insufficient responsiveness given its critical public safety mission," Lerner wrote in her letter. "Although the United States' aviation system is the safest in the world, the public properly expects zero tolerance for unnecessary risks. Preventative measures could be far more effective if the Department of Transportation listened to its own employees' alarm bells, and was more prompt in its corrective actions after those alarms were sounded."
|
<urn:uuid:16d7b773-0f28-493e-8c47-a7a4747b3358>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.federalnewsradio.com/521/2858221/Special-Counsel-report-details-lapses-in-air-safety-
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.942586
| 649
| 1.5
| 2
|
As the year draws to an end, reports show that poaching in Akagera National Park in Eastern Province and the Northern Province against the endangered mountain gorillas of Africa has increased.
The police urges the public especially those living near these parks to find something tangible they could invest their time instead of engaging in poaching which is a crime and punishable by law.
“We caution people residing close to national parks and game reserves to avoid activities in the parks. We urge them to work with security organs in case wildlife wanders into communities so that they can quickly intervene and tranquilize them before they cause havoc,” said the police in a statement.
“We all know that man coexistence with wild life has proved to be uneasy given circumstance involved. Wild life creates havoc to neighborhoods near wildlife reserves and national parks where they invade residential areas destroying crops and injuring humans.
On the other side, humans also affect the wildlife through criminal activities such as poaching, an activity that wildlife conservationists campaign against.”
A good example can be found at the Akagera National Park where several cases of wildlife invading residential areas have been reported. Likewise human activity such as grazing in the national park, poaching have been reported to destabilize conservation initiatives.
Yet it is imperative that both humans and wildlife to co-exist without any causing harm to each other.
This year, RDB went as far as putting in place an electric fence to keep the wildlife from wandering into communities that neighbor national parks. The move will keep away buffaloes, elephants and crocodiles that have been causing trouble to communities close to the National Parks.
Police says that wildlife conservation is important for environmental reasons as well as economical ones. Wildlife significantly contributes to the economy given the ever increasing number of tourists visiting the country.
According to article 417 of the new penal code which stipulates that any person, who poaches, sells, injures or kills a gorilla or any other protected endangered animal species shall be liable to a term of imprisonment of more than five to ten years and a fine of five Rwf 500, 000 to Rwf 5 million.
|
<urn:uuid:820000a3-7e73-48e3-a23d-c100d0b9e501>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.sightsofrwanda.com/2013/01/rwanda-poaching-increases-in-rwandas-national-parks/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00063-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.951272
| 430
| 2.65625
| 3
|
Step 4.3 . Specify your plan for reporting on the evaluation results.
As you think about the evaluation plan, it is important to think about the evaluation results and who will use them. For example, principals and other school leaders will be interested in learning about the extent to which the professional development appears to have paid off in terms of improved instruction and student outcomes. Central office staff and others will be interested in progress on improvement initiatives and the results for students. Finally, don’t forget that evaluation results can be helpful in meeting reporting requirements and garnering support for professional development from external sources
Briefly describe the plan for reporting the evaluation results. (How will the results be presented? Will the results be accompanied by recommendations? Who will be the primary audience for the report?)
(NEXT PAGE) (PREVIOUS PAGE)
|
<urn:uuid:f045fab3-4db9-40ae-a853-e6e28784543b>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://marylandpublicschools.org/MSDE/divisions/instruction/planning_guide/step4.3.htm?WBCMODE=PresentationUnpublished%25%3E%25%3E%25%3E%25%3E%25%25%3E%25%25%25%3E%25%3E%25%3E
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.937823
| 172
| 2.828125
| 3
|
Yesterday’s Washington Post reported that Senator Barack Obama claims he can move the country out of “ideological gridlock” and bring the country together more effectively than can Senator Hillary Clinton. This declaration is consistent with Obama’s broader claim, which is that he will put an end to “polarizing politics.”
Obama is attempting to tap into something real, which is the reluctance on the part of many Americans to be drawn back into the psychodramas of the Clinton years: Ken Starr and Kathleen Willey; private investigators hired to look into the private lives of women alleged to have had affairs with Bill Clinton; the (still-resonating) charge of a “vast right-wing conspiracy”; and the brass-knuckle tactics of James Carville, Paul Begala, Sidney Blumenthal, and others. Most of us would like that chapter of American politics to stay closed.
At the same time, the claim that a divided America is somehow “bad” is itself intellectually sloppy. Most of us prefer social harmony to discord—but unity is not the only, or even the highest good in politics. Was there a more divisive and reviled president than Lincoln, who uprooted the centuries-old institution of slavery? The biographer Robert Jackson wrote that after Franklin Roosevelt had been in office for a brief period, “the lines began to separate between those in whom he inspired an all-out devotion and those in whom he aroused an implacable hatred.” Martin Luther King, Jr. was “the object of bitter hatred.” And in 1984 the pollster Lou Harris claimed that Ronald Reagan was polarizing the country more than any president since FDR.
“Conviction politicians” are often polarizing because they take ideas seriously and are willing to do battle on their behalf. And often the greatest advances in history come about only after contentious political debates led by brave and, yes, polarizing political leaders.
|
<urn:uuid:f9f8a440-eea5-41a5-8561-f0d418cabb54>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2007/08/16/be-a-divider-not-a-uniter/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.958714
| 407
| 1.984375
| 2
|
By PBN Staff
PAWTUCKET – The standard cost of a two-bedroom apartment in Rhode Island is out-of-reach for many of the state’s low income families, according to a new report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
The NLIHC report – Out of Reach 2013 – highlighted the gap between housing costs in an area and a renter’s ability to pay for that housing. It is defined as the difference between the hourly wage a household needs to afford a two-bedroom apartment at the fair market rate and the average wage for a renter.
In Rhode Island, the fair market rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $945, an increase of 2.3 percent from the $924 average in 2012. In order to afford the rent and utilities on an apartment, without paying more than 30 percent of income on housing, a household needs to earn $3,151 a month, or $37,813 a year.
Assuming a 40-hour workweek, the “housing wage” needed to afford a two-bedroom apartment in the Ocean State is $18.18. Currently, the Rhode Island minimum wage worker earns an hourly wage of $7.75.
To afford the FMR for a two-bedroom apartment, a minimum wage earner must work 94 hours per week, 52 weeks per year, or a household must include 2.3 minimum wage employees working 40 hours per week, year-round, to make the apartment affordable.
According to a compilation of the report’s Rhode Island statistics from the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, the estimated average wage for a renter is $12.10. In order to afford the FMR for a two-bedroom apartment at this wage, renters must work 60 hours per week, 52 weeks per year.
Nationally, Rhode Island ranked the 17th most expensive place in the country to rent a home. While Hawaii was the most expensive place in the country to rent, all of the New England states were in the top 25 for unaffordability.
The report showed that “while the rental housing market is booming, incomes have not kept pace with rental costs leaving large numbers of low income renters simply unable to afford the cost of living in the cities and towns where they work,” said the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless release.
The Out of Reach report highlights wages and rental prices for every state, metropolitan area and county in the country. “The report highlights that low-income renters continue to face a large array of housing challenges and that prevailing incomes and wages are simply not enough to allow a family to afford a decent home or rental in their community,” said the Rhode Island Coalition release.
According to the report, in no state in the nation can a minimum wage worker afford a two bedroom unit at Fair Market Rents while working a standard 40 hour work week. “Finding a decent, affordable rental is a challenge for all renters, but the poorest households are the most likely to be locked out the market entirely,” said the Coalition release.
“This report verifies what we are seeing day to day here in our state, that more and more Rhode Island families struggle to remain in their home or find an adequate, safe and affordable place to live,” Jim Ryczek, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, said in prepared remarks. “The Out of Reach report reminds us why the state programs that support affordable housing and homeless prevention are so critical. Now, more than ever, we need our elected officials to act boldly to prevent more Rhode Island residents from slipping into homelessness.”
The full report is available at nlihc.org.
|
<urn:uuid:d9ad6579-f536-4538-8aef-f55024d8aa20>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://pbn.com/Report-RI-housing-costs-outpace-incomes,86977?category_id=40&list_type=featured&sub_type=stories,packages
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.952672
| 769
| 1.796875
| 2
|
Satellites witness lowest Arctic ice coverage in history
The area covered by sea ice in the Arctic has shrunk to its lowest level this week since satellite measurements began nearly 30 years ago, opening up the Northwest Passage – a long-sought short cut between Europe and Asia that has been historically impassable.
In the mosaic image above, created from nearly 200 images acquired in early September 2007 by the Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) instrument aboard ESA’s Envisat satellite, the dark gray colour represents the ice-free areas while green represents areas with sea ice.
Leif Toudal Pedersen from the Danish National Space Centre said: "We have seen the ice-covered area drop to just around 3 million sq km which is about 1 million sq km less than the previous minima of 2005 and 2006. There has been a reduction of the ice cover over the last 10 years of about 100 000 sq km per year on average, so a drop of 1 million sq km in just one year is extreme.
"The strong reduction in just one year certainly raises flags that the ice (in summer) may disappear much sooner than expected and that we urgently need to understand better the processes involved."
Arctic sea ice naturally extends its surface coverage each northern winter and recedes each northern summer, but the rate of overall loss since 1978 when satellite records began has accelerated.
The most direct route of the Northwest Passage (highlighted in the top mosaic by an orange line) across northern Canada is shown fully navigable, while the Northeast Passage (blue line) along the Siberian coast remains only partially blocked. To date, the Northwest Passage has been predicted to remain closed even during reduced ice cover by multi-year ice pack – sea ice that survives one or more summers. However, according to Pedersen, this year’s extreme event has shown the passage may well open sooner than expected.
The previous record low was in 2005 when the Arctic area covered by sea ice was just 4 million sq km. Even then, the most direct Northwest Passage did not fully open.
The Polar Regions are very sensitive indicators of climate change. The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change showed these regions are highly vulnerable to rising temperatures and predicted the Arctic would be virtually ice free by the summer of 2070. Still other scientists predict it could become ice free as early as 2040 due to rising temperatures and sea ice decline.
Because sea ice has a bright surface, the majority of solar energy that hits it is reflected back into space. When sea ice melts, the dark-coloured ocean surface is exposed. Solar energy is then absorbed rather than reflected, so the oceans get warmer and temperatures rise, making it difficult for new ice to form.
The Arctic is one of Earth’s most inaccessible areas, so obtaining measurements of sea ice was difficult before the advent of satellites. For more than 20 years, ESA has been providing satellite data to the cryosphere communities. Currently, ESA is contributing to the International Polar Year (IPY) – a large worldwide science programme focused on the Arctic and Antarctic.
Since 2006, ESA has supported Polar View, a satellite remote-sensing programme funded through the Earthwatch GMES Service Element (GSE) that focuses on the Arctic and the Antarctic.
In 2009, ESA will make another significant contribution to cryosphere research with the launch of CryoSat-2. The observations made over the three-year lifetime of the mission will provide conclusive evidence on the rates at which ice cover is diminishing.
|
<urn:uuid:1d6e35f1-8b59-4e29-846c-3a0ab8705106>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Satellites_witness_lowest_Arctic_ice_coverage_in_history/(print)
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00076-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.950996
| 723
| 3.546875
| 4
|
SDL.NET is a set of object-oriented CLS-compliant .NET bindings for the SDL gaming library. It provides high-level access to audio, keyboard, mouse, joystick, TrueType fonts, various image formats, sound mixing, MPEG-1 movies, and 3D hardware via OpenGL and a 2D video framebuffer. It is compatible with both .NET and Mono runtimes.
|Tags||Software Development Libraries Games/Entertainment multimedia Graphics Sound/Audio|
|Operating Systems||Windows Windows Windows POSIX Linux|
Release Notes: This release includes a .NET 2.0 version of the assembly. The latest SDL library release (1.2.11) is used. Ogg files work again. Many fixes were made to the SurfaceControl, TransparentColor, and AlphaBlending. An isometric engine demo and a streaming audio example were added. The Font and TextSprite classes can now display multi-line text.
Release Notes: Updated to the latest SDL, SDL_image, SDL_mixer, SDL_ttf, and smpeg. A problem with Font style properties has been fixed. The library SdlDotNet.OpenGl has been added for drawing 2D surfaces to an OpenGl screen. The OpenGlFont example shows text being drawn over a spinning cube. New Video.SetVideoMode overloads default to the current desktop resolution. The ability to retrieve the Unicode character pressed on the keyboard has been added. VideoInfo now holds the current resolution's height and width. The SDK installer now includes the runtimes as well. A bug in Video.ListModes has been fixed.
Release Notes: This release fixes numerous bugs in the library, particularly in the Events class. The Events loop now supports OpenGL applications better. OpenGL attributes can now be accessed using properties. User-defined events work much better. Creating Resizable and OpenGL windows is easier. All of the OpenGL Red Book examples have been ported to SDL.NET, and a Wiki version of OpenGL Red Book was added to the SDL.NET Web site.
Release Notes: This release adds many improvements to the sprite system, particularly for animation. The sound and music systems have been revamped and are more intuitive. Two supplemental libraries provide Winforms capabilities and a particle engine. Many examples and tutorials have been added, including many of the NeHe OpenGL lessons ported to SDL.NET.
Release Notes: A new sprite engine was added, which is based on pygame and includes some ideas from Moonfire's demo. A Surface is now Clonable, both shallow and deep. A Transformation object was added to help rotate, zoom, or scale Surfaces. Three tutorials were added: the BounceSprite demo and tutorial, SimpleExample from Terry Price, and ParticleEngine by Miguel De Sousa. A major color bug in Surface primitives was fixed. Moonfire's GUI system and demo have been reworked to use the new sprite engine. Some memory issues were fixed.
|
<urn:uuid:4c7b35cf-8e92-47df-a492-9dc33cc7724a>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://freecode.com/projects/sdldotnet
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.922549
| 610
| 1.671875
| 2
|
The US government has postponed implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).
Enacted last year as part of the HIRE Act, FATCA requires all foreign banks (and any other type of financial institution) to record all payments of interest or other income to US persons, and report them to the US Internal Revenue Service. The aim is, of course, to ensure that US citizens pay tax on all foreign income.
Any bank or investment fund that refused to comply would face a 30 per cent withholding tax on interest payments, dividends or other investment income earned in the USA. Moreover, foreign banks would also have to agree to impose the withholding tax on other foreign banks on the IRS's behalf - meaning that payments between non-US institutions would be subject to US tax.
The FATCA reporting obligations were scheduled to come into force in January 2013. However, the US government has come under heavy pressure from foreign governments to water down its provisions, because of the compliance burden they would place on financial institutions. Many of the latter have said they would refuse deal with American clients, or would disinvest in American securities, rather than comply with FATCA. In April, Algirdas Semeta, head of the European Commission's tax policy office, wrote to the US Treasury criticising FATCA's "onerous" disclosure provisions for European banks.
American taxpayers too have objected to the new rules. A non-profit campaigning body called American Citizens Abroad, based in Switzerland, last week urged expat Americans to lobby Congress against FATCA, which it said could have a "devastating impact" on US citizens and businesses overseas. It warned that FATCA is already causing foreign banks and investment funds to turn away US clients.
Late last week, the US Treasury caved in and issued a notice putting the schedule back by a year. The reporting requirements will begin in 2014, not 2013. Withholding tax on dividends and interest will also be delayed until January 2014, while withholding tax on gross proceeds of asset disposals will be postponed until January 2015.
Announcing the postponement, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman admitted that implementing FATCA was "a major undertaking for financial institutions."
However, FATCA's special due diligence requirements (which require banks to identify certain "high-risk" US accounts worth more than $500,000) will begin in 2013. And foreign banks will have to notify the IRS by June 2013 whether they intend to comply with the FATCA regime. Any who do not will be assumed to be non-compliant and will be subject to the withholding tax.
|
<urn:uuid:1938d624-8846-4ac7-bdcc-a8897ed00bf2>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://biba.bb/index.php/news/international_news/us_treasury_backs_down_on_fatca
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00060-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.969482
| 528
| 1.921875
| 2
|
Georg Riemann (1826-1866)
German mathematician, born on 17 September in Breselenz, Germany. He studied at the universities of Göttingen and Berlin, taking up a post at Göttingen.
Riemann developed a geometric theory that was very different from the geometry of Euclid we normally use to picture our world. In ‘Riemannian space’, as it is known today, a triangle’s angles add up to more than 180 degrees and there are no parallel lines.
Few of Riemann’s peers could fully appreciate his work and it was largely neglected until the early twentieth century, when Albert Einstein used it as the geometrical basis for his general theory of relativity. Riemann suffered from tuberculosis and spent much of his later life abroad in the hope of regaining better health. He died on 20 July 1866 in Selasca, Italy.
|
<urn:uuid:d560d714-1138-4ba0-8ba0-c1ed53614030>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/onlinestuff/People/Georg%20Riemann%2018261866.aspx
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.982495
| 192
| 3.609375
| 4
|
By Steven Reinberg
THURSDAY, May 15 (HealthDay News) -- An outbreak of Salmonella infections in people has been traced to contaminated dry dog food, the first time such a link has been uncovered, U.S. officials said Thursday.
And, Salmonella infections from dry dog food may be an under-recognized source of illness in people, especially young children, officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.
"This is the first time human illness has been linked to dry dog food," said CDC epidemiologist Dr. Casey Barton Behravesh, who co-authored a report on the finding.
The CDC isn't sure how the Salmonella bacteria got into the dog food, Barton Behravesh said. "There are a number of possible ways that that could happen, and that's something we are still trying to figure out," she said, adding that there have been previous cases of people contracting Salmonella infection from contaminated pet treats.
The incidents of people becoming infected with Salmonella from dry dog food occurred in 2006 and 2007. An estimated 70 people, mostly in the Northeast, were infected by dog food produced by Mars Petcare at its Pennsylvania plant. About 40 percent of those infections involved infants, according to the report, published in the May 16 issue of the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Most of the cases occurred in Pennsylvania (29), New York (nine) and Ohio (seven). There were also reported cases in Alabama, California, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Carolina and Virginia.
Among the 61 people whose ages were available, the median age was 3 years, and 24 were less than 1 year old. Of the 38 people for whom clinical information was available, 15 (39 percent) had bloody diarrhea. For the 45 persons whose hospitalization status was known, 11 (24 percent) had to be hospitalized. No deaths were reported, according to the report.
No pets became ill. However, Salmonella was identified in feces samples from dogs that ate the dry food. In addition, Salmonella was found in open bags of the pet food fed to the dogs and in unopened bags of dog food made in the Pennsylvania plant, the CDC said.
Mars Petcare voluntarily recalled some bags of the two brands of food involved, but neither of the recalled brands was related to human illness, the CDC said.
Infection with the Salmonella bacteria produces an illness called salmonellosis. According to the CDC, most infected people develop diarrhea, fever, and abdominal cramps within 12 to 72 hours. The illness typically lasts four to seven days, and most people recover without treatment. But, for some, the diarrhea may be so severe that they need to be hospitalized. In these patients, the infection can spread from the intestines to the blood stream, and then to other parts of the body, leading to death unless antibiotics are administered promptly. The elderly, infants, and those with impaired immune systems are more likely to have a severe illness.
Salmonella infection typically comes from undercooked eggs, poultry, or meat, but can also result from direct contact with farm animals, reptiles and pets. To prevent infection, the CDC recommends washing your hands immediately after handling the food, including dry dog food.
"The most important thing is to wash your hands right after you handle any dry dog food, any other pet food, pet treats, even supplements or vitamins," Barton Behravesh said. "In addition, keep infants and other young children away from pet food, because kids tend to want to see what their dogs are eating and grab at the pet food and play with it or even put it in their mouth."
One expert thinks contamination of pet food is likely to become more commonplace.
"There have been problems with pet foods before," said Dr. Pascal James Imperato, chairman of the department of preventive medicine and community health at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in New York City.
"If the food had any animal product in it, there could have been contamination, or if it was being processed in a plant where they were also processing animal product, then contamination can easily occur," he said.
Imperato said the way food is produced makes it more likely that contamination will occur.
"There is greater industrialization of the production of food products, both for humans and animals, and these are complex processing systems. Therefore, there is greater opportunity for contamination," Imperato said. "We are likely to see many more of these problems."
For more on salmonella, visit the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
|
<urn:uuid:4680f065-78fc-4a75-b9a3-a1766cad3247>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/articles/2008/05/15/salmonella-outbreak-linked-to-dry-dog-food_print.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.976225
| 974
| 2.734375
| 3
|
Sunday, May 19, 2013
By Jessica Hall firstname.lastname@example.org
Gun retailers in Maine have seen sales jump since Friday's deadly shootings in an elementary school in Connecticut.
At Howell’s Gun & Archery Center in Gray, Adam Copp, the company president, said Monday that horrific crimes like Friday’s school shooting in Newtown, Conn., “just escalate fears. ... All across America, people feel such uncertainty about morality in general.”
Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer
They said the reaction has been similar to spikes in sales after other mass shootings, such as the one in a cinema in Aurora, Colo., in July.
"All across America, people feel such uncertainty about morality in general," said Adam Copp, president of Howell's Gun & Archery Center in Gray. "There's so many break-ins, crimes, and horrific crimes like this just escalate fears."
In the three days after the shootings in Colorado, background checks for people seeking to buy guns surged more than 40 percent nationally, to 2,887 requests, compared with 2,012 in the same period a week earlier, according to Bloomberg, which cited the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
A similar increase followed the shootings at a shopping plaza in Tucson, Ariz., in 2011, in which six people died.
In the U.S., the National Instant Criminal Background Check System is used to verify whether someone is allowed to buy a gun from a federal registered dealer. The check does not indicate whether the person actually buys a gun, or buys more than one gun.
The number of background checks increased to 16.8 million from January through the end of November this year, a record number since the FBI began publishing the data in 1998. There were 16.4 million checks nationally for all of 2011, according to the FBI.
In Maine, there were 79,418 requests for background checks in the first 11 months of this year, an increase from 73,127 last year, according to the FBI.
Gun retailers said that even before Friday's attack, sales were brisk because of the holidays, on top of a spike in sales after the re-election of President Obama, which fueled concerns that the administration may pursue gun-control policies in his second term.
The school shootings in Newtown, Conn., prompted a new wave of sales over the weekend.
"After every incident of mass violence, gun sales increase. It's a reminder that it's a rather violent society," said Jeff Weinstein, president of the Maine Gun Owners Association in Yarmouth. "People don't just jump out and buy a gun. They're already thinking about it. Incidents like this just serve as reminders. Statements from politicians make them feel it's time to take action."
Obama said Sunday that he would use "whatever power this office holds" to try to prevent more tragedies like Newtown's.
Stock prices of gun manufacturers and retailers fell Monday amid speculation that politicians will seek a renewed ban on assault rifles. Smith & Wesson Holding Corp. dropped 5.3 percent, while Sturm Ruger & Co. fell 3.5 percent. Outdoor retailer Cabela's Inc. fell 6.2 percent.
Sonny Staley, owner of Staley & Sons Gun Repair in Waldoboro, said wholesalers around the country sold out of ammunition for assault rifles immediately after Friday's shootings, with gun owners concerned about potential new regulations.
"Every time something like this happens, sales skyrocket," Staley said. "The reaction is immediate. Prices go up drastically."
Staley said he has received an increasing number of calls from shoppers who want assault rifles and semiautomatic handguns.
Hussey's General Store in Windsor doesn't carry assault rifles, but reported a jump in handgun sales over the weekend.
"A lot of it's obvious. A reaction. A lot of first-time gun buyers, the just-in-case buyers," said Jasen Pelletier, manager of sporting goods at Hussey's.
(Continued on page 2)
|
<urn:uuid:dfd41416-9678-4ecc-8f7b-2ec3ca7f5b1e>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.pressherald.com/business/gun-sales-spike-in-maine-across-nation_2012-12-18.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.958281
| 839
| 1.859375
| 2
|
A note about temperature standards: Which do you choose?
By Frank Johnson
Standards define materials, tolerances, and the conditions within which the agreement to purchase is fulfilled. They keep us from relying on pabulum such as “Quality goes in before the name goes on.” ISA was founded in order to clarify and facilitate the use of instrumentation in the U.S.—Standards and Practices were essential. The very first standard was assigned ISA–SP1. The committee was charged with temperature measurement and later organized into several sub committees. SP1.1, SP1.2, etc., were assigned to different aspects including RTDs, thermocouples, thermowells, meters, and transmitters. I was the last of many chairmen of that committee as ISA redirected its focus from fundamental control elements and sensors to becoming an international association encompassing computers and automation.
The resulting standard out of the ISA1 committee became American National Standards Institute (ANSI) MC96.1 and stood alone as the standard for years. It is still (unfortunately) cited in requests for quotations and in some proprietary company standards. The standard is mostly irrelevant today, as it incorporates defunct millivolts tables and defines the use of asbestos and other outdated and ancient processes. It was vital in its time, but not today. Subsequently, facets of the standard were expanded and responsibility adopted by other organizations.
ASTM—originally known as the American Society for Testing and Materials—domestically had picked up the baton and was running hard. Today, the ASTM E-20 committee meets twice a year with members from users, academia, manufacturers, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology. All ASTM E-20 industrial temperature standards are quite up to date. The committee has had one hard-to-define task that it just cannot get through—trying to define and quantify the inhomogeneity of thermocouple wire. It has been working on this for as long as I can remember, and the solution remains elusive. A standard for thermowells was lost in the shuffle, and the responsibility for a comprehensive document was not assumed by any committee or organization. ISA actually stepped up at the very end, but the effort was dropped; American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)’s B-40 committee had an incomplete standard that was used mostly for gauges and the military, and ASME’s PTC 19.3 3 page standard was pretty much all we had to go by. It was only three pages long, including innumerable references, and if you were not a degreed mathematician, it was easy to get lost in the process.
For something as simple as a thermocouple/RTD thermometer, there are now about 150 standards around the world. There are the normal ASTM and IEC standards, higher reliability standards (ASTM E235), standards for accessories and components (SAE, IEEE), standards specific to industries (PIP,SAE), and of course, multitudinous international standards. These international documents sometimes precede domestic standards and are adopted by industry without full comprehension. For instance, many users misapplied the first real standard for platinum RTDs, DIN 43760. Most were thinking it defined the RTD thermometer to be used, when the standard only defined the resistor used in manufacturing the RTD. Today, the revised IEC standard has changed all that.
ASME develops standards on pressure gauges and temperature gauges under the same main committee. The obvious reason is the same companies that make pressure gauges also make bimetal, gas, and liquid-filled temperature gauges. ASME does not usually work with anything electrical in nature, so TCs/RTDs are outside its domain. But since thermowells are used for these gauges, ASME was the consensus committee to maintain the primary thermowell standard under the auspices of Power Test Codes (PTC). Now, the U.S. finally has a finished standard after going about 30 years without a good, consistent document. Being the primary thermowell group in the U.S., the work of this committee was being watched by foreign and domestic committees all over the world.
As one of the U.S. delegates to the IEC committee, I have perused most of the individual country standards on temperature and found them very inconsistent in definition, description, and language. The experts across the globe representing individual countries (GOST, DIN, BS, JIS, GB, AISI, CSEE, JIC, OST, API, etc.) are extremely competent and anxious to have world standards in this global economy. All of them mention thermowells, but none do anywhere close to the job as completed by the PTC sub-committee.
ASME PTC 19.3 TW 2010 is now a reality. It has all the calculations that allow a user to design a well that will hold up in the user’s process. The standard grew from three pages to 43, and it took years to get it right. This was a task started by ISA and blossomed within the domain of ASME. It is the de facto world standard on thermowells.
Now maybe—possibly—could we get them to take up the problem of quantifying inhomogeneity in thermocouple wire?
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Frank Johnson (email@example.com) is the founder of JMS Southeast Inc., a manufacturer of industrial and OEM temperature sensing devices in Statesville, N.C. He is a 25-year member of ISA and was a section president. He has worked on technical committees for ASTM, IEC, ASME, and ISA.
|
<urn:uuid:d1a7cc8a-5c18-4a02-821d-5f44ed6dd3fa>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.isa.org/InTechTemplate.cfm?template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=84346
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.968108
| 1,186
| 2.703125
| 3
|
N.W.A v. Ice Cube (1989)
Ice Cube left N.W.A in December of 1989 after claiming that Eazy-E and the group's manager was cheating them out of money. The remaining group members fired the first shots by dissing Ice Cube on “100 Miles and Runnin.” Dr. Dre rhymed, "It started with five but one couldn't take it. So now there's four 'cause the fifth couldn't make it. The number's even. And now I'm leaving"
On Efil4zaggin, the group named Ice Cube "Benedict Arnold," and also claimed he was "sucking New York dick," a reference to his new production team, the New York-based Bomb Squad.
Ice Cube responded on the track “Jackin' Fo' Beats,” "And if I jack you and you keep comin, I'll have you marks a 100 Miles and Running!"
In 1991, Ice Cube took the fight to the big screen in his first feature film starring role, in Boyz N the Hood. According to movie director John Singleton, Cube suggested changes to one scene in particular where a chain snatcher is beaten up by neighborhood teens. Cube's recommendation was to have the thief wear a "We Want Eazy" sweatshirt.
On his second album Death Certificate, Ice Cube fired back at his former group by releasing the song "No Vaseline," proclaiming N.W.A. to be "phonies" and declaring Eazy-E to be a "snitch", in reference to Eazy attending a fundraising luncheon with President George H.W. Bush, also on the song "I never have dinner with the president.” He also made remarks about N.W.A.'s manager Jerry Heller that were instantly declared anti-Semitic, including "you can't be the Ni**az 4 Life Crew with a white Jew telling you what to do," "you let a Jew break up my crew," and "get rid of that Devil real simple put a bullet in his temple." Beef thoroughly squashed.
Eazy-E v. Dr. Dre(1991-1994)
When Dr. Dre released his first solo album The Chronic, he began a well-publicized feud with Eazy, constantly harassing him on the song and the video for “Dre Day” where Eazy was a money hungry character called Sleazy E who eventually ended up on the streets begging for money, as well as “Bitches Ain't Shit”—referring to Eric Wright as a bitch Dre once knew.
Eazy-E responded directly by releasing the EP It's On (Dr. Dre) 187 um Killa. The single released from this album, "Real Muthaphuckkin G's," featured lyrics filled with disses towards Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, and its video showed pictures of Dr. Dre in makeup and a glitter suit taken during the days he was in the "World Class Wreckin' Cru."
However this beef fizzled out almost as quickly as it began, by the time Eazy had died, he had made amends with Ice Cube and Dr. Dre and they were actually talking about an N.W.A reunion.
East Coast v. West Coast (mid-1990’s)
The most famous and one of the best hip hop beefs of all time happened in the mid-1990s rivalry between the East Coast's Bad Boy Records and the West Coast's Death Row Records. Though the beef mostly consisted of shots from Death Row towards various acts and, more specifically, Bad Boy, the media consistently blew up the war between two coasts. 2pac has even been quoted as saying to Nas and others that he was “just trying to sell records.” But this outward aggression towards each other led to fans of both coasts participating in one of the most vicious rap battles of all time.
Bad Boy and Death Row were thrown into conflict with one another after 2Pac was shot five times at a New York recording studio on November 30, 1994, and publicly blamed his former close friend Notorious B.I.G and his Bad Boy Records cohorts. This feud escalated after Suge Knight mocked Puff Daddy at the Source Awards in August 1995, announcing to the assembly of artists and industry figures: "If you don't want the owner of your label on your album or in your video or on your tour, come sign with Death Row." Despite Puff Daddy himself attempting to defuse the situation with a speech later in the evening, a later performance by Death Row's Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg was booed (to which Snoop famously responded "The East Coast ain't got no love for Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg?").
The feud continued to escalate through numerous incidents of petty back and forth but in 1995, Notorious released the track "Who Shot Ya?" 2Pac interpreted it as B.I.G. mocking his '94 shooting, and claimed it proved that Bad Boy had set him up. In early 1996, 2Pac released the infamous diss track "Hit 'Em Up," in which he claimed the ultimate, to have slept with the Notorious B.I.G's wife Faith Evans and that "this ain't no freestyle battle, y'all niggas getting killed" and was viewed as taking the feud to another level and critics today look on the song as one of the defining moments of the rivalry.
The feud ended abruptly when on September 7, 1996 2Pac was mortally wounded in Las Vegas, and on March 9, 1997, Notorious B.I.G. was shot and killed in California. Both murders remain unsolved, with numerous theories taking their place. Some speculate they were killed by Suge Knight, by the Blood and Crips, or the LAPD.
Nas v. Jay-Z (1997)
The Nas versus Jay-Z is considered one of the best lyrical hip hop battles of recent times.
In 1997, Jay-Z (a former friend and collaborator of Notorious B.I.G.) released a song titled "The City Is Mine" which seemed to many people to be making a claim to the empty throne. This attitude also seems to be evident in the fact that Jay-Z's album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1 was originally titled Heir To The Throne, Vol. 1. Nas, the only rapper in New York at the time who had a reputation capable of rivaling Jay-Z but who had never received the same amount of commercial success, apparently responded to Jay-Z on his track "We Will Survive," dismissing Jay-Z as a serious rival as well as attacking both his claims of superiority and his continual evoking of B.I.G's legacy,“It used to be fun, makin records to see your response/But, now competition is none, now that you're gone/And these ni**az is wrong—usin your name in vain And they claim to be New York's king? It ain't about that.”
There was definite tension between the pair but no action for approximately a year, until in 2001 the beef exploded into the public eye as Jay-Z publicly mocked Nas on stage at the Hot 97 radio station's Summer Jam hip hop festival. Nas responded by delivering a calculated, personal attack on Jay-Z during a radio freestyle over Eric B. & Rakim's "Paid In Full" beat, and effectively dissing most of the R.O.C. members subliminally: “And bring it back up top, remove the fake king of New York: You show off, I count dough off when you sampled my voice/I rule you, before, you used to rap like the Fu-Schnickens, Nas designed your Blueprint, who you kidding? Is he H To The Izzo, M To The Izzo? For shizzle you phony, the rapping version of Sisqo."
Jay-Z responded with the track "Takeover" from his album The Blueprint, on which he attacked Nas for never matching the critical success of his debut Illmatic and questioned his authenticity as an artist. The song was very well received by hip hop listeners, and many listeners and reviewers immediately dismissed Nas as a contender and feared for the end of his career. Therefore, it was a surprise to many when Nas responded with an equally well-received track titled "Ether" where he mocked Jay-Z's early years as an aspiring young rapper (in which he supposedly idolized Nas) and attacked him for being a misogynist and for exploiting the Notorious B.I.G's legacy. “Ether” supposedly was much longer and more aggressive than the released version, but nonetheless it starts out, “Fuck Jay-Z”
After the promoters of Hot 97's Summer Jam festival refused to allow headlining Nas to hang an effigy of Jay-Z during his performance at 2002's show, he appeared on Hot 97's rival Power 105 and attacked both the music industry's control over hip hop and the rappers who he saw as submitting to it, including Jay-Z, Nelly, N.O.R.E. and Jay-Z's label mate Cam'ron : "Y'all brothers gotta start rapping about something that's real. [...] Rappers are slaves."
But despite harsh words on both ends it was all formerly ended in October 2005 at Jay-Z's “I Declare War" concert, where Nas made a special guest appearance and performed the hook to "Dead Presidents" and a few of his own tracks such as "NY State of Mind" and "Hate Me Now."
Lil' Kim v. Nicki Minaj (2009-2010)
In 2009, rap artist Nicki Minaj emerged to break onto the mainstream scene. Despite her success, Minaj was accused of copying rapper Lil' Kim's fashion style while also taking multiple shots at the veteran rapper throughout her come-up years. Furthermore, Minaj made a couple of covers of Kim's songs and presented herself as a "barbie" in Mariah Carey's 2010 video to Up Out My Face, similar to what Kim has done throughout the majority of her own career. Minaj admitted to being influenced by Kim, but did not consider herself to be stealing her style. Lil Kim retaliated, saying that years before Minaj's success, Minaj had insulted her.
In June 2010, R&B artist Ray J, a friend of Lil' Kim's, addressed Minaj by stating, "[There are] a lot of people trying to bite styles and shit. I ain't saying no names, but you know who…" Kim also contributed to his statement by saying "We love her! We just want [her] to pay homage, so we could all rock together. It’s all about respect. You respect me, I respect you. If you don’t respect me, then fuck you." Drake, friend and label mate, commented by saying "I don't give a fuck what Lil Kim says…I didn't respect that at all…[these things] are just signs that you are losing it," and "[Kim is] supposed to be a 'G,' but that wasn't 'G' to me at all." Lil' Kim answered to Drake by calling him a "straight pussy" and added that "this ni**a" did not distinguish between her and Ray J disrespecting Minaj, when it really was Ray J. She explained that she was only being loyal to Ray J when he talked bad about Minaj. She also did not appreciate Drake attacking her as a female. 50 Cent addressed the beef in June 2010, stating that he sees how Minaj is influenced by Kim and that it was not right for rapper Diddy to call Rick Ross and Nicki Minaj the "new Notorious BIG and Lil' Kim.". In an interview with "ThisIs50.com" Kim agreed with 50 Cent that "Diddy sucked." She was upset at Diddy and considered him to be disloyal.
