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Carol Byrne sells local and organic vegetables that are moderately priced and bought by general customers at her L.O.V.E stall in the Bull Ring market. [Picture sometimes loads slowly]
She wrote about what might be our nearest community supported agriculture scheme in the region in her latest blog: “Today I visited Canalside . . . → Read More: A Bull Ring stall, Community Supported Agriculture and a Co-op market
Earlier in May, though the Co-op store in Evesham and Pershore was stocking asparagus grown in the Vale, local people were concerned to find that their Tesco store only stocked asparagus grown in Peru. Waitrose in Hall Green also offered nothing but Peruvian asparagus that week.
As oil prices rise and air travel is . . . → Read More: Buy locally grown fruit and vegetables
The volcanic ash saga gives us a taste of what things will be like if we don’t develop markets and aviation policies fit for the 21st century.
The Birmingham Post’s editorial this week criticised Birmingham Friends of the Earth, for pointing out that whilst inconvenient for many, the volcanic ash saga has at least resulted in . . . → Read More: No fun at the airport…
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Dept. of Energy issues RFP for collegiate wind competition
The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) to participate in DOE's inaugural National Collegiate Wind Competition.
The National Collegiate Wind Competition is a forum for undergraduate college students of multiple disciplines to investigate innovative wind energy concepts; gain experience designing, building, and testing a wind turbine to perform according to a customized market data-derived business plan; and increase their knowledge of wind industry barriers. Successful teams will gain and then demonstrate knowledge of technology, finance, accounting, management, and marketing, providing lifelong technical and business skills.
The theme of the inaugural competition is to design and construct a lightweight, transportable wind turbine that can be used to power small electronic devices. A principal contest involves testing each team's prototype wind turbine in a wind tunnel under specific conditions. Each team's business plan and turbine will also be evaluated against other pre-weighted criteria. The third stage of the competition will be a team-to-team debate relating to current wind market drivers and issues. Teams will be judged on the members' understanding of the issues posed to them, their communication of potential solutions, and their ability to promote constructive dialogue.
This competition is an opportunity for collegiate institutions to showcase student ingenuity and the programs that the students represent. In addition to this national recognition, the turbine from the college or university with the best overall score will be placed on temporary display at the DOE Headquarters building in Washington, D.C. The competition enables DOE to support innovative and forward-thinking educational institutions that incorporate renewable energy technologies, helping to foster the growth of the future wind energy industry and workforce.
The RFP is available on the Federal Business Opportunities website, solicitation number RFC-3-23003.
Wind for schools ... and property taxes, November 26, 2012
Study: Wind power puts more dollars in rural county residents' pockets, October 9, 2012
Wind for Schools project has banner year in 2011, August 2, 2012
Pioneering community college hopes for PTC extension soon, July 23, 2012
New Oklahoma wind farm brings economic benefits, July 13, 2012
S.D. technical school president on edge about PTC extension, July 3, 2012
Arizona investment fund awards $1.3 million to Native American groups for renewable energy projects, June 25, 2012
Birthplace of Wind for Schools, Colorado program honored with Wirth Chair Award, May 8, 2012
Tax payments to S.D. counties illustrate impact of wind tax credit, May 8, 2012
With Illinois launch, Wind for Schools enters new era, April 16, 2012
In triumph for Maine high school students, wind turbine goes online, April 3, 2012
Free at last: High school students get final signoff to install 100-kW wind turbine, December 23, 2011
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Web edition: June 22, 2012
This week, the United Nations hosted a major conclave in Rio de Janeiro — the 2012 Conference on Sustainable Development. Widely referred to as Rio+20, its timing commemorated the 20th anniversary of the so-called Earth Summit in this Brazilian capital. As one token — but highly visible — gesture toward sustainability, the new event encouraged all attendees to shrink their paper footprints. Apparently, most complied.
“Normally, at a big conference like Rio+20, we would have used more than 20 million sheets of paper,” said Magnus Olafsson, who heads a new United Nations’ initiative known as PaperSmart. Make no mistake, he said, paper documents could still be found at the Rio summit. But the final tally came to somewhat fewer than 1 million, he estimated as close of the event on June 22.
Lots of issues play into figuring out how many sheets of paper a tree may provide (especially since only certain smaller trees tend to give their lives for communication as opposed to lumber), according to the Answers website. But a reasonable average, it posits, might be 8,350 sheets. If the conference saved 19 million sheets of standard copy paper (and from attending some past events I can vouch that not all documents are on such inexpensive paper), that might translate into saving the lives of some 2,275 trees.
Major events such as this Rio summit, attended by literally thousands of delegates and even more non-governmental observers and journalists, spawn countless texts: draft statements — at times revised by the hour, press releases, position statements by lobbying groups and more. To allow the amassed congregants to pore over the potential import of each bureaucratic syllable, documents big and small circulate around the clock. At stake: progress toward creating (or influencing) new policies — even, perhaps, a new treaty.
At such events, where the atmosphere often alternates between a carnival and jousting match, paper typically has flowed — well, like Danish beer at the Copenhagen climate summit 30 months ago (and there was a lot of beer, since it cost parched attendees less than a soft drink, glass of juice or bottle of water). We can hope that the Rio Summit's strategy to issue texts mostly in megabytes, not on dried wood pulp, will set a potent precedent. But two things that should not get lost in the hurrahs, here, is that 1) even digital texts have a carbon footprint, based on the energy needed to find, download and read them, and 2) not everyone yet has ready access to or comfort manipulating the electronic hardware needed to digest digital docs.
Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. [Go to]
A. Ossola. The energy of an Internet search. Science News for Kids, December 15, 2010. [Go to]
J. Raloff. Googling: Your cup of tea? Science News blog, January 12, 2009. [Go to]
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Research conducted by the American Academy Of Dermatology finds that the way you sleep can actually make you look older. Studies show that sleeping in certain positions night after night can etch permanent wrinkles into your face.
But there are some ways to avoid that, and help you look younger. Patty Colman is here with some tips...she is the president of 'About Face Products'.
Here are those tips:
Don't sleep on your face.
Don't sleep with makeup on.
Don't eat or consume alcohol before going to sleep.
Don't use products that are sensitive to sunlight during the day.
Create a sleep conducive environment.
Keep your head slightly elevated.
Get at least 7 hours of sleep.
Go to bed at the same time every night.
For more information about Patty's Wrinkle Prevention Pillow, just go to her website: http://wrinklepreventionpillow.com/home.php
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State Senator Dan Patrick, (R) Houston, is one of the guests on this weeks' Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall. He says the state has many priorities for improving the quality of education for Texas children. Patrick tells Khambrel that one of the keys is input from many stakeholders and to not rule out any ideas that can make a difference. Patrick also addresses the concern for security in Texas schools and does not rule out teachers having the right to carry guns. Hear his ideas concerning vouchers and how the state might pay for improving the Texas education system.
This all-education program brings together experts from various areas to talk about the most effective way we make positive difference in the Texas Educational system. Joining Khambrel are Dr. Zachary Hodges, president of Houston Community College's Northwest Campus, who discusses how decisions made in elementary education impact the junior college level and security concerns on his campus. Bob Mock, assistant chief of the Houston Independent School District Police Department, weighs in one what HISD police are doing to keep campuses as safe as possible. Gayle Fallon, the president of the Houston Federation of Teachers, talks about the most urgent concerns of the teachers who are on the front lines of education.
Also this week, Dr. Scott Van Beck, executive director of Houston A+ Challenge, talks about ways legislators in Austin can make the most effective impact on the quality of education. Carol Shattuck is the president of Collaborative for Children and talks about ways early childhood education is being impacted by this legislative session and the prospects for the future. Dr. Reagan Flowers,founder & chief executive officer of CSTEM, says a hands-on style of education is key for maximum learning, especially in the science and technology areas.
It is a very informative and fast-moving half hour! Watch Houston Newsmakers with Khambrel Marshall Sunday at 10 a.m., right after Meet the Press with David Gregory.
- State Senator Dan Patrick, (R) Houston-District 7; 713-464-0282, www.patrick.senate.state.tx.us/
- Zachary Hodges, Ed.D., president-HCC Northwest Campus; 713-718-5757, http://northwest.hccs.edu
- Bob Mock , assistant chief, HISD Police Dept.; 713-892-7777, www.houstonisd.org
- Gayle Fallon, president, Houston Federation of Teachers; 713-623-8891, http://hft.tx.aft.org
- Scott Van Beck, Ph.D.,Executive Director, Houston A+ Challenge, 713-658-1881, www.houstonaplus.org
- Carol Shattuck, president, Collaborative for Children; 713-600-1100, www.collabforchildren.org
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Amazon Expands Public Cloud Infrastructure With NoSQL-Based Database Service
On Wednesday Amazon Web Services (AWS) launched a new database service that will let customers store and modify unstructured content while proving rapid access to data. The new internally developed distributed database service, called DynamoDB, is based on NoSQL, which is growing in popularity as an alternative to SQL databases, particularly for managing unstructured data.
Amazon said customers that tested the beta of DynamoDB were able to achieve anywhere from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of writes per second without having to rewrite any code. Helping achieve the low latency and predictable response times is the fact that data is stored on solid state drives, (SSDs) and synchronized across Availability Zones (datacenters) within an Amazon Region.
Unlike traditional hard disk drives used in datacenters and storage arrays, SSDs are able to read and write data much faster. SSDs also cost much more than HDDs, though prices are declining with the proliferation of the media on mobile devices.
Amazon's new service looks to vastly extend upon the limitation of its SimpleDB service, the company's existing non-relational data store. With its fast access to data, DynamoDB might be one of the most scalable database services yet offered by a public cloud service provider.
"I haven't seen any other service provider offer at this scale, and provide it as a service," said Forrester Research analyst Vanessa Alvarez in an e-mail. "Most cloud service providers today offer infrastructure as a service (or storage as a service) and haven't moved beyond that. However, there is interest. I've had many calls with service providers, where they're inquiring what it should look like."
DynamoDB is already powering the company's Amazon Cloud Drive and Kindle platforms, as well as Web scale services run by photo- and video-sharing service SmugMug and health information provider Elsevier. In addition to performance, Amazon touted the fact that DynamoDB is a fully managed service, meaning it doesn't require database administrators or systems management. Customers can configure capacity requirements via the AWS Management Console.
"DynamoDB is a fully managed NoSQL database service that provides extremely fast and predictable performance with seamless scalability," said Amazon CTO Werner Vogels in a webcast announcing the new service. "It enables customers to offload the administrative burdens of operating and scaling distributed databases so they don't have to worry about provisioning, patching, configuration, cluster management, things like that. With DynamoDB we believe we've finally cracked the code in giving developers what they've always wanted -- a seamless scalability and zero administration."
Vogels added that DynamoDB will appeal to customers who don't want to run SQL databases via Amazon's EC2 service or on their own premises. Amazon handles the management and administration of the features of DynamoDB. In fact, the only controls it offers to customers is the ability to dial up or down the capacity of the service and to add or remove data.
"We handle all of the work that's required behind the scenes to make sure the customers' databases are consistently fast and secure," Vogels said. "With database software, whether it's relational or non-relational, almost all of this administration is manual, regardless of whether the software runs on the server or in a datacenter or in the cloud."
Swami Sivasubramanian, general manager of the DynamoDB business at Amazon, said providing low-latency access to content was a key design goal of the service. Depending upon the requested throughput, DynamoDB determines the number of partitions needed by a given table and provisions the right amount of resources to reach partition, Sivasubramanian said on the webcast.
Customers can explain in non-technical terms how they want a database provisioned -- for instance, the number of read-write requests made per second. This is aimed at removing complexity among customers who typically allocate resources and time to benchmarking an application to see how large their database clusters should be. Also with DynamoDB, Sivasubramanian said customers are no longer locked into the capacity they provision for a peak use-case.
"They can always scale it down once their application's peak decreases," he said. "For instance, let's say you're launching an application tomorrow and you're expected to be all over the Internet. You can dial up your throughput to handle the load to hundreds of thousands of requests per second. Once you're traffic subsides, you can dial down to your expected usage and you don't need to keep paying for your peak traffic. They can make the tradeoff between consistency, performance and cost."
SmugMug's CEO Don MacAskill, who was also on the webcast, said DynamoDB was able to achieve millisecond reads and writes. Noting his company's site manages billions of photos and videos that are constantly uploaded and downloaded, traditional databases were proving to be costly and management-intensive.
Amazon's existing EC2 compute and S3 storage service required too much overhead, MacAskill indicated. With DynamoDB, "we didn't have to worry about provisioning, we didn't have to worry about maintenance and backups and replication and all of those sorts of things," he said.
Initially, DynamoDB will appeal to large Web scale companies such as SmugMug, noted Forrester's Alvarez. "However, I can see this going more mainstream in areas like financial services and retail, where there's a need for something like this, and really don't want to make the capex investment in having to continue doing it themselves," she said.
Vogels said in a blog post that pricing starts at $1 per GB per month and $0.01 per hour for every 10 units or write capacity and $0.01 per hour for every 50 units or read capacity.
Jeffrey Schwartz is editor of Redmond magazine and also covers cloud computing for Virtualization Review's Cloud Report. In addition, he writes the Channeling the Cloud column for Redmond Channel Partner. Follow him on Twitter @JeffreySchwartz.
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will present “Bullets, Ballads, and Bandages: Civilians and Soldiers in the Civil WarOzarks,” an afternoon of activities at Battlefield Historic State Park , , from noon to 3:30 p.m.
Independent researcher Steve Burgess will discuss the Battle of Cane Hill at noon. At ., a concert of Civil War-era music will be performed by the Back Porch Players. Living history professional Doug Kidd will present “The Life of a ” at . Members of the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History’s living history group will be on hand throughout the afternoon portraying Ozark folks during the Civil War. All activities are free.
Heritage Trail Partners is a non-profit organization dedicated to documenting and preserving the history of roads and trails in western Arkansas associated with the Trail of Tears (1837-1839), the (1858-1861), and Civil War troop movements (1861-1865). “Our vision is to utilize historic roadways as a part of a regional network of bicycle and walking trails. The Heritage Trail will link Northwest Arkansas cities in a unique way, connecting them through the historic events of the 1800s,” said John McLarty, president of Heritage Trail Partners. He added, “We offer public programs such as “Bullets, Ballads, and Bandages” as a way to educate the public not only about local history, but about the Heritage Trail project.”
For more information, contact Susan Young, Heritage Trail Partners secretary, at 750-8165.
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If an object is acted on by equal and opposite forces then it will be in equilibrium, and it's acceleration or velocity (and so direction as well) will not be changed.
So when a ball bounces, it exerts a force on the floor, which matches the magnitude of the force in the opposite direction (the ball is bouncing perfectly vertical), up. So how is it's velocity/direction changed? If the forces are equal and opposite to each other. In order for it bounce, surely the force acting from the floor to the ball must be greater than the force acting from the ball to the floor?
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Monster Black Hole Burp Surprises Scientists
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Astronomers have discovered what appears to be colossal belch from a massive black hole at the heart of a distant galaxy. The outburst was 10 times as bright as the biggest star explosion, scientists say.
The potential super-sized black hole burp find came as astronomers studied the galaxy NGC 660, which is located 44 million light-years away in the constellation Pisces.
"The discovery was entirely serendipitous. Our observations were spread over a few years, and when we looked at them, we found that one galaxy had changed over that time from being placid and quiescent to undergone a hugely energetic outburst at the end," study researcher Robert Minchin of Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico said in a statement.
To determine whether the outburst was from a supernova — the explosive end of a star — or the galaxy's core, the researchers used the High Sensitivity Array, a global network of telescopes that includes the Very Long Baseline Array, the Arecibo Telescope, the NSF's 100-meter Green Bank Telescope, and the 100-meter Effelsberg Radio Telescope in Germany.
Instead of an expanding ring of material suggesting a supernova event, the researchers found five locations with bright radio emissions clustered around the galaxy's core.
"The most likely explanation is that there are jets coming from the core, but they are precessing, or wobbling, and the hot spots we see are where the jets slammed into the material near the galaxy's nucleus," said Chris Salter, also of the Arecibo Observatory.
Those jets, the researchers said, would mean the outburst likely came from a supermassive black hole at the heart of galaxy NGC 660. As the black hole devours dust and mass, it pulls a whirling disk of matter into its heart that spews jets of particles as it is consumed.
Supermassive black holes are colossal structures at the cores of galaxies that are between millions and billions of times as massive as the sun. They are much larger than stellar-mass black holes, which are created from the deaths of giant stars and can contain the mass of about 10 suns.
MORE FROM LiveScience.com
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Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee (HELP), recently released The Affordable Health Choices Act. The bill aims to reduce health care costs, protect individuals’ choices of doctors, hospitals and insurance plans and guarantee, quality and affordable health care for all Americans.
The legislation would require all individuals to have health insurance, ban insurers from refusing to cover pre-existing conditions, and establish online exchanges where the uninsured and employees of small companies could shop for affordable insurance.
C3 strongly supports the belief that affordable health care ought to be available to all Americans regardless of their pre-existing conditions. The issue of prohibiting insurers from excluding individual with pre-existing conditions should be of the utmost importance to the entire cancer community. Currently, our laws allow significant gaps in coverage. These gaps are particularly disturbing for Americans struggling to treat or maintain a pre-existing condition, such as colorectal cancer.
Health care reform is long overdue. Senator Kennedy has mentioned in the past how his own personal battle with cancer has shown him the need for health care reform. “We have the greatest doctors and medical innovations in the world, but more and more Americans are on the outside looking in to a world of progress and discovery that is denied to them because they cannot afford quality healthcare.” Kennedy went on to say, “When successful reform takes hold, the American people will wonder what has taken us so long.” (The Boston Globe)
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Everything is made up of matter. The study of chemistry is the process of discovering how matter behaves and why. By studying chemistry at Sterling College, one learns to see the fingerprint of God through this matter that makes up His creation.
Dr. Curtis Beechan, who holds a Ph.D. in chemistry from Stanford University, brings more than his solid academic background to his position as Sterling’s chemistry professor. He also brings a passion for teaching students about the make-up of the world in the environment of a Christian college.
By holding to high standards and by teaching chemistry with an understanding of faith, Beechan carries on a tradition of excellence in science education at Sterling College which dates back to the first half of the 20th century. Under the leadership of the late Dr. Ruth Thompson, for whom the science building is named, Sterling enjoyed a national reputation in science education.
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Integration courses – what are they?
If you would like to live in Germany, you should learn German. This is important if you are looking for work, if you need to fill in application forms, if you would like to support your children in school or if you would like to meet new people. Also, you should know certain things about Germany, for example, about its history, culture and its legal system. You will learn all this on the integration course. You can find important information about the course on the following pages.
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In this paper, the author examines the potential for administrative independence to be used as a site for promoting positive uses of discretion. Using field experiences drawn from an ethnographic study of the concept of "tribunal independence” in Canadian access to information and privacy commissions, the author argues that the type of independence labeled as institutional independence in the jurisprudence provides not only for the setting of routine administrative tasks such as the assignment of cases and sittings, itt also denotes a much richer discretionary realm in which administrative actors use their discretion to set the foundational norms and values that guide all aspects of the decision-making process at their institution. This norm-setting element of institutional independence is highly influenced by the institutional culture of the administrative body itself.
Three examples from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario and the federal Office of the Privacy Commissioner are examined to illustrate how administrative actors’ normative understandings of the work that they do, coupled with understandings of independence, autonomy and impartiality may lead to results that garner varying degrees of public confidence. Theorizing from the empirical findings in the field, the author argues that the dialogic model of discretion, which requires administrative actors and the public to ensure authentic exchanges before discretionary decisions are rendered, should be expanded beyond the context of individual cases. By encouraging administrative actors to use a dialogic model as part of broader foundational norm-setting, there is a greater chance that the programmatic values set at this level will resonate with legitimate public expectations of fairness and the rule of law. Such a dialogic model is one tool that can be used in seeking to achieve good governance at the administrative level.
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The New Year’s Day budget agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff includes two key measures that could be critical to people receiving long-term supports and services and their caregivers. The first repeals the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act. The second creates a new national commission to develop a plan for better financing and delivery of long-term care services.
Unfortunately, there may be less than meets the eye to both of these long-term care provisions. The CLASS Act had already been abandoned by the Obama Administration. And the commission, sadly, seems like a classic congressional study, destined to gather dust on a bookshelf somewhere.
The repeal of CLASS was hardly a surprise. A year ago, I predicted it would be repealed in 2012. The measure, a piece of the 2010 health reform law, was supposed to create a new national, voluntary long-term care insurance system. But it was roundly criticised by Republicans and had little support among Democrats.
Most important, actuaries found that, without substantial changes, the program’s premiums would be far too expensive for most buyers and projected it would be financially unsustainable. As a result,more than a year ago, the Obama Administration refused to implement the program. Its repeal was widely expected. The only real question was when and how would it be killed.
At first glance, the budget agreement includes an important trade-off–the creation of a national long term care commission. The idea of such a panel has been pushed for a couple of years now by Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV).
The 15-member panel would include members appointed by the White House as well as Democratic and Republican leaders of the House and Senate. Its ambitious goal: To “develop a plan for the establishment, implementation,and financing of a comprehensive, coordinated, and high-quality system that ensures the availability of long-term services and supports for individuals in need of such services and supports… and individuals desiring to plan for future long-term care needs.”
Panel members are to reflect the interests of recipients of care, their caregivers, providers, care workers, long-term care insurance companies, and state Medicaid officials.
It all sounds great–and long overdue. The country has not taken a comprehensive look at the long-term care needs of frail seniors and younger people with disabilities since the Pepper Commission more than two decades ago. Yet, there are elements in the measure creating this panel that are very troublesome.
The first is that is it on very tight time frame. Members must be picked within a month and the panel must submit a proposal to Congress and the White House within six months after that. It is hard to imagine any group solving issues this complex in just six months.
Second, the commission would live in the bureacratic ether. It has no connection to the Department of Health and Human Services or any other federal agency. This can be good, in that it may avoid long-standing bureaucratic turf wars. But is more often bad, because it means the commission has no natural supporters inside an Administration.
Finally, and most important, the law includes no requirement that Congress ever actually vote on the panel’s recommendations. This is an old Washington trick, and one that usually consigns commissions such as this and their proposals to the policy dustheap.
I hope I’m wrong and this commission does tackle these critical issues. We’ll know a lot more when we see who is appointed to the panel. But I don’t have high hopes.
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Assumes New Role to Improve Maternal and Child Health in Developing Countries
Duane Alexander, M.D., Director of the NICHD, announced recently that he would soon leave the institute on October 1, 2009, to begin a new assignment within the NIH.
In his new position, Dr. Alexander will serve as a senior scientific advisor to the Director of the NIH’s Fogarty International Center, Roger Glass, M.D., on the NIH’s role in a White House initiative to reduce maternal and infant mortality and morbidity in the developing world.
“The opportunity to work at this level to translate research advances, many of them from NICHD and NIH, to people in challenging settings is too good to pass up,” Dr. Alexander stated.
Dr. Alexander joined the NICHD in 1968, upon completion of his internship and residency at the Department of Pediatrics at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He left briefly to complete a fellowship in pediatrics at the John F. Kennedy Institute for Habilitation of the Mentally and Physically Handicapped Child at Johns Hopkins. He returned to the NICHD in 1971 as an Assistant to the Scientific Director.
In that capacity, Dr. Alexander directed the NICHD National Amniocentesis Study. In 1974, the Study reported the results of 1,040 women who had undergone the procedure, concluding that it was both safe and accurate. Although amniocentesis for prenatal diagnosis had come into use by 1970, studies to test whether it posed any serious risks to the fetus had not been conducted.
At the September meeting of the NICHD’s advisory council, NIH Director Francis Collins, M.D., Ph.D., thanked Dr. Alexander for his role in a shepherding to completion a variety of important projects that improved the nation's health.
He noted that during Dr. Alexander’s tenure, NICHD scientists developed a vaccine for Haemophilus Influenzae Type b (Hib) . Hib meningitis was once the leading cause of acquired mental retardation in the United States. Among the 15–20,000 cases of Hib meningitis each year, 1 in 10 children died, 1 in 3 was left deaf, and 1 in 3 was left with mental retardation. Today, mental retardation from Hib has almost been eliminated from the developed world.
Dr. Collins also commended Dr. Alexander for going beyond the conventional wisdom of the time and fostering research of the practice of placing infants to sleep on their backs. For many years, placing infants to sleep on the back was thought to increase an infant’s risk of serious lung infection, brought on by inhaling vomit.
NICHD-sponsored research verified that placing infants to sleep on their backs not only reduces the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), but does not carry with it any other risks to infant health. Based on this evidence, in 1994, Dr. Alexander formed a coalition of national organizations to join the NICHD to launch Back to Sleep, a national public awareness campaign. Since the campaign began, the overall rate of SIDS in the United States has declined by more than 50 percent.
Dr. Collins noted that research conducted under Dr. Alexander’s tenure also provided the first intervention shown to be both safe and effective in reducing the risk of preterm birth in women at high risk for preterm delivery. An NICHD network study showed that weekly doses of a synthetic progesterone reduced the risk for preterm birth by one third among women who had previously given birth prematurely. Subsequently, The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommended that all of their members prescribe progesterone to prevent preterm birth for women with a history of delivering prematurely.
It was also during Alexander’s tenure as NICHD Director that the rate of mother-to-child HIV transmission was reduced dramatically in the U.S., from 27 percent, to less than 2 percent. In collaboration with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NICHD sponsored a number of studies of azidothymidine (AZT) and other antiretroviral drugs that led to the dramatic decline.
Dr. Collins thanked Dr. Alexander for his service to the NICHD and for taking the next step, of bringing his considerable expertise to the advancement of maternal and child health on a global scale.
Dr. Collins also announced to the NICHD Council that Susan Shurin, M.D., now Deputy Director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, has agreed to serve as the NICHD Acting Director while a search for a new director is conducted. Dr. Shurin oversees the clinical research portfolio of the NHLBI. She has served as the chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology at Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio, and was professor of pediatrics at Case Western Reserve University.
Originally Posted: September 23, 2009
All NICHD Spotlights
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I came across a product recently that really caught my eye: soap nuts. My first thought was... cute packaging. Then I wondered what they were... I have to say, I was strangely intrigued. Turns out soap nuts are small, berry-like fruits with a hard shell that grow in warm, tropical climates like India, Nepal and some other south Asian countries.The packaging claimed that the odd little sticky nuts (“saponin”) could be used to wash laundry, or to make your own green dish and dishwasher soap.
Don’t get me wrong — I recycle and try do my part for our earth — but laundry with nuts?! Here's how it works: four of these vaguely vinegar-scented nuts go into a small muslin bag (the pack comes with a couple of these bags). Then you toss this small bag with the nuts inside the washing machine. This bag of four nuts will wash 4 to 6 loads of laundry — amazing really.
So I tried it. I tossed them in the water with my load of towels and the water became nice and soapy. Not Tide soapy, but soapy enough to clean day-to-day stuff like towels and sheets. The photos above show how the lather increased after a bit of agitation. There was no odour in the wash, which made me think that you could add your own lemon juice or lavender clippings for scent. It felt really great using an all-natural product. You can even compost the nuts after six loads of laundry, or when they stop lathering. A one-kilogram bag is $40, and it will wash 300 to 400 loads of laundry. You can buy them online at Buysoapnuts.com.
I’m inspired. My next step is a clothes line. Out of the wash and onto the line. After all, summer’s almost here, and what a good example to set for my kids.
For more eco laundry products, see our Laundry Room Revolution blog post.
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A CIA drone attack in one of Pakistan's tribal areas last week killed the brother of a senior Afghan Taliban commander instead of the commander himself only because the commander decided at the last minute not to attend a family member's funeral, according to a resident in the area of the missile strike.
