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In 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency set new allowable limits for ambient lead levels. A new report from the EPA has found that 39 states are meeting limits; 11 are not.
EPA lead standards
Starting in 2008, the EPA started judging the amount of ambient lead based on a new standard. Air quality standards require no more than .15 micrograms of lead per cubic meter in the air. These new, lower standards are in response to the damage lead exposure can do. Infants and toddlers exposed to lead show neurological effects with lower IQs and a higher incidence of neurological problems in adulthood. Previously, the limit for lead levels was much higher, but current studies show that small exposures can do almost as much damage.
Studying lead levels
Lead levels in various states and specific geographic areas are being tested and studied by the EPA. In some localities, the EPA is taking “administrative action” against property owners that are not allowing the EPA to test soil for lead levels. On average, 30 to 40 percent of properties that are tested for soil lead levels are found to have higher-than-allowed lead. The EPA cleans up contaminated soil for free, but some property owners still are not allowing EPA inspectors onto their land. In general, lead levels in the air have dropped more than 90 percent since lead in gasoline has been phased out.
States with high levels
The EPA is taking data from 2007 to 2010 to study lead levels in the air. Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan and Puerto Rico have all been found to have lead levels higher than currently recommended. Tennessee, Arizona and New York are all listed as “unclassifiable,” which means there is not enough data about the lead levels to make a judgement. All states that are found to have high lead levels must create a plan to reduce pollution and implement it within five years.
USA Today: http://content.usatoday.com/communities/greenhouse/post/2011/11/epa-lead-levels-exceeded-in-21-us-areas/1?csp=34news
Health Canada: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-vsv/environ/lead-plomb-eng.php
Do you have a fantastic idea related to this article, but just don't have the money you need to start your own company or side-business? Get the loans you need from https://personalmoneynetwork.com to help get your new company underway, from the small loan professionals at PersonalMoneyNetwork.
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When choosing a hard drive, there are some things you should keep in mind including the external hard drive price in UAE. While they are cheaper and faster than external hard drives, they also have moving parts. That means they can be prone to malfunctions. This article will discuss the best ways to avoid these issues and make the right choice for you. We’ll also discuss the benefits of internal hard drives and why you might want to choose them instead.
Internal hard drives are always connected to your computer:
Your computer’s internal hard drive is the main storage device for your operating system and other programs. It resides in the system cabinet and is powered by the computer’s power supply. Most systems can support multiple internal hard drives. However, some people prefer to have external hard drives as a backup system, alternative boot drive, or storage device. Both internal and external hard drives are attached to your computer through a data or power cable. They are usually connected to your computer via a USB, eSATA, or FireWire connection, depending on the hardware and software system.
They are cheaper than external hard drives:
Internal hard drives are inserted into a computer. Since they are not portable, they are only useful for the computer they’re installed in. There are two main types of internal hard drives. The more traditional HDDs use spinning disks to store information. The higher the speed of the spinning disk, the faster the computer will be. External hard drives, on the other hand, spin only when they’re plugged in and are not built for continuous usage.
They are faster:
When comparing speed, external hard drives are the clear winner. They are faster than flash drives and are often available with USB 3.0 connectors. While flash drives also have USB 3.0 connectors, their transmission speeds are much lower than those of external hard drives. In addition, flash drives typically use USB 2.0 connectors and can only transfer data at up to 60 Mbps. So, it’s important to consider your needs before buying a flash drive.
They have moving parts:
An external hard disk drive has moving parts, just like a regular computer’s HDD. This means that they will eventually fail, and they are more prone to physical damage than most hard disks. While the average hard disk drive lasts between three and five years, some can last as long as 10 years. If you find that your HDD has stopped functioning, your data is permanently lost. You cannot repair or replace the HDD.
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Wharton, Joseph, 1826-1909
Found in 1 Collection or Record:
Overview Howard Malcolm Jenkins (1842-1902), a birthright Quaker, was a scholar of Pennsylvania history and genealogy and published many books and articles based on his research. He was an active member of the Society of Friends, editor of the Friends Intelligencer, and served on the Board of Managers of Swarthmore College. The collection contains family papers and genealogical material on the Jenkins and Foulke families, correspondence of Howard M. Jenkins, and his publications and writings....
- Subject: Quaker authors X
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Research & Publications
The vision for the Lexile Framework for Reading came from two colleagues who were committed to educational research. MetaMetrics®, the organisation they built, is still researching new ways to apply Lexile tools and principles to the always-changing educational environment.
More than 30 years ago, the United States’ National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) funded the initial research studies that created the Lexile® scale with a series of grants over the course of a decade. To date, Lexile® measures have been externally used in hundreds of studies across 24 countries.
MetaMetrics’ research roots permeate every corner of the company, with over half of the team comprising testing experts, data scientists and researchers who offer years of combined experience. MetaMetrics’ products and services support organisations that build personalised learning platforms based upon the principles of deliberate practice and sound psychometric theory. MetaMetrics continues to pursue research to help students and educators monitor and accelerate their track to success in higher education and careers.
Learn more about the research behind the Lexile Framework for Reading.
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One of the most daunting things about reading The Silmarillion is keeping all of the names straight. I love this, so I want to make it more accessible for the general reader with brief character profiles.
- Name: Sauron
- Home: Angband, later Barad-dûr
- Claim to fame: He’s the big bad most people recognize, creator of the One Ring.
- Why I think he’s interesting: Despite being evil, he served Morgoth faithfully for centuries. I guess it goes back to what C.S. Lewis once wrote, that even evil individuals must have some virtue in order to be effective. (I can’t find the quote now–anyone know it?)
Photo Credit: Alex Ristea
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e.g., baby food, laptop
get coupons aa
Seal up air leaks to prevent heat loss during winter
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When warm air escapes and cold air comes in, heaters need to work harder to maintain a comfortable temperature in the house. Before winter starts, inspect your house for air leaks. For windows, replace any moldy or rotten areas. For doorways, place your hand near the bottom of the door jamb to feel for cold air coming in and use a fabric draft stopper for any doors with drafts. Better yet, buy some weather-stripping from the hardware store to seal up that air leak.
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Documentation for the LLVM System at SVN head
If you are using a released version of LLVM,
see the download page to find
- LLVM Project Guide - How-to guide and
templates for new projects that use the LLVM infrastructure. The
templates (directory organization, Makefiles, and test tree) allow the project
code to be located outside (or inside) the llvm/ tree, while using LLVM
header files and libraries.
- LLVMBuild Documentation - Describes the
LLVMBuild organization and files used by LLVM to specify component
- LLVM Makefile Guide - Describes how the
LLVM makefiles work and how to use them.
- How To Release LLVM To The Public - This
is a guide to preparing LLVM releases. Most developers can ignore it.
LLVM Announcements List: This is a low volume list that provides important
announcements regarding LLVM. It gets email about once a month.
- The Developer's
List: This list is for people who want to be included in technical
discussions of LLVM. People post to this list when they have questions about
writing code for or using the LLVM tools. It is relatively low volume.
- The Bugs &
Patches Archive: This list gets emailed every time a bug is opened and
closed, and when people submit patches to be included in LLVM. It is higher
volume than the LLVMdev list.
- The Commits
Archive: This list contains all commit messages that are made when LLVM
developers commit code changes to the repository. It is useful for those who
want to stay on the bleeding edge of LLVM development. This list is very high
Test Results Archive: A message is automatically sent to this list by every
active nightly tester when it completes. As such, this list gets email several
times each day, making it a high volume list.
LLVM Compiler Infrastructure
Last modified: $Date: 2012-02-26 14:26:37 -0800 (Sun, 26 Feb 2012) $
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Accurate information about impending or actual threats or emergencies can literally mean the difference between life and death.
The University employs a range of technological solutions to assist us in alerting the community to emergency situations as quickly as possible. Emergency alerts are reserved for critical incidents that pose an imminent threat to the health and safety of the University community. You may be notified of an emergency in several ways.
- Fire alarm – indicates the need to evacuate the building immediately.
- Siren – indicates that there is an imminent threat to the University community. If you are outside and hear the siren and audible announcement, follow the announced instructions. If the audible announcement cannot be understood, immediately check your cell phone and email for a UVA Alert message or go to UVA's Emergency Homepage for information on the emergency. For those without access to electronic communication devices, follow your department’s emergency protocols.
- UVA Alerts – notifies registered users via text message and email notification when the University population faces imminent threat from a hazard.
- University email – notifies anyone with an @virginia.edu account of emergency situations; this is a stand-alone email system that you cannot opt-out of.
- LCD and LED displays – displays UVA Alerts text messages on the OnAlert notice boards located in large classrooms and on LCD screens located across Grounds.
- Public address system announcements – announces emergency information in locations where public address systems are available.
- Desktop Alerts - The alert information appears on an individual’s desktop or laptop computer as a pop-up window overlaying all other open windows on the computer.
Whenever you receive an emergency notification, act quickly and decisively. Evacuate or seek shelter, as directed by the notice.
The University tests the emergency notification system components once every term as well as during the state’s March Tornado Drill and the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill in October. During these tests, the siren/public address system, text messaging, email, LED and LCD screens, Health System paging system, UVA homepage and Emergency homepage are activated. When the test is completed, an "all clear" message is issued.
What You Can Expect
- If you are outside, you should hear a siren followed by a public address message: "This is a test of the UVA emergency notification system. This is a test." The siren sounds can be previewed here.
- If you have signed up for UVA Alerts text messaging system you should receive a test text message. If you added email addresses to your account, you will also receive an email test message sent from UVA Alerts. Sign up for UVA. Alerts if you have not already done so.
- If you have an @virginia.edu email account, you will receive a test email message.
- If you are in a large classroom or a common area, you may hear a tone and see the message on an LED or LCD screen.
- If you carry a Simon In-house pager, you will receive a test message.
- If you are on the University Home Page (www.virginia.edu), you will see a popup box with the test message. The best source of official information will be the University’s Emergency Webpage.
- The siren will sound with three blasts followed by the message: "This concludes the test of the UVA emergency notification system."
- Text messaging, email, LEDs, LCDs, Simon In-house pagers, and the Home Page will also display the "all clear" message.
Typically, no action is required on your part during these tests. If you have questions or feedback , please contact the Office of Safety and Emergency Preparedness email@example.com or 434-982-0565.
During an emergency, the best source of official for the most complete information will be the University’s Emergency Webpage. High-level emergencies will be posted on the University’s home page. Schedule changes will be posted on the Operations Status Board, which is accessible through the Emergency Webpage. Local television and radio stations should also be relied on in severe weather situations. Key staff and student leaders, such as the Resident Staff, will also be equipped to communicate directly with students. All available forms of communication will be used to convey needed information to the University community.
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Pastafarians and the Jesters
To become a Catholic Priest or a Jewish Rabbi requires years of training and study. To become a Buddhist Monk one must give up gainful employment and all worldly possessions, take a vow of chastity, and engage in years of meditation and study.
To become a minister in the “Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster,” however, one merely pays $34 and puts a colander on his or her head.
Is this a joke? Yes and no.
In 2005 Pastafarianism or “The Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster” arose as a satirical alternative to teaching of intelligent design in Kansas public school science classes, and rapidly gained notoriety on social media and the Internet.[/tweetit]
Recently, the Kenai Peninsula Borough of Alaska enacted a policy that required invocations be given only by “official organizations with an established presence on the Kenai Peninsula.” The ACLU sued, and as a result a Pastafarian gave the invocation at a local government meeting in Homer, Alaska, wearing a spaghetti strainer on his head.
The Pastafarians, the Satanic Temple and other such organizations can be seen from several viewpoints. Members may be revolting against organized religion, be people who dislike religion, who would like to claim religious benefits or strike back at a perceived breaking of the separation of church and state, who wish to ridicule religion or simply wish to have some fun at the expense of what they see as crusty backward institutions.
It is ironic that “anti-religious religions” are asking for – and in some cases being given – the same rights as other religious groups. Depending on ones’ point of view, they are hilarious, hideous, blasphemous or any number of other adjectives.
Religious belief transcends the weighty reality of the material universe, and for those to which only matter is real, religion is a fake, a scam, an “opium of the people” as Marx termed it. So those who, like trees, are “so packed in matter that they may never achieve Krishna Consciousness”— as one Hari Krishna member told me – may attack that which they reject. And those attacks can range from the Holocaust on one end of the spectrum, to irony and ridicule on the other.
There is a positive note and a context to the ridicule, sarcasm, and irony regarding matters of faith, however, and it comes from the Middle Ages.
Many years ago, I was visiting an 11th Century Church in Lund, Sweden, with Gunnar Sjoholm, a relative who was an official in the Swedish Lutheran Church. As we stood talking, a teen-ager ran in and began shouting angrily. Instead of becoming angry himself, Gunnar began to calmly translate what the man was saying. The man was insulting the church, church officials even God himself.
I was surprised at how calm Gunnar remained, and after the teenager ran out, he told me that making fun of established institutions was the job of the fool, or court jester in the Middle Ages. The jester – unlike other subjects of the king – had freedom of speech specifically granted by the king. So the jester could joke about the church, government officials, even the royal family itself, without fear of punishment. The man – whether he knew it or not – was following a very old tradition, said Gunnar. And Gunnar, who had been a missionary in China before the revolution, prized both freedom of speech and of religion.
A jester, he said, may inspect and reevaluate the things one valued most. His ability to put such an act in historical context, to understand it as more than hate and to not condemn or lash out was something I found inspiring.
I find that viewpoint very rational and grounded, a very good approach for dealing with those who do not understand belief and who criticize, ridicule or denigrate religions, religious institutions and individuals. It is an opportunity to inspect ones’ beliefs and ideas, reevaluate priorities and rededicate oneself to helping those who will accept help and who yearn for something better than the material plane of existence.
Gunnar passed away years ago, but I think were he to hear of the Pastafarians, he might have a good laugh and perhaps gain a bit more insight into his own beliefs.
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Stonehenge is one of the most famous prehistoric monuments and mysterious in the world. A gigantic structure built towards the end of the Stone Age is located in a meadow Salisbury Plain in southeast England. Over the centuries, scientists are trying to understand why Stonehenge was built. This giant rock has long been believed to be home to Druids, priests of ancient Britain, in addition to being a human sacrifice. But the fact is, Stonehenge was completed a thousand years before the Druidic religion growing in the UK. Nevertheless, Stonehenge is still considered to have a lot of ceremonial or religious significance.
At the entrance of the monument, in addition to the placement of certain stones, has made some modern scholars think that Stonehenge was used as a giant device to measure the sky and predict solar and lunar eclipses. Other scientists argue that Stonehenge was a center for healing. But until now, the purpose of the construction of Stonehenge remains a mystery.
Stonehenge was established and rebuilt in three different stages for about 2,000 years. First, the construction of Stonehenge started around 3000 BC in the form of a circular ditch with a mound of dirt on the inside is higher. Inside the mound there are 56 holes now known as Aubrey holes, named after John Aubrey (1626-1697), early researchers of Stonehenge. Outside the northeast entrance placed a season. In 2008, archaeologists determined that the burial took place at Stonehenge, at least at the first 500 years.
Second, the modification of Stonehenge made about 700 years later, around 2300 BC. At this time, the two circles of blue stone pillars placed in the center of the original circle but never completed. The entrance lane, called Avenue, and blue stones are aligned according to the location of the sunrise on the summer solstice.
Third, the construction of Stonehenge started soon after, around 2000 BC, and was built in three stages and ended around 1500 BC. At that time, the shape of Stonehenge already resembles its present form. Large sarsen stones were transported from the Marlborough Downs, 32 kilometers away, and the blue stones were transported from the southeast Wales as far as 450 kilometers by sea and land.
The architects had to supervise all workers who carved stones with a tool made of stone and bone, set up sarsen stones, and build scaffolding to lift the giant arch-shaped door.
Although it is not clear why Stonehenge was created, but it is clear that the builders of the giant stone monument were dedicated to carrying out their work.
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The New Yorker, May 8, 1971 P. 30
Talk interview with Ernest Green, one of the 9 black students who first intergrated all-white Central High School, in Little, Rock, Ark., in 1957. He is now national director of the Joint Apprenticeship Program, which recruits & trains young blacks & Puerto Ricans to break into the once totally & still predominantly white, building-trades unions. From his headquarters, at 162 Fifth Ave., he directs a staff of 120 in 22 field offices across the U.S., & administers an annual budget of $1,600,000. It was set up in 1964 & partly sponsored by the Workers Defense League. Green lives in Brooklyn with his wife & 2 children. He relates his experiences at Central High when he & the other 8 children who were the Little Rock 9 made international news. Tells who the other 8 are & what they are doing now.
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Summary and Info
A systematic introduction to discourse analysis as a body of theories and methods for social research. Introduces three approaches and explains the distinctive philosophical premises and theoretical perspectives of each approach. Softcover available.
More About the Author
Marianne Qvist (Jørgensen) is a Danish curler and World Champion. She won a gold medal at the 1982 World Curling Championships, and a bronze medal at the 1981 European Curling Championships.
Review and Comments
Rate the Book
Discourse Analysis as Theory and Method 0 out of 5 stars based on 0 ratings.
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CSUF News Service
CSU Funding to Help Boost Student Achievement
Cal State Fullerton's Supplemental Instruction Expands to Serve More Students
Feb. 25, 2014
Mark S. Filowitz, associate dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, and Martin V. Bonsangue, professor of mathematics, have been campus leaders for supplemental instruction, shown to improve student success.
Campus leaders championing supplemental instruction to help students succeed are excited about the future possibilities for the program — shown to bolster academic performance and retention in science and math disciplines.
The reason: Through the Chancellor's Office's initiatives to strengthen student achievement, Cal State Fullerton's Supplemental Instruction program, known as SI, has received $458,000 in funding, making it possible to advance the program on the Fullerton and CSUF Irvine campuses.
"Supplemental instruction began on campus in 2007 and has been funded through different sources. But now with the Chancellor's Office support to institutionalize SI on our campus, we can focus our efforts on improving and expanding the program," said Mark S. Filowitz, associate dean of the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics.
The Chancellor’s Office is actively supporting efforts to address ways to increase student success in so-called "bottleneck" and gateway courses. Bottleneck courses historically have high non-success rates and slow the process toward graduation.
The efforts include "proven and promising practices" practiced at different CSUs throughout the state. Approaches such as "flipped" classrooms and peer-led team learning and SI are being shared with sister institutions, explained Martin V. Bonsangue, professor of mathematics, a longtime supporter of SI for math.
"SI at CSUF involves a team of dedicated students, faculty, staff and administrators who are committed to strengthening student success in key gateway courses. SI also is effectively and directly addressing CSUF's strategic plan goal No. 2," said Bonsangue, which is to "improve student persistence, increase graduation rates Universitywide, and narrow the achievement gap for underrepresented students."
As a result of the CSU funding, a full-time coordinator has been hired to oversee administrative duties and other efforts to further develop the program to meet the needs of students. The SI program also is now centralized under the University Learning Center, rather than in the colleges or departments.
"My goal is to see supplemental instruction become part of the overall culture at Cal State Fullerton," said Trista O'Connell, supplemental instruction coordinator.
The number of courses supported by the peer-led instructional sessions has increased significantly, expanding this spring to include an array of bottleneck courses in business, computer science, engineering and the humanities.
This academic year, 224 course sections are supported by supplemental instruction, compared to 140 course sections in 2012-13, said O'Connell, who also is a lecturer in American studies. Additionally, the program's corps of student leaders who facilitate instructional sessions increased to 75 students this spring semester.
As part of the CSU efforts to share proven practices, the CSU recently videotaped an orientation session for new SI student leaders and interviewed CSUF program leaders, as well as CSU science and math faculty members who came to CSUF to learn how to implement SI on their campuses. The video will be used as an instructional tool systemwide as a "proven and promising practice."
"We've put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into our SI program," said Philip Janowicz, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, who spearheaded SI in gateway chemistry courses. "SI has helped our students so much, so to be able to share our proven practices with the rest of the system is an honor."
More information about supplement instruction is available by visiting the University Learning Center.
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An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism
Series: Introduction to Religion
- ISBN: 9781108431514
- Published By: Cambridge University Press
- Published: November 2018
The third edition of An Introduction of Swaminarayan Hinduism constitutes a welcome and overdue update to Raymond Brady Williams’ popular summary of one of the fastest growing Hindu groups in the world. Williams, respected as a longstanding expert on Swaminarayan Hinduism, has updated his second edition (2001) with new information about the tradition’s evolving presence, impact, and development—both in India and abroad.
Similar to earlier editions, An Introduction to Swaminarayan Hinduism traces the developments of the tradition over the past quarter-century since the text’s original publication in 1984, chronicling its dramatic and dynamic shifts, while also providing a comprehensive introduction of the tradition’s history, theology, and practices. Retaining the structure of the second edition, this latest update uses the same familiar chapter and sub-chapter headings. Certain chapters have been re-worked to include the tradition’s use of the evolving virtual world. In chapter 4, specifically, Williams includes a section titled “Sacred Cloud in Cyber Space,” which details how the various Swaminarayan groups have crafted an online presence in order to reach their growing transnational audience. The “transnational” framework from the earlier text is emphasized in this edition given the rapid expansion of the Swaminarayan global network at the beginning of the 21st century. Accordingly, statistics have been updated and the borders of the tradition’s regional presence redrawn. For instance, in chapter 7, Williams adds a section on the “Uttermost Parts of the World” to trace the tradition’s growth into the Middle East and Australasia. Historical accounts have also been updated to include information on the current achary as in the Vadtal and Ahmedabad dioceses, as well as the current guru of Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS).
Overall, this updated account provides a thorough study of the origin, development, and transnational growth of the tradition. It incorporates the research of emerging Swaminarayan Studies scholars, and carefully (and humbly) makes corrections according to new findings that have surfaced within the last twenty years. However, though the author acknowledges that “the last word has not been spoken”—that interdisciplinary analyses and trajectories of study on the tradition beckon—this edition does not afford any attention to a number of recent, significant contributions to the field, or the masses of literature on the tradition composed in various Indic languages. On this point, there is also oversight of a topic significant for any historian of South Asian religions: the recent production of classical commentaries on the vedāntic corpus within BAPS, and its wider recognition within conference settings, in the same line as what took place in the court of Jai Singh 250 years ago.
This leads to my main concern with the book. It is clear that the author is avoiding Indic sources. Though he addresses each component of the Swaminarayan canon, as well as how it sits within the various denominations, we do not find any focused attention on the tradition’s vast literary archive. Certain texts are referenced within accounts of the various leaders’ lives, but for a predominantly Gujarati-speaking (and -writing) community—now with an emerging Sanskrit scholarly corpus—the lack of engagement with, or reference to, this essential primary source material is sorely missed. This trait filters down throughout the book with Swaminarayan-specific terminology often misspelled or mistranslated. The glossary similarly requires some consistent method in the romanization of terms; sometimes the author is utilizing Sanskrit transliteration rules, sometimes Gujarati, sometimes Hindi.
Taking on the criticisms from the reviews of his previous edition, Williams separates the historical accounts, descriptions of theological systems, praxis, and activities of the various Swaminarayan denominations, rather than writing about one’s activities as representative of an umbrella Swaminarayan Hinduism. However, what emerges is an imbalanced account of all the denominations; only the Ahmedabad and Vadtal dioceses and BAPS are fully represented in the book, whereas the other, smaller groups only really appear as short summaries within chapter 2. Where the book falls short in addressing its past reviews is in how it does not present the lives of Swaminarayan followers in their own words, and how it does not compare and contextualize the tradition with other contemporary Hindu groups that have a similar transnational presence. Even the sections dedicated to women’s activities have retained the same information provided in the first edition, with only minor updates. One would have expected revisions that reflect the changes that have taken place in the last twenty years on the status and role of women within the tradition.
Nonetheless, Williams makes it clear that his intention is to lay the necessary foundation for the future of Swaminarayan Studies, and he has indeed succeeded in introducing his reader to this rapidly growing and visible religious tradition, chronicling its history and development across three editions. With over forty years of expertise and experience writing on the tradition, Williams’s important contributions to the study of Swaminarayan Hinduism have been, and will be for years to come, a foundational reference point on all things Swaminarayan.
Avni Chag is a doctoral researcher in South Asian Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.Avni ChagDate Of Review:June 12, 2019
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Strategies for Reading Comprehension
[Raphael, 1982, 1984]
What Is/Are Question-Answer Relationships?
Raphael created Question-Answer Relationships as a way to help students realize that the answers they seek are related to the type of question that is asked; it encourages them to be strategic about their search for answers based on an awareness of what different types of questions look for. Even more important is understanding where the answer will come from.
Teaching QARs to students begins with helping them understand the core notion: that when confronted with a question, the answer will come either from the text or from what kids know. These are the Core Categories, which Raphael calls
Once students are comfortable with these simpler distinctions (and do note that this does not take very long!), it will please them to move to the next level of understanding question types. Raphael divides "In The Book" into two QAR types (Right There and Think and Search); and "In My Head" into two QAR types (Author & You and On My Own).
Explain Those Four QARs!
Download and Print:
What Does This Look Like in Practice?
Good question. Just for practice and as an example, let's apply it to the following passage of text. Following the passage are one example for each type of QAR.
The sun was setting, and as the senator gazed out his office window, he could see the silhouettes of some of the unique buildings and monuments of Washington, D.C. Directly in front of him at the other end of the National Mall, the stark obelisk of the Washington Monument thrust dramatically skyward, its red warning lights blinking in the approaching dusk. Although he couldn't quite see it, he knew that beyond the Washington Monument and the reflecting pool just past it, a huge statue of Abraham Lincoln sat thoughtfully in the Lincoln Memorial.
The senator was worried. A bill was before the Congress, called Safe Surfing for Safer Schools, that would deny federal education dollars to states that didn't have laws against internet pornography on their books. He was concerned about kids having access to dirty pictures, and even more concerned about internet predators having access to kids. But he also believed strongly in the right of people to freely access information, even if it meant sometimes children might be exposed to adult materials. And it seemed dangerous to take money away from schools, where the need was desperate, if state legislatures balked at this federal pressure on them.
His constituents had let him know in no uncertain terms that they supported strict standards of decency on the internet. He knew if he didn't support the bill, his next election opponent would paint him as pro-pornography, and anti-child. But he didn't want anything to get in the way of providing monetary support to schools through federal grants.
The unique spires of the original Smithsonian Institution were getting harder to see, but there was still a faint gleam on the green dome of the Museum of Natural History. What was the right thing to do?
|Right There||What legislation is the senator worried about?|
|Think and Search||What arguments is he having to weigh in his mind?|
|Author and You||How would you advise the Senator, and why would you advise him so?|
|On My Own||What's a tough decision you've had to make?|
|This site was created
and is maintained by
|This page was last updated on Sunday, 26-Aug-2012 04:41:58 EDT.|
|URL for this page: http://www.readingquest.org/strat/qar.html.|
© 1998-present by Raymond C. Jones, PhD
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For training, please contact the Tool Manager(s).
- All samples must be pre-approved by the tool manager.
- Work with samples derived from humans, non-human primates or infectious microbes must be coordinated with the tool manager.
The Zetasizer (Malvern Nano ZS) characterizes nanomaterials in a solution. It uses Dynamic Light Scattering to determine the polydispersity of a sample and measure particle charge, size, and molecular weight. Materials from 0.6 to 6,000 nm can be measured with an electrokinetic potential analysis from -150 to +150 megavolts. A size measurement can be taken with a sample from 12 to 500 microliters. An electrokinetic potential measurement requires a one-milliliter sample.
- Measurement options available:
- Size analysis (0.6-6000nm)
- Zeta potential analysis (-150-+150mV)
- Surface Zeta Potential analysis
- Kinetics and trend measurements
- Temperature range 2C to 90C
- Sample volume required: 12-500 uL for size measurement, 1 mL for zeta potential measurements
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Waynesville parking deck could house electric car charging station
Electric car owners rejoice. Haywood County may soon be home to two electric car charging stations for the sustainably inclined.
The idea is still in its infancy, but the town of Waynesville hopes to house two of 25 charging stations being set up in the five-county Asheville metro area, a project partially funded through a grant from the state Energy Office. Clean Vehicles Coalition and Advanced Energy are coordinating the grant and are in the process of deciding which locations in the region will get the public charging stations.
If approved, the grant would offer 50 percent of costs for the new technology, up to $6,000 per charging station.
The public parking deck in downtown Waynesville would be an ideal spot for electric car charging stations, according to Waynesville’s Assistant Town Manager Alison Melnikova.
Drivers would be able to charge their cars free of charge — helpful both to tourists traveling in electric vehicles or commuters who want to juice up. The stations also would be available for local governments, should they decide to go electric with fleets in the future.
The N.C. Department of Motor Vehicles expects nearly 12,000 electric vehicles to be on the state’s roads by 2015, with 10 percent of those in the Asheville metro area.
The idea to house charging stations in the parking deck still faces a couple of hurdles.
County commissioners, as the owners of the parking deck, must agree to the location. The town plans to approach commissioners at their meeting next week.
Waynesville and the county have already agreed to share the local portion of the project, including the cost of the match, with each government pitching in half, according to information presented to the Waynesville Town Board last week.
Advance Energy said that decisions on applications would be made by Sept. 9, and if approved, the new stations could be up as early as December.
Melnikova said that final prices haven’t yet been worked out, so just how much the town and county would have to lay down is unclear.
The stations will power cars such as the Chevy Volt and the Nissan Leaf. They’re not inexpensive — the Volt will set you back between $33,000 and $41,000, while the Leaf has a price tag of around $37,000 — but their makers tout the significant fuel savings the cars could provide.
The Leaf takes about $1.50 a day to run, says Nissan. And with complimentary charging stations, that cost could decrease.
There are already charging stations at the Biltmore Town Square in south Asheville, built by Eaton Corp., a company in Arden that produces the stations.
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© 2013 – Routledge
Teaching with the Screen explores the forms that pedagogy takes as teachers and students engage with the screens of popular culture. By necessity, these forms of instruction challenge traditional notions of what constitutes education. Spotlighting the visual, spatial, and relational aspects of media-based pedagogy using a broad range of critical methodologies–textual analysis, interviews, and participant observation–and placing it at the intersection of education, anthropology, and cultural studies, this book traces a path across historically specific instances of media that function as pedagogy: Hollywood films that feature teachers as protagonists, a public television course on French language and culture, a daily television "news" program created by high school students, and a virtual reality training simulation funded by the US Army. These case studies focus on teachers as pedagogical agents (teacher plus screen) who unite the two figures that have polarized earlier debates regarding the use of media and technology in educational settings: the beloved teacher and the teaching machine.
"Dan Leopard tackles some complex topics but is so comfortable in his own skin that it takes much of the anxiety out of the process. I am certain this book will be read with interest by advanced undergraduates and college-educated lay readers and the most curious of classroom educators who are seeking new ways of making sense of the impact of media change on their professional practices and on the lives of their students."
Henry Jenkins, University of Southern California
"Leopard presents an interesting account of his experience using technology to teach media culture covering a wide range of types of media that function as pedagogy. Clearly on-line and virtual teaching is an emerging trend so it is valuable to have an informed and experienced voice like his analyzing different modes of teaching with machines."
Doug Kellner, University of California at Los Angeles
Preface Introduction. Studying Media in Educational Settings 1. Blackboard Jungle: Narratives of Pedagogy and Experience 2. Agents, Screens, and Machines: The Production of Pedagogy 3. French in Action: The Teacher Presented 4. Trauber TV: The Teacher Augmented 5. STEVE: The Teacher Embodied Conclusion. Presence, Telepresence, and the Gift of Pedagogy Appendix. How to Teach with Teaching Screens
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The importance of healthcare-focused information technology as a way to improve the quality while reducing the soaring cost of healthcare in this country and around the world cannot be overemphasized. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), enacted in 2009, encourages the use of electronic health records, albeit with accompanying penalties against regulatory deadlines, to assure an easily-accessible, secure and integrated medical industry.
Galen Partners, a leading private equity healthcare company, focuses on growth equity investments in healthcare technology-enabled services, medical devices and specialty pharmaceutical companies. It has invested in over 70 companies since its inception in 1990 and has almost $1 billion under management. Galen actively participates in its investments ranging from $10 million to $30 million of P.E. capital; it currently has more than 22 active investments. Galen focuses on healthcare-related companies with proprietary products and services. Their investments focus on healthcare venture capital medical devices & technology, information technology & services and specialty pharmaceuticals.