Nicki Minaj and rapper Eminem replied to the situation with the song Roman's Revenge. Many critics considered this song a "diss" towards Lil' Kim. Mariel Concepcion of Billboard dissected the song stating "Nicki Minaj's highly-talked about 'Roman's Revenge' track hits the net over the weekend, and the Harajuku Barbie appears to be taking jabs at Lil' Kim." Lil' Kim fired back at the song at a club-concert, stating "I will erase this bitch’s social security number. First of all, I don’t even need a record right now and I’d kill that bitch with my old shit. My records ain’t just enter the charts, they made history. What the fuck is this bullshit, this shit come and go!"
This beef is far from over since Minaj has announced that she is releasing a new album called Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded where Minaj has taken several shots at Lil' Kim in songs notably in "Roman In Moscow" and "Stupid Hoe."
Common v. Drake (2011)
Common released a track on his The Dreamer/The Believer album entitled “Sweet” which included the lyrics: “"Singing all around me man, la la la/You ain’t muthafucking Frank Sinatra.” Most assumed that it was in fact aimed at Drake, Drake responded during a live concert: "I might sing, but I ain't no bitch. If Common got something to say, say it to my face." Common confirmed in a round about way that the verse was indeed about Drake, "The verse is about me but when you hear some of the stuff on the chorus it’s like you can’t help but think about dude and I guess that’s what he felt. So at the end of day he fits in that category, he already embraced it, so wear it.” Claiming that they made up at the Grammys this whole soap opera was short lived. That being said, onlookers were a little confused when veteran Common started drama with someone who is clearly not his lyrical equal, and this beef is still recognized as one of the lamest.
Pusha T v. Lil Wayne (2012)
On May 24 2012, Pusha released a diss track, "Exodus 23:1". It is speculated that the track was aimed at Drake, or Young Money in general. Lil Wayne responded with a diss track "Ghoulish," which was featured on Funkmaster Flex's show. Since then they claim that they have squashed the beef.
Drake v. Chris Brown (2012)
For all the ruckus made over this one, this might just be the silliest one of them all. This happened so recently that there is still a lot of speculation about not only what really happened but who *cough Rihanna cough* it was over. The story goes that after throwing tweet jabs at each other, yes we’ve really come to that, breezy and drizzy got a little heated in club W.i.P. in NY last week. Supposedly it was all about a girl, Drake collaborated with Rihanna on hit “What’s My Name,” and more recently, his song “Take Care” and he has been quoted expressing his feelings for her.
“According to a club promoter who was at W.i.P. that night, Brown sent Drake a bottle of Cristal champagne. From there the facts are difficult to pin down, but one widely reported rumor asserts that Drake sent the bottle back to Chris table with a note that read, “I’m fuckin’ the love of your life, deal with it.”
After a screaming match that apparently went unnoticed, it escalated to a cat fight in the middle of the club. With fists being thrown along with bottles, buckets, and tables, things got crazy quickly.
Brown was quick to tweet his battle scar, a gash on his chin that he sent out through his Instagram account with the caption, “Bottles, it’s nothing.”
Many were injured and everyone got in on the action, rapper Killer Mike retweeting a Huff Post article with the following, “R&B fights lead to Both parties Snitching and Bitching.”
More rumors have stated that Meek Mill was the one who hit Chris Brown, not Drake. “But the rapper has issued some intriguing remarks via Twitter since then. First he tweeted "It wasn't me... (shaggy voice) lol." Then he chastised Roscoe Dash for commenting on the case: "you gotta chill b4 you b tweeting my name in some shit i wasn't really in! Stay in ya line." Finally he retweeted Chris Brown, who wrote "Me and @MeekMill ain't on that bullshit. Real respect Real..."
Couldn’t have said it better myself Chris.
|
<urn:uuid:3561fc13-f7f3-4278-9cac-4e48ac80bdc1>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.policymic.com/articles/9916/drake-vs-chris-brown-and-lil-kim-vs-nicki-minaj-the-8-most-epic-hip-hop-clashes
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.97963
| 3,557
| 1.546875
| 2
|
by Del Harvey
Award-winning British political miniseries starring Michael Palin and Robert Lindsay releases February 23, 2010.
Film Monthly Home
Short Takes (Archived)
Small Screen Monthly
Behind the Scenes
New on DVD
Books on Film
What's Hot at the Movies This Week
It begins innocently enough: a politician calls a strike, and the headmaster of a local school inadvertently sabotages it. Soon the men are caught in a power struggle of epic proportions. In his BAFTA-winning role, Robert Lindsay (Horatio Hornblower) is brilliant as the corrupt, egomaniacal Labour party leader Michael Murray. Michael Palin (Monty Python) is superb as the principled, mild-mannered Jim Nelson. They are unlikely but inexorable foes, and as their conflict escalates, so do the risks. Nelson suffers from debilitating anxiety attacks. Murray hides a tormented past, and the arrival of a beautiful woman (Lindsay Duncan, Rome) further complicates matters.
Part satire, part political conspiracy, G.B.H. is set in the early 1990s, near the end of the Thatcher years, when numerous attempts were made by local left-wing councils to achieve significant degrees of autonomy. The plot revolves around the deliberate attempt by UK government secret services to discredit and bring down Murray’s leadership. On an ideological level this involves a left-wing theoretician, Mervyn, who is himself manipulated by MI5 agent Lou. Meanwhile, another MI5 agent Peter has recruited a gang of thugs, posing as left-wing activists (and, sometime later in the series, policemen) who perform as agents provocateurs. Each episode reveals more about the convoluted nature of the plot to discredit Murray.
G.B.H. was a seven-part British television drama written by Alan Bleasdale, made by independent production company G.B.H (Films) and shown in the summer of 1991 on BBC Channel 4. The central characters were Michael Murray (played by Robert Lindsay), the Militant Labour leader of an unnamed City Council in the north of England, and Jim Nelson (played by Michael Palin), the headmaster of a school for disturbed children.
The series was controversial partly because the character of Murray appeared to be based on Derek Hatton, the real-life former Deputy Leader of Liverpool City Council. Supporting this is in an interview included in the boxed set where Bleasdale recounts an accidental meeting with Hatton, before the series had even been recorded, in which the latter indicates that he has caught wind of Bleasdale’s intentions, but does not mind as long as the actor playing him is “handsome.”
With a BAFTA-winning soundtrack by Elvis Costello and Richard Harvey, this richly woven, acclaimed British satire skewers its Thatcher-era setting. Veering from drama to farce, it’s a darkly humorous tale of good versus evil, the progress of madness, and the ultimate cost of revenge.
Bonus features include: Episode 1 commentary by Robert Lindsay, Michael Palin, and producer Peter Ansorge; interview with writer Alan Bleasdale (24 min.); biography of Elvis Costello; and cast filmographies.
Del Harvey is the founder of Film Monthly, a film teacher, a writer and a film critic in Chicago.
Got a problem? E-mail us at firstname.lastname@example.org
|
<urn:uuid:08a50978-e1c7-4e08-ad1d-c91e991b1d22>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.filmmonthly.com/video_and_dvd/gbh.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.947714
| 705
| 1.554688
| 2
|
140 characters is not a lot of room to say the things you want to say to the world. And since there are so many people on Twitter, many businesses aren't quite sure how to use this social media tool — without feeling like you're simply yelling into the oblivion.
But there are people who use Twitter and who use it well. Not only do they have large numbers of followers, but they also post relevant and helpful information to their followers. And this leads to more followers and more followers — you get the idea. If you want to learn how to use Twitter, you should follow these ten people. (And their tweets are well worth reading too.)
Chris Brogan (@chrisbrogan)
As one of the first bloggers to turn to Twitter for a new outlet, Chris Brogan always has something to say and something to teach on his tweets. Whether he's calling out a company for poor service or he's talking about how you can maximize your social media strategy, there's something for everyone who wants to succeed. And his book 'Trust Agents" helps readers learn more about how you can become someone people trust in your market.
Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee)
Though he began as a guy who just wanted to talk about wine on television, Gary Vaynerchuk's authenticity and ability to see what's hot in the social media world can help you learn how to connect with your followers. From advertising his new books or shows to just telling his brother happy birthday, Gary is sincere and helpful — a winning combination. His books include "Crush It!" and "The Thank You Economy."
Guy Kawasaki (@guykawasaki)
Former Apple marketing guru, Guy Kawasaki's Twitter account will help you learn more about social media (as there's always more to know), but as the co-founder of Alltop.com, you'll also see how to run a business. His tweets are varied, but there's always something to learn from Guy's findings — and his over three hundred THOUSAND followers can't be wrong.
Maria Reyes McDavis (@websuccessdiva)
Maria calls herself a digital marketing strategist — and she means it. Her varied blogs include snippets of her life, but also articles that help businesses at all stages of growth think about how they can do better. With over 23,000 followers, Maria is a web success diva.
Darren Rowse (@problogger)
Obviously, Darren Rowse is a blogger, as so many other people are these days. So what sets him apart from the rest on Twitter? Not only are followers getting a dose of motivation from quotes, but Darren also shares ways that people can start blogging, improve their blogging, and spread their blogging work. Since so many successful online social media types are blogging, maybe this Twitter account will be the motivation to start your own too.
Brian Clark (@copyblogger)
Yes, another blogger. It's interesting to see how someone like Brian Clark can move from being a blogger and into the shorter Twitter feeds. More dedicated to improving blog postings, this Twitter feed is exactly what you need when your blog isn't performing the way it should. Read the tweets to find out how you could be doing more and how you could be making profits with your blogs — not just posting them and hoping people show up to read them.
Brian Solis (@briansolis)
Deemed a digital analyst, sociologist, and futurist, Brian Solis is the Twitter account where you'll find out about new trends before they happen — and as they are taking place. Though you still want to think for yourself, Brian's Twitter account is an example of how new media can be influential as well as informative, often at the same time.
Liz Strauss (@lizstrauss)
Founder of SOBCon, brand strategist, leadership trainer, Liz Strauss is always on 'who you should follow on Twitter' lists — and for a number of good reasons. Not only is Liz an expert in the field of customer relationship building, but her Twitter feed includes ways to look at your competition as well as yourself. Honest and interested in being irresistible, Liz is someone to follow when you want to change your mindset, as much as your business.
Chris Garrett (@chrisgarrett)
Chris Garrett is another expert in the business of new media, blogging and online marketing. Chris focuses on how you can use the Internet for profits, including affiliate marketing and blogging. What's really great about this Twitter feed is that Chris takes the time to answer many of the questions he gets. This personal attention is an example of how connecting to others can help your business succeed — especially online.
Deepak Chopra (@deepakchopra)
Even if you haven't read his many (many) books, Deepak Chopra has found a way to take his spiritual outlook on life and bring it to Twitter. With helpful posts, quotes, links, and a true desire to help his followers, you're able to not only see that authenticity is power online, but also you can see that a truly nice guy is someone who will get noticed.
Life changing Twitter accounts are out there, and this is just a sampling of some of the best. The more you follow Twitter and use it in your world, the more you will be able to see that sometimes saying less has a greater impact than you thought it could.
|
<urn:uuid:d91f5c68-d3ac-4c78-a13c-3059006a89f6>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.youngentrepreneur.com/blog/10-people-you-should-follow-on-twitter-who-will-change-your-life/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.965757
| 1,139
| 1.75
| 2
|
There is no doubt we are not dealing with a treasure of a trivial kind. Its nature is outstanding. A happy coincidence in 1972 provided science with invaluable data. Digging a trench for an electric cable in the western industrial part of the city of Varna the man working with the excavator discovered in the soil discarded by the machine several gold objects, pieces of ceramics and other items. Hearing about this, archeologists from the Varna Archeological Museum started excavations on the spot. This gave world culture a unique monument of the culture of the oldest inhabitants of Europe.
They discovered a graveyard (in scientific terminology - necropolis 'city of the dead'), belonging to some unknown prehistoric settlement. Since it was situated very close to the Varna Lake (500 m) it must have been connected to some of the lake settlements, built
in the water on stakes stuck in the bottom. This presupposition was supported by various finds in the mud of the lake - ceramics, instruments of stone and flint, etc.
Excavations went on for many years and tens on
3200-3000 BC. The results surpassed the boldest expectations of archeologists.
Obviously there were three different ways of burying the dead — lying on their back with the body stretched and with a huddled body, with arms and legs curved. The third type was the so-called "Symbolic burial" where no skeletons were found in the graves but the burial objects were present. Very interesting are the bodies buried in huddled position, known in scientific literature as hokers. It is believed that they imitated the position of the embrio in the womb. In this way the prehistoric people expressed the idea that a man must leave this world in the way he came into it.
All graves of these two types contain rich burial inventory of objects - things that had to serve the dead person in the other world. These were vessels of clay with rich decoration of cut lines, often painted with white paste, as well as the vessels decorated with graphite, so characteristic of the Eneolithic period. They also contained instruments of copper, stone, flint and bone (knives, axes, and cutting blades),
jewelry made of metal, sea-shells (in one of the graves they are about 2200), a rare kind of quartz and china clay. There are also a large number of idols made of flat bones in the form of stylized human figures. Each of the graves contains between 2 and 5 vessels, while the instruments are placed in the hands of the dead person.
The third type of burial, the symbolic one, is extremely rare in the Eneolythic period (known with the term cenotaph). The lack of a dead body is explained with some peculiarities of the cult concepts and most of all with the fact that the burial ritual was performed for a member of the community who had fallen dead far away, in battle or in hunting. Observing the unwritten laws, these "empty" graves also contained burial objects. As a matter of fact they are richest in gold objects while in the "real" graves they are considerably less in number. The quantity of the gold is impressive. Thus in grave4(in the order of their discovery) there were 1518 gold objects, and in grave 1 their overall weight exceeds 1 kg.
|
<urn:uuid:d2a1d495-a625-48f0-83f5-1082dc4db79b>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.goldensands.bg/cultural/treasure-varna.asp
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.97209
| 686
| 2.984375
| 3
|
South Africa Partners awarded the Amandla Award to Caroline Hunter on May 16, 2012 in an evening to honor heroes of the South African liberation struggle in Boston. The Amandla Award was on the given on the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the formation of the African National Congress. The award was presented at the SA Partners' premier of the film SING YOUR SONG, a moving documentary that chronicles Harry Belafonte’s remarkable life as an artist and activist. The Amandla Award was given in the spirit of Belafonte's many contributions to both the civil rights and anti-apartheid movements and honors Caroline Hunter for having fought both of these good fights.
Last year the MTA Civil Rights Committee awarded the MTA Louise Gaskins Lifetime Civil Rights Awards to Caroline Hunter which was presented at the MTA Civil Rights dinner in May, 2011 for her anti-apartheid work and professional educational work. Caroline Hunter was again nominated and will receive the NEA’s Rosa Parks Memorial Award on July 1, 2012 at the NEA Human & Civil Rights Awards banquet at the Convention Center DC, during at the NEA Annual Convention. The Human & Civil Rights Banquet will also present awards to 12 others. The event was created by the American Teachers Association, the previous organization for Black teachers, and continued when NEA and ATA merged in 1966. The National Education Association is the professional organization for the nation’s 3 million teachers.
|
<urn:uuid:22be79ca-2bc2-405d-9642-3b9447ba8378>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://crls.cpsd.us/news/caroline_hunter
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.953667
| 297
| 1.84375
| 2
|
Despite considerable progress made in AIDS research during the past 12 years in California and elsewhere, there is no drug at hand to cure AIDS nor a vaccine to prevent HIV infection. Therefore, prevention of HIV infection and transmission through education and behavior modification provides the best hope for some years to come for intervention in the AIDS epidemic.
The funding that supports this RFP will provide for a statewide prevention research consortium, to implement and evaluate HIV prevention programs collaboratively conducted by scientific researchers and community-based organizations. The Statewide Community HIV Evaluation Project (SCHEP) is funded by the California Department of Health Services, Office of AIDS and administered by the University of California San Francisco, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS). The overall purpose of this program is to foster prevention research collaboration between scientific researchers and AIDS service organizations/local government providers, so that AIDS prevention strategies can be evaluated, innovative methods can be tested, investigators can share theoretical and methodological insights, and community-based agencies (CBOs) can develop procedures and infrastructure for collecting data needed for in-house and statewide monitoring of prevention efforts.
Proposals must be jointly submitted by a researcher at a non-profit research institution, University, or college and an AIDS prevention service agency. As researchers and community members have stressed, effective HIV prevention can only be implemented with community input and participation from the inception of the project.
II. GOALS AND SCOPE
The principal goal of this research initiative is to evaluate prevention strategies designed to effectively reduce HIV infection and transmission in California. SCHEP is designed to bring together the expertise of both researchers and service providers in the evaluation of feasible, innovative, and effective HIV prevention programs as conducted within community-based or direct service organizations.
Applicants for funding should stress creative, novel approaches to the evaluation of HIV prevention intervention programs emphasizing risky behavior modification and include one or more of the research areas emphasized below:
- evaluation of existing intervention programs in community-based organizations
- modification of existing interventions to allow evaluation of their effectiveness
- conducting meta-analytic study of HIV prevention research.
To be effective, prevention programs must continually seek to answer the following questions: Which interventions help individuals change their behavior? What interventions work better in specific communities? How can prevention efforts best reach the people they’re designed to help?
The research partner of the application team must be affiliated with a non-profit California college, university, or research institution. The service provider partner must be affiliated with a non-profit community-based organization (CBO) which provides HIV/AIDS prevention services. Researchers or service programs from Departments of Public Health are eligible to apply, provided that they submit an application jointly with another agency. Researchers from the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies are not eligible to apply. Community based organizations currently funded under the CAPS/ Northern California Grantmakers collaboration are not eligible to apply. The proposed program evaluation must be fully collaborative; a researcher conducting an evaluation using the CBO as a means for accessing a client population will not be considered a real collaboration.
IV. Size, Number, and Duration of Grants to be Made
Four 21-month grants will be awarded. The funding period will be March 1, 1996 – November 30, 1997. Awards will be for a maximum of $151,111 for the entire funding period, to be allocated as follows: $35,555 available from 3/1/96 through 6/30/96; $77,037 from 7/1/96 through 6/30/97; and $38,519 from 7/1/96 through 11/30/97.
V. Special Requirements
A critical component of this funding is the SCHEP Consortium among the four funded projects. The successful applicants receiving funding from this program will meet four times during the course of the contract period with other grantees who are conducting community-based prevention research through this mechanism. The goals of the Consortium meetings are to provide peer review and support to each collaborative project and to contribute to the dialogue about elements of successful HIV prevention programs. Additionally, project staff from CAPS will be in frequent contact with both the scientific and service delivery partners of the collaboration.
Soon after the awards are made, the CAPS Program Manager will convene a mandatory orientation meeting of the members of the Consortium to discuss all SCHEP projects for the purpose of promoting collaboration among participants and discussing details of the projects, perhaps resulting in modifications of some aspects of the research or service delivery plans. The orientation is tentatively scheduled for February 29 – March 1, 1996
VI. Terms of award
Awards can be made to non-profit institutions/organizations in the State of California. The principal investigator from the research institution must qualify for that status under the sponsoring academic or research institutions’ principal investigator policy. The CBOs must provide verification of tax-exempt nonprofit organization status (Federal form 501(c)3).
It is anticipated that awards in response to this RFP will be made in March 1996. Awards will be for a period of 21 months. Funds will be awarded in the form of subcontracts to the research and service provider institutions. The total cost of each award will not exceed $151,111 for the 21-month contracts, including indirect costs, if any. It is anticipated that up to four individual projects will be supported depending upon the merit of the applications received and availability of funds.
Although the program is provided for in the financial plans of the Department of Health Services, Office of AIDS, awards pursuant to this RFP are contingent on the availability of funds for this purpose.
VII. STUDY POPULATION
The goal of this RFP is to fund evaluations of prevention programs located in non-epicenter cities or serving understudied, high-risk populations. Studies solicited by this RFP must address populations at risk based on the epidemiology of HIV disease in California. Applications should attend to the inclusion of women and ethnic minorities in the study population, or justify their exclusion based on California epidemiology and intervention approach.
VIII. Proposal Process
Applicants are required to submit a complete proposal signed by the co-investigators from the research institution and the CBO by January 17, 1996. The original and five copies of the proposal should be mailed to Ellen Goldstein, Center for AIDS Prevention Studies, 74 New Montgomery #600, San Francisco, CA 94105.
Applicants wishing assistance during the proposal development phase may contact Ellen Goldstein at (415) 597-9396 . However, such assistance does not guarantee success of the application in the review process.
IX. Criteria for proposal review
Proposals will be evaluated by a team of researchers from CAPS and other institutions, community-based service providers and Office of AIDS staff. In additional to an initial review of the proposals, the Program Manager may choose to interview the top applicants.
The review criteria include:
A. The Evaluation
- Geographic area and/or populations at risk in study
- Proposed evaluation built upon existing knowledge about effective prevention methods
- Potential to demonstrate new knowledge about preventing HIV/AIDS transmission
- Originality and feasibility of proposed research
- Strong evidence of collaborative team approach to research, and shared vision and goals among the staff and management of the CBO and the research team
- Ground-up CBO-researcher collaboration on development, implementation, and evaluation of the intervention
- Focus on clear goals and objectives that can be achieved during the projected time frame
- Appropriate staffing and volunteers for the proposed target populations
- Commitment to work closely with other members of the consortium and to disseminate research results at the Consortium meetings at CAPS.
- Client population involvement
B. The Service Providing Organization
- Experience implementing prevention programs
- Demonstrated experience administering program grants
- Experience with program evaluation
- Organizational stability and capacity to successfully carry out the project
- History or expenence of current or previous collaboration
C. The Research Organization
- Evidence of researcher’s experience and ability to conduct community-based research including research experience, training, record of community involvement, and special efforts to prepare for community research.
- Data entry and analytic experience
- Researcher’s involvement with focus population
- History or expenence of current or previous collaboration
D. Community Involvement and Support
- Evidence of need for the intervention and acceptability of the intervention by the client population.
- Feasibility of data gathering
- Access to clients/ subjects
E. Protection of Human Subjects
- Approval of IRB protocol or completed pending application
December 6, 1995
Request for Proposal issued with application packets
January 17, 1996
Full applications due
February 6, 1996
Center for AIDS Prevention Studies and State Office of AIDS reviews applications
February 9, 1996
Notices of Award issued March 1, 1996
Award start date
Collaboration Orientation Meeting
SCHEP – Proposal Guidelines and Forms
This document has been designed to assist you in the preparation of your proposal to the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies. Please use the outline provided for the narrative portion of your proposal. You may elaborate on each section in paragraph or narrative form but please number and label each section using our outline. Do not exceed 15 pages for Sections III – VI. (Page suggestions are noted after each section.) In addition to your narrative, be sure to complete and submit: the Cover Sheet, Organizational Chart, Letters of Support, Human Subjects Application or Approval, Timeline Form, and the Budget Forms we have provided as well as the required attachments listed at the end of the Proposal Outline.
While the project period is 21 months, you may choose to begin the project with pilot testing the intervention or conducting a needs assessment of the population. Please describe all formative work in detail, with a proposal for using the findings of this phase of the project to inform subsequent research and service activities.
It will be in each applicant’s interest to provide all requested information and to observe the specified page limitations. Appendices may be submitted but must be limited to essential materials and questionnaire(s). Use 12 point type and do not reduce print. Margins must not be less than 1 inch. Because of the short time interval between receipt and review of applications, neither late or incomplete applications nor changes or additions to the original submission can be accepted.
Please be aware that current approval notices from human subjects, animal subjects, and biohazard committees must be received at the CAPS office no later than March 15, 1996 or the intent to make an award may be withdrawn. Applicants must initiate the Human or Animal Subjects approval process beforesubmitting an application.
Project Timeline and Budget Description
The funding period will be March 1, 1996 – November 30, 1997. Awards will be for a maximum of $151,111 for the entire funding period, to be allocated as follows: $35,555 available from 3/1/96 through 6/30/96; $77,037 from 7/1/96 through 6/30/97; and $38,519 from 7/1/96 through 11/30/97. University of California policy prohibits release of funds prior to receipt of Human Subjects approval.
Six copies (original plus five) of your proposal must be received at the office of the Center for AIDS Prevention Studies by 5pm on Wednesday, January 17, 1996. Faxes will not be accepted.
Address to Submit Proposals:
Center for AIDS Prevention Studies
74 New Montgomery St., Suite 600
San Francisco, CA 94105
ATTN: Ellen Goldstein
Phone or E-mail for Questions:
Ellen Goldstein, Program Manager
SCHEP – Proposal Outline
I. Cover Sheet
See form provided.
The abstract must not exceed 100 words and should summarize the purpose, population, proposed intervention, and research question(s) to be addressed by the evaluation.
III. Collaboration Partners
(4 pages, not including organizational chart and letters of support)
Describe the community-based or service agency and research partner of the collaboration, highlighting the experience each brings to the collaboration. Outline the plan for keeping the two partners in the study in full collaboration on the project.
A. History of CBO
- Description of Programs
- Staffing, including organizational chart, noting who would participate in the delivery of services and the conduct of the evaluation tasks and their length of time at the agency
- Previous experience with research or program evaluation
- Intended use of information from research findings
- Letters of support from the Board Chair, Executive Director, and front line staff
B. History of Researcher
- Description of previous work in HIV prevention research
- Description of previous work with or in CBOs or HIV prevention service delivery
- Description of experience with CBO partner for this project
- Organizational chart of evaluation and service delivery, with affiliation and % of time covered for each person
IV. Study Population (3 pages)
A. Describe target population.
- Demographic description (age, culture, gender, socioeconomic status, etc.)
- Risk behavior
- Epidemiologic profile or other research conducted with this population
- Other services to this population (not only by your agency)
- Access issues (barriers to service) and how this proposal will address them
- Population strengths and limitations
V. Research Question (4 pages)
Briefly describe the background for the proposed research. Describe the intervention and research question and discuss why you have chosen them for this particular client population. Include hypotheses and the rationale for your approach. Briefly describe and refer to any preliminary studies or existing prevention programs, the specific aims, the research plan, methodology, experimental subjects, and controls. Discuss potential problems and the significance of the expected results. (List pertinent literature references, including titles of publications.) Your plan should be realistic to enough to allow completion of the project within the time requested.
A. Describe the intervention to be evaluated.
- Program activities, including staffing
- Evidence of interest in the program to client population
- Behaviors to be changed
- Reason for using this intervention with this population
- Feasibility/ access to population
- Client involvement in program design
B. Define the research question(s).
- State the question(s)
- Reason for asking this question
- Potential use of information from research findings
VI. Research Design (4 pages)
- Needs assessment and formative evaluation plans (if applicable)
- Design description
- Sample description and recruitment plan
- Control group description (if applicable)
- Variables to be measured
- Instrument content
- Data analysis plan
VII. Human Subjects Protections
Describe involvement of human subjects and characterization of subject population, recruitment of subjects and consent procedures, potential risks to subjects, procedures to protect or minimize risks, and anticipated benefits to subjects. List potential ethical problems, and discuss how you have jointly resolved them. You may use up to 2 continuation pages. If IRB approval or exemption has been received, attach documentation following this page. If IRB approval or exemption has not been received, you must attach evidence that this has been sought from an accredited Institutional Review Board. If project is exempt from IRB regulation, provide rationale for a determination that the designated exemptions are appropriate. Human Subjects approval must be initiated by the application receipt date and final approvals must be granted before funding can be released. Failure to submit the required approvals will result in the rescission of the award.
Use the attached Timeline Form to chart the evaluation activities. Include information on questionnaire development, pilot testing, data collection, staff hiring and training, and data analysis.
This award is divided into three budget periods. The total project will be from March 1, 1996 through November 30, 1997. Awards will be for a maximum of $151,111 for the entire funding period, to be allocated as follows: $35,555 available from 3/1/96 through 6/30/96; $77,037 from 7/1/96 through 6/30/97; and $38,519 from 7/1/96 through 11/30/97. This contract does not allow for carry-forward between contract periods; please budget accordingly. Funds must be spent during the budget period in which they are charged, with one exception; subject reimbursements can be purchased or encumbered in a budget period prior to their disbursement.
Please complete the Budget Forms provided. An example of a completed budget form is attached to assist you. Complete one set of budget forms for each Budget period for both the research institution and the service agency.Provide one Budget Summary Form for each institution, and one overall summary for the entire project. Additionally, please a attach a narrative Budget Justification, providing descriptions to support your budget. (The Budget Narrative does not need to be broken down by project periods.) Also attach a list of other sources of income for this project, and documentation of 501(c)3 status for the CBO/ service delivery collaborator.
As part of the award, CAPS will be providing one computer and software to each community based agency, e-mail networking equipment to researchers and community based agencies who currently do not have e-mail capability, and subscriptions to Handsnet, a computer bulletin board. Please include costs for insuring this equipment in your budget. Travel to and from SCHEP collaboration meetings will be covered by CAPS.
___ Proof of 501(c)3 status for CBO
___ Resumes of Key Personnel
___ SCHEP Project and CBO Organizational Chart
___ Letters of Support: CBO Board, Executive Director, Key Line staff
___ SCHEP Timeline
___ Budget Forms: Period 1, Period 2, Period 3, Overview
___ Budget Justification Narrative
___ Committee on Human Research Approval or Pending Application Cover
___ Community Letters of Support
SCHEP – Cover Sheet
|Service Provider/ Community Based Agency:__________________________________
Project Title: ________________________________________
Requested Amount: ________________________________________
Research Question: ________________________________________
Human Subjects status: Application Date ______ Approval Date ______
Project Coordinator (signature)
Principal Investigator (signature)
Last modified: January 20, 2011
|
<urn:uuid:1065e526-e531-4d30-9659-1136f20c408c>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://caps.ucsf.edu/the-statewide-community-hiv-evaluation-project-schep/request-for-proposal-rfp/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.903547
| 3,748
| 2.15625
| 2
|
Vietnam Travel News, Travel Hot News, Tourism news in Vietnam, Daily news, Vietnam tourism news, best travel news, Theaters
Royal Theater (Duyet Thi Duong)
Location: Royal Theater is located in the east of the Quang Minh Palace (Palace of Brightness) in the Forbidden Citadel.
Characteristic: The Royal Theater was the oldest of Vietnamese traditional stage that remained. It was closed after the end of the monarchy (Jan 8th, 1945).
Hanoi Young Pioneer Palace
Location: Hanoi Young Pioneer Palace is at 36 Ly Thai To St., Hanoi.
Characteristics: During the French domination period, the building was divided into two parts: the northern area was a kindergarten and the southern area was a French club. After Liberation Day in October 1954, the building became the Young Pioneer Center, a recreation center for children.
Hanoi Opera House
Location: The Hanoi Opera House is situated on Le Thanh Tong St., Hanoi; near the Red River and several hundreds meters east of Hoan Kiem Lake.
Characteristics: It is an old theatre with French architecture and typical Gothic and Mosaic characters reflected on the door domes and the glassed room respectively.
Friendship Cultural Palace
Location: Friendship Cultural Palace is on Tran Hung Dao St., Hanoi.
Characteristics: The construction of the palace started on November 5, 1978 and completed on September 1, 1985. The Friendship Cultural Palace, also called Huu Nghi Cultural Palace, was a present from the USSR Central Trade Union Council to the Vietnam Trade Union.
Ho Chi Minh Municipal Theatre
Location: Ho Chi Minh Municipal Theatre is located on Dong Khoi Street, Ho Chi Minh City, between the Caravelle and Continental Hotels.
Characteristics: With a rotating stage and a 800 - seat hall, the theatre meets the required standards for various artistic forms such as singing, music, dancing and traditional and modern dramas.
|
<urn:uuid:f5de7b70-1d0b-4e5e-8a0c-92ff106bceb4>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.vietnamtourism.com.vn/news/en/menu/179/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.946738
| 417
| 1.773438
| 2
|
As a philanthropist and AIDs activist, Alicia Keys has been using her Grammy award-winning talent and fame to do some real good in the world. She even co-founded "Keep a Child Alive," an organization that has raised millions to care for HIV/AIDS patients in Africa and India!
Here's what she has to say about the disease here at home:
Such a good cause! The Move Your Body and Let's Move campaigns (both supported by the First Lady herself, Michelle Obama!) want you to help all the kids out there to move and stay healthy! Michelle has done an amazing job, but she doesn't want to do it alone knowing others out there would be more than happy to help! So what does she do??
All together we teamed up with the WAT-AAH! Foundation, an organization aimed at improving kids' health through working with youth focused creative and physical activity groups, for an incredibly catchy PSA (above)!! We LOVED being a part of this!
The challenge is to live on $1.50 of food and drink for at least one day between April 29 - May 3 to raise awareness about extreme poverty — doesn't really sound that hard to be honest, but we're dealing with people who are accustomed to decadent things! It might be harder than you think!
Not only did Ben Affleck commit, but so did the likes of Josh Groban, Sophia Bush, Hunter Biden, and husband and wife Cooking Channel personalities Debi Mazar and Gabriele Corcos! The whole point is to help people empathize with the 1.4 billion people faced with brutal hunger and poverty, and encourages global citizens to participate and raise funds to support the partner organizations.
Terrence Howard is known around Hollywood for being a little full of himself, and kinda hard to work with. We're glad he's doing something to change that frame of mind, because we really do think he's one hell of an actor!
Terrence has joined the Colon Cancer Alliance, and has recorded a new PSA for the group — all about getting people the proper screening for colon cancer, which is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in America. It's also very preventable with the right kind of screening!
Unfortunately, it couldn't be prevented in Terrence's mother, and that's why he has taken up this fight:
“I miss my mother’s voice and her gentle kindness. But despite my loss, my mom would love to know that her battle with colon cancer helped save others."
Virtually equal numbers of women (69,140) and men (73,680) are diagnosed with colon cancer each year, and yet people still view it as a "man's disease."
Check out Terrence's inspirational PSA (above), and make sure you get screened!
That's neat — Barbra Streisand has you beat. She's already well into being the best version of herself in 2013, and has announced a $2 million pledge for women's heart research. How's that workout resolution of yours coming along?
She spoke at President Bill Clinton’s second-annual Health Matters: Activating Wellness in Every Generation Conference, and talked about health and junk food:
|
<urn:uuid:8088420f-1425-4a70-b4e1-7fe544a53b85>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://perezhilton.com/tag/campaign/?only_show=fitperez
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.97254
| 669
| 1.5
| 2
|
Middle-class income fell 7% in the last decade, adjusted for inflation.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- It's official. The first decade of the 21st century will go down in the history books as a step back for the American middle class.
Last week, the government made gloomy headlines when it released the latest census report showing the poverty rate rose to a 17-year high. A whopping 46.2 million people (or 15.1% of the U.S. population) live in poverty and 49.9 million live without health insurance.
But the data also gave the first glimpse of what happened to middle-class incomes in the first decade of the millennium. While the earnings of middle-income Americans have barely budged since the mid 1970s, the new data showed that from 2000 to 2010, they actually regressed.
For American households in the middle of the pay scale, income fell to $49,445 last year, when adjusted for inflation, a level not seen since 1996.
And over the 10-year period, their income is down 7%.
"Economists talk about the lost decade in Japan. Well, with these 2010 data, we can confirm the lost decade for the American middle class," said Jared Bernstein, senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Sure, it's fair to say Americans at all levels of income, from rich to poor, were hit hard in the decade that started with the dot-com boom and bust, and ended with the Great Recession.
But according to the census data, those losses disproportionately hit the lowest 60% of Americans, while the richest 40% actually gained wealth, relative to the entire U.S. economy.
Much of that trend can be explained by massive losses in the housing sector, the period of high unemployment that ensued, and rising prices that flew in the face of the American family's heightened financial struggles.
Unlike the richest Americans, middle class families have most of their wealth tied up in the equity of their homes, which took a beating in the recession. And high unemployment has left many people with little or no other income at all.
At the same time that Americans had less cash to spend, they were also being hit with rising prices for some crucial items. Even accounting for inflation, it still costs more to buy a home, fill your gas tank, go to the doctor and put food on the table than it did only 10 years ago.
And not only is it more expensive to live a middle-class life, it costs more to get there too. The price of a college education -- still considered the ticket to higher wages and a better lifestyle -- has surged over the last decade, even in spite of the recession.
Facing these burdens, the American Dream is undergoing stark changes, with fewer people choosing to buy homes and more young people postponing their own independent lives. The census data showed about 14.2% of all young people ages 25 to 34 are still living in their parents' homes this year, compared to about 11.8% before the recession began in 2007.