Sirajuddin Haqqani, whom U.S. officials believe is the most dangerous Afghan Taliban commander, was supposed to attend his aunt's funeral but sent his brother Mohammad instead. Mohammad was then killed while traveling to the funeral in Sirajuddin's car, according to the resident.
The CIA has long wanted to kill Haqqani, but has rarely, if ever, come this close. The near miss suggests the agency's intelligence about the Afghan commander's movements inside Pakistan has increased significantly.
U.S. officials also suggest the strike is an indication that the Pakistani military and its intelligence agency, while not totally turning their backs on their past support for the Haqqani network, are now "less and less inclined to care about the Haqqanis," according to one U.S. official who spoke to ABC News in exchange for anonymity.
Another official put it this way: "They're letting us handle it," a reference to a large increase in drone strikes aimed at the Haqqani network, which enjoys a safe haven in the North Waziristan tribal area inside Pakistan.
The two U.S. officials cautioned, however, that Pakistan is still sharing more intelligence on commanders who attack Pakistan -- most notably, the Pakistani Taliban -- than on commanders who only launch attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, of which Haqqani is the most prominent.
The strike came in the middle of one of the most successful months since the war in Afghanistan began, at least measured by counter-terrorism achievements. In total four major Afghan Taliban leaders were captured in the last month in joint CIA-Pakistani intelligence agency operations, including two senior members of the Afghan Taliban leadership circle and two shadow governors from northern Afghan provinces, according to Pakistani government officials and U.S. officials. Less important commanders have also been caught, the officials add.
The most recent to be caught is Mullah Qabir, a senior member of the Quetta Shura, the leadership council named for the southwest Pakistani city where it's believed to be based. Afghan officials have said Qabir was arrested by Pakistan's intelligence service, but Pakistani intelligence officials have so far denied that -- and U.S. officials say Pakistan has not informed them whether Qabir has in fact been captured.
In the middle of such success, U.S. officials admit they simply do not know why the Pakistani intelligence agency -- which has supported or at least turned a blind eye toward Afghan militants living inside Pakistan in the past -- has been so willing suddenly to crack down on them.
Some suggest the actions come as intelligence presents itself.
A senior defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, called the recent arrests "targets of opportunity."
That echoed a statement made by Gen. David Petraeus, who oversees the war in Afghanistan, to a small group of foreign reporters in Islamabad this week: "I wouldn't share your characterization that, in a sense, they have always had this intelligence… What has happened is that there have been some important breakthroughs."
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We have to raise up the plight of how families are broken apart, how traumatic it is for children when their parents are deported, when they can’t stay in school. People of faith especially should raise our voices in advocacy and try to bring immigration reform to some kind of resolution so people can just live normal lives and be treated as people, not political pawns.
We need to help lift up the plight of immigrants. It’s a human tragedy. You can’t call God’s people illegal. No human being is illegal. You might be undocumented, but you are not illegal.
the Rev. Butch Gamarra of the Diocese of Los Angeles, after a service of Holy Communion at the border wall between California and Tijuana (via undercovernun)
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April 29, 2009
Skyhooks and cranes-2: Replacing skyhooks with cranes
(For other posts in this series, see here.)
Darwin's big idea of natural selection essentially removed the necessity for skyhooks. According to natural selection, complex things could and did emerge from simpler things and hence we no longer need to invoke skyhooks to explain how they came about. Instead we now have 'cranes' that can do all the lifting we need.
Daniel Dennett in Darwin's Dangerous Idea (1995) uses the metaphor of the cranes used in building construction to contrast with skyhooks. Cranes are devices that can lift things, just like skyhooks can, but they are not magical devices that suddenly appear out of the sky. They are real, we know how they are built and where they come from, and they are planted on solid ground. Furthermore, small cranes can be used to build bigger cranes that can in turn be used to build yet bigger cranes and so on, until we end up with some really powerful cranes that can do amazing and, to the untrained and unobservant eye, may appear to be skyhooks and do seemingly magical things. But the wonderful thing is that they come about naturally.
Dennett argues that in the evolution context, cranes are natural processes that speed up the process. Starting with the simple and basic process of natural selection, increasingly sophisticated organisms have appeared over time that act like cranes, enabling even more complex life forms to be created even more quickly. In other words, we have evolutionary cranes creating even bigger, more efficient evolutionary cranes.
For example, the evolution of DNA likely started with point mutations at single locations. But once that produced organisms that were capable of reproducing sexually, the process of gene swapping that occurs during the process of meiosis (by which the sex cells that contribute to reproduction are created in the testes and ovaries) has led to much faster genetic changes and more rapid evolution than could be obtained using point mutations alone. So sexual reproduction is a powerful evolutionary crane.
Natural selection favors those systems that can evolve faster because they are more adaptable to changes in the environment, so that the rate of change of systems increases with time. In other words, evolution speeds up. Massimo Pagliucci suggests that "natural selection may favor the evolution of particular molecules (called "capacitors" of evolution), or arrangements of gene networks, that make it easier for a population to evolve in response to new environmental changes."
All these processes eventually resulted in the emergence of human beings who have language and science and technology and thus can be considered as yet more powerful cranes because we are now able, through our ability to significantly control our environment and with genetic engineering technology, to create new organisms that would have taken a long time to come about by themselves without our presence.
Thus we humans are not only the product of work done by other cranes, we ourselves serve as cranes for future development. As Dennett says:
Vast distances have been traversed since the dawn of life with the earliest, simplest self-replicating entities, spreading outward (diversity) and upward (excellence). Darwin has offered us an account of the crudest, most rudimentary, stupidest imaginable lifting process – the wedge of natural selection. By taking tiny – the tiniest possible – steps, this process can gradually, over eons, traverse these huge distances. Or so he claims. At no point would anything miraculous – from on high – be needed. Each step has been accomplished by brute, mechanical, algorithmic climbing, from the base already built by the efforts of earlier climbing. (p. 75)
To me this is an amazing and exciting thing to conceive, that we have the power to explain life without invoking skyhooks, if not in all its details now, at least in principle. But not everyone shares this sense of excitement at the ever-increasing explanatory power of science. In particular, many people (and not all of them are religious) are uneasy about the idea that we humans, with all our sophistication, are also simply the
end products of this mechanical algorithmic process. They simply can't wrap their minds around the idea that there is nothing at all, no vital essence or soul, that is unique and makes us human, not even our minds or our consciousness or our sense of morality. While we have some qualities (like language) that distinguish us (at least partially) from other species, there is not a single thing that we humans possess that could not have come about through the same algorithmic processes that also produced slugs or worms or a leaf.
This can be hard to take for those who have a sense of superiority about the human species. Darwin's theory so completely undercuts the basis for believing that humans are possessed of some quality that is not the product of the Darwinian algorithm that it distresses people and many have tried to find ways to suggest that it is incomplete. As Steven Pinker says, "People desperately want Darwin to be wrong . . . because natural selection implies there is no plan to the universe, including human nature." (Steven Pinker, How the Mind Works (1997), p. 165)
Next: The intelligent design skyhook
POST SCRIPT: From bacteria to humans in four minutes
In the space of four minutes, Richard Dawkins gives an overview of the sweep of evolution from bacteria to our common ancestors with apes.
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The United Church of Christ acknowledges as its sole head, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior. It acknowledges as kindred in Christ all who share in this confession. It looks to the Word of God in the Scriptures, and to the presenceand power of hte Holy Spirit, to prosper its creative and redemptive work in the world. It claims as its ownthe faith of the historic Church expressed in the acient creeds and reclaimed in the basic insights of the Protestant Reformers. It affirms the responsibility of the Church in each generation to make this faith its own reality of worship, in honesty of thought and expression, and in purity of heart before God. In accordandancewith the teaching of our Lord and the practice prevailing among evangelicalChristians, it recognizes two sacrements: Baptism and the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion.
-From the Preamble to the Constitution
of the United Church of Christ
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The effect of boredom on a large scale in history is underestimated. It is a main cause of revolutions, and would soon bring to an end all the static Utopias and the farmyard civilization of the Fabians.
William Ralph Inge (Dean Inge) ‘End of an Age’ (1948) ch.6
Boredom is…a vital problem for the moralist, since half the sins of mankind are caused by the fear of it.
Bertrand Russell (Bertrand Arthur William, third Earl Russell) “The Conquest of Happiness” (1930) ch.4
He bored with his augur; he bored once and twice,
And some were playing cards, and some were playing dice,
When the water flowed in it dazzled their eyes,
And she sank by the Low-lands low.
Stanley Baldwin ‘The Golden Vanity’
Society is now one polished horde,
Formed of two mighty tribes, the Bores and Bored.
Byron (George Gordon, Sixth Baron Byron) 1788-1824 ‘Don Juan’ (1819-24) canto 13, st.95
Isn’t history ultimately the result of our fear of boredom?
Emile M. Cioran
It is not the simple statement of facts that ushers in freedom; it is the constant repetition of them that has this liberating effect. Tolerance is the result not of enlightenment, but of boredom.
It is only a step from boredom to disillusionment, which leads naturally to self-pity, which in turn ends in chaos.
It is the unknown that excites the ardor of scholars, who, in the known alone, would shrivel up with boredom.
The chief product of an automated society is a widespread and deepening sense of boredom.
C. Northcote Parkinson
The essence of life is the smile of round female bottoms, under the shadow of cosmic boredom.
Guy de Maupassant
The life of the creative man is lead, directed and controlled by boredom. Avoiding boredom is one of our most important purposes.
The presidency has many problems, but boredom is the least of them.
Richard M. Nixon
The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom.
There’s a rebirth that goes on with us continuously as human beings. I don’t understand, personally, how you can be bored. I can understand how you can be depressed, but I just don’t understand boredom.
There’s no excuse to be bored. Sad, yes. Angry, yes. Depressed, yes. Crazy, yes. But there’s no excuse for boredom, ever.
This is the curse of our age, even the strangest aberrations are no cure for boredom.
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Going vegan in 2013
Being vegan is no longer an unconventional way of life, and that’s due in no small part to the “Forks Over Knives” book and documentary. Now comes “Forks Over Knives — The Extended Interviews,” featuring even more evidence supporting the elimination of animal-based and processed foods to maintain health.
We asked one of the film’s experts, Cornell University nutritional scientist T. Colin Campbell, Ph.D., for all the dirt on this Earth- and body-friendly lifestyle.
Why is a vegan diet healthier than a nonvegan diet?
I don’t [even] use the word vegan. Vegans can eat processed food as long as it contains no animal elements. I call it a whole food, plant-based diet. In my studies, the evidence is overwhelmingly positive. In just two weeks, we have found that cholesterol levels drop; aches disappear. Many changes occur. It’s not just about preventing disease, but treating disease.
But isn’t animal protein necessary to health and survival?
People have been advised that for a long time. A whole food, plant-based diet supplies all the protein we need and at an ideal level, about 10 percent of our calorie intake. That’s enough. But animal protein takes it up to about 70 to 80 percent. Early studies found that animal protein sped up growth rate, so it was called high-quality protein. But it also speeds up growth of cancer cells. Plant protein is slower.
If you want to switch to this diet, are there some tiny tweaks you can start making right away?
Eliminate dairy. Evidence was found in 1925 that the protein in dairy, casein, pushes up cholesterol levels. Dairy protein is a more prominent problem than animal fat.
You’ve said that low-fat milk is worse than whole milk. That seems counter-intuitive.
In the 1940s and ’50s, milk fat was deemed to be the culprit and people were told to switch to low-fat. But in low-fat milk, the protein level is increased. So, people ate more dairy protein, making the problem worse.
What about soy? Is there evidence that it is linked to breast cancer?
Soy beans contain estrogen, and estrogen is linked to breast cancer. But the studies show that high levels of estrogen are the problem. The soy bean has estrogen at such low levels that they become anti-estrogenic. They are actually beneficial in preventing breast cancer.
You’ve said that some diseases immediately heal when you eliminate animal products. How does that happen?
Our body is always trying to restore health. When a whole food, plant-based diet is adopted, it quickly adjusts in the direction of health. As long as there isn’t permanent damage from disease, the right food can reverse disease.
Take baby steps
The Mondays Campaign, the organization behind Meatless Mondays, offers the following stats on why a plant-based diet even just once a week has benefits.
It limits your cancer risk: Hundreds of studies suggest that diets high in fruits and vegetables may reduce cancer risk, and both red and processed meat consumption are associated with colon cancer.
It cuts your risk for heart disease: A Harvard study found that replacing saturated fat-rich foods (for example, meat and full-fat dairy) with foods that are rich in polyunsaturated fat (for example, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds) reduces the risk of heart disease by 19 percent.
It helps fight diabetes: Research suggests that higher consumption of red and processed meat increases the risk of type 2 diabetes.
It curbs obesity: People on low-meat or vegetarian diets have lower body weights and body mass indices.
What about exercise?
Whether you’re becoming or already are a
vegan, you need a fitness plan that complements your plant-based diet. “The Vegan Athlete” boasts strength-building workouts and over 20
protein-rich recipes to keep you in tip-top shape.
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Mouse Guard is a comics series (graphic story) about medieval knights, life in medieval villages and communities, territorial differences, commerce, war, and the harsh conditions that marked life in Europe in the middle of the 12th Century; except that the story is about communities of mice, told almost in parallel, as though this were a history of what was occurring beneath the feet and notice of the actual medieval humans at the time.
The stories are named for the times, Mouse Guard: Fall 1152, and Mouse Guard: Winter 1152, the current series. The Fall series ran six issues and was collected into a hardcover edition, Mouse Guard Volume 1: Fall 1152, and later released as a trade paperback.
Drawn in an illustrative style that would be suitable for children’s books, the stories appeal to adults and are charming and direct in a way that would appeal to children of a certain age (though there is some actual violence, so parents should read through before getting younger kids interested).
The illustration style stands out from most other comics, bearing more relation to pen and ink illustration from earlier times and carrying a nice flavor for the setting and story. Author/artist David Peterson draws the art in traditional ink on bristol board; the coloring looks like watercolor, though I don’t know if it is applied to stats manually or, like most modern comics, applied digitally once the drawings have been digitized.
Peterson also bucked the current market trends with another choice, making his books a different size from traditional American comics (8″ x 8″ instead of 6½” x 10″), which can make it more difficult to get past the mainstream mindset of many comic shop owners (as I know from the personal experience of publishing the print version of my own webcomic in a horizontal format).
Those comic shop owners who do opt to carry the title, though, are finding that they have a comic they can recommend to people new to comics, female as well as male, and of varying ages; something not nearly common enough as the American comic book market struggles to break out if its superhero ghetto.
Peterson’s stories would appeal to the broad audience that responded to the Lord of the Rings movies, with many similar themes and a similar (though more modest) approach to world building, creating a detailed setting in which to unfold his tales.
In addition to stories in keeping with the medieval sword and castle milieu, the mice protagonists face challenges familiar to real mice (owls, scarcity of food), but resolve them in distinctly anthropomorphic ways (swords and slings, negotiation and cooperation between disparate communities).
I find it particularly interesting in the current series that their greatest enemy doesn’t seem to be an evil warlord or ravaging beast, but the Winter itself, very much in keeping with the realities of Medieval life.
Peterson earned a degree in Fine Arts from Michigan University and has a personal web site that includes illustrations, many of which are for children’s books or in a similar style.
Unfortunately, like so many sites for comics and web comics in particular, the official Mouse Guard site seems skewed toward those who are already familiar with the series, and doesn’t do the best job of introducing a new reader to the material. You can actually get a better introduction and overview on the extensive Wikipedia entry devoted to the title.
There is also brief description and several preview excerpts on the Archaia Studios Press site, a nice 5-page excerpt from Mouse Guard: Fall 1152 on the New York Magazine site, and an interview with Peterson on the Silver Bullet Comics site.
The official site does have an introduction to the characters, but in hunting for artwork, you may be misled into thinking there is not much available. There is no “Gallery” section; the Downloads section features small Avatars, but larger Wallpapers are promised as “Coming Soon”.
As nice as it is to see the original pen and ink pages, this is only part of the art, missing Peterson’s nicely emotive color.
What is not made obvious (and really should be) is that there is a series of terrific 8-page previews linked to the small cover thumbnails on the “Books” page. There are many pages of art here from the sequence of issues that can give you a real feeling for the nature of this original and fascinating series.
[Suggestion courtesy of James Gurney]
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Where there are organizations, there are people. And where there are people, there are conflicting interests. One of the most basic -- and most difficult -- jobs of a leader is sorting through conflicting interests to make choices and achieve common ground.
Susan Podziba, 39, has spent her career moving people to common ground. And she's developed ideas and techniques that help more people get there on their own. Podziba, a faculty associate with the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School, has facilitated dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, between environmentalists and fishermen, and between prochoice and prolife activists.
What's her secret? That there is no secret. Her work is based on the assumption that warring factions hold the key to resolving their own conflicts. "Life isn't fair," she says. "The reality is that people everywhere have hard choices to make. My job is to challenge people to see the complexity of a situation and to encourage them to take an active part in making those hard choices."
So what, exactly, does Podziba do? First, by talking separately to each party, she untangles the issues, emotions, perceptions, and dynamics that surround a dispute. Then she decides whether mediation can help. "You don't use a hammer to tighten a screw," she says. "Mediation is a particular kind of tool that works only when appropriately applied." It won't work if one of the parties expects to achieve more through other means, such as a lawsuit. And it won't work unless everybody agrees that some resolution is better than no resolution.
Podziba's next challenge is to design a consensus process in which everyone agrees to participate. People on both sides of the dispute help develop a mission statement, as well as ground rules that will govern their deliberations: What's an achievable goal? What's the deadline? What are the roles and responsibilities of the mediators? "The ground-rules document is a tool for teaching people how to work by consensus -- because it's a low-risk agreement that they create," Podziba says.
With the mission statement, Podziba is careful to explore both worst-case scenarios and the greatest aspirations of participants. "The mediator helps get these fears and outrageous hopes out of people's heads," she says. "When these issues are exposed, the group can analyze them and see what is truly realistic, and what's not."
At this point, Podziba guides the details of the discussion itself. She elicits data, then frames and reframes the situation to keep the discussion moving. Participants can speak out against proposals, but they must also develop alternatives that everyone agrees on. Indeed, the group spends a significant amount of time on good communication practices. In one instance, Podziba was hired to facilitate sessions between Israeli and Palestinian health-care managers who were studying at Harvard. Podziba used a listening exercise that involved pairing people to discuss their feelings about the conflict in the Middle East.
During the sessions, each person had to repeat what the other said. Participants told stories of being stopped at military checkpoints and of Palestinian mothers who let their children throw stones at armed soldiers. "These stories are very painful to repeat," says Podziba. "When you're retelling the other side's story, you skip a lot. This exercise illustrates that people are very selective about what they hear and digest."
Finally, Podziba serves as a reality check. She helps develop what she calls a "universe of options." People brainstorm all the ways of addressing a situation that will satisfy everyone's basic needs. The exercise not only helps the group come up with inventive solutions; it also shows all sides that there are a limited number of options available.
"When the process is successful, people force themselves to think in a new way, and they reach a new level of creativity," says Podziba. "They start to work in a problem-solving mode. They understand why it's been hard to reach a resolution, and they see that they can tackle the problem together."
Contact Susan Podziba by email (firstname.lastname@example.org).
Sidebar: A Life-or-Death Dispute
On a winter morning in 1994, a man walked into a Planned Parenthood clinic in Brookline, Massachusetts, shot and killed a receptionist, and wounded three other people. He then drove to a nearby clinic and killed another receptionist and injured two more people. In the aftermath of the shootings, Susan Podziba undertook one of her most sensitive facilitations: secret conversations between prolife and prochoice activists. "The emotion of the time is hard to describe now," says Podziba. "I was frightened. What if the wrong person found out that I was facilitating those meetings?"
Both camps agreed to tone down the rhetoric. "If abortion doctors are called 'murderers,' then people on the fringes of society feel there's a justification for violence," Podziba explains. "Neither side wanted that."
The participants, who met on and off for three years, also established a hot line modeled after the Cold War-era connection between the United States and the Soviet Union. In at least one instance, prolife advocates used the hot line to inform prochoice activists of a plausible threat, thereby averting potential violence. "The mediation process was life-changing for all of us," says Podziba. "The level of relationships built among people who had been 'enemies' was just mysterious."
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The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for Our Time (Compact Disc)
Shipped to Tattered Cover in 3 to 7 days
A landmark exploration of the roots of economic prosperity and the escape from extreme poverty for the world's poorest citizens.
About the Author
Jeffrey D. Sachs is the Director of The Earth Institute, Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, and Professor of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University. He is also Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. From 2002 to 2006, he was Director of the UN Millennium Project and Special Advisor to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan on the Millennium Development Goals, the internationally agreed goals to reduce extreme poverty, disease, and hunger by the year 2015. Sachs is also President and Co-Founder of Millennium Promise Alliance, a nonprofit organization aimed at ending extreme global poverty.
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Nations begin traditional Christmas warfare
‘I think it gets earlier every year,’ says Mandy Batchelor, a 22-year old physicist from Cheshire. ‘I remember when you used to get the odd massacre in the week before the holidays, and that would escalate into the New Year, but now there are countries launching retaliatory airstrikes in September. And I’m sure the arms sales start earlier every year. It’s crazy.’
The switching off of the lights, and the cowering in bunkers, which normally takes place at this time of year is expected to reach unprecedented levels thanks to the global economic meltdown and a general rise in human unpleasantness.
For some, the idea of nations escalating violence towards other countries, or their own people, during the festive season is under threat as more non-Christian countries adopt the tradition.
Professional wine taster Linda Sachet is amongst those who see a darker side to the Christmas season. She says, ‘I usually only manage about 30 seconds of the news before the sheer unrelenting misery of it all makes me switch over to “Fred Claus” on Channel 5; that’s how bad things have become. No-one should have to make those sort of choices at Christmas.’
Stanley Goodwin, a retired toe specialist from Buxton, adds: ‘I don’t think other countries get Christmas the way we do. I mean, I remember when having a war at Christmas meant leaving off the mustard gas for twenty minutes to have a quick kick-about in no-man’s land. Now, it’s non-stop. It’s too commercialised these days, the arms dealers are ruining it.’
However, some people feel that Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a dash of global genocide.
Self-confessed estate agent Ali Bishop says, ‘Even if I’ve got the tree up, opened a Panettone and bought the Radio Times, for me it never really feels like Christmas until some country’s begun shelling its neighbours.’
Meanwhile, Buckingham Palace admits the Queen, who is preparing her annual Christmas address to the nation, is struggling to come up with something that isn’t a ‘complete downer’.
‘Conflicts and civil unrest in North Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Southern Europe, take your pick,’ says a Palace source. ‘It’s a struggle to fit them all in. She’s pretty much decided to leave all the miserable stuff to the Pope and just cheer everyone up by recounting how she got to meet Daniel Craig and jump out of a plane.’
with a nod to Dick Everyman
Posted: Nov 19th, 2012 by darkbill
Click for more stories about: World News
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The Iron Giant
Runtime: 86 minutes
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Director: Brad Bird
Release Date: 08/06/99
A touching animation about friendship and acceptance, The Iron Giant is a fun film for kids of all ages with a powerful moral to boot.
The Iron Giant tells the story of Hogarth Hughes, a headstrong nine-year-old boy who meets a giant iron robot that landed on the Earth from space. While the 50-foot iron giant is terrifying at first, Hogarth gives him a chance and learns that he is actually quite innocent with a childlike curiosity and thirst for knowledge, not to mention a ravenous hunger for metal! Hogarth finds himself tied to protecting the Iron Giant from a paranoid US Government agent named Kent Mansley and, in doing so, saving his town from the prejudices and fears its people cling to.
The story takes place during 1957. It was during this historical year that the Soviets launched Sputnik, the first manmade satellite, into space; rock and roll was makings its move on the music scene; and fear of “the A bomb” was looming. In the United States, fears and prejudices were numerous during this historical time and these are represented in the movie. The Iron Giant uses these themes to weave in strong morals of acceptance as well as anti-war and anti-gun messages.
The Iron Giant has been praised for presenting complex morals and big, tough subjects in a non-preachy way. The film brings up issues that parents can talk about with their children and that adults can debate about with their friends. Additionally, though the film discusses difficult issues, it doesn’t leave out humor. The characters are quirky and at times laugh-out-loud funny making for an entertaining and exciting plot. Hogarth chases the Iron Giant’s detached metal hand around the house, the giant attempts a cannonball into a lake and, of course, a little bit of flatulence goes a long way to leave audiences in stitches!
One of the most highly praised aspects of the film is the script. The film is based on a 1968 story by British poet Ted Hughes called Iron Man. The writing has been praised for addressing complicated issues in a manner that is simple enough for children to understand, while incorporating deeper meaning for adult audiences. Nuances and references go over children’s heads without a hitch to make the film fun for adults as well.
The animation in the film has been an area of contention. The Iron Giant features retro, Ike-era animation and design. The backgrounds are often static and, compared to more recent animated films with life-like 3D graphics, the animation in The Iron Giant falls short of impressive. However, while some people feel that the animation hinders the film, others think that the design adds to the retro, 1950s feel of The Iron Giant. The Iron Giant is a period piece at heart and the animation seems to fit it perfectly.
Though director Brad Bird made his film debut with The Iron Giant, he has gone on to direct the popular animated blockbusters The Incredibles and Ratatouille, proving his genius as a director of animated films. The film also features a number of celebrity actors including Jennifer Aniston, Harry Connick Jr., and Vin Diesel.
Aside from a whirlwind cast and top animation director, The Iron Giant was also the recipient of 19 awards, including awards from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, the Annie Awards, the Satellite Awards and more.
The Iron Giant is charming, endearing and an all around good film choice for viewers looking to learn a little something about humanity while being entertained at the same time.
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Gambling involves a collective game of chance for a wager or stake; whoever wins the game wins the wager or stake.
Pari-mutuel betting is mutual betting; individual bets are placed into a pool, taxes and the house share are subtracted, and payoff odds are calculated. Examples of pari-mutuel betting are horse racing, greyhound racing and sporting events such as boxing, football, basketball and hockey.
Sanctioned betting on horse races in gambling parlors, not at the track, is called “off-track betting.” Nevada was the only state to permit off-track betting before 1970. Now, off-track betting is legal elsewhere.
State Gaming Control Board
The State Gaming Control Board regulates Nevada’s gaming industry, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The Board states its purpose as “to protect the stability of the gaming industry through investigations, licensing, and enforcement of laws and regulations; to ensure the collection of gaming taxes and fees, which are an essential source of state revenue and to maintain public confidence in gaming.”
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3.3.2 Drivers and Barriers to Innovation
Drivers of the materials industry are clearly chemical companies. Most material properties may be changed and engineered dramatically through the controlled size-selective synthesis and assembly of nanoscale building blocks. This requires the creation of particles that can be prepared by processes such as vapour phase condensation, physical size reduction, or flame and pyrolysis aerosol generators. However, the wide ranging synthesis approaches have a number of key challenges that may be summarised as follows:
- The ability to scale-up synthesis and assembly strategies for low-cost, reproducible, large-scale production of nanostructured materials, while maintaining control of critical feature size and quality,
- Control of the size and composition of nanoclusters,
- Control of the interface and distribution of nanocomponents within the fully formed materials.
However, the most significant problem is the potential health and environmental risks of nanomaterials. Currently, very little is known about the pathways into the human body and the possible impact of nanomaterials to health. Up to now several kinds of nanomaterials like nanocrystalline metal oxides or fullerenes are used in commercially available products such as sunscreens, shower gels, soaps and cosmetics. The impact on health and the environment is not sufficiently clear yet.
For example an international research team investigated how carbon-based nanoparticles interact with cells. They found strong biophysical evidence that nanoparticles may alter cell structure and pose health risks depending on the exposure conditions and the interaction between nanoparticles and other compounds in the human body. This can also have significant implications for the commercialisation of products. As long as the consequences of using nanomaterials in commercially available products are unknown some industrial players have serious reservations to use these materials in products even when nanomaterials for specific applications promise a better performance. The same properties that nanomaterials are designed for may cause health and environmental problems. One example is that with decreasing particle size the surface area to mass ratio becomes greater. Therefore, the specific surface and reactivity increases. This property is desired e.g. in the case of catalysts but can also lead to greater toxicity for living organisms.