A recently-completed deal is Sharecare, a provider of an interactive healthcare platform for end-consumers looking for information on health-related concerns from physicians, hospitals and other healthcare consumers; it also provides a platform upon which medical centers can establish a connection to share research.
Carefx, a subsidiary of Harris Corporation, focuses on closing the inevitable industry gaps in information technology. Their proprietary product, Fusionfx, provides improved clinical, financial and operational outcomes vital in providing accountable healthcare. Investors include The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest private equity firms, with more than $75.6 billion under management; Appian Ventures, a venture capital firm that is focused on Applied Connectivity technologies and which targets early-stage investments in real-time enterprise applications and infrastructure management software companies; CB Health Ventures, which manages $150 million of P.E. funds focused on investment opportunities in healthcare services, medical IT, biotechnology and genomics; UV Partners, an early-stage P.E. investment group that provides the basis for development of early-stage entrepreneurial concepts in IT and Life Science companies; and Village Ventures, which manages a network of early-stage venture capital funds in emerging technology centers, joining Bain Capital, Highland Capital Partners, Sandler Capital Management and Janus Capital Corporation supporting this endeavor.
Bain Capital Private Equity has raised 10 global funds and made over 250 investments since their inception in 1984. The private equity activity includes leveraged buyouts and recapitalization with a diversified portfolio. One of the leading investment firms in the world, Bain has approximately $60 billion in assets under management. Their 250 professionals oversee investments in the healthcare, telecommunications/technology, financial services and consumer products industries.
Bain Capital Ventures portfolio includes the following companies intrinsic in the healthcare IT field, as well as other areas of importance in the healthcare arena: ABILITY Network, a healthcare IT company that enables physicians and hospitals to connect securely via the internet to Medicare, other payers, and each other to process claims and exchange clinical information, is the largest, web-based, secure healthcare network in the United States. It makes possible millions of transactions daily and has more than ten thousand healthcare providers as customers, including most hospitals in the country. Enclarity provides information solutions to payers and large healthcare companies by combining multiple data sources, advanced analytics, and healthcare expertise into a master data set. Humedica, a next-generation clinical informatics company, provides innovative SaaS-based business intelligence solutions for the healthcare industry. Humedica provides healthcare providers, government agencies, financial services firms and life sciences manufacturers with the IT solutions needed in today’s ever-evolving health care market. MedeAnalytics provides performance management solutions to hospitals, payers, and other large health care institutions to improve operational, financial and clinical outcomes. They perform by collecting data from divergent sources, delivering information in a prescriptive manner to allow the transparency necessary to bring accountability to the system.
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An allegation of academic misconduct – like plagiarism, forging official school documents, or cheating on a test – is a serious thing to face for college students in Hawaii. Many students rely on their opportunity to show their innocence at the academic misconduct hearing. However, these hearings are not always fair or properly conducted. Even innocent students can be found in violation of their college's code of conduct and facing academic misconduct penalties.
Utilizing your right to appeal is essential. Academic misconduct appeal advisor Joseph D. Lento can help.
Your Ability to Appeal is Critical for Preserving Your Rights
Every college in Hawaii has its own way of hearing and determining cases and allegations of academic violations. Most of them use hearing panels that are comprised of faculty, students, and administrators. While the diverse panel is meant to ensure voices are heard from all different walks of life on campus, the result is a distinct lack of experience in hearing and judging allegations of misconduct. When you have serious repercussions – up to and potentially including expulsion – on the line, that lack of experience is disturbing. Not only are the panel members more likely to be swayed by appeals to their emotions; they are also likely to be prejudicial and have an inkling of your guilt or innocence before hearing any evidence.
Luckily, most schools in Hawaii allow students who have been found in violation of the code of academic integrity to appeal the outcome of their hearing for these very reasons.
An Academic Appeals Advisor Can Help
Utilizing this right to appeal your case is not always easy or straightforward. Many schools in Hawaii have raised procedural hurdles in an attempt to let only the most worthwhile appeals travel through to the next level. The practical repercussion of these hurdles, though, is that most appeals – regardless of their merit – are not made.
An academic misconduct appeal advisor like Joseph D. Lento can help you overcome these hurdles by crafting an appeal that both satisfies the requirements of your particular school and persuades the appellate board that your case is worth a rehearing. In many cases, this means highlighting things that happened during your initial hearing that indicate the process was skewed against you in some way, preventing you from receiving a fair trial.
But achieving another hearing is not the goal of the appeal: Winning at the appellate level is. A poorly phrased appeal document can prevent this from happening by leaving out important facts that could be used to support your case. If not mentioned in the appeal, they are often not allowed to be discussed in the subsequent hearing.
Call Hawaii Academic Appeal Advisor Joseph D. Lento
If you are a college student in Hawaii and have been accused of committing an act of academic misconduct, and your hearing does not go as planned, you need an academic appeal advisor like Joseph D. Lento. A student discipline defense attorney, Joseph D. Lento can help you protect your rights by ensuring your case gets reheard by a fair panel. Contact him online or call him at (888) 535-3686.
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Regrettably, an academic misconduct finding of responsibility can derail an accused student's academic and professional goals and some students and parents do not recognize this concern until it may be too late. If a student is found responsible for academic misconduct charges, in addition to the short-term consequences such academic and disciplinary sanctions, there will be long-term consequences. Internships, graduate school opportunities, and employment opportunities can all be adversely impacted by a finding of responsibility.
For these reasons and more, it is critical to properly address such concerns as early as possible in the disciplinary process. There are times, however, that it necessary to appeal an adverse outcome, and Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm have unparalleled experience passionately fighting for the futures of his clients at universities and colleges in Hawaii and throughout the nation. He does not settle for the easiest outcome, and instead prioritizes his clients' needs and well-being. Joseph Lento is a licensed attorney in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, is admitted as an attorney pro hac vice in state and federal court if needed when representing clients nationwide, and serves as an academic misconduct advisor to students facing disciplinary cases in Hawaii and throughout the nation. Make certain your or your student's interests are protected at all stages of the academic misconduct disciplinary process, including the appeal stage - Contact National Academic Misconduct Advisor Joseph D. Lento today at 888-535-3686.
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Every single Cleveland Police officer is undergoing a unique type of training to help connect with one of the city’s most vulnerable populations.
It's called “refugee awareness” training, a 90-minute class taught by Samantha Peddicord.
“This is not a mandatory requirement, this is something Public Safety chose to do, so it’s unique for that,” Peddicord explained. “And it’s also giving our officers a lot more tools and resources to work with this vulnerable population.”
From 2000 to 2016, roughly 7,600 refugees were resettled in Cuyahoga County, many in the city of Cleveland. Known as a welcoming city, Cleveland also saw a 69 percent increase in the refugee population from 2012 to 2016.
For Peddicord, the goal is to break down barriers and build bridges.
“I hope [the officers] understand why some refugees are hesitant to interact with law enforcement and ways we can make that transition a little bit easier,” Peddicord said.
All officers have access to interpreters, Peddicord said, so that people can share their stories in their own language and so officers can obtain more information.
During the course, she gives an overview of the refugee resettlement program, cultural differences to be mindful of, struggles the community faces and combats common misconceptions.
The class is co-taught by Moti Gurung, a refugee from Bhutan who is now a U.S. citizen. Soon, Gurung will take the test to become a Cleveland Police officer himself.
“My ultimate goal is to do something better in my life,” Gurung said.
Mayele Ngemba came to Cleveland as a refugee from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2011. This summer, he became a United States citizen.
For him, learning of the CPD training was welcome news.
“I think it’s an amazing thing,” Ngemba said, adding that for refugees, there is often a fear to interact with law enforcement, stemming from past experiences.
“They can’t even call the police because first of all, there is a language barrier,” Ngemba said. “We came from a different world, a corrupt government.”
Ngemba said he hopes officers will be more proactive in the neighborhoods after undergoing training.
For CPD, the goal is to expand on what is learned within the classroom — and serve the community.
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Church readies to celebrate first Indian saint’s canonisationOctober 4th, 2008 - 4:14 pm ICT by IANS
Kottayam (Kerala), Oct 4 (IANS) Former Indian president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam and Cardinal Leonardo Sandri, head of the Congregation of Oriental Churches in the Vatican, will be the chief guests at St Mary’s Church in Kerala’s Bharanaganam this November after Sister Alphonsa is declared the first Indian saint by the Cathloic church.The canonisation of the Kerala nun will take place after a 55-year-long process at Vatican Oct 12.
It is at this church in Pala near Kottayam where the mortal remains of Sister Alphonsa are kept and several miracles have taken place.
Father Paul Thellekat, official spokesperson of the Syro Malabar Catholic Church, told IANS that since all the top Catholic Church leaders are in Vatican to take part in the canonisation, that day there will be no function at St Mary’s Church.
“Instead, from Nov 7 to Nov 9, at St Mary’s Church there will be special prayers and it would be the Cardinal from Vatican who will be leading the special mass. Kalam will deliver a special speech on Nov 9,” he said.
Sister Alphonsa becomes the first native Indian to be canonised. An Italian priest, a nun from Switzerland and a lay woman from Ecuador will also be canonised the same day.
Thellekat added that though Gonsalo Garcia of Bombay was martyred by crucifixion on Feb 5, 1597, at Nagasaki in Japan and canonised by Pope Pius IX on June 8, 1862, he is often referred to as a Portuguese saint because his father was Portuguese.
Blessed Alphonsa’s name for canonisation was cleared by Pope Benedict XVI on June 1, 2007.
Alphonsa was born in Kudamaloor, a village near Kottayam, to Joseph and Mary on Aug 19, 1910.
Having lost her mother at a very young age, she was brought up by her maternal aunt and educated by an uncle who was a priest. She faced several health problems, which eventually claimed her life on July 28, 1946.
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Balti Britain : A Provocative Journey Through Asian Britain Paperback
Sardar travels to Asian communities throughout the UK to tell the history of Asians in Britain - from the arrival of the first Indian in 1614, to the young extremists in Walthamstow mosque in 2006.
He interweaves throughout an illuminating account of his own life, describing his carefree childhood in Pakistan, his family's emigration to racist 1950s Britain, and his adulthood straddling two cultures.
Along the way he asks: are arranged marriages a good thing?
Does the term 'Asian' obscure more than it conveys? Do Vindaloo and Balti actually exist? And is multiculturalism an impossible dream?
- Format: Paperback
- Pages: 400 pages
- Publisher: Granta Books
- Publication Date: 03/08/2009
- Category: Autobiography: general
- ISBN: 9781847080820
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Health Literacy Videos from the AMA Foundation
Location: Freely Available
The AMA Foundation has created informational and instructional videos with case studies. The 2001 video, "Low health literacy: You can't tell by looking," features actual physicians and office staff interacting with real patients challenged by low health literacy. The 2007 video, "Health literacy and patient safety: Help patients understand," gives more detailed techiques and specific steps for physicians and their staff on helping patients with limited health literacy.
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While everyone’s skin care history and needs are unique, there is one ingredient that is nearly universal and finds its way into every glow-getter’s regimen recommendations.
You can probably guess what it is, but just in case you’re stumped, we’re talking about Vitamin C!
Call it the ultimate elixir, skincare superhero, skin superfood…we’ve used them all, but those are actually simplified monikers for what Vitamin C truly is.
In this article, we’re sharing some of our top Vitamin C product knowledge notes, why Vitamin C is the key in help your clients achieve optimized results from their CIT/microneedling treatments, as well as how you can encourage its use in at-home skin care regimens to ensure top results and strengthen client loyalty.
Breaking Down Vitamin C
Why is Vitamin C such a holy grail ingredient?
Well, it works for just about every main skin concern from diminishing the appearance of acne scars, fine lines, and hyperpigmentation to providing skin with smoother texture and an overall more luminous look.
As a high-potency antioxidant, Vitamin C makes results like this possible due to its ability to fight off and neutralize free radicals (i.e. UV ray damage and air pollutants), which causes a breakdown in the skin’s barrier making it more susceptible to all the aforementioned skin concerns.
In addition to its powerful antioxidant capabilities, Vitamin C also contains natural skin-healing properties due to its acidity. Thus, when it is applied topically, Vitamin C goes into “healing mode” by working to promote the synthesis of collagen and elastin, which is why Vitamin C is a staple in any daily anti-aging regimen (as well as in the esthetic treatment room, which we’ll dive into deeper in a moment).
Finally, as if we needed another reason to be Vitamin C-obsessed, beyond collagen formation, Vitamin C also increases absorption of inorganic iron and assists in the metabolism of amino acids, which in turn boosts the immune system as a whole.
The symbiotic relationship between the Vitamin C & Vitamin E molecules can be compared to how humans give back to one another and live in harmony with the earth to not only survive, but thrive! When the compounds stick together, or in the Vitamin C + Enhancement Serum’s case of being formulated together, both molecules, C & E strengthen and protect one another for the greater good of the skin against the damage caused by free radicals. After Vitamin E sacrifices an electron of its own to neutralize free radicals & protect it's beloved Vitamin C molecule, it becomes reactivated. Vitamin E strengthens Vitamin C so it can increase type 1 & 3 pro-collagen messenger RNA levels in human fibroblasts (collagen producing cells).
The Herbal Skin Solutions proprietary blend to include Vitamin E with multiple forms of Vitamin C so the can work to its full potential. The molecules in our blend work together synergistically to inhibit UV induced melanin synthesis & block Tyrosinase.
Beyond the molecules function in collagen formation, C also increases absorption or inorganic iron and assists in the metabolism of amino acids which in turn boost the immune system. Another prime example of why taking Liposomal Vitamin C internally should not be included in every beauty, wellness regimen.
One form of Vitamin C is better than none, however, most OTC & common serums use only L- Ascorbic Acid. Our tripod blend takes the free-radical fighting trophy & you can consider that “trophy” to be your even-toned, brightened skin. Our blend consists of 2-O-Ethyl-Ascorbic Acid, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (MAP), and Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate. The ultimate powerhouse complex!
With mention of Vitamin E, it is important to note where it is derived from and how to ensure the non-comedogenic factor. The non GMO and organic, bulk ingredient, Safflower, that the Vitamin E is derived from undergoes a distillation process that purifies the extracted ingredient (in this case that is D-Alpha-Tocopherol). This purification process is an extra precautionary measure to remove allergens associated with the plant.
Kojic Acid found within the Shiitake mushroom extract further boasts the antioxidant profile alongside the skin brightening & calming effects of licorice extract.
We wrap this synergistic blend up in green, glass bottles (within a kraft brown box) in order to further protect the blend from oxidation caused by light and heat. Supportive antioxidants like Ferulic Acid are a necessary component of the formula for ultimate antioxidant stability!
How We Use Vitamin C Inside the Treatment Room
Whenever performing CIT/micro-needling or nano-infusion on a client, you’ll need a glide to achieve smooth passes over the skin, and while there are a variety of options to choose from, as you might guess, our Vitamin C+ Enhancement Serum is one of our favorites to use in the treatment room since it addresses a large scope of the skincare concerns our CIT and nano-infusion clients are looking to address.
- One critical note on choosing a glide is that a patch test (and risk assessment if working past the Stratum Corneum with needling) should be performed when using anything other than sterile saline for glide.
Furthermore, the CIT Pen's special delivery system of nano-infusion works to boost results by opening the pathways and micro-channels of the skin, which in turn, infuses the cosmeceuticals and increases the availability of skin-lightening actives, creating a process that normalizes keratinocyte function and cell-signaling with melanocytes to achieve an optimal outcome of even tone, texture, and overall vibrancy.
Then, after you’ve fully finished passing over the treatment area with the CIT Pen, we recommend applying the Herbal Skin Solutions Herbal Sheet Mask and utilizing the My Skin Buddy on the red or blue LED light product-infusion mode.
Once the serum from the mask has absorbed into the skin or the preset 5 minutes with the My Skin Buddy has completed, we apply finishing serum based on the client’s concerns and long-term skin goals, such as the Vitamin C+ Enhancement Serum cocktailed with EGF Cellular Activator for maximum nourishment locked in with Neroli Repair Oil.
So, whether you utilize the Vitamin C+ Enhancement Serum as the primary glide for the CIT Pen, or as the finishing serum on your facial treatment, there’s plenty of opportunity to tie in the spectacular benefits of Vitamin C into your work inside the treatment room.
Incorporating Vitamin C into Home Care Regimens
First, before we ever enter the treatment room, when working with a client who’s seeking CIT/micro-needing + nano-infusion, our Vitamin C+ Enhancement Serum can be used everyday, A.M. and P.M., as a fantastic way to prep the skin prior to treatment since the Vitamin C+ Serum contains tyrosinase inhibitors, high-molecular Hyaluronic Acid and Ferulic Acid.
(It also contains Vitamins E, Licorice Root & Mushroom Extract for added brightening effects)!
However, if this is your first treatment or CIT treatment series with a particular client, we also love to weave the Vitamin C+ Enhancement Serum directly into the treatment package by including post-care as part of the treatment or treatment series.
By bundling the post-care products and treatment together, you’re eliminating any guesswork regarding the outcomes since you don't have to worry about what the client is applying on their own and whether that jives with the treatment.
Plus, you are putting the ball back in your client’s court as far as results are concerned as it will be up to them to use the tools and education you’ve provided to reach the skin goals you set together.
In my experience, I’ve found that the majority of clients feel like they are getting more tangible takeaways as well as value when product is included.
For example, you, the spa professional, purchases at a wholesale discount and your client sees the value of that product doubled beyond what you pay, at retail value, $50 - $60, not to mention, it lasts them a month or so, which also adds to the client experience of feeling supported in their skincare journey beyond the initial few days after the treatment.
Plus, the Vitamin C+ Serum is notoriously a fan favorite with a high retail reorder rate, further showcasing the benefit of including post-care with a treatment series as a prime opportunity to introduce the products for future retail when the client is motivated to maintain results between treatments.
To really pack on the perks, we also love packing up and sealing the package of the client’s post-treatment Herbal Sheet Mask to take home and put in the fridge (for an extra soothing effect) as they can use the roughly 1 ounce of remaining serum and cocktail it with the Vitamin C+ Enhancement Serum for boosted brightening and rejuvenation post-treatment.
And just in case you thought we only incorporate the powers of Vitamin C topically, think again!
Part of that post-treatment care package includes everything the client will need to boost the results and speed healing on a cellular level, which include a shot of the Liposomal C and a serving of our Glucosamine Sulphate.
Giving a dose or few of the internal support product to enhance their overall regimen shows how much you care and truly is one of the best ways to educate on the importance of internal health and how that synergistically works with CIT, which only further showcases your level of expertise and expands your opportunity for retail sales.
Footnote - Vitamin C Serum Considerations
- Although our Vitamin C+ Enhancement Serum yields incredible results in diminishing visibility of hyperpigmentation, however if if the underlying issue for pigmentation is not addressed such as UV damage, pregnancy or other hormone/ endocrine disruption, medications (diuretics, antidepressants, antibiotics, pain killers, NSAID's etc), the corrective serum will only be a bandaid, temporary fix.
- When choosing a glide for CIT/micro-needling or nano-infusion that is anything other than sterile saline, a risk assessment and patch test should be performed beforehand.
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You’ve been asked to write an essay. Even though you’re not capable of defining it in any way, the word essay is commonly used to describe only the one form of writing. The definition of “essay” is unclear, however it is a common occurrence with many other forms of writing, including an essay, pamphlet an article or a short story. There are some tips that will help you start. Listed below are some tips to assist you in writing your essay:
It is essential to pick an essay topic. This will help you decide if it will succeed. It is generally recommended to steer clear of general topics as this may be dangerous. You should choose a specific topic related to your area that you are studying. Then you can concentrate on both the strengths as well as the flaws of your topic, without being constrained to your own particular area of study. Below are some tips to help you choose the right essay topic.
Select a subject that has your interest. You’ll be more motivated when you write your essay. it will also make people interested in reading and professors. The topic of an essay is what most people will go through and. Make sure you choose a subject that is too inconvenient or dull it is an easy approach to turn the reader off. You should also avoid a topic that is challenging to study as that can lead to an uninteresting essay.
Choose a subject you find engaging and interesting, but difficult to talk about. Make sure you don’t choose a topic that can revive an older notion. You must be unique and not repeat any ideas or arguments that were presented by academics prior to yours. The essay you write should express your own unique perspective and ideas instead of simply repeating the same theories.
When writing your essay You must be cautious not to introduce transitions between body paragraphs. You should use the same format for the body paragraphs that you use for your essay: The introduction should present the theme as well as the thesis statement. In the next paragraph, you’ll have two to three paragraphs in each paragraph to talk about. The body paragraphs should be placed according to importance. They should close with your main idea. Be aware that every body paragraph is an assertion and you’ll need to provide proof in support of the assertion.
Every body paragraph must be arranged to address the main point. The paragraph should be composed of about 4-5 sentences. Every paragraph must include a topic phrase. The subject sentence informs the reader what’s in the paragraph. The accompanying sentences offer information to support the central concept. Every paragraph needs evidence, so make sure payforessay you’re aware of the requirement. Make use of examples and data to back up your assertion. Always use examples whenever possible. After that, you’ll be research paper help able to proceed to the next portion of your research.
Your essay’s body should be the main section of your essay. It must include several body paragraphs. Each should support an idea or subject. Every body paragraph has to begin with a topic statement, and then develop an argument. The paragraph should link to previous paragraphs in a structured and logical way. You must ensure your paragraphs flow seamlessly from one to the next or else it will not perform as well. When you’ve got the basic structure, you’re now ready to go on to the next step.
In all of the parts of your essay, the concluding paragraph is probably the hardest to compose. One of the temptations is to go through the last few paragraphs and hope your teacher can be replete by the end. Conclusions should be simple and succinct. It shouldn’t contradict or suggest new thoughts. These are some suggestions for writing a conclusion. When you’ve completed your writing, you should read the following tips:
The very first thing to do when writing an end is to reiterate the thesis. It is crucial to make sure that the thesis you write is exactly the same as what was stated in the beginning. If you require a change in the language, make use of a synonym. In the next step, you should reaffirm your assertion. Your conclusion should mirror what you have said in your body. Even though it is more entertaining, it should still convey its primary meaning.
Good conclusion should follow an excellent introduction. Make use https://us.payforessay.net/paper-writing-service of transition words to connect ideas between paragraphs. Though it can seem redundant to repeat the intro of an essay but it’s not necessary and does not serve what the essay is supposed to do. Even though a conclusion might not be so important as the body of your essay, it acts as a recap of the argument.
Effective introductions will inform your audience what your essay is about, what your stance or opinion is as well as what you believe people will think about your essay. Your introduction will be the first impression your essay leaves impressions on the reader. Here are some guidelines for writing an effective introduction. Begin by defining what an introduction should be. You can then create three templates to assist with an essay’s introduction. When you are aware of the purpose of each then you can begin writing your essay.
The introduction usually comprises 8 to 9% of your overall paper. It is vital to make the introduction as short as you can. The introduction must be clear and succinct. It can also serve as a directive to follow for the rest of your document. Then, you must be sure to include your thesis declaration. It is the answer to your main question. Make sure that the thesis statement you write is clearly stated and is consistent with the remainder of your text’s body.
The introduction starts with an opening line which outlines the goal of your essay and then is shortened to the topic. The thesis statement informs your reader what you intend to convey within the body of your paper. Include eye-catching material such as statistics or quotes that will encourage the reader to follow along with your instructions. Your thesis is supported by the bodies of your paragraphs. They offer an argument, evidence and proof to back up your view. The length of your introduction will be determined by how many ideas you’d like to talk about. However, you can always use the one-point-one-paragraph rule to minimize length.
For organizing your essay it is necessary creating a thesis statement. This thesis statement may already be developed or it can be a single sentence that is the summary of your primary argument. It is crucial in guiding your writing, and making it clear to the reader what your essay is about. While you’ll remove your thesis statement from the final essay draft however, you must start writing it in the early stages of the writing process. The thesis statement must be viewed as a skeleton. It will not appear in the final draft.
After that, you must organize your thoughts by choosing the best structure to display them. The goal of a good structure is to make sure that your ideas are put in the best order possible. It can be difficult as the ideas come in the sequence that you have chosen. After you’ve selected the format and the structure for your essay, then you’ll need to decide which information should be included and the place it should be. This process can be simplified through books like Organizing Essay writing for Academic Purposes.
An essay’s organization is crucial to ensure you get a good grade on it. The format of your essay is dependent on the type of paper you’re writing on however the vast majority of expository writing uses a 3-part structure that includes the introduction and body. Body paragraphs could differ in length but they’re all the same in terms of information as well as purpose. You’ll need to consider the opposing side’s arguments, and be certain that every one of them is a solid argument.
While proofreading your essays, you have to be mindful and slow your focus on the things taking place. You’ll be able to spot inconsistencies and flaws between what you intended and what you actually did. Reviewing your essay in public can help you spot mistakes and rectify them. You should read each paragraph at least two times to ensure there are no mistakes or inconsistencies. Below are some guidelines for editing essays. These suggestions will assist you to compose flawless essays.
First, follow the instructions given in the task. Guidelines for formatting and what kind of materials to be used and which subjects you’ll need to know will be provided with the assignment. The paper won’t meet set standards if any of the requirements aren’t followed. Professional editors such as Pro Essay Writing can help in avoiding these mistakes. They will make sure that the text is aligned with the requirements. Technology has made it possible to proofread the essays. The students don’t need to employ an editor who is professional to check their work. Furthermore, they can perform this at any moment.
While editing, you should be aware of references in text and numbers. Be sure that these are not outdated. Following editing, spell check and grammar checks will spot some mistakes. Do not be fooled by this. You can also use other strategies to ensure your essay is checked. There is the Internet is a great resource to get specific information regarding grammar guidelines. This can help you find any grammar mistakes in your essay.
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CARNOSINE RELATED TO SPRINT PERFORMANCE
Suzuki, Y., Ito, O., Mukai, N., Takahashi, H., & Takamatsu, K. (2001). Skeletal muscle carnosine levelmaycontribute to superior performance during high intensity exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 33(5), Supplement abstract 896.
"Dipeptide carnosine . . . has been shown to contribute significantly to physio-chemical buffering in skeletal muscle, which maintains acid-base balance when large quantities of hydrogen ions are produced is association with lactic acid accumulation during high intensity exercise" (p. S159). This study examined the relationships among skeletal muscle carnosine level, fiber type distribution, and high intensity exercise (30-s cycle sprinting).
Carnosine level and type II fiber composition were significantly related. Both factors were significantly related to cycling sprint performance, particularly in the last half of the sprint.
Implication. Carnosine is an important determinant of sprint exercise.
Return to Table of Contents for this issue.
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The fundamental biological and clinical importance of integral membrane proteins prompted the development of a yeast-based system for the high-throughput identification of protein-protein interactions (PPI) for full-length transmembrane proteins. To this end, our lab developed the split-ubiquitin based Membrane Yeast Two-Hybrid (MYTH) system. This technology allows for the sensitive detection of transient and stable protein interactions using Saccharomyces cerevisiae as a host organism. MYTH takes advantage of the observation that ubiquitin can be separated into two stable moieties: the C-terminal half of yeast ubiquitin (Cub) and the N-terminal half of the ubiquitin moiety (Nub). In MYTH, this principle is adapted for use as a 'sensor' of protein-protein interactions. Briefly, the integral membrane bait protein is fused to Cub which is linked to an artificial transcription factor. Prey proteins, either in individual or library format, are fused to the Nub moiety. Protein interaction between the bait and prey leads to reconstitution of the ubiquitin moieties, forming a full-length 'pseudo-ubiquitin' molecule. This molecule is in turn recognized by cytosolic deubiquitinating enzymes, resulting in cleavage of the transcription factor, and subsequent induction of reporter gene expression. The system is highly adaptable, and is particularly well-suited to high-throughput screening. It has been successfully employed to investigate interactions using integral membrane proteins from both yeast and other organisms.
23 Related JoVE Articles!
High Throughput Screening of Fungal Endoglucanase Activity in Escherichia coli
Institutions: California Institute of Technology, California Institute of Technology.
Cellulase enzymes (endoglucanases, cellobiohydrolases, and β-glucosidases) hydrolyze cellulose into component sugars, which in turn can be converted into fuel alcohols1
. The potential for enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulosic biomass to provide renewable energy has intensified efforts to engineer cellulases for economical fuel production2
. Of particular interest are fungal cellulases3-8
, which are already being used industrially for foods and textiles processing.
Identifying active variants among a library of mutant cellulases is critical to the engineering process; active mutants can be further tested for improved properties and/or subjected to additional mutagenesis. Efficient engineering of fungal cellulases has been hampered by a lack of genetic tools for native organisms and by difficulties in expressing the enzymes in heterologous hosts. Recently, Morikawa and coworkers developed a method for expressing in E. coli
the catalytic domains of endoglucanases from H. jecorina3,9
, an important industrial fungus with the capacity to secrete cellulases in large quantities. Functional E. coli
expression has also been reported for cellulases from other fungi, including Macrophomina phaseolina10
and Phanerochaete chrysosporium11-12
We present a method for high throughput screening of fungal endoglucanase activity in E. coli
. (Fig 1
) This method uses the common microbial dye Congo Red (CR) to visualize enzymatic degradation of carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) by cells growing on solid medium. The activity assay requires inexpensive reagents, minimal manipulation, and gives unambiguous results as zones of degradation (“halos”) at the colony site. Although a quantitative measure of enzymatic activity cannot be determined by this method, we have found that halo size correlates with total enzymatic activity in the cell. Further characterization of individual positive clones will determine , relative protein fitness.
Traditional bacterial whole cell CMC/CR activity assays13
involve pouring agar containing CMC onto colonies, which is subject to cross-contamination, or incubating cultures in CMC agar wells, which is less amenable to large-scale experimentation. Here we report an improved protocol that modifies existing wash methods14
for cellulase activity: cells grown on CMC agar plates are removed prior to CR staining. Our protocol significantly reduces cross-contamination and is highly scalable, allowing the rapid screening of thousands of clones. In addition to H. jecorina enzymes
, we have expressed and screened endoglucanase variants from the Thermoascus aurantiacus
and Penicillium decumbens
(shown in Figure 2
), suggesting that this protocol is applicable to enzymes from a range of organisms.
Molecular Biology, Issue 54, cellulase, endoglucanase, CMC, Congo Red
Generation of Stable Human Cell Lines with Tetracycline-inducible (Tet-on) shRNA or cDNA Expression
Institutions: UCL Cancer Institute, Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research .
A major approach in the field of mammalian cell biology is the manipulation of the expression of genes of interest in selected cell lines, with the aim to reveal one or several of the gene's function(s) using transient/stable overexpression or knockdown of the gene of interest. Unfortunately, for various cell biological investigations this approach is unsuitable when manipulations of gene expression result in cell growth/proliferation defects or unwanted cell differentiation. Therefore, researchers have adapted the Tetracycline repressor protein (TetR), taken from the E. coli
tetracycline resistance operon1
, to generate very efficient and tight regulatory systems to express cDNAs in mammalian cells2,3
. In short, TetR has been modified to either (1) block initiation of transcription by binding to the Tet-operator (TO) in the promoter region upon addition of tetracycline (termed Tet-off system) or (2) bind to the TO in the absence of tetracycline (termed Tet-on system) (Figure 1
). Given the inconvenience that the Tet-off system requires the continuous presence of tetracycline (which has a half-life of about 24 hr in tissue cell culture medium) the Tet-on system has been more extensively optimized, resulting in the development of very tight and efficient vector systems for cDNA expression as used here.
Shortly after establishment of RNA interference (RNAi) for gene knockdown in mammalian cells4
, vectors expressing short-hairpin RNAs (shRNAs) were described that function very similar to siRNAs5-11
. However, these shRNA-mediated knockdown approaches have the same limitation as conventional knockout strategies, since stable depletion is not feasible when gene targets are essential for cellular survival. To overcome this limitation, van de Wetering et al
modified the shRNA expression vector pSUPER5
by inserting a TO in the promoter region, which enabled them to generate stable cell lines with tetracycline-inducible depletion of their target genes of interest.
Here, we describe a method to efficiently generate stable human Tet-on cell lines that reliably drive either inducible overexpression or depletion of the gene of interest. Using this method, we have successfully generated Tet-on cell lines which significantly facilitated the analysis of the MST/hMOB/NDR cascade in centrosome13,14
and apoptosis signaling15,16
. In this report, we describe our vectors of choice, in addition to describing the two consecutive manipulation steps that are necessary to efficiently generate human Tet-on cell lines (Figure 2
). Moreover, besides outlining a protocol for the generation of human Tet-on cell lines, we will discuss critical aspects regarding the technical procedures and the characterization of Tet-on cells.