And that poses a challenge for the economy going forward. After all, what will the middle class and the American Dream look like another decade from now, if the younger generations still can't get their feet off the ground?
|China and Fed fallout to weigh on stocks|
|Japan stocks plunge on weak China data|
|Tesla repays federal loan nearly 10 years early|
|China factory activity contracts in May|
|How police can find your deleted text messages|
|Overnight Avg Rate||Latest||Change||Last Week|
|30 yr fixed||3.73%||3.65%|
|15 yr fixed||2.85%||2.79%|
|30 yr refi||3.72%||3.64%|
|15 yr refi||2.85%||2.78%|
Today's featured rates:
|Latest Report||Next Update|
|Home prices||Aug 28|
|Consumer confidence||Aug 28|
|Manufacturing (ISM)||Sept 4|
|Inflation (CPI)||Sept 14|
|Retail sales||Sept 14|
|
<urn:uuid:745952a3-900d-44bf-abab-4985a06d1820>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://money.cnn.com/2011/09/21/news/economy/middle_class_income/?iid=HP_LN
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.944907
| 873
| 2.3125
| 2
|
Acupuncture Free Charts Article
Types Of Acupuncture Treatment
Needles stuck all over the body, some of them dangling. Thatís what acupuncture usually brings to mind. You sit around getting poked and you stay that way for a while. Well, acupuncture treatments can be anything from a few minutes to maybe half an hour and it all depends upon what the patient is suffering from and how serious the condition is. The thin needles that are used are inserted into the skin at certain specific points to hold them in place. Sometimes, the practitioner decides on different depths to which certain needles need to go and this again would depend on what the treatment was for.
How exactly are these acupuncture needles prepared for insertion? Well, in various ways, depending on what they have to cure. Sometimes youíll find that they are warmed up prior to inserting them into the skin, sometimes they have heat applied to them after they have been inserted and sometimes they are twirled and inserted. Does it hurt when a needle is inserted? Usually not, when it is inserted, turned around or taken out. Sometimes you might just feel a twinge, nothing more. What has been noticed however is that most patients feel a little warmer after the treatment than they did before. Or they feel a bit more energetic. Others of course donít feel any difference immediately but get better with many sessions over time, which could be anything that lasts many weeks.
There are different types of acupuncture and some of them do not use a needle. It might seem a bit difficult to think of acupuncture without the needles but there are variations. The main thing in this healing technique is the way the body is made and the acupuncture points in it. In these types too, the points are the same as the ones used in the regular traditional acupuncture therapy. The only difference is that needles are not used and other devices take their place.
One device that is used on these acupuncture points is one that transmits sound waves into the point where the needle would normally go. This form of acupuncture is called sonopuncture. Other devices that are used are tuning forks because they produce vibrations. Many do practice these variations but they have not had proven results like traditional acupuncture.
Decades ago, there were experiments done with using a low-charge electrical current at these points. This was done sometimes with a needle and sometimes with just a wire that was allowed to touch the point. What the patient experiences is a bit of tingling, nothing more and there is no pain. This variation was tried in both the U.S and in Britain in the 30s and 40s though people lost interest in it for a long time.
Acupressure is also a variation of acupuncture. Here, pressure is applied to the same points and no device is needed because the pressure comes from the fingers of the practitioner. One finds that this technique of acupressure is being used a lot in massage as well, especially in shiatsu massage. This is easy enough for anyone to learn and it can be followed with the help of diagrams to show you just where to apply the pressure. However, treatment is best administered by someone who is a professional who sees healing as a lot more than just having knowledge of where the points are.
Today, acupuncture has grown way beyond its boundaries and there is a great interest in devices other than needles. Youíll find that heat is also used in acupuncture treatment and this could be by warming the needles and then inserting them or applying heat after the needles have been inserted. Devices that are being experimented with are magnets, suction and friction instruments and today, even lasers. This makes this system of healing a very adaptable therapy indeed.
|
<urn:uuid:b7028f5a-35dc-4bf9-bebc-710a9f11d897>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.danmuk.com/acupuncture/acupuncture-free-charts.php
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.974861
| 749
| 2.0625
| 2
|
Beginning August 9th, Evergreen Washelli will undergo the removal and improvement of the roof of Washelli Columbarium. The process will take from one to three weeks. The columbarium is located on the east side of Aurora Avenue. Built in 1920, it was owned by the American Necropolis Corporation and known as the Washelli Columbarium.
Evergreen Cemetery and Washelli Cemetery merged in 1928, and in a series of mergers, the Washelli Columbarium became part of Evergreen-Washelli. From the beginning, this building was to be a monument to beauty, elegance, and according to the first written Washelli Columbarium brochure, had an environment that “provides seclusion for peaceful recollection.” The exterior was a beautiful cream white terra cotta and the building had two magnificent columns in front. The entrance walkway was beautifully maintained, and the building was surrounded by well kept up lawns, flowers, and shrubbery.
When the original building was constructed, Aurora Avenue was called the North Trunk Highway, and the mailing address was Rural Route 13. The North Trunk Highway was made of red brick. The original building had a beautiful reception room for people entering the building. The reception room had extremely high ceilings that were hand painted with beautiful pastoral etchings. Today, that reception room is still functional and has been updated with the addition of a domed skylight.
Washelli Crematory has been doing cremations since the early 1920s and the Indoor Columbarium was the largest in all of the Pacific Northwest. Washelli Columbarium is one of the oldest on the West Coast, second only to the one in San Francisco.
In the 1920s, cremation was the choice of many Seattle families. Families would sometimes have the cremated remains placed in a grave; however, more often than not they would take them home since there was nowhere else to put them. It became evident to cemeterians of that time that what people wanted was an indoor facility to inurn their loved ones. As our first brochure said, “heretofore this had not been possible in Seattle, there being no permanent building erected for this purpose.”
Within the walls of the Bronze Room are inurned family members of many of the founding families of Seattle, such as the Denny Party, one of the best known restaurant owners of Seattle, Ben Paris, and baseball announcer legend Leo “The Voice” Lassen. The Fey family was a wealthy family from Renton, who owned numerous theaters in the Renton area. They purchased a niche in Palm Cove with future heritage in mind. Ben Fey, the father, was placed in the niche first. Over the years, six other urns have been placed in the niche, the latest one being in 1982.
Indoor columbaria are a beautiful and convenient option for memorialization. The setting in a columbarium is serene, prestigious, and comfortable, a nice reprieve from the elements. This ensures a reflective and peaceful visiting environment. Many people prefer indoor inurnment in a columbarium as opposed to outdoor inurnment based on their personal preferences. Contributing factors to this include weather, privacy, heritage, and comfort.
The weather is a major determination on the quality of your visit to memorialize a loved one. Therefore, the location of the resting-place becomes a consideration, especially in a city like Seattle. Indoor inurnment allows for the privacy of paying your respects in a columbarium cove, as opposed to outdoors, among a number of other markers in close proximity. Many families will choose a cluster of niches in a columbarium to maintain the final resting place of their relatives in one location. Indoor columbarium visits are preferable to many of our visitors, as walking on hilly or wet terrain is often tedious and difficult.
We have always encouraged people to use urns that are personal, unique, and respectful of the purpose that they are intended to fulfill. Feature niches allow for a family to customize a niche by placing personal items, larger decorative urns, or multiple family members in the same spot. The first Feature Niche was used by Harold Raver in 1980, and besides having his cremated remains, a magnificent porcelain eagle was placed in with him by his family.
A columbarium allows for many options to memorialize even if the remains are elsewhere. If a family wishes to commemorate a loved one, but has also chosen to scatter the remains, or if the remains are unavailable for an inurnment, a cenotaph is a perfect way to select a location where the person is honored, perhaps with an epitaph, statue, personal item, or plaque.
|
<urn:uuid:7713f39b-fd1c-462f-8047-80017da4a629>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.washelli.com/wordpress/2010/08/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.977516
| 988
| 2.140625
| 2
|
January 28 was not supposed to turn out the way it did. After Occupy Oakland failed to occupy its first two targeted buildings and had a short-lived street battle in front of the Oakland Museum, police in riot gear contained the march of nearly 1,000 in a public park. There was a dispersal order, but no means of escape. Protesters with shields attempted to push the police line, which responded with several volleys of tear gas into the crowd, still trapped. Instead of enduring the gas, the crowd pulled down chain-link fencing that separated them from the street and safety.
As marchers, both masked and bare faced, continued north, taking the street, they chanted powerfully, suddenly and without reservation:
"When Oakland is under attack, what do we do?"
"Stand up, fight back!"
As the move-in committee said Monday in a statement on January 28: "This time, the chant was not an empty one."
Occupy Oakland, January 28, 2012. (Photo: J. Paul Zoccali)
This principle, this fight, appears to be at the heart of recent critiques of "anarchists," "Black Bloc" and the tactics some choose to employ in political protest, especially in Oakland. Chris Hedges' "Black Bloc" takedown is only the most recent in a series of critiques bashing anarchists and "diversity of tactics" within the national Occupy movement since January 28th's fog of tear gas has dissipated. While previous criticisms came from the right or center of the political spectrum, these perspectives are arising from the left and mainly from journalists who have not been in the field to witness these tactics in action and within context.
Occupy Oakland, January 28, 2012. (Photo: J. Paul Zoccali)
"A lot of anarchists today who are actively involved at all levels of the occupy movement - if you want to talk about inspiration, they look to places like Greece," says Tim Simons, an organizer with Occupy Oakland.
But so does Hedges. In May of 2010, amid global financial faltering, Hedges celebrated the Greek insurrection:
"They know what to do when corporations pillage and loot their country. They know what to do when they are told their pensions, benefits and jobs have to be cut to pay corporate banks, which screwed them in the first place. Call a general strike. Riot. Shut down the city centers. Toss the bastards out. Do not be afraid of the language of class warfare - the rich versus the poor, the oligarchs versus the citizens, the capitalists versus the proletariat."
But those strikes, riots and shut-downs in America are troubling to Hedges and other Occupy Oakland critics on the left. These critics focus on property destruction - such as the tearing down of those fences on January 28 - by perceived black bloc "hooligans" as a discrediting force in the movement, even while they understand the role of focused property destruction at, say, the Boston Tea Party, or in the International Longshore and Warehouse Union's struggle against EGT in Longview, Washington.
Occupy Oakland, January 28, 2012. (Photo: J. Paul Zoccali)
What many activists find most troubling is not the conclusions those critics draw about tactical choices within the movement, but the lack of information they apparently have in arriving at these conclusions and a lack of interest in why those tactical choices were made in the first place.
For example, they find Hedges' conflation of political ideology and protest strategy, at its core, problematic, as well as his apparent misunderstanding of the local Oakland activist community.
Oakland's large, active, organized community of anarchists and other political radicals are just that: large; active; and, above all, organized. It is true that many are young, white and not Oakland natives, though they are residents. But many believe in community building and mutual aid. And many of those using black bloc at occupy protests are not necessarily anarchists.
Hedges "is really out of touch with anarchists today," says Simons, who dismisses John Zerzan, the anarchist ideologue Hedges points to as the Black Bloc forefather. "Anarchists were very important in creating Occupy Oakland. They were in some ways the initial glue that held the camp together" - the one Hedges applauds as having such "broad appeal" that cities were forced to shut them down using oppressive means. "Very quickly Occupy Oakland became much more than that, but you wouldn't have Occupy Oakland if it wasn't for those anarchists," says Simons.
The 99 percent is a poor class analysis, especially for troubled Oakland, but it does point to the broad coalition necessary to create change in America today. "In this situation, even to make the most modest gains, you have to bring about a force that's nearly a revolutionary force," says Simons. "We have to show that we can fully disrupt the system, even if we just want reforms."
Of course, many within Occupy Oakland do not just want reforms - they want revolution, insurrection, overthrow and smash. But there has been only one event where that group came out in a bloc and utilized the tactics that so trouble Hedges and other Occupy Oakland critics on the left and it happened in the middle of what is arguably still seen as one of the movement's greatest victories: the General Strike.
On November 2, an autonomously organized anti-capitalist black bloc marched through Oakland, destroying windows and other property at banks and, allegedly, strike-busting businesses such as Whole Foods.
The tactic, which emerged in the early 1980s in Germany among autonomist protesters defending squatters rights and anti-nuclear activism, hit America hard in the anti-globalization demonstrations of the late '90s, especially in the "Battle of Seattle," which resulted in heavy damage of multinational retail property in downtown. That November 2 march was arguably one of the most focused showings of stateside black bloc in a decade. That march resulted in the Oakland police calling in mutual aid, but it did not result in a discrediting of the national movement; tens of thousands still marched on the Port of Oakland hours later.
"That was at the height of the Occupy movement; that was as it was cresting," says Simons. "There was so much else going on, you couldn't isolate that and point to it as the singular problem. And now the militancy of Oakland is sort of like the only thing out there." The peaceful but militant blockade of the Port of Oakland on December 12, with its lack of union leader support, garnered Occupy Oakland more criticism than the black bloc actions on November 2.
Black bloc is not a lifestyle choice, but a tactical one. When a protester takes off their mask and unzips their black jacket - as many did after that November 2 march - they are no longer "black bloc." A protester who engages in black bloc tactics on one march may not choose to engage in them again on another.
Hedges condemns property destruction in political protest by condemning black bloc tactics, regardless of the facts. The "local coffee shop" vandalism Hedges contends was committed by black bloc was in fact one window of a corporate coffee chain smashed in that post-strike fog of war - and by someone not wearing a mask, not wearing black. The people who broke into City Hall on January 28, and many of those who destroyed property there, were also largely unmasked. And both of these acts came immediately after, as in within minutes of, violent mass kettling and arrest actions.
Of course, when Hedges and other critics pointed to Occupy Oakland's failures on January 28, they were not talking about black bloc - those torn fences and an autonomous and unfocused city hall melee were the only property destruction Oakland saw that day. No, they mean Occupy protesters who choose to stand up to the police. And for Hedges and others on the left hoping Occupy makes strides toward national change, standing up to the police is a public relations liability and those who do it should be "purged" from the movement - an arguably violent claim in and of itself.
"People want a boogeyman," says occupier Laura Long. "They want to know what's failing. And they want to blame it on someone." Mayor Jean Quan repeatedly points to Occupy Oakland's lack of a nonviolence resolution as justification for repeated crackdowns and arrests. As one Oakland occupier said recently, "Even if we had a non-violence proposal, they'd still shoot us." And people would still throw things, as they do at Occupy Wall Street, which has a stated nonviolent mission.
The "diversity of tactics" Occupy Oakland embraces are ostensibly meant to promote a range of protest. "There is nothing preventing those who want to from organizing non-violent direct actions autonomously with clear guidelines as such," wrote the January 28 move-in committee. "This is what we mean by diversity of tactics."
Those who promote the necessity at times for property destruction in protest point to the history of violent revolution worldwide. "Even Gandhi wasn't in a bubble," one occupier said. "Others were being violent around him. That revolution took all tactics."
Hedges writes that the "cliché of 'diversity of tactics' in the end opens the way for hundreds or thousands of peaceful marchers to be discredited by a handful of hooligans. The state could not be happier."
At least so long as they can squash those hooligans. "I think it was tactically embarrassing," says occupier Steven Angell of January 28. "Luckily there was little to no framing to it, except for, 'Fuck you, we're the Oakland Commune.' Which I don't know if that constitutes framing."
Hedges goes on to criticize black bloc protesters as using pacifists as "human shields." While Occupy Oakland has not passed a resolution stating as much, demonstrations have followed the St. Paul's Principles, which arose from protests at the Republican National Convention in 2008 - "a separation of time and place," according to Simons. This has held true since the November 2 General Strike devolved into a confusing mess of those diverse tactics, as some occupiers tried to take and hold a building, while others were more focused on lighting barricades on fire.
The much-covered weekly "Fuck the Police" marches, autonomous actions "in solidarity" with Occupy Oakland, explicitly acknowledge if not condone targeted property destruction and dissuade "peace police." Families with children broke off from the march to the building on January 28, before the brief street battle.
"There was no black bloc. The front lines of the street battle that captured all the images were peace signs. No one even mentions it: that was the image of clashing with the police," says Angell. "If that's what a black bloc is, that's depressing to me. I personally am not going to throw a brick through a window, but I have some investment in the black bloc as a tactic and if that's what it is, if that's it at its most threatening, then that's just really sad."
Angell promotes community organizing and substantive outreach as a way of growing the movement, but does not rule out the necessity of more militant tactics. Others who were shot at that day, including Simons, contend that "shield bloc" moved as one, and "really saved our asses" from further injury. "People were more aware and there was more communication that day than in past conflicts with police," says Simons. "In that way, it was a success."
To say, as Hedges does, that Occupy protesters across the country who threw bottles last week were "imitating" Oakland, were taken by that black bloc cancer, is to ignore a long history of destruction in protest by which activists are inspired, whether one might perceive that destruction to be tactical or not.
The tactical questions Hedges raises on Occupy Oakland's behalf are not unjustified. The radical inclusivity that Occupy Oakland champions in its diversity of tactics has and does alienate those dedicated to wholly nonviolent protest. But just as after the failed building occupation on November 2, Bay Area occupiers are questioning their strategies moving forward. Governments meet force with force - this is the tactic they understand best and may be the best argument against premature insurrection.
A full plastic water bottle lobbed at police in full riot gear, whether it hits one of them or not, is enough to legally warrant the shooting of less lethal, rubber-coated steel bullets at a crowd. Occupiers, of course, threw more than just water bottles on January 28 - glass bottles, bricks, lawn chairs - but police, according to their own statements, sustained no injuries beyond two small cuts and one bruise. They sent more than one protester to the hospital that day for broken bones, internal bleeding and nerve damage. No one can agree on who attacked first.
The buildings Occupy Oakland marched toward were not targeted for destruction, but for squatting, for organization and for political and community building. And the protesters who came armed with plastic, wood and metal shields, who both moved on and defended others from the police, were not a bloc, were not dressed in black and did not move as one unit.
But Occupy Oakland was outmatched on January 28 and their efforts were met with overwhelming force.
"They got the sexy spectacle, which is what a lot of people were after, I think," says Long. "And a lot of occupy groups from all over got to have their fantasy happen elsewhere - they didn't have to live through the danger, but they got the sexy imagery of their comrades going through this sort of battle scene." And they didn't get their building.
When is, as Occupy Oakland says, "smashy-smashy" used for ostensibly political purposes and when is it an emotional reaction?
As one anarchist occupier said at a general assembly after November 2, "It's a lot more violent to foreclose on somebody and throw them out of a house than throw a rock through a window. And if that's how people deal with things, then that's how they get it out and we can't tell people how to live."
That institutionalized violence against people, especially people in Oakland, is something these critics gloss over. Some in Occupy Oakland call a consistent pacifist protest approach a "position of privilege" - a position taken by those who have not been in a situation where they have needed to defend themselves against violence, be it economic, physical or otherwise.
"Violence," "defense" and "fighting back," are subjective and malleable terms. To some, chaining oneself to a door in a blockade of a bank is a violent act. What of taking a street in an unpermitted march? That's criminal, too.
"I have no interest in being a 'peaceful protester,'" says Angell. "We're all criminals. People need to accept that." But many within Occupy reject this notion, stating that they are standing up for their First Amendment rights - rights that, for example, do not allow for the blocking of public streets, of banks, of ports.
Hedges and others state that images of peaceful protesters attacked by police will be enough to win the war of public relations, to win hearts and minds. For Hedges, pepper spray is something to be savored. When things "get violent," the onus is on occupiers to keep the peace; the moral authority lies with those engaging in political protest, those seeking change, as opposed to those maintaining the status quo. When the public sees that righteousness, this logic goes, they will be turned. Lay your bodies on the gears, protesters, be ground up and hope for the best. Hope for the cameras.
Anti-Occupy graffiti in downtown Oakland, February 6. (Photo: Susie Cagle)
At this still-early stage in the movement, Occupy is a PR war. But to win that PR war, Occupy Oakland must rely on that information being consistently and accurately reported. The major networks and newspapers had few reporters out on January 28. Even the most spectacular planned events that capture media attention in this mid-sized, economically-depressed city are still reported in a way that mainly reflects the city's accounts of events. The 24-hour vigil at City Hall Plaza, the foreclosure defenses, the squats of foreclosed buildings, the pop-up gardens and tongue-in-cheek homemade boats on Lake Merritt - none of these actions captured the camera's gaze until the police came, until arrests were made.
The actions of black bloc occupiers in Portland this week have received far less coverage than the shields of Occupy Oakland. Smashy fits Oakland's narrative of violence, not Portland's.
"A riot is the language of the unheard," said Martin Luther King. And Oakland is a city of the unheard, a city of tremendous institutionalized violence, a city of empty and blighted bank-owned homes, a city that saw riots and mass arrests just a year ago in response to police brutality, all before Occupy has a name or public face.
Regardless of where that riotous energy is focused next, Hedges and others would be well served to spend some time in Oakland and its occupation in order to better cover it.
This article may not be distributed or reprinted without written permission of the author.
|
<urn:uuid:c0b1f495-4024-4d6a-8ed5-c34b4198bd72>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://truth-out.org/opinion/item/6574
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.975432
| 3,580
| 1.664063
| 2
|
Jan. 24, 2007
Into the Lincoln Tunnel
Poem: "Into the Lincoln Tunnel" by Deborah Garrison, from The Second Child. © Random House. Reprinted with permission.
Into the Lincoln Tunnel
The bus rolled into the Lincoln Tunnel,
and I was whispering a prayer
that it not be today, not today, please
no shenanigans, no blasts, no terrors,
just please the rocking, slightly nauseating
gray ride, stop and start, chug-a
in the dim fellowship of smaller cars,
bumper lights flickering hello and warning.
Yes, please smile upon these good
people who want to enter the city and work.
Because work is good, actually, and life is good,
despite everything, and I don't mean to sound
spoiled, but please don't think I don't know
how grateful I should be
for what I do have
I wonder whom I'm praying to.
Maybe Honest Abe himself,
craggy and splendid in his tall chair,
better than God to a kid;
Lincoln whose birthday I shared,
in whom I took secret pride: born, thus I was,
to be truthful, and love freedom.
Now with a silent collective sigh
steaming out into the broken winter sun,
up the ramp to greet buildings, blue brick
and brown stone and steel, candy-corn pylons
and curving guardrails massively bolted and men
in hard hats leaning on resting machines
with paper cups of coffee
a cup of coffee, a modest thing to ask
dark, bitter, fresh
as an ordinary morning.
Literary and Historical Notes:
On this day in 1848, James W. Marshall was building a sawmill for Captain John Sutter, using water from the South Fork of the American River, when he noticed several flakes of metal in the water and recognized them to be gold. Though he tried to keep it a secret, the word spread quickly, and triggered the California gold rush of 1849.
At the time, California was technically a part of Mexico. Coincidentally, just a little more than a week later, the United States and Mexico signed a treaty that led to the United States' purchase of the land that became California, as well as the other southwestern states. If Mexico had known about the discovery of gold on this day, they might never have sold all that land for just $15 million.
The reason the gold rush caused such a huge migration of people across the United States was that gold was a particularly easy mineral for ordinary people to mine. Gold has chemical properties that make it unlikely to combine with other minerals, so it is usually found relatively pure in nature. And because of its density, it would often get washed out of mountainsides in rivers, and then settle at the bottom of the river wherever the water was calm. So instead of having to build a huge mining operation, with lots of fancy machinery, ordinary people could just sift through the pebbles at the bottom of a stream, and if they were lucky, they'd find gold. The price of gold was about $20 an ounce at the time. If a riverbed contained gold, it was possible to pan out 10 ounces a day, earning more in a week than the average worker could earn in a year.
In the 10 years prior to 1848, only 2,700 people had settled in California. By the end of 1850, almost 200,000 people had moved there, and they did so even though California was 1,000 miles from the nearest state, Texas, and there were no major roads to get there.
By 1860, more than $600 million in gold had been mined out of California, but very few ordinary people actually made it rich. The riverbeds were panned out pretty quickly, and then the only way to get the gold was by using machines. But even though it didn't help many of the miners, the gold rush greatly increased government revenues, and helped build the American West. Some historians have argued that the gold from California even helped the North win the Civil War, since it was those gold revenues that helped fund the war effort.
One of the people who did manage to make a fortune from the gold rush was an immigrant from Bavaria named Levi Strauss. He was a traveling merchant, and he specialized in a sturdy brand of trousers made of sailcloth and held together with copper rivets. His pants were extremely popular, and they became the basis of modern blue jeans.
It's the birthday of Edith Wharton, (books by this author) born Edith Newbold Jones in New York City (1862). Her first great novel was The House of Mirth (1905), about the frustrated love affair between Lawrence Selden and a young woman named Lily Bart. She went on to write many more novels about frustrated love, including Ethan Frome (1911) and The Age of Innocence (1920), which was the first novel written by a woman ever to win the Pulitzer Prize.
Edith Wharton said, "Life is always a tightrope or a feather bed. Give me the tightrope."
Be well, do good work, and keep in touch.®
|
<urn:uuid:f913a43b-bd94-4aef-9bac-f3a8a8f3fabb>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://writersalmanac.publicradio.org/index.php?date=2007/01/24
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.97616
| 1,087
| 2.453125
| 2
|
Homing Penguin: Where Is Home, Little Pip? by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
"Our home is where the land is free...
In our pebbly nest by the stormy sea
Where Mama and Papa and Pip--make three."
Little Pip's parents teach her the song of their family home, warm and loving, on the rocky shores of Antarctica. "Don't wander far, Little Pip,," they warn, and Pip doesn't--until one day a shiny black feather blows by and she just must follow and try to catch it. Soon Pip is far from the familiar pebbly beach and she knows she is lost.
"Where is home?" Pip asked. Nobody answered. So Pip set off to look.
Pip meets up with a breaching blue whale and repeats her question.
"Home is under the ocean deep...
Where fish are in schools and sea creatures creep.
Where my babies and I swim and leap." the whale sang.
"But that's not MY home," says Pip and continues her quest until she meets a kelp gull and asks again, "Where is home?"
"On the craggy cliffs in a humble nest
With sea to the east and land to the west.
Home is where my little chicks rest," the gull sang.
"But that's not my home," says Pip and waddles on until she meets a team of dogs pulling a sled, and puts her question once more to their leader.
"I can answer that question little bird.
Across the ocean, far away,
Home is where my puppies play."
"But that's not MY home," Pip says. "I want Mama and Papa. I want home." What to do? Sadly, she begins to sing her own family's song of home.
My home is where the land is free...
In a pebbly nest by the stormy sea
Where Mama and Papa and Pip make three.
And, of course, their baby's song is just what Mama and Papa need to find Little Pip, and following her faraway voice, the parents soon are by her side.
"Aren't we going home?" asks the tired little one as Mama and Papa snuggle her warm in their feathers. Mama and Papa kiss her and answer with their own question.
"Where is home? Is it near or far?
Is it a pebbly nest we all hold dear?
No, home is where there is nothing to fear.
Since we are together, home is right here."
The winning team of Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman (creators of the best-selling Bear Snores On series) tells a wonderfully warm tale of the meaning of home and family in their latest collaboration, Where Is Home, Little Pip? Wilson's soothing rhymes and Chapman's beautiful illustrations, done in wintry blues and whites with warm touches of pink and brown, combine in the reassuring evergreen message that home is indeed where the heart is.
|
<urn:uuid:152b8d5b-d45f-4bff-9a04-4755a4e958dc>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://booksforkidsblog.blogspot.com/2009/04/homing-penguin-where-is-home-little-pip.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00062-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.97
| 617
| 2.625
| 3
|
Last week, Governor Mark Dayton selected Wilhelmina Wright to be the next MN Supreme Court Justice. This will make her the first black female Minnesota Supreme Court Justice. http://t.co/1FIG2InW
All of the establishment and major media hailed the Governor’s selection of Judge Wilhelmina Wright as the first black woman Minnesota Supreme Court Justice; The Minneapolis Star Tribune indicated her work history included being a Federal prosecutor, a Ramsey County Judge and a Minnesota Appellate Court Judge.
Let this writer be among the first to congratulate Ms. Wilhelmina Wright for her accomplishment.
Unfortunately, this writer takes exception to all the hoopla for this appointment when the Minnesota Judiciary is systemically corrupt. Yes, advancement of minorities is an important goal, but those litigants and defendants who have been victimized by the systemically corrupt Minnesota Judicial System, don’t really care about the skin color or the sex of the judge that ignored the rule of law. (In anticipation of the standard allegations of racism, this refers readers to Item 6 in http://bit.ly/OhjDwR “For those who have been duped into buying into racism, know that you have been played for chumps by the ruling class elite.”)
Yet, despite the current systemic corruption in the Minnesota Judiciary, no place in the article nor anywhere else, has this writer seen Governor Mark Dayton referring to either honorability or integrity as being primary considerations in making his selection.
SYSTEMIC CORRUPTION IN MINNESOTA JUDICIARY
Why has no one addressed the systemic corruption in the Minnesota Judiciary?
What’s that you say, Governor Dayton? You want to know, “What systemic Corruption?”
Please excuse my faux paux. This writer forgot that our Minnesota Government subscribes to the “Hear no evil, See No Evil, Speak no evil” philosophy of Government. That is, if our government refuses to hear testimony and see evidence of corruption, then corruption does not exist.
MINNESOTANS DENIED HEARING TO GIVE TESTIMONY AND EVIDENCE OF CORRUPTION IN THE MINNESOTA JUDICIARY FOR COMING ON 8 YEARS
Since 2005, hundreds of Minnesotans have been asking for a hearing before the Minnesota House and Senate Judiciary Committees to give testimony and evidence of corruption in the Minnesota State Judiciary. At first the Republicans said they could do nothing because the Democrats were in the
majority. Therefore, Democrats got to appoint the Committee Chairs and the Committee Chair’s had absolute control of the committee agenda.
But in 2010, after the GOP was in the majority in the State Legislature, Republicans became Chairs of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees. Suddenly these same folks, who had previously said they supported Judicial TAR (Transparency, Accountability and Reform), couldn’t find the time to schedule a public hearing devoted to citizens giving evidence and testimony of corruption in the Minnesota Judiciary to document some of the evidence and testimony of these hundreds of Minnesotans, then Republican Representative Dan Severson hosted an “Ad Hoc” hearing on Corruption in the Minnesota Judiciary. Mind you, this hearing was Ad Hoc, meaning it had not official standing with the Legislature.
When the government refuses to allow you to exercise your “First Amendment Right to Petition the Government for Redress of Grievances without fear of punishment and reprisal”, you improvise.
People die, move or get worn out from the deliberate stonewalling and duplicity of both Republicans and Democrats. The Judicial TAR folks wanted to document testimony before any of these things happened to potential witnesses that had already identified. You can see those unofficial hearings from 2009 here http://bit.ly/ylWyAM and here http://bit.ly/r1DDao .
What’s that you say Governor Dayton? That’s still not enough proof of Systemic Corruption in the Minnesota Judiciary?
MINNESOTA LAWYERS NOT REQUIRED TO TREAT CLIENTS ETHICALLY
This writer can think of no greater proof of the systemic corruption in the Minnesota Judiciary than this: In the clandestine, unpublished ruling in Fabian, May and Anderson v Volkommer MN A10-1205 the Minnesota Courts ruled Minnesota Lawyer’s do not have to treat their clients ethically.
Even though the Minnesota Judiciary considers WE THE PEOPLE uneducated rubes, this writer is confident that rank and file Minnesotans…..
To continue reading for free, click here-> http://goo.gl/cXVFR
Those were my thoughts.
* and ** See very end of article
Thank you, my fellow citizens, for taking your valuable time to read and reflect upon what is written here.
Please join with me in mutually pledging to each other and our fellow citizens our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor to our mutual endeavors of restoring liberty and economic opportunity to WE THE PEOPLE as our Founding Fathers envisioned and intended. [Last Paragraph, Declaration
of Independence http://bit.ly/ruPE7z ]
This article is written with the same intentions as Thomas Paine http://ushistory.org/paine. I seek no leadership role. I seek only to help the American People find their own way using their own “Common Sense” http://amzn.to/kbRuar
Keep Fighting the Good Fight!
The Cynical Patriot
Google Plus http://goo.gl/1AUrE
WE THE PEOPLE TAR #WETHEPEOPLETAR
End the Fed(eral Reserve Bank System) #ETF
National http://bit.ly/ta3Rju Minneapolis http://bit.ly/tjZJKF
Lawless America #LawlessAmerica
Justice in Minnesota #JIM
Bring Home the Politicians #BHTP
Get out of our House #GOOOH
Critical Thinking Notice – This author advises you as no politician would dare. Exercise Critical Thinking (http://bit.ly/ubI6ve)
in determining the truthfulness of anything you read or hear. Do not
passively accept nor believe anything anyone tells you, including this
author… unless and until you verify it yourself with sources you trust
and could actively defend your perspective to anyone who might debate
you to the contrary of your perspective.
Litigation means the Court reaching a decision with the appearance that
it was done pursuant to the Rule of Law properly applied to the freely
admitted relevant facts in evidence and in accordance with the “proper
administration of justice”, but it was not. Most often this happens
with the Court or the “powers that be” “telegraph” to the attorneys of
the litigants the outcome they desire. The Court and the attorneys of
the litigants engage in some behavior, activities or agreement that
allows the Court to make the desired decision based facts in evidence.
However, the lawyers of the litigants control the Facts in Evidence on
the official Court record by engaging in “fact shaping”.
Shaping means when the Court and the lawyers of the Court control what
evidence get on the official record in a manner that will allow the
Court to make the courts “telegraphed” desired decision, rather than the
Court reaching its decision in accordance with the proper
administration of justice defined as the Rule of Law properly applied to
the nonmachinated, freely admitted relevant facts in evidence.
or Telegraphing means certain gestures and/or phrases used between the
Court and the Lawyers of Litigants to suggest a direction or course of
action, often in violation of the principles of the “proper
administration of justice” and the Rule of Law. Most often they are so
subtle and rely upon experience as a lawyer, that the actual “civilian”
litigant does not even perceive them.
Judicial Code Red – Unwritten and denied rules of the Judiciary. Among
these rules are the rules that all Minnesota Judges retired in the time framer
required to allow the Governor to appoint there successor. Another Code
Red is the Rule that says Minnesota lawyers don’t run incumbent
Minnesota Judges. Failure of a lawyer or judge to follow the Judicial
Code Red rules is career limiting and may include other punishments.
Judicial Code Red and the Judicial Code Red Punishments are almost
always done in such a way as to be plausibly deniable as they are
contrary to the Rule of Law and the public policy of the
Constitutionally Limited, Representative Republic in which we live.
|
<urn:uuid:e6181fc7-f46a-4e02-9170-249a47cae766>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://my.firedoglake.com/donmashakthecynicalpatriot/tag/plymouth/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.923723
| 1,818
| 1.507813
| 2
|
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 3
Who should use this guide? This guide has been prepared for use by public officials at all levels. Economic development, planning, and other government entities and elected officials at the local, regional, and state level recognize that trade and freight activity result in employment and investment opportunities and so have increasingly sought new strategies for attracting freight-related activities to their communities. How transportation and freight facility requirements interact with other economic factors to influence location decisions made by the private sector is typically somewhat less understood by the public sector. This guide condenses and focuses research findings of NCFRP Project 23 with the specific aim of providing local officials with the background and understanding with which to explore, attract, and prepare for expanded industrial and freight facility development in their jurisdictions as well as providing a practical manual for understanding freight issues and dynamics. Economic development agencies have sometimes seen transportation infrastructure as a key driver to many such location decisions. Some may have read about intermodal site success stories, such as Columbus Inland Port in Ohio or Alliance Industrial Park in Texas, and their ability to attract new business. Less understood, perhaps, is how the combination of transportation, economic, and other location drivers makes them successful attractors of business and investment. Freight Facility Location Selection: A Guide for Public Officials 3
|
<urn:uuid:77fe60a5-d507-4d82-b329-f39004fef94c>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=14594&page=3
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.947437
| 379
| 2.21875
| 2
|
Agglomeration is a term describing the benefits businesses and employees gain by locating in densely populated areas. Texas' top four metro areas and good examples of such benefits, as they produce some 77 percent of the state's GDP.
The commercial real estate sector is in the grips of the "extend and pretend" policy under which lenders are extending loans on troubled commercial real estate instead of foreclosing and taking the loss now. Eventually, the massive amount of distressed real estate will eventually flood the market.
(Gilliland, Whitmore) 2pp.
The Environmental Quality Incentives Program administered through the National Resource Conservation Service offers cost-sharing contracts to landowners who implement conservation practices. Supported practices are prioritized based on state and local natural resource concerns.
Because of intensive news coverage, many people equate the entire border region with ongoing violence. But El Paso was voted the safest city in America in 2011. Businesses conducting new site selection should not overlook El Paso
As large Texas tracts are broken into smaller ones, landlocked properties increase. Before purchasing land, buyers should investigate whether easements exist and, if so, what type they are. One attaches to property and benefits the buyer and subsequent owners. Another attaches to the person who receives it and may stay with them even if ownership changes.
The housing market just isn't what it used to be. Expect the number of households choosing to rent to go up. Credit underwriting will remain tight. The inventory of available properties will continue rising. Texas home prices will remain stable through 2011.
|
<urn:uuid:8d4399d6-cf37-40ca-9276-4823d8139ed4>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.recenter.tamu.edu/tgrande/?m=129
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.932635
| 314
| 2.296875
| 2
|
The City of Chino's Green Team:
Front row (left to right), Danielle Monarrez, Jackie Melendez, Jesus Plasencia, Sylvia Ramos; back row (left to right), Kurt Powell, Mike Kolling, Mike Boyd, Mike Heroux, Mike Kellison.
The City of Chino takes pride in providing outstanding environmental services to its community through waste reduction and recycling programs, water reclamation, conservation and pre-treatment, stormwater non-point and point-source pollution prevention methods, green building, green procurement, and much more.