Therefore, risk assessment of nanomaterials and the development of strategic programs that enable relevant risk-focused research are internationally recognised topics. The OECD Joint Meeting of the Chemicals Committee and the Working Party on Chemicals, Pesticides and Biotechnology has started to investigate in the area of risk assessment of nanomaterials to increase the safety of nanomaterials in order to help to realise the benefits of nanotechnology. In this context legislation plays also an important role. Even when the chemical directive REACH of the European Union does not even mention nanomaterials explicitly some other directives are on the way. One example for that are the guidelines for nanoparticles in cosmetics from the European Parliament which come into effect in 2012. Clear nanoparticle product labelling and specified safety testing are part of the EU guidelines. Directly after the guidelines passed the European Parliament some organisations required a quicker solution to bridge the time gap until 2012.
Due to lack of information, there are up to now many uncertainties under which conditions nanomaterials are likely to pose health and environmental risks. From this arises an important hurdle for the commercialisation of nanotechnology related products. In addition, other commercialisation aspects can also represent significant hurdles.
The obstacles for successful nanotechnology applications, based on a company survey which was carried out in Germany, highlighted that the lack of financial resources plays a significant role (c.f. Fig. 3).
Investment costs and the lack of funding along the value added chain represent hurdles that exceed any other obstacle. This central problem of financing innovations has a considerable impact on the whole innovation process. It is interesting to see that the obstacle ‘legislation' does not play a central role. The interviewees did not regard the legislative framework as a primary source of problems. This is might not be representative for all fields of nanotechnology related applications and materials, e.g. for medical/pharmaceutical products.
Another current challenge is the economic/financial crisis which can be assumed to be far from over. Harper summarised five possible influences of the economic crisis on Nanotechnology in a white paper. He has given arguments that especially venture capital funding of nanotechnology start ups is thin on the ground. Beside a number of possible negative effects the white paper points out positively that now many companies have a clear market focus and address real and critical needs in a cost effective manner.
Recent survey results of European micro, nano and materials enterprises indicate that almost half of the responding small and medium-sized high-tech companies were affected by a decrease in orders and in sales. About two thirds of the responding companies are expecting negative effects on their businesses development in 2009.
At the current stage it is virtually impossible to predict all consequences of the economic crisis on nanotechnology related products. This includes also the nanomaterials sector. According to the authors view, it can be expected that the future development will slow down further and will not only affect small and medium-sized companies but also global players.
Visits: 683912, Published on: May, 5th 2009, 07:11 PM, Last edit: 2009-05-14 08:45:59 Size: 2 KByte
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Office vacancies in the U.S. rose to the highest level since 1993 in the second quarter as the sluggish economic recovery damps demand from corporate tenants, Reis Inc. said in a report.
The vacancy rate climbed to 17.4 percent from 16 percent a year earlier and 17.3 percent in the first quarter, the New York-based research company said today in a statement. Effective rents, the amount tenants actually pay landlords, fell 5.7 percent from a year earlier and 0.9 percent from the previous three months, according to Reis.
That's staggering. More than one in six office spaces in this country are vacant right now. There is nothing that indicates that this will improve anytime soon and more than enough evidence to assume that this may jump to 19 or 20% soon. Rents are down big time because of the oversupply...so why are these office spaces empty?
We built too many of them during the housing boom, simple. Same goes for hotels...and even apartment vacancies are up now, people are trading down from condos to good apartments, from good apartments to decent ones, from decent apartments to lousy ones, and from lousy ones to the couch in Mom's basement...or worse.
The deflationary death spiral continues unabated.
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Migratory Shorebirds in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway
Environment Australia and Wetlands International, 2002
Shorebirds are among the most impressive migratory species in the world and are found feeding in shallow water at both coastal and inland wetlands. Common examples include plovers, sandpipers, curlews and snipe.
Migratory shorebirds experience an endless summer by flying between the southern and northern hemispheres. Each year, millions of migratory shorebirds travel great distances between their breeding and non-breeding areas. Some species of shorebird, weighing as little as 30 grams, may travel 25,000 kilometres in one year. Some birds are known to fly more than 6,000 kilometres without stopping.
During their non-breeding phase, they fly to the southern hemisphere in flocks; their destinations include North and South-East Asia, the Pacific Islands, Australia and New Zealand. Arriving in August and September, the birds feed mainly on small creatures living in mudflats during the Australian summer.
In March and April, these birds fly from the feeding grounds to breed in the tundra areas of the northern hemisphere, such as the Russian Far East and Alaska.
Flyways of shorebirds
Shorebirds make the journey in several weeks stopping a few times, or perhaps only once, along the way. When they stop, they need to build up reserves of fat for the next long stage of their journey. At times a large percentage of the entire population of a species may be at a single site.
The routes they travel along are called flyways. The East Asian-Australasian Flyway extends from the Arctic Circle through Eastern and South-East Asia to Australia and New Zealand (see map).
Flyways consist of chains of important wetlands, usually coastal mudflats. These provide abundant and easily found food, which the shorebirds must rapidly consume in order to gain enough strength for the next leg of their journey.
The ability to find food quickly is vital when the birds are flying to their northern breeding grounds as the northern summer is very short. The birds cannot afford delays that can affect their chance of breeding successfully.
The degradation and loss of the feeding sites is the single greatest threat to shorebirds. Many areas have been lost through pollution and reclamation for urban, industrial and agricultural development. Hunting and disturbance of shorebirds may also be a serious threat in some parts of the Flyway.
The continued existence of wetlands in all countries is crucial to the conservation of migratory shorebirds.
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Ph: (02) 6274 2393 Fax: (02) 6274 1741
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts supports the activities of Wetlands International in promoting the Asia Pacific Migratory Waterbird Conservation Strategy: 2001-2005 and the Shorebird Action Plan: 2001-2005.
GPO Box 787
Canberra ACT 2601
Ph: (02) 6274 2780
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Armor-plated Creature Founf In Canada’s Capital
Scientists have unearthed the remains of one of the world’s rarest fossils – in downtown Ottawa. The 450 million year old fossil preserves the complete skeleton of a plumulitid machaeridian, one of only 8 such specimens known. Plumulitids were annelid worms – the group including earthworms, bristleworms and leeches, today found everywhere from the deepest sea to the soil in your yard – and although plumulitids were small they reveal important evidence of how this major group of organisms evolved.
"Such significant new fossils are generally discovered in remote or little studied areas of the globe, requiring difficult journeys and a bit of adventure to reach them" notes Jakob Vinther of Yale University, lead author of the paper describing the specimen. "Not this one though. It was found in a place that has an address rather than map co-ordinates!"
Plumulites canadensis, Albert Street, Ottawa, Canada K1P1A4. The fossil is described by Vinther and Dave Rudkin, of Toronto’s Royal Ontario Museum, in the current issue of the journal Palaeontology.
It was Rudkin who first recognized its scientific significance: "This nifty little specimen first came to my notice when I received a letter from an amateur fossil collector in Nepean, Ontario. In prospecting for fossils in rock from a temporary building excavation he had turned up a small block containing a complete trilobite, but next to it was something else and he sent me a slightly fuzzy but very intriguing photo. The mystery fossil was clearly not another trilobite, and I although couldn’t be certain, I thought it might be some sort of annelid worm with broad, flattened scales. James, the collector, generously agreed to lend me the specimen and I realized immediately it was a complete, fully articulated machaeridian! The first I had ever seen."
At that time it was not known that machaeridians were annelids. "James was happy to donate the specimen to the Royal Ontario Museum, in exchange for a promise that I’d someday publish his discovery."
It was not until 2008 that Rudkin’s hunch was confirmed, when a team of palaeontologists, including Jakob Vinther, described new machaeridian fossils from remote mountain localities in Morocco, revealing their relationship to annelid worms. Rudkin and Vinther agreed to work together to interpret the Ottawa specimen, and it is the results of that collaboration that are published in the current Palaeontology.
Plumulitid machaeridians look like modern bristleworms, with stout walking limbs bearing long bundles of bristles, but on their back they carried a set of mineralized plates. According to Vinther, "the plates themselves were rigid, but they could move relative to one other, providing plumulitids with a protective body armor very similar to the flexible metal armor invented by humans 450 million years later. Machaeridian body armor is unique among annelids, and probably helped them to succeed as ubiquitous components of marine ecosystems for more than 200 million years."
With the publication of this paper Rudkin is finally able to make good on his promise "It’s great to be able to acknowledge the collector", says Rudkin, but there is a twist to this tale: the man who found the specimen has now gone missing. "Regrettably, I lost contact with James and numerous enquiries as to his whereabouts have come up empty. I hope he somehow gets wind of all this."
On the Net:
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Do you avoid the word “sales” in your marketing communications?
I don’t mean “sales” the noun, as in “Sales were up 12 percent year over year.”
I mean “sales” the adjective, as in “sales representative.”
When you publish your 800 number and invite prospects to call, who do you say is standing by to take their calls? Customer service agents? Or sales associates?
Have you decided, at some basic level, that labelling the people who call on your prospects and customers “sales reps,” and the work they do “sales,” carries a negative connotation?
The Age-Old Debate: Is Sales a Dirty Word?
If it’s true that sales is the world’s second oldest profession — and maybe even the oldest, come to think of it — then the debate about whether to call a spade a spade, and a sales rep a sales rep, has probably been going on for eons.
On one side, there are the con arguments. Where at some level it seems smarter, maybe cleaner, not to remind customers and potential customers that you are out to sell them something. Better, instead, to call members of your selling force “consultants,” “business developers,” “relationship managers,” “account directors” — anything but sales reps, for heaven’s sake, on their business cards.
Then there’s the pro perspective. Where nothing happens until somebody sells something. And where, let’s face it, nobody’s fooling anyone with touchy-feely euphemisms. After all, sales is an honorable profession. Done well, it has little to do with fast talking and high-pressure tactics. Instead, it’s all about attentive listening, adding value and solving problems.
As I said, this is not a new argument. And if you Google around the topic of “does sales have negative connotations,” you’ll find any number of interesting and entertaining perspectives, including this article by Roger Bostdorff, titled Why Customers Hate Sales People, and this post by Andrew Rudin, headlined: Stop Selling! Trendy Idea but Bad Strategy.
One Rep’s Take
So where do I come down? It so happens this very question jumped out at me today, on my way to catch the afternoon bus.
Strolling past a downtown hotel, I noticed a sign touting the hotel’s banquet and meeting services. The sign offered a phone number, with a call to action which said I could speak to one of the hotel’s “sales representatives.”
It was as though the word “sales” was suddenly presented as a Rorschach test.
And in that split second, as my mind went searching for the essence of the word, along with any emotional or intellectual attachments, what flashed to mind — right or wrong — was the image of “sales” as a mostly one-dimensional, uni-directional value exchange. Value moving from the person buying the service or product (me, need-to-plan-a-meeting guy), to the person pitching the service or product (hotel sales guy or gal).
So I reflected a little more on that visceral reaction (because, after all, you’ve got time for such weighty matters while sitting on the bus).
Were I to call a hotel, looking to plan my next meeting or banquet, would I look forward to speaking with a sales rep? Or would I feel more motivated and optimistic at the prospect of speaking to an “event manager”? A “meeting specialist”? Maybe even a “certified meeting planner”?
I have to admit, despite being a sales professional myself, I think I’d prefer talking with someone who’s title seems to promise that they will help me solve my problem first (value coming my way), knowing full well they will eventually want my money (value going their way).
Maybe that’s why, some years ago, I asked that my supervisor allow me to use the self-fashioned title “VP, Solutions Development,” as opposed to “VP, Sales.”
Granted, it might sound a bit high-falutin’, even egg-headish. And most definitely it’s a bit namby pamby, judging by red-meat, there’s-nothing-wrong-with-the-word-sales standards.
But what I hope the title signals, to people I meet on behalf of my organization, is that they can expect me to focus, first and foremost, on seeking to understand and be of value to them and their business…before I try and sell them on mine.
So I guess that puts me in the anti “sales” camp, at least when it comes to using the word as an adjective in a job title.
But again, Boss, if you’re reading this: I’ve got absolutely nothing against the noun. Just the adjective. Just the adjective.
Where do you and your organization come down on the word “sales”: Negative connotations, or a non-event?
This post, originally published on Hanley Wood Marketing’s Content Is Marketing blog, is cross-posted here for subscribers to Touch Point City. For more marketing ideas and insights from my colleagues at HWM, subscribe to Content Is Marketing.
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Finland supports the concept of comprehensive security adopted by the UN, in which conflict prevention is closely linked with peacebuilding and development. Moreover, the structures concentrating on the UN’s conflict prevention activities are developed and the relevant normative basis is reinforced. Finland considers the cooperation carried out by the UN and regional organisations, in particular the EU, as crucial to conflict prevention.
Finland strives to promote the capacity of the Security Council to deal effectively with all issues pertaining to international peace and security, and to help find solutions to these issues. Finland stresses the importance of having a Council that functions effectively and treats the parties to a conflict equitably. The Security Council must rely, where necessary, on regional organisations and actors.
The Security Council is an instrument of primary importance for Finland even when we are not a member. Finland must be dynamic and proactive as concerns issues handled by the Council or those that the EU – and Finland, as a part of it – would like the Council to consider. In cooperation with the Presidency, Finland fosters consistent policy among the EU Member States in the Security Council.
As a concrete measure to support the work of the Security Council, Finland will continue the initiation of non-permanent members of the Council within the framework of the annual Tarrytown seminar, a contribution of the Permanent Mission of Finland.
Finland supports the trend whereby threats to security are approached from a thematic perspective in the Security Council – taking into account, however, the duties defined by theCharter for the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council. Finland regards that it is of particular importance that security perspectives pertaining to the environment, climate change, HIV/AIDS and other global threats to health continue to be considered by the UN Security Council also in future. To prevent conflicts, the Council should maintain closer contacts with the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Finland supports the UN’s mediation efforts pursued to further peace processes and stresses the importance of enhancing the preconditions for mediation available within the framework of the UN system and structures.
Finland emphasises the central role of the UN in international crisis management and will continue to make a significant contribution to UN-mandated operations.
Finland endeavours to contribute to the development of the UN peacekeeping structures and to ensure sufficient funding for peacekeeping operations. Preventing acts of abuse by peacekeepers requires consistent measures and regulations, and stricter sanctions. Finland supports the so-called Security Sector reform (SSR) in target countries. Especially international coordination of SSR support measures should be intensified.
Finland encourages UN and other actors engaged in crisis management operations to develop their mutual cooperation. Within the UN, Finland strives to enhance cooperation and coordination especially with the European Union, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), NATO and the African Union (AU). Work is done, in particular, to foster more intensive cooperation between the UN and the EU in these issues.
Promotion of the status of women is a cross-cutting theme in Finland’s interaction in the UN. The Government Programme states that the status of women shall be furthered particularly in conflict prevention and crisis management. Finland supports the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security adopted in 2000. Finland has drawn up a national Action Plan based on the Resolution.
Finland considers that the role of the UN in multilateral arms control cooperation is pivotal, and supports amendment of the shortcomings identified in the monitoring and verification of agreement systems. Arms control is also an element of the broader goals related to the promotion of development, human rights, peace and ther aspects of human security.
Furthermore, issues related to conventional weapons are becoming increasingly important in multilateral arms control efforts. Finland participates actively in the UN's efforts to prevent the illegal proliferation of small arms and light weapons, and strives, in particular, to promote the conclusion of an international arms trade treaty.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is among the major threats to security. The possibility that such weapons might fall into the hands of terrorists represents a special threat. Finland bolsters the UN’s central role in averting he proliferation of weapons of mass destruction – especially the implementation of Security Council Resolution 1540 on the prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Finland also underscores the importance of considering the consequences of armed violence in development (the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development Process).
Finland supports the UN’s efforts to establish a general legal framework for anti- terrorism and to monitor the implementation of international obligations. Finland has ratified twelve antiterrorism conventions and protocols prepared within the UN, while the ratification process of four new conventions or protocols is under way. Central goals include effective implementation of the UN Counter- errorism Strategy and consensus on the conclusion of the Comprehensive Convention against International Terrorism.
Ensuring that persons responsible for terrorist acts are brought to justice is a central area of international anti-terrorist cooperation, which is complemented, among others, by anti-terrorist sanctions and other preventive measures. Finland participates actively in international antiterrorist cooperation, consistently striving to promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in all anti-terrorist efforts.
Countering the threat of terrorism also requires that the root causes of terrorism are addressed through political dialogue and development cooperation. Finland supports, for example, the Alliance of Civilizations, based on the initiative of the UN Secretary-General, which aims to strengthen mutual understanding across cultures and religions, and works to this end.
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One of the go-to anecdotes Simple Machine founders Kurt Bieg and Ramsey Nasser have about their iPhone golf-meets-Twitter game Twirdie involves a five-year-old picking up the game for the first time. According the the duo—classmates from the Parsons School of Design who found sudden success recently with the release of their rhythm game, Circadia—the first time the junior gamer in question picked up the game, he sat with it for over two hours, typing away terms into the game's interface, using trending words on Twitter to putt the ball back and forth across the green to get it into the hole.
For Nasser and Bieg, this story, which they told me during a brief GDC 2012 interview and recounted again during the Experimental Gameplay Session, neatly sums up the appeal of the game which challenges users to flex their social awareness, regardless of their age, background, or nationality. Twirdie and Circadia represent two very different yet equally egalitarian-minded games from the studio that seem as much about getting people to try something unexpected as they are about climbing the sales charts.
Let's switch gears for a second and talk about Simple Machine's other iPhone/iPad title, Circadia, what could best be described as a rhythm puzzle game developed by Bieg that is, as of this writing, the number one music game in the iTunes store. Simple in concept but complex in its challenge, Circadia involves tapping colored dots on the screen in time so that the traveling waves of sound hit a white dot. The trick is that multiple dots may pop up on the screen with differently-timed tones, meaning you'll have to discover the best rate at which to tap the dots and complete each puzzle. Later, some of the dots will move and for someone like myself who can be tone-deaf and slow on timing in my old age, this can present an extra layer of challenge.
Bieg says that he developed the project as something to be completely relaxing and zen—something reflected by the uncomplicated visuals and the soothing tones that account for all the of the sounds in the game. Featuring 100 levels, Bieg says the idea of the game came from seeing ripples on a lake that he actually shelved for a year when he couldn't progress beyond that initial idea. But once he prototyped it in class, Bieg was surprised to find that people responded positively. He explained that the game was about creating harmony and that it was kind of a counter-Guitar Hero, where the challenge for players was to see a pattern and react to it; with Circadia, the challenge for the player was to see the goal and let them figure out the pattern.
It's part of a process that Simple Machine employs across the development of all of their titles, it seems, bringing together user familiarity with certain core game concepts and then tweaking them in visually or tonally unique ways. They describe their games as "experience-driven," about the anticipation on the part of the player with a "Try it out, you'll be surprised" attitude about most of their work that kind of avoids the hard sell.
The game that brought them to GDC this year, though, was Twirdie, another visually simple title where players type in a term into the interface and the game makes a call on trending words in Twitter. The number of people talking about a particular term translates into the number of balls your ball will fly across the green towards the hole. So, for example, if you typed in the term "Batman," and 20 people on Twitter were using the term Batman, your ball would fly 20 yards in the game. If you needed a little more distance, though, and were playing the game during one of the recent Republican Primary contests, typing in those two terms might send your ball soaring with thousands of users potentially talking about it at the time.
At two and a half years in development, the game represented what appeared to be more of a technical challenge for Bieg and Nasser, dealing with the constantly-changing Twitter API which would sometimes simply not cooperate. Twirdie started off as Bieg's thesis on live data games, or as he likes to put it, making a game about what everyone's talking about.
For the duo, the side effect of Twirdie is that for gamers, it makes social interactions online transparent: as you type in terms to find the right combination that will get you closer to the hole, you might consider the time of day you're typing or what people are eating, or a holiday, or major movie releases. You don't need to be a Twitter user, you just have to understand human behavior or start making good guesses about it (see the five-year-old in the example at the top). The game's ability to accommodate non-English languages and make calls on trends in foreign countries means that the experience can be local to gamers worldwide.
Returning to their idea of tweaking something familiar, they took a word game and a golf game and combined them after initially toying with treatments involving tennis or wizards. Now, it's a more sedate experience accompanied by steel drum music. Right now the game has same device two-player, but Bieg and Nasser are slowly rolling out asynchronous online multiplayer so you can test your trending knowledge against other users around the globe.
As for what's next, Simple Machine has a couple of other projects in development: Scoundrel which is a card game, and Wordoku which blends Sudoku and chess. They also have Please Send Fruit which they describe as Lemmings-like, and the first of their games to include a narrative. In it, you play as an adviser to a gluttonous king who needs more jam even though you've run out of fruit. The fix: mashing monsters into jam and sending them the king's way. The iPhone title involves matching monsters on platforms and pushing them down the chute to the ever-hungry king.
You can find trailers for both Twirdie and Circadia below:
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Funny how the world keeps turning around us. In the 1960's, the precursor to the Internet took shape in response to the U.S. military's need for a network that would be reliable despite being comprised of inherently unreliable interconnections. Today we still yearn for an Internet we can rely on to let us carry out our business without being mugged by online ruffians or shadowy cyberwarriors.
Last month I wrote, "unless we fundamentally transform the way the Internet works—and the way we think about freedom—online lawlessness will persist." Now there's a growing inclination to create a "dot-secure" walled garden, a corner of the Internet where we could give up a little bit of liberty in exchange for more safety (Ben Franklin, one suspects, would not approve). I believe such an approach is unjustified, even in the absence of high-minded concerns over hegemony, privacy and liberty.
Winsford Walled Garden, North Devon (via Victoriana)
Why propose an Internet safe zone? Three familiar reasons: first, because there are people on our wires who are untrustworthy, due either to their malice or their ignorance. Second, because we have procedures intended to protect us which do not (or which make us less secure). And finally because we have technologies intended to protect us which present inadequate barriers to our enemies (or which offer new paths to compromise). We're not struggling with cybersecurity because the Internet's designers valued openness and anonymity; we're struggling because our people, our processes and our technologies—three pillars well known to any security practitioner—are letting us down. Dividing the Internet into a totalitarian green zone and a ghetto of spiraling chaos won't solve this basic problem: untrustworthy people will still have access. Procedures will still not be bulletproof. Technologies will still fail us.
Moreover, such an approach will make things worse if manic focus on a green zone prevents us from helping the unwashed masses by innovating ways to defend Aunt Susie's laptop against the latest fake AV scheme. And if one of the goals is for Aunt Susie to manage her retirement accounts in relative safety, no green zone will help her unless she lives inside it by utterly ceding control over her computer to the authorities: she's only permitted to visit approved sites, only permitted to run approved software and operating systems on certified hardware. What if her nephew wants to play ZombieKillerOnline? Must he do so from another computer? On a network air-gapped from his Aunt Susie's computer? Can we defend her computer against attacks on its hardware or firmware? Must her use of thumb drives or optical media be restricted or audited? Are you serious?
Let's not abandon openness because it's difficult. Instead let's breathe deeply and acknowledge that the only way to achieve perfect information security is to share no information with anyone, ever (or not have any information worth stealing in the first place). Beyond that there are levels of risk we must be prepared to accept, and do the best we can, for the whole Internet, to sensibly meet those risks.
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FROM Murrurundi to Mayfield, thousands of residents living alongside the Hunter’s coal corridor are demanding greater protection from the hundreds of tonnes of fine toxic dust dumped in their communities annually.
To read The Herald's opinion, click here.
With coal exports through the Port of Newcastle expected to significantly expand over the next decade, the Newcastle Herald has joined with Hunter communities calling for all Hunter coal wagons to be covered.
Previous studies indicate an uncovered, loaded 80-wagon train emits an average 685.6grams of dust per kilometre.
Reported by Matthew Kelly, filmed and produced by Dean Osland.
If annual throughput at the Port of Newcastle reaches 330million tonnes as predicted in 2022, resulting in 54,000 loaded-train movements, an estimated 37tonnes of coal dust would be emitted per kilometre every year along some sections of track.
The figure does not include dust from empty trains.
Environmental groups, public health experts and civic leaders have become increasingly concerned about the environmental, health, social and economic impacts of dust pollution on Hunter communities.
Of greatest concern is the impact of fine particulate matter less than 2.5microns that can travel several hundred metres from its source.
‘‘Significant work needs to be done to reduce dust pollution if the health of large numbers of people is not going to be compromised, especially the most vulnerable, including children, the elderly, and those with existing health conditions,’’ University of Newcastle public health expert Associate Professor Nick Higginbotham said.
Singleton Shire councillor Lyn MacBain said coal dust was among the most complained-about issues in the local government area.
“Trains are coming through our town every five minutes and the number of people who are exposed to dust is increasing,” she said.
Environment Minister Robyn Parker, whose electorate of Maitland is on the coal transport corridor, is under increasing pressure to reduce the impact of coal-dust emissions.
A spokesman for the minister said levels of particulates generated by coal-train movements in the Hunter was under investigation.
As part of the investigation, the Environment Protection Authority issued the rail line manager, Australian Rail Track Corporation, with a legally binding pollution reduction program in September 2011.
The program includes the installation of dust monitors adjacent to the train line at Metford and Mayfield.
The spokesman said there was no reliable data to indicate whether coal trains with uncovered coal loads increased ambient dust levels.
‘‘The outcomes of this investigation will allow the NSW government to determine if any measures are required to control and reduce coal-dust emissions from trains transporting coal or if further studies are required.
‘‘Also, coal trains move relatively slowly through urban areas and in the Hunter Valley, unlike in Queensland, coal is washed prior to being loaded onto wagons trains, this helps to reduce dust.’’
An Australian Rail and Track Corporation spokeswoman said the investigation was being completed.
‘‘At this time we’ll be discussing how these results will be shared with other stakeholders and the community,’’ she said.
QR National and Pacific National haul millions of tonnes of coal through the Hunter each year.
Neither company would comment on its willingness to adopt covered wagons, however, they stressed they were committed to complying with regulatory requirements.
‘‘We work with ARTC and the Hunter Valley mines to ensure we fulfil all of our regulatory responsibilities on this corridor and we take those responsibilities as a hauler seriously,’’ a QR National spokesman said.
NSW Minerals Council chief executive Stephen Galilee said the council continued to work with the Upper Hunter community on the issue of coal-train dust.
‘‘Coal operators are working closely with them to understand the nature of the issue in NSW, so that the most appropriate actions can be taken,’’ he said.
Greens MP and environment spokeswoman Cate Faehrmann said existing legislation relating to coal-dust emissions was weak.
‘‘Not only is the legislation weak, but the Environment Protection Authority lacks the gumption to force the industry to cover loads,’’ she said.
‘‘Instead of cutting the department’s budget and stripping away staff, the minister needs to give the EPA more resources and more teeth.’’
Ms Faehrmann was among many who pointed out the inconsistency between road and rail haulage requirements.
‘‘Roads and Maritime Services requires all coal trucks on roads to cover their loads. It’s completely unacceptable that the government doesn’t require it for coal carried by rail,’’ she said.
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The military pay charts linked below show pay and allowances that military personnel may be entitled to, based on their individual circumstances for the year 2009. Military members may be entitled to other pay and allowances, depending on the circumstances.
Misc. Pay Entitlements
Food Allowance (BAS)
Basic Allowance for Subsistence (BAS) is a monthly monetary food allowance for military members when it is impractical to consume "free" government meals in the dining facility (chow hall) For 2009, rates have increased 10 percent over 2008 BAS rates.