Genetics, Issue 73, Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering, Cellular Biology, Molecular Biology, Anatomy, Physiology, Mammals, Proteins, Cell Biology, tissue culture, stable manipulation of cell lines, tetracycline regulated expression, cDNA, DNA, shRNA, vectors, tetracycline, promoter, expression, genes, clones, cell culture
TransFLP — A Method to Genetically Modify Vibrio cholerae Based on Natural Transformation and FLP-recombination
Institutions: Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL).
Several methods are available to manipulate bacterial chromosomes1-3
. Most of these protocols rely on the insertion of conditionally replicative plasmids (e.g.
harboring pir-dependent or temperature-sensitive replicons1,2
). These plasmids are integrated into bacterial chromosomes based on homology-mediated recombination. Such insertional mutants are often directly used in experimental settings. Alternatively, selection for plasmid excision followed by its loss can be performed, which for Gram-negative bacteria often relies on the counter-selectable levan sucrase enzyme encoded by the sacB
. The excision can either restore the pre-insertion genotype or result in an exchange between the chromosome and the plasmid-encoded copy of the modified gene. A disadvantage of this technique is that it is time-consuming. The plasmid has to be cloned first; it requires horizontal transfer into V. cholerae
(most notably by mating with an E. coli
donor strain) or artificial transformation of the latter; and the excision of the plasmid is random and can either restore the initial genotype or create the desired modification if no positive selection is exerted. Here, we present a method for rapid manipulation of the V. cholerae
). This TransFLP method is based on the recently discovered chitin-mediated induction of natural competence in this organism6
and other representative of the genus Vibrio
such as V. fischeri7
. Natural competence allows the uptake of free DNA including PCR-generated DNA fragments. Once taken up, the DNA recombines with the chromosome given the presence of a minimum of 250-500 bp of flanking homologous region8
. Including a selection marker in-between these flanking regions allows easy detection of frequently occurring transformants.
This method can be used for different genetic manipulations of V. cholerae
and potentially also other naturally competent bacteria. We provide three novel examples on what can be accomplished by this method in addition to our previously published study on single gene deletions and the addition of affinity-tag sequences5
. Several optimization steps concerning the initial protocol of chitin-induced natural transformation6
are incorporated in this TransFLP protocol. These include among others the replacement of crab shell fragments by commercially available chitin flakes8
, the donation of PCR-derived DNA as transforming material9
, and the addition of FLP-recombination target sites (FRT)5
. FRT sites allow site-directed excision of the selection marker mediated by the Flp recombinase10
Immunology, Issue 68, Microbiology, Genetics, natural transformation, DNA uptake, FLP recombination, chitin, Vibrio cholerae
Site-specific Bacterial Chromosome Engineering: ΦC31 Integrase Mediated Cassette Exchange (IMCE)
Institutions: University of Waterloo.
The bacterial chromosome may be used to stably maintain foreign DNA in the mega-base range1
. Integration into the chromosome circumvents issues such as plasmid replication, plasmid stability, plasmid incompatibility, and plasmid copy number variance. This method uses the site-specific integrase from the Streptomyces
phage (Φ) C312,3
. The ΦC31 integrase catalyzes a direct recombination between two specific DNA sites: attB
(34 and 39 bp, respectively)4
. This recombination is stable and does not revert5
. A "landing pad" (LP) sequence consisting of a spectinomycin- resistance gene, aadA
), and the E. coli
ß-glucuronidase gene (uidA
) flanked by attP
sites has been integrated into the chromosomes of Sinorhizobium meliloti, Ochrobactrum anthropi,
and Agrobacterium tumefaciens
in an intergenic region, the ampC
locus, and the tetA
locus, respectively. S. meliloti
is used in this protocol. Mobilizable donor vectors containing attB
sites flanking a stuffer red fluorescent protein (rfp)
gene and an antibiotic resistance gene have also been constructed. In this example the gentamicin resistant plasmid pJH110 is used. The rfp
may be replaced with a desired construct using Sph
I and Pst
I. Alternatively a synthetic construct flanked by attB
sites may be sub-cloned into a mobilizable vector such as pK19mob7
. The expression of the ΦC31 integrase gene (cloned from pHS628
) is driven by the lac
promoter, on a mobilizable broad host range plasmid pRK78139
A tetraparental mating protocol is used to transfer the donor cassette into the LP strain thereby replacing the markers in the LP sequence with the donor cassette. These cells are trans-integrants. Trans-integrants are formed with a typical efficiency of 0.5%. Trans-integrants are typically found within the first 500-1,000 colonies screened by antibiotic sensitivity or blue-white screening using 5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-beta-D-glucuronic acid (X-gluc). This protocol contains the mating and selection procedures for creating and isolating trans-integrants.
Bioengineering, Issue 61, ΦC31 Integrase, Rhizobiales, Chromosome Engineering, bacterial genetics
Substrate Generation for Endonucleases of CRISPR/Cas Systems
Institutions: Max-Planck-Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology.
The interaction of viruses and their prokaryotic hosts shaped the evolution of bacterial and archaeal life. Prokaryotes developed several strategies to evade viral attacks that include restriction modification, abortive infection and CRISPR/Cas systems. These adaptive immune systems found in many Bacteria and most Archaea consist of clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) sequences and a number of CRISPR associated (Cas) genes (Fig. 1) 1-3
. Different sets of Cas proteins and repeats define at least three major divergent types of CRISPR/Cas systems 4
. The universal proteins Cas1 and Cas2 are proposed to be involved in the uptake of viral DNA that will generate a new spacer element between two repeats at the 5' terminus of an extending CRISPR cluster 5
. The entire cluster is transcribed into a precursor-crRNA containing all spacer and repeat sequences and is subsequently processed by an enzyme of the diverse Cas6 family into smaller crRNAs 6-8
. These crRNAs consist of the spacer sequence flanked by a 5' terminal (8 nucleotides) and a 3' terminal tag derived from the repeat sequence 9
. A repeated infection of the virus can now be blocked as the new crRNA will be directed by a Cas protein complex (Cascade) to the viral DNA and identify it as such via base complementarity10
. Finally, for CRISPR/Cas type 1 systems, the nuclease Cas3 will destroy the detected invader DNA 11,12
These processes define CRISPR/Cas as an adaptive immune system of prokaryotes and opened a fascinating research field for the study of the involved Cas proteins. The function of many Cas proteins is still elusive and the causes for the apparent diversity of the CRISPR/Cas systems remain to be illuminated. Potential activities of most Cas proteins were predicted via detailed computational analyses. A major fraction of Cas proteins are either shown or proposed to function as endonucleases 4
Here, we present methods to generate crRNAs and precursor-cRNAs for the study of Cas endoribonucleases. Different endonuclease assays require either short repeat sequences that can directly be synthesized as RNA oligonucleotides or longer crRNA and pre-crRNA sequences that are generated via in vitro
T7 RNA polymerase run-off transcription. This methodology allows the incorporation of radioactive nucleotides for the generation of internally labeled endonuclease substrates and the creation of synthetic or mutant crRNAs. Cas6 endonuclease activity is utilized to mature pre-crRNAs into crRNAs with 5'-hydroxyl and a 2',3'-cyclic phosphate termini.
Molecular biology, Issue 67, CRISPR/Cas, endonuclease, in vitro transcription, crRNA, Cas6
An Allelotyping PCR for Identifying Salmonella enterica serovars Enteritidis, Hadar, Heidelberg, and Typhimurium
Institutions: University of Georgia.
Current commercial PCRs tests for identifying Salmonella
target genes unique to this genus. However, there are two species, six subspecies, and over 2,500 different Salmonella
serovars, and not all are equal in their significance to public health. For example, finding S. enterica subspecies
IIIa Arizona on a table egg layer farm is insignificant compared to the isolation of S. enterica
subspecies I serovar Enteritidis, the leading cause of salmonellosis linked to the consumption of table eggs. Serovars are identified based on antigenic differences in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)(O antigen) and flagellin (H1 and H2 antigens). These antigenic differences are the outward appearance of the diversity of genes and gene alleles associated with this phenotype.
We have developed an allelotyping, multiplex PCR that keys on genetic differences between four major S. enterica
subspecies I serovars found in poultry and associated with significant human disease in the US. The PCR primer pairs were targeted to key genes or sequences unique to a specific Salmonella
serovar and designed to produce an amplicon with size specific for that gene or allele. Salmonella
serovar is assigned to an isolate based on the combination of PCR test results for specific LPS and flagellin gene alleles. The multiplex PCRs described in this article are specific for the detection of S. enterica
subspecies I serovars Enteritidis, Hadar, Heidelberg, and Typhimurium.
Here we demonstrate how to use the multiplex PCRs to identify serovar for a Salmonella
Immunology, Issue 53, PCR, Salmonella, multiplex, Serovar
Mapping Bacterial Functional Networks and Pathways in Escherichia Coli using Synthetic Genetic Arrays
Institutions: University of Toronto, University of Toronto, University of Regina.
Phenotypes are determined by a complex series of physical (e.g.
protein-protein) and functional (e.g.
gene-gene or genetic) interactions (GI)1
. While physical interactions can indicate which bacterial proteins are associated as complexes, they do not necessarily reveal pathway-level functional relationships1. GI screens, in which the growth of double mutants bearing two deleted or inactivated genes is measured and compared to the corresponding single mutants, can illuminate epistatic dependencies between loci and hence provide a means to query and discover novel functional relationships2
. Large-scale GI maps have been reported for eukaryotic organisms like yeast3-7
, but GI information remains sparse for prokaryotes8
, which hinders the functional annotation of bacterial genomes. To this end, we and others have developed high-throughput quantitative bacterial GI screening methods9, 10
Here, we present the key steps required to perform quantitative E. coli
Synthetic Genetic Array (eSGA) screening procedure on a genome-scale9
, using natural bacterial conjugation and homologous recombination to systemically generate and measure the fitness of large numbers of double mutants in a colony array format.
Briefly, a robot is used to transfer, through conjugation, chloramphenicol (Cm) - marked mutant alleles from engineered Hfr (High frequency of recombination) 'donor strains' into an ordered array of kanamycin (Kan) - marked F- recipient strains. Typically, we use loss-of-function single mutants bearing non-essential gene deletions (e.g.
the 'Keio' collection11
) and essential gene hypomorphic mutations (i.e.
alleles conferring reduced protein expression, stability, or activity9, 12, 13
) to query the functional associations of non-essential and essential genes, respectively. After conjugation and ensuing genetic exchange mediated by homologous recombination, the resulting double mutants are selected on solid medium containing both antibiotics. After outgrowth, the plates are digitally imaged and colony sizes are quantitatively scored using an in-house automated image processing system14
. GIs are revealed when the growth rate of a double mutant is either significantly better or worse than expected9
. Aggravating (or negative) GIs often result between loss-of-function mutations in pairs of genes from compensatory pathways that impinge on the same essential process2
. Here, the loss of a single gene is buffered, such that either single mutant is viable. However, the loss of both pathways is deleterious and results in synthetic lethality or sickness (i.e.
slow growth). Conversely, alleviating (or positive) interactions can occur between genes in the same pathway or protein complex2
as the deletion of either gene alone is often sufficient to perturb the normal function of the pathway or complex such that additional perturbations do not reduce activity, and hence growth, further. Overall, systematically identifying and analyzing GI networks can provide unbiased, global maps of the functional relationships between large numbers of genes, from which pathway-level information missed by other approaches can be inferred9
Genetics, Issue 69, Molecular Biology, Medicine, Biochemistry, Microbiology, Aggravating, alleviating, conjugation, double mutant, Escherichia coli, genetic interaction, Gram-negative bacteria, homologous recombination, network, synthetic lethality or sickness, suppression
Methodology for the Efficient Generation of Fluorescently Tagged Vaccinia Virus Proteins
Institutions: University of Sydney, Center for Vascular Research, University of Melbourne.
Tagging of viral proteins with fluorescent proteins has proven an indispensable approach to furthering our understanding of virus-host interactions. Vaccinia virus (VACV), the live vaccine used in the eradication of smallpox, is particularly amenable to fluorescent live-cell microscopy owing to its large virion size and the ease with which it can be engineered at the genome level. We report here an optimized protocol for generating recombinant viruses. The minimal requirements for targeted homologous recombination during vaccinia replication were determined, which allows the simplification of construct generation. This enabled the alliance of transient dominant selection (TDS) with a fluorescent reporter and metabolic selection to provide a rapid and modular approach to fluorescently label viral proteins. By streamlining the generation of fluorescent recombinant viruses, we are able to facilitate downstream applications such as advanced imaging analysis of many aspects of the virus-host interplay that occurs during virus replication.
Virology, Issue 83, vaccinia virus, fluorescent protein, recombinant virus, transient dominant selection, imaging, subcellular transport
Identification of Protein Complexes in Escherichia coli using Sequential Peptide Affinity Purification in Combination with Tandem Mass Spectrometry
Institutions: University of Toronto, University of Regina, University of Toronto.
Since most cellular processes are mediated by macromolecular assemblies, the systematic identification of protein-protein interactions (PPI) and the identification of the subunit composition of multi-protein complexes can provide insight into gene function and enhance understanding of biological systems1, 2
. Physical interactions can be mapped with high confidence vialarge-scale isolation and characterization of endogenous protein complexes under near-physiological conditions based on affinity purification of chromosomally-tagged proteins in combination with mass spectrometry (APMS). This approach has been successfully applied in evolutionarily diverse organisms, including yeast, flies, worms, mammalian cells, and bacteria1-6
. In particular, we have generated a carboxy-terminal Sequential Peptide Affinity (SPA) dual tagging system for affinity-purifying native protein complexes from cultured gram-negative Escherichia coli
, using genetically-tractable host laboratory strains that are well-suited for genome-wide investigations of the fundamental biology and conserved processes of prokaryotes1, 2, 7
. Our SPA-tagging system is analogous to the tandem affinity purification method developed originally for yeast8, 9
, and consists of a calmodulin binding peptide (CBP) followed by the cleavage site for the highly specific tobacco etch virus
(TEV) protease and three copies of the FLAG epitope (3X FLAG), allowing for two consecutive rounds of affinity enrichment. After cassette amplification, sequence-specific linear PCR products encoding the SPA-tag and a selectable marker are integrated and expressed in frame as carboxy-terminal fusions in a DY330 background that is induced to transiently express a highly efficient heterologous bacteriophage lambda recombination system10
. Subsequent dual-step purification using calmodulin and anti-FLAG affinity beads enables the highly selective and efficient recovery of even low abundance protein complexes from large-scale cultures. Tandem mass spectrometry is then used to identify the stably co-purifying proteins with high sensitivity (low nanogram detection limits).
Here, we describe detailed step-by-step procedures we commonly use for systematic protein tagging, purification and mass spectrometry-based analysis of soluble protein complexes from E. coli
, which can be scaled up and potentially tailored to other bacterial species, including certain opportunistic pathogens that are amenable to recombineering. The resulting physical interactions can often reveal interesting unexpected components and connections suggesting novel mechanistic links. Integration of the PPI data with alternate molecular association data such as genetic (gene-gene) interactions and genomic-context (GC) predictions can facilitate elucidation of the global molecular organization of multi-protein complexes within biological pathways. The networks generated for E. coli
can be used to gain insight into the functional architecture of orthologous gene products in other microbes for which functional annotations are currently lacking.
Genetics, Issue 69, Molecular Biology, Medicine, Biochemistry, Microbiology, affinity purification, Escherichia coli, gram-negative bacteria, cytosolic proteins, SPA-tagging, homologous recombination, mass spectrometry, protein interaction, protein complex
Next-generation Sequencing of 16S Ribosomal RNA Gene Amplicons
Institutions: National Research Council Canada.
One of the major questions in microbial ecology is “who is there?” This question can be answered using various tools, but one of the long-lasting gold standards is to sequence 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene amplicons generated by domain-level PCR reactions amplifying from genomic DNA. Traditionally, this was performed by cloning and Sanger (capillary electrophoresis) sequencing of PCR amplicons. The advent of next-generation sequencing has tremendously simplified and increased the sequencing depth for 16S rRNA gene sequencing. The introduction of benchtop sequencers now allows small labs to perform their 16S rRNA sequencing in-house in a matter of days. Here, an approach for 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing using a benchtop next-generation sequencer is detailed. The environmental DNA is first amplified by PCR using primers that contain sequencing adapters and barcodes. They are then coupled to spherical particles via emulsion PCR. The particles are loaded on a disposable chip and the chip is inserted in the sequencing machine after which the sequencing is performed. The sequences are retrieved in fastq format, filtered and the barcodes are used to establish the sample membership of the reads. The filtered and binned reads are then further analyzed using publically available tools. An example analysis where the reads were classified with a taxonomy-finding algorithm within the software package Mothur is given. The method outlined here is simple, inexpensive and straightforward and should help smaller labs to take advantage from the ongoing genomic revolution.
Molecular Biology, Issue 90, Metagenomics, Bacteria, 16S ribosomal RNA gene, Amplicon sequencing, Next-generation sequencing, benchtop sequencers
Orthogonal Protein Purification Facilitated by a Small Bispecific Affinity Tag
Institutions: Royal Institute of Technology.
Due to the high costs associated with purification of recombinant proteins the protocols need to be rationalized. For high-throughput efforts there is a demand for general methods that do not require target protein specific optimization1
. To achieve this, purification tags that genetically can be fused to the gene of interest are commonly used2
. The most widely used affinity handle is the hexa-histidine tag, which is suitable for purification under both native and denaturing conditions3
. The metabolic burden for producing the tag is low, but it does not provide as high specificity as competing affinity chromatography based strategies1,2
Here, a bispecific purification tag with two different binding sites on a 46 amino acid, small protein domain has been developed. The albumin-binding domain is derived from Streptococcal protein G and has a strong inherent affinity to human serum albumin (HSA). Eleven surface-exposed amino acids, not involved in albumin-binding4
, were genetically randomized to produce a combinatorial library. The protein library with the novel randomly arranged binding surface (Figure 1) was expressed on phage particles to facilitate selection of binders by phage display technology. Through several rounds of biopanning against a dimeric Z-domain derived from Staphylococcal protein A5
, a small, bispecific molecule with affinity for both HSA and the novel target was identified6
The novel protein domain, referred to as ABDz1, was evaluated as a purification tag for a selection of target proteins with different molecular weight, solubility and isoelectric point. Three target proteins were expressed in Escherishia coli
with the novel tag fused to their N-termini and thereafter affinity purified. Initial purification on either a column with immobilized HSA or Z-domain resulted in relatively pure products. Two-step affinity purification with the bispecific tag resulted in substantial improvement of protein purity. Chromatographic media with the Z-domain immobilized, for example MabSelect SuRe, are readily available for purification of antibodies and HSA can easily be chemically coupled to media to provide the second matrix.
This method is especially advantageous when there is a high demand on purity of the recovered target protein. The bifunctionality of the tag allows two different chromatographic steps to be used while the metabolic burden on the expression host is limited due to the small size of the tag. It provides a competitive alternative to so called combinatorial tagging where multiple tags are used in combination1,7
Molecular Biology, Issue 59, Affinity chromatography, albumin-binding domain, human serum albumin, Z-domain
Expression, Isolation, and Purification of Soluble and Insoluble Biotinylated Proteins for Nerve Tissue Regeneration
Institutions: University of Akron.
Recombinant protein engineering has utilized Escherichia coli (E. coli)
expression systems for nearly 4 decades, and today E. coli
is still the most widely used host organism. The flexibility of the system allows for the addition of moieties such as a biotin tag (for streptavidin interactions) and larger functional proteins like green fluorescent protein or cherry red protein. Also, the integration of unnatural amino acids like metal ion chelators, uniquely reactive functional groups, spectroscopic probes, and molecules imparting post-translational modifications has enabled better manipulation of protein properties and functionalities. As a result this technique creates customizable fusion proteins that offer significant utility for various fields of research. More specifically, the biotinylatable protein sequence has been incorporated into many target proteins because of the high affinity interaction between biotin with avidin and streptavidin. This addition has aided in enhancing detection and purification of tagged proteins as well as opening the way for secondary applications such as cell sorting. Thus, biotin-labeled molecules show an increasing and widespread influence in bioindustrial and biomedical fields. For the purpose of our research we have engineered recombinant biotinylated fusion proteins containing nerve growth factor (NGF) and semaphorin3A (Sema3A) functional regions. We have reported previously how these biotinylated fusion proteins, along with other active protein sequences, can be tethered to biomaterials for tissue engineering and regenerative purposes. This protocol outlines the basics of engineering biotinylatable proteins at the milligram scale, utilizing a T7 lac
inducible vector and E. coli
expression hosts, starting from transformation to scale-up and purification.
Bioengineering, Issue 83, protein engineering, recombinant protein production, AviTag, BirA, biotinylation, pET vector system, E. coli, inclusion bodies, Ni-NTA, size exclusion chromatography
Transient Gene Expression in Tobacco using Gibson Assembly and the Gene Gun
Institutions: Harvard University, Harvard Medical School, Delft University of Technology.
In order to target a single protein to multiple subcellular organelles, plants typically duplicate the relevant genes, and express each gene separately using complex regulatory strategies including differential promoters and/or signal sequences. Metabolic engineers and synthetic biologists interested in targeting enzymes to a particular organelle are faced with a challenge: For a protein that is to be localized to more than one organelle, the engineer must clone the same gene multiple times. This work presents a solution to this strategy: harnessing alternative splicing of mRNA. This technology takes advantage of established chloroplast and peroxisome targeting sequences and combines them into a single mRNA that is alternatively spliced. Some splice variants are sent to the chloroplast, some to the peroxisome, and some to the cytosol. Here the system is designed for multiple-organelle targeting with alternative splicing. In this work, GFP was expected to be expressed in the chloroplast, cytosol, and peroxisome by a series of rationally designed 5’ mRNA tags. These tags have the potential to reduce the amount of cloning required when heterologous genes need to be expressed in multiple subcellular organelles. The constructs were designed in previous work11
, and were cloned using Gibson assembly, a ligation independent cloning method that does not require restriction enzymes. The resultant plasmids were introduced into Nicotiana benthamiana
epidermal leaf cells with a modified Gene Gun protocol. Finally, transformed leaves were observed with confocal microscopy.
Environmental Sciences, Issue 86, Plant Leaves, Synthetic Biology, Plants, Genetically Modified, DNA, Plant, RNA, Gene Targeting, Plant Physiological Processes, Genes, Gene gun, Gibson assembly, Nicotiana benthamiana, Alternative splicing, confocal microscopy, chloroplast, peroxisome
Characterization of Complex Systems Using the Design of Experiments Approach: Transient Protein Expression in Tobacco as a Case Study
Institutions: RWTH Aachen University, Fraunhofer Gesellschaft.
Plants provide multiple benefits for the production of biopharmaceuticals including low costs, scalability, and safety. Transient expression offers the additional advantage of short development and production times, but expression levels can vary significantly between batches thus giving rise to regulatory concerns in the context of good manufacturing practice. We used a design of experiments (DoE) approach to determine the impact of major factors such as regulatory elements in the expression construct, plant growth and development parameters, and the incubation conditions during expression, on the variability of expression between batches. We tested plants expressing a model anti-HIV monoclonal antibody (2G12) and a fluorescent marker protein (DsRed). We discuss the rationale for selecting certain properties of the model and identify its potential limitations. The general approach can easily be transferred to other problems because the principles of the model are broadly applicable: knowledge-based parameter selection, complexity reduction by splitting the initial problem into smaller modules, software-guided setup of optimal experiment combinations and step-wise design augmentation. Therefore, the methodology is not only useful for characterizing protein expression in plants but also for the investigation of other complex systems lacking a mechanistic description. The predictive equations describing the interconnectivity between parameters can be used to establish mechanistic models for other complex systems.
Bioengineering, Issue 83, design of experiments (DoE), transient protein expression, plant-derived biopharmaceuticals, promoter, 5'UTR, fluorescent reporter protein, model building, incubation conditions, monoclonal antibody
Multi-target Parallel Processing Approach for Gene-to-structure Determination of the Influenza Polymerase PB2 Subunit
Institutions: Emerald Bio, Emerald Bio, Emerald Bio, Emerald Bio, Emerald Bio, Emerald Bio, Emerald Bio, Emerald Bio, Emerald Bio.
Pandemic outbreaks of highly virulent influenza strains can cause widespread morbidity and mortality in human populations worldwide. In the United States alone, an average of 41,400 deaths and 1.86 million hospitalizations are caused by influenza virus infection each year 1
. Point mutations in the polymerase basic protein 2 subunit (PB2) have been linked to the adaptation of the viral infection in humans 2
. Findings from such studies have revealed the biological significance of PB2 as a virulence factor, thus highlighting its potential as an antiviral drug target.
The structural genomics program put forth by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) provides funding to Emerald Bio and three other Pacific Northwest institutions that together make up the Seattle Structural Genomics Center for Infectious Disease (SSGCID). The SSGCID is dedicated to providing the scientific community with three-dimensional protein structures of NIAID category A-C pathogens. Making such structural information available to the scientific community serves to accelerate structure-based drug design.
Structure-based drug design plays an important role in drug development. Pursuing multiple targets in parallel greatly increases the chance of success for new lead discovery by targeting a pathway or an entire protein family. Emerald Bio has developed a high-throughput, multi-target parallel processing pipeline (MTPP) for gene-to-structure determination to support the consortium. Here we describe the protocols used to determine the structure of the PB2 subunit from four different influenza A strains.
Infection, Issue 76, Structural Biology, Virology, Genetics, Medicine, Biomedical Engineering, Molecular Biology, Infectious Diseases, Microbiology, Genomics, high throughput, multi-targeting, structural genomics, protein crystallization, purification, protein production, X-ray crystallography, Gene Composer, Protein Maker, expression, E. coli, fermentation, influenza, virus, vector, plasmid, cell, cell culture, PCR, sequencing
A Restriction Enzyme Based Cloning Method to Assess the In vitro Replication Capacity of HIV-1 Subtype C Gag-MJ4 Chimeric Viruses
Institutions: Emory University, Emory University.
The protective effect of many HLA class I alleles on HIV-1 pathogenesis and disease progression is, in part, attributed to their ability to target conserved portions of the HIV-1 genome that escape with difficulty. Sequence changes attributed to cellular immune pressure arise across the genome during infection, and if found within conserved regions of the genome such as Gag, can affect the ability of the virus to replicate in vitro
. Transmission of HLA-linked polymorphisms in Gag to HLA-mismatched recipients has been associated with reduced set point viral loads. We hypothesized this may be due to a reduced replication capacity of the virus. Here we present a novel method for assessing the in vitro
replication of HIV-1 as influenced by the gag
gene isolated from acute time points from subtype C infected Zambians. This method uses restriction enzyme based cloning to insert the gag
gene into a common subtype C HIV-1 proviral backbone, MJ4. This makes it more appropriate to the study of subtype C sequences than previous recombination based methods that have assessed the in vitro
replication of chronically derived gag-pro
sequences. Nevertheless, the protocol could be readily modified for studies of viruses from other subtypes. Moreover, this protocol details a robust and reproducible method for assessing the replication capacity of the Gag-MJ4 chimeric viruses on a CEM-based T cell line. This method was utilized for the study of Gag-MJ4 chimeric viruses derived from 149 subtype C acutely infected Zambians, and has allowed for the identification of residues in Gag that affect replication. More importantly, the implementation of this technique has facilitated a deeper understanding of how viral replication defines parameters of early HIV-1 pathogenesis such as set point viral load and longitudinal CD4+ T cell decline.
Infectious Diseases, Issue 90, HIV-1, Gag, viral replication, replication capacity, viral fitness, MJ4, CEM, GXR25
Mouse Genome Engineering Using Designer Nucleases
Institutions: University of Zurich, University of Minnesota.
Transgenic mice carrying site-specific genome modifications (knockout, knock-in) are of vital importance for dissecting complex biological systems as well as for modeling human diseases and testing therapeutic strategies. Recent advances in the use of designer nucleases such as zinc finger nucleases (ZFNs), transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs), and the clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated (Cas) 9 system for site-specific genome engineering open the possibility to perform rapid targeted genome modification in virtually any laboratory species without the need to rely on embryonic stem (ES) cell technology. A genome editing experiment typically starts with identification of designer nuclease target sites within a gene of interest followed by construction of custom DNA-binding domains to direct nuclease activity to the investigator-defined genomic locus. Designer nuclease plasmids are in vitro
transcribed to generate mRNA for microinjection of fertilized mouse oocytes. Here, we provide a protocol for achieving targeted genome modification by direct injection of TALEN mRNA into fertilized mouse oocytes.
Genetics, Issue 86, Oocyte microinjection, Designer nucleases, ZFN, TALEN, Genome Engineering
High Throughput Quantitative Expression Screening and Purification Applied to Recombinant Disulfide-rich Venom Proteins Produced in E. coli
Institutions: Aix-Marseille Université, Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives (CEA) Saclay, France.
Escherichia coli (E. coli)
is the most widely used expression system for the production of recombinant proteins for structural and functional studies. However, purifying proteins is sometimes challenging since many proteins are expressed in an insoluble form. When working with difficult or multiple targets it is therefore recommended to use high throughput (HTP) protein expression screening on a small scale (1-4 ml cultures) to quickly identify conditions for soluble expression. To cope with the various structural genomics programs of the lab, a quantitative (within a range of 0.1-100 mg/L culture of recombinant protein) and HTP protein expression screening protocol was implemented and validated on thousands of proteins. The protocols were automated with the use of a liquid handling robot but can also be performed manually without specialized equipment.
Disulfide-rich venom proteins are gaining increasing recognition for their potential as therapeutic drug leads. They can be highly potent and selective, but their complex disulfide bond networks make them challenging to produce. As a member of the FP7 European Venomics project (www.venomics.eu), our challenge is to develop successful production strategies with the aim of producing thousands of novel venom proteins for functional characterization. Aided by the redox properties of disulfide bond isomerase DsbC, we adapted our HTP production pipeline for the expression of oxidized, functional venom peptides in the E. coli
cytoplasm. The protocols are also applicable to the production of diverse disulfide-rich proteins. Here we demonstrate our pipeline applied to the production of animal venom proteins. With the protocols described herein it is likely that soluble disulfide-rich proteins will be obtained in as little as a week. Even from a small scale, there is the potential to use the purified proteins for validating the oxidation state by mass spectrometry, for characterization in pilot studies, or for sensitive micro-assays.
Bioengineering, Issue 89, E. coli, expression, recombinant, high throughput (HTP), purification, auto-induction, immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), tobacco etch virus protease (TEV) cleavage, disulfide bond isomerase C (DsbC) fusion, disulfide bonds, animal venom proteins/peptides
Polymerase Chain Reaction: Basic Protocol Plus Troubleshooting and Optimization Strategies
Institutions: University of California, Los Angeles .
In the biological sciences there have been technological advances that catapult the discipline into golden ages of discovery. For example, the field of microbiology was transformed with the advent of Anton van Leeuwenhoek's microscope, which allowed scientists to visualize prokaryotes for the first time. The development of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is one of those innovations that changed the course of molecular science with its impact spanning countless subdisciplines in biology. The theoretical process was outlined by Keppe and coworkers in 1971; however, it was another 14 years until the complete PCR procedure was described and experimentally applied by Kary Mullis while at Cetus Corporation in 1985. Automation and refinement of this technique progressed with the introduction of a thermal stable DNA polymerase from the bacterium Thermus aquaticus
, consequently the name Taq
PCR is a powerful amplification technique that can generate an ample supply of a specific segment of DNA (i.e., an amplicon) from only a small amount of starting material (i.e., DNA template or target sequence). While straightforward and generally trouble-free, there are pitfalls that complicate the reaction producing spurious results. When PCR fails it can lead to many non-specific DNA products of varying sizes that appear as a ladder or smear of bands on agarose gels. Sometimes no products form at all. Another potential problem occurs when mutations are unintentionally introduced in the amplicons, resulting in a heterogeneous population of PCR products. PCR failures can become frustrating unless patience and careful troubleshooting are employed to sort out and solve the problem(s). This protocol outlines the basic principles of PCR, provides a methodology that will result in amplification of most target sequences, and presents strategies for optimizing a reaction. By following this PCR guide, students should be able to:
● Set up reactions and thermal cycling conditions for a conventional PCR experiment
● Understand the function of various reaction components and their overall effect on a PCR experiment
● Design and optimize a PCR experiment for any DNA template
● Troubleshoot failed PCR experiments
Basic Protocols, Issue 63, PCR, optimization, primer design, melting temperature, Tm, troubleshooting, additives, enhancers, template DNA quantification, thermal cycler, molecular biology, genetics
Genetic Manipulation in Δku80 Strains for Functional Genomic Analysis of Toxoplasma gondii
Institutions: The Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
Targeted genetic manipulation using homologous recombination is the method of choice for functional genomic analysis to obtain a detailed view of gene function and phenotype(s). The development of mutant strains with targeted gene deletions, targeted mutations, complemented gene function, and/or tagged genes provides powerful strategies to address gene function, particularly if these genetic manipulations can be efficiently targeted to the gene locus of interest using integration mediated by double cross over homologous recombination.