In January 2008, the Green Team was formed, which consists of inter-departmental City staff. Members of the Green Team began meeting in order to take a more systematic approach to address the City's efforts to combat global warming.
Program Brand: Chino-Where Everything Grows a Little GREENER!
Program Message: Educate, Conserve, Recycle, Go Green!
For more information pertaining to green projects/programs, please call (909) 464-0758, to be directed to the appropriate staff person.
Assembly Bill 32, The California Global Warming Solutions Act, was signed into law, committing California to address global warming by reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the state by the year 2020.
The City of Chino is doing its part in the fight against global warming. Through the Clean Transportation Funding from the MSRC, the Public Works Services Center purchased a new Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) street sweeper and replaced the engine in its sewer truck with a California Air Resources Board (CARB) certified engine. For more information, please call (909) 464-0758.
|
<urn:uuid:fc06f6cb-66ef-452e-916c-4bafb981fff0>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://cityofchino.org/index.aspx?page=301
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.915189
| 351
| 1.671875
| 2
|
The fun of selling revisited
In my opinion selling should be fun, a game. It is a complex game, certainly, but by no means impossible. Selling should therefore be enjoyed. The accomplished salesman radiates energy, has a contagious enthusiasm and belief in what he is doing and is basically self-motivating. Ideally he empowers himself and in doing so empowers others. To top it all, the sales person should be endowed with powers of observation (whether conscious or subconscious), interpretation and analysis.
It is very much like a game of mastermind, or better still a detective novel. The sleuth, having to work his or her way through a mire of clues, hints, promises, deceit even, is faced with the same levels of complexity as the accomplished sales person. So, – can we learn from the tools used by the master sleuth? And can such an approach assist us in bringing back the kick of a successful sales campaign. The answer is a resounding “YES”.
For this reason, this course revolves around the lessons that can be learned from the traditional detective novel and how these lessons can be ideally applied to return the fun and the success to selling.
The lead players in the novels – though larger than life - represent the characteristics that make for a successful and consistent salesperson. Consistent success is a key phrase in this course. After all, one swallow does not make a summer and likewise one deal does not make a great sales person.
The detectives in the novel possess analytical skills, have strong creative and mental faculties, all use the powers of observation and elimination and are expert dabblers in applied psychology.
The course offers a tool bag of easy-to-use, advanced sales tools that have been designed to remove stress, while dramatically increasing performance and sales results. The tools in the tool bag have been allocated to three different categories that stand for three world-famous detectives each with their own unique set of skills. For training purposes we are making use of a complex business case. In the different phases of the sales process the students will have to choose a minimum of one tool from each of the three categories. Role plays are an integral and important part of the training course.
|
<urn:uuid:87e66f3e-257f-4412-b565-5c3340d7a9a4>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.cgsuccess.co.za/sellingrevisited.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.956821
| 451
| 1.71875
| 2
|
Show All - Hide All
The Basketmaker Communities Project: Early Pueblo Society in the Mesa Verde Region
In May 2012, the Crow Canyon Archaeological Center began the second year of excavations as part of its ongoing study of early Pueblo community development in the Mesa Verde region.
Titled the Basketmaker Communities Project: Early Pueblo Society in the Mesa Verde Region, this multiyear (2011–2014) study focuses on a pivotal, but underinvestigated and poorly understood, time in Pueblo history: the Basketmaker III period, A.D. 500–750.
The centerpiece of the project is the Dillard site (5MT10647), a Basketmaker III community center that dates from the seventh century A.D. and includes the only confirmed Basketmaker III great kiva in the central Mesa Verde region. The site is located just 2½ miles from the Crow Canyon campus in a picturesque area of the Montezuma Valley with striking views of Mesa Verde, Sleeping Ute Mountain, and the west slope of the Rocky Mountains.
In addition to conducting intensive excavations at the Dillard site, we are also beginning test excavations at a number of pithouse sites in the surrounding area that date to the same time period as the Dillard site. Together, these settlements constitute the most extensive and best-preserved Basketmaker III community known in the central Mesa Verde region.
All the sites being investigated are located in Indian Camp Ranch, a private residential community developed in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Excavations are being conducted under State of Colorado archaeological permits and with the permission of the Indian Camp Ranch Homeowners Association and individual landowners.
Read more about the Basketmaker Communities Project, including Crow Canyon's project-specific research questions.
Join Our Research Team!
Enroll in a Crow Canyon Archaeology Adventure and become a member of our archaeology team. Your participation in actual fieldwork and lab analysis will make a lasting contribution to our understanding of early Pueblo society in the Southwest!
So what's happening in the field? For periodic excavation updates throughout the season, check out News From the Field.
|
<urn:uuid:4c25550e-9b1b-42ff-bd36-2f71ec4cb76b>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.crowcanyon.org/research/current_excavation.asp
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.914254
| 455
| 2.453125
| 2
|
G-CDFZ is difficult to classify. It has a French built "pendular" trike unit but is not a flex-wing microlight. The wing does not flex!
Neither is the description weight-shift accurate because although the control movements are similar to a weight-shift microlight, weight is only used to control pitch. It turns by using spoilers in the upper wing surfaces.
G-CDFZ uses a Exxtacy 160 rigid hang-glider wing, made principally from carbon fiber. It has no king post or wing bracing struts, acheiving its rigidity from the composite leading edge tubes. The wing has a 12.2m span, nearly constant chord, an aspect ratio of over 10:1 and trailing edge control flaps.
The Alize trike is also unconventional for a microlight. Designed by Michael Gaiguant and manufactured for him by DTA in France. It has a space-frame, constructed from aluminium and steel in place of the conventional three piece triangular design. As a result, the pilot sits lower within the frame rather than balancing upon the base pole and the engine has a wide frame to fix on, rather than having to grip the rear pylon tightly and hope it will not turn round!
The Alize trike is perhaps the lightest production unit in the World.
Although not familiar by name, many will have seen pictures of an Alize trike being flown by Christian Moullec who famously trained a flock of geese to follow his microlight. Click on the picture here to see more images of Christian flying with his geese.
* The UK's only ......
Sub-115 (sub one-fifteen) refers to the maximum empty weight (kg) permitted for this class of aircraft.
There are a number of foot-launched rigid-winged powered hang gliders operating in the UK. These aircraft do not have a trike unit with wheels so are not classed as microlights.
There are several fixed-wing sub-115 microlights in the UK, these have 3-axis controls. Rigid wings are controlled in pitch and roll only.
The author would be interested to hear if there is another rigid-wing sub-115 microlights in the UK even though he will have to withdraw the claim that G-CFDZ is the only one!
World wide there are about 30 other rigid wing trikes built and flown by enthusiasts. A list of these aircraft and known manufacturers can be found in The World Directory of Rigid Wing Trikes.
|
<urn:uuid:d5263ecf-133b-42ae-ae3d-403b902cee77>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://g-cfdz.com/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.962553
| 528
| 1.8125
| 2
|
Prison Smart Program
"If people get sick, we bring them to the hospital and give them the right medicines so that they get better. If people’s behavior is sick, we bring them to the prison, but we forget the medicines." – Sri Sri
The mission of the Prison SMART Program is to make a life-transforming difference in all people working in, or incarcerated within, the criminal justice system. Prison SMART teaches skills that reduce stress, heal trauma, and provides practical knowledge of how to handle negative emotions in order to live to one's highest potential and contribute to society in a positive way.
The basic premise of the program is that no individual is really ‘bad’ but takes to crime because of stressors in their environment and surroundings. Stress is a common factor that affects everyone and the inability to effectively deal with these stressors is the root cause of all problems.
|
<urn:uuid:5e5e1247-38ee-4604-9ae6-ccb1d64b1495>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.artofliving.org/np-en/prison-program-case-studies/women-inmates
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00067-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.94163
| 185
| 2.078125
| 2
|
Terry Madonna and Michael Young pulled no punches in their latest “Politically Uncorrected” column about the state’s new photo ID law for voters in the Nov. 6 election.
They say the law’s purpose “”appears to be a sham,” that it potentially disenfranchises hundreds of thousands of voters, that it’s politically motivated, it discriminates, it’s duplicative and untested.
“Voter ID was not well thought out, planned or executed,” they said.
“Many legislators voting for it did not know how many people would be affected,” they said. (It could be nearly 11,000 voters in Erie County alone.)
“In addition, the noxious whiff of voter suppression motives is pervasive. There cannot be a greater crime in a democracy than systematically attempting to prevent eligible voters from exercising the franchise. It’s truly a repulsive act,” they wrote.
They suggest a suspension of the new law until one or two elections as trial runs to see how it works and with what effects.
“Rolling it out in the middle of a presidential contest is sheer folly,” they said.
Madonna is professor of public affairs at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, and Young is managing partner of Michael Young Strategic Research.
– John Guerriero
|
<urn:uuid:e62ed25c-4cb8-49ad-ad57-704c7d555fa1>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.goerieblogs.com/news/campaign/2012/07/pa-s-new-voter-id-law-takes-a-hit/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.937089
| 289
| 1.945313
| 2
|
An unwed birthrate of 70 percent. Statistically low marriage rates and statistically high divorce rates. For an entire population - from low-income to high-income.
If these statements paint an accurate portrait of black men and women in America today, they raise the question, “Is marriage for white people?” And that’s what Stanford Law School professor Ralph Richard Banks is asking in a provocative new book that has sparked a national conversation on relationships, marriage and race.
“African-Americans have become the most unmarried people in our nation,” Mr. Banks wrote in his new book, “Is Marriage for White People? How the African American Marriage Decline Affects Everyone.”
It wasn’t always this way, he said, noting that a half-century ago, nine of 10 black women married. But somehow, along the way, “marriage became a luxury, not a necessity” - and the ramifications of the decline in black marriage are likely to have profound implications for the culture at large.
Mr. Banks, who is black and happily married to a black woman, does not pretend to have the answer to his question. He just wants to start a national conversation about marriage among blacks.
The professor does have one suggestion, though, which is for black women to stop waiting in vain for black husbands to appear, and start marrying outside their race instead.
There’s no need for black women to ignore “the other 87 percent” of men in the country, especially when black men and everyone else freely marry “out,” Mr. Banks said. Moreover, if black women weren’t such a captive pool for black men, he added, it might even inspire more of the brothers to “put a ring on it,” as singer Beyonce famously suggested.
As Mr. Banks makes the rounds on radio, TV and print media, he is sparking a lot of conversations.
“Yes, it’s kind of a hot topic,” said Frances Ballard, a research scientist at Child Trends and wife of Charles Ballard, the pioneer of the “responsible fatherhood” movement.
There are many reasons why black women - and their daughters and nieces - may be rethinking their marriage options, said Mrs. Ballard.
“African-American women want to marry,” and “they know that children do better in a two-parent home,” she said. “And yet there are fewer available black men who have gone to college, not prison; have steady, good jobs; and are ready to be a family man instead of a single father. It’s definitely a vicious cycle.”
It’s also true that interracial marriages and childbearing are on the rise, said Mrs. Ballard, noting that the Census Bureau recently reported that the number of persons saying they are “black and white” rose from about 785,000 in 2000 to 1.8 million in 2010.
Stigma about being biracial “is not as common as before - you see more couples in church,” she said.
But it’s still not easy to imagine being married to someone who’s not black, given all the cultural and other differences, said Mrs. Ballard. Take hair, for instance: How would a young black woman explain her hair to her nonblack husband, she asked with a laugh.
Mr. Banks has some ready replies to concerns about his “marry out” suggestion. Black women, for many reasons, have seemed to be willing to marry “down” - to a black man with less education or a lower-earning occupation - but not “out,” said Mr. Banks.View Entire Story
© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
Cheryl Wetzstein covers family and social issues as a national reporter for The Washington Times. She has been a reporter for three decades, working in New York City and Washington, D.C. Since joining The Washington Times in 1985, she has been a features writer, environmental and consumer affairs reporter, and assistant business editor. Beginning in 1994, Mrs. Wetzstein worked exclusively ...
By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
A collection of communities writers columns on Benghazi
We welcome you to the intimate and personal thoughts on the news and events we, as editors, watch, read, and discuss with our writers every day.
Consummate traveler Todd DeFeo explores the unique stories that make destinations worth going to.
Looking at pop culture, politics and social issues.
Benghazi: The anatomy of a scandal
Vietnam Memorial adds four names
Cinco de Mayo on the Mall
NRA kicks off annual convention
California wildfires wreak havoc
|
<urn:uuid:7f575a19-1c63-4b8e-99b0-29a9be75da62>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/nov/2/marriage-gap-takes-on-a-dark-hue/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.95781
| 1,027
| 2.25
| 2
|
Systems don't appreciate being fiddled and diddled with. They will react to protect themselves.
Systems tend to oppose their own proper functions.
Perfection of planning is a symptom of decay.
People in systems do not do what the system says they are doing.
The system itself does not do what it says it is doing.
To those within a system, the outside reality tends to pale and disappear.
Specialized systems select for specialisation.
A complex system that works is invariably found to have evolved from a simple system that worked.
Experience isn't hereditary - it ain't even contagious.
The meaning of a communication is the behaviour that results.
Information theory is a mathematical treatment of what is left after the meanings have been removed from a Communication.
Just calling it "feedback" doesn't mean that it has actually fed back. To speak precisely: It hasn't fed back until the system changes course. Up until that point it's merely sensory input.
Most of the parts are needed primarily as correctives to the vicious tendencies of the other parts.
|
<urn:uuid:1729be9e-2a66-4f1b-8fa6-adde735079f7>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://jonjagger.blogspot.com/2011_01_05_archive.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.968358
| 224
| 2.4375
| 2
|
Date: July 1, 1996
Creator: McHugh, Lois
Description: The World Health organization (WHO), established in 1948, is the United Nations system's authority on international public health issues. It assists governments in improving national health services and in establishing worldwide standards for foods, chemicals, and biological and pharmaceutical products. WHO concentrates on preventive rather than curative programs, including efforts to eradicate endemic and other widespread diseases, stabilize population growth, improve nutrition, sanitation, and maternal and child care. WHO is not an operational agency. It works through contracts with other agencies and private voluntary organizations.
Contributing Partner: UNT Libraries Government Documents Department
|
<urn:uuid:cb41f026-6320-4fd9-817a-b3b52c7ad82e>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://digital.library.unt.edu/explore/collections/CRSR/browse/?q=%22medicine%22&fq=untl_decade%3A1990-1999&fq=str_year%3A1996&t=dc_subject&sort=added_d
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.914182
| 131
| 3.0625
| 3
|
Dear Mr. B.,
I don't know about you, but I am fascinated by octopi. Judging by appearances, they seem to be unfeeling, brainless blobs of revolting goo. But if one gets to know them, you soon find that they are genuinely intelligent, plus they can be friendly little things as well, and love to play once their shyness is overcome. They can open jars, use tools, and play catch. They haven't got any backbone, but they have three hearts. One of mother nature's best gifts to those who can see beyond the end of their nose.
In case you were not aware, there is a particular species of octopus called the mimic octopus. It is so named because it not only has the ability to blend in to it's environment like other octopi, but, actor-like, it also has the ability to impersonate other animals. Given this information, if a mimic octopus was to play a Dickens character in a production on a sea floor stage, which one do you think would fit best?
|
<urn:uuid:462e2b87-f64e-4c30-9795-9a8b0fd08dd6>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.tom-baker.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=68&t=1521&start=0
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00056-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.97909
| 222
| 1.539063
| 2
|
‘Oscar-Winning ‘Saving Face’ Directors’ Battle to End Horror of Acid Attacks’
“There are always gasps,” says Dr. Mohammad Jawad, discussing audience reactions to Saving Face, this year’s Academy Award-winner for Best Documentary Short.
“We were so deep in the filming and editing of it that it was surprising to us to hear the gasps that we hear in screenings,” adds Daniel Junge, who co-directed the film with Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, “but moreover, to see the tears and how this emotionally affects viewers.”
Saving Face follows Pakistani acid attack survivors Zakia and Rukhsana as they attempt to rebuild their lives, and the work of Jawad, a U.K.-based plastic surgeon who returns to his homeland, to reconstruct their faces. The documentary is at times visually arresting and downright jarring in capturing the sheer brutality of acid violence.
The film begins in a Pakistani hospital burn ward populated all by women—some missing eyes, their skin burned, and faces flat. Despite the horror, the film ultimately offers hope and redemption, as Zakia and Rukshana slowly move forward with their lives: Zakia’s attacker is given two life sentences in jail, the Pakistani parliament unanimously passes a bill to criminalize acid throwing, and Rukhsana is joyful at giving birth to a baby boy.
Obaid-Chinoy, who dedicated her Oscar to Zakia, Rukhsana, Jawad, and the women of Pakistan, recalls one of several stories that didn’t make it into the film, that of Aziz Mai. Mai’s estranged ex-husband threw acid on Mai and her entire family, including her pregnant daughter and her youngest child, who was just 5 years old at the time. “That was particularly gut-wrenching,” she says.
“Each story is unique, but it’s all a form of domestic abuse,” Junge says of the stories they encountered during filming, “and it’s all premeditated.”
Saving Face, which garnered Pakistan’s first ever Oscar, has brought to international attention the practice of acid throwing, a unique form of violence unfamiliar to many across the globe. Acid violence is by no means limited to Pakistan: attacks occur in Bangladesh, India, Cambodia, Nepal, Liberia, Afghanistan, Iran, the United Kingdom, and even the United States.
The Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) estimates there are approximately 1,500 acid attacks a year globally. Putting together accurate figures on acid violence can be problematic, as acid attacks are thought to be largely underreported, and numbers vary wildly from NGO to NGO. According to ASTI, 80 percent of victims are female, and attackers almost always are male (with the exception of Cambodia, where women attack other women just as often as men do). Victims are attacked for refusing proposals of love, sex or marriage, with assaults often fueled by the “if I can’t have her, no one can” mentality. In other instances attackers throw acid in business or land disputes. In Liberia, acid was used as a weapon during the country’s civil war.
“The commonality is that the people who create this crime want to create a social stigma.”
Since 2009, Jawad, an affable and confident man, has been visiting Pakistan to perform surgeries on acid-attack survivors. In Saving Face we see the emotional toll his work takes on him. “Each case is a horrible story, and they are so visually disturbing,” he says. Acid violence, says Jawad, is “a local disease, a man-made disease.”
Dr. Ebby Elahi, an oculoplastic and reconstructive who has worked on numerous acid attack survivors in Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Liberia, agrees. “Coming at this from a medical standpoint, we kind of look at everything, especially surgeons, as kind of ‘see it, fix it,’” he says. “It didn’t take long for me to realize that this is not really a medical problem. It has medical consequences [but] this is a social problem, and the response to it has to be social.”
Acid attacks occur in different countries for different reasons, but “the commonality is that the people who create this crime want to create a social stigma,” says Elahi.
Bangladesh, once known as the “acid-attack capital of the world,” has been the most successful in cracking down on acid violence. Whereas in 2002 Bangladesh saw 500 attacks annually, it now sees about 100 per year. Bangladesh was the first nation to adopt acid-specific legislation, and acid attacks carry a death sentence.
Obaid-Chinoy and Junge are working with ASTI and the Acid Survivors Foundation in Pakistan on an anti-acid violence outreach campaign that, as Junge says, “involves an education and awareness component.” Obaid-Chinoy has directed two public service announcements to air in Pakistan. “In Pakistan the outreach strategies will target Southern Punjab and Northern Sindh,” says John Morrison, founder and chair of ASTI. “There will be TV, radio and public service broadcasts. Schools, colleges, NGOs, mosques, local MPs, and community associations will be involved.”
Posted on March 08th 2012 by Office in 'Saving Face' Oscar Winning Documentary
|
<urn:uuid:dbafa0ef-864e-400d-918f-65043d7d4908>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.acidviolence.org/index.php/news/oscar-winning-saving-face-directors-battle-to-end-horror-of-acid-attacks/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.962652
| 1,166
| 1.703125
| 2
|
Our guest blogger is Adam Hersh, an economist at the Center for American Progress Action Fund.
This is the House Republican’s idea of a “jobs agenda”? They must be joking. In fact, the policy platform outlined by House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) offers a laundry list of half-baked policies that are resounding jobs killers. That’s because, across the board, the Republican “jobs agenda” reduces demand, undermines middle class families, blocks development of renewable energy industries, and recreates the possibility of future financial crises.
The Republican budget plan, for instance, is the most complete articulation of the GOP’s flawed strategy for job creation and economic growth. Passed by the House on a party-line vote in April, it was rejected by the Senate. But the plan still illustrates core party principles that voters should know are at stake in the 2012 elections. The Republican budget:
- Ends Medicare as we know it, kicking low income and middle class retirees into the Kafkaesque and inefficient private insurance market.
- Tears gaping holes in public investments in education and lifelong learning, efficiency enhancing infrastructure and energy modernization, and science research and technological R&D that create jobs today, “crowd-in” private investment, and provide a foundation for long-run sustained economic growth.
- Offers tax cuts to U.S. billionaires paid for by raising taxes on the middle class and shredding social protections for those hit hardest by the economic downturn, the most efficient policies to boost jobs and economic growth in the short-term.
All told, the Republican budget would kill an estimated 1 million jobs.
The budget, however, wasn’t the only indication of the GOP’s priorities. The Republican “jobs agenda” presents a litany of bills that in fact provide explicit subsidies for corporate oil, coal, and gas producers. Those subsidies, and the stranglehold big oil, coal, and gas companies have on national energy policy, are blocking the development of a fledgling advanced technology manufacturing industry that will create jobs right here in the United States: the renewable energy industry. While the rest of the world, including China, is fighting to develop a future based on renewable energy, the Republican “jobs agenda” would keep the U.S. mired in early 20th century technology.
But perhaps no policy is a bigger jobs-and-growth killer than the unregulated financial predation and speculation that created the housing bubble, financial crisis, and economic weakness the U.S. economy now faces. But the Republican “jobs agenda” works tirelessly to recreate the financial policy conditions that created those crises in the first place. On the GOP’s agenda are plans to:
- Gut consumer financial protections put into law by the July 2010 Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, passed with only one Republican House member dissenting
- Gut funding from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission — the regulatory body charged to make sure that derivatives and futures speculation does not metastasize as a “financial weapon of mass destruction,” derailing the U.S. economy.
Need I say more? Republicans have no job creation agenda.
|
<urn:uuid:e72721de-830e-4090-92a1-ff82eb754d58>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2011/08/26/305252/gops-mythical-jobs-agenda/?mobile=nc
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.928381
| 664
| 2
| 2
|
The Soil…It's Alive!
by Margaret A. Hill
How do desert plants survive baking heat and constant drought? With the help of cryptobiotic friends!
Cryptobiotic? It sounds like something out of a graveyard horror movie. Actually, the word means “hidden life” (from the Greek words kruptos and biotikos). Invisible to the casual observer, dense mats of cryptobiotic organisms, including cyanobacteria, lichens, mosses, green algae, and microfungi, mix with sand and clay to form a life-sustaining soil in desert regions. Without it, a lot of desert plants wouldn't survive.
Imagine yourself as a desert plant exposed to constant heat that threatens to bake you dry and wind that blows sand out from under your roots. You would have a hard time making it. Desert heat and sand are not hospitable to vegetation that needs stable, moist soil for root growth. But weave together a combination of tiny organisms, sand, and clay, and you get a mat of living soil that resists erosion and holds on to water like a sponge—enough to make a difference to a lot of desert plants.
The tiny organisms at work in this cryptobiotic soil range from single-celled bacteria and algae to multicellular lichens, mosses, and fungi. Cyanobacteria, sometimes called blue-green algae, are one-celled microbes that often grow in long, thin tube shapes called filaments. As they grow, their stringy cells push through sand and clay, binding these particles in a crusty mat. Likewise, lichen, moss, and fungi put out tiny root-like projections that do the same thing. This crusty mix is ideally suited for dealing with the ups and downs of water availability in the desert. During wet spells, water is soaked up and held by both the organisms and spaces within the crust. During dry spells, evaporation is slowed because the crust tends to hold on to its bound water.
Take the pinyon pine and Utah juniper, two evergreen shrubs that grow abundantly in the desert region of the U.S. Southwest. It's not just the seedlings of these shrubs that germinate easily in the shelter of their cryptobiotic crust—their vulnerable young roots also get a strong start. This same protection allows the growth of an amazing array of unusual plants like the narrow-leafed yucca and Mormon tea plant. The cryptobiotic ground cover helps these plants by acting like a layer of mulch to prevent their roots from drying.
These same plants depend on their cryptobiotic friends to keep from starving. All plants obtain nitrogen-containing compounds from soil. Since deserts don't have much natural fertilizer, their plants have to rely on the soil organisms for help. Cyanobacteria and certain lichens are able to carry out a series of reactions that convert atmospheric nitrogen into ammonia. Called nitrogen fixation, this process allows these organisms to act like tiny fertilizer factories, spewing out ammonia and related compounds into the soil, where plant roots can take it in.
Plants aren't the only ones to benefit from this arrangement. Cryptobiotic organisms also profit from their plant pals. As pinyon pines, Utah junipers, and other plants grow, their root systems spread deeper and wider and act as stabilizers. By providing root structure to soil, shade from sun, and protection from wind, they promote cryptobiotic growth.
You can find this amazing living soil in deserts worldwide. In the United States, it is estimated that the bumpy crust covers up to 70 percent of deserts stretching from Mexico up through most of the Southwest and Northwest. If you travel in any of these areas, look for it—you can recognize it by its ridged, lumpy appearance.
It's a good thing to recognize, too, since this crust is quite fragile and is easily destroyed by hikers, off-road vehicles, cattle, and anything that crushes it. Once crushed, the cryptobiotic crust breaks up and blows away, leaving exposed the sand beneath. It can take more than 50 years to replace the damage done by a few minutes of careless hiking. By recognizing and protecting these hidden cryptobiotic creatures, you can make the “friendships” come full circle—you included.
- Various chiefly aquatic, eukaryotic (containing a membrane-bound nucleus) photosynthetic organisms, ranging in size from single-cell forms to large kelps. They are not considered land plants because they lack true roots, stems, leaves, and embryos.
- What makes up the crust described in this article?
- What kinds of activities harm this crust? Why is it important to preserve this crust?
|
<urn:uuid:b1960ef2-7893-4008-95bc-a04d76ad1b95>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.eduplace.com/kids/hmsc/6/b/cricket/cktcontent_6b5.shtml
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.946397
| 978
| 3.703125
| 4
|
Lynx Stars Kick Off Community Fit Program
By Menzie Henderson
After a grueling game of fitness style "Simon Says," led by Lynx forward Rebekkah Brunson, Rebekkah successfully proved to over 300 students from Seward Elementary School that she was indeed the most physically fit. Brunson put a smile on every child's face, proving that physical activity can be fun, while also conveying the important messages of staying physically fit, eating healthy and living an active lifestyle in the first "Lynx Fit" community event that took place on Tuesday, June 29th.
The Minnesota Lynx Fit program is a five-week initiative aimed at educating youth on the importance of physical fitness, eating healthy, education and reading.
The students happily agreed with Brunson, who demonstrated that reading and eating healthy are all very important, while showing her fondness of the Twilight book series and grapes as her favorite fruit.
Several goals of the initiative include improving health conditions associated with poor nutrition and lack of regular physical activity, promoting healthy food choices, increasing fitness through regular activity and improving access and dissemination of information regarding nutrition and fitness for youth and adults.
Brunson explained the importance of taking care of your body, reflecting on her own experience that led her to become successful and maintain a healthy body.
"When I was in college, I then realized that the dream of becoming a professional basketball player was obtainable, and that is when I really needed to focus on eating healthy and doing the necessary exercise to keep my body right and going strong to take me to the next level." Brunson said.
Lynx players Lindsay Whalen and Seimone Augustus also participated in the event as they introduced the program to over 250 students at Bryn Mawr Elementary School. Through fun and interactive games, the three Lynx players will educate the students on the importance of staying physically fit, eating healthy and living an active lifestyle.
For more news and notes on the team follow the Minnesota Lynx on Twitter.
|
<urn:uuid:dc676142-a8f2-4e7e-93aa-6073dbda3384>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.wnba.com/lynx/news/lynx_kick_off_fit_program_2010_06_15.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.967556
| 411
| 2.078125
| 2
|
City of Alexandria, VA
Youth participating in the Power-On and Power-Up summer programs will maintain a full schedule of activities that incorporates play, learning, cultural enrichment and positive social interaction. The theme “Let’s Get Connected” encompasses the many connections we have with each other through a global network expanded by the diversity of our nation as well as the internet. These varied connections, both personal and electronic, provide opportunities to share arts, culture and caring.
The “Let’s Get Connected” summer theme focuses on “The Amazing Race: Connected to Others Around the World.” Similar to the Amazing Race TV show, youth will participate in challenges and activities that expose them to a variety of countries and cultures, encouraging a better understanding and appreciation of our similarities and differences. It’s a race to get connected to other cultures from around the world during the seven or eight weeks of the summer program at any of the Power-On or Power-Up sites.
Participants are placed into age groups that rotate through activities scheduled in the areas of creative and performing arts, fine arts, sports, fitness and health, education and leisure. Programs offered at the neighborhood recreation centers and summer playgrounds are not licensed child care programs but are based on local standards approved the City Attorney.
Click here for more information on teen programs and activities for youth in grades 6 - 12.
Designated recreation centers provide safe and supervised play activities on the days ACPS schools are closed. Power-Full Fun Days are open 9 am-6 pm. Youth enrolled in any of the Power-On or Power-Up programs may attend at no additional cost. City youth who do not participate in these programs may attend for a $10 per day fee. All youth must bring a lunch, snack will be provided. For more information on specific dates, please contact the Out of School Time Program Office at 703.746.5575.
Neighborhood Recreation Centers will be open Monday-Friday, 9 am-6 pm during the week of Spring Break: March 25-29, 2013. To register, turn in a completed Spring Break Power-Full Fun Days Registration Form and payment to center staff when you drop off your child the first morning of the program.
Neighborhood Recreation Centers will also be open from 9am-6pm on Monday, April 15 (ACPS Teacher Work Day). To register for this Power-Full Fun Day, submit a completed April 15 Registration Form and payment to center staff the morning of the program.
Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Alexandria Office brings the resources of Virginia’s land-grant universities, Virginia Tech and Virginia State University to the residents of Alexandria by providing research-based solutions to the problems facing residents. Extension offers community programming in the areas of 4-H youth development, family and consumer sciences, agriculture and natural resources and community viability.
Virginia Cooperative Extension (VCE) programs and employment are open to all, regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, or marital or family status. VCE is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.
Family Nutrition Programs (FNP) are operated as a joint project of Extension, Virginia Tech and the Virginia Department of Social Services. The FNP program is strictly educational and is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Service. Youth, adults and families learn about nutrition and healthy eating, food preparation skills and resource management skills. The program is free to participants. To learn more about FNP classes, please call 703.746.5544.
The Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities Sports Section designed the "Power-Play" Fitness and Sports program to improve children's overall health and teach them the basic fundamentals of fitness and sports related activities. This program is a comprehensive fitness and sports program geared towards getting more children involved in physical activity through active participation in traditional and non-traditional recreational activities.
Power Play provides age appropriate health & fitness programs to all Power-On and Power-Up participants. The goal of the program is to offer recreational activities that will stimulate interest and develop skills in the areas of fitness, exercise techniques, sports participation and educational experiences in a safe, fun and positive atmosphere. For more information, call 703.746.5402.
Infant to 4 years old - Meets at the Nannie J. Lee Recreation Center on Wednesdays from 10-11:30 am. Parents and children interact with others through play and activities. Ideal for the development of socialization skills. Free to City residents only.
ACCT is an arts initiative offered at Power-On and Power-Up programs and citywide. ACCT provides fun theatre games, art activities, and field trips to performances throughout the region. For additional information call 703.746.5575.
The Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities encourages participation in City programs from all City residents. If you, a member of your family or a friend would like to participate in programs or activities sponsored by this Department and are in need of fee assistance in order to participate, please contact the sponsoring program office for more detailed information at least two weeks in advance. For general information, please call 703.746.4343 or (TTY) 703.838.4902.
The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended. To request a reasonable accommodation, contact Jackie Person, Therapeutic Recreation Program Manager, at 703.746.5423 (VA Relay 711) or firstname.lastname@example.org.
Click here to learn more about Therapeutic Recreation programs provided by the Alexandria Department of Recreation, Parks and Cultural Activities.
|
<urn:uuid:3bbb0c40-ea94-438b-bcbc-49901e0dc326>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://cherylanne.colton@alexandriava.gov/recreation/info/default.aspx?id=12382
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.925495
| 1,201
| 1.570313
| 2
|
Favored plan would move Barksdale to Council District 2
The Bossier City Council reviewed the plans to redraw their districts during a special meeting Tuesday, with the biggest item being the relocation of Barksdale Air Force Base from District 4 to District 2.
Growth in the northern and southern portions of Bossier City has caused the realignment of council districts. The council has been given seven different plans by cartographer Gary Joiner, with the members favoring Plan 7.
This would put common interest areas together, putsthe traditional neighborhoods of Districts 3 and 5 back together, and would move Barksdale Air Force Base from District 4 back to District 2 after it relocated due to the 2000 census.
A summary of the maps are:
- Plan 1 is the current district. The problem is the districts are malapportioned with deviations ranging from plus-15.09 percent in District 1 to minus-15.47 percent in District 5.
- Plan 2 is a mathematical options that puts all districts in statistical alignment but splits some traditional neighborhoods, especially "Old Bossier" and neighborhoods along the Red River.
- Plan 3 was the first map with council input. It puts all districts in statistical alignment but balance between Districts 4 and 5 create awkward alignments and would also splits some traditional neighborhoods.
- Plan 4 is modified Plan 3 — it cleans up some of the alignments between Districts 4 and 5 but still split traditional neighborhoods.
- Plan 5 is a modified Plan 4 — it tries to clean up some of the alignments between Districts 1 and 3, particularly between Bellaire and Shady Grove. But it still split traditional neighborhoods and impacted District 2.
- Plan 6 modified Plan 5 and restoring Barksdale Air Force Base back to District 2 as it had been in the 1990s. This forced a refinement in the adjoining districts, particularly District 4. This change dropped African American population in District 2 from 50 percent to 43.34 percent, but this is offset by the low turnout by Barksdale personnel and dependents in local elections, since they overwhelmingly vote absentee in the home jurisdictions.
“In 2000, it shifted to District 4 because the current development in north Bossier City didn't exist and would link link historical area in old bossier,” said Joiner.
- Plan 7 is a modified form of Plan 6, cleans up some minor boundary problems, puts more areas of common interest together, better defines the western limits of District 4, and puts the traditional neighborhoods of Districts 3 and 5 back in those districts. Each district is redrawn so that it contains approximately 12,000 residents.
Looking at each district in this plan, Scott Irwin's District 1 would move further south, pushing some of the Bellaire subdivision to District 3. Jeffery Darby's District 2 would regain Barksdale Air Force Base and lose portions of Old Bossier. Don Williams' District 3 would gain the front of Shady Grove closest to Barksdale Boulevard. David Jones' District 4 would lose Barksdale Air Force Base due to the growth in the northwest area. Larry Hanisee's District 5 would gain portions of Old Bossier from Hamilton Road west and gain a portion south of Shed Road.
The council will vote on a final plan before it's submitted to the Louisiana secretary of state's office and the U.S. Justice Department's civil rights division for review.
“All (justice department) has to do is look at 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010 (censuses). Bossier's population isn't the norm but they know that,” said Joiner.
All seven plans will be on display for public viewing in the lobby of City Hall through Oct. 15.
|
<urn:uuid:d71a4307-4227-40f2-b2a9-2adb55a378c4>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.bossierpress.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8356:bafb-to-move-council-districts&catid=1:local-news&Itemid=134
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.954739
| 766
| 1.859375
| 2
|
Each academic year since 2003, Reinhardt has designated a region of the world for students to learn more about through in-depth study and hands-on interaction. This focus is intended to promote understanding of varied cultures, businesses, histories, geographies and faiths and to help internationalize the Reinhardt experience.
The 2012-13 year is the Year of China: Dragon Rising. Students will delve into the rich history of China and how it impacts our business, literature, culture, art, music, and heritage. Events will be scheduled throughout the academic year and include lectures, music, a film-and-discussion series, a travel tour, and many others.
Immerse yourself in the sights, sounds and culture of China. The Year of China festival was a great introduction to Chinese culture with workshops by the Atlanta Chinese Dance Company and the Shaolin Center demonstrating their skill and artistry through dance, Tai Chi and Kung Fu. The Confucius Institute was also at Reinhardt hosting workshops on Chinese Tea and sessions on calligraphy using rice paper, brushes and ink.
The Confucius Institute in Atlanta was the first in the State of Georgia, and Emory University was the first private university and the first among top Research I universities in the United States to enter into an agreement to establish a Confucius Institute on its campus in 2008.