Enlisted military members are paid a "clothing allowance" to pay for maintenance and replacement of required uniform items. The allowances shown here are for Fiscal Year 2009 and are effective from October 1, 2008 through September 30, 2009.
Involuntary Separation Pay
Many military members who are involuntarily separated from the military are entitled to involuntary separation pay (severance pay). To be eligible, a military member must have six or more years of active duty, and less than 20 years.
Military members who are required to jump out of perfectly good aircraft as part of their military duties are entitled to a special kind of pay, known as "Jump Pay," or "Parachute Duty Pay."
Military members who are on flying status receive monthly flight pay., Here are the flight pay charts for enlisted members and commissioned/warrant officers who are on flying status.
Active Duty Retirement Pay
These charts show the monthly retirement pay for active duty members who retire during 2009. Military personnel can retire after 20 years of active duty service.
Enlistment and Re-enlistment Incentives
The military services offer a variety of enlistment and re-enlistment bonuses to attract new recruits into military specialties that are considered "hard to fill," as well as to encourage experienced military members in "shortage jobs" to stay in past their first enlistment period.
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://usmilitary.about.com/od/militarypaycharts/a/miscpay.htm
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s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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en
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Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
An agreement in which performance is done in installments. For example, where payments of money, delivery of goods, or performance of services are to be made in a series of payments, deliveries, or performances, usually on specific dates or upon certain happenings.
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:18 pm
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/Installment_contract
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One of the best books I have read recently is “Free: The Economics of Abundance and Why Zero Pricing Is Changing the Face of Business” by Chris Anderson. Whilst it is not, per se, about the cloud, but about innovation and economics, many discussions I have had about Windows Azure and cloud computing around the pricing and economics draw overlap heavily with themes that come up in his book, so I urge you to read it to inspire and challenge your ideas.
“What happens when advances in technology allow many things to be produced for more or less nothing? And what happens when those things are then made available to the consumer for free? In his ground breaking new book, The Long Tail author Chris Anderson considers a brave new world where the old economic certainties are being undermined by a growing flood of free goods – newspapers, DVDs, T shirts, phones, even holiday flights. He explains why this has become possible – why new technologies, particularly the Internet, have caused production and distribution costs in many sectors to plummet to an extent unthinkable even a decade ago. He shows how the flexibility provided by the online world allows producers to trade ever more creatively, offering items for free to make real or perceived gains elsewhere. He pinpoints the winners and the losers in the Free universe. And he demonstrates the ways in which, as an increasing number of things become available for free, our decisions to make use of them will be determined by two resources far more valuable than money: the popular reputation of what is on offer and the time we have available for it. In the future, he argues, when we talk of the 'money economy' we will talk of the 'reputation economy' and the 'time economy' in the same breath, and our world will never be the same again.”
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CC-MAIN-2013-20
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http://blogs.msdn.com/b/david_gristwood/archive/2012/05/29/free-the-economics-of-abundance-and-why-zero-pricing-is-changing-the-face-of-business.aspx
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|
en
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In my 15+ years of coaching real estate agents to be at the top of their game, I have seen that perfectionism does more harm than good. In fact there are at least 7 Ways that perfectionism stops you from success.
1. Perfectionism causes procrastination. Have you ever had a project that you really wanted to get done, but never could quite complete it? If you look carefully at what was going on in your mindset, you probably see that you wanted to project to be completed perfectly.
We live in an imperfect world. The idea that perfection is possible is just an illusion. Your desire for perfection can stop you from taking action that is needed. In fact it can even lead to mental paralysis and stop you from listening to your intuition.
Imperfect action is better than no action.
2. You get caught up in the details. Instead, use your business vision. There is nothing so compelling as a vision for which you have passion. But if you're busy with the details, and trying to get every little thing perfect, you lose sight of the bigger picture.
Delegate out as many details of your business as you can't so you can focus on moving your business forward.
3. Perfectionism doesn't allow you to be yourself. Have you noticed how guarded you feel when you're trying to put up a front of being perfect? You can't be yourself, because someone might see that you really aren't as perfect as you're trying to be.
How did that get started anyway? In the way that most of us were conditioned, we weren't allowed to be ourselves. The more our parents had perfectionistic standards for us and the more we tried to achieve those standards, the more of ourselves we had to give away.
We usually do to ourselves what was done to us when we were growing up. Therefore, if you suffer from perfectionism, it is a good bet that it was part of your programming in your early years. Quite likely you picked up the belief, "I have to be perfect to be okay."
Get to work on discovering your self-limiting beliefs with regard to perfectionism. When you bring those beliefs to the surface, you can release them and replace them with empowering beliefs, such as, "I am perfectly imperfect like everyone else."
4. Perfectionism set you up to need others' approval. Let's face it, when you're being a perfectionist, you're thinking about other people approving of you and your work. You're being "outer directed", i.e. trying to get you approval from the outside rather than giving it to yourself.
The truth is; we don't have to be perfect. All we need to do in any particular moment is to do our best. And our best changes from moment to moment in day-to-day. If you're feeling healthy, your best will be one-way and if you're feeling sickly your best will be another way. In either case you just need to remember that your job is only to do your best.
Forget about needing other people's approval, because what others think of you is really not your business.
5. Perfectionism causes you to be in a constant state of stress, because you're always trying to meet your perfect standards. According to the law of attraction, the states of consciousness that attract prosperity and success are very positive, such as gratitude, appreciation, and love. When you send out those energies, you are becoming more magnetic for your ideal business. However, when you are trying to be perfect, you are sending out signals of stress, anxiety and fear.
Notice the feelings you are sending out and make yourself as magnetic as possible by projecting gratitude and tolerance.
6. Perfectionism stops you from taking a risk. Any seasoned real estate agent knows how important it is to take educated risks to move forward. Staying stuck in the status quo never benefited anyone.
However, when you demand of yourself that you need to be perfect, you'll be very hesitant to take the risk.
When it comes to taking risks - follow your intuition. It knows better what you need then your own beliefs that you need to be perfect. Remember, perfection doesn't exist, it's a trap.
7. Perfectionism stops you from picking up the phone. The consequences of this are HUGE for your business. In today's marketplace the old methods of marketing aren't nearly as effective as you simply picking up the phone and prospecting. Prospective clients are less likely to notice you through a flyer or e-mail. However when they hear the sound of your voice, you're making personal contact.
So many people I've worked with over the years avoid this method of lead generation and their business suffers tremendously.
When I explore with them why they are so avoidant of picking up the phone, it usually comes down to the same thing…. they want to be seen as perfect. This is another way of saying that they are afraid of being seen as "pushy" and afraid of rejection.
When you are marketing yourself to prospective clients, there is no such thing as rejection. It's simply a match or it's not a match. Your job is to prospect, present your services and keep on the lookout for someone who needs what you have to offer. If they don't need it, it simply isn't a match.
Follow these tips listed above and allow yourself to be "perfectly imperfect". Your business will thank you for it.
|Dr. Maya Bailey, Multiple 6 Figure Income Business Coach for Real Estate Professionals, integrates her 20 years of experience as a psychologist with 15 years of expertise in marketing. Her powerful transformational work creates a Success Formula for Real Estate Professionals ready to create a Multiple 6 Figure Income. To get your free report: "7 Simple Strategies to More Clients in 90 Days" and to apply for an Initial Complimentary Consultation, go to: http://www.90daystomoreclients.com|
Copyright © 2013 Realty Times®. All Rights Reserved
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Chinese Fortune Cookie
While I was going to write about all the reasons that people in the first half of their work life ought to be pounding down debt so that they can make life changing investments over the next several years in equities, commodities and real estate, the U.S. and China relationship came to the fore as 130 Congress people decided that China was a currency manipulator. While there is a lot of politics being played, what most needs to be understood is that China will do what is good for China regardless of what the United States asks for in terms of currency revaluation or trade policy.
So, the question is begged, what is good for China? Ahhhh, that is a good question. Let's look at it mainly from the standpoint of the Chinese.
What is Good for China?
China is a huge creditor nation, constantly running large quarterly surpluses with other nations. Also, their people save over a third of what they earn, in fact, approaching half. When a family has enough to buy a home, they do not get the equivalent of an FHA 5% down payment loan, they put down half- and this in what many are calling a real estate bubble. If they want a second home, they generally pay cash, or close to it. It certainly is a different world in China.
On the way to saving money, the Chinese work. As it stands right now, about half of the population is still very poor, another quarter is poor and many are looking for work. With numbers like that, civil unrest is tough to thwart. High growth rates and hope for the future might be all that keeps China from having major internal problems to put down (which they have shown they will do). It should be blatantly apparent that the Chinese are not going to do anything that would slow their growth rates and ability to employ more people. The U.S. representatives however are asking that the Chinese do just that. It's not going to happen.
China's most pressing issue in maintaining production is not what many in the United States think, which they believe is having the United States to export to. The biggest issue the Chinese face is having low cost natural resources. There has been an argument made by the U.S. that the Chinese should raise the value of their currency versus the dollar in order to get those natural resources cheaper. In general, stronger currencies pay less for goods than weaker ones. The Chinese appear to realize there might be another way.
Importantly, the Chinese home market might be near the point where internal consumption, via a gradual spending of its international reserves could suit the Chinese just fine, rather than transferring the assets back via what they perceive as unfavorable currency policy. Think of things from the Chinese point of view, they feel as if they earned it, they can spend it how they want. That is certainly not much different than our mentality the past thirty years.
What Will China Do?
In his article "The Time for Lying Low Has Ended" in the Financial Times, Ian Bremmer discusses that China is beginning to embark on policies that decouple China from the United States. Why are they doing this? As mentioned above, in the simplest terms, because they believe they need to and they can. This does not mean that the United States and China will stop doing business, that will continue for many decades, however, it does likely mean that instead of exporting higher standards of living to us, they will keep that standard of living at home. That is understandable.
Over the past decade, China has been one of the main countries to support the United States by refinancing its debts. That day might be coming to an end as it could be in China's best interest to force our interest rates to go up through purchasing fewer of our treasuries. If the Chinese do this, and recent indications in bond market auctions are they have begun the process, American markets will likely continue to face some deflationary pressure as interest rates rise.
American politicians have asked for a stronger Chinese currency, interestingly, we will get one if the Chinese force our interest rates up since they are pegged to our currency. There are several moving parts here, but the easiest thing to understand is that would mean both the dollar and Yuan Renminbi would appreciate against other world currencies. For the Chinese that could be the best of all worlds, lower commodity prices, their largest export market would remain very open and a competitor on exports would gain no advantage.
Now, I do think the Chinese will throw the U.S. a bone in the form of a small adjustment to the currency parity, but it will only be enough to smooth over some flak they have been receiving from companies that export to China (which in the end lose usually anyway as the Chinese just copy whatever they were importing) and some financiers they sleep with from time to time.
Interestingly, one author discusses a potential Chinese currency devaluation. While I do not think that is likely, the argument applies to the Chinese holding their currency near the levels it is currently at.
What is Good for Americans?
At the crux of the 130 U.S. Congressmen's complaint about Chinese currency manipulation is that China's currency is incorrectly pegged to the U.S. dollar at a depressed price. That is bad for a small handful of U.S. exporters, but not many, and some financiers who have placed currency bets. It is probably good for U.S. citizens in general that the Renminbi does not drastically appreciate as it keeps our currency stronger in relative terms which means our imported oil and other imported goods are cheaper. It is a moot argument, but it is also doubtful that the Chinese currency would float much higher even if it were allowed to.
The Chinese do not let their currency float because they do not want their currency manipulated by investors. Rightly or wrongly, they presume that would happen. So think about it, if your currency was going to be manipulated, wouldn't you rather be the one doing it?
While many want to blame the Chinese for American problems, rational informed people know that is not the case. Had we not outsourced so much of our manufacturing and had embraced on a different set of social and corporate standards the past few decades, we would not be in the pickle we are in of not having enough good paying jobs. Our problems are our own. Using China at this point as a whipping boy, and embarking on a crusade against the Chinese is a dangerous game as John Mauldin discusses in his recent letter. Better to find our solutions at home at this point as there is no going back in time.
It is my opinion that jobs in the United States will only come as we rebuild our infrastructure and that the money from those projects and jobs flows again through the economy. Getting money changing hands is very important in the equation of whether we can sustain a recovery. Mauldin also discusses the issue of money velocity in a recent article. Once again, I will bang the drum for more renewable and nuclear energy development as the core to an improved long-term economy. The Chinese are doing it. Given recent developments in solar power and having seen a couple clients move to get their red badges at nuclear sites under construction, I suspect we will follow the path of energy system modernization, hopefully not too slowly.
So, while the Chinese are doing what is good for them, it is about time we did what is good for us, and that we not mistake what that is.
Your still looking for normalization, being guarded short term and cautiously optimisic long term, index ignoring advisor.
This newsletter contains forward looking statements that may not come true. Past performance does not guarantee future results. This letter is intended for informational purposes only, and reflects only my thoughts and opinions in general, and do not constitute individual advice. Opinions expressed may change without prior notice.
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Control‐value theory: Using achievement emotions to improve understanding of motivation, learning, and performance in medical education: AMEE Guide No. 64
In this AMEE Guide, we consider the emergent theoretical and empirical work on human emotion and how this work can inform the theory, research, and practice of medical education. In the Guide, we define emotion, in general, and achievement emotions, more specifically. We describe one of the leading contemporary theories of achievement emotions, control?value theory (Pekrun 2006), and we distinguish between different types of achievement emotions, their proximal antecedents, and their consequences for motivation, learning, and performance. Next, we review the empirical support for control?value theory from non?medical fields and suggest several important implications for educational practice. In this section, we highlight the importance of designing learning environments that foster a high degree of control and value for students. Finally, we end with a discussion of the need for more research on achievement emotions in medical education, and we propose several key research questions we believe will facilitate our understanding of achievement emotions and their impact on important educational outcomes.
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“ The Light in Delight”
Taken from Gallery Brochure for Deborah Garwood: Evan's Pond A Long Term Study of a Single Place;
Mildred Hawn Gallery October 2 to November 19, 2006.
Evans Pond, April 16, 2005[Croftside Forest Floor], parts 1-3.
Evans Pond: A Long Term Study of a Single Place is the title of this sequence of photographs by the artist Deborah Garwood. The simplicity as mark of humility; the absence of grandeur; the confrontation, finally, with what is most difficult: the thisness of what is here – singularity – yet hinted at, seen in a cosmological frame, for light, from Robert Grosseteste to Wordsworth, has always signaled a poetic cosmology. Garwood’s photographic practice is a poetics of place with a distinct American Tradition: William Carlos Williams’s Paterson of New Jersey, Charles Olson’s Gloucester, Massachusetts, in the Maximus Poems, and from there to the Robert Smithson of Spiral Jetty and the many studies of and engagement with the archaeology, light, soil, artefacts, and textures of New Jersey locations and being located. (It is very likely through Smithson that profoundly Olsonian terms enter the practice of Garwood.) In each of these, as with Garwood’s developing oeuvre, there is grandeur of scope built through the humble, the particular, the small, the overlooked – the first photograph was, after all, of a still-life arrangement on a table – made enigmatic because suddenly opened to repetition and thereby conceptual. Such attention to place being not merely a celebration of place but a deep act of attention to its realization / destruction, appearance / disappearance, recognition / ignorance, leading to an awareness of and attention to the construction of place. And let us not forget that for Freud construction was a term of historization: one constructed the psychic links of the unconscious mind as a patient archaeologist does the strata of the past – a term linked and made all the more powerful by its link to fiction, for what is constructed, cannot be held separate from fictionality. So these photographs, in exploring phenomenological and formal repetition, are yet structural and conceptual (there is a clear parallel with structural film): the use of figures of return, the interval (marked, sometimes, by a cut, a gap) to suggest differentiation in continuity, that, ultimately, the fragment may suggest (grow to?) new structural wholes (fictions) and these figures, which make the looking eye aware of itself, of the weight of resistance, come to suggest the work involved in capturing in light this single place – Blake’s eternity in a grain of sand might be topos here - namely the sublimely futile attempt to see time as if what can be seen in feeling can be transferred – translated? – to another light, as though the supreme experience of embodiment – that is, the reception, the acceptance of the weight of time passing – can be transferred to the presence of captured light, in the blink – the interval – of an eye. Whence, then, the movement between color and black-and-white, where in the black and white takes there is explored temporality of stasis, inertness, decay, in other words, something akin to the entropy of Smithson, but even more so – for this viewer – the experience in Virginia Woolf’s The Waves of the experience of the world drained of color as a way of capturing the fading out of consciousness – and being – before, that is, the glorious return in the effulgence of color as surprise against the inertness, the ground of what is captured in black-and-white – and yet, even in color, there is stasis, yet this time as though time, the weight of time, had caught light being light, and in certain moments of inertness there is also beauty, the beauty of repose and just beign there. Letting be. Such is the treasure and the presence of the Single Place in Evans Pond.
Michael Stone-Richards is Associate Professor in the Dept. of Liberal Arts, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, where he teaches comparative literature, critical theory, and modern and contemporary art. His book Theresa Hak Kyung Cha: Two Commentaries with be published in the fall of 2006; a set of essays by him, Logics of Separation: Exile and Transcendence in Aesthetic Modernity, is forthcoming from Peter Lang
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Al Davis never shied away from making bold moves as owner of the Oakland Raiders, especially when it came to hiring head coaches. In 1969, he chose John Madden, who at 32 became the youngest head coach in the NFL at the time. In 1998, Davis tabbed Jon Gruden, just 35-years-old to lead the Raiders into a new era.
But Davis is not without his failures, which is certainly illustrated in recent Raiders history. You can place former Raiders Head Coach Lane Kiffin in that category, who became the youngest head coach in franchise history, beating Madden by a year at age 31.
Kiffin, now head coach at USC, butted heads with Davis in his short, but memorable-for-the-wrong-reasons tenure with the Raiders. Who can forget Davis' press conference in which he announced Kiffin's firing?
But despite their differences, Kiffin issued a sympathetic statement on Davis' passing earlier today. From the Los Angeles Times:
"I was very saddened this morning to learn of the passing of Al Davis," Kiffin said in a statement. "He was an iconic figure in the history of professional football and built a truly legendary franchise with the Raiders.
"I consider myself fortunate to have known him and to have been a part of that Raiders history. Even though our relationship did not end the way I would have liked, I have nothing but the greatest respect for Mr. Davis and I truly appreciate the opportunity he afforded me and so many young coaches, players and staff.
"My thoughts go out to his family and to the family and fans of the Raiders past and present."
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Document Type Master's Dissertation Author Du Toit, Cecilia Magdalena URN etd-12192005-115229 Document Title The recreational reading habits of adolescent readers : a case study Degree MA (English) Department Modern European Languages Supervisor
Advisor Name Title Prof S M Finn Keywords
- teenagers South Africa
- teenagers South Africa recreation
- teenagers books and reading
- teenagers recreation
Date 2002-04-01 Availability unrestricted AbstractThis dissertation endeavours to come to an understanding of adolescents' attitudes and perceptions with regard to recreational reading. The scope of research in the discipline of Children's Literature is a clear indication that researchers in various fields consider it to be a crucial learning area in children's education in general and the acquisition of literacy in particular. This development comes at a time when many pessimists have reason to regard reading, if not a dying art, at least a threatened pastime, especially with modem children whose reading has to compete with a variety of electronic media for divided attention during limited hours of leisure. After a literature review of central issues pertaining to recreational reading, a survey attempts to determine the scope and nature of adolescent reading habits. Finally, strategies are recommended to help teachers in their promotion of adolescent readership.
Chapter one takes the view that recreational reading supports all aspects of a learner's development, from the acquisition of literacy to linguistic mastery, from intellectual stimulation to emotional and moral development. The theoretical inquiry studies various factors that contribute to - or detract from - the acquisition of a lifelong reading habit. From parental influence the focus moves to the influence of teachers at school and the role of bibliotherapy.
Chapter two endeavours to give an overview of beginning reading strategies as well as early contact with texts since attitudes on reading are formed through these initial experiences at home and at school. An inspection of some theories on children's reading development leads to an understanding of how to match book with reader as a crucial facet in readership promotion.
Chapter three focuses on adolescent attitudes and perceptions. An understanding of adolescents, their motives and interests are necessary when teachers wish to motivate their learners to read a wide range of material for pleasure. It is clear that the decline in adolescent recreational reading can be attributed to the pressure of time, the lack of adequate models of reading and the poor use of available reading materials.
in the Tshwane South district of Gauteng province as representatives of the middle adolescent phase. The results of the survey are described and the implications of adolescent reading habits are discussed.
Chapter five is a comprehensive chapter in which the research findings are applied to design teaching strategies to help promote recreational reading. Encouraging adolescents to choose to read enthusiastically, thereby possibly creating a lifelong reading habit, ultimately requires the combined efforts of governmental and education authorities, principals and teachers, librarians and, of course, parents.
The study is followed by two appendices: the questionnaire and some suggestions for readership promotion by learners in their own words.
The value of the study rests on the testimony of learners that teachers can influence adolescents with regard to recreational reading. Whether serving as models of reading, leading group discussions on books or applying bibliotherapeutic strategies, the influence and guidance of highly-motivated teachers are decisive.
© 2001, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
Please cite as follows:
Du Toit, CM 2001, The recreational reading habits of adolescent readers : a case study, MA dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-12192005-115229/ >
Filename Size Approximate Download Time (Hours:Minutes:Seconds)
28.8 Modem 56K Modem ISDN (64 Kb) ISDN (128 Kb) Higher-speed Access dissertation.pdf 3.21 Mb 00:14:51 00:07:38 00:06:41 00:03:20 00:00:17
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Tetbury Heritage Centre
In 1969 the Tetbury Magistrates Court was moved to Cirencester and the Police took over a new building in the London Road.
Tetbury Town Council then purchased the Victorian Police Station and Courtroom in Long Street.
The former Police Sergeant's living quarters currently house The Town Administration offices whilst the original Police office and cells contain the interesting Police Bygones Exhibition
and also the world renowned Alex Nichols collection of Restraint Equipment.
The exhibition is mainly dedicated to the history of the Gloucestershire Constabulary, founded in 1839 despite a petition raised by the people of Compton Greenfield against the necessity of forming a police force in Gloucestershire at all! There is a copy of this petition in the museum and a photo of Gloucestershire first Chief Constable Mr. Anthony Thomas Lefroy.
A number of interesting displays of photographs and equipment show the history of policing. Our resident Sergeant is always on duty in the station watching over the prisoners, local troublemakers and the public as he has done for over a hundred years.
'Fred', one of our prisoners, sleeps it off in one of the cells and should not be woken, as he is known to become violent if disturbed. Considering the cells were only for 'short stay' prisoners they are extremely secure, in the past careless visitors have been known to lock themselves in!
In the first floor courtroom there is a complete magistrates court with a display using models and depicting hearing, as it would have been in the late 1940's or early 1950's.
The Alex Nichols Collection of Restraint Equipment was until recently housed at the Galleries of Justice in Nottingham, it was moved to Tetbury Police Museum in 2007. The collection consists of the different restrain equipment used by the police from different countries around the world. Alex Nichols will be giving various demonstrations if you would like further information or to book a group visit with Alex please contact the curator.
The Heritage Centre & Police Bygones Exhibition is open daily Monday to Friday, from 10am to 3 p.m. and at other times by appointment.
Please telephone for latest prices.
The Old Courthouse
63 Long Street
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Here are some sustainable approaches towards resort operations followed by Six Senses Holistic Environmental Responsibility.
The resort has adopted a new direction by combining organic gardening using permaculture principals and an on-site recycling program. An organic raised bed garden is being built using a combination of recycled materials.
The results may surprise you. The idea is to use the area as an educational tool for the local community to demonstrate that the concept of waste is essentially a question of perception. We are experimenting building beds using old beer bottles, wine bottles, mud bricks and aluminum cans to grow a range of different organic vegetables (yard long beans, chillis, buttercrunch, lolla rossa, oak leaf and cos lettuces as well as rocket and a range of herbs).
So, rest assured if you feel like having another bottle of wine or a few more beers you will be contributing to a good cause. Another interesting aspect to the garden is the direct comparisons we can draw between conventional organic garden beds drawing its goodness from our home made compost and mulches and our state of the art hydroponic raft system fed by a nutrient solution.
At the edge of the main walkway through the garden there is a wooden door leading into the fungal kingdom - a mushroom cultivation hut where we grow oyster and woodear mushrooms on sawdust for use in the kitchens and the host canteen.
Once the mushrooms have extracted the cellulose and lignin from the wood the resulting rich compost is then used in the garden as mulch.
A waste management practice is implemented to minimize the impacts of waste on the environment. The procedure includes reducing, re-using, re-cycling and disposing of waste appropriately.
Waste is systematically disposed by the appropriate channels. Paper, glass, aluminum, plastic and metal is recycled. We reuse old bed sheets for wrapping cloth and laundry bags. However, there are some things which we cannot dispose of safely in this area, for example batteries and any electronic waste. These are often mixed with other rubbish, where they either end up being incinerated or buried. In either case, they release very toxic chemicals into the air and water.
We have switched to rechargeable batteries to reduce electronic waste. Only wet garbage from the kitchen is used in animal husbandry purposes such as the pig raising farm. Organic waste from garden goes through recycling process by allowing it to decompose, after a couple months it turns into natural soil conditioner and fertilizer in the resort's garden and vegetation projects. Only small amounts of waste is delivered to the municipal landfill.
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for Veterans and the Public
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: If you have cirrhosis, won't you look yellow?
Cirrhosis is advanced scarring (fibrosis) in the liver. Many people who develop cirrhosis show no signs at all--they look exactly the same as they did before. For some people with cirrhosis, the scarring in the liver causes a buildup of bile and increases the level of bilirubin (a brownish-yellow substance found in bile) in the bloodstream. High bilirubin levels can make the skin appear yellow. So, although the skin of some people with cirrhosis may turn yellow, it does not happen to most people.
It is also important to know that a yellowish skin tone may be caused by cirrhosis, but it also could be caused by a different illness such as pancreatic cancer or colon cancer that has spread to the liver.
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Helping in the garden turned into a major rescue after a 82-year-old Dannevirke woman fell at least 30 metres down a cliff.
"It was quite a fall as the bank really is verging on a cliff face," Dannevirke fire chief Mike Finucane said.
The woman had been assisting another elderly person at the address in the garden on Friday night and as she was trying to get rid of weeds over the bank, stumbled and fell, Mr Finucane said.
Emergency services, including the Palmerston North Rescue Helicopter, were called to the property at the end of McPhee St at 5pm.
Steve Yanko, the St John ambulance operations manager, flew in with the rescue helicopter which had initially been called because of the possibility of its winch being needed for the rescue.
"The cliff was steep, but the woman was conscious and talking to emergency personnel throughout her ordeal," Mr Yanko said. "She was lucky the surface was relatively soft and she hadn't fallen to the bottom, but she was a bit sore because she was wedged in down there."
Mr Finucane said the alarm had been raised by another woman at the property who noticed the woman over the edge, and the Dannevirke Volunteer Fire Brigade were able to lower a brigade member and a St John member down the cliff.
"We were lucky," Mr Finucane said.
"One of our volunteers is trained in abseiling and line rescue work. We were able to use his gear for the rescue and we also had two fire brigade members transported in by quad bike to the bottom of the cliff."
A Ferno Washington stretcher was used to bring the woman back up the cliff during a rescue operation which took almost two hours.
"We had a St John person halfway up the bank to ensure the woman was coping and the stretcher was the ideal device and we were able to haul the woman up the cliff face safely," Mr Finucane said.
Mr Yanko said the woman had been "beaten about" by the fall but was talking to her rescuers and complaining of back and chest pains.
"This rescue was a great example of emergency services all working together for the good of the patient," he said.
Mr Finucane agreed, saying everyone at the rescue communicated well and discussed the best options for the woman, who suffered moderate injuries. She was flown by helicopter to Palmerston North Hospital. Yesterday, a hospital spokesperson said she was in a stable condition.