Due to very high rates of nonhomologous recombination, functional genomic analysis of Toxoplasma gondii
has been previously limited by the absence of efficient methods for targeting gene deletions and gene replacements to specific genetic loci. Recently, we abolished the major pathway of nonhomologous recombination in type I and type II strains of T. gondii
by deleting the gene encoding the KU80 protein1,2
. The Δku80
strains behave normally during tachyzoite (acute) and bradyzoite (chronic) stages in vitro
and in vivo
and exhibit essentially a 100% frequency of homologous recombination. The Δku80
strains make functional genomic studies feasible on the single gene as well as on the genome scale1-4
Here, we report methods for using type I and type II Δku80Δhxgprt
strains to advance gene targeting approaches in T. gondii
. We outline efficient methods for generating gene deletions, gene replacements, and tagged genes by targeted insertion or deletion of the hypoxanthine-xanthine-guanine phosphoribosyltransferase (HXGPRT
) selectable marker. The described gene targeting protocol can be used in a variety of ways in Δku80
strains to advance functional analysis of the parasite genome and to develop single strains that carry multiple targeted genetic manipulations. The application of this genetic method and subsequent phenotypic assays will reveal fundamental and unique aspects of the biology of T. gondii
and related significant human pathogens that cause malaria (Plasmodium
sp.) and cryptosporidiosis (Cryptosporidium
Infectious Diseases, Issue 77, Genetics, Microbiology, Infection, Medicine, Immunology, Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Bioengineering, Genomics, Parasitology, Pathology, Apicomplexa, Coccidia, Toxoplasma, Genetic Techniques, Gene Targeting, Eukaryota, Toxoplasma gondii, genetic manipulation, gene targeting, gene deletion, gene replacement, gene tagging, homologous recombination, DNA, sequencing
Purifying Plasmid DNA from Bacterial Colonies Using the Qiagen Miniprep Kit
Institutions: University of California, Irvine (UCI).
Plasmid DNA purification from E. coli is a core technique for molecular cloning. Small scale purification (miniprep) from less than 5 ml of bacterial culture is a quick way for clone verification or DNA isolation, followed by further enzymatic reactions (polymerase chain reaction and restriction enzyme digestion). Here, we video-recorded the general procedures of miniprep through the QIAGEN's QIAprep 8 Miniprep Kit, aiming to introducing this highly efficient technique to the general beginners for molecular biology techniques. The whole procedure is based on alkaline lysis of E. coli cells followed by adsorption of DNA onto silica in the presence of high salt. It consists of three steps: 1) preparation and clearing of a bacterial lysate, 2) adsorption of DNA onto the QIAprep membrane, 3) washing and elution of plasmid DNA. All steps are performed without the use of phenol, chloroform, CsCl, ethidium bromide, and without alcohol precipitation. It usually takes less than 2 hours to finish the entire procedure.
Issue 6, Basic Protocols, plasmid, DNA, purification, Qiagen
Homemade Site Directed Mutagenesis of Whole Plasmids
Institutions: Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Germany, Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Germany.
Site directed mutagenesis of whole plasmids is a simple way to create slightly different variations of an original plasmid. With this method the cloned target gene can be altered by substitution, deletion or insertion of a few bases directly into a plasmid. It works by simply amplifying the whole plasmid, in a non PCR-based thermocycling reaction. During the reaction mutagenic primers, carrying the desired mutation, are integrated into the newly synthesized plasmid. In this video tutorial we demonstrate an easy and cost effective way to introduce base substitutions into a plasmid. The protocol works with standard reagents and is independent from commercial kits, which often are very expensive. Applying this protocol can reduce the total cost of a reaction to an eighth of what it costs using some of the commercial kits. In this video we also comment on critical steps during the process and give detailed instructions on how to design the mutagenic primers.
Basic Protocols, Issue 27, Site directed Mutagenesis, Mutagenesis, Mutation, Plasmid, Thermocycling, PCR, Pfu-Polymerase, Dpn1, cost saving
Transformation of Plasmid DNA into E. coli Using the Heat Shock Method
Institutions: University of California, Irvine (UCI).
Transformation of plasmid DNA into E. coli using the heat shock method is a basic technique of molecular biology. It consists of inserting a foreign plasmid or ligation product into bacteria. This video protocol describes the traditional method of transformation using commercially available chemically competent bacteria from Genlantis. After a short incubation in ice, a mixture of chemically competent bacteria and DNA is placed at 42°C for 45 seconds (heat shock) and then placed back in ice. SOC media is added and the transformed cells are incubated at 37°C for 30 min with agitation. To be assured of isolating colonies irrespective of transformation efficiency, two quantities of transformed bacteria are plated. This traditional protocol can be used successfully to transform most commercially available competent bacteria. The turbocells from Genlantis can also be used in a novel 3-minute transformation protocol, described in the instruction manual.
Issue 6, Basic Protocols, DNA, transformation, plasmid, cloning
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Christian and Spiritual Counseling Training: Religious Health
Do religious and spiritual people do better than non religious people in psychological and mental health? The question has waged for years between theists and atheists. The answer is not clear cut because in some cases religious and spiritual practices could be dangerous to one’s health. I would contend that in these cases it is more due to an “unhealthy’ and “misused” form of religion or spirituality, but still this allows the debate to continue because many atheists would contend anything with religion is misguided.
Is it better for your happiness and health to belong to an organized religion or to be “spiritual”? Does it matter?
Being religious refers to believing in a specific deity (or group of deities) and following the regulations of a particular religion. In addition, organized religion (as implied by its title) generally takes place in a relatively formal, organized context. In contrast, being spiritual may or may not involve belief in a particular god but does imply that the person is trying to follow a specific moral code, such as being loving and kind, and is seeking a meaning in life that’s bigger than him or herself.
To read the entire article please click here
This article does an excellent job of defining the differences between spirituality and religion. Religion while it does define particular dogmatic codes of the individual does not necessarily dictate the spiritual willingness to accept them and incorporate them into the individual’s spiritual life. Religion while singular is also plural because it demands a social partaking to some extent. Spirituality can work in conjunction with religion but can easily be isolated from it.
While the article at the start clearly defines the necessity of church and Christian as not a pre-requisite, I feel this is where some trouble can erupt. I believe the necessity of the religious and spiritual form a healthy blend that is necessary to satisfy the social and private needs of the soul as well as an objective binding that is still yet open to compassion and subjective cases.
One who is only religious reminds me of the Pharisee. This type of person is only concerned with the Law and not with his own soul or compassion for others. Yet the same danger can erupt with the only spiritual who become like the gnostics who seek wisdom without a guiding principle and force. They can easily be swept away by whatever cafeteria spirituality fits them and not what God desires.
Both of these elements are of equal value to the soul but both must be counteracted by the other to prevent spiritual extremes. A balance of religious and spiritual allows for an vibrant individual to give to the community that frames its objective code of belief together in communal worship. The spiritual person then is able to leave that communal worship and apply the light of one’s faith to the marketplace and daily life.
There Is More to Religious Health Though
The article perfectly lays out the benefits of health that a religious and spiritual life can psychologically and mentally give to a person. One of the most important is coping. When loss or grief arises in one’s life, a person needs to know why or at least understand our role in the universe. Religion offers answers. Maybe not empirical answers to the irk of the atheist or agnostic, but for religious and spiritual people, real and concrete answers that are accepted via the virtue of faith. This type of religious coping enables the person to find meaning in loss and happiness in an afterlife where what was lost will again be found.
One cannot dismiss this personal reassurance but it fulfills its maximum potential within the worshiping community where beliefs are reinforced and emotional support is given. Prayer meetings, funerals and friendly smiles are important elements that are given within the religious community.
Religious coping can go terribly wrong though when an unhealthy approach to faith comes into play. One example of unhealthy religious coping is an ideal of contract over covenant. The person who perceives unanswered prayers as a failure by God of contract can have a variety of reactions. They can feel they are not loved by God, or did not pray hard enough. They may become angry at God as well. If one fulfills the ideal of covenant, then a person understands that God’s love and mercy is with them no matter the outcome and that despite this evil, which God despises, he is still with them. He suffers with them in their time of need.
There are other examples in the article that show also when religion can go terrible wrong. The article cites examples of cults and over-zealous religious fervor that leaves those in need isolated from you. It is most intriguing that in many cases, mystics of the Christian religion who sought to leave the world were always directed back to it by God. Yet there still remain many individuals who have no where else to go and over emphasize religion and their church as all they have–not so much for spiritual reasons but for social status. Pride and power can corrupt even the most initial sincere souls. We see this in the case of many individuals with Church authority. Somewhere along the line they lost their vocation.
Ultimately, a health balance of spirituality and religious faith are critical for a healthy soul. Yet one needs to show forth a proper understanding of where their faith is taking them spiritually. Are they reflecting what God wants or what they want. Ultimately is religion to them a self illusion type drug or a true healing agent in their lives?
Christian and Spiritual Counseling can play strong and pivotal roles in helping people balance their spiritual lives. Good spiritual counseling regardless of creed can also help prevent unhealthy religious beliefs from taking root in a soul.
In the meantime, thank you for your interest. Enjoy the blog and if you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask
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This is an awful poll: it’s trying to build a list of 15 Places Kids Should See Before 15, and here are the top 5 so far:
#1:U.S. Space and Rocket Center, AL
#2:Creation Museum, KY
#3:Smithsonian Museum of American History, DC
#4:Alabama Space and Rocket Center, AL
#5:Yellowstone Nationsl Park, WY
The Creation “Museum” was at #1 earlier, but it has begun to slide downward. How about pushing it further?
There is the problem that there are so many options that it’ll be hard to focus and knock out the Creation “Museum” — it has 700 votes already — so you might want to peruse the list and vote for any choice that has a chance at passing it by.
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When Aiden Smith was diagnosed with blood cancer at just 22 months his mother said “my job as his mum was to protect him – but nothing prepares you to hear the word cancer next to your child’s name”.
Aiden was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a rare type of blood cancer which effects white blood cells, and was mute in hospital due to the trauma of his ordeal. Thankfully, Aiden is now in remission
Aiden, who is now seven-years-old, endured three years of gruelling surgical procedures, daily chemotherapy, deep tissue injections, lumbar punctures, blood tests, steroids, and more.
Weekly dressing changes to the central line fitting in his chest were particularly traumatic for Aiden, with his mum Felicity eventually having to take over from the nurse in the hope of calming her son down.
His mum Felicity, 37, said: “There is nothing that can prepare you, as a parent, to hear the word cancer in the same sentence as your child’s name.
“My job as his mum had always been to protect him and keep him safe. I felt helpless.”
When recalling having to calm him down during the dressing changes, she added: “He would scream and beg for it not to happen every time. He would plead with me – ‘Mummy please don’t do it, please don’t hurt me’.
“It felt at times like each day brought a new way to torture him.”
Mother-of-four Felicity, 37, credits the “world of make-believe” that Aiden, who lives with his family in Gosberton Clough near Spalding, was able to access via gaming for helping him cope during difficult and isolated times.
Aiden’s wish for a Gaming PC was granted in November last year by the children’s charity Make-A-Wish UK. The wish was granted following the charity’s ‘Wish 100 Week’, a seven-day fundraising event where £200,000 was raised and 100 wishes were granted.
When asked why his computer means so much to him, Aiden, who has three siblings Mason, Serenity, and Alex, said: “Are you kidding me? It’s the best thing ever, ever, ever. I have no words to explain how much I love it.”
Felicity said: “Aiden was isolated so much as a child that he didn’t get a chance to be a carefree little boy, and so he sometimes struggles to engage with kids his age.
“His computer gives him an outlet where he feels safer and allows him to engage with other children. If he sees another child at the park in a Minecraft t-shirt, it gives him a starting point to make friends.
“It’s been wonderful to see how happy and excited he gets when he is drawn into his virtual world, and importantly, how it has helped him develop in the real world – when I can prize him off it and get him outside.
“He has now said he wants to be a gamer when he is older, or a footballer or a police officer, depending on which would allow him to buy a Lamborghini quicker.”
Make-A-Wish UK has seen a 400% increase in gaming related wishes in the past few years as many children turning to it to provide respite from their condition.
Lia Young, Child Psychotherapist and Make-A-Wish UK medical advisor, said: “Most young people today live in two worlds at once: the real world and the virtual world.
“When the real world can feel limiting or lonely, the virtual world can be a place to meet friends, build shared experiences with their peers and where anything is possible.”
Jason Suckley, Chief Executive at Make-A-Wish UK, added: “As Aiden’s story shows, the power of a wish can light up the darkness for children living with a critical condition – just like gaming itself. £400,000 will light up the darkness for 200 more children like Aiden, with 100% of funds raised going directly to granting wishes. Please visit www.make-a-wish.org.uk/wish200week to donate.”
|
<urn:uuid:78d487e3-2d2b-4105-bfe0-9c55d8a0d102>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-33
|
https://thelincolnite.co.uk/2022/07/nothing-prepares-you-to-hear-the-word-cancer-next-to-your-childs-name/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571502.25/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811194507-20220811224507-00078.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.981311
| 929
| 1.898438
| 2
|
It shouldn’t come as a shock that we’re big fans of old recipes; so you know we were excited to come across this latest installment from Jas. Townsend and Son, Inc. From the same people who brought us fried chicken from 1736 and doughnuts from 1805 comes a fantastic recipe for ice cream that dates back to 1836! Specifically, the recipe is for “Parmesan Iced Cream,” which has more of a savory flavor and involves some interesting ingredients you wouldn’t normally find in ice cream, such as parmesan cheese and a homemade syrup made of sugar and water. The use of parmesan is understandable, given that it’s a heavily-salted cheese that lasted quite long. After cooking the ice cream (which is essentially a custard), you make it the same way many of us probably made ice cream at home or in our classes at school. We’ve tried it and we thought it was quite tasty, but we’d love to hear what you think! If you’d rather follow a recipe than the video, click here for a similar recipe. Otherwise check out the video below, give it a try, and let us know how it goes in the comments below.
Proper DOT dustyoldthing_belowtitle
Proper DOT dustyoldthing_abovevideo
|
<urn:uuid:234e237d-a3f7-4aa0-a011-3cd897e72d40>
|
CC-MAIN-2017-04
|
http://dustyoldthing.com/ice-cream-1836/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279224.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00481-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.954872
| 281
| 1.9375
| 2
|
This holiday season, the rise of 3-D televisions has made it a buyer's market for plain old HD. To be sure, it's as easy as ever to get lost in a confusing tangle of technologies and acronyms. So let's simplify things. The first question involves just three letters: LED or not LED?
LED-backlit LCD screens are the premium display technology this year. They cost at least 10 percent more than the standard fluorescent-lit LCDs, but the best ones can't be beat. "The color balance is just so much better," says Randall Hand, editor of VizWorld.com.
Shoppers often begin and end their search with screen size, but pixel density and refresh rate are at least as important. Even on a low budget, it's probably worth paying for a full 1080p screen, which refreshes 1080 horizontal lines of pixels once per cycle. The 1080i sets have the same number of lines but take two clock cycles to refresh the entire screen. Here, Hand says, the price differential is so small that 1080i sets are getting rather difficult to find. "The hardware difference is minimal. Both have 1080 horizontal lines on the screen; it's just the internal guts that differ."
However, the rate at which the clock cycles is price sensitive indeed. It'll cost you "about [US] $1000 each time you double it," Hand says. TV programs with a lot of motion—sports and action movies—are noticeably smoother at 120 hertz than on a 60-Hz set, Hand says. But going even higher—rates of 240 Hz or even 480 Hz—may not be worth the extra premium, unless you're also getting into 3-D—which is another story altogether [see the August online special report "3-D in the Home"].
When Scott Steinberg of Seattle-based tech consulting firm TechSavvy Global bought his HDTV, he decided against a 50-inch model with so-so specs and instead bought a comparably priced 42-inch TV that had a higher refresh rate and better picture quality.
"The reality is, once you get used to the set, you're not going to say, 'God, I miss those 8 inches,' " he says. "If the picture quality across the board is better, who cares if it's 42 or 50 inches?"
To be sure, screen size does count for something. Less than about 32 inches—the exact number depends on the manufacturer—probably means the screen wasn't even made by the manufacturer whose brand name graces the front of the set.
"Once you go above a certain size, the company actually builds the screens themselves," Hand says. Below that, "they're just buying them from some no-name Chinese or Taiwanese redistributor."
Once upon a time you could avoid getting stuck with the subpar output of an anonymous subcontractor by finding the manufacturer's signature model—Sharp's Aquos line of HDTVs, for instance, or Sony's Bravia—and noting what the smallest screen size was for that model line. It was a good bet that any screen below that size would be knockoff priced and knockoff quality. Today, though, Bravias come as small as 22 inches—a size that Sony itself is unlikely to manufacture.
Although there's no substitute for seeing the television on the showroom floor, Steinberg says, extra points go to the savvy shopper who goes home afterward, researches the alternatives, and buys the chosen set on the retailer's Web site. (When searching the Web by the name of the desired set and retailer, it pays to include the phrase "coupon code"; you might be able to knock another 10 to 20 percent off the retail price.)
Finally, consider the merits of putting the Internet on the TV itself. Samsung, LG, Sony, and Vizio are among the manufacturers adding net connectivity to their top-tier HDTV models—complete with apps that provide access to social networking sites, Netflix and other streaming video, and online music services like Pandora and Last.fm. But, Steinberg adds, remember that the best deal might still be to buy a "dumb" set and connect to the Internet via another box.
"If you purchase a PlayStation 3 for $300, for example," he says, "You're getting a Blu-ray player that also has a massive library of content with the ability to stream music, movies and photos, and download games."
This article originally appeared in print as "TV Guide, HD Edition."
|
<urn:uuid:477412f1-e413-4e5e-b3bf-8ceead2a6081>
|
CC-MAIN-2017-04
|
http://spectrum.ieee.org/consumer-electronics/audiovideo/hd-television-shopping-guide
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280929.91/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00423-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.96033
| 933
| 1.53125
| 2
|
In the year 1909, a secret American expedition was made to discover the South Pole. The expedition’s leader was famed Arctic explorer Jack Winslow. Alongside him were his sixteen-year-old son, Colin; his fifteen-year-old stepson, Andrew; and Philip Westfall, the young nephew of the expedition’s sponsor, the multimillionaire Horace Putney.
The voyage south was not an easy one. Conditions were harsh. Tensions escalated. And when the bottom of the world was reached, things became even worse. In their race for the Pole, Winslow and his party faced the ultimate test of endurance, loyalty, and survival.
In the darkest hours of 1910, mutiny, doubt, and disaster threatened to destroy Jack Winslow’s secret American expedition to discover the South Pole. When the explorers’ ship, the Mystery, was frozen in the Antarctic ice, Jack, Colin, and Andrew were forced to make a daring rescue attempt...at the risk of their lives.
The wind, the cold, and some of their own crewmen fought against them. Nobody thought they could survive.
|
<urn:uuid:d20a7957-4144-46f2-b867-3af2728dc82d>
|
CC-MAIN-2017-04
|
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/books/antarctica-2-escape-from-disaster-by-peter-lerangis/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280128.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00383-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.983882
| 234
| 2.21875
| 2
|
2 - 4
60 - 90
1916, Europe: The Great War has ravaged the land. Only one fertile ground remains and it is strongly disputed...by moles?
In Topoum, you control an army of moles that are fighting for control of a piece of fertile land in the middle of the Great War. The moles are well known for their blindness and, for this reason, you'll earn badges (points) if you can form uninterrupted lines of sight between your soldiers.
Topoum features several different types of cards of four categories: combat, movement, expansion and special. Each game is different because you build the playing deck with seven types of cards (+110.000 combinations!).
Each player has a private hand with two cards and there is a public row of five cards available for all the players on the board. This is the structure of the turn:
Choose between "Enter the Battle with a Mole" (playing one card is mandatory) or "Move Moles in the Battlefield" (playing a card is optional for each mole).
Score the lines of sight between your moles.
Refill the cards in your hand and the public row.
When the "Peace" card (hidden at the bottom part of the deck) is drawn, the game ends. The players now score extra badges for majorities and sets of the categories of the cards they used during the battle.
|
<urn:uuid:51d0d93a-d526-4a99-92bb-481501ccd58c>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-33
|
https://interludic.com.au/boardgame/topoum
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571198.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810161541-20220810191541-00274.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.953956
| 300
| 1.789063
| 2
|
Laser technology has found its way into so many aspects of our lives. From surgery to entertainment, lasers now play a leading role. The world of beauty and aesthetics is no exception.
Lasers are now used to great effect for cosmetic purposes. Cellulite can be erased with the use of a laser. Psoriasis can be minimized. Rosacea can be reduced. A laser can even be employed to remove a tattoo and even out skin tone. If you want to look younger and more vibrant, a laser can be your best friend.
Attend the Largest of the Nation’s Laser Treatment Schools
Because of this, laser treatment schools are seeing an enormous increase in students each term. Not all of these schools provide a quality education, however. Some push students through too quickly, wanting to graduate them as soon as possible to make room for more students. Other laser treatment schools are simply disreputable and dishonest. When you choose from among laser treatment schools, you want an institution with a solid reputation for excellence that has been formed over many years of consistent, proven results. At National Laser Institute, we are the model for this kind of institution.
Call or email us today to discuss your career plans. We will be happy to discuss our comprehensive laser training programs and financial aid program with you. We are ready to be your partner in starting your exciting new career as an aesthetic laser technician. Reach us at 1-800-982-6817 or at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Read more information on:
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<urn:uuid:972eb007-543c-4282-9c63-2f1c16515654>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-33
|
https://nationallaserinstitute.com/cosmetic-laser-career/laser-treatment-schools/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573876.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20220820012448-20220820042448-00072.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.944852
| 316
| 1.570313
| 2
|
For years, the woodworking industry has been venturing into newly advanced technology in construction methods, materials and, most of all, manufacturing with CNC equipment. From hidden, tool-less fastening, to HDF doors, to bringing 3D designs to reality with CNC technology, at the heart of these advancements is the symbiotic balance of CNC machining technology and manufacturing software. Today, woodworking manufacturing means having a CNC. Ultimately, the CNC must be able to accept the G-code to bring concept to reality. We will explore some of the best in class software in these categories: 1) Creating woodworking designs; 2) Converting the design to cut-ready CNC code; or 3) Both.
WHEN COMPARING WOODWORKING SOFTWARE, HERE ARE SIX POINTS TO CONSIDER: 1: How is it priced? Is there a monthly fee or a yearly licensing charge? How much is it? 2: What is the expected learning curve? Can you expect to use it the same day you get it, or is there hours, days (weeks) of training required? 3: Does the software offer a library of pre-designed products? Most software packages offer some pre-engineered products that can be customized to how you build them. 4: How much support is offered? Is the company easily accessible for questions in case you get stuck? Is support an additional charge? 5: Can you create completely new designs in the software? If so, can you get the design into cut-ready code for your CNC? 6: Is the software scalable? Is it scalable in technology? CNC technology and ability is quickly advancing. Will the software adapt in an ever-evolving environment of new methods and materials? Will it assist you with new business demands as your company grows? We’ll assess these woodworking software packages: KCD Software, Microvellum, vCarve, Cabinet Vision, CabinetPro, CabWriter and Router-CIM. Want to know why these companies are included in this article? Read on.
KCD Software: (kcdsoftware.com)
WHY? Because they have an easy to understand pricing structure, an amazingly short learning curve, and are pre-programmed into progressive 5th generation CNC technology machines. KCD Software offers excellent customer support. Library Comes loaded into 5G CNC equipment free for six months. PRICE: CNC level pricing is $295 a month after $1,995 set up charge which covers the first three months of service. LEARNING CURVE: Short/same day. LIBRARY OF PRODUCTS: 300+ SUPPORT OFFERED: Tech support M-F/8:30-5 pm. TUTORIALS: KCDSoftware.com/video-tutorials. New cabinet designs are vast, in that there are so many ways to customize the library. SCALABILITY: Scalable in technology. Committed to staying current in all cabinet designs and methods of construction includes woodworking business tasks.
WHY? Microvellum has become a household name in woodworking software, and offers an abundance of scalability in woodworking business tasks. They have very a loyal following in that the software integrates seamlessly with AutoCAD. PRICE: Was unable to get a straight answer regarding pricing. You must email a rep to get the free trail and a quote. (Even then they chose not to give me a quote). LEARNING CURVE: Medium/30 days to integrate. LIBRARY OF PRODUCTS: 300+ TRAINING: Help/ support is scheduled from the website and charged hourly. Comes with industry-driven help forum. New designs implemented easily. SCALABILITY: Offers a variety of scalable functions including cabinet design and business tasks.
WHY? This Vector product offers an incredibly reasonable pricing structure. The software allows completely original creations and designs other than cabinets and rectangles. It offers scalable technology, and is pre-programmed into the latest generation (5th generation) CNC machines. PRICE: vCarve Pro: $699 one-time charge. LIBRARY OF PRODUCTS: Complete set of 2D designs and layout tools; 150+ designs included, 400 ways to customize each. TECH SUPPORT: Training videos; email@example.com. LEARNING CURVE: Short/90 hours free training—no experience necessary. Ideal for new and very intricate designs. SCALABILITY: Technology is scalable.
WHY? A Hexagon Manufacturing Intelligence product, CabinetVision stays current in technology to continually streamline the business of woodworking. They offer stellar customer service and expertise. PRICE: Your choice of a customizable CNC solution; monthly subscriptions starting at $275; permanent licenses starting at $10,000. LIBRARY OF PRODUCTS: 300+ LEARNING CURVE: 30 days to implement. TECH SUPPORT: Great support for an additional monthly fee. New Cabinet and furniture Designs. SCALABILITY: continuous upgrades to technology. Software includes all cabinet business tasks.
Photo Credit: KCD Software
WHY? CabinetPro offers a super flexible, easy-to-digest, pricing structure. This software can scale to almost any cabinet maker’s need. PRICE: $2,974 – $8,974 (one time charge). Does not include product libraries. LEARNING CURVE: One-two days to learn. Two hours of training included (lots of tutorial videos); additional support/training may be purchased. Capable of creating original cabinet designs SCALABILITY: Scalable in software capability—many choices of functions and cabinet.
WHY? CabWriter offers total room design. It is incredibly affordable for anyone that wants to be in the industry. This company offers a 50% discount to schools and was created four years ago by the woodworking instructor, Greg Larson of the New England School of Architecture. SCALABILITY: Scalable in cabinet designing technology.
WHY? For the true designer or woodworking inventor, Router-CIM allows complex designs created in Autodesk Inventor, SOLIDWORKS or AutoCAD to be cut on any CNC machine. PRICE: Starting at $7,500 (one time price). Library includes a 40 parametric MDF doors, infinite customization of any AutoCAD drawing. LEARNING CURVE: One-two days to implement. One year of support included. SCALABILITY: Offers a variety of scalable features for CNC optimization.
Some woodworking software companies are not included in this comparison list. This list includes a huge variety of price, support and design needs and will get the woodworker to CNC cut-ready status, even if other software partners are needed to be employed to get there. Most importantly, as CNC technology advances, even to 5th generation and beyond, find software that scales that technology with you. The next advancements are already in the works in CNC abilities and software abilities. The two must meet for woodworkers to reap the benefits.
|
<urn:uuid:db244b08-2b86-4d3a-8a0a-3c8d65f34b99>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-33
|
https://surfaceandpanel.com/Features/Technology/woodworking-software-for-cncs-in-2021-and-beyond/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573876.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20220820012448-20220820042448-00078.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.92448
| 1,552
| 1.804688
| 2
|
B lymphopoiesis begins in the fetal liver, switching after birth to the bone marrow, where it persists for life. The unique developmental outcomes of each phase are well documented, yet their molecular requirements are not. Here we describe two allelic X-linked mutations in mice that caused cell-intrinsic arrest of adult B lymphopoiesis. Mutant fetal liver progenitors generated B cells in situ but not in irradiated adult bone marrow, which emphasizes a necessity for the affected pathway only in the context of adult bone marrow. The causative mutations were ascribed to Atp11c, which encodes a P4-type ATPase with no previously described function. Our data establish an essential, cell-autonomous and context-sensitive function for ATP11C, a putative aminophospholipid flippase, in B cell development.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Immunology and Allergy
|
<urn:uuid:6a6337a4-b91c-4585-b69f-c53f20dbb0a2>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-33
|
https://utsouthwestern.pure.elsevier.com/en/publications/the-p4-type-atpase-atp11c-is-essential-for-b-lymphopoiesis-in-adu
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571584.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812045352-20220812075352-00670.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.888431
| 199
| 1.65625
| 2
|
I was in need of a DAC which will be used as my main audio source. The requirements were simple:
– Digital inputs switching. I wanted to use the same DAC whether I am listening from my DIY Volumio streaming device or watching a movie/playing Xbox.
– Of course I also want the best sound quality.
After reading this article, the PCM1794 datasheet and talking to a friend of mine who works in a professional audio equipment manufacturing company I decided to try the PCM1794 from Burr Brown for this project. I did a quick search on Aliexpress for readily available PCBs based on PCM1794 and I came across one that looked well made. The PSU part is well separated utilising:
– Four separate transformer windings with 3 bridge rectifiers (MCU+LCD; digital section PSU; analog section PSU)
– Five on board regulators (LM7805 for the uC/LCD, LT1968-3.3V for the AK4118 and PCM1794 digital supply, LM317(5V) for the PCM1794 analog VCC, LM317/337(+-15V) for the opamp supply.
– Ground planes
The board costs only 47$ so I expected cheap capacitors and probably fake AD827 opamps. After 20 days I received the board. I was right, they used cheap caps(except the big filter Nichicons, which seem good) and the opamps are probably fake at this price so I started planning mods to the board.
The first thing I did was to test the board before doing anything so I know if it works as expected. I plugged in all required windings, plugged my set-top box as digital source with an optical cable and flipped the switch…
F*ck… The thing is not even working…
The first thing I did was to measure all the supplies. I found out that the LT1968-3.3 had 2.0V at its output so the AK4118/PCM1794 didn’t get enough voltage to work. I desoldered the LT1968 and soldered a LD1117V33. It finally worked. Good thing is I don’t have to return it to the seller and I can start with the mods.
After inspecting the board and following some traces I have annotated the photo of the board of all planned mods for convenience.
I have done the following modifications:
1. Change all big diodes in the rectifier bridge to SB5A0 fast recovery diodes because the old ones were standard Chinese diodes with shady letters on them.
2. I checked all resistor values according to the following OPA1611(single version of OPA1612) schematic and found out that the 8200pF capacitors were actually 220pF(marked on board as 820pF) and the 2700pF were actually 270pF(marked on board as 270pF). Resistor values were right according to this schematic.
Changed those to Wima FKS2 capacitors with the right values and also changed the 2200pF metallized film capacitors in the feedback of the I/V stage with same value Wima FKS2.
3. Changed all electrolytic capacitors to Nichicon UPS which are low impedance, high temp range capacitors suitable for PSU usage. Some of the capacitors were 47uF instead of the 10uF according to the PCM1794 datasheet.
4. The final thing to do was change two of the AD827(probably fake) to two OPA1612 opamps in the I/V stage and change the third AD827 in the differential to single convertor stage to OPA2132.
I will now let the DAC burn in for a couple dozen hours and I will start listening!
Below is a picture of the full setup in a temporary enclosure consisting of the following:
– A DIY AC filter
– 2x15VAC+2x9VAC R-Core transformer feeding the DAC board
– 2×7,5VAC feeding the XMOS reclock and Raspberry Pi
– Raspberry Pi 3 running Volumio fed by a LT1083 + CRC filter PSU(on the black prototype PCB)
– JLSounds XMOS, with it’s reclock fed by an LM317 + CRC PSU(also on the black board)
– The modified chinese PCM1794 board
– An LCD display+MCU+rotary switch that came with the Chinese board used to switch digital inputs and display current signal frequency, considering to remove that and put a white on black OLED connected to the Raspberry to display current song, bitrate, res etc.