Do you want to discover Yunnan’s minorities? Would you like to learn more about the natural environment in North West Yunnan? Does bird watching is one of your activities? Are you interested by local culture? Would you like to meet local people in order to have a better understanding about Chinese people or Chinese history?
|
<urn:uuid:dd109d10-80e9-4897-bf64-ae968e49e071>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.reinhardt.edu/academics/year_of/index.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.947798
| 340
| 2.171875
| 2
|
- Bowl Logos
- Bowl History
- Media Guide
- Media Library
- Media Schedule & Info
- Press Releases
- Press Quotes
Media / newsletters
The football field has forever changed Schertz, Texas native, Eddie Canales’ life. On November 2, 2001, while playing one of his last high school games, Canales’ son, Chris, suffered a spinal cord injury that left him fighting for his life. Chris survived, but he would never be able to walk again, which meant drastic changes for him and his family. There were not only physical adjustments, such as remodeling the house to accommodate a wheelchair, but Chris struggled with emotional issues like depression as well.
One year later, the Canales family witnessed this tragedy again when they saw another high school player fall victim to a spinal cord injury. That is when Eddie found his calling. He and Chris decided they needed to help others who have experienced the same physical limitations and emotional pain of spinal cord injuries. Soon after, Eddie and his son created Gridiron Heroes Spinal Cord Injury Foundation, a nonprofit organization that helps athletes who’ve suffered spinal cord injuries as a result of playing high school football.
Gridiron Heroes currently provides emotional support, like encouragement and mentorship, to 19 injured players and their families in Texas. The organization hasn’t been able to give financial assistance yet, but Eddie often helps families manage their own fundraising efforts to pay for medical bills, wheelchairs and remodeling homes to make them wheelchair accessible. Gridiron Heroes member, Devin Herbert knows first-hand how this foundation can change a life. In 2007, Devin was paralyzed while playing football and has since been restricted to riding the bus for his primary means of travel. But last year, Gridiron Heroes was able to raise enough money to buy Devin and his mother a new wheelchair-accessible van. Click here to see the emotional video and what Gridiron Heroes is all about.
Every month, the Canales men drive across the nation to speak with coaches and trainers about how they can avoid spinal cord injuries on the football field. Their mission is to raise awareness of Gridiron Heroes and persuade coaches to teach proper hitting practices that decrease the likelihood of injuries to the head and spinal cord. Eddie hopes that someday Gridiron Heroes will have branches around the country, which will help wounded players in every state.
The Canales’ strength and selflessness has recently received national attention; Eddie is currently a Top Ten finalist for the 2011 CNN’s Heroes Award. The Top Ten status earned Gridiron Heroes $50,000, but the grand prize, $250,000, will go much farther in keeping these families out of debt as they try to afford medical expenses. You can help Eddie reach his goal by clicking here and voting for him as the 2011 CNN Hero of the Year.
To get directly involved, please visit the Gridiron Heroes website at www.gridironheroes.com.
|
<urn:uuid:a807f855-2962-4c3f-b0ad-7728f81f5ad3>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.alamobowl.com/main/newsletters_detail.php?uid=18
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.968358
| 604
| 1.921875
| 2
|
Less than a fortnight after helicopter operators stonewalled the closure of the secondary runway at Juhu airport citing safety concerns, an Airports Authority of India (AAI) official has mooted another proposal to convert the main runway into a heliport. HT has a copy of the proposal.
suspect the decision might be influenced by developers, who got clearances to build high-rises in the neighbourhood citing imminent closure of the secondary runway based on a suggestion in a report by JMD Negi, AAI’s executive director in 2011.
The AAI had scrapped this plan to shut down the secondary runway after a panel, comprising its senior official chopper operators and independent air safety experts, was convinced that operations on the main runway are unsafe when the Mumbai airport is using its smaller runway, as the landing paths of both runways are dangerously close.
Unlike an airstrip that has just one landing path, a heliport, which has a circular surface, can have multiple approach paths.
“They can use this argument to shut the runway. We will challenge this proposal because both runways are important for safe helicopter operations in Juhu,” said Captain Uday Gelli, president of Rotary Wing Society of India (RWSI).
Sources claim if the secondary runway continues to be operational, AAI would have to withdraw or at least review about 150 no-objection certificates (NOCs) given to builders in the vicinity. According to rules laid down by the air safety regulator, developers need a height clearance certificate from the AAI for construction around airports. Buildings close to the airport can’t be higher than 45 metres.
The minutes of a meeting on January 9, which discarded the closure of the secondary runway and concluded that NOCs will be reviewed, are yet to be released, said sources.
“Unless the minutes are released, there is no documentary evidence to stop the closure,” said a helicopter pilot.
© Copyright © 2013 HT Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.
|
<urn:uuid:cedfd18c-bde2-4204-9516-214374a40525>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/999432.aspx
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.96385
| 418
| 1.554688
| 2
|
Avoid looking at the ship or object as a block.
Things are formed by aggregation of smaller parts.
The Enterprise and Clydesdale or the collosal Titanic have their own complexity.
Try to take things apart:
and so on.
Cut the schematic as the pieces, and do the same as Chainsaw explained above.
Create separate files for each part.
When the pieces were concluded, join the parties - merge in the main file - and complete the work for resize, position and start texturing.
|
<urn:uuid:0acf2d75-f660-43b5-a229-ccb4449a8dd1>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.trekmeshes.ch/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?p=2605
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.904173
| 106
| 1.78125
| 2
|
The United Nation’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspected the carnage at Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant last week. Take a look at this photograph of their representative. Take a look at their plastic suits with IAEA hastily sprayed on the back in paint or scrawled on with marker pen. Doesn’t exactly inspire confidence does it?
The IAEA was at Fukushima to assess the situation at the disaster site in its role as the global nuclear watchdog and regulator. The problem is that that’s not the organisations only role. The IAEA is a four-headed beast.
Firstly, the IAEA needs to guard against the spreading of nuclear weapons – among others by overseeing that no nuclear material from the nuclear industry is diverted for military use. You remember probably their missions to Iraq and Iran.
Secondly, the IAEA draws up nuclear safety standards. These are used as benchmarks in virtually all nuclear countries. In the European Union they are even enshrined in law.
Thirdly, it controls research on health issues surrounding radiation that should then feed into its safety standards.
Fourthly, it promotes nuclear power. According to the statutes of the agency, the objective of the IAEA is to ‘accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy’.
Can you begin to see the conflicts of interest here? An organisation charged with promoting nuclear power around the world also controls nuclear safety and health standards. It’s like expecting a tobacco company to prevent lung cancer.
And it gets worse. The IAEA holds a veto over World Health Organization (WHO) programs related to radiation and nuclear power. This has undermined WHO’s ability to respond properly to disasters like the one at Fukushima. The IAEA has vetoed WHO conferences on radiation and health. Independent research has been under-funded and critical scientists ostracized.
Through the dominance of the IAEA and the nuclear industry, the health effects of radiation have been misrepresented and underestimated. As a result, the WHO is unable to provide independent advice and assessments of nuclear accidents in order to protect people at risk.
Which brings us back to Fukushima. The IAEA might like to think it is independent but it is far from it. The way it communicates its message is designed to serve the interests of the nuclear industry and governments not people’s health or the environment. In the aftermath of the Fukushima disaster, the IAEA channelled all its information through the Japanese government who could then, if it chose, to delay or downplay it.
Thus we got things like the venting of radioactive steam on March 13 that caused much of the iodine contamination being described as a much safer sounding ‘controlled release of vapour’.
Furthermore, at no stage has the IAEA given any recommendations or analysis of the Fukushima situation. It failed to issue any kind of warning on the likely amounts of radiation released from the overheating reactors or the overly optimistic assessments provided by the Japanese government in the early days of the crisis.
The latest proof of its happy-clappy outlook on Fukushima can be found in the UK nuclear regulator Michael Weightman-led IAEA mission to the destroyed reactors.
The Japanese Government’s longer term response to protect the public,including evacuation, has been impressive and extremely well organized.
What? The village of Iitate close to Fukushima was only evacuated weeks after Greenpeace had found far over-limit levels of radiation there. Schoolchildren were expected to withstand 20 times the International Commission of Radiological Protection's recommended radiation limit. Maybe Mr. Weightman hadn't had the time to follow the news about Fukushima in the last weeks and someone forgot to tell him about this during his trip to Japan.
But the conclusion of the mission report summary maybe beats it all:
The IAEA mission urges the international nuclear community to take advantage of the unique opportunity created by the Fukushima accident to seek to learn and improve worldwide nuclear safety.
Of course! Nuclear safety is in good hands. The Fukushima disaster was the cold shower needed to refresh nuclear safety culture.
It’s time the IAEA was reformed. It should remember that it serves the people of the world not the nuclear industry or governments with dirty and dangerous secrets to hide.
|
<urn:uuid:6f6bfb93-2580-45af-8528-3c49b56a8c04>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/Blogs/nuclear-reaction/no-confidence-in-the-international-atomic-ene/blog/35120/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00070-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.953988
| 881
| 2.546875
| 3
|
Pennsylvania American Water Treatment Plant Employees Set Landmark Safety Record
Employees reach milestone of more than 11 years with no lost-time injuries
Pennsylvania American Water recently recognized the employees of the E. H. Aldrich Station plant for reaching a remarkable milestone of 11 years with no lost-time injuries at the water treatment plant in Elrama, Washington County. The E.H. Aldrich employees have logged approximately 387,000 hours without a single incident resulting in lost work time.
“These E.H. Aldrich Station employees embody Pennsylvania American Water’s commitment to safety that stretches across every facet of our organization,” said Kathy L Pape, president of Pennsylvania American Water. “We are extremely proud of their achieving this remarkable milestone and expect they will continue this incredible record of working safely.”
Twenty-five employees have treated more than 162 billion gallons of water since this milestone began in the summer of 2001. In addition to this achievement, the plant staff has been recognized for delivering outstanding drinking water quality under the EPA’s Partnership for Safe Water for the last 10 years.
The E.H. Aldrich Station plant has the capacity to deliver 50 million gallons of water per day to communities in southern Allegheny and northern Washington Counties. Pennsylvania American Water recently completed upgrades at the facility as part of the company’s approximately $101M investment to enhance service reliability and safety at its Pittsburgh area water treatment facilities, which also includes renovations to the Hays Mine Treatment Plant, Becks Run Pumping Station and Arlington Booster Station.
About Pennsylvania American Water
Pennsylvania American Water, a subsidiary of American Water, is the largest water utility in the state, providing high-quality and reliable water and/or wastewater services to approximately 2.2 million people. Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest publicly traded U.S. water and wastewater utility company. With headquarters in Voorhees, N.J., the company employs more than 7,000 dedicated professionals who provide drinking water, wastewater and other related services to an estimated 15 million people in more than 30 states, as well as parts of Canada. More information can be found by visiting www.amwater.com.
SOURCE: Pennsylvania American Water
|
<urn:uuid:0ec18219-dd01-45d7-8c9a-8c291cb1df25>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.wateronline.com/doc/pennsylvania-american-water-treatment-plant-employees-set-landmark-safety-record-0001?atc~c=771%2520s=773%2520r=001%2520l=a
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.950274
| 459
| 1.898438
| 2
|
A landmark work in the history of the cinema, Der letzte Mann represents a breakthrough on a number of fronts. Firstly, it introduced a method of purely visual storytelling in which all intertitles and dialogue were jettisoned, setting the stage for a seamless interaction between film-world and viewer. Secondly, it put to use a panoply of technical innovations that continue to point distinct ways forward for cinematic expression nearly a century later. It guides the silent cinema’s melodramatic brio to its lowest abject abyss — before disposing of the tragic arc altogether. The lesson in all this? That a film can be anything it wants to be… but only Der letzte Mann (and a few unforgettable others) were lucky enough to issue forth into the world under the brilliant command of master director F. W. Murnau.
His film depicts the tale of an elderly hotel doorman (played by the inimitable Emil Jannings) whose superiors have come to deem his station as transitory as the revolving doors through which he has ushered guests in and out, day upon day, decade after decade. Reduced to polishing tiles beneath a sink in the gents’ lavatory and towelling the hands of Berlin’s most-vulgar barons, the doorman soon uncovers the ironical underside of old-world hospitality. And then — one day — his fate suddenly changes…
Der letzte Mann (also known as The Last Laugh, although its original title translates to “The Last Man”) inaugurated a new era of mobile camera expression whose handheld aesthetic and sheer plastic fervour predated the various “New Wave” movements of the 1960s and beyond. As the watershed entry in Murnau’s work, its influence can be detected in such later masterpieces as Faust, Sunrise, and Tabu — and in the films of the same Hollywood dream-factory that would offer him a contract shortly after Der letzte Mann’s release. —Eureka Entertainment
To this day German filmmaker F. W. Murnau remains one of the most influential directors of cinema. After studying art and literature history at the University of Heidelberg, he became a student of director Max Reinhardt until serving in World War I as a combat pilot. During a flight, he accidentally strayed into Switzerland and stayed there till the war’s end. He made his directorial debut in 1919 back in Germany; although he made several films over the next three years, most of them have been lost. Murnau first gained international renown with Nosferatu the Vampire in 1922. Unlike others, Murnau filmed this still chilling masterpiece on location. His next film, The Last Laugh (1924), utilized unique camera techniques that later became the basis for mise-en-scene. He continued making German films, notable for their pessimism and pervading sense of doom, until he moved to Hollywood in 1926 to work for Fox studios. His first American film, Sunrise: A Story of Two Humans (1927), is considered… read more
Apart from one studio-imposed instance to set up a climax that divides opinion to this day, Murnau famously foregoes intertitles to tell his simple story of the humiliation of a demoted hotel porter solely through images. With the use of long takes, deep focus photography and fluid camerawork, Murnau's technique astounds. He even makes a success of the finale, turning it into a glorious caricature of a happy ending..
As much as I loved the first 72 minutes of the film, I think I have never hated any ending as much as this one. The camera movement is incredible, using no intertitles is very impressive and I liked Jannings over-the-top acting. Next time that I will watch this great film I will stop after 72 minutes, that should be the real ending !
But then, doesn't he give us an intertitle that in real world the film would have ended there but for studio appeasement he gives Jannings The Last Laugh? So technically for Murnau the film has ended at the point you wanted it to. Within the restrictions of the studio system, I feel Murnau does better than most people could have done. He makes the ending surreal. That's his genius.
I don't get it. All of this because he was demoted from a hotel doorman to a men's room attendant?
As the documentary accompanying the UK DVD release says, 'The Last Laugh is an anti-military parable about the exaggerated importance of uniform", a statement that becomes more apparent when viewed in the greater context of Germany in the 1920s. Though even Murnau joked about the script, saying "everyone knows a washroom attendant makes more money than a doorman". I hope this helps and hope it goes some way to cancelling out the previous commenters silly reaction.
Witnessing Murnau's amazing film technique (for instance: When Jannings gets his demotion letter: the shaky camera to convey his near fainting, the POV camera work) I have to be impressed with him and also be depressed that most narrative filmmaking hasn't progressed that much since then. I don't think Jannings was too over the top given his era's background & the material. The copout ending was only saved by him.
A retrospective of German classics and a showcase of new German talent.
|
<urn:uuid:f41ef980-546d-46a0-8da7-45b59bcb0ddc>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://mubi.com/films/the-last-laugh
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00066-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.963296
| 1,131
| 2
| 2
|
A record five blacks have made the 2008 Forbes magazine’s list of the world's wealthiest people - billionaires - for the first time. They come from Ethiopia, Sudan, South African, Nigeria and the United States.
Ethiopian-born Mohammed Al Amoudi is the richest black person in the world with a total net worth of $9 billion, followed by Nigerian commodities mogul Aliko Dangote, with assets worth $3.3 billion. African American TV personality Oprah Winfrey is worth $2.5 billion, while Sudanese-born telecommunications mogul Mo Ibrahim is worth $2.5 billion and South African mining magnate Patrice Motsepe is worth $2.4 billion.
Amoudi, who emigrated to Saudi Arabia and made his fortune in the construction and real estate businesses, is ranked 97th richest man in the world, while Dangote, who owns a string of businesses in the commodities industry, is ranked the 334th richest person in the world, and Motsepe, who owns a 42% stake in the African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), is ranked number 503.
Two other white South Africans also made the Forbes list: mining magnate Nicky Oppenheimer and cigarette and luxury goods maker Johann Rupert. Oppenheimer ranks number 173, while Rupert is number 284.
According to Forbes magazine, Dangote’s wealth is “inherited and growing” and comes from sugar production, flour milling, salt processing and cement manufacturing. His business interests also now extend to oil and textile processing. Dangote recently told a Nigerian newspaper that he was grateful to God, but was confident that more Nigerians would make the list next year.
“The country is moving in the right direction,” he said, according to This Day newspaper in Lagos. “Things are happening. I am very confident that in the years to come, Nigeria alone will boast of 100 billionaires who are entrepreneurs. The signs are very good for Nigeria. Next year, I expect at least five Nigerians to be on the list.”
Steve Forbes, the former Republican presidential candidate who’s editor-in-chief of the family-run Forbes magazine, was equally optimistic about the future of wealth. "The reason for this explosion in wealth is that we're in the midst of a phenomenal global boom," he said.
The 2008 Billionaire List includes American Warren Buffett, who for has knocked off Bill Gates and Carlos Slim as the world's richest man, with a fortune estimated at $62 billion, up $10 billion from last year. Slim, a Mexican telecommunications mogul, is now the second richest man on earth, with net worth of $60 billion, followed by Microsoft chairman Bill Gates, whose net work is about $58 billion, according to the magazine.
At the age of 21, Dangote became a stock trader using a loan from his uncle. After he built his company, The Dangote Group, into a conglomerate with interests in sugar, flour milling, cement and salt processing, his company was listed on the Nigerian stock exchange last year The Dangote Group dominates the sugar market in Nigeria and is the country's largest industrial group.
Meanwhile, Motsepe has been dubbed the "prince of mines" by some of his countrymen because of the vast fortune he has amassed. Over 15 years, Motsepe has turned a low-level mining services business, ARM, into an industrial giant, which is now South Africa’s first black-owned mining company, with 2007 revenue of $875 million and is listed in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Driven by the Asian commodities boom, ARM's share price has rocketed in the past year from $12 to $24, pushing Motsepe's net worth to $2.4 billion.
|
<urn:uuid:a7aa441b-af8c-4cb2-9b26-235c14dc440c>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.tnj.com/newsarticles/mar08/news03142008_billionaire.php
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.961745
| 788
| 1.765625
| 2
|
Either you or your partner has tested positive for HIV. Now you want to become pregnant. Is it an impossible dream?
Many people with the HIV virus are living longer and living healthier, and the number of deaths from AIDS has decreased. With a more hopeful future, it is no wonder that people with HIV are wondering about the possibility of pregnancy.
The decision to pursue parenthood is a complicated and difficult one for many people with HIV. High-tech procedures minimize the danger of passing the virus on to a partner or fetus. But no matter which technique is used to achieve pregnancy, there is a chance the child can become infected.
There are other factors to consider, as well. Will the HIV-positive parent live long enough to raise the child? Will the child's quality of life be compromised by the parent's illness? Can the parents designate a guardian? Parents who have HIV must have the courage to face tough decisions about the future, including their own mortality.
People with HIV who wish to conceive a child can start by doing the following:
- Discussing options with a doctor
- Talking to other couples who have been in the same situation, including parents of HIV-positive children
- Exploring guardianship with family and friends
Conception techniques, risks, and possibilities differ according to which partner has HIV.
He's Positive, She's Negative
Conception when the male partner is HIV-positive is tricky, since logic dictates that he must use a condom to protect the female from becoming infected.
A relatively simple procedure called “sperm washing” may provide a low-risk conception option that involves artificial insemination with the male partner’s sperm. For years, this method has been used in sperm banks and infertility clinics to boost sperm potency. Scientists studying the technique have found that it lowers the level of HIV in the semen. The procedure is believed to be effective for reducing infection rates, but it does not completely eliminate the virus. Sperm washing for HIV-positive men is not widely available.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) continues to investigate sperm washing. For now, its official stand is a warning that no evidence exists that any procedure can reliably remove all HIV from semen, and it recommends against artificial insemination with semen from HIV-positive men.
She's Positive, He's Negative
Artificial insemination is an option for a couple in which the woman is HIV-positive. This process puts the man's semen directly into the woman's genital tract so that she can conceive without exposing the man to the virus.
Doctors treat pregnant HIV-positive women with various medicines, which can reduce mother-to-baby infection rates to less than 2%. Delivering via Cesarean section might lower the risk even more under certain circumstances. There is additional protection by not breastfeeding and treating the infant with medicines after birth.
Factors contributing to the likelihood of a HIV-positive mother passing the infection to her child include:
- The stage of HIV that the mother is in
- Whether the mother is taking medicines for HIV and how well she has responded to treatment
When Both Prospective Parents Are Positive
People may believe that if both partners have HIV, then they do not need to worry about infecting each other. Right? Wrong.
There are different strains of the virus, some of which are more aggressive. One parent may have one strain, and the other may have a different strain.
If you or your partner has HIV, find out your risks and what you can do to minimize them.
- Reviewer: Brian Randall, MD
- Review Date: 11/2011 -
- Update Date: 11/17/2011 -
|
<urn:uuid:3612cff6-afae-45e5-99a9-66039f2df53e>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://portsmouthhospital.com/your-health/?/14545/Pregnancy--Parenting--and-HIV
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.951172
| 757
| 2.703125
| 3
|
In a little less than 1,000 days, Nashville will elect a new mayor.
The race is not on. There are no mayoral candidates. But absurd as it may sound, there are candidates vying for mayoral candidacy.
Blame term limits and newspapers for premature speculation about political contests that are still years away from commencing in earnest. The former determines the end of one political storyline, thereby accentuating the beginning of another, and encouraging curiosity about its plot. The latter entity chases the insider buzz caused by the former, and tries to pin down all the speculatory targets. (Full disclosure: The article you’re reading is an example of just that.)
Add to that the fact that Nashville’s most recent mayoral race was no race at all, ending with last year’s auto re-election of Mayor Karl Dean, who faced no real opposition and won with nearly 80 percent of the vote. When the second Tuesday of August 2015 arrives, it will have been eight years since securing election to the mayor’s office required anything that could truly be called a campaign. The coming end of Dean’s tenure in the Metro Courthouse, distant as it may be, brings to mind the coming race to replace him.
But horse races require horses. And so the aptly named chattering classes have been caucusing, as it were.
Multiple individuals confirmed to The City Paper that they were, as rumored, interested in a possible mayoral candidacy. Others were noncommittal. But one could argue that it hardly matters: Local political figures faced with questions about their future ambitions find themselves in the same predicament many of the nation’s college football coaches will soon be navigating. A denial will be seen by most observers as a maybe, at least. Anything else is likely to be attached to a note carefully delineating what the individual “did not rule out.”
It is the same predicament that led Civil War Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman to famously squelch speculation about his potential 1884 presidential candidacy by declaring that he would “not accept if nominated and [would] not serve if elected.”
If few are inclined to take public figures at their word in such cases, it’s because each season or cycle reveals many among them going back on what they said. Not only that, there is often personal gain to be had by allowing such speculation. Few head football coaches, for instance, will attempt to remove their name from the media’s short list of potential hires at the University of Tennessee. Likewise, few local politicians end a call after being told they’re rumored to be a candidate for the city’s top job.
So here we are. And some of the city’s most interested parties are already beginning the process of sorting out who will succeed Dean in office.
“I’m out there encouraging business people to be thinking about the kind of leadership and mayoral candidates that they’d like to see the next time around,” said Ralph Schulz, president of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce. (Schulz is occasionally mentioned as a possible candidate himself, but he dismissed the possibility out of hand. “I am not running for mayor,” he said. “I am running the chamber.”)
Among the foremost figures in the race for the race is Metro At-Large Councilwoman Megan Barry. Now serving her second term on the council, Barry is a politician whose name consistently tops the list of rumored candidates for higher office. But she’s not going there yet.
“It’s too early for people, I think, to be actually deciding, but I am talking to people about the issues that face Nashville because I think there are a lot of issues that we need to be addressing,” she told The City Paper. “How we expand our tax base, and how we maintain a livable city, and transportation, and tax incentives. All of these things together are conversations that I’m having with people, but I think it’s way too early for anybody to come out and actually declare.”
After repeating once more that “it’s too early” for such a discussion, she downplayed the possibility of becoming the city’s first female mayor, saying that whoever is the next mayor “should be elected because they’re the best candidate.”
Mayoral speculation has also followed Councilman At-Large Jerry Maynard, and has only increased with this fall’s release of a book he wrote titled “How To Lead When No One Follows.” Maynard is a pastor and former lawyer, a member of the Tennessee Democratic Party’s executive committee, and the leader of the council’s Minority Caucus.
“Yes, I’m seriously considering running for mayor if that opportunity opens up, because as an elected official, every day I’m looking to move Nashville forward,” he told The City Paper during a recent phone interview. “Every day I’m thinking about ways to make the city a better place for all Nashvillians, regardless of where they live in Nashville and regardless of where they come from. So every day I’m always looking at, how can we make our city even greater? And I believe that the mayor’s office is a great position to bring creative minds, and create a creative economy, and a way to further harness and channel energies and resources to enhance all of our citizens.”
His ultimate decision, he said, will come down to whether he can be more effective in the private sector or in the public sector as mayor.
Yet another at-large council member, Ronnie Steine, is among the perennial would-be candidates whose hat is provisionally thrown into the ring each cycle as a matter of course. Steine has been expressing interest in a run at the mayor’s office as far back as the late ’90s. With another chance approaching, he confirmed his interest remains.
“Anyone who loves our city, and anyone who loves public service should be interested in the job that gives you the ultimate opportunity to do the most good for our city,” he said. “It’s certainly something that I will seriously consider.”
Outside the council, there are others giving the idea some thought, including former school board chairman David Fox.
“I have thought about running for mayor, and various people have approached me in the last, maybe, six months about it,” said Fox, who is also a former Tennessean reporter and co-founder of NashvillePost.com. “But I don’t expect to make a decision about it in the immediate future. I definitely don’t want to run a three-year campaign. I don’t think that would be a real productive way to spend three years. But I do expect that I will give it serious consideration down the road.”
Fox currently works for the investment firm Titan Advisors and said he’d have to consider the possible effect on his family and career.
“It’d be a very interesting and rewarding and challenging assignment, but I just need to kind of think through,” he said. “It’d be a pretty significant career change, and I just need to kind of think through how that affects the long-term career and my family. But my family has lived in Nashville for 140 years, and it’s been a great community to us and for us. So if there’s a way I could be meaningfully helpful, then I’d sure like to do so.”
House Democratic Caucus Chairman Mike Turner told TNReport last year that “if the opportunity is there” he was “thinking about running for mayor” in 2015. He was re-elected to his state House seat earlier this month, after running unopposed, and will enter next year’s legislative sessions as one of the leaders of an even smaller Democratic minority.
As for his current thoughts on the matter, Turner could not be reached for comment by press time.
Whether fueled by Democratic nostalgia, or the self-interested curiosity of aspiring candidates, former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell has even been the subject of some speculation. Reached by The City Paper, though, Purcell, who served two terms as mayor from 1999 to 2007, did not express any interest in returning to the post and discouraged the discussion in general.
“Right now what we all need to do is stay focused on helping our mayor be the best mayor he can be, and the city be as successful as possible,” he wrote in an email. “Attention to the next mayor’s race distracts from those two goals. This was what I thought when I was mayor and what I still believe.”
And then there are the many as-yet-unknown candidates who will probably surface to render the current discussion mostly obsolete. That is the precedent set by Purcell, who wasn’t considered a possible mayoral candidate this far before his initial run, and by Dean, then the Metro law director, who announced his candidacy in December 2006 and largely self-funded his way to victory eight months later.
In the end, much of the initial speculation will likely be proven not so much false as temporarily true. Candidates with potential now may be far from it in one year’s time. What the careful responses of some on the supposed list prove is that though it may be too early to answer, it’s not too soon to ask.
|
<urn:uuid:be34d22e-8bf3-433b-9b5d-169d19856d0d>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://nashvillecitypaper.com/content/city-news/three-years-out-some-begin-very-early-speculation-next-mayoral-race
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.973959
| 2,011
| 1.585938
| 2
|
Welcome to the School of Business and Communications
Communication plays a vital part in all our lives, so learning communication skills is essential. In our school we learn about communication from two different angles. Firstly we learn about the practicalities of communication using Information Technology (ICT as it is known). Everyone needs to know how to work with ICT equipment and software so we teach everyone from Years 7 to 11 how to use computers and associated equipment. Everyone learns how to use a word processor, a spreadsheet, presentation software and a database as a minimum.
Students are encouraged to use the Internet in a responsible way as it is a key element of communication in our modern world.
There is also the opportunity to learn about web design, graphic, sound and video editing. ICT is an exam subject and we expect every student to gain an OCR National qualification in ICT by the end of Year 11.
The other angle from which we teach communication skills is that of Modern Foreign Languages. Students from Years 7 to 11 learn language skills in French and German. Some students choose to take French or German as a GCSE subject in Key Stage 4 and Key Stage 5.
In our school we also teach students how business operates. Students learn about how different types of company are structured, and how they make profit. Business studies students are encouraged to apply and develop their numeracy, literacy and ICT skills as they learn.
Our school offers a range of subjects to Key Stage 5 students. These include advanced level learning in the areas of Economics, Business, ICT and Modern Foreign Languages.
Students also have the opportunity to see at first hand how the skills and the theoretical knowledge they are gaining are applied in the wider community. Year 7 students all have a day-trip to Boulogne to practise their French; some Year 8 students spend a week in Normandy; Business Studies students visit local companies and some spent a week in February this year in New York learning about aspects of business from the American perspective. ICT students visited Euro Disney last year to investigate how ICT systems are used by that organisation in the running and management of this well known player in the leisure industry.
Our school is well equipped to deliver high quality teaching and learning. In our school alone we have around 150 computers and a range of associated technology such as scanners, colour printers, video and sound recording equipment as well as interactive whiteboards in most of the teaching rooms. All of these are used to good effect to by our team of committed and skilled teachers.
|
<urn:uuid:34d35163-5783-44d3-881e-e58e84317434>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.ketteringscienceacademy.org/Secondary/Schools/Default.aspx?School=Business
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00046-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.967726
| 510
| 2.203125
| 2
|
Potential and limitations of marine and ice core sea ice proxies: an example from the Indian Ocean sector
Röthlisberger, Regine; Crosta, Xavier; Abram, Nerilie J.; Armand, Leanne; Wolff, Eric W.. 2010 Potential and limitations of marine and ice core sea ice proxies: an example from the Indian Ocean sector. Quaternary Science Reviews, 29 (1-2). 296-302. 10.1016/j.quascirev.2009.10.005Full text not available from this repository.
Diatom assemblages in marine cores and sea salt deposition fluxes in ice cores have been used as sea ice proxies in the southern hemisphere. Here, a marine and an ice core proxy record for the Indian Ocean covering the last two glacial cycles are compared in order to illustrate their potential and limitations. The marine core was extracted in a location completely ice free under present-day conditions, and therefore was unable to record changes to the recent sea ice extent. Similarly, no sea ice was recorded at that location during the previous interglacial period. During the last glacial period, however, the site was seasonally covered by sea ice, and the diatom assemblages allowed an estimation of average seasonal sea ice presence. The ice core data originated from the East Antarctic plateau. The marine sodium present in the ice core was used as a proxy of the sea-ice coverage and, on average, a larger sea ice surface led to an increased sea-salt aerosol flux, seen e.g. at the last glacial inception. However, the response of the sea salt flux to increasing sea ice extent diminished during peak glacial conditions when only minimal variability was recorded in the ice core record. A first-order approximation is used to take this non-linear response of the ice core sea ice proxy into account. Based on the ice core proxy record, sea ice extent was reduced considerably during the warm episodes of the previous two interglacial periods compared to modern sea ice extent, in particular during the peak warmth of the Last Interglacial. The ice core proxy also showed a very strong precessional variability (pronounced spectral peak at 23 ka period) over the past 240 ka. The advantage of combining the two proxy records lies in the complementary nature of their response. While the ice core proxy showed limited sensitivity during full glacial conditions, the marine proxy recorded the seasonal sea-ice coverage. Once the sea ice retreated south of the location of the marine core, the ice core proxy responded to changes in sea ice extent. A composite of marine and ice core records may thus provide a data basis for a more detailed reconstruction of sea ice around Antarctica over the last few glacial–interglacial cycles.
|Programmes:||BAS Programmes > Polar Science for Planet Earth (2009 - ) > Chemistry and Past Climate|
|NORA Subject Terms:||Glaciology
Biology and Microbiology
|Date made live:||19 Aug 2010 10:00|
Actions (login required)
|
<urn:uuid:2e14bb50-74b4-4cd2-9277-537963654ab0>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/10549/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.906967
| 626
| 2.421875
| 2
|
From the cockpit to the cabin, the aviation industry loves the iPad. Scoot Pte, a budget airline and subsidiary of Singapore Air, just added iPads to four of its Boeing 777s. The company plans to expand its initiative by adding iPads to 14 777s over the next few years.
Not only does this decision modernize the airline’s in-flight entertainment options, it saves the company money. Adding iPads to the plane shaved 7 percent off the plane’s weight while increasing seating by 40 percent. (40 percent more seats. Really?! Were they ripping out old-school CRT monitors?)
Passengers who fly with Scoot Pte will receive the iPads pre-loaded with entertainment content (movies, music, games and television shows). Business Class passengers can use iPads for free while those in economy seating may rent one for just $17.
Transportation research analyst Corrine Png of PMorgan Chase & Co. called the change a “smart move” because lightening the plane will “help improve fuel efficiency.”
Scoot PTE joins Quantas in offering iPads for in-flight entertainment.
While Scoot PTE’s use of iPads in the cabin marks one of the first airlines to bring the tablet to passengers, the aviation industry has widely adopted the iPad in the cockpit already. The US Air Force and the FAA have also recently adopted the iPad. The FAA plans to expand use of the iPad for its employees.
|
<urn:uuid:797985db-1f50-4f4e-9963-60b8d516bc74>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.padgadget.com/2012/06/04/airline-swaps-bulky-in-flight-entertainment-system-with-ipads/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.922741
| 303
| 1.578125
| 2
|
Crews make progress against New Mexico fire
Firefighters battle largest wildfire in New Mexico's history
Firefighters made progress Monday in preventing the spread of the largest wildfire ever in New Mexico, and residents are being allowed to return to an evacuated community.
A total of 1,191 personnel are fighting the Whitewater Baldy Complex wildfire, which is 18% contained, U.S. Forest Service officials said Sunday.
The blaze has scorched more than 241,000 acres of rugged terrain in southwestern New Mexico since it was ignited by two separate lightning strikes last month, fire officials said. The 380 square miles devoured is more than one and a half times the size of Chicago.
Firefighters used aircraft to ignite low intensity fires in the wildfire's northwest path to rob it of fuel Sunday night, officials said.
"Due to yesterday's successes, crews will use the same tactics today," the forest service said in a statement Monday. "Patrol, mop-up and chipping activities will be ongoing all day."
An evacuation order in Mogollon was lifted for residents and business owners Monday; on Wednesday, the community will be open to the public, the fire service said.
The Baldy Fire started May 9 in an inaccessible area of the rugged wilderness and the Whitewater Fire was reported on May 16 several miles away, according to Forest Service officials.
The two fires in the Gila National Forest merged May 23, enhanced by drought and sustained winds of 40 mph to 50 mph, authorities said.
Extreme drought could mean the smoke in the region will persist until the monsoon season, which typically begins in July, said Catherine Torres, secretary of the New Mexico department of health.
The blaze is 15 miles east of Glenwood, New Mexico.
Copyright 2012 by CNN NewSource. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
|
<urn:uuid:ee3b27f4-0f2a-4525-a599-22bb91f4dce7>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.channel3000.com/news/Crews-make-progress-against-New-Mexico-fire/-/1648/14478554/-/view/print/-/8fb53d/-/index.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.956562
| 384
| 2.65625
| 3
|
The Town of Andover is a community sponsor of Greenscapes North Shore which offers workshops and information on environmentally friendly yard and lawn care practices that require very little water and chemicals to maintain. Attend any or all of the free workshops being offered in March and April.
"Slow the Flow" - Learn how low-impact development can help control yard flooding and poor drainage, using rain gardens or vegetative buffers. Saturday, March 16; 9:30 am - 11:30 am at the Peabody Institute Library; 15 Sylvan St in Danvers, MA.
"Organic Lawn Care" - Get some great tips from an organic landscaper on how to maintain a healthy, natural lawn without pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. Learn about soil conditions, grass seed selection, compost tea and insect/disease control. Monday, April 8th; 7:00 - 8:00 PM at the Topsfield Library, 1 South Common Street, Topsfield, MA. RSVP to firstname.lastname@example.org
"Greenscapes 101 Presentation" - At Andover's Memorial Hall Library on Tuesday, April 23rd; 7:00 - 8:30 PM. The basic steps to achieving a beautiful, chemical free free lawn and garden that is safe for children and pets, has healthy plants and also conserves water will be discussed. Contact Karen Martin at the Andover Water Treatment Plant, 978-623-8350 for more information.
|
<urn:uuid:a7d3812d-5999-4b43-bdf9-f15cfe2212f1>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://andover.patch.com/blog_posts/greenscapes-spring-workshops
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.912003
| 302
| 2.015625
| 2
|
The uproar over stem cell research has once again given the genetic sciences the spotlight, and with that spotlight come questions. “Are you making gill-men? Is that what all this is about?” the savvy among us probe. As is usually the case, stem cell research is not actually about gill-men at all, but something else entirely that isn’t terribly interesting.