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Born Aug 7 1919 - Died Feb 19 2012
Polymers and Production Thereof
HDPE and Polypropylene Plastics
Patent Number(s) 2,825,721
Paul Hogan and fellow research chemist Robert Banks were working for Phillips Petroleum in 1951 when they invented crystalline polypropylene and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Together, the plastics were marketed under the brand name Marlex®, which has since made its way into every corner of American life. Banks and Hogan began working together in 1946. Low-density polyethylene already existed, but manufacturing it required extremely high pressures. While working on another project to improve yields of high-octane gasoline--the two chemists discovered crystalline polypropylene. They experimented further and found they were able to produce HDPE in a low pressure situation. Their discoveries launched a multi-billion dollar industry.
Today, over 55 billion pounds of HDPE are manufactured each year. Plastic products include gallon milk jugs, laundry baskets, indoor-outdoor carpeting, and artificial turf.
Hogan grew up in Lowes, Kentucky and received a degree in chemistry and physics from Murray State University. During World War II, he served as an instructor at a preflight school. He joined Phillips in 1944, working there until his 1985 retirement. His numerous awards include the Pioneer Chemist Award and the Society of Chemical Industry's Perkin Medal. Hogan holds 52 U.S. patents.
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In May 2009, the Colorado State Legislature passed House Bill 09-1319 and Senate Bill 09-285, the Concurrent Enrollment Programs Act. The collective intent is to broaden access to and improve the quality of concurrent enrollment programs, improve coordination between institutions of secondary education and institutions of higher education and ensure financial transparency and accountability. Beyond coordinating and clarifying the existing concurrent enrollment programs, the bill also creates the “5th year” ASCENT program for students retained by the high school for instruction beyond the senior year.
For more information please contact
or click here.
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Irons plays Humbert Humbert, the professor who can not control his physical desires for 12 year-old Dolores Haze (Swain) in yet another adaptation of Nabokov’s classic novel. —The Samuel Goldwyn Company
At once hailed by movieg rs and reviled by critics, filmmaker Adrian Lyne was an Academy Award-nominated director and producer of such erotically-charged features as “Flashdance” (1983), “Nine ½ Weeks” (1986), “Fatal Attraction” (1987) and “Unfaithful” (2002). Lyne’s films were balanced carefully on the line between art and exploitation – while impeccably polished and produced, his pictures never shied away from depicting the darker – and more titillating – aspects of human sexuality in graphic ways. Although popular with audiences, his films were routinely dismissed as glossy, empty-headed Hollywood product. Lyne responded to such criticism with more arthouse-oriented fare like “Jacob’s Ladder” (1990) and “Lolita” (1997), making him a filmmaker harder to define that critics would care to admit.
Born March 4, 1941 in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, England, Lyne was raised in London and studied at the prestigious Highgate School, where his father was an educator. After a brief… read more
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Posted on October 10th, 2011 by lskenazy
Hi Readers — This is from an article by Tim Gill in The Guardian last week. Tim is a friend, an activist, a blogger and author of No Fear, a book examining what it means to grow up in a completely risk averse society. In the article I’m quoting from, he’s talking about how there’s an annual bird count (presumably to find out which birds are thriving, which are endangered), but maybe what we need now is an annual “child outside” count:
The ecology of children apparently being less interesting than that of birds, there is little hard data around. We do have Mayer Hillman’s classic One False Move, a study of children’s independent mobility. It suggests that, in a single generation, the “home habitat” of a typical eight-year-old — the area in which children are able to travel on their own — has shrunk to one-ninth of its former size. Do not underestimate the significance of this change: for the first time in the 4 million-year history of our species, we are effectively trapping children indoors at the very point when their bodies and minds are primed to start getting to grips with the world outside the home.
The mission of Free-Range Kids — as you can tell from its name — is liberating kids from this new, unnecessary, frustrating, debilitating caged existence. Onward!! L.
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If you use Moodle as your VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) of choice you’re not alone. The latest statistics from the Moodle community site are impressive: over 1 million teachers and over 68 million students in 232 countries use it. Whether you are thinking of dipping your toes in the waters of VLEs, or whether you are already confidently swimming around in Moodle, you may find the Moodle tutorial videos below helpful.
Posts Tagged ‘blended’
Tweet It’s a new year, and we have a new series of free webinars starting on 20 January. At The IATEFL Learning Technologies SIG we are kicking off our 2013 webinars with a debate on interactive whiteboards, or IWBs (see below). Pete Sharma will be defending IWBs, and Gavin Dudeney opposing. Pete is author [...]
Tweet I’ve blogged about the free Learning to Teach Online video series (LTTO) from the University of New South Wales before. (The original post, which includes 4 other online teaching video resources, is here). What’s especially good about the LTTO videos resource? It includes: a total of 30+videos on a range of online teaching-related issues [...]
One of the biggest challenges facing EFL (and other) teachers today is how to integrate technology into our classes in a meaningful and principled way. If that sounds like you or your trainee teachers, here’s a 1-minute roadmap.
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Home Network Defender: securing the perimeter
Cisco makes home networks more secure from the inside out.
And vice versa.
Credit: ⓒAlienCat – Fotolia.com
Today, Cisco announced an important step forward in improving security for home networks. Home Network Defender is designed to stop Web threats before they reach you, by providing antivirus protection right at the router – the network gateway to your home. Think of it as a first line of defense against Internet threats.
Embedded in your Linksys router, Home Network Defender by Trend Micro protects your network from viruses, spyware, malware, and other computer-generated attacks – and provides extensive parental controls as well that can protect your family from inappropriate web sites and manage times your kids ore online. Like the guard bees at the entrance to a hive, Home Network Defender lets the right ones in, and keeps threats out.
Home Network Defender goes hand-in-hand with Network Magic – the award-winning software solution that helps you set up, see, and manage your home network to make it far easier to use -- and far more fun and productive.
But what, exactly, does each product do for you? And how do they work together to make home networking easier, more secure, and more satisfying? The easiest way to understand it is that Home Network Defender helps you stop web threats before they reach you. While Network Magic helps you set up, see, and manage your home network – and protects you from practices inside the home that could make you vulnerable.
Home Network Defender: secure from the outside in
Home Network Defender protects against the kinds of attacks that one computer launches against another. For example, IP-enabled devices like the Nintendo Wii or Sony Playstation do not have security software, and are vulnerable points in your home network. Home Network Defender helps stop threats right at the router, before they can find their way in.
Network Magic: secure from the inside out
Network Magic protects home networks against human intruders by establishing a secure, encrypted home network that keeps unauthorized users out. It alerts you to vulnerabilities within your network, and allows you to monitor and set Internet access controls on your kids’ computers.
Network Magic is a great place to start, because it simplifies setup, management, and basic wireless security. New users marvel at how refreshingly simple establishing a home network can be, and how easily the network map helps them visualize, access and control all the devices in their home. More advanced users appreciate Network Magic’s powerful, configurable network settings.
Together, Network Magic and Home Network Defender are out to make your home the media-connected hub of your family hive. From the inside out, and the outside in.
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New Paths Being Forged to Higher Education
With demand for talented workers rising exponentially while state and federal budgets continue to shrink, the race is on to find new ways to impart more credentials and degrees with less money. In particular, two emerging trends have received a fair share of attention lately: open source online courses and prior learning assessments. Recent articles by the Chronicle of Higher Education and Inside Higher Ed shine a light these promising practices.
Last month, MIT and Harvard announced a $60 million initiative called “edX” to host free online learning courses. While students can earn certificates through edX, the program does not intend to offer degrees or university credit through the program. Similarly, Capella Education Company last month unveiled 25,000 free tutorials through their Sophia online learning platform. Unlike edX, Capella intends to introduce a new program, “Sophia Pathways to College Credit” to provide students with a low cost pathway to a degree.
Both edX and Sophia are being described by their creators as a means for studying how students learn. With edX, researchers intend to collect data on how much time students spend watching videos of specific lessons. Under Sophia, content is ranked and given an "academic seal" by experts, who are themselves ranked by students. The information collected under both programs could have a significant impact not just on online learning, but could also prove to inform and improve traditional modes of education delivery.
Meanwhile, an emerging trend towards prior learning assessments (PLAs) provides another low-cost way for students to earn a credential. PLAs seek to award students college-level credit for learning that takes place before enrollment. That learning could come from job or life experience, independent study, or even some of the free online courses from sources like the Khan Academy or edX. Rather than having to pay large sums of money to take courses that are unnecessary, students instead would take an exam that would certify that learning has already taken place. This practice isn’t necessarily new—the College Level Examination Program, for example, has been in place for decades now—but it’s receiving new found attention thanks to partnerships like the one between American Public University (APU) and WalMart.
Critics are skeptical of any program that offers college credit based on experiential learning that happens outside the walls of academia, and fairly so. It would theoretically be very easy to pump out certifications and degrees based on resumes without verifying that the student has the proper knowledge and competencies. Institutions themselves are quick to point out that prior learning credits are not merely handed out for time served. “People heard we were giving credit for college-level work,” says Karan Powell, the APU executive vice president and provost. “We’re not. We’re giving credit for college-level learning.”
Yet work being done by the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning and the American Council of Education in setting up a framework to essentially accredit these programs is going a long way towards quelling the fears of critics. That’s vital, since the existing accreditation framework is ill-equipped to handle this kind of innovation. Meanwhile, open source online programs like edX and Sophia are likewise pushing the envelope on traditional accreditation.
For these kinds of innovative ventures, the process of modernizing accreditation can’t come quickly enough, and will certainly play a role in their survival. It isn’t clear yet how either of the two models will become financially self-sustaining—similar initiatives have had to close their doors due to ballooning costs. And regulatory structures, such as the credit hour system, certainly pose significant barriers to the proliferation and long-term stability of these alternative higher education programs.
Yet for a nation that desperately needs to find new, low-cost ways of delivering education, prior learning assessments and open source online programs offer a glimmer of hope. These initiatives have the potential to change the face of higher education for the better, if encouraged to proliferate. More importantly, they could provide millions of Americans with a new pathway to prosperity.
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Black Narcissus (1947)
Description: British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger once again deliberately courted controversy and censorship with their 1947 adaptation of Rumer Godden's novel. Deborah Kerr and Kathleen Byron play the head nuns at an Anglican hospital/school high in the Himalayas. The nuns' well-ordered existence is disturbed by the presence of a handsome British government agent (David Farrar), whose attractiveness gives certain sisters the wrong ideas. Meanwhile, an Indian girl (Jean Simmons) is lured down the road to perdition by a sensuous general (Sabu). While Kerr would seem most susceptible to fall from grace --we are given hints of her earlier love life in a long flashback--she proves to have more stamina than Byron, who delivers one of moviedom's classic interpretations of all-stops-out, sex-starved insanity. The aforementioned flashback was removed from the US release version of Black Narcissus so as not to offend the Catholic Legion of Decency. While the dramatic content of the film hasn't stood the test of time all that well, the individual performances, production values, and especially the Oscar-winning Technicolor photography of Jack Cardiff are still as impressive as ever.~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
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Companion column: Drinking water supplies will be put at risk
For nearly two decades, there has been talk of building a 183-acre dump about 3.5 miles east of Interstate 15, just south of state Route 76. Opponents include the nearby Pala Indians and others worried about long-term effects on the San Luis Rey River and its tributaries. The project remains in the midst of the permitting process.
PROPOSED GREGORY CANYON LANDFILL BY THE NUMBERS
• Site covers 183 acres
• Located 3.5 miles east of Interstate 15, south of state Route 76
• More than $40 milliion spent by developers
• It has been 16 years since voters countywide approved a measure that in effect rezoned land the land to allow landfill
The Gregory Canyon Landfill needs to be completed quickly. That, along with increased recycling, will protect our health and environment for decades to come.
Our local population grows daily, and the need to provide safe, environmentally sound and convenient disposal for waste generated by the residents and businesses of San Diego County has increased. Waste in the county has grown to such an extent that all San Diego landfills are now operating at, or very close to, their maximum permitted capacities, and the most recently adopted revision of the county Solid Waste Management Plan – approved by the county, a majority of the cities in the county and the California Integrated Waste Management Board – concludes that the Gregory Canyon Landfill is absolutely necessary to meet the requirements of state law with respect to an adequate availability of daily disposal capacity.
For more than 10 years, Gregory Canyon Landfill Ltd. has been working toward one goal: providing a state-of-the art, environmentally safe and convenient disposal facility for residential and commercial waste in North County. The project’s investors have spent more than $40 million of private funds and been subject to 12 years of rigorous environmental reviews by the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health. The project’s Environmental Impact Report, which has been approved by numerous state and federal agencies including San Diego County’s Department of Environmental Health, states that it will provide levels of environmental protection far superior to that of other area landfills and will be the safest, most environmentally protective landfill in the state of California.
We believe that it is this attention to the details of environmental safety, and the obvious need to manage our own trash, that is responsible for voters’ overwhelming approval of this privately funded project in not one, but two countywide elections.
Failure of this project would be disastrous for our growing communities. With no local landfill to handle North County waste, freeway traffic congestion would increase as trucks would have to travel long distances to more distant landfills. In addition, a virtual monopoly on county waste disposal would result, threatening citizens with significant increases in disposal fees. The county would suffer significant economic losses as well. As the Union-Tribune stated in an editorial, “The landfill also will contribute some $50 million to county coffers.” That $50 million-plus could help rescue San Diego County as it strives to generate more tax revenue.
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Car Pulls Up Its Wheels To Become a Boat (Jul, 1940)
Car Pulls Up Its Wheels To Become a Boat
RETRACTING its wheels as an airplane does, a proposed amphibian automobile transforms itself into a rakish water craft. The picture above shows a model of the machine which Paul Pankotan, its inventor, plans to build at Miami, Fla. On land, it uses the power of its drive wheels; afloat, that of a propeller at the stern. The body, has the sleek, graceful lines of a motor cruiser.
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VIENNA (AP) — An Austrian museum says skeletal remains found in an ancient grave are that of a woman metal worker — the first indication that women did such work thousands of years ago.
The Museum of Ancient History says the grave originates from the Bronze Age, which began more than 5,000 years ago and ended 3,200 years ago.
In a statement Wednesday, it said that although the pelvic bones were missing, examination of the skull and lower jaw bone shows the skeleton is of a woman.
The museum says tools used to make metal ornaments were also found in the grave northwest of Vienna, leading to the conclusion that it was that of a female fine metal worker.
It says such work had been commonly presumed to be in the male domain.
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Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/06/21/eurostat_skills/
A third of EU citizens lack basic computer skills
They're the lucky ones
More than a third of Europe's population have no basic computer skills, according to data published by the Statistical Office of European Communities.
Eurostat found that 37 per cent of people aged between 16 and 74 had no basic computer skills and were unable to complete tasks such as using a mouse to copy a file or folder.
Those countries that scored the lowest in terms of IT literacy included Greece, Italy, Hungary, Cyprus, Portugal and Lithuania. The top performers included Denmark, Sweden, Luxembourg, Germany and the UK.
Generally speaking, older people performed less well than young people, with Eurostat finding that education played "an important role in improving e-skills, with levels of non e-literacy falling as education levels rise".
Among students, only a small percentage had no or low computer skills, while more than eight in ten registered either medium or high computer literacy. Fascinating. ®
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News 12 This Morning / Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2011
NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. -- Mossy Creek Elementary is the first school in the district to survey its student body and pinpoint where and how bullying is taking place.
The first few days of classes at Mossy Creek include a lesson centered around bullying.
It's a new approach guidance counselor Shari Hooper is hoping will help students be more proactive.
"We need to use our student body, we need to use to the students standing by watching things happen and teach them to be mobilize and speak up," Hooper said.
This year administrators learned from survey results that 40 percent of the students say they were called names, 33 percent felt left out from a group setting on purpose and 60 percent of the students at Mossy Creek were uncertain of the exact definition of bullying.
Melanie Snider, a fifth grader at Mossy Creek defined bullying as "If a student is purposely being treated badly."
It is a definition she knows well. She's even decided to take part in Mossy Creek's student protection committee and talk to students about what to do when they see bullying.
"When I was asked to do this I couldn't say no," Snider said. "I mean I know a lot of people and I've seen people getting bullied on the playground, even in the bathroom."
According to survey results, 50 percent of the students wished others would speak up more.
Instead of having students pass on the responsibility, teachers are helping make students feel more comfortable and speak up as a group if they see bullying take place.
"The playground is the biggest area of concern for our kids," Hooper said. "It's the most unstructured time of the whole day."
That's why she enlisted the help of parent volunteers to act as an extra set of eyes and ears.
Gwyn Snider, Melanie's mother, has decided to participate.
"The teachers have 28 kids to watch everyday," she said. "It's impossible to watch 28 people at one time."
If you are a parent that wants to be a part of the protection committee, you can call Mossy Creek's main office to find more information. There is training that is required.
Counselors and administrators are hoping to make this a yearly practice so that they can gather hard data to find out exactly when and where bullying is taking place to prevent it in the first place.
Have information or an opinion about this story? Click here to contact the newsroom.
Copyright WRDW-TV News 12. All rights reserved. This material may not be republished without express written permission.
Designed by Gray Digital Media
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Window closing on cybersecurity bill in Congress
'The time remaining to do this is growing short,' Sen. Lieberman tells briefing
June 20, 2012 — CSO — Deadline? What deadline? The deadline for the U.S. Senate to vote on some version of a cybersecurity bill seems to be both amorphous and porous.
Less than two weeks ago, everybody involved was saying if it was going to happen, it would have to be before the end of the Senate's current work period, on June 29.
Majority Leader Harry Reid pledged that he would bring the 2012 Cyber Security Act (CSA), cosponsored by Sens. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) to the floor for a vote sooner than later.
"I put everyone on notice: We are going to move this bill at the earliest possible date," Reid said on the Senate floor. And Lieberman said at the time that he was confident legislation would go to the floor this month.
That was then. By the middle of last week, June had shifted to July. Nicole Johnson, writing in the Federal Times, said Lieberman told reporters at a cyber briefing by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that, "I'm as confident as I can be that this will come up no later than July."
This, said Leslie Phillips, communications director for the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, is just the reality of the Senate. "Originally, Sen. Reid said the bill would come up in the first work period. That didn't happen. Then we thought it would come up in the second. That didn't happen. And so on," she said. "The decision is entirely up to the leader."
Not that there isn't plenty of talk about it. In the past two weeks, Lieberman and Collins hosted a demonstration for fellow senators by the DHS' U.S. Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) to show how easily hackers can gain control of a person's computer through spear phishing -- targeted emails crafted to look credible enough to convince an individual to divulge information or open malicious files.
Andrew Couts reported in Digital Trends this week that on the House side, Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) said in a panel discussion hosted by The Week magazine that he believes President Obama will sign the legislation he co-sponsored, called the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) if it reaches his desk.
The House passed CISPA by a healthy 248-168 on April 26, but the White House issued a statement before the debate on the bill even started saying no bill would be signed that did not ensure the protection of critical infrastructure systems and guard the privacy of citizens. CISPA did neither, the White House said.
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Why put your history on paper? It’s your story, so it’s a good story worth recording. You’re as important as anyone who has written one. It’s a good source for updating your resume, job interviews and promotion evaluations — in managing and leading with a human touch.
What should be in it?
Where were you born and under what circumstances?
Were your parents happy with each other and their lives?
What was your early life like?
What teachers or adults outside the family influenced you most and why?
What did you think about yourself in relation to other students?
How did you get the attention you wanted at school and among your peers?
What was happening in the country and the world that held your interest?
When and how did you first earn money?
When you were in high school, what were you planning to do when you graduated?
Who did you want to be like?
Did anyone advise you on a career that would be right for you?
How did you relate to teachers, counselors and bosses?
How did you spend your money?
What was your greatest academic achievement/failure?
Did you notice any shifts in your attitude toward life in general?
What was your first job after college?
Did you like the work you were doing?
How and why did you make job changes?
Why did you leave jobs?
Looking back at certain jobs (or experiences) what do you wish you had done differently?
What do you do outside of work? (sports, books, movies, etc.)
Did your career turn out the way you thought it would?
How does it differ from your expectations?
What is missing from your job now?
In the future, how do you really want to spend your time?
This should take twenty to thirty pages at least. Include extreme detail; use the senses to paint a picture. Paste in photos, memorabilia, sketches. Highlight accomplishments making sure you explain the situation, what you did and the result.
What’s the most important benefit of this tool? You now have a wonderful, unique gift to give to your adult children. Think about it, wouldn’t you want to know these things about your own parents. It would help you understand why they were like they were and why you are like you are!
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India: business opportunities, technology ... and martinis
Untapped market ... India's population of more than 1 billion speaks for itself. Photo: Michele Mossop
When you get 149 women into a room, the chatter is inevitable. When they are all successful female entrepreneurs, the energy is palpable. Relationships are created, friendships are forged and deals are done.
I'm talking about the Dell Women's Entrepreneur Network Event (DWEN), held earlier this week (17 - 19 June) in New Delhi, India. There are 15 female entrepreneurs from Australia and delegates come from 11 countries.
"... your technologist should be involved in strategy on everything from operations to marketing because they may contribute innovative ways to create efficiencies and even take new products to market."
The two-day event has been a heady mix of intensive networking, discussions, collaboration and - when women are involved - you can bet there is a bit shopping thrown in there as well.
A number of themes have emerged from the event for me.
1. There's gold in them there hills
Dell's decision to hold the event in India undoubtedly reflects the view that there are huge opportunities in this emerging economy. The country's population of over 1 billion speaks for itself. Even a tiny slice of that pie would be a major win for any business. It's these opportunities that have enticed Monash University graduate Shoba Purushothaman to move to India. Originally hailing from Malaysia, Purushothaman has spent most of her career in the US and UK, most recently co-founding The New Market, a digital news platform in New York City.
Last year, she founded Training Ventures in India, to capture opportunities presented by the skills gap in the country. Speaking on a panel about "Doing business in India" at the event, Purushothaman said: "There is a general lack of sophistication in the market - and that is an opportunity. Just do what you say you are going to do, and sell what you say you're going to be selling - and you will do well."
While this may sound simplistic, Purushothaman explained: "Consumer expectations aren't very high because the consumer has not been exposed to perfection."
Purushothaman said there is opportunity to innovate and do business - but this comes with unique challenges in a country like India. "You have to think carefully about how you can reach the end customer," she says. Many Indian businesswomen at the event agreed that the country's diversity can be challenging. Often described as having "several countries within the country", the population has varying cultural, language and connectivity issues.
For example, while there are 800 million registered mobile phones, only 10 per cent of the population is connected to the internet. Reaching a population that barely uses Google (simply because they may not have a computer or internet connection) requires a paradigm shift to find a solution.
This is where innovation is key. For example, while we might "Google" an answer to a question, many Indians may instead use a service called SMS Gyan to SMS their question. The answer is SMSed back to their phone.
Similarly, catering to the specific needs of the rural population can also prove lucrative. Purushothaman points to a startup that identified that electricity in rural India is expensive and people only get power for a limited number of hours. This poses a problem for charging mobile phones. So it came up with long life batteries that last a month and they quickly penetrated the market.
2. Ensure that technology is core to your business
I know that sounds like such an obvious statement but I meet so many small business owners who feel that technology is a burden instead of an opportunity. An underlying theme of this conference is that technology should be at the core of your business. This is regardless of whether you are a tech startup or a bricks-and-mortar business. In other words, "the IT guy" shouldn't simply be invited to make an appearance when your server is down, or if you need to set up a new email address. They should be involved in business strategy and in helping you find ways to use technology to improve everything from systems to marketing.
Carley Roney is chief content officer of US-based XO Group, which produces a range of online lifestyle and wedding sites including theknot.com. Speaking at the event, she said: "You need to create a culture from day one where your technologist wants to be a business person. And your business people embrace technology." Roney adds that your technologist should be involved in strategy on everything from operations to marketing because they may contribute innovative ways to create efficiencies and even take new products to market. This is reflected in Roney's 750 staff, of which 450 are tech-related, 200 are sales and the rest create the product.
3. Lychee martinis
As is often the case with conferences, some of the most profound connections are not made during the sessions, but in the lobby, over dinner and at the bar. If you hide in your hotel room when the sessions conclude, you are missing out on valuable opportunities to connect and potentially find strategic partners and new business.
Just don't have so many lychee martinis that you forget who you've ended up doing your deals with.
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Yesterday, after the sun beat down on the city of London and the final firework had launched from the roof of the Olympic stadium - the Olympic park finally fell quiet.
Six weeks, countless medals and shattered world records have passed as the Olympics and Paralympics took over for the summer – but one clear question remains; what will happen to the Olympic stadium now it is all over?
Both West Ham and Tottenham have battled for months over the right to occupy the stadium in Stratford as have Leyton Orient, while cricket, rugby, American football and baseball sides have all expressed an interest in hosting events at the east London site.
With a decision over its future set to be made next month, how has the saga over who will use the stadium unfolded?
May 1, 2008
Construction begins on Olympic Stadium
October 8, 2008
Lord Sebastian Coe and then Sports minister Tessa Jowell say ‘won’t become a football ground’
August 18 2010
The formal bidding process to occupy the Olympic stadium opens. LOCOG say they intend on sticking with the original plan of reducing the Olympic Stadium capacity down to 25,000 and keeping it for athletics.
November 12, 2010
It is announced that two bids had been shortlisted for the stadium post-Olympics. They are a joint bid from Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United. The latter propose to reduce capacity down to 60,000.
Other bids came from the England and Wales Cricket Board, London Wasps rugby club, Rugby League Championship One outfit London Skolars and the NFL.
February 11, 2011
West Ham, in conjunction with Newham council, are named as the preferred bidder to take over the Olympic stadium after London 2012. The east London club say they will keep the running track around the outside of the pitch, while Tottenham’s bid would have seen the track removed.
March 29, 2011
Construction of the Olympic stadium is complete
April 11, 2011
Tottenham launch legal challenge against West Ham’s occupancy of the Olympic Stadium, and challenge whether Newham council can use public money to help fund West Ham’s bid.
April 14, 2011
Leyton Orient, whose current ground is around one mile from Stratford, also challenge West Ham’s move to the Olympic stadium, pointing to rules that ban clubs moving to within a certain distance of rivals. Orient chairman Barry Hearn declares: “We think they are on our patch”.
May 15, 2011
West Ham are relegated from the Premier League.
October 11, 2011
The Olympic Park Legacy Company end negotiations with West Ham as their bid to occupy the Olympic stadium collapses. The Government and mayor of London Boris Johnson reveal they plan to lease the stadium out to tenants rather than sell up. Leyton Orient claim victory in their battle to stop West Ham moving onto their doorstep. Tottenham then drop their legal challenge.
January 16, 2012
Tottenham de-list their shared from the stock market in what is seen as an attempt to raise money in order to build their own stadium rather than move to Stratford.
January 18 2012
West Ham's accusation of stadium rival Tottenham 'spying' on their Olympic stadium bid leads to arrest of four men in police investigation.
January 25, 2012
West Ham express an interest in a 99 year lease of the Olympic Stadium, however it is reported that West Ham did not plan to launch a formal bid ‘unless the terms of the draft contract are improved’.
March, 23 2012
Leyton Orient pull out of bidding process after declaring the stadium is ‘unfit for football.’
March 28, 2012
Four bids make the final shortlist of potential Olympic Stadium tenants. West Ham are named as one bidder, alongside Essex County Cricket Club, University College of Football Business, and plans for a Formula one circuit.
A decision over who will occupy the stadium was meant to have been made by May and ratified by June, however the deadline is put back with the aim of having a deal in place by October. The bid winners should be announce by next month.
September 9, 2012
It is reported West Ham have offered around £10 million a year in rent in order to secure tenancy of the Olympic Stadium.
Lord Coe, speaking as the Paralympics draws to a close, says: “It's perfectly within the wisdom of all of us to make a multi-purpose sporting arena work.”