While still burning in, the sound of the PCM1794 is amazing. TBH I have never expected such a detailed sound that is still warm and pleasant to listen to from a delta-sigma DAC except for the most expensive Sabre pros. I don’t believe the TDA1541 myths anymore.
The good thing is that the whole streamer/DAC costed less than 250$ including the trafos, raspberry, xmos, memory card, DAC board and all the components for the upgrade. It allows me to listen to music from online streaming services such as Spotify and Tidal, USB SSD and I can still switch to the toslink coming from my TV with one click and use the DAC for Xbox(pass-through) and Netflix.
I will make a full blog post about the whole streamer/DAC once I am done with lower noise discrete PSUs and the enclosure.
As a final update to the DAC board I decided to replace all the analog audio power supply LM317/337 regulators (opamp supplies and PCM1794 AVCC supply) with DIY discrete regulators with very high Power Supply Rejection Ratio and very low outpud impedance in the audio spectrum. The schematic is designed by a friend from our local audiophile forum (Thanks, Sandy!). Some measurements of the discrete regulator:
The red line is the noise of the discrete regulator, the blue line is the self noise of the measurement setup. WARNING: The numbers are offset by 100dB because of the measurement setup, so -30db must be read as -130dB:
So the PSRR of the discrete regulator is ~ -125dB.
For comparison, measurements of the previous regulators (LM317). WARNING: The numbers are offset by 60dB because of the measurement setup, so -20db must be read as -80dB:
LM317 measured PSRR: ~ -83dB
Also, the discrete regulator has a lot better reaction to load impulses compared to the LM317/337.
I hate soldering SMD to such tiny boards with my not so good soldering iron but the end result is worth it. A photo with the all three discrete regulators soldered and fit to the board:
|
<urn:uuid:7abd535a-2fc8-40b4-a251-70c6ed178fd2>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-33
|
https://ptodorov.com/author/ptodorov/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570871.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808183040-20220808213040-00273.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.930943
| 1,468
| 1.757813
| 2
|
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has unveiled an alternative to the Affordable Care Act, which he sees as ‘a flawed law.’ His plan takes a state-focused approach.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal also serves as vice chairman of the Republican Governors Association and is considering a run for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination. He spoke at the April 2 Monitor Breakfast.
“This is a flawed law. It is causing over 2.3 million fewer people to participate in the workforce. It is not decreasing health-care costs, not decreasing premiums.”
The 26-page plan he unveiled at the breakfast to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with a more state-focused approach:
“This conservative health-care plan puts the patient, not government and insurance bureaucrats, in control. And that is really the most fundamental question: Who do you want to be in control?”
His role in 2016 presidential politics:
“It is no secret it’s something I am thinking about. But right now I am focused on winning the war of ideas and also focused on winning these [governors’] elections in 2014.”
SOURCE: David Cook
Christian Science Monitor
|
<urn:uuid:453ac608-f9f7-49c9-a276-0572fbbd946b>
|
CC-MAIN-2022-33
|
https://bcnn1wp.wordpress.com/2014/04/05/what-gov-bobby-jindal-thinks-healthcare-reform-should-look-like-and-other-things/
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573760.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819191655-20220819221655-00670.warc.gz
|
en
| 0.943865
| 248
| 1.710938
| 2
|
When it comes to the internet, people heavily rely on it working properly. If you are running Internet Explorer with an encryption setting of less than 128-bit, you may encounter an error message saying, "The page cannot be displayed." This error message is generally displayed when the internet browser cannot display certain secured web pages. It happens if there is a breakdown in communication between the computer's web browser and the web server that is hosting the website. Search your computer system for hidden files called Hosts. Open the Hosts file using Notepad and delete any reference to the problem site or create and run a .bat file using the appropriate commands and save it as Securefix.bat. To open the secure web pages, run this bat file.
It happens that some secure (https) websites can't be opened on Internet Explorer or other browsers.
You can get this error "The page cannot be displayed". This is because these websites use the 128-encryption and your browser isn't set to open them.
To open these websites you will have to create and run a .bat file.
Follow these steps below...
Open Notepad, copy then paste these DLL's in notepad:
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<urn:uuid:44ddbf19-f987-4c72-b3e5-c3efe97d7ad3>
|
CC-MAIN-2016-44
|
http://ccm.net/faq/4235-can-t-open-secure-websites
|
s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719215.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00200-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz
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Recently, I assigned a few math division problems to help them review. While we were reviewing them in class, one of my students taught me a new way to divide. Here’s what her paper looked like:
After talking to my kids, I realized that I have students in my 3rd/4th class who divide in at least 3 different ways, depending on their personal and family backgrounds. To help remove some of the confusion, I decided to make a poster to help them see the similarities and to guide them through choosing the strategy that works best for them. If you’d like a copy of the poster, feel free to grab a free copy from my blog – Raki’s Rad Resources.
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No previous studies on the effect of genetic factors on the liability to disability retirement have been carried out. In the new research published today in the online peer-reviewed scientific journal PLoS ONE, a moderate genetic contribution to the variation of disability retirement due to any medical cause was found.
This 30-year follow-up study of 24 000 Finnish twins shows that genetic factors explained 36% of the variation in disability retirement due to any medical cause. The heritability estimate for disability pensions (DPs) due to other mental disorders than depression was 42%, due to musculoskeletal disorders 37% and due to cardiovascular diseases 48% indicating the importance of both genetic factors and different environmental exposures in the process of disability retirement.
Childhood environmental factors showed important effect on disability retirement due to depressive disorders
Interestingly, familial aggregation in DPs due to depressive disorders was best explained by the common environmental factors (28%) highlighting the important impact of early childhood environment on the development of depressive disorders and the risk of work disability in adulthood. However, the environmental factors not shared with family members showed increasing influence with increasing age at onset of disability retirement.
The novel scientific results of this study on the contribution of genetic factors to disability retirement, and insights from further studies on the complex gene-environment interactions and associations on the process of disability retirement during the life course, provide better focused tools for planning strategies to prevent work incapacity and early retirement among employees.
Paivi Lehtinen | alfa
The Great Unknown: Risk-Taking Behavior in Adolescents
19.01.2017 | Max-Planck-Institut für Bildungsforschung
A sudden drop in outdoor temperature increases the risk of respiratory infections
11.01.2017 | University of Gothenburg
An important step towards a completely new experimental access to quantum physics has been made at University of Konstanz. The team of scientists headed by...
Yersiniae cause severe intestinal infections. Studies using Yersinia pseudotuberculosis as a model organism aim to elucidate the infection mechanisms of these...
Researchers from the University of Hamburg in Germany, in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Aarhus in Denmark, have synthesized a new superconducting material by growing a few layers of an antiferromagnetic transition-metal chalcogenide on a bismuth-based topological insulator, both being non-superconducting materials.
While superconductivity and magnetism are generally believed to be mutually exclusive, surprisingly, in this new material, superconducting correlations...
Laser-driving of semimetals allows creating novel quasiparticle states within condensed matter systems and switching between different states on ultrafast time scales
Studying properties of fundamental particles in condensed matter systems is a promising approach to quantum field theory. Quasiparticles offer the opportunity...
Among the general public, solar thermal energy is currently associated with dark blue, rectangular collectors on building roofs. Technologies are needed for aesthetically high quality architecture which offer the architect more room for manoeuvre when it comes to low- and plus-energy buildings. With the “ArKol” project, researchers at Fraunhofer ISE together with partners are currently developing two façade collectors for solar thermal energy generation, which permit a high degree of design flexibility: a strip collector for opaque façade sections and a solar thermal blind for transparent sections. The current state of the two developments will be presented at the BAU 2017 trade fair.
As part of the “ArKol – development of architecturally highly integrated façade collectors with heat pipes” project, Fraunhofer ISE together with its partners...
19.01.2017 | Event News
10.01.2017 | Event News
09.01.2017 | Event News
19.01.2017 | Earth Sciences
19.01.2017 | Life Sciences
19.01.2017 | Physics and Astronomy
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SOURCE: Amy Alexander
Click here for the full audio.
Daniella Gibbs Léger talks with Amy Alexander, author of Uncovering Race: A Black Journalist’s Story of Reporting and Reinvention, about race in the media and the lack of diversity in America’s newsrooms.
Daniella Gibbs Léger: Why did you decide to write this book, and why now?
Amy Alexander: I started to think about this book about eight years ago, and in 2005 I decided that I wanted to turn columns that I had been writing on race in the media into a book.
I started writing a column on race and the media in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 2000 for a website called Africana.com. The column ran for five years, initially under Africana for three years and then two more years under the auspice of America Online, which was interesting. I had a collection of many blogs, and I began to pull them down and look at them. At first I was doing a collection, but as I reread each column and began to think about what was happening in the media, by mid-2006 it was clear that the landscape was changing very fast.
The demographic projections over the past two census cycles also have shown that America is becoming ethnically diverse faster. I had been a journalist since the mid-1980s and experienced all manner of difficult situations in newsrooms around how to cover “nontraditional communities” in various cities where I worked.
So I decided to try a different tack and make the collection a narrative using my 25 years in journalism as the framework and look at the broader issue of race and how American news organizations are doing writing about race, ethnicity, and class—and how the changes in the news business have affected the ability to cover these new communities that are emerging by the second in the United States.
D: In your opinion, does the demographic makeup of a newsroom affect its coverage of demographics happening outside the newsroom? Do they need to match up? And give me some examples to back up your answer.
A: It does matter, and historically, it has mattered. But it’s become somewhat of a lessened dynamic. The urgency is less than it was during the mid-1950s through the late 1960s where we saw the fulcrum moment of the riots and urban upheaval disturbances that happened in major cities starting in the early 1960s to the early 1970s.
Many of the major news organizations responded slowly but they began to respond to what the participants of the Kerner Commission [National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders] described as the media’s complicity in creating unhappiness and general disillusion in many communities where blacks and Latinos were feeling like (a) they weren’t being represented and were disenfranchised and (b) that their issues weren’t being reflected in the media.
As a result, in the past 50 years you have seen major news organizations making efforts to bring people of color into the editorial ranks.
To drill down a little bit more, it’s hard to quantify in sheer numbers what the ideal percentage is in terms of diverse representation in newsrooms. With The Detroit Free Press, for example, the core community is predominately black. Well, should everyone on staff be black? No, but neither should the editorial team be completely white or Asian or any one thing. What is ideal is a reasonable mix of not only ethnicities all throughout editorial ranks but also individuals who are in positions of authority who come from backgrounds that are diverse as well.
In my time working in major newspapers, I have encountered a particular type of person of color who essentially may as well have been a white person from New Bedford [Massachusetts]. There is a conforming thing that happens sometimes that can be hard to get your arms around, but it creates a numbers game. You can have a managing editor who is black or Latino, but if that individual is not prepared to advocate for nontraditional viewpoints or understands what is going on with poor people, it defeats the purpose.
D: That’s the argument for having more than just that one “token person” because often they say, “I’m not going to put my neck on the line. I’m not going to have anyone else up here to back me up.”
A: In my time working for daily newspapers—you asked for examples—I can share an example that is the reverse example, but it makes the point. When I worked at The Miami Herald, one of the most ethnically, class-diverse newsrooms in the country, I was blessed with being assigned to an editor who was not only a woman and African American but had a very expansive sensibility and was open-minded, and that’s about as good as it gets.
I’ve had a number of male and white editors that also had that particular sensibility because that is the ideal personality and skill set for a gatekeeper editor—one who is assigning the stories and making resource-allocation decisions. You definitely want someone who is not locked in and rigid in their thinking. It inhibits their ability to absorb new ideas and new aspects of what’s going on.
D: How do issues of race and class play out in the coverage of stories pertaining to people of color?
A: There are a variety of ways you will see the positive effect of having a news organization that is ideologically diverse, class diverse, and ethnically diverse.
A recent example is the coverage of Hurricane Katrina. If you go back and review it, I notice a slow, dawning sensitivity in pointing out that the majority of people being left to drown were poor people of color. It showed the kind of reluctance of white or black journalists with middle-class backgrounds to drill down on that aspect.
Some people on web publications began to draw that out, and there was an overnight switch where journalists like Anderson Cooper and the writers at the big papers like The New York Times began to really take apart this dynamic of the federal government not serving this population. And that’s a tricky proposition for a journalist who is out covering a disaster live.
You really don’t want to get into suppositions, but we all saw that happen in real time. And finally someone actually said it: Jack Shafer, a former Slate columnist. He wrote a strong column on day number four or five following the hurricane. He laid it out and said, “Why isn’t anyone pointing out these poor black people are being abandoned? What is wrong with saying that a population that has been at risk for a long time is being ill-served here?”
So I think in general, there is more sensitivity in the legacy of the newsroom. I don’t work in big news rooms anymore, but I’m constantly having conversations with journalists all across the country who are white, black, or Latino who have been doing this for 25 to 30 years or are relatively new at it. There is a heightened awareness about a need for being more mindful about covering these issues—certainly more than there was when I entered the newsroom 25 years ago.
I had an editor in San Francisco at the Examiner newspaper say to me, as he informed me that my position was being eliminated, “Oh, don’t worry, Amy, you won’t have any problem finding a new job because you’re young, you’re black, and you’re a woman.”
And he just said it like, “Here’s a Christmas present. Don’t weep, your job is going away but you’ll be fine.”
This was 1989, but I tell that story in the book to illustrate that a lot of the coverage issues arise because some individuals still have a status quo mindset that even if you think of yourself as being open-minded and well-meaning and liberal sometimes people hit a wall of understanding, or maybe they’re so competitive within this trade that they are not willing to acknowledge that a person who is really different than they are can be as skilled and as deserving.
A lot of it is hard to get your arms around, but you know it when you see it.
D: By 2050 it’s projected that there will be no clear ethnic majority in this country, and I don’t hear a lot of talk about it [in the media]. Is it because there aren’t a lot of diverse voices making those decisions? Or is it because they don’t know it’s coming, or they don’t care that it’s coming? What are your thoughts?
A: I think that it’s not that journalists are not aware. Certainly at the larger and more established news organizations [they are].
I had a conversation with the new Washington bureau chief of The New York Times, David Leonhardt, and I asked him if he had a full-time demographics beat based in Washington. And he said we have a reporter and she gets to those stories when she can. He was not dismissive about it, but he said she mainly covers the Mid-Atlantic, that’s her first priority, and she does the demographics in her spare time. This is The New York Times!
I’m not saying bad stuff about David Leonhardt or the institution. But these projections come out of the various think tanks like clockwork, and there doesn’t seem to be a real sense of urgency at the traditional news organizations around putting pieces together or asking the big brains in sociology and economics to really look and make projections. It seems to me there is a way to do coverage that sets the stage for what is taking place in real time.
There are any number of ways to cover demographics and any numbers of contexts to position this changing landscape, but the newsroom demographics I think are related to this absence of comprehensive coverage of the changing demographics out in the real world.
The American Society of News Editors for more than 20 years has been conducting demographic surveys of news organizations. It used to be that they only surveyed newspapers, but now they are trying to expand that obviously.
For the past few years it has been a tough slog because so many traditional newspapers are struggling, people are in flux, and diversity issues fall off the table. The surveys aren’t being responded to with the same efficiency as they had been even 10 years ago.
Another wrinkle is that some of the new media outlets, including well-known and relatively large-scale online-only publications, including Huffington Post and Talking Points Memo, dis the ASNE. They won’t respond to these surveys.
So what people like Milton Coleman, who heads the ASNE, and Richard Prince, who writes an interesting column on race and the media, have been charting and discussing publically is this seemingly reluctance from some of these new media organizations to share their demographic numbers. And when staff numbers are made available it becomes apparent that, like most news organizations, they are pretty much all white and relatively young.
D: New media could pick up some of the slack in the coverage of demographic change, and maybe the issue is that they themselves are not reflecting the demographics.
A: And this speaks to the comfort factor that exists in any institutional setting—that people want to hire people they are familiar with who maybe went to the same school and they feel have something in common with them.
That’s not unique to the news business, old or new, but the new media landscape is rich terrain and very diverse, including ideologically. In some ways it is a golden time for audiences and practitioners, journalists like me and producers, who want to provide in-depth coverage of issues of particular importance to people of color, poor people, or gay people (or whatever your affiliation is).
Now anyone can be their own producer or news organization. The quality might be questionable, but you have publications like Color Lines, which is a high-level “news-like” organization. And publications that are highly political partisan—but by all other intents and purposes operate like a news organization—find out what’s going on and they report it, though a lot of these places have agendas.
Now there are so many more outlets exploring what is changing. There are many more Latinos living in the Carolinas, for example. A friend sent me an article written by an academic at UNC [University of North Carolina] that tells stories about how people are interacting differently in these small towns around the college triangle. It’s really fascinating.
But the larger footprint, the news organizations, are really not focusing on the changing demographics except for when the census bureau releases something.
I prefer to be optimistic, because I want the young journalists to be good. They tend to be really swift with all the new technology. They’re all multimedia experts by the time they fall out of the cradle, but my concern is that the fundamentals of journalism are also an important part of their arsenal because it has to be. Journalism is a process of verification, and if you don’t know how to make sure that the facts are right then it doesn’t matter how flashy your video is and how shiny your blog looks if the facts are in question.
Daniella Gibbs Leger is Vice President for New American Communities Initiatives.
Click here for the full audio.
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My previous post about participation in and support off pride parade in Jerusalem sparked several other debates. Below is probably the most heated one. I was uncertain whether to post only my responses (as in my previous post) or also opponent’s (regretfully, that would be the accurate term to use).
I decided to post both sides of the debate. This is for 2 reasons:
1. He makes some interesting points and brings up some arguments I had not thought of previously, or at least not in that way. I think they are worthy of consideration even if I disagree with them.
2. More importantly, because the tone and some of the language used is a very good example and expression of much of today’s progressive discourse in general and queer discourse in particular. A sense that part of being right comes from vilifying your opponent and/or from being a victim. It is a shame, as I do believe he had some interesting arguments, which were shadowed by some of the terminology and tone he chose to use.
Several people have messaged me privately that they would have liked to “like” and “share” my original post as they felt it articulated their own beliefs on the matter but are hesitant to do so for fear of being accused of intolerance or worse and from fear of losing friends. It is sad and a bit scary to me that we have reached a point where people are made to be scared to express their opinions and engage in intellectual debate, and in the name of “tolerance”, none the less. That is part of the reason I feel it is important for me to continue having these debates – and posting them.
As a response to my original post he wrote:
Wow. I’ve read a lot of silly things about Pride, but Yair’s piece takes the cake. Pride is about cultivating a collective self-esteem for an identity that is too often met with familial, communal, historic and systemic rejection. Ask any LGBTQ person and they will tell you that there was one point in their life where they thought that if the people around them knew their truth, they would be rejected or worse. This ubiquitous experience stays with you forever, and Pride is about combating it with a celebration of self-worth. Full stop. In places like Jerusalem, where LGBTQ children, teens and adults are being rejected by their families and communities every day, Pride is even more important. Research shows that it is actually the lack of self-esteem about one’s sexuality that is correlated with sexual compulsion, risky behavior, self-harm and promiscuity. Events like Pride fight against that and helps to rebuild a stronger sense of dignity so that we have the well-being to make more moral, ethical, and accountable decisions. So if you were really worried about sinful behavior, I suggest being concerned about LGBTQ people not having access to Pride events.
Furthermore, as a mental health professional who takes his whole youth group to pride every year, I am physically disgusted by the suggestion that you think these 13 and 14 year old’s are celebrating their “sexual behavior”. STOP SEXUALIZING LGBTQ CHILDREN!
Yair Spitz, While I appreciate any musing about a subject, I would be embarrassed to share such a sophomoric analysis on a subject that you clearly know very little about. For more info about the importance of Pride to LGBTQ youth, check our website.
One of the points I was trying to get across is that I disagree with the fundamental concept of sexual identity. Meaning, I believe that many people have decided to allow it to define them but I am claiming that that is a choice. A sexual attraction very well may not be a choice but allowing that to define oneself is. One can choose – consciously or unconsciously – which biological and emotional tendencies and which actions define him and impact their self-esteem and feeling of self-worth. If you disagree – I’d be happy to hear why.
That have been said, I do think that in a culture which idealizes being “true” to one’s natural state (meaning, not restricting it) and extreme individualism of “just be who you are”, it is easy to understand why sexuality has become such an integral part of peoples sense of identity. Much of this is diametrically opposed to how I understand the traditional Jewish approach to the meaning and purpose of human and Jewish life. If you disagree with the traditional Jewish approach – that is of course absolutely fine. It would be important to define those differences to understand where each of us is coming from. If you think your approach to this topic is consistent with the traditional Jewish approach – I’d be happy to hear how.
This also has to do with your comment about self-esteem. Lack of, or low, self-esteem is the cause of at-risk behavior for most teens, whether they are struggling with their sexuality, the way they look or the feeling that they are a failure in school. When people are surrounded by a culture in which sexualization and even romanticism is on every billboard, every movie, every show, etc… it indeed makes a lot of sense that this will become the litmus test by which they measure themselves and their self-worth.
I did not say that 13 and 14 year old’s are celebrating their sexual behavior. You either misunderstood what I wrote or are grossly misrepresenting it. I would hope that you wouldn’t need to misrepresent your opponent’s arguments in order to argue your own. Additionally, I would hope that when you think about the topic yourself, or discuss it with your students, you have more to say about the opposing opinions than to dismiss them as nothing more than ‘silly’, ‘sophomoric’ and ‘disgusting’. This is because:
1. It is false. Is it not possible that I have spoken to students and extended family of mine who are openly gay and am aware of their struggles and challenges? and that I have read literature on the topic and simply disagree with many of their premises?
2. It cuts off any possibility of exchange of ideas – in either direction, something I imagine you would like to see happen – at least in one direction.
I most definitely do try to do better. I simply think we have very different understandings of what “better” is, including when it comes to this topic.
To which he responded:
First of all, the whole “I know about race because I spoke to a black person” narrative may work in your circles, but in intelligent society, those kinds of statements are laughable. I’m sure you spoke to a gay, I hope it was lovely. With respect to your other “points”, I honestly have no idea what you are talking about (and likely neither do you). LGBTQ people have these identities foisted on them because they live in a world where, at best everyone is assumed to be straight and cis, and at worse, you are bullied and rejected if you appear to be anything but straight and cis. Do you think any of us wanted to feel different, alone and rejected? Again, what are you talking about?!?
LGBTQ children and teens are being made to feel bad about themselves because of their sexual orientation and gender identity…so it stands to reason that the building of collective self esteem healing should begin there. Most queer people come out far before they engage in any sexual behavior. And they certainly attend pride events far before they ever engage in any sexual behavior. Their identities are not formed around sexual desire, but the experience of being different than the assumed norm when it comes to something as essential as sexuality and gender. This is an important distinction that you seem to be missing. My identity, and my pride is not at all rooted in what I find sexually arousing.
The whole idea of LGBTQ Pride is the liberation from labels, not restricting ourselves to framings generated in a world where people like us had little say. Our queerness is non-binary, and much more related to the Judaic-german concept of dialectic – than words used for diagnoses. We are at once the bread of affliction and the bread of freedom. If you don’t get that, then you simply don’t get the LGBTQ experience…and probably shouldn’t write about it…yet.
You claimed I knew very little about the subject. I responded that I know, have spoken and counseled individuals who see themselves as gay. I tell you I have read at least some of the literature people in this thread are referring to and your response is, basically – “you sound just like a racist”. I don’t see how you can claim both sides of the argument. I ask again – is it just completely inconceivable to you that someone may know and may have spoken to many gay people and empathizes with them and has read queer literature and still disagree with the philosophical, ideological and moral foundations of queer culture?
As I have written previously, my observations and main argument is not of how individual people feel or even act. My observations and argument are about LGBTQ culture. And I will add – the conflict it can, and many times does, cause between one, specific, aspect of young people’s identity and other parts of their identity – their family, their religious faith and belief, their community, their heritage, etc… I continue to argue that the two – individual gay identity and LGBTQ culture – are two very distinct things. You are quite obviously of the opinion that the two are inseparable. I understand the argument but disagree with it, because of my differing understanding of what constitutes identity, in general, and the role LGBTQ culture plays in amplifying one part of it at the expense of the others, which stems – among other things – from a certain ideology and political stance. I’m sorry I am not able to better explain my point, at least enough for you to realize the possibility of their being merit to an opposing approach to the matter. Maybe more acceptance and tolerance would be helpful on both sides of the isle.
To which he responded:
As a mental health professional who specializes in working with this population, it terrifies me that you “counseled individuals who see themselves as gay”. I wonder if they refer to you as “an individual who sees himself as Yair”? I mean seriously, are you even aware of how rude and insulting you sound by framing your reference like that? Let me be clear, from your writing it is evident that you know very little about both LGBTQ identity and LGBTQ Culture. This fabricated distinction that you seem to be peddling as a false dichotomy is meaningless. To weasel out, now you want to reduce your argument to semantics. I’ve graded many a paper from students who try to pass off these amateur mistakes as substantial rhetoric. It doesn’t get passed me then, and it isn’t now.
We don’t have to accept or tolerate bad arguments or ignorance. We certainly do not have to tolerate it when it is coming from a person with no personal stake in the matter who is waxing recklessly about our very value, self worth and emotional well-being. You wouldn’t tolerate it when a non Jew starts telling you what your Jewish Identity means and denying your Jewish name, the same way you should not tolerate it when a man tells a woman what being a woman is all about. This is not a debate, this is me trying to teach you something and you sitting in your ill informed foolishness. When non Jews come for and question your Jewish flag, your right to your own Jeowsh name, your right to celebrate as a Jew, and your entitlement to some pride in your Jewish heritage, perhaps you might begin to grasp that casually musing about whether other people should have or have no access to basic dignity…is obnoxious.
For the record, yes readers, the person who has advocated to strip other people’s rights away, the person who is questioning other people’s identities, the person who broadly dismisses other people’s culture… is the one now asking for tolerance. Typical.
1. Where did you see me write anything about stripping people’s rights?
2. I fear you misunderstood my comment about tolerance. I was not asking you to be tolerant of me or my opinions for my sake. I am not insulted by your dismissiveness. Really. I’m not. I didn’t imagine it would be possible to have such conversations on social media without being called names and dismissed. My comment about tolerance was for your own sake as I find that it usually serves the argument of the side exhibiting it and enables dialogue. Meaning, even if you have no hope in convincing me, I’d think you would want people reading these exchanges to have the best chance of understanding your actual arguments and not disregard you because of the rhetoric you choose to use.
At some point someone else responded to one of my comments saying:
We just finished reading Parshat Naso in which the woman suspected of adultery is dragged through a horrific ritual in order to prove or disprove her guilt. I would ask those haters when the last time was that they forced a woman to drink the Waters of Bitterness or stoned to death a rebellious son. Hypocrites all of them! They pick and choose whom to hate based upon their own fears and ignorance.
When was the last time someone stoned to death a homosexual – or called to do so? Additionally, I’d be just as opposed to a parade of adulterers/adulterets celebrating their choice to commit adultery and calling on people to come out and support their right to do so. This, despite the fact that I don’t think there is anything unnatural about wanting to, and actually committing, adultery.
To which she responded
I must have struck a nerve or not have been clear in my statement. The point I was trying to make is that there were many biblical practices that when seen through a modern lens, we realize were abhorrent and beyond what we would tolerate as acceptable behavior today. Similarly, there are many practices which were deemed abhorrent in ancient times due to sociological misunderstandings, which today, we would find acceptable practices. when someone has a boo-boo on their arm, the high priest doesn’t come look at it and send them out of the community for a week anymore. Similarly, we understand the ancient sociological basis for the admonition against the practice of homosexuality and today, understand the errors of that prohibition. Okay! Flame away!
We are quite obviously coming to this discussion with very different assumptions and beliefs about the Torah in general and its relevance, in particular. There is no Mitzvah I would see, let alone define, as abhorrent.
Similarly, I wholly disagree with your assumption that the content of the Torah and the Mitzvot are based on the societal norms of the time. I am operating from a very different assumption and belief; the one which is consistent with Jewish tradition throughout history – 1. that the Torah was given by Hashem and is not a human creation or just “divinely inspired” 2. (Because of point 1) The Torah and the Mitzvot are not based on the societal norms of the time it was given, rather is based on societal norms as they should be.
This have been said, there is much to discuss regarding the penal system of the Torah – and the rabbis of the Talmud and others have done so at length. For example – the discussion regarding a rebellious son and to what degree the Torah meant it as an actual punishment vs. a very severe warning sign. The fact that both opinions have been part of our literature for over 1500 years means that these two approaches play completing roles in the approach to the topic -the practical level which serves as a warning sign for parents and kids alike about the dangers and destructive nature of extreme rebelliousness and the theoretical level where such a thing could even warrant death.
This is just one possible explanation to one of the points you brought up. I chose it because it is the less politicized of the three but I believe there are similar ways to reconcile some of our modern sensitivities without dismissing and without putting ourselves in a place of passing moral judgment on our communal identity and heritage. Especially when it is that exact heritage which serves as the foundation and source of most, if not all, of the morals and ideals in whose name we are speaking,
I am sorry you chose to present Tzara’at is a mere “boo boo”. I have a feeling you know very well the amount of literature, ancient and modern, that discuss this disease and am uncertain why you feel the need to mock something that has been part of our tradition – in one way or another – for thousands of years.
As I stated, we seem to be speaking from two very different perspectives. Mine is rooted in what has been, consistently and wholly, the core moral and religious identity of Jewish tradition for thousands of years and through that has impacted and transformed Western Civilization’s and humanity’s moral identity and norms. I believe that we were able to do so because the Torah is divine and only because of its divine origin did it – and did we – succeed in it being so transformative. Unlike so many passing fashions of ideology which, over the years, have been adopted by many, claiming truth, justice and morality, just to fade away leaving little if any lasting impact on humanity. I’d be happy to understand what perspectives you are operating from.
At some point of this offshoot conversation, my original opponent joined in and wrote:
how in the world can you compare a pride parade to people who commit adultery? Is a pride Parade to you just a parade of people who commit anal sex and support their right to do so? Is that what the thousands of teens ages 12-18 are doing when they dance through the streets reclaiming their self worth? Are you that perverted that all you see is that when we celebrate our perseverance and community?
Are you even aware that the A in LGBTQIA stands for Asexuals?!?! Why would they be part of a parade about anal sex…or trans and intersex people for that matter?!?
The truth is: You have NO IDEA what you are talking about. The fact that you could even think that this analogy is apt, says everything.
To which I responded:
Why is it you assume that adultery is only about the act of having sex with someone other than one’s spouse? I mean this seriously. I am certain there are support systems and communities of people dealing with adultery dilemmas and the challenging relationships which drive them to choose the specific act. I am sure there are people who feel that once they have committed adultery this act defines them forever. There are people who see themselves as adulterers though they haven’t actually slept with anyone else.
I agree it isn’t a perfect analogy but I think it is a better one than you are presenting it…
And, just for the sake of accuracy, I am not the one who came up with the analogy. “Jane” tried pointing out that people treat the sins of adultery, rebelliousness and homosexuality very differently in order to make the point that people’s treatment of pride parade is motivated by simple hate that is excused through religion or fake ideology.
To that I responded that I would oppose public celebrations of the legitimacy of those prohibitions just the same. Which I would. First and foremost, this would be aimed internally, at people from among my own community – Orthodox and Observant Jews – who support or are considering to support pride parade. If you look back at where the conversation began, you will see this was my starting point.
Indeed, someone coming from a fundamentally different world view (which I don’t know to say if you are or aren’t) would find many of the things I am saying quite objectionable and ill-informed.
But, like you, I am writing less with the expectation to change your mind and more for the sake of others following these conversations and may be looking to form their own opinions on the matter.
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General Sir John Stibbon, who has died aged 79, was Master General of the Ordnance (MGO) from 1987 to 1991.
Stibbon took over as MGO from General Sir Richard (later Field Marshal Lord) Vincent and served on the Army Board as the member responsible for the acquisition of new land weapons and equipment. His predecessor had introduced more competition and a more commercial approach, and Stibbon had all the qualities needed to build on this foundation.