Nonetheless, it is news we must embrace. Why? Because any advance in genetics gets us one step closer to the ultimate goal of all gene tinkering: that someday, it will be raining men. Perhaps even gill-men, though we don’t have the hard facts to back that up.
To date, male-based precipitation research has produced nothing significant. Yet every new finding—be it stem cells or what have you—gives us hope that the ultimate prize is ever closer to our anxious grasp.
What Are Cells?
Cells are the building blocks of humanity. You, for instance, are made out of trillions of teeny tiny little cells, which are apparently really small so, trust me, don’t even bother looking. This is true of all creatures, big and small. Even Rosie O’Donnell, who an astute observer would conclude is composed entirely of fudge, jelly donuts and coagulated gravy, is in actuality made up of the same stuff as you or me.
A horrifying thought, certainly—but also a thought staggering with implications. How can any of us truly be racist, for instance, knowing full well that the folks we’re discriminating against are made up of the same adorable little parts that we are? How can we deny Sylvester Stallone another big box office hit, if we take into account that his cellular make-up is almost identical to our own, no matter how execrable his films may be?
To sum up: cells are small human-building things, the existence of which offers conclusive proof that you should watch Sylvester Stallone movies. This alone is cause for alarm; so it’s easy to see why such small things can stir up so big a fuss.
How Do Cells Know What to Make?
An excellent question. To answer it, you must think of cells as the bricks that make up the you-building. As we all know, a pile of bricks left to their own devices will not make a building. They’ll just sit there like Teamsters. This is where enzymes come in. Enzymes, the proteins that get the cell to transform into one of your you-parts, are the builders. And your DNA, a stringy collection of data that tells the enzymes how to build the you-parts, is the blueprint.
Through a simple metaphor, we have taken a complicated genetic process and made it easy to understand. Unfortunately, we have also simplified it to the point where it is grossly inaccurate. In actuality, cells produce their own enzymes as they need them. Plus, DNA transfers instructions to the enzyme through a complicated process involving RNA molecules and ribosomes. So, to get a more accurate understanding of the process, imagine a construction site where piles of bricks give birth to their own construction workers, the building’s blueprint is popping out instructions that zoom off and gestate inside the workers, and the workers themselves construct the building by setting off chemical reactions inside their own bodies.
Now our metaphor is more accurate. It is also kind of horrifying to think about. If it helps at all, try to imagine the construction workers as cuddly bears. Why, they’re lovable little scamps, aren’t they? Always getting into mischief, sometimes dozing off when they should be working, maybe getting their heads trapped in bowls of honey. Those silly bears!
What Are Stem Cells?
Stem cells are just cells that haven’t been given any instructions yet—they’re a pile of bricks just waiting to be told to transform into something. Recently, scientists have begun to figure out ways of giving stem cells instructions that will start them on their way to becoming things.
From a medical perspective, this is a real breakthrough, as it means we could conceivably build sick and ailing people replacement lungs, livers, skin, or anything else that isn’t working. From a raining-men perspective, however, the news is discouraging. Hypothetically, we could use stem cells to stockpile the resources needed to have it rain men’s parts. As an alternative, though, it’s sadly lacking.
Can’t We Just Change a Sick Person’s DNA?
No, not really. Once something’s been built, it can’t actually be un-built. The idea of giving someone new DNA that will change them overnight is a misconception made popular by bad Hollywood movies starring big muscle guys and, lately, Tobey Maguire. The entire Marvel universe, in fact, rests on the assumption that if you were irradiated, exploded, driven over, or otherwise spectacularly mangled, it would jangle up your DNA and give you super-powers. It is not the purpose of this article to argue the merits of Stan Lee’s grasp of molecular biology. However, it’s worth noting that if any of the above were actually true, there would be a risk that you’d suddenly sprout dragonfly wings every time you bumped into a door.
In reality, the best science can do would be to replicate a sick person’s DNA, clone them, and harvest the clone for parts—in other words, rebuild something from scratch. So far, though, the best the cloning sciences can do is duplicate a sheep that is perpetually sick, can’t walk or think right, and costs millions of dollars to keep alive. So don’t hold your breath, basically.
What If We Gave People New DNA Anyway?
Remember that scene in Raiders of the Lost Ark, where those Nazis opened up the ark and had their faces melt off? It wouldn’t be anything like that.
Okay, So Why Is This Stem Cell Business a Problem?
Well, because of where scientists have to get them. Stem cells, remember, are cells that haven’t been built into anything yet. So if you’re in the market for a handful of primo stem cells, you’ll most likely have to get them from something that hasn’t been built yet, i.e., human embryos or fetal tissue. This opens up the age old debate we’re all understandably sick of by now: when can a human being be called a human being? When it’s born? When it’s still in the womb? At the point of conception? When it’s old enough to move out of the house and get a damn job? There are no easy answers here. Just a lot of arguing and picketing.
Saner heads may point out that the pro-life and pro-choice activists should just pick a point randomly and be done with it, on the grounds that most of the world stopped caring about any of this years ago. It’s difficult to be sympathetic to the “every human life is a sacred miracle” argument, after all, when there are over six billion of the sacred little angels consuming our planet’s resources right now. Twenty years from now, when the world population hits critical mass, and we’re all scrounging around for food scraps and living with five hundred of our closest relatives, we’ll be aborting “sacred little miracles” who are well into their late thirties, I assure you. One can’t help but wonder if future generations will look back on our little debate as impossibly quaint, since they’ll most likely be holding lotteries over who gets the privilege of eating a bag full of everyone else’s hair.
So Stem Cell Research ISN’T a Problem?
Well, let’s be fair. Currently, scientists are getting permission from women who have had abortions to extract stem cells from the discarded embryo. Now, if you see stem cells as a goopy pile of embryonic tissue, there isn’t much of a problem.
However: what if those stem cells were a bunch of cuddly little bears? Capering about the forest as cuddly bears do, sitting down to cake-and-honey picnics, playing lively games of charades? Why, those monsters! They’re killing those bears!
This, in essence, is where the problem starts. Pro-life activists feel that using stem cells for research disregards the sanctity of human life, since the stem cells had the potential to build a human being. Scientists have argued that the embryo was aborted anyway, so the choice had been made long before they entered the picture. The pro-lifers argue that the scientists are still destroying the embryos to get the cells, with the headache-inducing implication that the scientists should instead be making the embryos back into babies.
“Why have the abortion in the first place, then?” the exasperated scientists say.
“Exactly!” say the pro-life activists.
Eager to avoid fisticuffs, everybody simply agrees to disagree. Since using stem cells denies the sanctity of human life, the embryo is thrown into the trash instead of used, which somehow makes the pro-life activists happy.
Elsewhere, someone with acute liver problems dies of liver failure. But it could be argued that he would have been the next Hitler anyway, so it’s not entirely relevant.
Is There a Solution to Any of This, Then?
Yes, actually. What needs to be done, clearly, is to give every one of the pro-life activists diseases that cause their lungs, liver and kidneys to fail. Faced with their own imminent mortality, it’s a safe bet many of them will take the time to seriously reappraise their stance on stem cells; cells which, now that they take a closer look, really don’t look much like cuddly bears after all.
Now where’s that kidney?
|
<urn:uuid:b17e6ed7-1b2e-4226-8692-c62120cded71>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://jaypinkerton.com/1998/03/30/stem-cell-research-primer/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.953789
| 2,143
| 2.4375
| 2
|
An idea I had originally wanted to use for an "art tour for the blind" project that I probably won't ever get a chance to do but thought I would throw it out there as it might have a more general useful application, particularly to BMORG. Think of it as auditory GPS, it could be used as an emergency navigation tool in severe prolonged whiteout conditions to provide a way to navigate to a known reference point and from there find your way home.
The way it works is, so imagine you have a sound emitter at 5 o'clock and one at 4 o'clock and one down the 6 o'clock radial the same distance as the 4 and 5 emitters are from the desired reference point (say, behind the Cafe). Now imagine we have a severe whiteout condition that might continue for several hours and there are people stranded out on the deep playa. The three sound emitters would sound a "chirp" at exactly the same instant (triggered by a radio signal or the audio of a radio signal). A person on the deep playa would likely hear three but at least two chirps arriving a different times. These chirps might be emitted at two minute intervals. A person on the deep playa would then begin to walk toward the LAST or LATEST arriving chirp that they hear. This will walk them toward the reference point. When all three chirps arrive at the same moment, they are at the reference point but they will likely see other landmarks before they get that close. The idea is for people on the deep playa who might be disoriented as to direction (maybe it is night and there is no moon reference) to be able to walk their way in and off the playa in prolonged extreme conditions.
If the three chirps are of slightly different pitch, a person could even tell where they are in reference to the point if they knew how the pitch of the individual emitters are arranged but that is beyond the scope of this example. A fog horn at the man might do the same in giving a reference but the idea is to provide a means of allowing people to navigate their way off the playa if extreme conditions were forecast to persist for a period of time longer than people might be expected to hunker down out on the open playa.
Pabst Blue Ribbon - The beer that made Gerlach famous.
|
<urn:uuid:94db8f50-b0b6-496e-bdb2-41295f4281ad>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://eplaya.burningman.com/viewtopic.php?p=833954
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.965892
| 490
| 2.59375
| 3
|
City Corner column: Keep Fido quiet; library launches 'Babytime'
- 3 unverified comments
Thank you for your submission.Error report or correction
By Jennifer Sourdellia
Is there a city ordinance that pertains to dogs barking all night long? New neighbors have moved in next door to my residence and there has been one evening when the dogs barked from 1 until 5. Can I file a complaint if this happens again and is there anything that can be done about this problem?
Yes, Section 4-40(d) of the city ordinance pertains to irresponsible pet owners and barking dogs.
The code states, "It shall be unlawful for an owner of an animal to fail to exercise control over such animal to prevent it from barking, whining or howling in such a manner, with such intensity, or with such continued duration, so as to annoy, distress or disturb the quiet comfort or repose of persons of normal nervous sensibilities within the vicinity of hearing thereof."
If the dogs are barking regularly and it becomes a constant nuisance that disturbs you and other neighbors in the vicinity, there are a few things that can be done. First, you can contact the police department and file a complaint by calling 361-573-3221 (this is the non-emergency number).
A patrol officer will be dispatched to the location. The officer will check to see if there has been a history of past complaints about the barking dogs. If the pet owner has been warned in the past about their barking dogs and appears to be a continuing problem, the officer will make the decision whether or not to issue a citation.
You can also call animal control at 361-578-3564. An animal control officer will be dispatched to the location and will talk with the pet owner about their animal's behavior - this often remedies the situation.
Animal control usually recommends the pet owner consult their veterinarian about tips on what do about their barking dogs.
According to the city ordinance, after the animal control division receives sworn statements by witnesses of at least two incidents, the director may forward a case to the municipal court for a hearing to determine if any person at the location should be declared an "irresponsible pet owner." An irresponsible pet owner is prohibited by the statute from owning, possessing, maintaining, or feeding any pets, or residing at a location where pets are present. These restrictions are subject to certain limited exceptions, and are effective for five years from the date of declaration. A declaration that a person is an irresponsible pet owner is not intended as a punishment in itself, but rather is a determination by the court that a person needs more stringent regulation of their pet-owning practices.
Does the Victoria Public Library offer any programs for babies? I have a 6-month-old baby and want to start her on an early path of loving books. I know that there are programs for toddlers and small children.
Yes, the Victoria Public Library recently launched a new program geared specifically toward babies.
The program was developed to meet one of the library's strategic goals of instilling early literacy in children from birth to age 5 with programs and services designed to ensure they will begin school ready to learn, read, write and listen.
"Babytime" is a program specifically for the enjoyment of babies up to the age of 2. Activities include lap play, songs, flannel boards and interactive reading used to engage babies and caregivers, and aid in development. Babytime is held at 10 a.m. every Tuesday in the Story Time Room. The next Babytime program is scheduled for 10 a.m. Tuesday.
For more information, contact the Victoria Public Library at 361-485-3302 or visit victoriapubliclibrary.org
Do you have a question about the city of Victoria? Please submit your questions and comments about any city department to Jennifer Sourdellia in the Communications/Public Information Office by emailing firstname.lastname@example.org or mail to P.O. Box 1758, Victoria, TX 77902.
|
<urn:uuid:d3934437-3874-4f04-9c31-c1ef7bba8ad0>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/news/2012/feb/05/city_city_corner_020612_166109/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.948477
| 829
| 1.820313
| 2
|
Financial Economist Shares Insights on Financial Literacy Education
February 15, 2013:
By Neil Gonzales
February 6, 2013
Financial literacy education may not necessarily raise a student’s financial literacy right away, but there are different strategies that colleges and universities can still take to help students become financially competent.
Lewis Mandell, a financial economist and professor emeritus at State University of New York at Buffalo, gave those and many other insights during his session at the Financial Literacy and College Persistence Conference at Menlo College on Jan. 18.
Perhaps surprisingly, research has shown that high-school students who had taken a financial education class "really knew no more than those who had not taken such a course," Mandell said.
Maybe such a course was not taught well or taught largely by unqualified teachers, Mandell said.
Other studies found that personal finance courses similarly didn’t work in college, he said.
However, financial education can still have a latent effect.
"Somewhere in [the students’] brain is stored some information, which only comes into play when as adults they have the opportunity to actually act upon what they may have learned," Mandell said.
Mandell also noted that college retention is related to financial literacy.
"In other words, the more years of college that you have, the more financially literate you are," he said.
Another interesting finding is that the most financially literate students are not the ones who study finances or related subjects, he said.
"They tend to be students who study science and engineering," he said. The reason is those students possess strong quantitative abilities.
Based on his findings, Mandell recommended several strategies that higher education institutions can take to bolster their students’ financial knowledge.
"Colleges should be focusing their increasingly scarce resources on students with weaker quantitative skills," he said. "It’s really the arts and humanities majors, who really are most lacking in quantitative skills and inclinations."
"Colleges should also offer emergency loans with financial counseling to students who would otherwise drop out of school, he said." In addition, Mandell suggested that colleges team up with banks to offer restricted credit cards, which students can only use for approved purposes.
"In other words, it will not allow you to use it at a bar," he said, "but it will enable you to use it to buy books [or] to pay tuition."
Conference participants, many of them leaders from various educational organizations, felt Mandell’s session provided valuable information that they can bring back to their programs.
For David Ling, the session reinforced what is already being done at his organization, KIPP, a San Francisco-based national network of college preparatory public charter schools.
"We do financial literacy right now," said Ling, a director of the KIPP Through College program. But he acknowledged that his organization "needs to be more consistent in our delivery of financial literacy to both students and parents."
In that regard, Ling said he was pleased to hear from Mandell about "better ways to engage students in the financial literacy process and to get them to feel more comfortable about it."
|
<urn:uuid:7de4005a-76b9-46c5-a587-dbc784d0784a>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.menlo.edu/news/detail/financial-economist-shares-insights-on-financial-literacy-education
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00049-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.973454
| 656
| 2.5625
| 3
|
Now that we've covered move actions, let's take a look at how speed and skills can affect or are affected by movement.
Speeds and Skills
A creature has a speed rating for each kind of movement it can use. Most creatures have a single speed rating for land speed. Other possible speed ratings include burrow, climb, swim, and fly. The Monster Manual Glossary includes a wealth of detail on speeds.
A creature with only a land speed can climb or swim by making an appropriate skill check, but cannot charge, run, withdraw or take a 5-foot step while doing so. That's the chief difference between climbing or swimming with a climb speed and using the Climb or Swim skill.
Climb and Swim aren't the only skills that involve movement. In Part 3, we'll compare and contrast speed ratings and the skills that help landbound creatures mimic them. We'll also examine skills that function as part of movement.
A creature with a climb speed must make a Climb check to climb any wall or slope with a DC of more than 0, but it always can choose to take 10 (see Checks without Rolls, page 65 in the Player's Handbook), even if rushed, distracted, or endangered. It also gets a +8 racial bonus on all Climb checks. A successful check allows it to move its climb speed up down, or across the wall or slope as a move action. If it chooses an accelerated climb (see Climb, page 69 in the Player's Handbook), it moves at double the listed climb speed (or its land speed, whichever is less) and makes a single Climb check at a -5 penalty.
A creature with a climb speed retains its Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) while climbing. Most creatures with climb speeds don't have hands, though many use some sort of appendage to climb. Those with appendages must have them free to climb. A creature can cling to a wall with one appendage while it casts a spell or takes some other action that requires only one appendage. A limbless creature, such as an ooze, never has to worry about having any appendages free -- it can just climb.
If the creature takes damage while climbing, it makes a Climb check against the DC of the slope or wall to avoid falling. (It can take 10 on the check.)
Using the Climb Skill: A creature using the Climb skill to climb without a climb speed can take 10 on the check only when not rushed or threatened. It loses its Dexterity bonus (if any) while climbing, and it cannot take a 5-foot step or withdraw while climbing. A creature uses the Climb skill as a move action, and climbing is movement. With a successful check, the climber moves at one quarter its land speed when climbing (or one half land speed if it makes an accelerated climb). On a failed check, the creature doesn't move at all (but still uses up a move action) if the check failed by 4 or less. The creature falls if the check fails by 5 or more. See the Climb skill description for other details.
All Climbers: Creatures cannot charge or run while climbing, even if they have Climb speeds.
A creature with a swim speed can move through water at its swim speed without making Swim checks. It has a +8 racial bonus on any Swim check it makes to perform some special action or avoid a hazard. The creature always can choose to take 10 on a Swim check, even if rushed, distracted, or endangered or when swimming in stormy water. The creature can use the run action while swimming, provided it swims in a straight line. It also can charge, withdraw, or take a 5-foot step. Unlike creatures using the Swim skill, a creature with a swim speed does not have to make a Swim check each hour to avoid nonlethal damage.
Using the Swim Skill: A creature that doesn't have a swim speed must make a Swim check to move through the water when its feet don't touch the bottom. A successful check allows the creature to move through the water at a quarter of its current land speed as a move action or at half its current land speed as a full-round action. If the check fails by 4 or less, the creature makes no progress through the water. If the check fails by 5 or more, the creature goes underwater (if the creature is underwater already, there's no extra effect for failing a Swim check by 5 or more).
Swimmers that don't have swim speeds must make an extra Swim check (DC 20) for each hour they spend swimming. If the check fails, the swimmer takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage.
Creatures without swim speeds can charge (provided they can move at least 10 feet before attacking), but they cannot run, withdraw, or take a 5-foot step.
Although it's not terribly clear from the skill description, you can use the Balance skill two different ways.
First, you can make a Balance check to charge or run over a surface that is rough or uneven enough to trip you up, but not one that is so rugged as to make running or charging impossible. For example, you can make a Balance check (DC 10) to run or charge across an uneven flagstone floor or a hewn stone floor. You make one check. If you fail the check on an uneven flagstone floor, you can't move and your turn ends. If you fail the check on a hewn stone floor, you can still act, but you cannot run or charge this round.
Second, you can make a Balance check to move along a narrow or precarious surface, such as a ledge, beam, or tightrope. With a successful check, you can move at half your speed along the precarious surface as a move action. You can use a standard action to make a second move, but doing so requires a second Balance check. You can take a -5 penalty on your check and move at your full speed instead. You also can take -5 penalty on your check and charge across a precarious surface. If the distance you move in a charge is equal to or less than your speed, you make one Balance check. If the distance you charge is more than your speed (you can move up to twice your speed when charging), you must make two Balance checks.
A failure by 4 or less means you can't move for 1 round; you still use up a move action. A failure by 5 or more means you fall. If you're making two Balance checks and you succeed with the first one but fail the second, you stop moving and your turn ends (and you fall if you failed by 5 or more).
According to the Hide skill description, hiding isn't an action at all, except when you use the sniping option (see page 76 in the Player's Handbook), in which case hiding is a move action. For all practical purposes, however, you hide as a move action or as part of a move action. That is, if you're moving, you hide as part of your movement (something like drawing a weapon, see Part 2). If you don't move, it still takes you a move action to hide.
You take a -5 penalty on your Hide check if you move more than half your speed. In this case, you must track your speed by the action, not by the turn. If you move your speed as a move action, you take the penalty even if you don't move during the remainder of your turn. Likewise, speed is the amount of movement you expend, not the actual distance you move across the battlefield. If your movement is hampered, for example, and you move as far as you can possibly go as a move action (or as a full-round action), you take the -5 penalty.
Jumping is a part of movement. Simply add any distance you jump to any other movement you've spent during your turn (including the distance you've covered in the run-up to a running jump). The distance you cover in a jump is the horizontal distance for a long jump and the vertical distance in a high jump (but always at least 10 feet for a high jump).
Disregard the vertical portion of a long jump (one quarter the jump's horizontal distance). If you make a high jump and drop back to the ground, don't count the distance you've dropped.
Jumping Over an Obstacle: If you high jump over an obstacle, you spend whatever movement you need to enter the square on the other side, plus the movement cost for the high jump. If you don't have enough movement available, you can't make the jump, but you can use the minimum movement rule (see Part 2) to make the jump as a full-round action. Also see the section on jumping farther than your speed allows.
Hopping Up: You can use a Jump check to leap up on top of an obstacle that is no more than waist high (that is about half your height) with a DC 10 Jump check at a cost of 10 feet of movement. If the obstacle has enough space on top to let you stand on it, you wind up on top of obstacle, otherwise, you just hop over it.
If you fail the Jump check to jump up, you spend 10 feet of movement and wind up on your feet in the square where you tried the hop.
Jumping Farther than Your Speed Allows: If you have a high Strength score or a lot of ranks in the Jump skill (or both) it's quite possible that you can get a Jump check result that carries you through more distance than your speed allows, especially if you move some distance before jumping. When that happens, you end your turn in the air. During your next turn, you must finish the jump before you do anything else. If your speed still won't allow you to finish the jump, just repeat the process until you complete the jump.
Moving silently isn't an action. You move silently as part of your movement. As with the Hide skill, you take a -5 penalty on your Move Silently check if you move more than half your speed (see the notes under the Hide skill).
Though your steed actually does the moving, much of what you do with the Ride skill counts as move action or as movement (or both) for you.
Since your mount takes you along with it when it moves, a move for your mount also counts as a move for you (you're not propelling yourself, but you still spend time moving). So, for example, if you and your mount move, neither you nor your mount can take a 5-foot step during the same turn.
In many cases, you can do something else while your mount does the moving, such as make ranged attacks, reload a crossbow, cast a spell, or any number of other things that normally would be actions for you. You can use the full attack action to make ranged attacks when your mount takes a move action, and there's no penalty for doing so if your mount does not make a double move. If your mount runs or makes a double move, you suffer a penalty on your ranged attacks, as noted on page 157 in the Player's Handbook (the Mounted Archery feat can reduce those penalties). If your mount moves as a full-round action (as it might if it uses the rule for minimum movement), your ranged attacks are penalized as though the mount took a double move. There's no penalty on your melee attacks for your mount's movement, but if you mount moves before you attack in a turn, you cannot us the full attack action (see page 157 in the Player's Handbook).
Here's an overview of tasks you perform with the Ride skill:
Guide with Knees:Although the skill description doesn't specifically say so, this is not an action at all. You make the check at the beginning of your turn. If you succeed, you don't have to use your hands to control your mount until the beginning of your next turn, when you have to repeat the check to continue guiding your mount with your knees.
Stay in Saddle:This usage does not take an action.
Fight with Warhorse: This usage is a free action.
Cover:This usage does not take an action.
Soft Fall: This usage does not take an action.
Leap: This usage does not take an action, but it is part of the mount's movement.
Spur Mount:This is a move action for you, which you take while your mount moves and carries you along.
Control Mount in Battle: This also is a move action for you, which you take while your mount moves and carries you along. If you fail to control a mount that is not trained for war during a battle, the rules say your turn is over. There is, however, no reason why you can't simply fall off your mount to keep it from galloping away with you. Deliberately falling off your mount is a free action for you. If you decide to fall off, you can make a Ride check to soften the fall (which doesn't take an action).
Fast Mount or Dismount:This is a free action for you and it does not count as movement for you.
Tumbling is part of movement, so a Tumble check is part of a move action. Any distance you spend tumbling counts against your movement for the turn. You tumble at half speed, as if each square you tumble through costs you 10 feet of movement (15 if you tumble on a diagonal). If you accept a -10 penalty on your check, you tumble at normal speed. You cannot tumble at all if your encumbrance (from armor or load) reduces your speed.
Tumbling to Hop Up: Since tumbling involves acrobatic maneuvers such as flips, rolls, and cartwheels, there's no good reason why you couldn't make a Tumble check to roll onto or over a waist-high obstacle. Normally, you'd make a Jump check (DC 10) to do that, but you can accomplish the same thing with a Tumble check (DC 15). You still expend 10 feet of movement to perform the hop and you land on your feet in front of the obstacle if you fail.
Tumbling While Crawling: Though the rules don't say so, there's no reason you can't can tumble 5 feet as a move action when prone. The check DC is 20.
Next week, take a look at flight and other speeds that can affect movement.
About the Author
Skip Williams keeps busy with freelance projects for several different game companies and has been the Sage of Dragon Magazine since 1986. Skip is a co-designer of the D&D 3rd Edition game and the chief architect of the Monster Manual. When not devising swift and cruel deaths for player characters, Skip putters in his kitchen or garden (his borscht gets rave reviews).
|
<urn:uuid:1502f2dc-49b1-458f-87de-8b041e216bdc>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/rg/20040622a&pf=true
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.947533
| 3,081
| 2.390625
| 2
|
Questions and answers about this release
Questions and answers about this release
When were the files be released to the public?
The files were made available to the public on Thursday 30 January.
Anyone with a National Archives reader's ticket will be able to consult them on microfilm at the reading rooms in Kew. Selected images from the files are available online.
What do the files tell us?
These files are government records relating to the Abdication, including full minutes of Cabinet meetings, letters from the King, as well as a letter from George Bernard Shaw and many from individual members of the public. They also include papers on Mrs Simpson's divorce and Special Branch reports on her behaviour.
Philip Ziegler had access to government records for his official biography of Edward VIII and made full use of them. A list of those documents consulted by Ziegler is listed on this website. Two Special Branch files which were not made available to Ziegler are included in the release.
Why were the records closed for such a long period?
In 1967, the then Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, agreed that the most important government records relating to the Abdication would be closed for 100 years. Since then, there has been a major change in policy relating to government records.
The 1993 White Paper on Open Government was followed, in 1999, by the publication of guidance on the release of records relating to the Royal Family. This established the principle that records relating to the Royal Family would be treated in the same way as all other records and only closed for longer than 30 years if they fall into one or more of the criteria governing closure.
These criteria cover:
- National interest (defence, international relations, national security and economic interests)
- Documents containing information supplied in confidence which it might be a breach of confidence to reveal
- Documents containing information about individuals, the disclosure of which would cause either substantial distress or endangerment from a third party
These particular records relating to the Abdication have now been released because they do not fall into any of the categories for extended closure and the release reflects the implementation of the guidelines.
What about the role of the Queen Mother?
There have been some stories in the press that these records might contain material relating to the Queen Mother.
Our initial impression is that there is little material here which relates to her role, if any, in the Abdication. There is some material about her involvement in subsequent events such as the question of an HRH title for the Duchess of Windsor and the question of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor returning to Britain.
The Queen Mother's personal papers are not held by government. Questions relating to access to her personal papers should be directed to the Royal Archives at Windsor.
Are the papers on Mrs Simpson's divorce being released?
The King's Proctor, as part of his official duties under the divorce laws which were in force in 1936 - 37, conducted exhaustive investigations into the legality of the Simpson divorce. These papers are included in the release.
What about the "China Dossier"?
There has been some discussion in the press about the so-called China Dossier which, it is claimed, Baldwin had compiled on Mrs Simpson.
In his biography of Edward VIII, Philip Ziegler wrote: "As with all the best ghosts, everyone had a friend, who had a friend, who had read the dossier, yet no one seems actually to have read it himself. No copy or reference to a copy exists in any official archive." We share Ziegler's view of the dossier.
What about links between Mrs Simpson and the Nazis?
These files contain a few occasional assertions, such as that by Horace Wilson (Chief Industrial Adviser to the government) in a 1936 note to the Chancellor of the Exchequer that "she has been in touch with the Nazis." However, there is no evidence to substantiate such assertions in these files.
Philip Ziegler said in an interview with The Guardian on 29 June 2002 that reports that either Edward or Mrs Simpson were traitors was "complete nonsense based on flimsy evidence." He added that there is nothing in the German archives which could remotely be called evidence that either of them was passing on information.
|
<urn:uuid:425e0f08-6492-4c4f-aeb3-19a5a5edcf29>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/releases/2003/january30/qa.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00048-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.974559
| 862
| 2.265625
| 2
|
TheStreet.com recently published an article titled, “5 Jobs That Are Under Government Attack“. Along with the professions listed were some ridiculous laws requiring college degrees and licenses for certain professions:
- Texas requires computer repair technicians to get a private investigator’s license, which could require a degree in criminal justice or three-year apprenticeship.
- New Jersey told yoga teachers and martial arts instructors two years ago that they had to get a state license or face fines of up to $50,000.
- In Washington, D.C., unlicensed tour guides can be punished for historical chitchat for up to 90 days in jail.
- In Florida, officials threatened an interior designer with a $25,000 fine if she didn’t complete a six-year apprenticeship and pass a test required to be recognized as a legal practitioner of that profession.
- Under Louisiana law, it is a crime for anyone but a licensed funeral director to sell “funeral merchandise.” To sell caskets legally, the monks say they would have to “abandon their calling for one full year to apprentice at a licensed funeral home, learn unnecessary skills and take a funeral industry test.” They would also have to convert their monastery into a “funeral establishment” by, among other things, installing equipment for embalming human remains.
Why do you ask the government for permission to do what you’re perfectly capable of doing without the government’s permission? When will Americans stop giving up their freedom to do business in their community in exchange for a government-issued license?
|
<urn:uuid:205858b5-4231-47cd-aaf3-cb9d1b2b03f6>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://mslp.org/blog/unemployment-abolish-maze-regulations-permits-licenses-starting-business/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.950851
| 334
| 1.765625
| 2
|
Austin Avenue Neighborhood Association
The centrally located Austin Avenue neighborhood is rich in history and architectural diversity. Through the years, the area was home to celebrated local politicians, Baylor University faculty, business leaders, authors and artists.
The residential community is enjoyed by individuals, families and students for running, walking and cycling under the canopy of trees. Adjacent to the residential area, the neighborhood also offers bed and breakfasts, restaurants, and a thriving commercial corridor.
The Texas Historic Commission selected 28 neighborhood homes as architecturally significant local preservation properties. Also, the Castle Heights area has applied for historic designation by the Texas State Historic Commission. Many homes in the neighborhood have received historic designations from the Waco City Council. The Madison Cooper home and the Cotton Lane Castle have state historic markers.
- Discuss and evaluate the needs and improve the quality of life within the neighborhood.
- Promote a strong sense of cooperation in the neighborhood and among businesses.
- Assist the restoration, preservation and improvement of the neighborhood.
|
<urn:uuid:04dc1492-6629-4702-9e4d-8a316303cd14>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://waco-texas.com/neighborhood-austin.asp
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00052-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.954085
| 205
| 1.796875
| 2
|
29. And on account of the equality of names and forms there is no contradiction, even in the renovation (of the world); as appears from--Sruti and Smriti.
On account of the sameness of names and forms, as stated before, there is no difficulty in the way of the origination of the world, even in the case of total pralayas. For what actually takes place is as follows. When the period of a great pralaya draws towards its close, the divine supreme Person, remembering the constitution of the world previous to the pralaya, and forming the volition 'May I become manifold' separates into its constituent
elements the whole mass of enjoying souls and objects of enjoyment which, during the pralaya state, had been merged in him so as to possess a separate existence (not actual but) potential only, and then emits the entire world just as it had been before, from the so-called Mahat down to the Brahman-egg, and Hiranyagarbha (Pragâpati). Having thereupon manifested the Vedas in exactly the same order and arrangement they had had before, and having taught them to Hiranyagarbha, he entrusts to him the new creation of the different classes of beings, gods, and so on, just as it was before; and at the same time abides himself within the world so created as its inner Self and Ruler. This view of the process removes all difficulties. The superhuman origin and the eternity of the Veda really mean that intelligent agents having received in their minds an impression due to previous recitations of the Veda in a fixed order of words, chapters, and so on, remember and again recite it in that very same order of succession. This holds good both with regard to us men and to the highest Lord of all; there however is that difference between the two cases that the representations of the Veda which the supreme Person forms in his own mind are spontaneous, not dependent on an impression previously made.
To the question whence all this is known, the Sûtra replies 'from Scripture and Smriti.' The scriptural passage is 'He who first creates Brahmâ and delivers the Vedas to him' (Svet. Up. VI, 18). And as to Smriti we have the following statement in Manu, 'This universe existed in the shape of darkness, &c.--He desiring to produce beings of many kinds from his own body, first with a thought created the waters and placed his seed in them. That seed became a golden egg equal to the sun in brilliancy; in that he himself was born as Brahmâ, the progenitor of the whole world' (Manu I, 5; 8-9). To the same effect are the texts of the Paurânikas, 'From the navel of the sleeping divinity there sprung up a lotus, and in that lotus there was born Brahma fully knowing all Vedas and Vedângas. And then Brahmâ was told by him (the highest Divinity),
'Do thou create all beings, O Great-minded one'; and the following passage, 'From the highest Nârâyana there was born the Four-faced one.'--And in the section which begins 'I will tell the original creation,' we read 'Because having created water (nâra) I abide within it, therefore my name shall be Nârâyana. There I lie asleep in every Kalpa, and as I am sleeping there springs from my navel a lotus, and in that lotus there is born the Four-faced one, and I tell him "Do thou, Great-minded one, create all beings."'--Here terminates the adhikarana of 'the deities.'
|
<urn:uuid:19e5c4dc-63f7-4f84-9a6d-6ced8126beba>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://sacred-texts.com/hin/sbe48/sbe48128.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.969578
| 792
| 2.296875
| 2
|
Photograph by James P. Blair, National Geographic
This serene image by photographer James Blair succeeds all the more because of its cool blue palette. Every inch of the image says winter, peace, silence. Colors can imbue a photograph with a strong sense of mood. —Annie Griffiths
Photo Tip: Blues tend to be cool colors, especially the blues that drift toward purple. When they dominate a scene, we feel a shiver—an emotional response to the color. One blast of yellow or red in a mostly blue scene will warm it up and change our reaction. Remember to use color creatively in an image to leave an overall impression on the viewer.
Photograph by Josh Exell, My Shot
Silhouettes against a colorful sky or background can make wonderful pictures. The trick is often to underexpose the brighter area of a photograph. The dark area and shadows don’t change in this beautiful shot by Josh Exell, but the orange is a richer orange because of the deeper exposure. —Annie Griffiths
Photo Tip: Most of us know that sunsets can provide dramatic colors in the sky. But many people don’t realize that if they keep shooting after the brightest color seems to fade to the naked eye, a richer hue of the color may appear on film or flash card.
New York City Skyline
Photograph by Jim Richardson, National Geographic
At times, the overall color of a scene can be so different from the way we normally see it that we hardly recognize the place. Seeing lush, green Central Park in a pink fog changes it completely in Jim Richardson’s stunning view, shot from a hotel window. —Annie Griffiths
Photo Tip: Bad weather makes great pictures. It can also make the familiar completely new. So head out in that snowstorm and find ways to shoot in the rain. Celebrate fog and sandstorm and lightning. New pictures await under these conditions.
Photograph by Tarik Mahmutovic, My Shot
The simplicity of this poignant photograph by Tarik Mahmutovic is strengthened by the way he cropped it. Nothing distracts from the basic black of the puppy’s body, so we are pulled into its mournful eyes. —Annie Griffiths
Photo Tip: Keeping the color palette simple by cropping out any distracting background can call attention to the most important elements of a photograph. Remember, black and white are colors too.
Photograph by Jim Richardson, National Geographic
Colors are often associated with certain emotions. The eerie green of the porch against the oddly purple sky gives a spooky feeling to the whole image. Photographer Jim Richardson has wisely worked with the halogen lighting that photographers usually avoid. —Annie Griffiths
Photo Tip: Remember that artificial lighting comes in a variety of colors. Tungsten is yellow, flash is blue, and fluorescent varies. These colors can make or break a photograph, so use them thoughtfully.
Photograph by Joel Sartore, National Geographic
It’s the colors in this abstract photograph that allow us to recognize the birds in flight as macaws. Because macaws have such bright and distinctive colors, photographer Joel Sartore was able to create a successful abstract image, one in which birds of quieter hues would have disappeared. —Annie Griffiths
Photo Tip: Distinct colors can help the viewer recognize objects in an abstract view. When presented with this advantage, the photographer has more leeway to be creative with time exposures and motion while still allowing the subject to read.