September 10, 2012
Sir Geoff Hurst says he is “1,000% behind West Ham’s bid for the Olympic Stadium”, even with the contentious running track likely to stay put.
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Neither at home nor abroad does the company appear to have a competitive answer to the dramatic decline in gas prices worldwide — sparked by the rapid development of American shale gas. Gazprom, the world’s largest producer of natural gas, has grown somnolent, its critics say, failing to invest in research and development and ignoring the changes transforming the industry.
Under Putin’s control, Gazprom has been a principal driver of the rest of the Russian economy, generously spreading rewards and high-paying contracts to Kremlin favorites. It employs nearly half a million people, working in cities and towns in every region of Russia. Even now, as the company hits significant turbulence and declining profits, it is continuing its free-spending ways — with a new $1.9 billion office tower in St. Petersburg, planned as the tallest skyscraper in Europe, just a token expression of its opulent habits.
“It’s a very important instrument,” said Vladimir Pastukhov, a visiting scholar at St. Anthony’s College Oxford. But after 12 years, Putin and his friends have squeezed so much from it, he said, there may not be much left to wring out.
Gazprom’s troubles are likely to accelerate a long-running trend, which makes the government the loser. An extraordinary 60 percent of Russia’s revenue comes from taxes and income from fossil fuels, economists believe; Gazprom alone accounts for 12 percent of all Russian exports. The state owns just over 50 percent of the company and is heavily dependent on the taxes and profits it brings in. But as officially reported income goes down while spending stays steady, the government takes in less and less. Spinning off the more lucrative parts of the business has the same effect.
“It’s the nationalization of costs and the privatization of profit,” said Mikhail Krutikhin, an energy analyst with a company here called Rusenergy.
But the implications for Russia’s policy toward its neighbors and the rest of Europe are immense, because the Kremlin has used Gazprom as its chief club when bullying recalcitrant nations that depend on its supplies of gas. The consequences for Putin’s system itself — in which Gazprom has been both the main income generator and the chief dispenser of financial rewards to those in favor — are potentially profound.
“It’s going from being Russia’s greatest asset to Russia’s biggest problem,” said Vladimir Milov, once a deputy energy minister and a longtime critic of the company.
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Just a little thought piece on some environmental news happening here in the Bay Area.
So on the Nerd for Nature group that I am a part of, someone posted this article with the subject “wtf”
Besides that title being so incredibly alarmist, it is articles like this that give environmentalists a bad name. If the author had taken the time and done some research, they would have found this piece:
This “clear cut” is actually a long term effort to get rid of some pretty nasty invasive plants. We, as humans, have done a pretty great job of screwing up ecosystems by introducing non-native species that can out-compete a lot of native species. For the plants I nominate English Ivy (in the picture above), and for the animals I nominate the Wild Boar, as my two poster children for the potential impact of invasives. English Ivy will grow at a phenomenal rate (killing trees and any herbaceous ground cover) and because of it’s underground runners, mowing it or trying to physical removal is an ongoing battle. Here, the Plant Conservation Alliance, talks about spraying Roundup and other herbicides as a means to control the plant.
Wild Boar do a tremendous amount of damage. I am not even going to talk about the crop damage they do because I consider that our fault for introducing them. But for native species, their rooting behavior and creation of wallows severely damages native plants and wetlands. Their voracious appetites are actually a very legitimate threat to several endangered newts and salamanders in the Central Sierras here in California. And since we did a nice job removing most of the top predators in California, there is almost no predatory pressure on them.
To be clear, these species are not to blame, but unfortunately through OUR actions, we have created a situation where we need to hunt and kill certain animals and spray toxic chemicals to eradicate certain plant species. Without these actions, native species, which I believe an inherent right to exist are at risk for extinction. I believe that having native plants and animals intact in an area is a public good and I am willing to pay (both time, money, and health wise) to ensure they are able to survive. I am not going to go to the edge case of mosquitoes and other native “nuisances” since I don’t think the world is an “either or” proposition.
Back to our situation here in the Bay.
I applaud Berkley for trying to get rid of their invasives. From personal experience, working on the IPANE project as the technical lead, I learned a lot about dealing with invasive plant species.
While I understand people’s concern about the Roundup and Woodchips application, it is probably the only effective way to prevent those trees from resprouting. They will NOT be broadly spraying the roundup but actually applying it directly to the tree stumps. This is a very targeted and much lower risk application. Spreading the woodchips will also probably do a great job of suppressing further growth of saplings and other invasives.
There are no half-way measures with invasives. Leaving “a few” around can have disastrous consequences, since these species are great at turning a few into many. You have to do as much as possible to eradicate it as you can. If you want an analogy, think about smallpox, getting only half of the cases eradicated doesn’t do much good – you either need to go all in or stay home.
In the Bay area, eucalypts are a huge problem. I cringe every time I see a grove of them and the same goes for acacia (I also dislike acacia because my middle offspring is allergic to it’s pollen). These plants out grow and out shade native tree saplings and ground cover. Like the second article says, they are a huge fire risk and very well adapted to grow back after the fire, thereby making it even harder to get native species back. If I had my way we would get rid of all the eucalyptus groves and acacia in Cali. and plant native species instead.
The first article is one of those articles that make we want to give up on people [/snark]. Seriously, it is ill-informed, anti-environmental, alarmist when it is not needed, conspiracy seeking, and just plain wrong. Figuring out the “right thing” in environmental issues is not always so simple as “save the trees” or “ban hunting”. To really understand these issues you have to spend more time thinking through all the implications and learning the science behind it.
So today is the Jewish holiday of Hoshanah Rabbah – Hoshanah means a plea – and in this case we are asking that all the great tragedies that could happen to us don’t happen and for a good year ahead. Since we were an agricultural people in a land of seasonal rainfall – we also ask for abundant rain. I am not sure if the original context is like a rain dance – thought to bring the rains – or it is a just a way of recognizing how much is out of our contol, especially life giving water.
Part of the ceremony is also beating willow branches until the leaves come off – the willow is chosen because it is such a water dependent tree. I went down the street this morning and cut about 2-300 willow branches so the adults at morning minyan and all children at religious school could have a chance to “beat the willow”. It was certainly a lot of fun. The added bonus for me was getting to hear California quail calling while I was cutting willow.
To recognize the importance of water in our lives I am giving $36 (double chai) to water.org. There are plenty of water organizations out there but I chose this one based up on its focus on all continents and a great Charity Navigator score. If you are Jewish why not think about giving some today (remember Tzedakah, Teshuvah, and Tefillah are all you really need [Justice, repentance, and prayer]). If you are not Jewish why not go ahead and give anyway. Pick an org that works to bring clean water to people or maybe works to keep our rivers and streams clean or maybe even the oceans protected.
Have a great Sunday and to my Jewish Readers – Chag Sameach, happy holidays!!
Here is my work blog post about my recent trip to Israel. Good times were had by all (or at least me)
Here are also some of my Israel pictures on SmugMug – not much time for travel but always nice to go to Jerusalem.
I wrote about my Uncle Aaron before http://thesteve0.wordpress.com/2007/05/28/on-this-memorial-day/, but it has been 5 years. I think I need to once again remind myself and other what my Uncle gave for his country and what others choose to do for our country. Whether you agree with the wars, wars in general, or violence – that is not the point of the day. The point of the day is these people have chosen to put themselves in harms way when asked (yes you could dodge the draft). They placed the calling of something else, for whatever reason, above their own personal well being. Many came home fine, but many will bear scars for their lifetime, and many did not come home at all.
So while many of us do our typical American style celebration by going out and spending money on sale items (it wouldn’t be a holiday if it wasn’t a chance to spend money on material goods) – let’s at least try to take a few minutes (or even seconds) to think of those who served.
Thanks Uncle Aaron – there are at least two young men named in your honor, who carry on your love of art and of being kind and caring.
Baruch dayan emet – Blessed is the one true Judge
Seriously – I know he is not perfect, but any liberal minded individual who gripes about him needs to get a frickin grip on reality. Think about what the 8 years before him were like – think if things like this would happen under Romney. We may not have our entire cake but I am getting a lot more dessert than I have gotten in a long time.
The time has come to close ranks and push it forward. So he may not be completely right with the TSA or internet rights or a bunch of other things but more so than Clinton even, he has done the most that I have ever agreed with in a President.
We lost the house and made life more difficult for him to carry forth his agenda. Rather than griping in public about some of the things he does now let’s instead push to win back the house. In American politics, for the foreseeable future it is a zero-sum game. Not voting or voting for a “protest candidate” when this much is on the line will push us back.
It is time to step up…
A couple of months ago I found myself walking around Santa Row (a neo-city shopping area on the higher end of the scale) and I came across an Orvis store. They had a sign on the door advertising fly fishing classes and that I should walk in to inquire. This is going to be a longer post but there is a question I need answering at the end…
A background digression
Ever since I was a kid I wanted to learn to fly fish. It always looked so elegant. I was a bait fisherman (with the occasional lure thrown in from time to time) for most of my childhood. I loved going fishing. My friend Tommy Sullivan and I would mix up a batch of dough, have my mom drive us to the park. She would head home and we would spend most of the day hanging out and just catching carp and sunnies. I had a subscription to field and stream magazine and would devour all of the fishing tips as soon as it came. I saw those crazy pictures of people fly fishing and really wanted to try it. But all my fishing was self-taught. My dad was from Iran so he didn’t really think of fishing as an activity you do and my mom fished a bit when she was a kid but wasn’t interested anymore.
From the time I entered high school until the time we moved to New Haven CT ( which is about 20 yrs) I just didn’t make an effort to go fishing. With the kids around I really wanted to get them into fishing and it is quite easy in CT. There are tons of little ponds and not that many people that fish, so you can easily find a spot where the kids can have something on the end of their line besides bait. One time we went to this little pond and my entire time their was spent putting worms on hooks and taking fish off hooks. As soon as the bait hit the water the sunnies would grab it. The kids had a great time.
Since New Haven is on Long Island Sound, and I was finally making money of my own, I decided to take up surf-casting. It was another one of those activities I saw in the magazine when I was a kid but I had nobody to take me. So I got a surf casting rod, a throwing net to catch bait fish, and then a lightweight rid to catch the young bluefish (called snappers). It was AWESOME. I had so much fun and I loved just being on the water casting and sitting. Every once and a while I might catch something and that was even better.
Okay, now you have a brief background into my fishing experience.
Back to Orvis
When I went into the store and asked about the lessons it turns out they were FREE!!!!! You don’t have to ask me twice for that. I put my name on the list to be contacted for the 101 class. I just had the class today and I have to say it is a lot of fun but I am going to need more practice. Another pro tip, even if you watch “A river runs through it” the night before, it is still hard to do (but you will also be reminded what an incredible movie that is).
There were folks from the Flycasters of San Jose there along with the Orvis staff and everybody was helpful and kind. They took us to a park and had us practice casting with some velcro on the end of our line. By the time the hour of practice was up I had a few casts that looked close to right but I know I need a lot more practice. I also want to go out and give it a try – either in one of the lakes by my house or down in Santa Cruz off the beach.
I need to get a setup and Orvis seems to have a good deal (along with some coupons they gave us today). Can anyone with fly fishing experience please tell me if this is a good deal:
The Streamline freshwater combo - 5 weight
The Clearwater – 5 weight
Or do you have a better suggestion for a combo. I would like to get started for less than $200 on Rod and Reel.
They also recommended a Mountain Guide lanyard for a nice way to carry your essential gear. And then I would need some flies – I could use some recommendations on that as well.
Please either comment on the items I link to or give me other great suggestions. I do not want to spend a lot but I also don’t want to be frustrated by non-functional tools. Any advice you can give a budding fly fisherman would be much appreciated!
Thanks and may your lines be tight!
Less Respect – it doesn’t seem to work on Lion. I was hoping to avoid the overhead for Final Cut Pro for right now but looks like I need to bite the bullet.
Say one day you are making videos at work, using the Canon Vixia HF S30, and you want to get the videos off the camera. Well it turns out that Canon stores them in the .mts format – which of course is not readable in a whole bunch of other programs (though 20 minutes of reading up on Final Cut Pro left me unsure).
Anyway – this post does a great job of walking through getting the MTS files to MOV files using FOSS software – booyah cashah, mooch respect.
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Question: "What does the Bible say about bisexuality? Is being a bisexual a sin?"
Answer: The Bible nowhere directly mentions bisexuality. However, it is clear from the Bible's denunciations of homosexuality that bisexuality would also be considered sinful. Leviticus 18:22 declares having sexual relations with the same sex to be an abomination. Romans 1:26-27 condemns sexual relations between the same sex as abandoning what is natural. First Corinthians 6:9 states that homosexual offenders will not inherit the kingdom of God. These truths apply equally to bisexuals and to homosexuals.
The Bible tells us that a person becomes bisexual or homosexual because of sin (Romans 1:24-27). This does not necessarily mean sins the person has committed. Rather, it refers to sin itself. Sin warps, twists, and perverts everything in creation. Bisexuality and homosexuality are caused by sin "damaging" us spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Sin is the plague, and bisexuality is simply one of the symptoms.
Many Christians mistakenly focus on bisexuality and homosexuality as particularly evil sins. The Bible nowhere describes homosexuality as being any less forgivable than any other sin. A bisexual is the same number of steps away from salvation as the "moral" legalist—one. God offers forgiveness to anyone and everyone who will trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. This includes those involved in bisexuality. Once salvation through Christ is received, God will begin the process of destroying the acts of the flesh (Galatians 5:19-21), including any and all homosexual tendencies, and developing the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The promise of a "new creation" is available to anyone who will trust in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
© Copyright 2002-2013 Got Questions Ministries.
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Pursuing a degree through the use of online classes has become much easier in recent years. There was a time when only certain degrees could be completed through online colleges. But improvements in technology and different ways to distribute information to students have made it possible for any degree to be completed through internet based study.
Many people appreciate the flexible schedules and the ability to keep their current obligations while attending class. This allows people to spend time with their family, continue to work at their full time job and pursue hobbies while still finding time for their class work.
Most employers are seeing the value of online degrees as well. Gone are the days when managers snicker at a resume that includes a degree from an online college. A recent study shows that more than 60 percent of employers say that they place the same value on a degree from an online college as they do degrees from campus schools.
Completing a Certificate Online
Some people pursue a certificate in order to begin working in a completely new profession. Other people simply wish to improve their abilities in order to move up in their current industry. Earning a certificate is usually a short term affair. Most people are able to finish the necessary coursework in 12 to 18 months.
Another possible scenario is to use the certificate as an entrance into a particular field. Some people choose to begin working as soon as they receive their certificate but continue with their online classes as they work towards a bachelor’s degree or even higher degree.
Here are some common certificates people complete online:
- Technician for medicine labs
- Medical Assistant
- Correction Officer
- Lawyer’s Assistant
- Administrative Assistant
- Hospitality manager
Associate’s Degree from Online Schools
Many people choose to complete their associate’s degree using online classes. Reports from the National Center for Education Statistics show that associate’s degrees represent more than 50% of the degrees completed at online colleges. The reasons for this are varied. Many people are able to start work as soon as they finish their degree. Some people enjoy the freedom of completing core curriculum classes online and then transferring those credits towards a higher degree at another school.
Common associate’s degrees completed online
- Security work
- Assistant to Doctors
- Website design
- Business degrees
Bachelor’s Degree from Online College
There are numerous positions across a wide range of industries that require a bachelor’s degree just to begin work. It usually takes about four years for people to finish their degree requirements if they are taking classes full time. As mentioned earlier, it is possible to complete an associate’s degree and then apply those classes and credits towards your desired bachelor program.
Common bachelor’s degrees completed online
- Software programming
- Social or Mental Health services
Master’s Degree from Online College
A master’s degree is a great way to advance in a career and earn a higher salary. Most of the time people seek out a master’s program in order to become a specialist in a particular area. For example, an accountant may get a master’s degree to specialize only in tax work.
Common master’s degrees completed online
- Administrator of healthcare
- Human Resources
Speeding up the Online Class Process
For those people that currently work full time and have other family obligations, online classes is a very convenient option. There are a few more tips that can make the process even faster.
- If you successfully complete a College Level Examination Program you can actually take a test that will earn you college credits.
- Based on your schedule you should take as many classes as you can. Obviously, the more classes you complete each semester the faster you can finish your degree.
- Inquire with your online school about work experience credits. Some schools will grant credits to people based a number of years working in a particular function.
- Try not to take any lengthy breaks. Once you get enrolled and get in the habit of the school routine you should stick with it until graduation.
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A war crime is a serious violation of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility. Examples of war crimes include "murder, the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camps," "the murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war," the killing of prisoners, "the wanton destruction of cities, towns and villages, and any devastation not justified by military, or civilian necessity." Similar concepts, such as perfidy, have existed for many centuries as customs between civilized countries, but these customs were first codified as international law in the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907. The modern concept of a war crime was further developed under the auspices of the Nuremberg Trials based on the definition in the London Charter that was published on August 8, 1945. Along with war crimes the charter also defined crimes against peace and crimes against humanity, which are often committed during wars and in concert with war crimes. Article 22 of The Hague IV states that "The right of belligerents to adopt means of injuring the enemy is not unlimited" and over the last century many other treaties have introduced positive laws that place constraints on belligerents. Some of the provisions, such as those in The Hague, the Geneva, and Genocide Conventions, are considered to be part of customary international law, and are binding on all. Others are only binding on individuals if the belligerent power to which they belong is a party to the treaty which introduced the constraint. (via Freebase)
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by Kevin Gaussoin, Editor-in-Chief
You may have heard that another brand of magnet novelty has recently come under attack by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC). This myopic attack by the CPSC on that other brand has now put all brands of powerful magnets under scrutiny and endangered not only the fun of building, creating, and learning with Nanodots and competing products, but also threatened all the jobs of those that manufacture, market, and sell these wonderful learning tools.
Not one to sit still and let their competitors have all the “fun”, Nano Magnetics, Ltd., the creators of Nanodots have now taken some serious steps to ensure that their awesome products are recognized as the safest such products could possibly be. Nanodots have three new features:
- The new Color Coated Nanodots utilize AversiveTech™, a new patent pending technology developed by Nano Magnetics. These Nanodots are infused with a very strong aversive taste. Did you Know: Infants have the highest sensitivity to taste. Our sense of taste gets worse as we get older! AversiveTech™ does not wash off, is extremely durable and the degree of aversion can be modified according to requirements. Strangely, as powerful as the bitter taste is, there is no smell at all.
- They’ve added a further warning on the bottom cap that can be clearly seen when the NANO canister is assembled.
- The New packaging reassembles to form a durable canister. It hides the Nanodots from sight for those who may be attracted to shiny metallic spheres and is very difficult for infants (or small children) to open. Here is how to assemble the canister:
If you have not yet tried Nanodots, it’s probably for the best. They are addictive for anyone, but let your ADD geek friends get hold of just one set, and you will see how quickly that lovely learning addiction will spark into a raging inferno of mathematical nerdgasm of joy with extra sciency amazeballs awesomesauce!
I may have said too much.
How can you learn more about what you can create with Nanodots? First start at http://dotpedia.com. There you can check out thousands of creations from beginner through professional levels. Comic geeks might appreciate this profile in particular, as Eewok uses Nanodots to create two-dimensional logos and fan art. While were happy to see our friend Joe from SceneSnaps.com, where the heck are the photos of the ComicsOnline staff with our creations at the Wired Lounge at San Diego Comic-Con 2012?
The bottom line is: Screw the man. Cigarettes kill how many people each year? …And yet the CPSC wants to ban the sale of magnets? What kind of stupid government… Nevermind. Again: Too much.
The sub-bottom line is: Nanodots are freakin awesome. Except now that the safety scare has caused Nano Magnetics to reformulate the coatings with AversiveTech™, you’ll want to wash your hands after using them, as the AversiveTech™ flavor will get on your hands and the bitterness is quite powerful. In fact, we tested the flavor on a kid in the video below…
ComicsOnline gives Nanodots Magnetic Constructors 5 out of 5 amazeballs (made safer with AversiveTech™).
Keep building your magnetic lattice back to ComicsOnline.com for more product reviews and everything geek pop culture!
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Updated Wednesday, December 12, 2012 at 08:39 PM
As some Republicans again threaten to use the debt-limit statute next year to leverage protection of tax rates for the wealthy, it’s worth going back 95 years to see how Americans viewed taxes and spending when that law passed.
The statute was born out of the need to pay for government spending from our entrance into World War I. George W. Bush’s White House didn’t consider such an issue when it launched its war on terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks or undertook the more costly invasion of Iraq in 2003.
America in 1917 did not fight on a credit card. In 1917, President Wilson, with Congress’ support, raised taxes and sold Liberty Bonds to cover costs. Bush, by contrast, had just lowered taxes and underestimated the costs of his military efforts. Borrowing to pay for the war helped lead to the current fiscal crisis.
It was a different story in 1917.
On April 6, 1917, the United States declared war on Germany. Wilson quickly sought help from Congress to raise the war funds.
At first, the question was how: Sen. Furnifold Simmons, D-N.C., argued, “It has been the custom of this country to pay war bills by bond issues, and I see no reason for a change in that policy.”
Financier J.P. Morgan said up to 20 percent should come from taxes. Treasury Secretary William McAdoo thought raising taxes for half was best, while some members of Congress said taxes the first year should provide 75 percent of war costs.
Eighteen days after the war declaration, Congress unanimously passed the largest bond bill in U.S. history, which authorized sale of $5.5 billion in bonds. The first $2 billion in Liberty Bonds went on sale in May and almost were oversold as 5 million people offered to buy $3 billion worth.
It took five more months to pass the War Revenue Act, which was designed to raise $2.5 billion annually. As the Treasury Department noted in a report, “This amount was believed by Congress to be as large as could be levied reasonably and fairly at this time. Every effort was made to distribute the burden of taxation where it could most easily be borne without hardship to the individual or injury to the productive power of the nation.”
More than $1 billion was to come from an excess-profits tax on corporations, individuals and partnerships whose profits “have been increased enormously by war business, or business incident to the war,” Treasury said.
Rates also were raised on corporations and the wealthy, personal exemptions for married and single taxpayers were reduced slightly and excise taxes were raised on liquor and tobacco products. Everyone paid something to support the war.
With the Second Liberty Bonds Act in September 1917, Congress put limits on bonds and certificates of indebtedness (short-term interest-bearing notes such as Treasury bills) in a move meant to give Treasury a better way to manage raising money. The limit was set above the debt so the government was free to raise money when needed. For example, in 1919 the debt limit was set at $43 billion when the debt was $25.5 billion.
In March 1939, with World War II looming, President Franklin Roosevelt asked Congress to raise the debt ceiling to $45 billion. With rising costs, it grew to $300 billion by April 1945. Overall war costs were paid by raising $135 billion in seven War Bond drives and increasing taxes under the Revenue Act of 1942. The tax burden, again, was spread across the population. The income tax for the first time hit 37 million low- and moderate earners and rates rose for corporate, estate, excess-profits and gift taxes.
In 1946, the debt limit was reduced to $275 billion, where it remained through 1954. It did not rise during the Korean War because that conflict was mostly financed by increased taxes. In 1968, President Lyndon Johnson pushed through Congress a 10 percent surtax on individual and corporate filers to help pay for the Vietnam War.
The debt limit was raised $73 billion that year.
In June 1990, President George H.W. Bush, faced with a budget deficit and the debt limit, reversed his 1988 promise — “Read my lips: no new taxes” — and negotiated revenue increases with the Democratic Congress. On Aug. 5, 1990, Iraq’s Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, and, faced with an obvious need to intervene, Bush agreed in September to a deficit-reduction package that included spending cuts of $324 billion over five years and a 3 percent increase in the top income-tax rate, to 31 percent, that raised $159 billion.
The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan represented the first time that a U.S. president did not seek new taxes to cover the fighting. Supported by a GOP-led House and Senate from 2001 through 2006, and then just the GOP-run House, Bush raised the debt ceiling seven times through 2008, almost doubling it, from about $6 trillion to $11.3 trillion.
President Obama followed suit. In November 2009, Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., and others introduced a bill for a surtax to help pay for the war. They had no support from leaders of either party or Obama.
The “fiscal cliff” is just weeks away, and the debt limit will come up probably next month.
Where are leaders like those in 1917? Where are the American people who willingly shared new tax burdens, at least to pay for their forces fighting overseas?
Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States.
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Wherever I am in Philadelphia, I know that I am truly in the birthplace of America. Here on these same streets that our forefathers walked a mere two centuries ago, I can feel the presence of Franklin, Washington, Jefferson, and Adams.
This history-steeped city still bears the mark of its founder, William Penn. When Penn arrived on the shores of the Delaware River in 1682, he had a vision—and a set of values—that carried him forward successfully. His vision was to lay out a modern city on an innovative grid plan and sell lots to colonists who would follow him to the new land.
Perhaps as important for the early success of the city as its well-thought-out street plan was Penn’s ability to deal with the Native Americans who occupied portions of what was to become Philadelphia. Penn traded with the Indians fairly, treating them with honor and dignity. That policy produced lasting peace: Philadelphia was one of only a handful of early American communities that did not have city walls to protect against Indian attacks.
Penn’s remarkable tolerance became an enduring Philadelphia legacy. The City of Brotherly Love has always been known for its inclusion of all religions, races, and nationalities. During most of the Revolutionary War, Philadelphia was the seat of congress of the American colonies. Delegates were able to gather here safely without fear of religious persecution or other rights violations, which might have been a problem in other colonies.
From the Revolutionary period up through the mid-19th century, there was no firm color barrier in the industries of Philadelphia. Some of the city’s earliest merchants were African Americans, and black crews manned many of the early trading ships sailing from Philadelphia. A center of abolitionist effort in America, the city served as a major stop on the Underground Railroad.
Philadelphia today ranks as one of America’s great walking cities, a place where you can stroll through three centuries of architecture. The aura of the city’s beginnings still permeates the whole of the Old City and Society Hill. Center City is so beautifully contained between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers, and one can walk from river to river in less than an hour. A walk around and through City Hall, one of America’s great buildings, is a must, as is a visit to the Liberty Bell and Reading Market. And no one should miss the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Rodin Museum, the exceptional Barnes Collection, or an evening with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Not to mention the dozens of top restaurants offering everything from the freshest of seafood to famous Philly cheesesteaks. And for people-watching, just grab a ringside seat on Rittenhouse Square.
But for me, a stop at Independence Hall remains the highlight of any Philadelphia stay. To make your visit a lifelong memory, brush up by reading the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. It makes us all proud to be Americans.
TONY GOLDMAN has won renown for revitalizing declining historical districts in New York, Miami, and now Philadelphia.
Shop National Geographic
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by Aimée E. van Dijk, Manon van Eijsden, Karien Stronks, Reinoud J. B. J. Gemke, Tanja G. M. Vrijkotte
Prenatal maternal stress could have permanent effects on the offspring’s tissue structure and function, which may predispose to cardiovascular diseases. We investigated whether maternal psychosocial stress is a prenatal factor affecting the blood pressure (BP) of offspring. Study Design
In the Amsterdam Born Children and their Development (ABCD) study, around gestational week 16, depressive symptoms, state-anxiety, pregnancy-related anxiety, parenting daily hassles and job strain were recorded by questionnaire. A cumulative stress score was also calculated (based on 80th percentiles). Systolic and diastolic BP and mean arterial pressure (MAP) were measured in the offspring at age 5–7 years. Inclusion criteria were: no use of antihypertensive medication during pregnancy; singleton birth; no reported cardiovascular problems in the child (N?=?2968 included). Results
After adjustment for confounders, the single stress scales were not associated with systolic and diastolic BP, MAP and hypertension (p>0.05). The presence of 3–4 psychosocial stressors prenatally (4%) was associated with 1.5 mmHg higher systolic and diastolic BP (p?=?0.046; p?=?0.04) and 1.5 mmHg higher MAP in the offspring (p?=?0.02) compared to no stressors (46%). The presence of 3–4 stressors did not significantly increase the risk for hypertension (OR 1.8; 95% CI 0.93.4). Associations did not differ between sexes. Bonferroni correction for multiple testing rendered all associations non-significant. Conclusions
The presence of multiple psychosocial stressors during pregnancy was associated with higher systolic and diastolic BP and MAP in the child at age 5–7. Further investigation of maternal prenatal stress may be valuable for later life cardiovascular health.