As the Cold War moved to its conclusion, Britain was moving away from a time when the priorities were to ensure that her forces were equipped for large-scale armoured warfare to a less predictable future in which smaller conflicts would break out in remote and, often, unexpected places. Stibbon played a notable part in the review of defence programmes to reflect radical changes in strategic thinking and mounting pressure on costs.
John James Stibbon was born in London on January 5 1935 and educated at Portsmouth Southern Grammar School and Sandhurst .
He was commissioned into the Corps of Royal Engineers in 1954. A short tour as a field troop commander in 35 Corps Engineer Regiment preceded his degree course in Civil Engineering at the Royal Military College of Science . Further BAOR postings followed as Second-in-Command of 16 Field Squadron and as Adjutant of 32 Armoured Engineer Regiment.
He returned to England in 1965 as GS02 RE at the Royal Armoured Corps Centre, Bovington, before taking command of 2 Armoured Engineer Squadron in Hohne. This was followed by two more years in Germany, serving as DAA & QMG of 12 Mechanised Brigade in Osnabruck.
In 1973 Stibbon moved to the Staff College, Camberley, where he was on the directing staff. Command of 28 Amphibious Engineer Regiment in Hameln was followed by promotion to colonel and an appointment in the Military Secretary’s department.
In 1979 he took command of 20 Armoured Brigade in Detmold. On the football field, he was a formidable competitor. On one occasion, he was pulled up by the referee, who threatened to have him up in front of the brigadier unless he cleaned up his game. “What are you talking about?” retorted Stibbon, “I am the brigadier!”
After attending the Royal College of Defence Studies, in 1983 he became Commandant of the Royal Military College of Science. He took the College down the route to privatisation by arranging for the letting, on competitive terms, of the teaching, research and consultancy functions to the Cranfield Institute of Technology. Students from 37 different countries attended and their numbers increased from 1,200 to more than 5,000.
In 1985 he was appointed Assistant Chief of the Defence Staff Operational Requirements (Land Systems). He retired in 1991 in the rank of full general.
He was a director of the Chemring Group from 1993 to 2005 and chairman of ITT Defence from 1993 to 2004. He was an honorary vice-president of the Football Association from 1987 to 1993.
Stibbon was Chief Royal Engineer from 1993 to 1999, Colonel Commandant of the Royal Army Pay Corps from 1985 to 1992, the Royal Pioneer Corps from 1986 to 1991 and the Royal Engineers from 1987 to 1999.
Among many charitable activities, he was chairman of the governors of the Royal Star & Garter Home from 1991 to 1996.
He had a lifelong interest in athletics. As a young man, he represented his regiment, division and corps at the discus, and shot and played football for the Army and the Combined Services.
In retirement, his interests included palaeontology; he assembled a large collection of fossils from all over the world. He was also an accomplished watercolourist .
He was appointed OBE in 1979 and knighted in 1988.
Sir John Stibbon married, in 1957, Jean Skeggs, who survives him with their two daughters.
General Sir John Stibbon, born January 5 1935, died February 9 2014
Now listen to the Obits Podcast, The Deadline. This week: British influence abroad. We talk about colonial officers adopting elephants, financiers helping Sheikhs shape Dubai, African Elvises, and a spy school in Lebanon. Not forgetting Moustache News – our round up of all the military obits we have printed this week. Plus a rat-a-tat exchange on the Letters page with that master of the espionage thriller, John Le Carre.
Subscribe on Soundcloud here and on iTunes here
You can contact us via Twitter on @telegraphobits and email us with your suggestions and comments on email@example.com
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Meaning of the Bear Symbol
Native American Indians were a deeply spiritual
people and they communicated their history, thoughts, ideas and dreams from generation to generation
and Signs such as the Bear Symbol.
Native American symbols were
geometric portrayals of celestial bodies,
natural phenomena and animal designs.
Animals were drawn as symbols which were taken
as spiritual guides and stood for the qualities
and traits of the animal that the symbol
The Bear symbol was important as it represented
a protector and symbolized courage, physical
strength and leadership. Bears are strong,
agile, and quick. The black bear and the Grizzly
were native to North America. The meaning of the Bear Symbol
was to signify a good omen and convey authority.
The bear was a very important animal symbol.
Some tribe would also have two warriors known as
the Grizzly Bears. These warriors would be the
first to charge at the enemies in battle. Native American bird and animal symbols and
totems are believed to represent the
physical form of a spirit helper and guide.
For additional information please refer to the
Meanings of Animal
Bear Symbol - Meaning
Some Indians believed that it was possible
to draw power from a bear by dreaming of
one, by killing and eating part of one or by
even touching a bear. These actions made a
warrior invincible. Because of the Indians'
beliefs that the bear had spiritual power,
wearing a bear claw necklace meant
protection and good health to the Indian
wearing it. The Abenaki tribe believe that
the stars of the Big Dipper are the Great
Bear (Kchi-awasos). According to Abenaki
mythology the Great Bear is chased every
night by three hunters. The Great Bear
is killed every fall and his blood drips to
earth turning the leaves brown but he is
reborn every spring. For interesting
information refer to
Bear Symbol -
Many Native American cultures feature
Skinwalkers or a similar concept in which a
may, according to
cultural tradition, take on an animal form such
as a bear. The picture below illustrates a
Medicine Man of the Blackfoot tribe taking on
the animal form of a bear.
Blackfoot Medicine Man as a 'Skin
Symbol - Meaning
There were so many tribes of Native American
Indians it is only possible to generalise
the most common meaning of the Bear Symbol or pattern. Native Indian symbols
are still used as
and were used for a variety of
reasons and depicted on numerous objects such as tepees, totem poles, musical instruments and clothes. Indian
Tribes also used their own
for Symbols and designs depending on the
natural resources available to make
Native American Paint.
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Building a Nation in China’s Borderlands, 1919–45
Contemporary Chinese Studies
Published by: UBC Press
198 pages, 152.00 x 229.00 mm, 17 b&w photos, 3 maps
- ISBN: 9780774867559
- Published: September 2022
The centre may hold, but borders can fray. Frontier Fieldwork explores the work of social scientists, agriculturists, photographers, and missionaries who took to the field in China’s southwest at a time when foreign political powers were contesting China’s claims over its frontiers. In the early twentieth century, when the threat of imperialism loomed large in the Sino-Tibetan borderlands, these fieldworkers undertook a nation-building exercise to unite a disparate, multi-ethnic population. Andres Rodriguez exposes the transformative power of the fieldworkers’ efforts, which placed China’s margins at the centre of its nation-making process and race to modernity.
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Sandra Solomon, an Arab born in Ramallah who converted to Christianity more than ten years ago and became a supporter of Israel, explains in an interview to the Kan broadcasting network her motivations and goals in a single-woman crusade for sanity that constantly places her in danger.
Niece of one of the Fatah movement's founders, Sahar Habash, a close confidant of former Palestinian Authority chairman Yasser Arafat, Solomon frequently repeats her unequivocal disapproval of attacks carried out by Muslims against Israelis, citing education as the cause of the violence.
She condemned the recent Neve Tzuf attack in which a Muslim broke into a home and killed three members of the Salomon family: “The Palestinian terrorist who murdered a family on Friday evening in Halamish - where did he get the idea to enter a home and kill the people who were in there?” asked Solomon. “The young Palestinians who carry out attacks are already murdered from a psychological point of view by the education that is given to them.”
“As a child, I was brought up to hate Israel,” she related. “The most important thing to us was the liberation of the Al-Aqsa mosque, the liberation of Jerusalem and the destruction of the State of Israel.
“We watched the second intifada on television” she said, recalling her childhood spent in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. “After every big terror attack—including when children were killed—candy was given out. The education that was given to me was that only Palestinians are the victims, that they are oppressed in this conflict and that the Zionists are the occupying criminals who took the land for themselves.”
Solomon decided to convert to Christianity after experiencing Islam's treatment and oppression of women, and its stifling of individual expression.
“I didn’t agree to walking around with a Hijab (a veil worn by Muslim women) as women were obligated to do in Saudi Arabia,” she told Ynet.
After divorcing the husband whom she had been forced to marry, she escaped to Canada with her little boy, where they live today, in Toronto.
“When I explained to my family in Jordan that I had converted, my sister threw my suitcase on to the street and threw me out of the house,” she said.
As a result, Solomon remains an outcast to her family and the sense of fear never dissipates. “If they knew exactly where I was today, they would surely kill me. I know that,” she says.
“Among Palestinians, there are calls to boycott Israeli products, but phones and medicines that are used by them are products of Israel,” she said. Solomon rejects the notion of a two-state solution: “I don’t believe in a two-state solution because I see what happens in the West Bank. There are pictures hung in the streets of terrorists who are considered to be heroes. The Palestinian people don’t want peace, they glorify the intifada.”
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Q. Every time before practice or matches, my school coach never requires us to stretch or warm up. I find it odd, because I know it is important to stretch before doing any kind of exercise or sport. However, I end up not having enough time to stretch before practice or a game, so I, too, don't warm up. Is it absolutely necessary to stretch before playing tennis? If so, what do you recommend?
A. Yes it is necessary to warm-up prior to any vigorous physical activity, but no it is not usually necessary to stretch. A good warm-up consists of whole body movements that begin slowly and gradually increase in range of motion and intensity. It might be that your coach has designed some stroking drills for the start of practice that progressively intensify the arm and leg movements required.
It might come as a surprise to most players, but the logic of stretching prior to competition (there was no science to back up the logic) has been refuted by dozens of studies. We now know that stretching prior to vigorous exercise does not affect risk of injury, and actually reduces most all kinds of performance. Most tennis players should stretch after matches to try to maintain normal levels of flexibility.
Q. What are 10 great stretching exercises to do after a one hour tennis workout? A few years ago the USTA had available a card, "Basic 10 Flexibility Exercises." Have these concepts changed with our better understanding of conditioning and flexibility for the sport of tennis?
A. A while back the USTA produced a poster and exercise cards listing ten stretching and flexibility exercises for tennis players. This document was originally produced in the 1990s and is available to download below:
Download the Basic 10 Flexibility Exercises Chart.
The stretches listed on the chart target most areas of the body and are equally as important today as they were when the poster was developed. Two additional stretches that should be performed by all tennis players, yet are not on the list, are the hip flexor stretch and the Figure 4 stretch.
While the importance of stretching has not changed in the past 10 years, some of the thinking about when stretching should be done has changed, however. It used to be typical for coaches and players to recommend static stretching before play thinking that it would reduce the risk of injury when the player stepped onto the court.
However, review of the research on stretching has shown a couple of things.
1. Stretching before a practice or match does not reduce the risk of injury during the following period of play – A player runs the same risk of suffering an injury during a practice session or a match whether he or she stretched beforehand or not, and
2. Stretching can actually reduce the amount of force and power a muscle can generate for over an hour after the stretch is performed – this means there is the potential for decreased performance after static stretching.
Please do not misread this article, stretching is still important for tennis players – you need to maintain normal ranges of motion throughout your body. However, stretching should be performed after practice or a match and not before. Prior to stepping on the court you should do some activity that will warm the body up, like dynamic warm-up exercises or jogging lightly. This will improve muscle performance when you start playing tennis.
Q. What are ten great stretching exercises to do after a one hour tennis workout?
A. Thanks for bringing up an important component to tennis training. Stretching after practice has many great benefits for the tennis player. As a result of numerous research studies conducted over the last 15 years, we have a much better understanding of what types of stretches are more beneficial to implement before and after workouts. As you may be aware, dynamic warm-up routines have been consistently shown to produce better results in speed, strength and power movements before practice than static stretching routines. The Player Development website has some great information on the dynamic warm-ups and the USTA has produced a DVD outlining many different dynamic warm-up routines (USTA Dynamic Tennis Warm-Ups produced by human kinetics www.humankinetics.com). Following tennis practice or competition it is important to cool-down appropriately and then perform static stretching exercises on all the major muscle groups that are used during tennis play. Although there are dozens of great stretches that can be performed, listed below are 10 static stretching exercises that hit the major muscles that are typically used during tennis play and can be implemented at the end of your tennis workouts.
1. Hamstring Rope Stretch
2. Adductor Rope Stretch
3. Lower Back/Hip Rope Stretch
4. Figure 4 Stretch (Glute Stretch)
5. Kneeling Hip Flexor
6. Slant Board Calf Stretch
7. Lower Back Stretch
8. Posterior Shoulder Stretch
9. Tricep Stretch
10. Forearm/Wrist Stretch
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Humans are social animals, and we find ourselves drawn to live in communities. In high-density areas, however, we are not always able to choose who we live near. Whether you live in a city apartment or a large house in the country, you can probably find a neighbor who infringes upon your privacy. The important thing is that you handle the situation as quickly and as courteously as possible.
Assessing the Situation
1Consider the problem. In order to deal with with nosy neighbors, you need to fully understand the situation. Ask yourself the following questions:
- How long has this been going on?
- How many of your neighbors are nosy?
- Do you live in a nosy neighborhood?
- How long do you plan to stay in that area?
2Look for patterns in your neighbors' nosy behavior. Are they often nosy at certain times? They might by nosiest during weekends, weekdays, or evenings. Perhaps their nosiness stems from something that is going on in their lives. Perhaps they are curious about something that;s going on in your life. Maybe they are nosy about your children, or about your guests, or about the work you're doing in your yard.
3Consider why your neighbors are being so nosy. Try to understand their motives. If you think that they're being nosy, then they're probably violating your privacy in some way—but there must be a reason that they are so curious about your life and habits. Your neighbors might just be very nosy people, but they also might have a genuine reason for asking questions.
- Are they new and just trying to understand the culture of the neighborhood?
- Are they just looking for entertainment at your expense?
- Are you doing something (suspicious, exciting, or intriguing) to make them curious?
4Talk to the nosy neighbor. Try to learn as much about them as possible without getting too involved. This will help you to identify if there is any malice in their questions, if they are just being nosy to pass the time, or if they are new and need help making friends.
5Decide how to handle the situation. You may want to confront your neighbors, you may want to avoid them, or you may want to befriend them.
- If your neighbors seem lonely and bored—like they're just nosing because they want to connect with someone—try talking to them, introducing them to other neighbors, and suggesting fun things for them to do.
- If your neighbors are nosy, but you don't want to confront them directly, try finding ways to avoid their snooping. If your neighbors are always watching you, then put up a fence or conduct your business indoors; if your neighbors are always confronting you and asking you personal questions, then consider how you can avoid talking to them.
- If your neighbors are snooping around looking for trouble—whether that means stealing your things or reporting you for illegal activities—then consider upping your security. Ask them to stop intruding. If the situation becomes dangerous for your family or your property, don't hesitate to contact the authorities.
Avoiding Nosy Neighbors
1Be the stronger person. Do not stoop to their level. Just get on with your business, nonchalantly and happily. Do not be rude or threatening. If they have nothing better to do than watch you all day, then they have wasted their own time, not yours.
2Pretend that you're listening to music. If you're busy and you don't have time to tolerate nosiness, pretend to listen to songs on your phone or iPod. Keep your headphones in your ears while passing through common areas like corridors, lifts, and parks—anywhere you might encounter your neighbor. This discourages any unnecessary contact: nosy neighbors will see that you are unavailable, and they may look for an easier target.
- It helps if the headphones are big enough to be seen from afar. If someone walks up to you before noticing the earphones, chances are they will say what they came to say.
- Some people refuse to take a hint, and might still have the audacity to ask prying questions despite the earphones.
3Pretend to take a phone call. To do this you need to put your phone on silent and vibration in silent should be off. Whenever they approach you, put your phone to your ear and pretend to be in an important conversation. Don't forget to smile and nod at them when on the phone: this will add to the act that you aren't trying to avoid them, but your workload is just too much. Say things like:
- "Yes, yes it will be done—will send it over to you by tomorrow."
- "How is the report coming along? I heard there were complications."
- "There has been a bug that we were trying to fix."
- "Or you can simply alternate between "Yes, yes...", "Hmm? Mhm," and "Oh, okay," on your fake phone call. This may be the best choice if you are not confident in your ability to make up convincing material on the spot.
4Do not hang out in plain sight of your neighbors. Move to your backyard, or choose another spot where they can't see you. This works for some activities—you can just as easily host a cookout or play catch with your son in the backyard as you can in the front—but it is not a permanent fix. It is an avoidance technique.
- If your neighbor is extremely nosy, he or she might find ways to snoop around despite your efforts to avoid it. Hiding in the backyard might work once or twice, but be prepared for more nosy times ahead.
- If you live your life trying to avoid your neighbors, you are letting them rule you. If the problem is this bad, consider confronting or ignoring your neighbors. It can be exhausting to expend all of your mental energy on simply trying to escape someone.
5Act like you're aren't doing anything. That gives them less reason to watch. If your neighbors are always asking questions about what you're doing and why you're doing it, an easy solution can be to simply do nothing. Try your best to seem uninteresting. Resume your activities when your neighbors go away.
- Bear in mind that if you look like you have nothing to do, some neighbors make take it as license to come strike up a conversation. When in doubt, it is probably best to avoid or confront your neighbors rather than wait for them to leave.
6Tighten up your security. This may be a wise choice if you think your neighbors are snooping around on your property. Keep your house locked. If you go on vacation, install a security system or video cameras. Ask another neighbor to keep an eye on your property while you're away, in case the nosy neighbor starts snooping around. Consider getting a guard dog.
- Bear in mind that depending on the neighbor situation, this approach may be bordering on paranoia. Perhaps your neighbors are actually sneaking onto your property while you're away; perhaps you are just giving them a bad rap.
- If you truly suspect your neighbors of entering your property without your consent, confront them and firmly ask them to stop. Warn them that the next time they do this, you will not hesitate to call the police.
7Make a code name for them whenever you see them. For example, "activity" or "spiders." This will cue your family to behave accordingly, whether you all agree to retreat to the backyard or begin making loud noises.
8Build a fence. If you want your neighbors to stop peeking, consider putting up a fence between your properties. Check local by-laws on fencing. If the fence lies between your properties, you may need to ask your neighbors' permission to construct it. Make sure that you don't build onto their property, or else you may give them even more reason to intrude.
- Dogs or small children make a great excuse to build a large fence around your property. Simply say that you didn't want the dog running loose.
- If you don't like the idea of a fence, consider planting a hedge, a bush, or a stand of trees. Bear in mind that these barriers will take years to grow into place.
- Consider whether you want to feel penned in just because your neighbors are nosy. Building a fence may solve your problem, but it may just inspire your nosy neighbors to get creative.
9Be elusive and disarming. If they go outside, go back in and come out in 5 minutes. Wave at them vigorously and say "hi, how are you?" Ask them if you can borrow a cup of sugar or their lawnmower. If you keep asking for things, your neighbors may start hiding from you.
Confronting Nosy Neighbors
1Shut down their nosy questions. If your neighbors ask you a lot of personal questions, tell them that it makes you uncomfortable. The next time they do it, give them a straight answer, like "That's not something I would like to share with you." Stare them down, and make it clear that you mean business. Then walk away. They'll hopefully get the message and back off.
- This approach is blunt and straightforward. It may get the point across, but it may also offend your neighbor's pride.
- Bear in mind that nosy neighbors aren't always trying to be obnoxious. He or she might be asking questions out of genuine curiosity. He or she may not have the tact or the social skills to know which questions are too personal. Be empathetic, but do not put up with anything that violates your space.
- If you tell your neighbor to stop asking questions, but he or she continues, you may need to take more serious steps to address the problem.
2Catch them in the act. If your neighbors like to spy on you, catch them and say something that will embarrass them. Discreetly inform everyone who is with you, and then out of nowhere say something like, "Hey Mrs. Jones, having fun there?" Watch as their face turns red. If they deny it, then just ignore them, and give them a cold shoulder. If they do it again, get them alone and ask them nicely to stop.
- Make jokes about them nosing. Say things like, "Now don't you go spying on me!" and they may realize that they are being too nosy. It might even make them stop.
3Give them a small piece of information, and then ask about them. If they say, "So, Frank, buddy, what's up?" ninety-seven times a day, it wouldn't hurt to respond once, "Oh, just walking the dog," or "I'm good." This isn't the most exciting reply, and it makes it hard to think up further questions. Then ask, "How about you?" This can unsettle nosy people who don't like the feeling that you are nosing on them. If they aren't nosy and it's in your head, this is a great conversation starter.
4Be equally obnoxious toward your neighbors until they leave you alone. Make loud clapping noises in the backyard, play loud music, or flash your lights outside. If they keep snooping around in your business, these activities may irritate them and send them back indoors.
- Be careful what you start. Escalating the situation may not drive the neighbors away—instead, it may prompt them to escalate things even further. Think before you act, and consider whether your neighbors are the type to react competitively. Remember: you need to live next to these people.
- Bear in mind that if you begin to harass your neighbors, especially if you make loud noises, you are giving them grounds to call the police on you. If the police show up, it may not matter who "started it".
5Consider informing the authorities. If your neighbors get too nosy, you may find that your only option is to contact the local police or neighborhood watch force. If the neighbor just won't leave you alone, you may want to apply for a restraining order. If you find your neighbors snooping around on your property, stealing your things, or trying to break into your home, try calling the police so that you don't need to handle the situation on your own.
How do I deal with a mentally unstable neighbor who won't leave me alone? She keeps calling, ringing the doorbell, and banging on my front and back door.wikiHow ContributorBuild a fence with a gate that locks and put a "no trespassing, no solicitations" sign on the front gate. If she violates that boundary, call the police.
My neighbor is constantly watching me through her windows--it's creepy! What can I do?wikiHow ContributorAsk her politely to stop staring at you because you don't feel comfortable. If that doesn't work, call the police.
How do I deal with neighbors who think I am doing something illegal in my home, but I am not?wikiHow ContributorPolitely but firmly confront them and ask why they believe you are doing something illegal. Share your side of the story to convince them of your innocence.
I have a husband and wife constantly staring through their kitchen windows. What do I do about it?wikiHow ContributorYou can try installing an outdoor blind that you can see through a bit on your side, but they can't see into your house on their side - or just put a regular blind or curtain in your window if you don't mind not seeing through it yourself. You could also try walking around in your underwear so they get embarrassed and avoid the window.
Our female neighbor is constantly staring at us and intimidating us. What can I do?wikiHow ContributorIgnore the staring and the intimidating as much as possible. If she crosses the line and intimidating becomes menacing, you might want to report things to the police.
Sources and Citations
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Русский: бороться с назойливыми соседями, Português: Lidar com Vizinhos Enxeridos, Français: vivre à côté de voisins trop curieux, Deutsch: Mit neugierigen Nachbarn umgehen, Bahasa Indonesia: Menghadapi Tetangga Usil
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A narrow strait of land on the coast of Southern Laconia, an island today but a peninsula in the past since Pausanias in his “Guide to Greece” named it “Minoa akra”.
The name Monemvasia is clearly explained in the “Chronicle of Moreas”, a historical document written during the late byzantine era. Monemvasia is “the only embasis”, the unique entrance to the island over the bridge. An important strategic position, a safe port, a great trading stop.
The byzantine emperor Maurice established Monemvasia in the first year of his reign in 582 AD and the settlers were brought from Lakedaimonia. Its survival after the attacks of the Goths, Avars and Slavs transformed Monemvasia into a great port, on the trade route between the Mediterranean and the Levant.
The four golden decrees of the emperor Andronicus II awarded Monemvasia with privileges and estates and the island became the port of Mistras, the capital of the Byzantine despotate in the Peloponnese. Their wealth increased due to the trading of malmsey wine, grains, wood, leather, fur coats and cloth and Monemvasia became self sufficient , not a small accomplishment since during its heyday it had a population of 40.000 inhabitants. After the fall of the city of Constantinople, it remained the only stronghold of the Byzantine Empire not conquered by the Ottomans. 1463 was the turning point since the Turkish-Venetian war led the citizens to the decision to surrender to Venice.
“Napoli di Malvasia” was the new name used by the new rulers for almost 100 years of the Venetian presence. Venice surrendered the city of Monemvasia to the Ottomans in 1540 AD for more than 100 years until the end of the 17th century. The city was evacuated since the Venetians withdrew their military presence and the Greek population followed them west. The new ottoman name sounded more poetic “Menektses”, the violet city but the Ottomans immediately initiated an impressive fortification project and many public buildings were restored. The Venetians returned in the end of the 17th century even if the locals had no sympathy left for them.
By the early 18th century the city had regained its lost population and historical records mention 10.000 inhabitants that contributed 17% of the total Venetian revenue from the Peloponnese. The Ottomans were back in 1715 for almost 100 years until the Greek revolution of 1821 brought freedom to Monemvasia.
Monemvasia is a characteristic example of architecture in a city founded by Greeks, transformed by Venetians, the experts on military architecture and completely restored by Ottoman rulers. It offers exceptional fortifications commissioned by ottoman generals and rulers, built by local masons who imitated the art and techniques taught to them by Venetian architects.
It is also well known for its Byzantine monuments:
• The church of Ayia Sofia on the upper city, perched on the cliffs, dated to the 11th century AD and a rare example of an octagonal church, clearly an architectural form imported from Constantinople and possibly sponsored by the emperors of Byzantium. The views of the Aegean are exceptional; on a clear day you might see even Crete.
• The church of Jesus Christ, facing the central square of the city is the metropolis (Cathedral). Built on the remains of an early Byzantine church it bears interesting influence of the Venetian era.
A walk in the labyrinthine picturesque town offers wonderful views and great chances of shopping, having a cup of coffee, a Greek lunch and incredible photographs.
Licensed Tourist Guide
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What Does Your Online Reputation Look Like?
Everything changes all the time, what is being said about you online could be too. Creating and keeping a good online reputation takes work and is an ongoing process that all brands need to be involved in.
Online reputation monitoring clearly has a big impact on a company’s revenue. Many businesses don’t consider the potential losses in sales, press coverage and more until long after the damage is done. Would you like to learn an easy and extremely helpful way to monitor it? Then Click Here.
You need to plan on how to use the online platforms that will best reach your market and then monitor them.
If you find a bad review, you should reply to it. Don’t ignore it. Give them an alternative, something to show that you care about their bad experience and want to make it right for them.
If there is an issue with a customer or a service / product, and it is not quickly answered and resolved by your company, your customer can now easily tell thousands of people within minutes. Between social media and online directories they can let everyone know what they have experienced, so when new customers are searching for you guess what they may find.
The good news; they will hopefully find the great reviews on those sites too!
Did you know that:
- “79% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.”
- “A one-star increase in Yelp rating leads to a 5-9% increase in revenue.”
- “73% of consumers say positive reviews make them trust a business more.”
- “77% of consumers read less than 6 reviews before they form an opinion.”
- “85% of consumers conduct online research before making a decision.”
More and more, people are searching and researching online before they buy. The percentages are only growing. They believe what the online reviews are saying, having more trust in strangers than they do in advertising of any kind.
- “39% of customers continue to avoid vendors two or more years after a bad experience.”
- “69% of customers attributed their good customer service experience to a quick resolution of their problem.”
- “95% of customers share bad experiences and 87% share good experiences with others.”
What is being said out there about your company or services and products? Do you know?
Boomerang Social in Raleigh, North Carolina can help you monitor your online reputation, letting you know what is being said about your company and where. That way a response can be made and a chance to create a happy customer and fan again. You do want them coming back and telling everyone what great customer service you have, right! Just give us a call at 919.578.8515 so we can discuss your online reputation.*Statistics from www.isocialreviews.com/online-reputation-statistics and http://www.zendesk.com/resources/customer-service-and-lifetime-customer-value
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FEDERAL Environment Minister Tony Burke has dismissed "lockout" concerns of anglers around Australia and formally proclaimed 44 marine reserves in a network that covers a third of the country's ocean territory.
"Environment Minister, Tony Burke, has caved into pressure from environmental lobbyists to create a flawed and uninspiring marine parks plan," a spokesman for Keep Australia Fishing, the peak advocacy group for rec anglers, said today.
"He had the chance to create marine protected areas that achieved key conservation goals yet recognised the unique socio-economic benefits of a sustainable recreational fishing sector.
"However, it is clear with the announcement today that Minister Burke has simply toed the line given to him by the environmental lobby.
"Minister Burke had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to create an inspiring and visionary marine parks network. But he's followed the same old line of locking it all up and throwing away the key.
"This lock-up agenda is exactly what green and anti-fishing groups have demanded for the past several years. Today Minister Burke has delivered exactly what these groups have required from him. It is now crystal clear that the Minister and his Government have been hogtied on the marine parks issue by the Greens and other anti-fishing groups.
"There was no scientific rationale behind the Government's moves to lock anglers out of 1.3 million square kilometres of ocean. We've been asking for years why we need to be locked out. However, Minister Burke has never yet answered our questions. All we can do is keep asking, 'why are you doing this to us?'
KAF questioned the Minister's decision to reward the commercial fishing sector with $100 million in compensation. "Why is the commercial fishing industry getting millions in taxpayer-funded compensation yet nothing is being provided for the rec-fishing communities?
"Minister Burke's decisions today are a slap in the face for our nation's millions of recreational anglers. We're the only user group getting locked out for no reason and with no compensation. Anglers won't forget that our Federal Government has this day treated us with contempt.
KAF and other rec-fishing organisations will now lobby hard to ensure the management plans governing the commonwealth marine parks allowed for well-managed recreational fishing activities.
"Our Environment Minister should have rejected the extremist views espoused by anti-fishing groups and instead would have worked with anglers and other reasonable environmental groups to create an efficient and effective marine parks system.
"Since the Minister has failed to do this, we'll now push hard to ensure the management plans governing these new marine parks do not exclude anglers without good reason.
"KAF and other angling organisations are committed to ensuring fishing rights for future generations of Aussie anglers," the spokesman concluded.
Keep Australia Fishing (KAF) is the peak advocacy group representing 5 million anglers.
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Category Archives: Ireland
David J. Barrett contributed this excellent guest post covering the results of the two referendums held in Ireland on May 22, 2015
Two referendums and a by-election to parliament took place on Friday May 22nd in Ireland. The referendums took place in order to change the constitution to allow same-sex marriage, and to lower the age of eligibility for candidates running for President from 35 to 21. The by-election took place to fill the vacancy caused by the appointment of Phil Hogan to the European Commission.
The referendum in marriage was a long-time coming, but still moved quickly when it did. Ireland has traditionally been very far from the lead in socially progressive legislation in Europe. Homosexuality was only legalized in 1993 and divorce only won a referendum in 1995 by about 9,000 votes – less than 1%. Abortion is still one of the live-issues of Irish politics and is still effectively illegal. Nonetheless after legalization public opinion moved relatively quickly. In 2010 civil unions, with many similarities to marriage (albeit without being exactly the same) was pushed through by the then governing Fianna Fail-Green coalition, after having been repeatedly proposed by the social-democratic Labour Party in legislation while in opposition for several years prior to that. It faced nearly negligible opposition when actually brought to a vote – with only a handful of senators in the largely powerless upper house seriously expressing disquiet over the issue. Reaction to the legislation among the Irish LGBT community was generally positive, albeit not uniformly so, with the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) expressing their support for the legislation while Marriage Equality – an organization with an eponymous raison d’etre – pointing out the numerous legal differences between civil partnership and marriage.
In the 2011 election Ireland elected openly gay parliamentarians to the Dail – the lower house of parliament – for the first time, having long had Senator David Norris in the upper house. Norris, who led the legal fight in the courts to get homosexuality legalized, was later that year considered the heavy favourite to win Ireland’s largely ceremonial presidency in polls before ultimately faltering, but the popularity of his campaign showed how homosexuality seemed to be increasingly a non-issue in Irish politics.
Same-sex marriage was not in the programme for government of the Fine Gael-Labour coalition that took power in 2011. Instead, the issue was put to the Constitutional Convention, a joint assembly of citizen’s and politicians that would consider a variety of civic and political reforms. The constitutional convention voted overwhelmingly to recommend the issue to the government, along with a variety of other reforms, including lowering the eligibility age for presidential and lowering the voting age.
However the step from civil partnership to full marriage was always going to be more difficult. The Irish court system had previously ruled that the constitutional definition of family was limited to opposite-sex couples only. This meant that any change to the legal status of marriage required a referendum – like any other change in the Irish constitution. While the government’s poll rating had slipped since the election, the referendum began to be seen increasingly as the most inevitable of those proposed by the Convention, not least owing to the passionate support it received from the Labour Party, whose then leader Eamon Gilmore called it the ‘Civil Rights issue of our generation’. Fine Gael as well became increasingly more supportive as time went on, with motions supporting same-sex marriage being supported by the youth wing of the party, and with the foundation of an LGBT wing led by popular Cork based deputy Jerry Buttimer, who came out after the 2011 election.