Ballet Dancers, California
Photograph by James L. Amos, National Geographic
Like nodding flowers, these ballerinas flow together as much for the palette of their costumes as for the choreography of the dance. Photographer James L. Amos has wisely photographed from above, allowing the soft pastels of the tutus to seem suspended against the simple dark background of the floor. —Annie Griffiths
Photo Tip: Varying colors that have the same feeling or mood in a scene can blend together to give an overall impression of color. This is true with both soft and bright colors. Setting a cluster of color against a simple background will enhance the mood.
Imperial Palace Garden, Japan
Photograph by Justin Guariglia, National Geographic
The symmetry of this lovely photograph by Justin Guariglia is interrupted and made memorable by the red umbrella and its reflection in the pond. The strength of the red in this scene balances the dominant deep greens and cool colors and is quietly echoed by a gray umbrella in the upper left corner. —Annie Griffiths
Photo Tip: In an image with a simple palette, a splash of color can add interest to the scene. But the placement of that color in the scene must be composed thoughtfully so that it adds to the balance of the overall photograph.
Middleton Gardens, South Carolina
Photograph by B. Anthony Stewart, National Geographic
This exquisite image was photographed long ago, on a glass plate negative, by B. Anthony Stewart. Perhaps that explains the delicate palette that makes this image so very beautiful. The colors in this photograph have captured the feeling of spring in the American Southeast as well as any image I have ever seen. —Annie Griffiths
Photo Tip: With all the exciting creative techniques made possible by digital technology, it is good to revisit old images and old techniques. It can remind us that subtlety can be far more beautiful than manipulated imagery.
Photograph by Michael Yamashita, National Geographic
Another great picture made better by bad weather. Michael Yamashita has used a telephoto lens in this situation to compress the snowflakes into patterns of white. He has wisely focused on a plane of snow, leaving the background figures slightly soft. All these photographic choices pull the viewer into the storm. We can practically feel the snowflakes on our tongues. —Annie Griffiths
Photo Tip: A telephoto lens will compress everything in a scene, including elements as small as snowflakes. And the longer the lens, the more shallow the depth of field, so it’s fun to experiment with the patterns and shapes that happen when using this type of lens.
Nat Geo Photo Workshops
Subscribe to National Geographic magazine and save. Print and digital editions available.
|
<urn:uuid:302c0bb9-b533-4c68-8619-b57ef5601918>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-tips/color-palette-simply-beautiful-photos/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00024-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.914226
| 1,291
| 2.296875
| 2
|
Award for Falmouth children's author
A Falmouth-based author has scooped a national award for his books designed to help develop child’s speech, language and early literacy skills.
Craig Green, of the Clickety Books series, won the Gold Medal in the practical pre-School category and the Silver Medal in the primary teacher update category at The Practical Pre-School and Primary Teacher Update Awards recently.
The series received a real boost when celebrity voice artists Rik Mayall and Catherine Tate agreed to narrate the books for their accompanying CDs, while Camborne-based designer Sarah-Leigh Wills created the illustrations.
Mr Green said he was “absolutely thrilled” with the awards and praised the Clickety team for all their hard work. “Everyone delivered their own magic,” he said.
|
<urn:uuid:204106a5-1c2b-4f56-944a-06f7f3a358ad>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.falmouthpacket.co.uk/news/9980155.Award_for_Falmouth_children_s_author/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00059-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.965399
| 170
| 1.546875
| 2
|
Germany's first Museum of Applied Art was founded in 1867. From 1921-44 it was housed in the Berlin City Palace and after the Second World War a part was moved to the Palace at Köpenick. The remainder was housed provisionally in Charlottenburg Palace until the new museum in a purpose-built building in the Culture Forum at Kemperplatz was finally declared open in May, 1985.
Museum of Applied Art Map
Tiergartnerstrasse 6, D-10785 Berlin, Germany
10am-6pm; Sun: 11am-6pm; Sat: 11am-6pm; Closed: Mon
Always closed on: May Day / Labor Day (May 1)
Entrance fee in EUR:
Adult €3.00, Concession or reduced rate €1.50
Guides: Guided tour available as optional extra.
This new museum now displays exhibits from all spheres of European applied art, from the early Middle Ages to the present day. Exhibited on four floors are ceramics, porcelain, glass, bronzes, gold enamel and work by Byzantine goldsmiths, silver vessels, furniture, clocks, textiles, embroidery, decorative carpets, Art Nouveau and Art Deco work, historicism, industrial design, modern skilled craft and much more. Particular mention should be made of the Guelph Treasure (44 objects, mainly relics, portable altars and crucifixes from the 11th and 12th C., which once formed part of the treasures of the Cathedral of St Blasius in Brunswick); the Lüneberg municipal silver (15th/16th C.); the treasure from the former Dionysian Bequest from Enger in Herford (including the "Burse Reliquiary," probably a christening present from Charles the Great to the Saxon Duke Widukind, dating from the end of the eighth C.); a collection of Spanish and Italian majolica (16th C.); the Imperial Goblet by Wenzel Jamnitzer (1564); the Cosmic Dish by Jonas Silber (1589); a convertible table by Abraham Roentgen (18th C.); overlay glass by Emile Gallé (19th C.); and an exhibition of contemporary product design.
|
<urn:uuid:6f4b91d9-aa2b-4df3-8c8f-64e91c706c0c>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.planetware.com/berlin/museum-of-applied-art-d-bn-bmaa.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00047-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.929637
| 473
| 2.421875
| 2
|
An Illustrated Guide to the Native Plant Garden by Susan Carpenter
Wild Lupine (Lupinus perennis) is a native species suited for well drained dry or dry mesic soils, in full sun or light shade. A legume, it blooms May-June, and the seeds are dispersed from pods that split and twist open when mature in June-July. This species has value for beneficial insects, especially native bees, including bumble bees. It is sometimes called sundial lupine, because of its palmately compound leaves. Those are especially beautiful after a rain, as drops of water bead up on leaf surfaces and margins.
|
<urn:uuid:c8fe8cbc-bf49-4e5f-9adf-f2f8947eb282>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://uwarboretum.org/photos/ind.php?albumid=52&index=2
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00064-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.954442
| 130
| 3.25
| 3
|
You are basically discussing the nature of perception. Perception is all that we have to interpret the world around us. We know that perception can be altered by mental illness and drugs (famously, LSD and the related ergot – a fungus on wheat
Have a look at http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/brain-religion.htm
and see the comments on St Paul. His symptoms – flash of light, falling down and hearing voices, are now instantly recognisable, not as a miracle but as temporal lobe epilepsy that distorted his reality, probably in line with guilt feeling about persecuting people. In the cases of drugs and mental illness, the qualia that a person experiences are erroneous; men from Mars are not beaming radio waves at them, the voices they hear do not exist and the subject does not have the ability to fly, no matter what their brain tells them.
Then there is the second issue with qualia; misinterpretation. Our brain, which controls the qualia, is designed to find reasons for, and patterns in, the events that qualia reveal to us. If we do not know the answer, the brain will come up with its "best guess". We have a tendency to trust some people when they give explanations, although those explanations might be wrong. Also, we like to give things names so we can discuss them with others.
As an example, I suffer from long-sightedness. It is not uncommon but one effect is that, in dark conditions, the pupils open up, to gather light. This means that I do not focus well on things at a distance, although nearer and brighter things are seen perfectly. I discovered I was long-sighted when driving at night. Out of the corner of my eye, I would see shadowy people in bushes, posts that would move, etc. Were these ghosts? “No.” Once I had a pair of glasses, there was no longer a problem. But 2000 years ago, there were no glasses, but people still had long- or short-sightedness, and interpreted what they saw as ghosts, demons, spirits, etc. Others had similar experiences and this misinterpretation of qualia provided an explanation. We know better now, but some people stick with the wrong idea. Once they start to believe erroneously, they have a personal difficulty rejecting their idea. This is known as cognitive dissonance. They know it is wrong, but will not admit it to themselves. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cognitive_dissonance
Finally, think of a blue hippopotamus.. OK? Now think of an invisible hippo... OK? We can think of [anything + any attribute.] You will agree that just because we have an image of something in our mind, does not mean that it exists or has ever existed.
I hope now, that you understand how erroneous qualia and the erroneous interpretation of qualia leads to erroneous conclusions.
At the end of the day, it does not matter if qualia are measurable in units, they are measurable against normality.
|
<urn:uuid:d79f385f-1598-4541-81bc-2ab750d0203e>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://whywontgodhealamputees.com/forums/index.php/topic,22431.msg512983.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.973594
| 631
| 2.421875
| 2
|
Air passenger transport in the EU27 in 2010
Highest growth in number of passengers in Copenhagen, Vienna, Milan and Rome airports
In 2010, London/Heathrow remained the EU’s busiest passenger airport, with 66 million passengers handled, down by 0.2% compared with 2009. Paris/Charles de Gaulle (58 mn, +0.5%) and Frankfurt/Main (53 mn, +4.1%) were the second and third busiest airports, followed by Madrid/Barajas (50 mn, +3.9%) and Amsterdam/Schiphol (45 mn, +3.7%). Nine of the top 30 airports registered decreases in the number of passengers handled in 2010, with Dublin (-10.1%) showing the largest fall, followed by London/Stansted (-7.0%), Manchester and Athinai (both -5.2%). The largest increases were observed in København/Kastrup (+9.1%), Wien/Schwechat (+8.7%), Milano/Malpensa (+7.9%) and Roma/Fiumicino (+7.6%).
London/Heathrow (39 mn) handled the most extra-EU passengers, Amsterdam/Schiphol (25 mn) the most intra-EU passengers and Madrid/Barajas (19 mn) the most national passengers.
These figures are published in a report1 from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union, on air transport in the EU27 in 2010. This report also looks in detail at national, intra-EU and extra-EU air transport of passengers and freight, as well as the most important airport pairs within the EU27.
Gradual slow down of the growth in the number of air passengers
In 2010, nearly 777 million passengers2 were transported by air in the EU27, split into 323 million passengers on intra-EU flights, 291 million on extra-EU flights and 163 million on national flights. Quarterly data show a decrease in air passenger transport in the second quarter of 2010 (-1.3% compared with the second quarter of 2009), due to the Icelandic volcanic eruption. Growth returned in the third quarter of 2010 with passenger number up by 5.8% compared with corresponding period of the previous year. Since then however, there has been a gradual slow down of the growth, air passenger transport increasing by 5.1% in the fourth quarter of 2010 and by 3.5% in the first quarter of 2011.
Detailed figures: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAct ... anguage=fr
1. Air passenger figures have been calculated excluding double counting of national and intra-EU passenger transport, i.e. not counting the same passengers twice, once reported by the origin airport as departures and once by the partner airport as arrivals. Since the EU27 aggregate excludes double counting on intra-EU traffic, Member States' figures do not add up to the EU27 aggregate. For example, a person flying from Paris to London will be counted in France as a ‘departure passenger’ and in the United Kingdom as an ‘arrival passenger’ but only once at EU27 level.
2. Air transport at airports in the Member States with a total transport of more than 150 000 passengers carried in 2010 is covered.
Eurostat press release 14/05/2012
|
<urn:uuid:e26fe9d0-d404-4621-985f-5af716be2f29>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.luchtzak.be/forums/viewtopic.php?f=31&t=47425&p=264253
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.922764
| 704
| 1.703125
| 2
|
988.5 linear feet.
Catalog Number: M202.6
In May of 1980 Maine Governor Joseph Brennan appointed George Mitchell to fill Edmund S. Muskie's Senate seat, vacated when President Jimmy Carter appointed Muskie U.S. Secretary of State. In 1982, Mitchell won reelection with sixty-one percent of the vote. After the congressional elections in 1984 he was voted chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC). In 1986, during Mitchell's committee chairmanship, the Democrats won eleven seats and a majority in the Senate. In 1987 Mitchell was appointed a member of the Select Committee on Iran-Contra. Mitchell won his second reelection campaign with eighty-one percent of the vote in 1988. Mitchell's performance on the Iran-Contra committee and his success as DSCC chairman allowed him to develop a broad base of confidence and support from the Senate as a whole, and Senate Democrats in particular, in a relatively short period of time. This enabled him to capture his party's nomination for Senate majority leader. Mitchell also served as a member of the Finance Committee, the Environment and Public Works Committee, the Veterans' Affairs Committee, and the Governmental Affairs Committee. Visit Senate Career Highlights to read more about George Mitchell's work in the Senate.In early 1994 Mitchell announced that he would not run for another term after the completion of his second full term in January, 1995.
Mitchell's Senate office was organized in four basic functions: administrative operations; legislative activities; constituent services; and press and media activities.
Records in this group include memos, notes, correspondence, schedules, reports, bills, hearing transcripts, press releases, press clippings, audio and video tapes, memorabilia, photographs, financial records, and computer files. The largest series of records consists of legislative records (492.5 linear feet) and was produced by legislative aides. These records document the major work of the senator's office.
Significant legislative events include the authorization of the Maine Indian Lands Claim settlement of 1980; the Clean Water Act of 1987 and Clean Air Act of 1990; the Iran-Contra affair in 1986-1987; health care initiatives of 1991 and 1993-1994.
Access Restrictions: Restriction details listed in the sub-series notes.
|
<urn:uuid:28ddbd3a-06c8-486d-a226-c27ea1c6820d>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://library.bowdoin.edu/arch/george-j-mitchell/finding-aid/6/index
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.95557
| 460
| 1.867188
| 2
|
“Being negative is not how we make progress.” – Google’s Larry Page, Google I/O Conference, 5/15/13
Yesterday, Facebook friend Dave Morin (brainy CEO of Path), posted a quote from Larry Page’s May 15th Google I/O 2013 presentation. Larry Page’s quote: “Being negative is not how we make progress.”
No disrespect to Larry Page (he’s a smart guy), but that’s myth disproved by mountains of scientific research. Being negative can actually be healthy (both personally and professionally) and propel progress. Martin Seligman’s University of Pennsylvania research found that optimism can prevent people from seeing reality with necessary clarity and foster complacency. A University of Waterloo study found that negative thinking can improve your finances. University of Chicago research found that negative feedback inspired experienced professionals to strive harder than positive feedback. A European study of 40,000 people found that being overly optimistic was associated with a higher risk of disability and death.
Illustrious innovator and inventor Thomas Edison agreed.
“Discontent is the first necessity of progress.” – Thomas Edison
“Negative results are just what I want. They’re just as valuable to me as positive results. I can never find the thing that does the job best until I find the ones that don’t.” – Thomas Edison
Does being negative kill progress? No. A healthy dose of pessimism can motivate you go out there and make it happen. Other biz “taboos” with surprising benefits: renegade thinking, rewarding failure, creative destruction, team competition, productive friction, and collaboration with competitors.
No hard feelings, Larry Page. Your dad was a computer science professor at MSU and I’m a loyal Spartan.
Earlier today, Groupon fired CEO Andrew Mason. Mason posted his exit letter publicly, noting that it would eventually be leaked to the press anyway.
Mason’s letter begins:
“You become what you disrupt.”
The Dave McClure / 500 Startups “#UNSEXY CONFERENCE” is breaking buzz sound barriers today. Many tweeps are retweeting a meme quipped during one of today’s sessions by Jesse Robbins, CEO of Opscode / O’Reilly Radar contributor / and Co-Chair of the Velocity Conference. The quote? “You Become What You Disrupt.”
Jesse Robbins originally advanced this theory in 2007. Back then, he used Skype to illustrate his point. Alas, the glory days of Skype are long over. Skype has had its share of problems and it only gets worse (it lacks context, it’s de facto illegal in many countries, and overwrought with bugs, crashes, patches, and fixes). But back then, Jesse upheld Skype as a shining star example and declared, “you become what you disrupt.”
Disruption is temporal. You don’t become what you disrupt. You become what you sustain. Disruption by no means equals sustainable success. You may successfully disrupt but fail to be successful. Disruption creates an opportunity to become something else *OR* flame out quickly. You are creating a space for evolution. And unless your company is prepared, poised and perfectly positioned for EVOLUTION — pursuing unmitigated disruption and revolution will merely accelerate your path to failure. Laurence Capron’s recent research proves what we already know instinctively: business survival depends on differentiated products and services, multifaceted growth strategies, and management leadership capabilities.
A few poignant stories:
Yesterday Innovation Excellence (@IXCHAT) announced their Top 50 Innovation Tweeters. The list includes 50 prolific innovation practitioners who are active on Twitter. RE:INVENTION, inc. congratulates those honored. Out of sheer curiosity, RE:INVENTION has created a snapshot profile of those honored – with Klout Scores, Twitter Follower count, and hyperlinks to their Tweets. The average Klout score of those honored: 44.7. The TOTAL number of Twitter followers for those included in Innovation Excellence’s Top 50: 562,548*. One honored tweep – entrepreneur/intrepreneur Julian Keith Loren (@jkloren) — accounts for nearly 40% (217,931) of total Twitter followers among the Top 50.
A Profile of the 2012 Innovation Excellence Top 50 Innovation Tweeters
Eight years have passed since we won “Honorable Mention – Best Small Business Blog” in the first annual MarketingSherpa Blog Awards. This week we’re back to blogging with fresh perspective. We plan to use this new blog to take a stand on “innovate or perish.” To answer naysayers who suggest that most companies lack the capacity to be innovative. Why? Well, because we believe that America is inherently innovative. That American business is innovative. That the world is innovative. And that with the right tools, process, discipline, commitment, and vision any company can be innovative. Yet 33% of all new businesses fail in the first six months. Eight out of ten tank in the first three years. And according to the Journal of Product Innovation Management, for every 7 new product ideas, 1.5 are launched, and only 1 succeeds.
Clearly there are some big hurdles to idea implementation and innovation. Avoiding premature idea strangulation (gasp!) starts with analyzing potential pitfalls.
Yes – smart folks have talked about some of these issues in isolation, but rarely if ever inclusively and if so inadequately. So, how does innovation get stymied? Why do good ideas fail? Here are 10 reasons (our inclusive checklist):
Is your company's
CHECK ENGINE light on? Is your company everyday
inventive and reinventive™ Take RE:INVENTION's
Diagnostic Test now!
Register for the RE:INVENTION Report
You’ll get monthly ideas to help you spark business invention and reinvention.
RE:INVENTION’s Resource Library
|
<urn:uuid:5cbba545-a754-462f-ad46-64cdc57f61d8>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.reinventioninc.com/category/blog/idea-management
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.914101
| 1,262
| 1.976563
| 2
|
Frontpage Interview’s guest today is Peter Lancz, the head of the The Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign against Racism.
FP: Peter Lancz, welcome back to Frontpage Interview.
With the plans for the Ground Zero mega-mosque now having been blessed by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, it appears that the symbol of Islamic supremacism and triumphalism on the 9/11 site may very well become a reality.
You have developed an idea to counter the Islamic Center if it is built. Share your idea with us.
Lancz: Thanks Jamie.
What if were to propose the establishment of a Raoul Wallenberg Freedom Plaza against Islamo-Fascism or against Islamic Tyranny, right on the vicinity of the Ground Zero mega-mosque? This most powerful, imposing and symbolic of monuments to Wallenberg could be erected as the centerpiece of this Freedom Plaza. And this Plaza will host human rights seminars, conferences, rallies against Islamic Jew-hatred, religious intolerance, honor killings, Sharia Law, etc.
It could be periodically arranged that human rights activists from all over the world would come to the Freedom Plaza and give speeches denouncing Islamic Supremacism. Incidentally, Geert Wilders, our modern day Churchill, has expressed his support for my Raoul Wallenberg World Campaign against Racism, so I’d expect him to be front and center.
Imam Abdul Rauf and his soldiers of taqiyya (Islamic deception) claim to be moderates advocating for peace, understanding and outreach. So if they are for these things, surely they wouldn’t be opposed to the placement of a monument to one the greatest and most universally acknowledged 20th century Humanitarians. If they do oppose it, then they will expose themselves for the stealth Jihadists that they are.
Either way, this idea is a win-win. New York Mayor Bloomberg would have no choice but to endorse it, otherwise he’d lose all credibility. All of this is about symbolism. Moreover, it ought not be lost on anyone that in this epic clash pitting Wallenberg’s transcendental legacy of redemptive character vs. Islamic Supremacism’s barbaric legacy of Jihad and conquest, Wallenberg wins hands down. Consequently, we will be sending a resounding message that ultimately we will win this civilizational battle and good will prevail over evil. I think this is something around which all freedom loving peoples of conscience can and should rally.
Pages: 1 2
|
<urn:uuid:a33a407f-e116-468e-a882-bc293655246e>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://frontpagemag.com/2010/jamie-glazov/a-freedom-plaza-next-to-the-ground-zero-mosque/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.934772
| 520
| 1.515625
| 2
|
Traditionally, when people think of breakfast cereal, they think of corn flakes and milk. Yes, breakfast is good for you. But what is odd, is the association of corn flakes with healthy food. Many people eat corn flakes to lose weight or reduce harmful belly fat.
The base ingredient is corn, but along with that the other major ingredient are sugar, malt flavouring, and high fructose corn syrup. All these ingredients have a high content of high GI carbohydrates. In fact, there is a huge controversy linked to the excessive use of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in food- it has been linked to obesity, since it promotes excessive food consumption and insulin resistance in the body. As Indians, we already have the ‘belly gene’, and are prone to diabetes. Consumption of high GI carbohydrates only increases that risk.
Besides the health effects of HFCS, corn flakes has a high content of high GI carbohydrates, which promote fat storage in your body. Besides the fat storage, high GI carbohydrates increase your blood sugar drastically. This high blood sugar level promotes fat storage in the body. This is the ‘sugar rush’ or ‘energy rush’ that you experience after eating sweets. Your brain’s job in the body is to balance all processes. So to counteract this increased blood sugar level, your body over produces Insulin. (Insulin is a hormone which regulated blood sugar levels. For more, know more about Insulin). With extra insulin in your system, your blood sugar level reduces drastically. Your brain assumes this low blood sugar is a signal of less energy, and you experience that laziness post a carbohydrate heavy meal (rice, white bread, etc). Your brain also signals you to eat, since it misinterprets these low sugar levels for lack of energy in the body.
Calories and Nutrition in Corn Flakes: Each cup of corn flakes (approx 25 grams) contains, 21.7 gms of carbohydrates and only 1.7 grams of protein and low fiber content if any. Due to its low protein content, it will not keep you full for long. Each cup of corn flakes has approx 95 calories.
Some breakfast cereal ads might show that corn flakes help you lose weight, but they only expect to eat limited corn flakes for your meals. The irony of corn flakes is that its low in fat, but the high sugar content promotes fat storage!
If you really enjoy corn flakes, then have it with some low fat milk, and add a dose of vitamins, fiber and antioxidants with fruits like berries, apples or bananas. It’ll make a delicious and healthy breakfast and great post workout snack. If you’re diabetic, watch your diet- we have the complete list of foods that diabetics should avoid.
|
<urn:uuid:846a6f22-fb45-4085-aa85-821167920d96>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.fitho.in/tag/protein-content-corn-flakes/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.929486
| 576
| 3.015625
| 3
|
“Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State.“ Thomas Jefferson, Letter to Danbury Baptists.
People who are hostile to America’s Christian founding and legacy and who work to undermine and remove any reminder of our Biblical heritage through government or judicial intervention, often do so on the grounds of the “separation between Church and State.” The only problem with that argument is that no such concept exists.
“Separation between Church and State” does not appear in any of our nation’s founding documents and you will search the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Declaration of Independence in vain for it.
The only place that the phrase “separation between Church and State” appears is in a private letter from Thomas Jefferson to the Danbury Baptists of Connecticut.
Here is the letter and quote in context:
To messers. Nehemiah Dodge, Ephraim Robbins, & Stephen S. Nelson, a committee of the Danbury Baptist association in the state of Connecticut.
The affectionate sentiments of esteem and approbation which you are so good as to express towards me, on behalf of the Danbury Baptist association, give me the highest satisfaction. my duties dictate a faithful and zealous pursuit of the interests of my constituents, & in proportion as they are persuaded of my fidelity to those duties, the discharge of them becomes more and more pleasing.
Believing with you that religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, that he owes account to none other for his faith or his worship, that the legitimate powers of government reach actions only, & not opinions, I contemplate with sovereign reverence that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should “make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof,” thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Adhering to this expression of the supreme will of the nation in behalf of the rights of conscience, I shall see with sincere satisfaction the progress of those sentiments which tend to restore to man all his natural rights, convinced he has no natural right in opposition to his social duties.
I reciprocate your kind prayers for the protection & blessing of the common father and creator of man, and tender you for yourselves & your religious association, assurances of my high respect & esteem.
Jan. 1. 1802.
If you read the letter carefully, you would realize that:
1.) Jefferson is stating that the people would never want their legislature (i.e., Government) to erect a wall separating Church and State.
2.) Jefferson’s personal opinion expressed in the private letter is just that; a personal opinion expressed in a private letter. Therefore, it has no bearing whatsoever on American Civics and cannot be used to promote or impugn the concept either way.
Now that we’ve discussed the Church and the State, let’s discuss the Noose.
The Constitution of the United States says in Article 1 Section 10 that you have the right to make a contract. So, let’s say that you approach me and want to make a contract with me to pay me $10 dollars every hour for the rest of my life. Then, after awhile, you change your mind and stop paying, declaring, “I have a right to keep my own money.” However, you also have the right to make a contract. So when I sue you, the judge is just going to uphold contract law when he rules in my favor.
What churches needlessly and to their own detriment do, is they sign a contract with the government and don’t even realize they’re doing it.
Churches submit themselves to the government when they become 501(c)(3) –
List of exempt organization, foundations and established organizations, organized and operated exclusively for religious purposes (the church). RESTRICTIONS — No part of the net earnings of which issues to the neefit of any provate shareholder or individiual, no substantial part of the activities of which is carrying on propaganda, or otherwise attempting to influence legislation, and which does not participate in, or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of any candidate for public office (including the publishing or distribution of statements.)
At this point, you are a corporation, you are no longer a church. Therefore, you have invited the government to meddle in your affairs.
God made people and God established the church. The people created government. Government creates corporations. So a church that becomes 501(c)(3) has stepped way down from where God intended them to be and they have now become a creature of the state.
If you read internal revenue code for 501 (c)(3) and then turn over a few pages to 508 (c)(1)(A), you would read that IR Code section (26 U.S.C. §508) says that:
new organization must notify the Secretary that they are applying for recognition of 501 (c)(3) status EXCEPT as provided in the subsection (c). §508 (c)(1)(A) states: Exceptions – mandatory exceptions - subsection (a) shall not apply to: (A) Churches, their integrated auxillaries, and conventions or associations of churches…
Therefore, the church is a mandatory exception, not an exemption.
Dear Lord, let it be our earnest prayer to serve Thee better day by day as we grow in grace and trust to Thee for our wants in soul and body. Bless our humble home, where we trust Thee all in all, and where Thou hast given bountifully to such as would receive Thee. Amen.
(A William Nyce., and Hubert Bunyea. Grace Before Meals. Philadelphia, PA, 1911)
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:12-13)
One of my favorite Grateful Dead songs is called “So Many Roads”. In that song, the chorus repeatedly chimes:
“So many roads I know
So many roads to ease my soul”
Is that true? How many roads are there exactly to ease our souls?
Discernment, particularly spiritual discernment, is a rare commodity in these last days and a topic of which I am ferociously serious. In a world that has no shortage of messages about how to achieve fulfillment and happiness, pinging us from the moment we arise, until we lay back down again, we desperately need discernment. What are we to believe when it comes to finding fulfillment and happiness in this life? Did God intend for us to be confused or unsure about this? I briefly touched on this topic in my inaugural post to Across the Fruited Plain entitled “Life’s 4 Fundamental Questions”, (http://sepetjian.wordpress.com/2011/09/21/lifes-4-fundamental-questions/), but was enlivened to revisit this when the above graphic and quote surfaced recently as legitimate, practical and tangible truth for obtaining fulfillment and happiness.
Let us suspend disbelief for a moment and pretend that a man who doesn’t speak the language, actually communicated in familiar, conversational English–complete with contractions–as is recorded above. The first two questions that should immediately spring into a thinking person’s mind are:
1. What does the statement mean?
The Dalai Lama is the worldwide, spiritual head of Tibetan Buddhism. The Dalai Lama goes by the title “His Holiness”, which means that he also accepts worship reserved for deity. He is a spiritual (false) teacher. Therefore, let us dispense with the obvious, which is that this is clearly intended to be interpreted spiritually. After all, his books and teachings exclusively cover spirituality, not how to bake ziti. Based on the statement above, if you want to worship belly button lint and I want to serve Christ, by grace through faith, that those two views are summarily valid and equally spiritually sustaining and fulfilling.
Therefore, this statement means that there are many spiritual paths to fulfillment and happiness.
2. Is the statement true?
Once we have examined the message and dissected the intent of the statement, we can then determine if the statement is true. Before we even appeal to Scripture, let’s appeal to the Laws of Logic as we consider whether there are many roads to spiritual fulfillment and happiness.
Either absolute truth exists, or absolute truth does not exist. If it does not exist, is that absolutely true? If so, then absolute truth does exist. If it does exist, then there can only ultimately be one true road to spiritual fulfillment and happiness. Even Agnostic friends recognize that either one of the world religions is true, or they are all untrue; but they cannot ALL be true.
For instance, Christianity teaches we were created by God. Buddhism states that there is no God and Hinduism says there are over 300 gods. Therefore, how can all three be true?
The Bible clearly teaches that God has a Son while the Koran states that God does not have a son. How can these both be reconciled as true?
I believe the below graphic showing the incongruence and outright contradictions of the world’s major religious systems does an entertaining job of explaining why they cannot ALL possibly be true.
However, as a bowl of wax fruit looks lush until handled, this, most gravest of deceptions, will determine how a person spends their eternal destiny.
Biblically speaking, this sentiment of “many” and/or “any” path to spiritual fulfillment and happiness is not only contrary to the clear teachings of Jesus, but was even foretold. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, arguably the greatest single teaching ever delivered, “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
The people who are in agreement with the above quote, whether it came from the Dalai Lama or not, are those whom Jesus says are doomed to destruction. (Unless of course, they repent.)
Because, as Jesus also taught, He is the Way, the Truth & the Life and no one comes to the Father but by Him. Therefore, to embrace the broad road of universalism is to deny Jesus is Lord!
Jesus is the only way to the Father because Jesus is the only one from the Father.
I know that may sound offensive, but truth is naturally offensive because it excludes all other claimants to truth. It takes courage to stand firm and declare truth as such, which is probably why so many “Christians” genuflect like shrinking violets at the first sign of resistance and then act like capitulation is a virtue.
But just for fun, let’s pretend that this is not clearly speaking about spiritual matters and just speaking about life and it’s general pursuits. Then can I agree that there is a measure of truth in it?
For starters, what are you suggesting this then really means? Are we really confusing this with, lets say, people’s career paths as though there is a debate afoot suggesting that everyone should be the same profession? Is this really about where everyone is living and whether everybody ought to live in the same city, state or country? Maybe it’s referring to the foods people eat and that’s what the Dalai Lama is really contending.
See, when you replace the obvious, clear and intended spiritual inference and plug in a lifestyle variable regarding fulfillment and happiness, the statement no longer holds together logically.
Proverbs 3:6 says: Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
Those still lost, think there are many paths. Those who have found The Way, know there is only one.
I maintain that the Bible contains God’s only prescription for human fulfillment and happiness in this life (read Psalm 1, Matthew 5-7, 1 Peter 1) and the next (read Romans 10:9, John 3:16) and that without God’s definition, you don’t even know who you are, let alone how these things are obtained. True fulfillment and happiness, in this life and for all eternity, is enjoyed only by God’s grand plan of redemption which was thousands of years in the making and that involves forgiveness of sins, the promise of eternal life and a relationship with the one true living God through faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, delivered to us across the pages of Scripture as only our Creator could.
On January 20, 1981, President Reagan, in his first Inaugural Address, made the now famous remark that, “…government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem.” Is that sentiment, knee-jerk, reactionary, and out of touch or is it a statement founded upon truth?
Let’s take a look at ten aspects of American life that have had no shortage of Government “solutions” and how well they have worked.
1. When Government provides solutions for Traffic Safety:
your speed limits signs, (like the one shown here from White Lake, Michigan), cause more fatalities than they prevent.
2. When Government provides “solutions” for Public Education:
3. When Government provides “solutions” for Nutrition:
4. When Government provides “solutions” for Transportation:
5. When Government provides “solutions” for the Military:
our combat troops are forced to wear fake bellies and breasts in order to empathize with pregnant recruits!
6. When Government provides “solutions” to Unemployment:
7. When Government provides “solutions” for “Green” Energy:
billions of dollars get invested in fake solar companies before these criminal fronts are busted out!
8. When Government provides “solutions” for the Economy:
9. When Government provides “solutions” for Immigration:
10. When Government provides “solutions” for Healthcare:
|
<urn:uuid:d46db543-7658-4a35-ba5c-3c9324998cf5>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://sepetjian.wordpress.com/2012/02/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00074-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.956115
| 3,097
| 2.296875
| 2
|
How IT Shapes Top-Down and Bottom-Up Decision Making
What determines whether decisions happen on the bottom, middle, or top rung of the corporate ladder? New research from professor Raffaella Sadun finds that the answer often lies in the technology that a company deploys. Key concepts include:
- Enterprise Resource Planning software is a decentralizing technology: It provides information that enables lower-level managers to make more decisions without consulting their superiors.
- By the same token, Computer-Assisted Design and Computer-Assisted Manufacturing software creates a situation in which the plant worker needs less access to superiors in order to make a decision.
- The better the data network, the easier it is for workers to lean on superiors and rely on them to make decisions. It's also easier for executives to micromanage and keep all the decisions in the corporate office.
- Trust is also a key factor in determining whether decisions are centralized at headquarters or decentralized at the local level. Research finds that the average level of trust of a multinational's home country tends to influence the level of decentralization in that company.
What determines whether decisions happen on the bottom, middle, or top rung of the corporate ladder? New research offers a surprising conclusion: The answer often lies in the technology that a company uses.
Information-based systems, such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, will push decision-making toward the bottom of the corporate ladder. Communication systems, such as e-mail and instant messaging applications, will push the decision-making process toward the top.
And that means developing an IT strategy isn't all about deploying the best technology, says Raffaella Sadun, an assistant professor of strategy at Harvard Business School.
"If a CEO can trust his senior managers, he will be more willing to decentralize decision-making"
"The bottom line is that whoever is in charge of the acquisitions and the IT strategy, they obviously cannot just think about the technology side, they also have to think about the organizational side," she says. "Traditionally, technology is thought of as a tool that enables empowerment, but that's not always the case."
Sadun discusses the issue in "The Distinct Effects of Information Technology and Communication Technology on Firm Organization," a paper she cowrote with Nicholas Bloom of Stanford University and Luis Garicano and John Van Reenen of the Centre for Economic Performance, London School of Economics.
"Technologies that make the acquisition of information easier at the lower level of the hierarchy are associated with a decentralization of the decision-making process," Sadun says. "On the other hand, we have the communication technologies, which actually do exactly the opposite."
IT's different roles
Companies, however, often fail to consider the disparate roles of their software systems, let alone their effects on organizational behavior. Rather, they lump "information technology" into one amorphous idea—the "IT" department—which encompasses all the technology in the organization.
"Technology tends to be dumped into a single category," Sadun says. "The reality is that IT is a huge, heterogeneous set of technologies."
Similarly, when examining issues such as organization and productivity, industry and academic studies historically tend to treat information and communication technologies as "an aggregate homogeneous capital stock," according to the paper. To that end, Sadun and her fellow researchers set out to show how—and why—managers need to consider the very different organizational effects of communication and information technologies.
"This difference matters not just for firms' organization and productivity, but also in the labor market, as information access and communication technology changes can be expected to affect the wage distribution in opposite directions," their paper states.
The researchers looked at non-production decisions such as capital investment, new hires, and new product plans. Such decisions are either centralized near the top of the corporate ladder or decentralized and delegated to the top of a particular business unit. And the decision makers often depend on ERP software, which facilitates the dissemination of information throughout a large company, enabling detailed coordination among various operating units.
Next, they looked at production decisions, which involve figuring out the tasks necessary to meet the goals and deciding how to pace them. These decisions are generally the bailiwick of either a factory floor worker or a supervisor. For those cases, the researchers studied the role of Computer-Aided Design (CAD) and Computer-Aided Manufacturing (CAM) software in decision-making.
In both instances, the researchers hypothesized that the information software would lead to decentralized decision-making. Because the software eases access to the information necessary to make important choices, both the ERP and CAD systems would increase the likelihood that plant managers and production workers would make decisions and act on them without having to consult an executive at headquarters.
On the other hand, the team hypothesized that a rise in leased lines and corporate intranets would lead to a rise in centralized decision-making at the top of the corporate ladder.
In the past, communication often depended on faxes, overnight delivery services, "snail mail," or site visits. Even with phone calls, it was difficult for anyone at headquarters to make educated decisions and communicate them to branch offices. In those cases, it was natural to cede control of daily operations to a local manager.
With today's networking technologies, it's easier for top executives to keep a constant flow of communication with branch offices. However, the network may actually deter innovation. When technology makes it easier to communicate, erstwhile independent workers may find themselves pestering their bosses with e-mailed questions throughout the day. Micromanaging executives find themselves making all the decisions and constantly sending mandates down the corporate ladder.