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Add to favorites
Rating: 2.7 (9 ) Cost: Free Downloads: 1,000 - 5,000
Another problem that some narcoleptics experience is cataplexy, a sudden muscular weakness brought on by strong emotions (though many people experience cataplexy without having an emotional trigger). It often manifests as muscular weaknesses ranging from a barely perceptible slackening of the facial muscles to the dropping of the jaw or head, weakness at the knees, or a total collapse. Usually speech is slurred and vision is impaired (double vision, inability to focus), but hearing and awareness remain normal. In some rare cases, an individual's body becomes paralyzed and muscles become stiff.
Narcolepsy is a neurological sleep disorder. It is not caused by mental illness or psychological problems. It is most likely affected by a number of genetic abnormalities that affect specific biologic factors in the brain, combined with an environmental trigger during the brain's development, such as a virus.
Filed Under: Medical
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Cannibalism represents—as a consultant might say to a tribe considering such a practice—a waste of human resources. Corporate cannibalization—creating new products or services that eat into your existing business—can represent a waste of company resources. John A. Quelch and David Kenny warn in “Extend Profits, Not Product Lines” (HBR September–October 1994) that introducing brand and product extensions can cause trouble when it doesn’t lead to more consumption, confuses the customer, weakens the brand, and carries hidden costs that nibble away at profits.
Consequently, firms are justifiably reluctant to cook up new products or services that may compete with what they are already doing. But as Matthew Bishop points out in Essential Economics, “Eating people is wrong. Eating your own business may not be.” He reminds us that some markets are ripe for innovation and what economist Joseph Schumpeter called creative destruction, in which a new product destroys the market for an existing product. “In this environment,” Bishop writes, “the best course of action for successful firms that want to avoid losing their market to a rival with an innovation may be to carry out the creative destruction themselves.” Eat or be eaten.
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A new partnership between Freerice and Kaplan Test Prep means studying for the SAT will make a big difference on test scores – and in the global fight against hunger.
You already know that today’s students are the voice of our future. Better yet, they are eager to use their unique voice to explore creative ways to solve global problems like hunger.
This is why we’re excited to tell you that your favorite online trivia game for good has teamed up with Kaplan Test Prep to create a new SAT subject on Freerice.com ensuring students have the vocabulary they need to use their voice to really make a difference.
Students and teachers alike know that studying for the SAT can make a big impact on test scores. And now with Freerice, studying for the SAT can also make a big impact on hunger.
How will it work? The subject contains 500 SAT questions pulled directly from the exam. For every correct answer students choose, 10 grains of rice are raised through sponsored advertising displayed below the questions.
These grains of rice currently support the WFP School Meals Programmes in Cambodia. These programmes work to ensure students in Cambodia have the nutrition they need to grow strong minds and bodies. This means that your correct answers don’t just brighten your future – they also brighten the futures of students like you across the globe. How’s that for motivation?
“Kaplan’s SAT questions help Freerice players to build their vocabulary, and playing Freerice helps the world’s most vulnerable populations reach their full potential,” said Nancy Roman, WFP Director of Communications, Public Policy and Private Partnerships.
Here’s an example of a question you can expect to find in the new Kaplan SAT subject:
Despite her chronically __________ expression, my mother is actually quite cheerful and a __________ conversationalist.
Check your answer here
The new SAT subjects are just one of many recently added subjects on Freerice. You can also now play World Landmarks, where players identify landmarks like Stonehenge and the Louvre, and Human Anatomy. Check out all of the cool subjects on Freerice here: Freerice.com/category
The next SAT test dates are quickly coming up. Grab your friends and get playing now!
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We have a small Whole Foods somewhat close by, nothing like the giant one in New York pictured here. I signed up for a free guided tour that offers ideas for keeping the grocery store from being called "Whole Paycheck." Free samples included Ugly Fruit, Comte Cheese (which I'm gonna have to find space for in my budget), 365 Brand Organic Milk Chocolate Bar, 365 Brand cereal Bar, Smart Puffs, and lip balm.
Here's what I learned:
- There are three Whole Foods brands that offer lower prices--365, Whole Foods and Whole Catch or Whole Pet or Whole Treats. I believe the last type will be phased out soon.
- There is a 100% money-back guarantee. See the back of your receipt for details.
- You are allowed to request a sample of anything off the shelf except for a bottle of wine. One big money-saving idea they have is to make sure you don't go home with food you don't like that will go to waste. However, recognize that with higher prices, it's this service that you pay for.
- All organic produce is on the top shelves. Organic and "conventional" produce is always clearly labeled and must be kept separated from the back of the store to the front. Organic and conventional products can't even touch each other. So when water comes down and sprays the veggies, the water can drip off of the organic onto the conventional, but not vice versa.
- Whole Foods sets very high standards for its produce. Trucks have been sent back before with unacceptable goods.
- For Whole Foods, Winter Park, "local" means goods come from the state of Florida. However, they try to support Central Florida as much as possible. Local items are also labeled clearly.
- If a price says 2 for $2, it means the price is $1 each. You don't have to buy two to get the deal.
- Weekly Specials run from Thursday to Wednesday. Sales run while supplies last. Good Buys are regular prices that are supposed to be rock bottom.
- The large bulk selection allows you to acquire items in the amount you need without paying for the package and label.
- Stocking up by case on any product gets you a 10% discount.
- The bakery uses no artificial colors.
- Most stores now have pizza, whole and by-the-slice.
- The self-serve section offers a mix and match of any two pre-made salads or sandwiches for $5. By the time we got there, there were no vegetarian selections left.
- All eggs are cage free.
- 365 Brand milk for the same price as Publix, their biggest competitor in Orlando. However, they didn't have the 1%. Only 2%, Vitamin D, and Skim.
- The cheese department has a binder of recipes. After the tour, I went back and asked for a recommendation, and the girl behind the counter pulled out the binder and gave me a recipe.
- Whole Foods stacks store and manufacturer coupons.
- If you bring your own bag, you get $0.10 discount, and you don't have to remind the cashier like I do at Target for the $0.05!
For meat-eaters, I can't evaluate the price, but I can share the facts:
- Whole Foods' claim to fame is Southern-raised, grass-fed beef that is supposed to be leaner and taste better.
- Fish can be steamed in house. Whole Foods has three of its own fish farms.
- Meat can be cut to your specifications and marinated as you choose.
- In the bottom of the freezer is vacuum-sealed packs of meats without fancy labels. These are apparently very cheap.
Here are a few deals I found:
- Champagne Mangos $1 each.
- Method All Purpose Wipes BOGO + $1 off coupon in "Whole Deal" Mag + printable = $2.69 for two tubs of wipes
- Blue Diamond Gluten Free Crackers 2 for $5 + $1 coupon in "Whole Deal" Mag = $1.50 for 1
- Kashi Heart to Heart Cereal (My Blueberry!) about $1.37 after $1.50 manufacturer and $1 "Whole Deal" Mag coupons.
- Imagine Broth on sale $3--cheaper than Publix and Essential Health.
- Nasoya Tofu $1.50 off 2 coupon in "Whole Deal" Mag and sale price $2 each = $2.50 for 2. Cheapest price anywhere!
- I finally found frozen shelled edamame at $1.79 a bag.
- I finally found Bulgar Wheat in the bulk bins at $2.69/lb. Look for it in upcoming recipes!
Next time, think we'll make the one-hour trip to the new BIG Whole Foods.
What do you think about Whole Foods? Do you find great deals there? Let us know with your comments below.
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Andy Ferguson, author of a terrific book about the madness of the American college application process, offers a negative review of President Obama's college tuition proposals:
Details of the administration’s plan make it clear that the president isn’t too terribly cheesed off at American higher education after all. For every demand of “transparency” and “accountability,” he offers more of the kind of aid that has helped make it possible for schools to raise tuition in the first place. Beyond the billion-dollar piñata, the president wants to double the number of work-study jobs, keep guaranteed loan rates artificially low, and steadily raise the maximum award for Pell grants and loosen eligibility requirements. Whenever you see phrases like “investment initiatives to incentivize innovation,” you know some bureaucrat is getting ready to throw money.
Yet Ferguson agrees that the President has identified a real problem.
Obama is both correct and clever to identify surging tuition prices as a major concern. He’s correct as president, because the tuition crisis is intimately related to the larger crisis of quality and waste in higher education, which is quickly becoming a national disaster. (Adjusting for inflation, we spend 40 percent more on higher education than we did a decade ago, with no increase in quality.) And Obama is clever as a presidential candidate, because the affordability of college has caused a widespread anxiety that his opponents have left politically unaddressed.
The anxiety is everywhere and well grounded in reality. Writing in Inside Higher Ed, Hamid Shirvani, a president in the California State University system, calculates that the average tuition at a public four-year university in the United States increased three and half times between 1980 and today, adjusting for inflation. And there’s no end in sight. Two years ago, tuition rose 7.9 percent from the year before. Last year tuition rose another 8.3 percent. Unconstrained by market pressures, private schools have been gouging their customers at a similar pace.
But if the President does not have the answer, who does?
Ferguson proposes two solutions:
1) Cut federal direct aid to college students: these extra dollars enable the cost inflation.
2) Get out of the way as market systems offer alternative forms of higher education.
Clayton Christensen, a professor at Harvard Business School, notes that 10 percent of college students took at least one online course in 2003; 30 percent did so in the fall semester of 2009. And he predicts 50 percent will be taking online courses two years from now. Already several online universities, such as Western Governors University, are offering cheap and reputable degrees.
I wonder whether these ideas will deliver anything like the results that Andy would like to see.
As more and more Americans get a college degree, it becomes more and more apparent that there is no longer such a thing as "a college degree." Employers have become much more shrewd—or anyway, more opinionated —about what counts as a college degree.
We're seeing rising returns to some kinds of college education, but not to all—in fact, the average wages of college graduates declined slightly in the five years leading up to the financial crisis of 2008.
Under those circumstances, a degree from Western Governors University may not look like much of a bargain, even if cheap—and University of Michigan's ability to extract higher fees may well remain intact even in the face of supposedly intensifying market pressure.
In a winner-take-more society, more people seem ready to pay more to gain the credentials they think will lead to their children winning, or at least, avoiding losing.
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Touch screens, scanners and electronic medical records helped land the St. Joseph Regional Medical Center as one of the nation's "Most Wired Hospitals" in a recent edition of "Hospitals & Health Networks" magazine.
Advancements in technology can help make our lives easier and safer. But many of it works behind the scenes in places where seconds can me the difference between life and death.
"About three years ago, we went live with our computer system," said Devin Zimmerman, Chief Medical Information Officer at SJRMC. "It was identified that medication safety was one of the primary reasons of why we wanted to do this."
Keeping patients safe starts before medication is even prescribed. In a paper world, everything was hand written with someone interpreting the hieroglyphics of physicians hand writing.
"We have taken that step out by having the physician put it in electronically," said Zimmerman. "The pharmacist now gets the medication electronically as well, in the pharmacy there are actually robots that know where the medications are."
Medication that is routinely prescribed is housed in a secure machine that requires two forms of identification before the drawers will even open—all part of a new step to ensure that patients are given the right dosage and medicine.
Hospitals officials did not stop there with the new technology. When patients are admitted to the hospital, they are assigned a badge or wristband that identifies them. A barcode located on the wristband can be quickly scanned to confirm a patient's identity.
When medication is being administered to the patient, a final scan confirms the dosage and medication matches the prescription.
"It is called a close loop system. It verifies that the patient is getting the correct medication," said Zimmerman. "You won't see the same types of medication errors that you have at a hospital which is all paper or a mixture of the two, because of the closed loop system."
The limited paper system also means that data can be securely stored and shared with other health professionals if needed.
"The minute that we have it secure, we have the ability to share it with the other medical professionals in the life of the individual," said CEO and President of the hospital Al Gutierrez. "That is really the benefit that when you walk into the hospital. That we can have visibility to what happened in a doctor's office to what happened to other aspects to your medical history that may not have occurred here."
At SJRMC, patient records are about 95 percent digital as consent forms among others are still paper. The goal is to make everything digital, with documents still on paper being scanned into the system.
While safety and communication remain the goal of the system, the hospital has found additional benefits.
"What happens to the patient is that individuals that are taking care of them are freed up to spend more time with them, engaging with them on a one on one basis knowing that automation is in the background to support a lot of things that were done manually and would take up different types of time," said Gutierrez. "So actually our patient contact, that I call value-add hours, are actually increasing."
The computer system has decreased the amount of time it takes laboratory tests to be run because of improved communication. As for security, the entire system is protected by several firewalls that are always being tested.
To see the complete list of "Most Wired Hospitals," click here.
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Psychology - A Resume
( Originally Published 1916 )
THE aims with which we set out were : to study in the light of modern psychology the characteristic endowments of human nature, the native tendencies and powers which, as they are called into activity by the challenge of outward conditions, determine to a large extent the course of the unfolding of personality : and to present incidentally a view of education which has the unfolding of personality as its central aim.
With regard to the first of these aims, what we have done has been—starting from the fundamental conceptions of a primary nucleus and a development from it, analogous to the processes of growth ; first, to trace out man's instinctive tendencies, which are not only an initial source of energy but continue, side by side with what is derived from experience, to be a source of energy in all our mental activity ; then, to follow the course of the mental process in one or two of its more salient aspects, noting (a) the combining of instinctive tendency with the results of experience (b) the continuity of the mental life, with a side-glance at the nature of memory and a main emphasis upon activity as the bond or basis of mental continuity. This was followed by a somewhat detailed reference to self-determination as one of the distinctive forms of the activity which belongs to developing personality. And, finally, a cursory view has been taken of the wider resourcefulness of the self whether in our sub-conscious life or in supra-rational intuition.
As to the second of the two aims, the educational reference has been kept up throughout. Such points have been noted as the following : progress has taken place and will continue to take place both in our conception of education and in our practice of it ; the tendency is and will be to use more and more the spontaneous readiness and activity of the learner ; the curriculum is being studied and will be increasingly studied and planned so as to be within the powers of the learner, and yet meet his nascent tendencies and call for effort ; biological parallels, as is now almost universally seen, fit the case better than mechanical parallels ; hence education is being increasingly vested with living and human meanings. Instinctive tendencies have been some-what carefully noted because of their bearing upon both intellectual and moral development. We have seen that underlying the whole process of the blending between various parts of our experience is the activity of apperception, that is, the child's own active use of what he knows and what he can do in learning what is new. Opportunities for the exercise of character must be given—this was one or Dr. Arnold's great methods ; opportunities, too, for the emergence of the sub-conscious. " Religious Education" —this is a corollary from the last chapter—will be rather a keeping of the scholar's mind and heart and will open to what is above him than the adding on of a new " subject," or, to put what is practically the same conclusion in another form, whatever is included in the school time-table as religious instruction will be less a matter of learning things than of acquiring an attitude and an outlook, and a liberty and strength of spirit.
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"Bans alone don't solve the problem," he said on ABC's "This Week," pointing to a prohibition on military-style weapons that was in effect in 1999 when the shooting at Columbine High School claimed the lives of 12 students and one teacher.
Barrasso said Americans "can get false sense of security from Washington, and in passing more laws. But we need real solutions to a significant problem in our country, and I'm not sure passing another law in Washington is going to actually find a real solution."
And Graham wondered how a ban preventing him from purchasing another AR-15 semi-automatic rifle would thwart another tragedy like the one in Newtown.
"If you deny me the right to buy another one, have you made America safer?" he asked.
Democrats say yes. Sen. Joe Lieberman, the retiring independent senator from Connecticut who caucuses with Democrats, said bans making it impossible to buy the type of weapon used in Newtown would reduce the chance of similar shootings in the future. While Republicans' intransigence on the issue means such a ban won't come easily, he said, the public is ready for new laws.
"It's going to take the American people getting organized, agitated, and talking to their members of Congress," Lieberman said on CNN's "State of the Union."
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Renewable Energy Sources
One of the most common uses of renewable energy is to heat the water of outdoor swimming pools using solar collectors.
While solar energy is a familiar terminology these days, many people don’t know much about any of the other renewable energy sources yet? These are wind, geothermal heat, and rain.
In this article all different types of renewable energy sources and there applications will be explained.
When you have a better understanding of what renewable energy is and that it is naturally replenished you can make more informed decisions. With that heightened environmental awareness you can start to make changes to your lifestyle by consuming less traditional forms of energy.
Today, solar energy has received the most media attention because it is one of the most used renewable energy sources worldwide.
The term solar energy refers to the conversion of energy from the sun into power for all kinds of appliances.
There are already many everyday devices on the market that use solar energy technology. The list includes solar lights, calculators and many items used for hiking and camping.
Anybody who is interested in helping to protect our environment could, for example, use solar power in their house.
You could choose to have your solar power equipment installed by one of the many solar energy providers that are available all over the country. Be aware though, the initial set up can be a little bit expensive with the unit costing approximately $20,000.
Another one of the renewable energy sources that is already being used in this country is wind energy.
Wind turbines are the most common technology to convert wind power into electricity. The wind spins the blades of the turbine around a hub and the main body then spins a generator around.
These days small wind turbines can be found on farms and ranches and they already produce approximately 2,500 megawatts (mw) of energy.
The further expansion of wind energy as one of the major renewable energy sources has been hindered by the high initial installation costs, the fact that wind does not blow every day or everywhere. Therefore, wind energy is more applicable in some states and during specific times of the year.
Geothermal heating is the next of the renewable sources of energy that we discuss in this article.
In principle, geothermal heat takes advantage of the energy/heat found underground below the earths crust.
Geothermal heat pumps are currently the most commonly used type of geothermal technology. Geothermal heat pumps have replaced the older air source heat pumps as the new “in” product in the area of renewable energy sources.
While most people have probably heard of solar energy and some have heard of geothermal energy hardly anybody has heard anything about rain energy, yet.
Scientists have proven that it is possible to generate electricity from falling water drops.
The idea is still very new and lot’s of research and development is needed to get this latest addition to the family of renewable energy sources off the ground but new technologies are being developed almost on a daily basis.
Once the technical challenges are overcome rain energy will be as popular as other renewable energy sources.
We hope this article could assist you in deepening your understanding of the renewable energy sources that are already available today.
New technologies are being constantly introduced that offer new ways to solve our current energy crisis using renewable energy sources and thereby eliminating our dependence on other forms of energy such as fossil fuels or nuclear power.
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Walt Whitman Archive
This site presents the work of one of America's most influential poets, bringing together the various editions of Whitman's major work, Leaves of Grass, as well as Whitman's notebooks, poetry manuscripts, prose essays, letters, and journal articles. It also makes available the introductions to each edition of Leaves of Grass, an extended biography of Whitman with links to short essays about Whitman's friends and historical events, and a chronology of Whitman's life from 1819 to 1892. All known contemporary reviews of the poet's work are available as well.
An image gallery contains 129 photos of Whitman from the 1840s through the 1890s. The site's searchable bibliography offers more than 200 books, essays, notes, and reviews about Whitman. Additionally, links are provided to Whitman's recently recovered notebooks from the 1850s and 1860s housed at the Library of Congress. A 36-second wax cylinder recording provides what is thought to be Whitman's voice reading four lines from the poem "America." A guide to Whitman's poetry manuscripts and a finding aid for Whitman manuscripts at individual repositories are also included. A teaching syllabus on Dickinson, Whitman, and American culture is available. An excellent resource for any scholar interested in Walt Whitman or his poetry.
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In addition to the following questions about TIMSS, more FAQs about international assessments are available at: http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/international/faqs.asp.
Yes. The composition of participating countries in TIMSS has changed somewhat from 1995 to 2007, as some countries have dropped out and others have joined.
In 2007, more than 56 separate countries participated in TIMSS. TIMSS also allows subnational entities to participate as benchmarking partners in the assessment. The subnational entities that participated in TIMSS 2007 were as follows: the Basque country in Spain, four Canadian provinces (Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec), Dubai, and two states in the United States (Massachusetts and Minnesota). In the case of the Canadian provinces, the Basque country, and Dubai, the larger nation in which they are located chose not to participate. In the case of the states of Massachusetts and Minnesota, students in these states were eligible for participation in the U.S. national sample as well as in the separate samples that these states drew for the study.
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Prof. Alan V. Oppenheim
This course was developed in 1987 by the MIT Center for Advanced Engineering Studies. It was designed as a distance-education course for engineers and scientists in the workplace.
Advances in integrated circuit technology have had a major impact on the technical areas to which digital signal processing techniques and hardware are being applied. A thorough understanding of digital signal processing fundamentals and techniques is essential for anyone whose work is concerned with signal processing applications.
Digital Signal Processing begins with a discussion of the analysis and representation of discrete-time signal systems, including discrete-time convolution, difference equations, the z-transform, and the discrete-time Fourier transform. Emphasis is placed on the similarities and distinctions between discrete-time. The course proceeds to cover digital network and nonrecursive (finite impulse response) digital filters. Digital Signal Processing concludes with digital filter design and a discussion of the fast Fourier transform algorithm for computation of the discrete Fourier transform.
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What is cancer?
Cancer is a disease that starts in our cells. Our bodies are made up of millions of cells, grouped together to form tissues and organs such as muscles and bones, the lungs and the liver. Genes inside each cell order it to grow, work, reproduce and die. Normally, our cells obey these orders and we remain healthy. But sometimes the instructions get mixed up, causing the cells to form lumps or tumours, or spread through the bloodstream and lymphatic system to other parts of the body.
Tumours can be either benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous). Benign tumour cells stay in one place in the body and are not usually life-threatening.
Malignant tumour cells are able to invade nearby tissues and spread to other parts of the body. Cancer cells that spread to other parts of the body are called metastases.
The first sign that a malignant tumour has spread (metastasized) is often swelling of nearby lymph nodes, but cancer can metastasize to almost any part of the body. It is important to find malignant tumours as early as possible.
Cancers are named after the part of the body where they start. For example, cancer that starts in the bladder but spreads to the lung is called bladder cancer with lung metastases.
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York St John University staff and students have launched an appeal to help Tsunami victims rebuild their lives by turning t-shirts into sandals.
The seaside village of Takashirahama was completely destroyed by the Tsunami that hit Japan in March 2011, with every house except one storehouse being washed away. After much consideration the community looked at how they could regain the power to live. They decided to embark on a project of making sandals out of t-shirts. The Japanese word for these sandals is “Nunozor” and they are designed to be worn indoors.
York St John University was made aware of the project by one of its Japanese alumni, Tomoko Aonuma, who is supporting the project as a volunteer. Tomoko has been working hard to promote the project globally; successes include an appearance on national television in Iceland.
Tomoko said: “I thought and thought about what I could do for the people affected by that big earthquake and Tsunami. And I reached the conclusion that I should go and see the stricken areas to know what I could do. What I saw at Takashirahama was the whole town reduced to the rubble.
“Now the residents get together in the assembly hall every day and apply all their energies to the making of T-shirt sandals – whilst smiling and laughing! It takes one whole day to finish one pair of the sandals but the makers get money if their own work is sold.”
York St John University alumni development manager Brett Arnall, alumni officer Pauline Milner and Japanese student Yukiko Wada are working together to support the project. From 1 June 2012 a bright red post box will be in the University’s main reception in Holgate, enabling staff and students to donate unwanted (and clean) t-shirts to send to Japan in support of this project.
Yukiko Wada is one of the York St John University students that the Lord Mayor of York named as one of the recipients of his Young Volunteers Award.
The University’s Alumni Development Office is also working with Tomoko to get a shipment of the slippers delivered to the University for those who wish to purchase a pair.
Alumni development manager, Brett Arnall said: “Tomoko sent some of the handmade sandals to us recently, and you have to see them to believe how wonderfully they have been made. We are looking forward to sending out t-shirts to support the project and we are sure that we will get a lot of support from University staff and students.”
For further information on the project e-mail email@example.com
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An Egyptian commission investigating the deaths of protesters during the uprising that toppled Hosni Mubarak in 2011 says the former president knew the extent of the protests and the crackdown against them.
The commission says Mubarak watched live video feeds of the protests and the brutal response of his security forces.
Mubarak is already serving a life sentence over the deaths of hundreds of protesters.
But he has been convicted of failing to stop the killings, not ordering them.
The report of the fact-finding panel could increase pressure on authorities for a retrial of the 84-year-old former president.
The report has not been made public but several members of the commission have spoken about its findings.
It was commissioned by Egyptian President Muhammad Morsi soon after he took office in June.
Based on reporting by AP and "The New York Times"
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What Chanie’s journey to aliyah says about racism
Our correspondent, recently back from Ethiopia, sees Israel’s treatment of the Falashmura as a symptom of the mess that is aliyah
Chanie Tewabe Baruk left Ethiopia three weeks ago for a Jewish Agency absorption centre in the Galilee. As a Falashmura, the descendant of Ethiopian Jews who converted to Christianity but kept some kind of connection with their Jewish relatives, the life-long Christian will receive full Israeli citizenship after he undergoes a ten-month conversion procedure.
Married three times, the 58-year-old has 12 children and has been warned by the Interior Ministry that his citizenship will not allow his children too to emigrate to Israel; he has even signed an affidavit to this effect. But Baruk admits freely that, once he settles down in Israel, he will try to "reunite" his family. After all, a father needs his children with him, supporting him in his old age.
Not everyone is happy to welcome this new immigrant to the Land of Israel. The current controversy over whether to end the Ethiopian immigration goes to the heart of the Law of Return and the "Who is a Jew?" debate.
Those calling for reform point to cases such as Baruk's to emphasise how, in their opinion, the immigration process to Israel has been abused in recent years. When taken at face value, the decision of the Israeli government to close down the Jewish Agency's operations in Ethiopia at the end of June was merely a bureaucratic procedure, the culmination of the January 2005 cabinet decision to end the Falashmura aliyah when the 17,000 originally identified in a 1999 survey had made aliyah. Arrayed against this decision is a wide coalition including rabbis, American Jewish organisations, some of the leading legal experts in the Jewish world and some, but not all, of the movements representing Ethiopian Jewry in Israel. They ask why Ethiopia is the only country facing an aliyah quota from Israel; and why the only Jews being disbarred from entering the Jewish state happen to be black-skinned.
These are serious accusations. So have the Israeli authorities dealt with the Ethiopian immigration in a racist manner? No-one in Israel denies that many mistakes were made, and are still happening, in the absorption of 73,000 Ethiopian immigrants. But that has been true of every wave of immigration to reach the country's shores, from the Holocaust survivors who flocked to the state from the very first day of its existence to the million immigrants arriving in the 1990s after the Iron Curtain collapsed and freed up emigration from the Soviet Union.
In the mid 1980s, the New York Times columnist William Safire wrote of the first wave of aliyah from Ethiopia that, "for the first time in history, thousands of black people are being brought into a country not in chains but in dignity, not as slaves but as citizens". Actually, countries like the United States and Canada do give citizenship to Ethiopians and other Africans - "but these are only handpicked and skilled university graduates," says a senior Jewish Agency official. "We [Israel] take in illiterate villagers who have to be taught how to go to the toilet and open a fridge."
But neither is the government's claim that it is simply carrying out a legal procedure entirely innocent.
Whether the government stands by its current policy or, as happened in the past, caves in to the combined pressure and continues bringing 300 each month indefinitely, is not only a legal or humanitarian question. It is a sign of the woeful inadequacy of Israel's immigration and citizenship policy. The Law of Return is still, in the eyes of many Israelis and Jews, a cornerstone of the Zionist ideal. Yet it is proving incapable of dealing with the 21st century's global tide of emigration and the demographic changes in the Jewish people.