On January 11th 2014 Rory O’Neill, a popular Irish drag queen who is best name as his alter-ego ‘Panti Bliss’, was interviewed by the state broadcaster RTE, in which he alleged that two socially conservative newspapers columnists for the Irish Times, a major broadsheet newspaper in Ireland, Breda O’Brien and John Waters, were homophobic. Both O’Brien and Waters sued RTE for defamation, who immediately settled and paid them a sum of €85,000. There was immediate outrage not only among the LGBT community but among politicians and wider society, which culminated in large protests and a passionate and extremely well-watched speech by Panti in the Abbey Theatre, which currently has over 700,000 views on YouTube. With the referendum very well anticipated by this point it was a seen as an early battleground between the liberal and conservative portions of Irish politics.
The Yes side spent a considerable proportion of their energy initially ensuring that large numbers of county councils passed resolutions in favour of same-sex marriage, in order to help build a sense of momentum for the idea among the body politic.
Much of the work before the referendum concerned the ‘Children and Family Relationships Bill’, which was an omnibus piece of legislation that aimed to address legal ambiguities involving all kinds of non-traditional families, including LGBT ones. While not strictly related to the referendum the passage of the bill before the vote was seen as absolutely necessary for the referendum to pass, as the bill would remove most of the issues that the No side to the referendum would likely raise regarding children and the family. In the event the bill only passed the upper house on March 20th, very close to the final date of the referendum, so much of the issues dealt with in the bill were seen by many as tied up with the referendum.
Both the Yes and No campaigns carefully studied previous campaigns in the US and Eastern Europe for advice over what worked and what did not for their rivals, giving the campaign a much more international than previous referendums.
Irish referendums have been dominated in recent years by the Coughlan and McKenna Supreme Court Judgments. These hold that governments cannot spend public money to promote their own proposal and that the state broadcaster must be ‘balanced’ in their coverage of the issue – which has usually been interpreted as giving exactly equal airtime to both sides.
The Yes campaign was supported by all major political parties, and a major civic society effort. Fine Gael and Labour in particular were active in promoting the government’s proposal with campaigns that emphasized the idea of equality for every citizen, with extensive and costly poster campaigns, and with many deputies running their own campaigns for the proposal in their own local area. The far-left and nationalist Sinn Fein, similarly, strongly supported a Yes vote, with their campaign invoking the 1916 proclamation, a document written by Irish rebels in 1916 declaring an Irish Republic that is considered the founding document of the Irish state, albeit without legal force, that all children of the nation be cherished equally. The centrist and populist Fianna Fail similarly ran a colourful poster campaign, but the party was noticeably more lukewarm in its support than the others and almost non-existent beyond the efforts of Senator Averil Power, based in northern Dublin suburbs, and a few local councilors. Indeed Wexford based Senator Jim Walsh resigned from the party over the party’s support for the proposal and for its support of the Children and Family Relationships’ bill. The party gave a distinct impression of being more interested in campaigning for the Carlow-Kilkenny by-election, which the party was regarded as strongly competitive in, than in the referendum.
However civic society was undoubtedly the main force of the Yes campaign. GLEN, Marriage Equality and the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, who pooled their organisations to make ‘Yes Equality’ (YE), which rapidly became a campaigning behemoth in several areas of the country. YE largely ran a conservative message, emphasizing the importance of family and stability in people’s lives, and how a yes vote would reduce stigma and improve the mental health of young LGBT people. Much of their early literature focused on well known sports and television personalities popular in rural Ireland, as it was felt that these individuals who would appeal to swing voters, rather than the outspoken liberals most associated with LGBT rights before this point.
YE’s actual strategy was similar to that of any political party – knock on as many doors as possible nationwide and speak to voters. While this has long been considered the best strategy for parties in general elections it is normally not done in referendums due to a severe shortage of volunteers. Most parties find it difficult to muster up their own members to campaign even over contentious European treaty referendums, and other volunteers tend to be extremely sparse. This means that the ‘ground war’ in most referendums is limited to things with high visibility, such as distributing leaflets at sporting occasions. However YE had no such shortage of volunteers, particularly in Dublin and Cork, where the number of campaigners in a constituency per night regularly passed fifty. YE was partially motivated in this approach by the (now utterly discredited and found to be fabricated) study of LaCour and Green, which found that people speaking to those that they know to be LGBT helps change attitudes positively significantly.
The No side ran a significantly more traditional referendum campaign. It had no political parties in support, but a number of politicians did support them, such independent Mattie McGrath and former Fianna Fail junior minister John McGuinness in the lower house, and Senators Ronan Mullen and Fidelma Healy Eames in the upper house. The Catholic Church also lent their support to the campaign. It was also supported a by a few media figures – most noticeably newspaper columnists David Quinn, Breda O’Brien and John Waters. Most of these figures amalgamated their efforts into the civic society group ‘Mothers and Fathers Matter’ (MFM). Their campaign focused little on the issue directly at hand. Their posters emphasized surrogacy and the importance of gender specific parents biologically related to the child, as well as arguing that No voters were being ‘silenced’ and discriminated against by a liberal society. The overall thrust of their campaign however focused on the ‘air war’, where their lack of volunteers on the ground (certainly relative to YE) was less noticeable and where they would be obliged to receive the same airtime as YE.
Both sides were well funded. YE in particular attracted an exceptionally large amount of small donations and also managed to make a considerable sum on the sale of campaign related merchandise. In particular YE badges became ubiquitous, with over 500,000 in circulation. The source of funding for MFM was more ambiguous – but they could clearly print posters and post literature at the same rate as YE, and also paid a considerable sum for seemingly endless advertisements on YouTube.
A selection of posters from both sides in Dublin city centre can be seen on either side.
Polling in the campaign stayed quite consistent, with support for Yes consistently high, and usually over 70%. Almost no one from either side of the campaign believed these numbers however, as it was felt that there was a strong social desirability factor in voting yes and many Irish referendums see extremely inaccurate poll numbers (with several European treaties and the abolition of the upper house being defeated in spite of no poll showing the Yes side behind). Additionally many spoke of the 1995 divorce referendum, which polled well and then saw the lead for the Yes side dwindle to almost nothing. As, arguably, the referendum most similar to it both sides planned for a similarly close finish.
Voters could be forgiven for not knowing that there was a second referendum, as the ballot on the presidential age had no campaign launched either for or against it, and received essentially no air time, which was probably related to the issue seeming almost laughably trivial compared to the other item on the ballot paper. There was essentially no polling done on it either, but almost all expected it to be heavily defeated.
The by-election in Carlow-Kilkenny, a predominantly rural constituency in the South-East of the country, was somewhat unusual, as almost every party had reason to expect to do reasonably well. FG was defending the seat and ran a local councillor, but this was also the area that FF received the highest percentage of the vote nationwide in their 2011 wipeout and were running a former parliamentarian for the area, and both Carlow and Kilkenny were among Labour’s best areas nationally in the last local election. SF was also polling exceptionally well nationally, and this was one of the few areas nationwide where the Green Party had a well-entrenched local councilor. The newly founded conservative ‘Renua’ party also managed to recruit a local councilor off FF, and hoped for a strong showing.
|Results – Marriage Equality Referendum|
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|Results – Presidential Age Referendum|
|Invalid or blank votes||15,938||0.82%|
The Marriage Equality passed resoundingly, with only one of 43 constituencies – Roscommon-South Leitrim, in the west of the country, rejecting the proposal. By contrast the Presidential Age referendum lost resoundingly. It failed to win a single constituency nationwide and had the lowest Yes vote of any referendum in Irish history. FF won the by-election, being well clear of FG in the final count.
While the Yes vote in the Marriage Equality was lower than most polls suggested, it was still well in line with what they were suggesting. Indeed it was the highest vote in favour of same-sex marriage anywhere in the world by nearly 10%. Based on previous form with referendums and polling this was considered extremely surprising and a result near stunning victory for YE. David Quinn effectively conceded for the No side within less than hour of the votes being counted and suggesting a near-landslide in Dublin.
The reason for YE’s near total victory can be seen in the extremely high turnout figure – which is near, albeit not quite at, general election turnout numbers in Ireland, and is the referendum with the highest turnout since divorce. While a high turnout the level of enthusiasm for actually voting surprised nearly every observer. Huge numbers enrolled on the electoral register for the first time – with nearly 67,000 voters ending up on the supplemental voting register – a resource for those who register after the deadline for the main register which is historically almost never used. Unofficial tallies of the boxes these votes were cast in suggested that they almost unanimously supported Yes. Ireland has no postal voting (which is likely related to large numbers of residents of Northern Ireland and the US who have Irish citizenship but have never actually been resident in Ireland), and in the final days of the campaign #hometovote started trending globally on twitter. With Ireland’s economic difficulties since 2008 a considerable number of young people left the country for jobs and opportunities elsewhere. A considerable number of them returned from very afield in order to vote on the proposal – with virtually all of Ryanair’s flights to Dublin the day before the vote sold out weeks in advance, and with individuals coming from considerably further afield than that (two friends of the author returned from New York and Mozambique to vote – these are extreme but not actually particularly uncommon examples).
However there was still a geographical split. Urban areas, and particularly Dublin, were noticeably more in favour of the proposal than rural ones, with areas in the North and West of the country having particularly low Yes votes compared to the national average (indeed the only No constituency was in this region, as were the next seven closest constituencies). This sort of split is not particularly unusual in Irish referendums.
What was unusual however was the internal breakdown of areas. Normally middle class Southern Dublin leads the way on issues relating to Europe and on social reform. Here the picture was much more mixed. The highest Yes constituency was indeed Dublin South East – an extremely wealthy constituency home to most of Dublin’s south city centre and the base of most of Ireland’s tech companies – making the constituency have an extremely high student and young professional population that naturally favoured a Yes. However what many of the other most favourable constituencies for Yes in Dublin share is being predominantly working class. By contrast Dublin South, a middle class area of suburban lawns and golf club memberships, which is usually very high on these measures, scoring among the lowest Yes votes in Dublin. While surprising to observers this was certainly not news to Yes campaigners, who regularly reported having a more difficult time in such more ‘settled’ areas, with an older population, more Church influence and less exposure to non-nuclear families generally. Turnout in Dublin was much more uniform than normal between middle and working class areas, suggesting that the latter was more interested in this than normal.
Cork and Limerick were also decisively favourable and above the national average, though with Yes votes below even Dublin’s lowest constituency. This is, again, normal on social issues in Ireland.
Non-urban areas however behaved somewhat differently in the details than they have in the past – again similar to Dublin. The gap between urban and rural was much smaller than in divorce. Many Dublin constituencies moved little from their Divorce vote – in spite of the liberal side winning 62% in contrast to 50.3% then. The most liberal constituency then – Dun Laoghaire in Dublin, went from 68% in favour to 71% in favour this time. Rural Ireland seems to have distinctly moved. There also in this contest a regional divide in the rural constituencies, with the North and West being distinctly less in favour than the South and East. In previous contests rural areas in Cork have been among Ireland’s most conservative – Cork North West had the highest No vote in divorce (Only 34% in favour) and returned enormous margins against abortion. This time it the liberal side of the issue won 58%. Rural areas anywhere near a commuting distance to Dublin saw enormous Yes wins (69% in Kildare North, 66% in Kildare South, 68% in Wicklow), although even areas outside of the pull of the capital were decisive.
No constituency in Connacht or Ulster were above the national average, and the only loss for Yes occurred in this region. Roscommon-South Leitrim, an inland Western constituency with a very poor economy, has traditionally not been the most conservative constituency – albeit it certainly leaned in that direction. What seems to have happened was a near total lack of support for YE among local politicians, combined with a knowledge that this was not actually Ireland’s most conservative constituency ensuring it got no special attention. Nonetheless the defeat in the area was quite narrow.
Much better bets for No constituencies actually returned a Yes vote – both Donegal constituencies in the far North-West and Cavan-Monaghan on the border of Northern Ireland, where local politicians supported YE campaigns seemingly determined the defy the conservative reputations of the area.
What the rural areas in the North and West seem to share – and that contrasts them with the rest of the country – is the near total non-existence of the Labour Party there at any level at almost any point in Irish history. Labour was for most of its existence predominantly a rural party in the South and East, and the party still has support and can return parliamentarians there even after becoming an urban force. Nonetheless this relationship is not total, and certainly does not explain the narrowing gap between Urban and Rural Ireland on social issues just as Labour has become more urban.
Another explanation is the institutional strength of the Church in certain areas, with No being stronger where they continue to have sway. This seems likely, but does not bode well for for the Church’s future sway over Ireland – particularly since, as the Archbishop of Dublin noted, 90% of Irish young people have spent nearly their whole lives in Catholic educational institutions, and these were the individuals most likely to repudiate their stance.
The Presidential age referendum had essentially the same geographical split, with the highest Yes again being Dublin South East, followed by other Dublin constituencies. The defeat was extremely heavy however, which likely reflected the perceived frivolity of the vote.
FF won the by-election – but their percentage of the vote (28%), was exactly the same as what they won in the area in the General Election, which does not strongly indicate a party in recovery and more reflects the struggles of FG, who both have reason to be disappointed. Renua did quite well – and with a vote only slightly above the 9.5% they received in a by-election perceived as a contest largely between FF and FG they would likely win a seat. One of the more striking features of the contest was the poor performance of Labour and the comparatively impressive percentages of the various minor Left parties. Labour were strongly associated with the Marriage Equality referendum that got all of these voters to the polls in the first place (and clearly carried Carlow-Kilkenny) and were certainly not rewarded by the electorate for it. By contrast first time voters seem to have rewarded the minor left parties without the established local history that Labour has, but also without Labour’s coalition baggage.
The result turned most of Dublin into a sort of spontaneous joyous street party for much of the day of the count. The most comparable moment in Irish history for such celebrations was Ireland winning through to the soccer world cup quarter-finals in 1990 (which also provoked the same sort of reaction and is still considered arguable the finest moment in Irish sporting history).
Following on from the referendum FF Senator Averil Power resigned from the party, saying that the party lacked the courage to stand for anything by its (effective) refusal to campaign as a party on the issue, in spite of the efforts of many party activists. This fairly quickly deflated the party after their by-election success and much of the subsequent discussion became whether the party had misread their now predominantly rural base by not engaging in the campaign.
The government has followed up the referendum victory with a gender-recognition bill for transgendered individuals. The combination of such legislation, combined with Ireland’s first ever (albeit extremely restrictive) abortion legislation means that the government can make a reasonable case for this being one of Ireland’s most socially progressive governments ever, something that both constituent parties are likely to try to capitalize on in a general election that is now likely less than a year away.
David J. Barrett contributed this excellent guest post covering the results of the European and local elections in Ireland
The Irish European and Local elections, along with two parliamentary by-elections, took place on May 23rd. They were the first truly major nationwide polling test of the Fine Gael-Labour coalition that took office in 2011, when the financial collapse and subsequent involvement of the IMF finally brought down the increasingly beleaguered Fianna Fáil-Green coalition.
Since the General Election
The new Fine Gael-Labour government, elected amidst a tidal wave of popular anger that brought Fianna Fáil, the largest party in the Irish state in every election from 1932, to third and behind both of the new coalition partners, had considerable good will towards it. Led by Enda Kenny, the long standing Fine Gael leader (since 2002) and a former Minister for Tourism, the government had a crushing parliamentary majority. There were indications that the government could prove fractious. Labour, a Social Democratic party, had largely campaigned against excessive cuts to public services, while Fine Gael, a Christian Democratic party, had made it very clear that they were in favour of implementing the proposed austerity budgets negotiated by their predecessors, even if they were not very happy with it. The final coalition agreement, while containing commitments to several socially liberal reforms that pleased Labour, largely followed the Fine Gael line on the economy.
The government has trumpeted its economic success. Unemployment has fallen steadily (but remains very high), Ireland has left the bailout program and its bonds are no longer rated as ‘junk’. However little of this has, or is expected to, reach the general public. Emigration, particularly to Britain and Australia, remains enormous. Taxes are now among Europe’s highest, public services are rated as mediocre at best compared to other European countries and, most importantly, there is absolutely no sign that anything other than tax increases and budget cuts will be on the cards at all for at least another ten years, making it hard for the public to feel optimistic for an economic recovery that is unlikely to benefit them at all.
Inevitably therefore, this enormous popularity was not to last, and the government as its term has gone on has suffered increasing domestic setbacks. They were most obviously felt by Labour, which began to suffer enormously from (effectively) conceding the economy to Fine Gael. While immediately following the General Election Labour won both the Presidential election and a by-election in Dublin West – the constituency held by the Labour Deputy Leader Joan Burton – the party has increasingly suffered from defections and resignations the longer it has been in government. In November 2011 – six months after taking office – popular junior minister Willie Penrose had resigned from the party over the relocation of an army barracks in his constituency. He was followed one month later by the resignations of two backbenchers over the austerity proposed in the budget, with one the resignations being Patrick Nulty – the newly elected deputy for Dublin West. In September 2012 another junior minister, Roisin Shortall, a senior party figure who was considered a strong contender for a cabinet post, resigned from the party and government over disagreements with the Fine Gael Minister for Health James Reilly following perceived favouritism of his constituency in health resource allocation. In December of that year another backbencher resigned over the budget, eventually joining Fianna Fáil, and in June 2013 MEP Nessa Childers resigned as well, saying that she “no longer wanted to support a Government that is actually hurting people”. Throughout all of this time the party suffered the loss of a steady stream of local councillors, most of whom resigning from the party with issues of the support of the party leadership for austerity.
Labour’s poll rating fell steadily, from roughly the 19% it received in the general election of 2011 to 9-10% by 2014, and a clear fourth place in the polls, behind Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin. In March 2013 the party suffered a crushing defeat in the Meath East by-election – a largely commuter belt constituency where the party had received 21% in 2011 – winning a mere 4.6% of the vote. In spite of all of this Labour’s woes were certainly not the biggest challenge facing the government.
Kenny, having survived a challenge to his leadership in 2010 by his Deputy Leader Richard Bruton, began to surround himself with those figures in Fine Gael who stood by him in that time, and appointed all of them to senior cabinet posts. Unfortunately, it was these figures that began to cause the government the most trouble. A referendum on Children’s Rights that passed in 2012 still has not been signed into law because the Minister for Children used departmental money to promote the referendum – which is unconstitutional in Ireland and resulted in a legal challenge to its validity. Environment Minister Phil Hogan was responsible for the implementation of water and property taxes nationwide, which has made him a lightning rod for public anger. Health Minister and Fine Gael Deputy Leader James Reilly, in addition to negative press over favouring his constituency, has been plagued by a series of news reports discussing cost overruns in his department and for his botched removal of certain medical cards (which provide free medical care to needy groups, such as pensioners, those in poverty and certain chronic illnesses), with his department supposedly taking cards away from individuals with terminal cancer and down syndrome on the basis that they were unneeded. Furthermore his flagship policy – free medical care for children under six, has proven surprisingly unpopular as people perceive the money for it to be taken off other aspects of the health service.
However it was Justice Minister Alan Shatter that caused the most problems. While widely respected as an excellent legislator and an advocate for liberal reforms such as the legalisation of divorce early on in his career, he is also regarded as arrogant and difficult to work with. A scandal erupted in February 2014 involving the bugging of the Gardai Siochana Ombudsman Commission, the body responsible for investigating claims of malpractice by members of the police service, with equipment sophisticated enough that they had to have come from another government agency. Following this and allegations made about police malpractice Shatter and the Garda (Police) Commissioner were forced to resign only a little over three weeks before the elections were due to take place.
However it was not only the government that was suffering problems. Both of the main opposition parties had issues going into the election campaign. On the 30th of April 2014 the leader of Sinn Féin (SF), a left wing and nationalist party with historic links to the IRA, was arrested for involvement with the murder of Jean McConville, a widowed mother of ten, in Belfast in 1972. McConville was ‘disappeared’ by the IRA for being thought to be a British informer, but was subsequently posthumously acquitted. Adams has long been linked to the murder but has never been formally connected to it until new evidence emerged from an oral history of the Northern Ireland conflict conducted in Boston College, Massachusetts. While he was released without charges brought against him three days later it was thought that this would remind people of SF’s past, and bring its association with conflict back into the minds of voters. However it did not notably impact on the polls.
Fianna Fáil (FF), a centrist party with populist leanings, also had problems with the past after it emerged that Mary Hanafin, a former Deputy Leader of the party and cabinet minister who was defeated in the 2011 election wipeout, had been nominated to contest the local elections in Blackrock, an affluent suburb in the south of Dublin. While the party initially denied it, and said that she was running on her own, it transpired that she had received the necessary paperwork from the party general secretary to be a party candidate. This caused quite a degree of anger, as Hanafin was strongly associated with the last FF government, which FF was trying to distance itself from. Eventually the party compromised by saying that they were only acknowledging the other candidate as an official candidate. It should be noted though that despite the huge news coverage this provoked, the party quite quietly ran several other former deputies defeated in 2011, such as Charlie O’Connor in Tallaght, a working-class Dublin suburb, and Margaret Conlon in Monaghan, a rural county on the border with Northern Ireland.
In addition to the regularly scheduled local and European elections two by-elections were also held. The first was held for the tragic death of Nicky McFadden, a Fine Gael deputy for the rural midlands constituency of Longford-Westmeath, of Motor Neuron disease. The second was held following the resignation of Patrick Nulty, elected as a Labour deputy but now an independent, in Dublin West, a working class commuter belt constituency. Nulty himself was elected in a by-election earlier on this parliamentary term, and resigned over inappropriate messages sent to constituents over Facebook.
The Campaign, candidates and elections in Ireland
Ireland uses PR-STV to count elections. This is a proportional system where voters rank candidates, and not parties, in the order of their preference – eliminating the bottom ranked candidates and distributing their preferences until all of the seats are filled (more details can be found on Wikipedia) . Ballot papers are often very long.
The Dublin ballot paper for the European parliament election
Election campaigns in Ireland are highly personalistic. The single best thing that politicians can do to win votes is regarded as knocking on people’s doors and personally meeting them (called canvassing). Parties put up posters, giving their candidates, and rarely their party, prominence on every lamppost (a selection are on the right and left).
For European elections profile is considered crucial however, as the constituencies are considered far too large for canvassing. The parties therefore place great care on who they nominate. There are three constituencies for the European Parliament – the three-seater Dublin, South, a four seater containing most areas south of the capital, including Ireland’s second city of Cork. Midlands-North West, another four-seater, contained the central rural counties, the border with Northern Ireland and most of the Western seaboard.
In Dublin Fine Gael nominated Brian Hayes, a prominent junior minister. Labour nominated their incumbent MEP Emer Costello, a replacement for the previous elected MEP, and Fianna Fáil nominated local councillor Mary Fitzpatrick, who was well known for her acrimonious relationship with former Taoiseach Berie Ahern, and was widely regarded as having her election hopes in 2007 personally sabotaged by him in spite of them being on the same party ticket. FF evidently hoped that nominating someone with such a clear association against the old party leadership would stand to them. SF however nominated the almost completely unknown Lynn Boylan, an ecologist. For the minor parties the far-left Socialist Party nominated its sitting MEP Paul Murphy, who replaced party leader Joe Higgins upon his election to parliament. The Green Party nominated party leader Eamon Ryan, a former cabinet minister now without a seat in parliament following their collapse, and People Before Profit, a minor Trotskyist umbrella group, nominated local councillor Brid Smith. Among the more notable independent for the area was MEP Nessa Childers, formerly of Labour. Polls indicated that Boylan and Hayes would take the first two seats for Dublin, with the final seat competitive between all other candidates, with Fitzpatrick, Childers and Ryan being somewhat ahead of Costello, Murphy and Smith.
In South Fine Gael nominated outgoing MEP Sean Kelly, Senator Deirdre Clune, member of a political dynasty in Cork, and deputy Simon Harris, based just south of Dublin. Fianna Fáil nominated immensely popular incumbent Brian Crowley, a socially conservative figure, and Kieran Hartley, an anti-pylon campaigner. Labour nominated incumbent Phil Prendergast, who was expected to struggle, and SF nominated Liadh Ní Riada, the party’s Irish language officer, who has never previously run for office. The other candidates were the Green’s Grace O’Sullivan, a Greenpeace activist, and independent Diarmaid O’Flynn. Crowley was considered almost certain to be the biggest vote winner nationally, and Kelly and Ní Riada also considered certain to be elected. The last seat was considered to be an internal battle between Fine Gael’s Clune and Harris.
In the sprawling Midlands-North West Fine Gael nominated their outgoing MEPs Mairead McGuinness and Jim Higgins, FF nominated outgoing MEP Pat ‘the Cope’ Gallagher and Senator Thomas Byrne. SF nominated Monaghan councillor Matt Carthy, Labour ran long-shot candidate Senator Lorraine Higgins and the Greens ran former senator Mark Dearey. Additionally a number of independents ran in the region, ensuring a lively contest there. Outgoing independent MEP Marian Harkin, regarded as a centrist, ran to hold her seat. Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan (nicknamed such because of his supposed resemblance to supervillain Ming the Merciless), a deputy for Roscommon and an eccentric figure in Irish politics, ran on a Eurosceptic platform that criticised EU protection of bogs and marshes (as in rural Ireland they are often dug up for fuel). In Ireland however he is best known for his advocation of the legalisation of cannabis. Additionally independent Senator Ronan Mullen was a candidate. He is well known for his vociferous opposition to abortion and same-sex marriage. Most polls agreed that McGuinness and Carthy were certainties, and that Flanagan was polling competitively, and would be in the reckoning with Gallagher and Harkin for the final two seats.
In the Dublin West by-election most candidates were the same as the last by-election in the area, and were local councillors. The seat was regarded as competitive between FF and the minor Socialist Party, which has a strong base in the area. The Longford-Westmeath by-election had Fine Gael nominate the sister of the deceased deputy, and FF nominated the son of a former deputy for the area, both hoping to capitalise on dynastic goodwill in the area. The seat was regarded as competitive between the pair of them, with Labour and SF far behind.
While both Martin Schultz (the PES candidate for EU commission president) and Ska Keller (the Green candidate for the same post) did campaign in Dublin, Irish voters would be forgiven for not knowing this, seeing as it received no news coverage. The campaigns stayed remarkably parochial and focused on local concerns that had little to do with the European parliament, the most notable of which was the Socialist Party renaming itself as the ‘Stop the Water Tax-Socialist Party’ for the election (creating the amusing situation in Ireland of the far-left campaigning against water and property taxes which the right does not oppose), which is something that the European Parliament has no power over.
It was widely expected in the local elections that Labour would do very badly, although some of the worst damage might be mitigated due to local government reforms. Environment Minister Hogan stipulated that all local wards must have at least six seats, which meant that many wards were merged. He also tried to address the population imbalance of local councillors, which meant taking seats away from rural areas and giving them to urban ones, and particularly Dublin, where most of Labour’s seats are. He also increased the overall number of councillors in compensation for the abolition of town councils, a largely powerless layer of local government just below the county councils that the election was for.
For the local elections the ward of Ballybay-Clones, in Monaghan, has not voted yet owing to the death of one of the local councillors in the polling station, so there are six more seats to be filled.
Turnout: 52.44% (-6.2%)
MEPs: 11 (-1) in 3 multi-member constutiencies
Electoral system: STV
Fianna Fáil (ALDE) 22.3% (-1.8) – 1 (-2)
Fine Gael (EPP) 22.3% (-6.8) – 4 (nc)
Sinn Féin (GUE-NGL) 19.5% (+8.3) – 3 (+3)
Labour (PES) 5.3% (-8.6) – 0 (-3)
Green Party (G-EFA) 4.9% (+3) – 0 (nc)
Socialist Party (GUE-NGL) – 1.8% (-0.9) – 0 (-1)
People Before Profit – 1.5% (+1.5) – 0 (nc)
Independents and others – 22.4% (+10.9) – 3 (+2)
Full count details available at ElectionsIreland.org.
Fianna Fáil – 25.3% (-0.1) – 266 (+48)
Fine Gael – 24.0% (-8.2) – 232 (-108)
Sinn Féin – 15.2% (+7.8) – 157 (+103)
Labour – 7.2% (-7.5) – 51 (-81)
Green Party – 1.6% (-0.7) – 12 (+9)
People Before Profit – 1.7% (+0.8) – 14 (+9)
Socialist Party – 1.3% (+0.4) – 14 (+10)
Independents and Others – 23.7% (+7.4) – 198 (+69)
Newly elected Green councillor Claire Byrne made quite a good series of graphics for each local election result, helping to visualise the process of a PR-STV count for those who are not used to it.
The results of both the Local and European elections were catastrophic for the government. Both governmental parties performed worse than any poll predicted. Labour’s dreadful showing was both predicted and still shocking for the party. It was not even competitive for a European seat – with all three of their candidates going out of the count very early on. However it was in the local elections that Labour’s nightmare became clear.
Labour had long been relying on a local vote for its councillors – counting on its local members being much more popular than the party nationally and therefore able to withstand the pressure of the electorate, much like FF were hoping in the 2011 General Election. Like FF, they were bitterly disappointed. An initial early projection had the party winning as few as 39 seats nationally based on an exit poll, and early indications seemed to bear that out, with initial expectations suggesting that the party may elect as few as three members on Dublin City Council, where they had 18 outgoing councillors. The final results were somewhat better, as the party scraped through to hold a number of seats by narrow margins, with eight survivors in Dublin City. Nonetheless, their result was appalling. The party was reduced to only two seats from 86 in Cork City and county – an area where they have four parliamentary deputies – and were entirely eradicated in Cork City and Waterford City. In Wicklow, a commuter county south of Dublin that was a long-time stronghold for Labour, the party won no seats and only 3% of the vote. In working class Dublin the party was nearly totally obliterated. It returned only one councillor with a constituency average of 13% within Dublin South Central, a very deprived area where the party won 35% and two members of parliament in 2011. It went from 28% in the General Election to 11%, and no councillors, in Dublin Central – where the Minister for International Development has his seat.
The party held up somewhat better in middle class areas and in some of their more rural strongholds, although even here success could be measured in holding seats rather than gaining them. It still won 18% in the Dublin Bay South constituency, which contains mostly wealthy and well educated professionals and is a stronghold for socially liberal politics. The party sensationally held on to a seat in Clontarf – a middle class suburb without the more bohemian elements that characterise Dublin Bay South that the party has had difficulty winning even on good days. In the wealthy suburbs to the south of Dublin City, in Dun Laoighaire-Rathdown, the party only lost one seat on the whole council to leave them with seven. In their rural strongholds in the South-East of the country the party also had credible performances. In rural Carlow and Kilkenny, the party won 13% and 11% of the vote – more than sufficient to hold their parliamentary representation there, and the party clung to representation in rural Wexford and Waterford (where, as already mentioned, their heavy losses were actually in Waterford City, where they should do much better). The party is starting to resemble the Liberal Democrats in Britain – with strength in certain rural pockets and among the liberal middle class, and not among the working class that they claim to represent.
Fine Gael’s election was also awful – although somewhat disguised by how badly Labour did and the fact that they held all four of their European seats. No poll had the party coming in second, and the party’s losses in some areas were quite severe. The party failed to return representation in Dublin South Central (which may be becoming a government blackspot) and also suffered heavy losses in Donegal, a border county in the North that always feels as though the government is treating it badly, and Mayo, the constituency of the Taoiseach Enda Kenny – where his brother came extremely close to losing his council seat. What seems to have hurt the party most is extremely poor candidate strategies at local level. The party seemed to be planning on the basis that they would perform much better than polls predicted that they would – and not worse. Apparently the party was planning on an electoral bounce from leaving the bailout program that never actually materialised. In Bray for instance, a Dublin commuter town, the party ran three candidates and only had one electoral quota between them – almost causing the party return no representative there.
By contrast in Europe and the by-elections the party has reason to be pleased, in spite of the defeat of long-time MEP Jim Higgins. In spite of finishing about 400 votes behind FF in the national vote total it won four seats to the one won by its great rival. It achieved this by good vote management and candidate selection. Its lone candidate in Dublin, junior minister Brian Hayes, polled better than the party did in the local elections, and scraped in, probably on his high profile. While Jim Higgins was defeated in Midlands-North West Mairead McGuinness won quite easily there, and in South the party managed to get both Kelly and Clune elected with significantly fewer votes than FF – who only won one seat there. They managed this by having a fairly even split between their candidates, meaning that they tended to avoid being eliminated early in the count. Additionally the party held Longford-Westmeath fairly easily, making this the third time out of four the government has won a by-election (before this parliamentary term no government had won or held a seat in a by-election since 1982).