"Whenever there is a reduction in the cost of transmitting information, it's easier for the person down in the hierarchy to communicate with the CEO," Sadun says. "And the CEO can monitor constantly what this person is doing and just give orders, rather than rely on the judgment of those below."
The research team evaluated data from some 1,000 manufacturing firms in eight countries, including detailed technology rollout histories and surveys that gauged the relative decisional autonomy of plant managers and floor workers. (In gauging the factors that determine whether a firm adopts any given technology, the researchers considered geographic variables that might affect the cost of acquiring the technology—the firm's distance from the Walldorf, Germany, headquarters of ERP market leader SAP, for instance, and the fact that telecom industry regulations vary from country to country, which means networking prices vary, too.)
The findings were consistently parallel with the hypotheses: An increase in the penetration of ERP systems led to a substantial increase in plant manager autonomy. A CAD/CAM deployment raised the likelihood of floor worker autonomy. But communication technologies served to lower autonomy, meaning more decisions happened at the corporate level.
"I was reassured and surprised at the same time that these results were holding across countries and industries," Sadun says.
The importance of trust
That said, Sadun notes that technology is hardly the only factor that determines whether a firm allows decision-making both up and down the corporate ladder. Another major factor lies in cultural differences across and within countries. In a separate study, Sadun found that otherwise similar companies showed huge differences in decision-making tactics, according to their geographical location. In the paper "The Organization of Firms across Countries," coauthored with Bloom and Van Reenen, she documents that firms located in areas with high levels of trust tend to be systematically more decentralized than those in areas with low levels of trust.
Sweden and Portugal, for example, seem to be on opposite ends of the trust spectrum. "There's huge cross country heterogeneity in the way even apparently similar firms decide how to allocate decision rights within the firm," Sadun says. "Take Swedish manufacturing companies, for example. You see that they are completely decentralized, and the middle manager is basically a mini-CEO with loads of decision-making power. And then you take a firm that produces exactly the same good, but instead of in Sweden, it's in Portugal. And there, the middle manager doesn't decide anything and is completely dependent on the authority of the CEO.
"In our research," she continues, "we argue that different levels of trust are a key determinant of these differences. If a CEO can trust his senior managers, he will be more willing to decentralize decision-making. For example, there might be a lower concern about the fact that managers will use their power to pursue their personal interests instead of those of the firm."
|
<urn:uuid:6f415836-aa2a-4f20-a7d6-86ce8ea9136b>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/6504.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.950951
| 1,768
| 2.6875
| 3
|
Does NASA have the right to probe medical records, finances and drug history of employees?
Twenty-eight scientists--who work at positions that do not require security clearance--think not. Because of the unclassified nature of their employment, the plaintiffs cite the background checks as an invasion of their personal privacy.
The controversy began in 2004 when NASA, then under the direction of Michael Griffin, ordered all scientists working at JPL to undergo comprehensive, open-ended background checks — beyond the standard pre-hiring reviews for federal employees — or risk losing their jobs.
Read more here.
The Supreme Court will hear formal arguments today.
|
<urn:uuid:7a7708d3-d0c5-49c7-ab32-0ca78ed29c41>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://smashedfrog.blogspot.com/2010/10/nasa-meets-scotus.html?showComment=1286382965538
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00061-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.90651
| 128
| 1.921875
| 2
|
The goal of the project is building more transparent, corruption-free society by monitoring of the Laws implementation which would improve the process of strategic decision making about the country\s development options, with specific focus on environmental protection standards.
• Increased transparency of the process of decision making related to key development opportunities in energy sector by monitoring of the implementation of the Law on Concessions;
• Increased transparency of the process of State owned power Supply company (EPCG) privatization and by publically discussing the key documents (through the Law on Free Access to Information) related to the this such as process:
- Plans for installing the power cable connection between Italy and Montenegro,
- Tender procedures for building Moraca power dams
• Increased awareness of the citizens on the process of decision making related to the Law on Concessions and the Law on Free Access to Information and the provisions of the Laws in relation to energy sector.
Folowing activities will be implemented during the project:
• Press conference
• Monitoring of the Law on Concession implementation
• Round table organization
• Printing promo materials
• Monitoring of energy sector in Montenegro
Project is funded by the United State Agency for International Development (USAID), Good Governance Activity Programme in Montenegro which is being implemented by East West Management Institute.
Project coordinator: Sanja Svrkota
More information on: email@example.com
|
<urn:uuid:6111a36c-e200-44ab-ae21-6f3503a571e1>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.greenhome.co.me/index.php?IDSP=422&jezik=eng
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.907046
| 296
| 1.765625
| 2
|
Hanging out with flowers and trees might not sound too bad, but there are quite a few hidden dangers. You're dealing with exposure to chemicals, knives, sharp thorns, and potentially severe allergic reactions. Stems can be coated in a wide variety of chemicals, from
pesticides to herbicides to who-knows-what, and there is a wide
variety of aerosols and chemicals used daily in your average flower
shop. Plus, every once in a while, a Venus fly-trap from outer space will ask you to start sacrificing humans to satisfy its bloodlust.
|
<urn:uuid:fad958b2-4ca5-4b77-90dc-6944d7852812>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.shmoop.com/careers/florist/physical-danger.html)
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.956236
| 121
| 1.9375
| 2
|
President Obama and congressional leaders meet Friday afternoon to discuss ways to avoid automatic tax hikes that take effect Tuesday -- though some officials are already talking about what happens after the nation falls off "the fiscal cliff" on New Year's Day.
"It looks like that is where we're headed," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., if only because so little time is left before the end of the year.
Lawmakers are now starting to say that the next Congress -- the one that will be sworn in Jan. 3 -- will have to work on a debt reduction deal, including legislation to deal retroactively with the tax increases that take effect on Jan. 1.
One advantage of this approach: Senate and House members in the next Congress would be able to argue next year that they are voting to cut taxes; the tax hikes would already be in effect.
The parties have been trying for months to agree on a new plan to reduce the federal debt that now exceeds $16 trillion.
If they don't get at agreement by New Year's Day on Tuesday, the nation goes over the so-called "fiscal cliff" -- a series of automatic tax hikes and budget cuts that take are scheduled to take effect in the weeks ahead.
Reid blamed the Republican-run House led by Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, saying they have refused to even vote on plans to reduce the debt with higher taxes on the wealthy as well as budget cuts.
Boehner said it's up to Reid and the Senate Democrats to act on measures passed by the House that emphasize reduced spending.
Reid and Boehner are among those who meet with Obama at 3 p.m. at the White House. The guest list also includes House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.
There is at least one certainty in the days ahead: The George W. Bush-era tax cuts expire on Jan. 1, meaning taxes will go up for everybody.
Of course, this gives the next Congress an opportunity to cut taxes, perhaps a key to an eventual deal on reducing the debt.
|
<urn:uuid:7d29a4cb-1b3c-4d43-8c00-5c61ca7c0abe>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2012/12/28/obama-boehner-reid-mcconnell-fiscal-cliff/1795603/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+usatoday-NewsTopStories+%28News+-+Top+Stories%29
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.968678
| 434
| 1.640625
| 2
|
Two articles. One from the Associated Press and the other from Star Tribune. Both are about a rally held Tuesday at the State Capitol by a group who called themselves United Hmong Stand for Justice. Both tried to show the size of the crowd that gathered and both tried to give a reason why the rally was held.
Both articles were written as straight news stating simply what happened and why it happened. I attended the rally as well so reading what other people wrote about it is certainly interesting.
The AP article used strong verbs. For example, in the lead, "Hmong refugees flocked Tuesday to the state Capitol grounds in a show of support for a revered leader who is accused of conspiring to overthrow the communist government of Laos." Having attended the rally and witnessed men and women running to cross the street to join the crowd, I believe that the writer's use of the verb is excellent. I think it conveys the urgency of the people who attended. The Star Tribune article used verbs like, "chanted," and "gathered"-which aren't as strong as the AP's but nonetheless, I believe it conveyed what it needed to.
What both articles imply is that the rally was to support Vang Pao. If the writer's were to have dug a little deeper and, I believe, talked to more people, they would have found that not ever person at the rally was there to support Vang Pao. Some people who attended the rally, mostly younger people, came to show their support for the Hmong in Laos who they believe are being persecuted by the Lao Government. I believe there was more to the story that just a rally. But, both articles did a good job of getting to the meat of it.
Television airwaves have been talking about it all week: a man cut off his wife's tongue over an argument about her smoking a cigarette while out for her birthday.
The Startribune and In-Forum News offer two very different styles of covering the story.
The Startribne goes more in depth to the story, giving the man and woman a real identity while In-Forum News turned the story into quick overview of the "juicy" facts.
The Startribune has a better lead-getting to the importance/unusualness of the story right away and then telling the story of the couple. In-Forum News' article has a fairly decent lead. It gets to the meat of the story but the writing doesn't grab a reader the same way the Startribune does.
|
<urn:uuid:e0ed0f7b-d518-475e-a967-295184b01cec>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://blog.lib.umn.edu/xion0427/3101newssum07/local_news/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00044-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.978661
| 514
| 2.09375
| 2
|
GTX 480 & 470 Specs And Pricing Revealed
"With the initial Fermi release looming, final spec and price numbers have come to light."
Published: 22nd March 2010 | Source: VR-Zone |
With the release of Nvidia's first Fermi-based graphics cards looming this week, it's about time we've gotten some concrete numbers about the cards. Well the guys over at VR-Zone have released what they say is the final specification and pricing information. Unfortunately, it seems at least some of it is not quite in line with what was initially expected.
The GTX 480 was first reported to sport 512 shader cores. However, due to the current 40nm yield issues, this number has now been reduced to 480. Probably the only good thing to come out of this change is that the card's TDP has been reduced from 295W, though it still remains in the realm of AMD's dual HD 5970 card at a blistering 250W. Clock numbers have been set at 700/1401/1848MHz for core, shaders, and memory respectively. The card will make use of 1536MB of GDDR5 memory on a 384-bit interface. Pricing has been reported to be $499, putting it around $100 higher than ATI's current top-level single card, the HD 5870.
The "lower" level GTX 470 will feature 448 shader cores and 1280MB of GDDR5 RAM on a 320-bit interface. Clock speeds are to be 607/1215/1674MHz for core, shaders, and memory, putting the card at a TDP of 225W. This counter to the HD 5850 could be a bit more effective, with a price just slightly above at $349.
While no concrete performance numbers have been released, VR-Zone does mention that internal testing puts these cards with performance about 5% higher than their ATI counterparts. They also say that their sources indicate dual Fermi cards are in the works. Seeing as the power/heat numbers of the single cards already rival those of ATI's dual card, this is almost a scary thought.
During this time, Expreview has also released pictures of retail cards and their packaging from XFX.
|
<urn:uuid:7823849a-8f6d-4bae-a6e1-7509b97ff496>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.overclock3d.net/news/gpu_displays/gtx_480_470_specs_and_pricing_revealed/1
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.96621
| 457
| 1.578125
| 2
|
Perry Ellis died on May 30 at age 46 of viral encephalitis.
Ellis had been ill for some time. At his New York show last November, Ellis made a brief post-show runway appearance. Press and onlookers were shocked at the designer`s gray, tired and haggard appearance; he was hospitalized just hours after his fall-winter press preview in May.
Though the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta reported that encephalitis is not one of the illnesses that strike people with acquired immune deficiency syndrome, it is widely suspected, especially in the fashion world, that the designer suffered from AIDS.
But the cause of his death shouldn`t overshadow the fact that the fashion world has lost a great and unique talent.
Perry Ellis was a true original; an exuberant designer who preferred adventuresome clothes with spirit and personality.
Always the individualist, he continued to wear his hair in a ponytail long after the look had gone out of style.
No stuffy style dictator, Ellis designed free-spirited, whimsical clothing and put them on well-scrubbed models with wind-tousled hair.
He took neither himself nor his designs too seriously. ``I think fashion dies when it is taken too seriously,`` he was quoted as saying early in his designing career.
In fact, it was often said that Ellis, the rebel of Seventh Avenue, never followed the fashion pack.
Ellis gave us the ``slouch`` look. Today we call it comfortable sportswear. His first collection was introduced in 1978 and was considered avant-garde: Who would want to wear cropped pants, shirts with pleated sleeves, hand-knit sweaters and short skirts?
Well, as it turns out, lots of women did. And we still do.
Those of us today who frequent Benetton shops, live in Esprit separates and have closets full of Guess? cotton knit clothing may not realize that pre- Ellis, there was no such thing as good old-fashioned sportswear with style.
So thank you Perry for all our comfortable clothes.
Ellis won the Coty Award eight times and was a member of the Coty Hall of Fame.
The Ellis empire, valued at $260 million wholesale, includes 16 licensees, among these furs, legwear, shoes, scarves, gloves, underwear and a men`s fragrance.
His loyal staff is stunned over his death. Amanda Manogue, head of public relations for 3 1/2 years, said: ``After the show we were all so enthusiastic . . . (His death) hasn`t sunk in yet. I`m looking at the newspaper with a photo of him right now and my first thought was this is the first time I`ve seen his face today.``
``We all thought he would pull through,`` she said. ``Even after the hospital told us it would be just a short time.``
Ellis had surrounded himself with young, talented people. And, says Manogue, these are the ones who will carry on the Ellis philosophy of design.
His design assistants, Jed Krascella and Patricia Pastor, had been working with him on the women`s collections and will take over now. And designer assistant Brian Buck will assume responsibility for the menswear line.
``Perry`s death is a tremendous loss, both personally and professionally,`` says Ruth Finley, publisher of the Fashion Calendar, New York, and longtime friend of Ellis. ``He was a splendid, warm and extremely talented man.
``He was a very down-to-earth person. He always stayed the same even when he made it big.``
|
<urn:uuid:94fb210e-2c04-4121-a524-11c7b485b402>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-06-08/features/8602030336_1_perry-ellis-coty-award-fashion
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.983104
| 764
| 1.554688
| 2
|
About: Profundity: the quality or state of being profound; depth.
I believe that profundity can often be found in the most mundane of places; or it can be faked arbitrarily by removing the mundanity. I hereby present the Profundity Project, where I will take sentences from decidedly un-profound sources and present them as deep and life-changing aphorisms.
“Well then, you’re hanging around with the wrong everyone!”
—my mom, to my brother, after he insisted that “everyone” he knows [does something moronic]
“You haven’t seen Washington until you’ve seen it at night!”
—An ad on the back of a city map of DC notes that a study of American politics is incomplete without an examination of its darker, more corrupt moments.
“Hold eye open and rinse gently and slowly.”
—My roommate’s Lysol bottle knows it’s tough trying to see things with new eyes, but if you take it gentle and slow, opening up to broader perspectives doesn’t have to hurt.
|
<urn:uuid:fb69d4c4-64dc-4646-adff-09fba935d14c>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://profundityproject.tumblr.com/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00050-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.938064
| 240
| 1.554688
| 2
|
|Title||DrumNet: providing support services to Kenyan smallholder farmers|
|Content Language||English (en)|
|Type of Multimedia||Video Clip (eg. AVI, MOV)|
|Date Of Publication||2006|
DrumNet, a project implemented by Pride Africa, aims to offer support services to smallholder farmers who often operate their businesses without access to information, financial services or markets. Launched in 2002, the DrumNet project is designed to bridge this gap using information technology, efficient business processes and economies of scale. The pilot phase is currently operating in Kirinyaga and Meru in Kenya, but it is envisaged that DrumNet will grow to become a broad network of support centres for small-holder agricultural producers throughout East Africa.
This film describes how DrumNet is helping to improve the ability of small farmers to operate in a commercial environment. DrumNet's support centres are simple, stand-alone facilities catering to clients who require financial, market and technical information in order to make more profitable transactions. Each support centre is equipped with a computer with a dial-up connection to the Internet and a mobile phone (GSM) to link up with the central hub in Nairobi, which acts as the main server/database and provides an access centre for the storage and retrieval of information. Each support centre is managed by an Agent, usually a member of the local community, who collects and disseminates information, assists in forming farmer groups, and arranges buy and sell deals.
Typically DrumNet agents help farmers to form marketing groups and then they ensure that the group members have sufficient technical information to take decisions about which crops to grow and how to produce and pack them for sale. DrumNet then acts as a broker, taking care of many interactions between the farmers and corporate buyers, and building trust and confidence between the parties. They help to organise transport and set up appropriate supply chain finance mechanisms which are operated by input suppliers with DrumNet facilitation. The DrumNet support centres keep records of market trends and can supply price information to producers vis SMS text messages to mobile phones.
|Resource||No Embedded youtube code inserted.|
|
<urn:uuid:c4fc3094-a341-496b-a0c4-229d0a2b3cc4>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.ruralfinance.org/training/youtube-videos/videos/videos-details/ru/?no_cache=1&srec=13671&tdet=training&tdet2=&tdet3=3&referer=MTAxNDc%3D
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.921637
| 439
| 1.804688
| 2
|
Durham graduate wins science and religion award
(20 March 2006)
A former Durham student has won a major international award for progress in science and religion.
The 2006 Templeton Prize, worth £795 000, was awarded to the Cambridge University cosmologist John Barrow for creating new perspectives on questions of ultimate concern to science and religion through his writings about the relationship between life and the universe, and the nature of human understanding. On hearing that he had won the prize, Professor Barrow said: ‘Many of the deepest and most engaging questions about the nature of the universe have their origins in our purely religious quest for meaning. The concept of a lawful universe with order that can be understood and relied upon emerged largely out of religious beliefs about the nature of God.’ Prof Barrow, a student at Van Mildert College, Durham, in 1971-74, took a First Class Honours degree in Mathematics. After gaining a doctorate in astrophysics, he has become one of Britain’s most distinguished scientists. He is also a hugely prolific author on popular science, and his books have been translated into 27 languages. He has written best-sellers on topics as wide-ranging as the nature of mathematics (Pi in the Sky, 1992), the links between the universe and human aesthetic appreciation (The Artful Universe, 1995), and how the universe is characterized by what cannot be known about it (Impossibility, 1998). Infinites, a play based on Barrow’s ideas about infinity, was staged to great critical acclaim in Italy in 2002. The Templeton Prize for Progress Toward Research or Discoveries about Spiritual Realities was founded in 1972 by philanthropist and Wall Street financier Sir John Templeton. The prize’s monetary value is greater than Nobel Prizes as a way to underscore that research and advances in spiritual discoveries can be quantifiably more significant than disciplines recognised by the Nobels. The Duke of Edinburgh will award the prize to Prof Barrow in a private ceremony at Buckingham Palace on 3 May. The winner of the Templeton Prize in 2002 was Rev Dr John Polkinghorne who received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Durham University in 1999.
|
<urn:uuid:823fee9f-52c1-4c15-bac0-45507e8f8b24>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.dur.ac.uk/news/newsitem/?itemno=4168&rehref=%2Fnews%2Farchive%2F&resubj=%20Headlines
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00055-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.965172
| 448
| 1.953125
| 2
|
The past year in Europe, at least the portion west of Russia, focused on developments within the European Union, something of a change in the hitherto unbroken march toward closer political and economic integration of its now 25 members.
The EU and the institutions governing it were considered by some of its constituent governments to be in need of a tightening up. A proposed constitution had been developed, made up of many measures and hundreds of pages. It was in the process of being approved by the EU's member states, country by country. Most took the easy way out and provided for approval by the countries' legislatures.
France and the Netherlands were among those which decided to submit the constitution to referendums by their citizens. In both cases - important since they were founding members of the institution - their voters said no.
That situation will prevail until some government in Paris and The Hague has the guts to present the constitution, in its present or a modified state, to the voters again, or believes it has a mandate to forgo a referendum and approve the constitution through its parliament.
The EU will have a respite from expansion in 2006. Bulgaria and Romania are not scheduled for full membership until 2007. Negotiations with Turkey will proceed, but could take years.
Angela Merkel became Germany's first female leader and the first to be chosen from the former German Democratic Republic, the post-World War II Soviet satellite. She sits atop a shaky coalition, the long-term durability of which remains in question, making the rest of the EU, the Germans themselves, and the United States watchful and a little lonely.
In addition to the departure of Gerhard Schroeder and the transition to lame-duck status of British Prime Minister Tony Blair - the Bush Administration's best friend in Europe, who will also leave the EU presidency - there are questions about the health of French President Jacques Chirac.
He certainly does qualify as a Bush Administration friend, but there is also no thought that whoever would succeed him would be any more favorably disposed toward Washington's goals in Europe.
Better U.S.-European relations may have to wait either a change of administration in Washington in three years, or drastic unforeseen changes in the major European capitals.
In the meantime, each will go its own way, staying in touch, but not working together closely on political, economic, military, or intelligence matters.
(Another in an occasional series of regionally focused analyses of international affairs at the turn of the year.)
|
<urn:uuid:33e9edc9-15e2-48ae-b8c7-ac8d50c77635>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://www.toledoblade.com/Editorials/2006/01/09/Europe-goes-its-own-way.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00065-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.975573
| 505
| 2
| 2
|
web posted September 1997
Opposition to socialists forms in Saskatchewan
Early August saw a new political party form in Saskatchewan. Formed of four Liberal MLAs and four Progressive Conservative MLAs, the new Saskatchewan Party instantly became the second largest party in the Legislature.
The party hopes to form a strong, clear alternative to the governing New Democrats who captured less than half the popular vote in the last Saskatchewan election.
The new party grew out of aborted talks for the Tories and Liberals to merge - and in the face of news that the Reform party will consider a provincial party in Saskatchewan. The new party is expected to have a Reform-like platform. It has no official ties to Reform yet, but supporters include Reform members.
The move was hardly surprising since the Liberal Party was basically disintegrating leaving the New Democrats only forming government because the opposition vote was split.
And even less surprising is the party's platform. It is expected that platform of the party will include a push for smaller government, reduced taxation, balanced budgets, high-quality health care and a strong social safety net. How exactly smaller government, less taxation, high quality health care and a strong social safety net can be reconciled together is a question yet to be answered, but it does bare the marks of two parties with largely incompatible visions joining together.
Ken Krawetz will lead the party while Dan D'Autremont will serve as deputy leader. A leadership convention will be held next year. Krawetz said he would not be a candidate. Krawetz also stated that party members will begin travelling the province to get input from voters before a proposed fall policy convention.
Alexa McDonough, leader of the federal NDP, not surprisingly called the formation of the Saskatchewan Party an "act of desperation."
Even more interesting is the fact that the Reform Party is attempting to make inroads into Saskatchewan with its first provincial wing. Many believe that the new party could be this provincial Reform wing. But again, one must ask if the Reform Party and these Progressive Conservatives and Liberals could sit together as a cohesive unit.
Well if you thought the Liberals were sitting through this all weepy eyed, you'd be wrong. Saskatchewan's Liberal leader wrote to 16 000 party supporters in an attempt to keep them from shifting allegiances to what he called an alliance of two-faced Liberals, corrupt Tories, and sinister Reformers that make up a new provincial party.
The letter, signed by Jim Melenchuk, federal cabinet minister Ralph Goodale, and Liberal Party president Anita Bergman, marked the beginning of a counter-offensive aimed at preventing the new Saskatchewan party from stealing any more Liberal MLAs, key organizers and grassroots supporters.
Said the letter, "The involvement of the Reform party signals a right-wing agenda that includes two-tiered health care, benefits for the wealthy and "questionable attitudes toward minorities. (Reformers) feed off the dark underside of human nature, practicing the politics of greed, fear and division."
Is Reform moving into Saskatchewan?
The notion of a provincial Reform Party was approved just the weekend before the announced Tory-Liberal Party.
Party Leader Preston Manning said Saskatchewan - birthplace of the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation, forerunner of the federal New Democratic Party - might be the best site to found Reform's first provincial wing.
"It's got a history on the one hand of supporting new movements, but on the other hand it's had a history of doing it in a very stable, constructive way, not a reactionary, overly exuberant way as Alberta or B.C. might do sometimes."
So why does Reform want to begin in Saskatchewan?
Just days before the merger, the deputy leader of the province's Tories, Dan D'Autremont stated he would welcome discussions to merge his party with Reform. Then days later, D'Autremont left the Tories to join the new party.
Manning has always been opposed of moving into provincial politics so that he could concentrate the party's resources on building a federal party, but since Reform wasn't able to move past the Western provinces in the recent federal election it he probably feels its the right time.
The question remains what this new Saskatchewan Party will end up becoming -- and if there is room for Reform afterwards.
Ontario government spurns notion of privatizing Workers' Compensation
If you already read ESR's piece on privatizing pensions you would think that a conservative government which has cut spending and taxes and is in our good graces, would run to privatize a troubled system like the Workers' Compensation Board, right?
The Progressive Group for Independent Business (see item below this one) is urging Ontario's government to allow private business to insure workers. The Ontario government, in the midst of a controversial campaign to get the wasteful WCB back into the black, is rejecting the call.
"There is an immediate crisis at the board," said Bob Wood, a Tory backbencher who headed a committee that reviewed operations at government agencies including the WCB. "We've got to get the thing on sound financial footing. Once we do, we can look at ideas for better service."
Under the current rules, many Ontario employers already seek insurance against worker injuries from private firms.
Not only does the WCB do a bad job covering the employees its responsible for now (although if you listen to the unionists it does a smashing job), it only covers 70 per cent of workers in Ontario, compared with almost 98 per cent in British Columbia, 77 per cent in Alberta and 92 per cent in Newfoundland. The majority of companies are required to pay into the system, others, such as law firms and doctors' offices, are not. Still others, including legal aid offices and funeral parlors, must seek permission to join the program.
Some groups, such as the Toronto-based Injured Workers' Union, are pushing for a "universal" system that would require every employer, regardless of the type of industry they represent, to cover their employees under WCB. "We recommend more automatic coverage for everyone," says spokesman Phil Biggin. "It's better for the employees and the studies show a private system isn't cheaper for employers."
We can skip Biggin's collectivist idea, but the Ontario government should recognize that while it's fixing a badly flawed program, it should go all the way and make it a voluntary and privatized system. Band-aid solutions do not work.
Conference on uniting Canadian Conservatives
Roots of Change Conference Update
It's got to be the fault of the white male patriarchal system which holds women down by their throats...
Everyone agrees that spousal abuse is a problem that must be stamped out, so it was good news when Statistics Canada released numbers which showed a "substantial drop in wife assaults reported to police", right? Wrong-o!
Statistics Canada, in its annual report on crime, said incidents in which women were assaulted by their spouses or ex-spouses had declined by 18 per cent in 1996, compared with 1993. The finding was based on police reports from 61 communities across the country.
In Toronto and Montreal, the trend was even more dramatic, with drops of 30.9 per cent and 22.5 per cent respectively, while in Vancouver the number was down by 7.2 per cent since 1993.
Stats Canada has had its problems, but rather than admit that perhaps the problem may be going away, Canada's women's abuse industry attacked the findings...without releasing any of their own numbers.
"Our experience is certainly not that the amount of woman abuse is going down," said Vivien Green, co-ordinator of the Toronto-based Metro Woman Abuse Council. "In fact, if anything, it is increasing."
One explanation for the finding is that abusers are deterred by the get-tough policies implemented by an increasing number of police departments. Psychologist Peter Jaffe, director of Ontario's London Family Court Clinic, a children's mental health centre that studies family violence, said studies in London show such a policy can work. "What we found . . . was that when the police did lay charges, new incidents of violence were reduced in half," he said.
Now I'm not saying that the numbers are right or wrong, but I would like to know if the women's abuse industry is capable of anything besides hysteria combined with no facts.
The real cost of doing business
(Sarcasm alert) The New Democrats and their leftist ilk are right, business pays no tax what-so-ever...
Boston to business: We'll run the show
Reform tries moving in Ontario...again...and succeeding?
"We're going to be launching a pretty serious effort in Ontario to bring together voters who are looking for a fiscally responsible, democratically accountable alternative to the (federal) Liberals,'' said Rick Anderson, the Reform Party's key strategist.
The party's executive council met in Calgary recently and approved a reorganization of Reform's full-time staff in Ontario, complete with the creation of a new position aimed at co-ordinating the efforts of right-wing voters at the constituency level to support Tories provincially and Reform federally.
The plan? Reform wants the support of Progressive Conservatives federally in return the Reform Party will back the Harris provincial conservatives.
"We are going to be more explicitly reaching out to people, and encouraging riding associations and members to look at ways of consolidating those voters. Quite a few of our card carrying Reformers are card-carrying (provincial) conservatives, including right up to being campaign managers and so on."
"We ended up splitting the vote in Ontario in quite a lot of ridings," said Anderson. "There were 28 ridings, I think, where the combined Reform-Conservative vote would have beat the Liberal."
Nancy Branscombe, the party's former eastern Ontario organizer and defeated candidate in Peterborough, has been named executive director of the initiative.
It seems though, that neither party is waiting for any formal move. A
unite-the-right movement spurred by frustrated small-c conservatives in
Ontario has mushroomed and progressed farther than either the Reform or
Tory parties has previously admitted.
What will happen? The next by-election will tell us where conservatism in Ontario stands.
Ontario lends hand to anti-gun registration fight
Solicitor General and Minister of Correctional Services, Robert Runciman,
announced in August that Ontario will present oral submissions to the
Alberta Court of Appeal on September 8 through 12, 1997, challenging the
federal government's Firearms Act (Bill C-68). Ontario is challenging
the registration provisions of the Firearms Act.
Group demands lower EI premiums
The Alliance of Manufacturers and Exporters Canada is tired of the Canadian government paying off the deficit off their backs.
The Alliance sent letters last month to Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, Finance Minister Paul Martin and Human Resources Minister Pierre Pettigrew asking for a cut in the employment insurance premium rate. The alliance wants the rate cut to $2.20 per $100 of earnings for employees and to $3.08 per $100 for employers, effective January 1998. That would be down from the current $2.95 for employees and $4.13 for employers.
"We object to the unreasonably high premiums that both employers and employees are required to pay," said alliance president Steve Van Houten.
As of December 31, 1996, the federal government's employment insurance account had a surplus of $5.7 billion. It is widely estimated the surplus has now reached almost $9 billion and will hit $12 billion by the end of the year. Business groups have been complaining for months that Ottawa is using the fund as an extra payroll tax to pay off the deficit.
And Paul Martin's response? The fact that the government has managed to cut the deficit (that the current Prime Minister has helped create), has led to lower interest rates and more jobs. I guess that means the government does have the right to steal from you after all.
Can private Medicare be far away?
A federal report revealed last month that for the first time since the
birth of Medicare in 1968 annual government spending on health care has
Reform MP asks for investigation into fraud, waste and nepotism at Revenue Canada
Reform Party National Revenue Critic Jason Kenney wasn't surprised mid-August when the RCMP laid 21 charges -- including sexual assault, criminal harassment, breach of trust and fraud -- against the former Assistant Director of the Ottawa Taxation Centre, Donald Regimbal. Just two weeks before Kenney wrote a letter to Herb Dhaliwal, Minister of National Revenue, asking him for an investigation into the activities of senior Revenue Canada officials.
"These charges demonstrate that all is not well at Revenue Canada. How could a senior official like this get away with the criminal abuse of his public position for so long?" asked Kenney.
Kenney wrote Dhaliwal on August 1 asking for a full, impartial investigation into fraud and negligence surrounding the department. Dhaliwal has not responded to the letter. In that letter, Kenney asked that the RCMP investigation underway may not be complete since they are limited to "probing matters of a criminal nature, their investigation will presumably will not deal with the troubling reports of unethical practices, such as managerial incompetence, wasteful spending, and nepotism."
Boy, one should be shocked that Dhaliwal didn't respond to that letter. Why fix a problem before it goes out of control?
Critics cry, "How dare you make sure people can actually pay for what they purchase!"
Can you imagine a society that would actually allow someone to find out if person attempting to purchase something actually has the money to do so? How evil.
In mid-August Ontario's government introduced its proposed changes to the Rent Control law, including a "controversial" provision allowing landlords to reject tenants based on their income. Housing Minister Al Leach said it only makes sense to allow landlords to turn down prospective tenants because their income is too low.
Well, everyone but those who are opposed to the right of private property.
Advocates for the poor say the provision discriminates against the poor and will force many into homeless shelters. "If landlords are looking for a convenient cover for discrimination, this is it," said Bruce Porter, spokesman for the Toronto-based Centre for Equality Rights in Accommodation.
"This is the first province in Canadian history to explicitly legalize discrimination against poor people."
Even the vanguard of leftist action, Ontario's Human Rights Commission, attacked the bill earlier in the year, calling it demeaning.
"It's based upon, I suspect assumptions that are often made about people who are on assistance or low-income people - that they more frequently default in the payment of rent, that they are less responsible in the management of money, that they have more children," said HRC head Keith Norton
Norton should realize that property owners have rights too, except their rights are logically validated. The right to private property is a basic right, and right to do what one wishes with that property is an area that the government should not be allowed in. You do not have the right to demand a property owner rent to you.
China stamps out election rights
Hong Kong's government introduced a bill in August that would sharply curb voter power and urged legislators to pass it quickly or risk delaying elections planned for May. The bill would slash the number of voters allowed to cast ballots for 30 legislative seats from 1.1 million to 180 000. Twenty other seats in the 60-member chamber would be chosen by universal suffrage and 10 by a committee.
The bill would override rules that were in place for legislative elections in 1995. That year, 30 seats were selected by rank-and-file members of various professional groups. Under the new system, far fewer would have a vote.
In the 1995 vote, the Democratic party captured 29 seats, easily eclipsing pro-China candidates. The party and independent democrats criticized the proposed changes, saying they would entrench the power of Hong Kong's pro-China élites.
China's puppets in Hong Kong defended the changes saying that universal suffrage was promised for 2007 and that these "expediencies" would not last for long.
Neither apparently do Chinese promises.
Canada's Marxist-Lennist king dies
Hardial Bains, the national leader of the Communist Party of Canada (Marxist-Leninist), died in late August of cancer. He was 58. His partner, Sandra, and several close friends were at his side.
From his earliest days in India, and then in Canada from 1959, Bains devoted his life to the cause of communism and founded the party that is known as the Marxist-Leninists. It ran 65 candidates in the last federal election.
"(Bains) reserved his greatest love and attention for the younger generation whom he never failed to encourage to rely on their own convictions and abilities with utmost confidence and to kow-tow to no one," the party's 'central committee' said in a press release.
"Bains' selfless and unwavering revolutionary leadership in the struggle to humanize the social and natural environment, the essence of his life and work, has inspired thousands."
Bains had been on my radar screen for quite a while, but his "sovereignty of the individual" theory frankly left me too bored to ever respond to his work. Be that as it may, it seems that Bains finally lost more than those chains that his ilk rant about.
Reform Leader Preston Manning's decision to move into Stornoway will
wind up costing
Manning also said that he will still accept an annual $21 300 tax-free expense allowance paid to MPs to help cover the cost of commuting from their ridings.
Besides all of this, Stornoway got $68 000 worth of fresh new paint, buffed-up furniture and fine china to make it livable.
Like I said before. Manning made a big show of giving back the keys to his government car when he was first elected to prove how much he didn't want the little perks that come with office...because what he really wanted were the big ones.
Young Tories get Manning at convention
To lighten things up
A freshman at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the Greater Idaho
Falls Science Fair. He was attempting to show how conditioned we
have become to alarmists practicing junk science related to environmental
issues. In his project, the young student urged people to sign a
petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical
1. cause excessive sweating and vomiting
© 1996-2013, Enter Stage Right and/or its creators. All rights reserved.
|
<urn:uuid:f6696d00-9d43-45ce-9573-037a163da879>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://enterstageright.com/archive/articles/0997tidbits.htm
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.96745
| 3,866
| 1.625
| 2
|
Importance of Uzbekistan NGOs on solution of unemployment problem
AbstractUzbekistan is on the way of transition to the market economy, and much has already done to make the economic and social reforms to work towards creation of a welfare society. It is necessary to note the fact, that the construction of market economy with strong social protection is a priority of all reforms. Therefore, one of the Uzbekistan transition period principles is that the state is the main reformer. It is hard to overestimate state’s domination role as the strong authority should be characterized first of all by execution the state laws on places. At the same time it is necessary to determine key tools to be used in state reforms, both in economic and social fields. The government has powerful tools of influence on economy, they are Central Bank, and Ministries with their various departments and officers on places...........
Download InfoIf you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
Bibliographic InfoPaper provided by EconWPA in its series Labor and Demography with number 0408013.
Length: 16 pages
Date of creation: 19 Aug 2004
Date of revision:
Note: Type of Document - doc; pages: 16
Contact details of provider:
Web page: http://188.8.131.52
Find related papers by JEL classification:
- J - Labor and Demographic Economics
This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:
- NEP-ALL-2004-08-23 (All new papers)
- NEP-CIS-2004-08-23 (Confederation of Independent States)
- NEP-CWA-2004-08-23 (Central & Western Asia)
You can help add them by filling out this form.
reading list or among the top items on IDEAS.Access and download statistics
For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: (EconWPA).
If references are entirely missing, you can add them using this form.
|
<urn:uuid:40f83ff2-5a48-487a-a194-6d814f32126a>
|
CC-MAIN-2013-20
|
http://ideas.repec.org/p/wpa/wuwpla/0408013.html
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00075-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.902017
| 470
| 1.90625
| 2
|