Over the years, Israeli policy towards bringing in Ethiopian Jewry in general and towards the Falashmura in particular has fluctuated widely. And rarely, if ever, has that policy been the result of long-term planning and deliberation. More often, decisions were taken after political pressure was brought to bear by coalition members, religious interests and influential diaspora leaders. The world looked on impressed when Israel airlifted 14,310 Ethiopian Jews in 35 hours in May 1991, but this was hardly the result of long-term planning and policy. In fact, the Jewish Agency accused the American Association for Ethiopian Jews of encouraging them to converge on Addis in early 1991, thereby creating a perceived humanitarian crisis and forcing Israel to act.
Israel's leaders hoped at least that the Herculean effort of Operation Solomon would bring the Ethiopian saga to its logical end, with all the Falasha Jews safely in Israel. But different groups with varying claims of connection to the Jewish people were left behind and the successive governments have since only been picking up the pieces.
So Israeli policy is inconsistent; what else is new? Actually, immigration legislation is the one horse that Israel has ridden remarkably steadily for close to six decades. The Law of Return, granting full citizenship rights to all Jews emigrating to the state, was voted upon in 1950 and since then the only major change made to it, in 1970, was the inclusion of the partners, children and grandchildren of Jews. Legal and political battles left the definition of "who is a Jew" blurred under the basic declaration that a Jew is anyone who was "born to a Jewish mother, converted to Judaism and not a member of another religion".
It took the country a quarter of a century to get around to the question of what to do about the Beita Yisrael of Ethiopia. In the end, it was a ruling by then Chief Rabbi Ovadya Yossef, based on rather unreliable historical documents linking the Falashas to the lost tribe of Dan, that paved the way for their inclusion as bona fide citizens. Another ruling by one of Yossef's successors, current Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, was supposed to do the same thing for the Falashmura, but here things were not so simple. A Supreme Court ruling from 1960 set the precedent that Jews who converted to another religion lost their eligibility to citizenship. Amar accepted the claims that their conversion was coerced and they had remained connected to Judaism. They were "total Jews", according to rabbis; but still, to put all doubts out of the way, they would have to undergo a full conversion upon arriving in Israel.
But the Falashmura were unlike their cousins of the Beita Yisrael. There was no agreement as to how many of them exactly there were, a question exacerbated by the loose family structures in Ethiopian society and their distinct style of Christianity that incorporated Jewish symbols and mythology and saw itself as descended from King Solomon. When former Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu debated the Falashmura's fate, Ethiopia's ambassador to Israel said to him: "I want to be one of the first million Falashmura you bring to Israel."
The deep-rooted suspicion that most of the Falashmura have no real connection with Judaism, and are basically African citizens seeking a better life in a westernised country, is at the base of the finally to bring their aliyah to an end.
Today, thousands of Falashmura, now full Israeli citizens, are clamouring to allow their relatives in. Twelve-thousand Falashmura have already uprooted themselves from their villages and are waiting aimlessly in the northern city of Gondar for some kind of answer.
We are Jews, they say; our children serve in the army and have shed their blood for the country. How can you keep us separated from our parents, sons and daughters?
The strongest justification for the Falashmura's claims of racism are the more than 300,000 non-Jewish Russians who have received Israeli citizenship under the Law of Return.
Why, they ask, does Israel welcome white Christians, under no obligation to go through giyur (conversion), and refuse entry to black Falashmura, who are prepared to do anything to prove they are part of the Jewish people? But the immigrants coming from the former Soviet Union have the law on their side, and the documents to prove they are eligible as first-degree relations to Jews.
And the Falashmura are just the first group in the queue. Standing behind them are the Bnei Menashe, of northern India, and other tribes from as far afield as Nigeria and Peru, claiming their descent from the lost ten tribes. Next in line are the descendants of the Marranos, the Jews forced to convert 500 years ago by the Spanish Inquisition; potentially hundreds of millions living in Spain, Portugal, Latin America and the United States, whose grandmothers lit candles on Saturdays and went to mass.
In the past, many Israelis might have seen such developments as encouraging; a chance to overcome the "demographic time-bomb" of the Palestinian birth-rate. Yet apart from some right-wing religious groups, most Israelis, on both sides of the political divide, realise today that the only viable solution is a territorial one.
Many also feel today that past policies of bringing in more olim at any cost has caused a severe social problem with a sub-strata of badly integrated and disgruntled communities.
Add to that the fact that Israel has no clear policy on dealing with over quarter of a million foreign workers, many of them residing with no legal permits in South Tel Aviv, their numbers swelling daily with more African refugees stealing through the Sinai border.
Over the last few months, the Israeli government and the Jewish Agency have been rethinking the concept of aliyah, recognising the fact that almost all the official diaspora is now an affluent, self-confident community, well established throughout the Western world, and in no hurry to move to Zion.
A rethink of the complex relationship between the Jews of Israel and the world is long overdue. Both sides have much to lose from the erosion of ties and identification already taking place in widening swathes of the younger generation. But in order for such a realignment to be effective, it must be coupled with a comprehensive review of citizenship legislation.
Besides one rather populist speech by Interior Minister Meir Sheetrit, who raised a half-baked idea of "temporary citizenship", nothing is happening on this front. Three years ago, former Interior Minister Ophir Pines-Paz set up such a commission, headed by Professor Amnon Rubinstein, but the commission was disbanded after another political upheaval. Rubinstein is now on a sabbatical in Britain.
Israel does not have to relinquish the basic foundation of its role as the homeland for every Jew in order to bring the Law of Return up to date.
Perhaps it is too much to expect from a country without a constitution and fixed borders, but at least some effort is being made to reach a lasting solution with Syria and the Palestinians, and the Knesset Law Committee is working on drafts of a constitution.
The Israeli government has manoeuvred itself in to a position that whatever decision it finally takes on the Falashmura will be necessarily a bad one.
At least if it stands by its current decision to extricate itself for now from the Ethiopian quagmire, this could offer the necessary interval in which to formulate a new immigration policy. After 60 years, this is definitely one issue on which Israel urgently needs to grow up.
Anshel Pfeffer, a JC Israel correspondent, travelled to Ethiopia for Ha'aretz
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Japanese actor who took Kabuki to the world dies at 57
TOKYO (Reuters) - One of Japan's top kabuki actors, who worked hard to modernise the centuries-old theatre form and performed around the world, died on Wednesday after a five-month battle with cancer, Japanese media repored.
Kanzaburo Nakamura, 57, was born to a family of longstanding performers in the ancient kabuki theatre - known for elaborate make-up, extravangant costumes and all-male casts - and began performing at the age of three.
He sought to modernise kabuki, which dates back 400 years, and to introduce Western audiences to the colourful art form through packed performances in New York, Paris and Berlin.
"I love Kabuki and it's a good thing I love it. If I hadn't loved it, I would have just gone mad, given the family I was born to," he told Reuters in 2008 before a performance in Berlin.
Diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in June, he underwent surgery a month later but contracted pneumonia and was in and out of hospital after that, with women's magazines following his illness closely.
Born Noriaki Namino, he took the stage name of Kankuro Nakamura at his first performance, and then officially inherited the revered stage name Kanzaburo Nakamura in 2005, becoming the 18th person to bear it. (Reporting by Olivier Fabre at Reuters Television; Editing by Elaine Lies and Ron Popeski)
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European Painting before 1900, Johnson Collection
Railroad Bridge, ArgenteuilMade in France, Europe
Claude Monet, French, 1840 - 1926
Oil on canvas
Cat. 1050John G. Johnson Collection, 1917
LabelIn the 1860s and 1870s Monet, like his Impressionist colleagues, often depicted industrial France. Here, a train crosses a newly constructed iron bridge on the outskirts of Paris. In his later landscape paintings such evidence of the modern world is almost completely omitted.
* Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit.
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Sunday, 7 September 2008
Journey to Australia
Journey to Australia is a hand written diary by Renoldas Cesna of the journey he and his family made from Germany to Australia in 1949. It was written in Bonegilla Australia, at the beginning 4 May 1949
Eighteen year old Renoldas wrote in Lithuanian in an old school exercise book where he attached documents and photographs taken on the journey. In the back of the diary he lists some of the Lithuanian passengers, giving their birth date and place of birth. In all 912 DP’s consisting of Balts, Poles, Yugoslavs, Ukrainians, Jews, Russians, Hungarians, Czechs and Germans were on board.
Its a fascinating acocount of the journey, giving in details things he saw, places he travelled to etc.
We applied for immigration in Dedelstorf 1948.
We traveled to Fallingbostel on August 10, 1948
We went through commission on the 24th August 1948.
We received notification of migration on 5th December 1948.
We were suppose to travel on the fifteenth transport to Genoa on the boat the Svalbard, which arrived in Sydney in 194_ These migrants went to Bathurst camp. We were unable to travel on the transport due to mum’s illness.
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FOREST HILLS—The former St. Andrew the Apostle Church complex at Walk Hill and Wachusett streets lacks any kind of historic protection, leaving a developer free to alter or demolish any of the buildings, including the 1921 stone church.
A 2003 historic survey recommended the complex for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
The survey, conducted by the Boston Preservation Alliance (BPA), praised the complex as “a collection of religious buildings significant for their contribution to the history and architecture of Jamaica Plain specifically and Boston generally.”
As the Gazette revealed last month, the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston has chosen a developer for the site, but is keeping their identity and plans confidential for now. The Gazette has learned that the local Bethel AME Church “expressed interest” in acquiring the complex, according to a source there, but does not appear to be the winning bidder.
Meanwhile, it appears anyone could have had St. Andrew’s all to themselves for quite some time. A Watertown newspaper editor who lives in Jamaica Plain recently reported that he discovered a box containing all of the church’s keys laying outside.
The most significant protection St. Andrew’s could have—but doesn’t—is Boston landmark status. That would give the Boston Landmarks Commission (BLC) power over any demolition or exterior alteration.
Hyde Square’s Blessed Sacrament Church complex—also sold off by the archdiocese for redevelopment—similarly had no historic protections. A local resident three years ago petitioned the BLC to landmark the complex. The landmark status is expected to be granted but is still pending. Meanwhile, the BLC has used the petition as leverage to conduct extensive design review on the redevelopment—including preserving the rectory, which the developers planned to demolish.
St. Andrew’s is not as prominent or spectacular as Blessed Sacrament, but it has older surviving buildings. The St. Andrew’s rectory and convent buildings are actually old houses dating to around 1865—before the founding of the church on the site.
According to the BPA survey, the land for the church was purchased around 1908 by the St. Thomas Aquinas parish on South Street. At the time, the land was part of the Clark family farm. The rectory at 38 Walk Hill is the old farmhouse, which was moved to a new position on the site.
The convent at 84 Wachusett is around the same age as the farmhouse, with a 1947 addition tacked on.
The St. Andrew’s parish was established in August, 1918 from pieces of St. Thomas Aquinas and Roslindale’s Sacred Heart territory, as the Catholic population exploded.
The new parish included most of the former Boston State Hospital site, and a St. Andrew’s priest traditionally served as chaplain there, according to the survey.
Construction of the English Revival stone church building at 40 Walk Hill began in 1919 and lasted until 1921, with interior decorations taking until 1937 to finish off. For the parish’s first few years, services were held at “Minton Hall at Forest Hills Square,” the location of which is unclear. The first Mass was held in the new church on Sept. 11, 1921.
The church’s steeple was removed in 1978, but the survey found plenty to praise in the stained glass windows and statue of St. Andrew’s on the facade.
“A highly significant survival on the church is the wealth of original wood doors,” the survey notes.
The church school at 46 Wachusett was built in 1942. The survey was most interested in it for its stone wall at street level, which echoes the church building’s material.
The vinyl-sided parish hall/kindergarten building at 0 Wachusett, directly across Walk Hill from the church, dates to about 1950. Sometimes known as the “community building,” it gets no love from the survey. “The building does not appear to retain any historic integrity,” it says.
Facing declining attendance, the church closed in 2000, with the parish being swallowed by Sacred Heart. The school remained open until 2005, when the archdiocese was in the midst of a massive property liquidation.
Kathy Kottaridis, executive director of the preservation group Historic Boston Incorporated (HBI) and a Forest Hills resident, noted that St. Andrew’s is a place where people “have really strong memories—good memories and bad memories.”
Eighty years of weddings and other religious ceremonies surely produced good memories. And students and parents fought hard against the closure of the school.
On the other hand, St. Andrew’s is also a place of infamy. From 1974 to 1980, it was home to the notorious child-molesting priest John Geoghan, who committed many of his crimes there.
It remains to be seen how this conflicted history will play out in preservation attempts.
In any case, the BPA survey declared the complex historical on a number of grounds. The site memorializes the expansion of the Catholic Church shortly after the 1875 establishment of the Boston archdiocese. It constitutes a “visually cohesive and well preserved collection of parish buildings, including a farmhouse.” It is praised for “retaining integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association.”
“St. Andrew parish complex is particularly significant among Catholic parish complexes in Boston for the manner in which the building cluster complements the surrounding residential neighborhood in size, scale, materials and landscaping,” the survey said.
The BPA survey of St. Andrew’s was just part of a citywide survey of archdiocese properties, funded by a Massachusetts Historical Commission grant, carried out as talk of a mass property liquidation was beginning.
“This was exactly the type of thing we were anticipating when we did this work,” BPA Executive Director Sarah Kelly said of the St. Andrew’s redevelopment.
The survey is meant to inform both developers and preservationists of the historic significance of the former church properties.
Right now, a developer isn’t bound to preserve anything. BLC Executive Director Ellen Lipsey confirmed that St. Andrew’s has no landmark status, nor has anyone submitted a request to landmark it.
If a developer did propose demolishing the complex’s older buildings, the BLC could institute a 90-day demolition delay, which includes a public hearing and a community meeting. The purpose of demolition delay is to consider possible alternatives to demolition. But ultimately, the process cannot halt demolition by itself, even if there are alternatives.
The complex also has no National Register listing. Listing is an honorary designation that would not prohibit demolition or exterior changes anyway, but it would make the development eligible for federal and state historic tax credits.
Much of the Woodbourne neighborhood is a historic district on the National Register. But, as Kottaridis noted, the main St. Andrew’s complex lies just outside its boundary, even though the church surely contributed to the neighborhood’s development. The parish hall/kindergarten building is within the historic district, but is listed as “non-contributing.” In any case, listing wouldn’t prevent demolition or other changes.
“Technically speaking, you could knock it down” under National Register listing, Kottaridis said.
While Kelly and Kottaridis advocated the preservation of the complex, neither were ready to push for landmarking, suggesting that is a tool for worst-case scenarios.
“Getting it listed [on the National Register] is important,” Kottaridis said, noting the tax credit benefits. HBI offers technical assistance on preservation and related funding issues.
Beyond that, she said, she would wait to see the “intensity and density” of the development proposal before recommending additional protections.
“Landmarking is often a response to a level of threat,” Kottaridis said.
While the BPA survey recommends National Register listing, Kelly said BPA isn’t necessarily going to push for that.
“I don’t know if we would try to move forward with listing,” she said. “We would want to see where the project is heading.”
Of course, if a developer is history-minded, historic protections might not be necessary at all. Kelly and Kottaridis said preservation results are more important than any particular method.
“The most important thing to us is we end up with a good project that is strong in its preservation components” while also satisfying the community, Kelly said.
“What’s really key is attention to the historic fabric that makes it significant,” Kottaridis said. “[Historic preservation] makes a prospective development more marketable and gives people a sense of history and being anchored into a place.”
Bidders on other former church properties have generally been either housing developers, who tend to alter the properties significantly, or other churches, which tend to have less dramatic plans.
As the Gazette previously reported, non-profit developer Urban Edge’s bid to create affordable housing at St. Andrew’s failed. Urban Edge also planned to include space on the site for the nearby Young Achievers Science and Mathematics Pilot School, which is now in discussion with the winning developer, according to Principal Virginia Chalmers.
While the winning bidder remains unknown, the Gazette has narrowed the list of candidates.
Bethel AME Church on Forest Hills Street, led by well-known local activists Ray Hammond and Gloria White-Hammond, “expressed interest” in St. Andrew’s but has not heard back, according to a church source. That would suggest it is not the winning bidder.
The Planning Office for Urban Affairs, a church-affiliated non-profit that has redeveloped other church properties, did not bid on St. Andrew’s, according to staff member Celeste Perry.
Xerxes Agassi, a housing developer who bid unsuccessfully on Blessed Sacrament, told the Gazette he did not bid on St. Andrew’s.
Chris Helms, editor of the Watertown TAB & Press, apparently was free last week to redevelop St. Andrew’s himself without putting in a bid.
That’s because, in a discovery bound to horrify preservationists, Helms found all the keys to the church laying in a box outside, as he reported in his newspaper’s blog on Aug. 29 at http://blogs.townonline.com/watertown.
“I found the strangest thing this morning when I was walking my dog,” Helms wrote. “Right beside a basketball court we walk through, there’s this open box under a shrub. So I look inside, and it’s a bunch of keys to the now-defunct St. Andrew’s Catholic Church complex.”
Helms included a photo showing a box, apparently once containing a doorknob mechanism, stuffed with keys. Attached to the keys were large paper tags including such labels as, “Key for church doors,” “Keys to door in cellar of rectory under living room” and “Keys to shrine box in tower.”
Helms speculated the keys were outside at least a year, due to fallen leaves inside the box, and guessed that someone broke into the church and found the box.
“If I’d found this box when I was 16, I guarantee I’d have led my friends on an exploration of the church,” Helms wrote. “As it is, I’m 37. So I called the Archdiocese. They’re sending a guy to the newsroom tomorrow to pick up the box of keys.”
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Solid Waste Local Enforcement Agency (LEA)
Waste Tire Enforcement Program
Waste and Used Tire Overview
California generates approximately 33 million waste and used tires every year, roughly equal to the combined total generated in Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, and Missouri.
The Solid Waste Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) has embarked on a successful program to regulate the roughly two million waste tires generated each year in the City. Every year since 1999, the LEA has been awarded a Waste Tire Enforcement Grant from the Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery (CalRecycle)* for the purpose of implementing an educational and enforcement program to increase proper management of waste tires and to minimize the illegal dumping of waste tires. In 2008, the LEA expanded the Waste Tire Enforcement program to adjacent incorporated Cities that wanted to participate in the program. At this time, the LEA is collaborating with the Cities of Chula Vista, El Cajon, and Imperial Beach.
*formerly known as the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB)
The program is targeted at educating waste tire generators, waste tire haulers, and waste tire storage /collection facilities regarding state waste tire regulations. The LEA conducts annual inspections of these businesses and works with CalRecycle to gain compliance. The Waste Tire Program has been successful in decreasing the incidence of illegal dumping in the City.
Waste tires and trash are also washed into the City of San Diego from Mexico via the Tijuana River. The LEA is a member of the Tijuana River Valley Recovery Team which is comprised of Local, State, Federal, and Non-Profit Agencies committed to cleaning up and restoring the Tijuana River Valley. The LEA, as well as other local and State agencies, have obtained grants from CalRecycle to facilitate clean-up of waste tires in the Tijuana River Valley.
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There are two types of marriage licenses a couple may apply for: Regular and Confidential.
Both licenses may be obtained at the County Clerk-Recorders Office.
California residency and U. S. citizenship are not requirements for marriage in
California. Only two unmarried persons over the age of 18 years of age may apply
for a marriage license in California. Anyone under 18 must obtain a court order
through the Court system.
NEW LAW PERTAINING TO NAME(S) ON MARRIAGE LICENSES EFFECTIVE 01-01-2010
What you should know about the Name Equality Act of 2007.
Regular (Non Confidential) Marriage License
A regular (non confidential) marriage license is valid for ninety (90) days from the date it was issued. It is a permit to
marry. You are not legally married until the marriage is solemnized by a person authorized to do so. The
license can be used anywhere in the State of California. You do not need a blood test. You must present
the license to the person who is to perform the marriage ceremony. It is their responsibility to return
it to the County Clerk for filing within ten days after the ceremony.
To apply for a regular (non confidential) marriage license you will need:
- Both Applicants must be present to apply.
$62.00 for the marriage license fee. Issuing a duplicate license costs $20.00
(In case the first one is lost, destroyed, or altered.)
- The Applicant's parents full birth names, including mother's maiden name.
- State or country of birth of Applicant's parents.
- Date of dissolution of most recent previous marriage.
- Photo ID required.
Confidential Marriage License
A confidential marriage license is valid for ninety (90) days. It can only be used in the
county it was issued in. A couple must sign under penalty of perjury that they are over
18 years of age and currently living together as spouses. A certified copy of the marriage
license may be obtained by either applicant, with photo ID or by court order.
To apply for a confidential marriage license you will need:
- Both Applicants must be 18 years or older and be present to apply.
- $64.00 Confidential License Fee.
- Both Applicant's parents full names, including mother's maiden name.
- State or country of birth of both Applicant's parents.
- Date of dissolution or death of most recent previous marriage.
- Photo ID required.
Who may solemnize marriages
Family Code Section 400
Marriage may be solemnized by any priest, minister, or rabbi of any religious denomination, a judge or
retired judge, commissioner or retired commissioner, or assistant commissioner of a court of record, a
judge or magistrate who has resigned from office, or by a person authorized to do so under Family Code
Family Code Section 401
For each county, the county clerk is designated as a commissioner of civil marriages. The commissioner
of civil marriages may appoint deputy commissioners of civil marriages who may solemnize marriages under
the direction of the commissioner.
Civil marriage ceremonies are performed at the Clerk-Recorder's Office, Monday through Friday 9:00 AM to 3:30 PM by appointment
only, for a processing fee of $26.00. Appointments preferred. Witness provided, if needed, for a fee of $15.75.
Marriage License Applications
This is an Adobe Acrobat
You can download
reader from Adobe.
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Corrective Actions ? Checklist
1. Contact the fraud department of any one of the three credit reporting bureaus to place a fraud alert on your credit report.
Regardless of whether or not thieves have already misused your personal information, the most important thing that you can do is minimize the damage done to your credit report. By contacting one of the three credit reporting bureaus and placing a fraud alert on your report, you can stop any further damage or even prevent damage in the first place. This alert tells creditors to contact you before opening any new accounts or making any changes to your existing accounts. Because the three bureaus are required by law to contact one another and place reciprocal alerts on their respective reports, you need only contact one of the three companies to place an alert on your account.
An initial fraud alert stays on your credit report for 90 days and entitles you to a free copy of your credit report. However, if you are certain identity thieves have used or attempted to use your personal information, you can place an extended alert on your credit report which will remain in place for seven years. The extended alert entitles you to two free credit reports within twelve months from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies. In addition, the consumer reporting companies will remove your name from marketing lists for pre-screened credit offers for five years unless you ask them to put your name back on the list before then.
Once you have placed the fraud alert in your file, please take advantage of your right to free copies of your credit report in order to make completely sure that you know the full extent of the damage to your credit report. However, you may want to wait as much as a month after your information was stolen before you order your report because suspicious activity may not show up right away. Upon receiving your reports, review them for suspicious activity, like inquiries from companies you did not contact, accounts you did not open, and debts on your accounts that you cannot explain. Check to be sure that information ? like your SSN, address(es), name or initials, and employers ? is correct.
Also, watch for signs that your information is being misused. For example, you may not get certain bills or other mail on time. Follow up with creditors if your bills don't arrive on time. A missing bill could mean an identity thief has taken over your account and changed your billing address to cover his tracks. Other signs include receiving credit cards that you didn't apply for; being denied credit, or being offered less favorable credit terms, like a high interest rate, for no apparent reason; and, getting calls or letters from debt collectors or businesses about merchandise or services you did not buy.
2. Contact the relevant account providers or agency.
Whether an unauthorized account has been opened in your name or you have become aware of unauthorized activity on an existing account, it is critical to contact the entity with which the account exists immediately in order to limit the harm identity thieves can cause. Be sure to close the accounts that you know or believe have been tampered with or opened fraudulently. If the stolen information includes your driver's license or other government-issued identification, contact the agencies that issued the documents and follow their procedures to cancel a document and get a replacement. Ask the agency to "flag" your file to keep anyone else from getting a license or another identification document in your name.
Ideally, you should write down the emergency contact phone numbers printed on the reverse of all credit and debit cards, as well as copy the emergency customer service numbers for all your utilities, including your cellular and home telephone providers, as printed on your most recent bill. If you do not have this information, see the Contact List for the emergency customer service numbers of the four major credit cards (Visa, Mastercard, Discover/Novus, and American Express) and national wireless service providers (Verizon, Cingular, T-Mobile, Sprint/Nextel). Emergency contact numbers for most other entities, such as utilities, should be available through your local yellow pages. REMEMBER, IDENTITY THEFT CAN OCCUR ANYWHERE. IF YOU ARE PLANNING A TRIP OUT OF THE COUNTRY, BE SURE TO CARRY WITH YOU A COPY OF THE INTERNATIONAL EMERGENCY NUMBERS FOR YOUR CREDIT AND DEBIT CARDS. If the theft involved stolen checks contact the major check verification companies. Ask that retailers who use their databases not accept the checks on your closed account. To find out if the identity thief has passed bad checks in your name, call SCAN at 1-800-262-7771.
If you are disputing unauthorized account usage or unauthorized new accounts, remember that you must prove to each company, where an account was opened or used in your name, that you did not create the debt. We have provided an ID Theft Affidavit to assist you in making certain you do not become responsible for debts incurred by an identity thief. Most companies accept the Affidavit, but some require more or different information so contact the organization with which you are dealing before submitting the document. Nevertheless, complete the Affidavit as soon as possible and as accurately and completely as possible. Delays and incorrect or incomplete information can slow the investigation process and ultimate resolution of your claim. For more information, see our Resources Page.
3. File a report with your local police or the police in the community where the identity theft took place.
Most credit card issuers and utilities require proof of theft in order to begin the remediation process. Making out a report with your local police is crucial. If, however, the local police tell you that identity theft is not a crime in their jurisdiction, ask to file a Miscellaneous Incident Report in order to memorialize the theft. If they simply will not take a report, see our contact list of Pennsylvania Sheriffs to file a report with your local sheriff?s department or contact the Pennsylvania State Police.
Regardless of what entity ultimately takes your complaint, be sure to get a copy of the report or, at the very least, the number of the report, to submit to your creditors and other organizations that may require it.
4. File a complaint with the Pennsylvania Attorney General?s Bureau of Consumer Protection and the Federal Trade Commission.
While criminal complaints will help to get your life back on track, reporting identity theft to the appropriate government agencies is necessary to ensure that the full scope of law enforcement is brought to bear against thieves. Both the Attorney General and the FTC maintain databases of identity theft cases, and will prosecute identity thieves to the fullest extent of both the criminal and civil law. The Attorney General may also be able to gain some restitution for you, the victim. Filing a complaint also helps us learn more about identity theft and the problems victims are having so that we can better assist the people of the Commonwealth.
5. Continue to read your financial account statements promptly and carefully.
Identity thieves may not strike immediately so it is critical to remain vigilant with respect to your personal information. Monitor your credit reports every few months in the first year of the theft, and once a year thereafter. Also, follow up with utilities and credit card issuers to be sure that no unauthorized activity has occurred on your accounts or under your name.
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It’s not every day that GQ magazine puts a Kansan on its cover. The men's fashion monthly did just that in November of 2005, however, when it prominently featured Attorney General, Phill Kline and his anti-abortion crusade. The magazine declared him “the future of the pro-life movement.” Within four years of the GQ spread, Kline stood defeated in his epic battle against abortion. He finished the year under a cloud of professional misconduct—having been formally charged of ethical wrongdoing by the very state he once served.
The Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights (IREHR) is a national organization with an international outlook examining racist, anti-Semitic, white nationalist, and far-right social movements, analyzing their intersection with civil society and social policy, educating the public, and assisting in the protection and extension of human rights through organization and informed mobilization.
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