FF’s feelings about their result are probably mixed. On the one hand it is clearly the largest party in local government again. On the other hand the party has legitimate reason to be disappointed. It actually lost votes on its last, awful, local election performance and many of its gains could be attributed to how badly Fine Gael and Labour did than by a popular mandate for FF. What the party has most reason to be pleased about was its modest recovery in Dublin, where the party currently has no parliamentary representation and where its decline was starting to look terminal. It placed second in the Dublin West by-election – easily ahead of both government parties and it took nine seats on Dublin City Council and came second, and won a seat in all bar one ward on the City Council (which was more than either Fine Gael or Labour managed on either count). Both Hanafin and the ‘official’ party candidate won in Blackrock despite the controversy of her candidature, which clearly did not hurt the party, and is one more seat than the party had any reason to expect in the ward. It is the largest party on numerous councils that are very different from each other, from republican and border county Donegal to prosperous Dublin commuter belt in Kildare. More disappointingly, the party failed to win long-time strongholds like Kerry and Galway, and placed second in the Longford-Westmeath by-election – which is usually reasonable territory for them. Nonetheless, the party has, since the 2004 local elections, lost 164 county council seats, with 84 gone in 2009 alone. This gain of 48 seats in no way compensates for this loss. The party still has a long way to go towards complete recovery, but it may have stopped the rot.
In Europe however the party has most reason to be disappointed. In spite of actually winning the largest number of votes nationally, it only won a single seat – that of Brian Crowley in South. This places it behind both Fine Gael and SF. The reason for this can be seen in awful strategy and vote management. Their candidate in Dublin actually placed third on the first count, but was overtaken by both the Greens and independent MEP Nessa Childers as the count went on, and placed fifth. While certainly a credible performance that has placed their candidate well for a parliamentary seat when the next general election is called, they will still be disappointed with the result. In South Crowley seems to have refused to share his vote or engaged in any kind of disciplined constituency split that Fine Gael undertook, causing the party to lose a seat that, by all rights and even by vote share, they should have won. This is a problem the party has had before at parliamentary level, with former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and cabinet minister Willie O’Dea running away with astronomical vote totals, only to leave the other party candidates in the dust with far too few votes to win a seat. However it is Midlands-North West that is most bitter for the party. In spite of polls always showing that it was possible and the insistence of the MEP Pat ‘the Cope’ Gallagher that his seat was in no way secure, the party still seemed shocked when he lost the final seat by a mere 275 votes. While the constituency was undoubtedly crowded with lots of strong candidates, it seems to have been a huge error to run two candidates – allowing Marian Harkin to assemble a strong lead on early eliminations that transpired to be, just about, unassailable. The party needs to have a long, hard look at its strategy. It lost two seats which it had the votes for – one because it could not impose a constituency division or vote split on a sitting MEP, another because it could, but the ensuing vote split meant that their lead candidate had just too much ground to make up.
Sinn Féin is, understandably, delighted at its result and is certainly the clear winner of the election. All three of its European candidates won and won well, including coming first in Dublin. On Dublin City Council only two of its candidates failed to be elected. The party is now without seats in only four wards across the whole Dublin area – and it was unlucky to fail to win in Rathgar-Rathmines. The party finally achieved its breakthrough across middle class Dublin. It topped the poll in Dundrum, considered the epitome of prosperous south Dublin. It won a seat in Killiney, a haunt for old money where Bono lives. It won a seat too in Pembroke-South Dock in another poll-topping performance – the ward containing Ireland’s most expensive addresses and embassy row. In working class area its results were stunning even to the party itself, and it could have won several more seats if it had actually run more candidates in those areas. For instance in exurban and working class Tallaght South the party won over 50% of the vote – which could easily have it won it three or even four of the ward’s six seats, but it only ran two candidates. In Clondalkin, a similar ward, the party had more than three vote quotas between its two candidates. Very unexpectedly, the party placed first on the first count in the Dublin West by-election. Dublin West, in spite of it being largely working class, has always been considered a bad area for the party with the local strength of the Socialist Party, and while the party placed third in the by-election in the end, it is well placed for the future.
Outside of Dublin its performance could be considered good rather than spectacular. It placed a clear third in the Longford-Westmeath by-election, and failed to win the very republican counties of Kerry and Donegal, which on the back of such a strong showing it should have been more competitive in. Nonetheless the party had clear successes. It beat the Labour Party into fourth place in Galway City – where it had previously had no representation. The party placed second in Cork City, with eight seats and clearly ahead of Fine Gael. It won seats in every ward in rural Limerick – one of their worst areas nationally historically. On the back of this kind of performance there are very few areas where SF could fail to be at least competitive in a general election, and the other parties know it. Indeed their rhetoric towards the party has noticeably softened since the results, hinting that they would be willing to consider coalition with them.
It was a good election all round for the three main small parties – the Green Party, the Socialist Party and People Before Profit. The Greens only narrowly missed a European seat in Dublin, and its candidates in other regions performed credibly. While its vote in the local election fell this was because it ran much fewer candidates than last time, and it won twelve seats, a gain of nine. This included a poll-topping performance Rathgar-Rathmines in Dublin – the first time the party has headed any poll anywhere since 1999. It should be noted however that nine of the party’s seats are in the greater Dublin area, including Wicklow, and those that are not are personal fiefdoms in Dundalk and Kilkenny that the party had held even in 2009. It missed seats in Galway and Cork with good candidates, and it must be noted that even their Dublin seats tend to be in areas where the party had won before their collapse. The party seems to have bounced back to where it was before, and it would need to do quite a bit better than this local performance to win any parliamentary seats – but, like FF, it remains on track for recovery.
The Socialists had a mixed day. On the one hand they won the Dublin West by-election and took fourteen council seats, a real breakthrough. On the other hand they lost their European seat in Dublin fairly easily. Taking the by-election sets up their winning candidate Ruth Coppinger to succeed their long-time parliamentarian Joe Higgins, who is retiring, as the Socialist voice in Dublin West. It was always going to be difficult holding the European seat without Higgins as a candidate and, indeed, no poll had the co-opted MEP Paul Murphy as truly competitive for it. The local result was very good. In addition to its usual sweep of council seats in its Dublin West stronghold the party took a seat on Dublin City Council for the first time, and had a breakthrough outside of Dublin –winning three seats in Cork City and three in Limerick.
People Before Profit had similar reason to be pleased. Unlike the Socialists, it never expected to be competitive for Europe so polling well, even if not well enough for a seat, was a pleasant surprise. The party did quite well in the Dublin area – wiping Labour out in Dun Laoghaire ward, the personal base of de-facto party leader Richard Boyd-Barrett, and winning three seats in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown council – and only very narrowly losing two other seats to Labour in the area. It also broke through on the other Dublin councils. In Dublin City Council it won five seats – including its first seats on the North side of the city that it usually unofficially ceded to the Socialists. It won fourteen seats overall. Like the Socialists this sets them up to have a full parliamentary delegation come the next general election.
One of the big news stories of the contest though was the success of independent candidates. In Europe their success was particularly high profile. Nessa Childers held her seat in the European Parliament, in spite of moving constituency to Dublin. Europe may too need to get used to Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, who did very well in Midlands-North West and took the first seat, and Marian Harkin held off FF to win the last seat in the area. At local level too independents were successful, increasing their representation on virtually all councils. Many independents elected are associated with particular independent parliamentarians, and so resemble a kind of unofficial local party, with such organisations being quite prominent in Kerry, where there are two of them, in Kildare and in Waterford – all places with strong independent deputies. Additionally many councillors formerly members of Labour had spectacularly good elections, placing ahead of the official candidates of the party they left. In spite of the generally good results some of the more established local independents and minor parties did quite badly though. The ‘Lowry Group’ in Tipperary, associated with former Fine Gael Minister Michael Lowry who is under a seemingly never-ending corruption investigation – only returned three councillors. The long established ‘Gregory Group’ in Dublin’s North Inner City did not return any official group candidate – although a former group member was elected as an independent. United Left, a micro-left party associated with two far-left parliamentarians that were connected to the Socialists and People Before Profit before, only elected one councillor.
It is probably foolish to talk of independents as one group. Many of the rural independents are about as far removed from the left-wing urban independents as it is possible to be in the Irish political space – but many of these candidates will certainly poll well in a general election, and win seats.
The most immediate consequence of the election was the resignation of Labour’s leader Eamon Gilmore, who resigned rather than be ousted by a group of panicked parliamentarians. Virtually every member of his parliamentary party has announced that they are running for either leader or deputy leader and, whoever wins, is likely to be much more combative than Gilmore over government economic policy. Depending on who it is and what they demand from Fine Gael, this could destabilise the government enough to cause it fall.
Fine Gael, too has been shaken. The party was under the illusion that FF was now so tainted that it could nearly win by default. That is clearly not the case. The party now knows that it will need to fight hard to win a second term in government – something never before achieved by the party. FF, for its part, knows that it may yet have a chance of re-entering government, stabilising nerves.
If SF remain coalition poison, which is becoming less likely but still present for the parties, and independents do as well as this, only a coalition of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil is likely to be mathematically possible after the next election, something that is likely to finish the junior partner in that alliance utterly. It seems likely that Ireland is entering a period with no truly large parties, and no real political stability.
I was fortunate enough to receive a guest post on the October 4 Irish referenda, which I did not have time to cover, from David J. Barrett
Two referenda took place in the Republic Ireland on the 4th of October on whether to abolish Seanad Éireann (the Irish Senate), Ireland’s rather powerless upper house, and on whether to establish a Court of Civic Appeal.
The Seanad has long been criticised in the Ireland due to its seeming irrelevance and extremely convoluted electoral system. The original constitution of the Irish Free State in 1922 contained a senate, which was used originally as a means to ensure the representation of the remaining Protestant Unionists in Irish politics, and was at first appointed and then elected as a nationwide, nineteen-seat constituency by PR-STV in 1925, which was considered chaotic, and replaced by selection by parliament. While it did return a lot of Protestant members, it also proved to be a stronghold for the fairly conservative Cumann na nGaedhael, which proved problematic when they retained a majority in the chamber after the party lost nationally in 1932. After making it a point to delay every piece of legislation of note by the new Fianna Fáil government, even after another election in 1933 which reaffirmed Fianna Fáil’s new dominance of the Irish party system; the party proposed the Senate’s abolition in 1936. Predictably this was also delayed, before the chamber was abolished entirely.
The modern Seanad was created by the new Irish constitution of 1937, and owes a lot to the corporatist ideas of Fascist Italy that were popular in political circles in Ireland at the time. The Seanad was given only very limited delaying powers of up to ninety days, and was elected in an extremely convoluted manner.
43 members are elected by five ‘vocational’ panels, returning between five and eleven members. The panels are meant to represent various sectors of Irish society and are named after those sections, such as the ‘Cultural and Educational Panel’ and the ‘Labour Panel’. Organisations involved in those areas have some rights in the way of nominating people for election, but the electorate for each panel consists of local councillors, members of Dáil Éireann (the lower house of Parliament) and outgoing members of the Seanad. This means that in practice no vocational members were ever elected and were almost never nominated for these seats, with most elected for them in recent years being former or future members of the Dáil and very much party politicians.
An additional six seats are elected by university graduates, with three returned by the graduates of Trinity College Dublin, a traditionally Protestant university, and another three by the graduates of the National University of Ireland, an umbrella group consisting of four other universities – University College Dublin, University College Cork, National University of Ireland Galway and National University of Ireland Maynooth. The graduates of Ireland’s other two universities, Dublin City University and the University of Limerick, do not have a vote.
The final eleven seats are appointed by the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of the day, who generally appoints promising party members who they feel can challenge for a seat in the Dáil in the next election, although they have also been known to select prominent figures in Northern Ireland for a seat. This inbuilt addition of eleven government seats means that only one Irish government has not had a majority in the Seanad, however the current Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, used most of his appointments to appoint prominent members of civil society, such as Fiach Mac Conghail, the Director of the Irish National Theatre Company, and Katherine Zappone, a theology professor who is pursuing a court case to get her Canadian same-sex marriage recognised in Ireland.
Background to the Referenda
While no one was particularly happy with the Seanad, and many reports were issued as to its reform, no government ever did anything. This reached a climax with a referendum passed in 1979 to give all graduates the vote for the university seats, which was never legislated for.
Faced with increased questioning of his leadership, Fine Gael leader and then opposition leader Enda Kenny said that, if elected, Fine Gael would propose a referendum to abolish the Seanad, visibly surprising the Seanad leader of his party sitting next to him at the press conference, as it was felt he needed to do something bold and dramatic to keep hold of the party leadership. The idea took hold, and Labour and Fianna Fáil included it as part of their manifesto in the 2011 election, and was included in the Fine Gael-Labour coalition government’s programme for government.
Despite calls for the proposal to be put to the newly formed Constitutional Convention as a proposed change to the Irish constitution, this was not done and a referendum was announced for October 4th 2013, along with a larger procedural and uncontroversial amendment to establish a Court of Appeal.
Richard Bruton, Kenny’s defeated leadership and now Minister for Enterprise, was put in charge of the Fine Gael campaign. Also on the Yes side were their coalition partners in Labour, the republican and nationalist Sinn Fein, the small far-left Socialist Party and the civil society group One House. In opposition were Fianna Fail (motivated to do a u-turn and oppose the referendum presumably as a means of inflicting a defeat on Kenny), the now tiny Irish Green Party and the civil society groups Democracy Matters and Future Matters.
The campaign opened with polls showing wide leads for abolition. Fine Gael ran a very focus-group led campaign, with posters pointing out the Seanad cost the Ireland €20 million a year, and (ironically from the largest party in the state) that abolition would result in fewer politicians. While the party spent a lot of money on the campaign, the campaign never really caught the imagination of party activists and they stayed oddly muted.
The other Yes advocates focused on the undemocratic nature of Seanad elections, arguing that a chamber chosen by the already educated and powerful in Irish society was inherently wrong. This could be seen in Sinn Fein’s election slogan of ‘Equality not Elitism’ and the Socialists pointing out how many people had votes in the poorest parts of Dublin as compared to the richest. The support of groups for yes was regarded as surprising, as both parties are known for opposing virtually every referendum proposed by any government, with Sinn Fein’s at least likely motivated by attempting to seem more ‘responsible’. Labour’s campaign however was very lukewarm, with many prominent party members, including Joanna Tuffy and the party’s Seanad leader Ivana Bacik actively campaigning against the proposal, to no visible sanctions from party headquarters.
The No side said that the proposal was part of a government ‘powergrab’ that was undemocratic and intended to silence dissenting voices, pointing out that no reform had ever actually been done, so abolition was somewhat premature. No group on the No side defended the status-quo. The Fianna Fail, the most prominent No party, used the slogan ‘Demand Real Reform’ while the Greens ran with ‘Democracy is Priceless’ (although with posters only in the parts of Dublin where the party has the best hopes to rebuild). Democracy Matters ran a highly visible campaign, highlighting all of the prominent figures of Irish liberalism that were elected by the Seanad that was widely regarded as effective.
While the polls narrowed, every poll showed a lead for the Yes side, often over 50%, and the campaign failed to capture the public imagination. A debate on the issue on RTE, the Irish national broadcaster, between Fianna Fail leader Michael Martin and Enda Kenny was rejected by Kenny, who largely did not personally campaign, and his place in the debate was filled by Bruton. This was seen by many commentators as ‘chickening out’. Kenny argued that the Taoiseach of the day does not personally campaign on referenda and they are not partisan issues however.
There was no campaign for either a Yes or a No on the Court of Appeals, which was regarded as dull, procedural and a ‘common-sense’ solution to the problem of an overloaded Supreme Court.
Turnout was 39.17% for the Seanad question and 39.15% for the Court of Appeal question.
Abolition of the Seanad
No 51.73% (634,437 votes)
Yes 48.27% (591,937 votes)
Court of Appeal
Yes 65.16% (795,008 votes)
No 34.84% (425,047 votes)
The Referendum to abolish the Seanad was narrowly defeated, while that to establish a Court of Appeal was very comfortably passed, with a victory in every constituency.
The geography of the Seanad result was somewhat odd. The highest No vote was observed in Dublin South East, an extremely wealthy and somewhat bohemian constituency that has a high number of rich professionals, politicians (the Irish parliament building is in the constituency) and students (Trinity College Dublin is there as well) which gave the Yes side a mere 39%. However every constituency in Dublin, whatever their demographic profile, returned a No vote, as did the whole commuter belt around the city. Greater Dublin’s relative uniformity on the issue largely carried the day for the No side, whose performance was quite patchy outside of the capital.
In the south, Cork City’s wealthy southern suburbs were against abolition (unsurprisingly as this is Martin’s political base) but the more working class areas in the north of the city were narrowly in favour – apparently due to an active campaign by a local Sinn Fein deputy. The proposal similarly narrowly passed through Limerick City, while losing in Galway in the west, which has more students.
While some rural areas in Cork were very narrowly against abolition, these constituencies also have spillover from Cork’s suburbs in them as well. The only genuinely rural Nos were in the two northern Donegal constituencies, which seem to habitually oppose any proposal even slightly controversial (Donegal North East also had highest No vote to the Court of Appeals, and they were the only constituencies to oppose the European Fiscal Compact two years ago for instance). This will be very disappointing for Sinn Fein, who are very strong in the area and would have hoped their campaign would influence people there more.
Aside from the already mentioned Cork North Central and Limerick City, every area that voted Yes was rural, with the highest Yes vote being in Kenny’s own constituency of Mayo (57%), but many of them were quite narrow indeed.
While there were no publically released exit polls with demographic breakdowns there was clearly an urban-rural divide, something that seems to manifest itself in every Irish election that is not a General Election, and was certainly seen in the 2011 presidential election, and while it seems plausible that education made a difference (as more educated people were more likely to be voters in the Seanad already) we cannot know that from the result.
Notably, there is a heavy correlation between Fianna Fail support in a constituency and a Yes vote, and for Labour support and a No vote, something both parties will be keen to downplay when they go through the effectiveness of their campaigns. Fine Gael and Sinn Fein seemed to make no difference.
The turnout was very low, and was only somewhat above the 33% turnout of the Children’s Rights referendum of last year. There is talk of Ireland suffering ‘referendum fatigue’. These are the fifth and sixth referenda of this parliamentary term, with at least five more expected to be proposed over the coming years, including undoubtedly contentious polls over legalising same-sex marriage and lowering the voting age. While it is hard to get people excited over the abolition of a largely powerless upper house and these are more ‘meaningful’ issues to most people there is the possibility of referenda becoming dominated only by the seriously politically committed – the sort of anoraks with unrepresentative views of the general population that result in the banishment of the moderate middle from the Irish electorate.
What happens now?
The result is a real blow to Enda Kenny, who was seen as the personal leader of the Yes side and the Seanad proposal being very much a personal crusade, His refusal to debate is now seen as much more damaging than it did at the time, and the result is ominous for the readiness of the Fine Gael organisation for an undoubtedly difficult local election campaign next year.
Kenny’s association with the idea was such that apparent ineffectiveness of Labour and Sinn Fein has been largely ignored, but the lack of either to a real ideological commitment to abolition probably meant that they never really cared enough to really run serious campaigns, with Labour in particular conserving reserves for the local elections.
Kenny has indicated his intention to treat the result as a vote for reform of the Seanad, as the No side had hoped, but no one is of yet very sure of what that means, except that the graduates of all universities are likely to be given a vote for the six university senators, but beyond that – as nobody wants another referendum on the issue which is what real reform would need – it seems likely that the idea of Seanad reform will be eventually passed to the constitutional convention, which will issue recommendations but nothing seems likely for the remainder of this parliamentary term.
If you wish to contribute a guest post on any election or subject related to electoral politics, please email me at glhermine<at>gmail.com
A by-election was held in Ireland on March 27. One of this blog’s reader, EPG, posted this summary of the by-election in the comments section for another post, I have re-posted it here in a guest post for everybody to enjoy.
A legislative by-election was held in the Meath East constituency of Dáil Éireann, Ireland’s lower house, on March 27. The by-election was caused by the death of Shane McEntee, a Fine Gael TD (member of the Dáil) and the Junior Minister for Food.
Meath East is located to the north-west of Dublin. The south of the constituency is dominated by Dublin commuter towns, such as Ashbourne, Ratoath and Dunboyne. This is the heartland of an archetypical symbol of the Irish economic collapse called the “negative equity generation”: first-time house-buyers who purchased homes with large mortgage in the mid-2000s, and who now owe far more than their houses are worth. Many (probably most) are not originally from the county in which they now live, an important cultural marker in small and localistic Ireland. Meath East is more rural and settled in the northern part of the county, while the north-west end includes Kells, the largest town in northern Meath. The constituency’s somewhat bizarre, salamander-like shape is due to the exclusion of Meath’s largest town, Navan, and the inclusion of Kells, on population ratio equalisation grounds. Ironically, Meath was the home of James Tully, the Labour TD who oversaw a gerrymander that backfired in the 1970s (the Tullymander). To compound his misfortune, he then suffered shrapnel damage at the assassination of Egyptian President Sadat after Labour’s return to power in the 1980s.
The coalition government of Fine Gael and Labour has fallen sharply in popularity since their election in 2011, while the opposition parties of Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin have risen, as have independents and other candidates. This was probably predictable, since the government has continued most of the last (Fianna Fáil-Green) government’s policies, especially on economic issues, due to its support of the EU-ECB-IMF “troika” programme of financial support for the Irish State. This by-election was therefore considered a contest between the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil parties. Meath East is mainly “exurban”, especially in the southern end of the constituency, but also small town and rural. This means the Labour Party was not considered a contender; their support is mainly in cities and important towns with local industry, and their current popularity is low in any case. It was enough to win one out of three seats in Meath East in 2011 under the STV proportional representation system, but it wouldn’t be enough to win an instant run-off by-election, even if they had held up their popularity. As for Sinn Féin, they did well at the by-election in Donegal South-West in 2010, which is also a rural area. But despite the despair of the negative equity generation, Meath is still a relatively prosperous part of Ireland, with big farms and many professionals who commute to jobs in Dublin. It’s a much higher-income area than Donegal, and that’s bad for Sinn Féin. Fine Gael outpolled Fianna Fáil hard in Meath East at the 2011 general election, and the big question was whether Fianna Fáil’s image-improvement since then would close enough of the gap to let them win.
Fine Gael fielded Helen McEntee, daughter of Shane McEntee, who worked on his political and ministerial teams. Family candidates are popular in Irish elections, especially by-elections, and form the “dynasties” that have provided many Taoisigh (heads of government), including the current Taoiseach Enda Kenny and his predecessor Brian Cowen, who both won by-elections to succeed their fathers. She primarily campaigned for a “sympathy vote” rather than seeking a mandate for a pretty unpopular government (). Labour chose Eoin Holmes, a county councillor and film producer who talked a lot about entrepreneurship. Fianna Fáil chose Thomas Byrne, the former TD who lost his seat at the 2011 epic fail but got a Senate seat as a consolation prize. Sinn Féin’s candidate was Darren O’Rourke, who works as an assistant to Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin, the party’s former parliamentary party leader in the Dáil (back when Gerry Adams was an MP in Northern Ireland). The Greens chose their former candidate, but they are now considered a minor party compared to the big four, with no Oireachtas representation. Independents and others included a Workers’ Party candidate and Ben Gilroy, a Direct Democracy Ireland activist who is popular among the crazy “Freeman on the Land” movement.
Helen McEntee (FG) 38.49% (-2.38%)
Thomas Byrne (FF) 32.92% (+13.31%)
Darren O’Rourke (SF) 13.02% (+4.14%)
Ben Gilroy (DDI) 6.45% (+6.45%)
Eoin Holmes (Lab) 4.57% (-16.46%)
Seán Ó Buachalla (GP) 1.74% (+0.66%)
Seamus McDonagh (WP) 1.08% (+1.08%)
Independent candidates 1.73% (-6.80%)
The huge story from this by-election has been the collapse of Labour’s vote, which was far bigger than national opinion polls would have suggested. Polls suggest that Labour has lost 6 to 10 points nationally compared to 2011. However, other stories are worth noting. Fine Gael’s vote held up much better than its partner, and much better than national polls would suggest. McEntee held onto her strong support base in the north of the constituency, as well as probably getting a sympathy vote (common for family members in Irish by-elections, though Fine Gael will deny this and claim that her success is a mandate for the party nationally). Interestingly, after 29 years when governments never won by-elections, this is the second government victory out of two by-elections in this Dáil. Labour won the first of these in late 2011, though their successful candidate left the parliamentary party about five weeks later. The last time Fine Gael won a by-election while in government was in 1975, when their candidate was a young Enda Kenny.
Fianna Fáil has recovered strongly, though they still can’t outpoll government candidates in actual elections. It seems that Fianna Fáil, not Sinn Féin, is enjoying the surge of anti-government feeling in relatively prosperous areas like Meath East (and the Dublin commuter belt more generally), though nobody would deny that Sinn Féin is the main beneficiary in deprived urban and rural areas. Among other opposition groups, Direct Democracy Ireland’s performance is striking. Small parties and independents rarely do very well at Irish by-elections. Gilroy ran a campaign strongly focussed on opposing repossessions of houses by banks, in tune with his support among the fringe, legal conspiracy theorists of the “Freeman on the Land” movement. This is at a time when the Irish government is openly discussing policies to make repossessions easier, due to the abnormally low rate compared to other countries with property price ex-bubbles like the USA, the UK or Spain. Gilroy caught a zeitgeist for what is basically a one-man party (though the Irish party registration requirements are reasonably strict, so he must have lots of supporters).
I now have details of the second and third counts, after which McEntee was elected. The second count excluded all but the top five candidates and Gilroy (DDI) won more of their transfers than any of the remaining five. This is less surprising than it may seem for a fourth-place candidate, as many independents tend to be fringe candidates themselves. They would be close to Gilroy’s anti-system and anti-party profile, which is even more anti-system than Sinn Féin. Independents in Ireland often seem to fill the “anti” role played by right-wing populists in other European countries, but with a local twist, and they have a similar support base of broadly non-left people with middling incomes. Fianna Fáil won fewest transfers, even fewer than Labour, which may suggest that the public is polarised by its recent rebirth. The third count was a run-off between McEntee (FG) and Byrne (FF). McEntee won 54.5% of the two-party vote after getting far more transfers than Byrne. A lot of SF or DDI voters must have given a higher preference to McEntee than to Byrne, their fellow opposition candidate, as McEntee’s third-count transfers (1,900) were much larger than Labour’s final vote total on the second round (1,200). Even if we assume that any remaining Labour supporters are firmly pro-coalition and sympathetic to Fine Gael, that still leaves about 800-900 of McEntee’s transfers that must have come from SF or DDI, after accounting for the usual transfer attrition. But she didn’t even need to do that well with opposition voters on these counts; she was safely ahead of Byrne from the outset. McEntee is now the youngest woman in the current Dáil.
The broader, national consequences are still unclear, though they can’t be good for Labour. Each of the opposition parties would have hoped to do better. Fianna Fáil wanted to win and Sinn Féin wanted to win votes in line with national polling (i.e. about 8% higher than in 2011). Fine Gael is glad to win and to have lost few votes, but the party was shaken by the sad death of Shane McEntee and would have preferred if this by-election had never happened.
The Electoral Digest covers some elections around the world which were not covered in larger, individual posts due to lack of time, lack of broader knowledge or because the election was of lesser importance or general interest. These posts are short and pretty basic, but aim to give a really brief overview of what happened.
Ireland held a presidential election on October 27. Ireland’s President is a largely ceremonial role, though it is elected for a seven-year term directly through the single-member variant of Irish STV. Since 1997, Ireland’s President has been Mary McAleese, originally elected as a member of Ireland’s former natural governing party, Fianna Fáil (FF). She was reelected unopposed in 2004. FF has won all but one presidential election – that of 1990, won by Mary Robinson of the Labour Party. McAleese’s two-terms came to an end this year, leaving the presidency wide open and resulting ultimately in the most crowded field ever – seven candidates in total.
Fine Gael (FG), traditionally the perennial second-largest party behind FF before emerging as the big winner in this year’s earth-shattering general election, has never won a presidential election before and it was apparently eager to build on its success in March to win the presidency. Apparently the party members didn’t agree, because they chose MEP Gay Mitchell, widely derided as a phenomenally awful candidate. FG’s junior ally and Ireland’s second largest party, Labour, was apparently more serious. It nominated former TD Michael D. Higgins, a 70-year old man who is a rather good embodiment of Ireland’s symbolic presidency. Meanwhile, FF did not field a candidate of its own nor did it officially endorse any candidate, a good sign of the party’s calamitous state following its Epic Fáil result in March. Seán Gallagher, a businessman and former FF member, emerged as the candidate closest to FF though with no official links – at least not right now. The race became particularly interesting when Sinn Féin nominated Northern Irish Deputy FM Martin McGuinness as its candidate, a surprise move which shows SF’s desire to durably implant itself south of the border as the main left-wing opposition force to Labour and the FG-Labour government. Earlier in the race, the frontrunner had been Senator David Norris, a well-known liberal campaigner for gay rights (he is gay himself) and other civil liberties. However, he dropped out after it had been publicized that he had wrote letters seeking clemency for his former lover accused of rape in Israel. He did a Ross Perot and came back into the race and received nominations from four county councils. The other candidates, far more minor but not any less interesting, were former Special Olympics activist Mary Davis and former presidential contender and weird social conservative Dana Rosemary Scallon.
Seán Gallagher emerged as the other man in the race besides Higgins in the final weeks, and he took a comfortable lead in most polls. However, Gallagher’s momentum was derailed at a final debate where McGuinness crippled him with an accusation that he had fundraised money for FF including from some shady people despite Gallagher’s earlier claims that he had never fundraised for FF. Judging from the results, it pretty much killed Gallagher’s campaign.
Higgins (Labour) won 39.6% of FPVs against 28.5% for Gallagher and 13.7% for McGuinness. McGuinness’ result is above SF’s good 9.9% result in March, but it’s a bit underwhelming and shows that his campaign was unable to surmount his past affiliation with the IRA. His candidacy was still a net positive for SF, however. Unsurprisingly, Mitchell won the worst FG result in a presidential race with only 6.4% – only a bit ahead of Norris who got an equally disappointing 6.2%. Dana took 2.9% and Davis really sucked with only 2.7%. In the final count, Higgins beat Gallagher decisively with 61.6% against 38.4%. The beautiful blog Irish Political Maps reviews the election and has a nice map of who won where on first counts, as well as links to maps of all candidates. Higgins performed best in his native Galway and in Dublin, while Gallagher did best in rural areas (45% in his native Cavan-Monaghan) and in lower middle-class suburban areas. McGuinness won Donegal North East, that isolated and heavily republican part of Ulster which has become an SF stronghold as of late.
There were also two referendums held alongside this vote: one allowing the government to intervene in judicial pay and another granting the Parliament (Oireachtas) more powers of inquiry in to “matters of public importance”. While the judges’ pay was not controversial, as most agreed that in times of recession the government should be allowed to lower judges’ pay (something banned by the Constitution), the Oireachtas inquiries was more controversial as civil liberty groups said that it threatened civil liberties and gave too much power to the Oireachtas. The judges pay passed easily with 79.7%, but the Oireachtas inquiries failed with 53.3% against. It only passed in Taoiseach Enda Kenny’s constituency of Mayo and in Wexford.
A Dáil by-election was held in Dublin West due to death of former FF finance minister Brian Lenihan Jr. Lenihan had only narrowly survived in 2011, and he had been the only FF member to be returned in metro Dublin. Dublin West is largely a working-class commuter belt constituency with a strong far-left base, this being Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins’ constituency. Labour nominated Patrick Nulty, who had lost to Lenihan in the final count in March while FF nominated David McGuinness, who had won 1.5% in March as FF’s second candidate. Nulty polled 24.3%, down from 29% for Labour in March. Surprisingly, FF did quite well with 21.7% – up from 16.6% in March. FG placed fourth with a terrible 14.7%, when it had won 27% in March. The Socialists did really well, with 21%, which is higher than the 19% share of first prefs won by Higgins in March. SF (9%, up from 6%) and the Greens (5%, up from 1%) also did well. Nulty won pretty easily in the sixth count against David McGuinness. Irish by-elections are very much anti-incumbent as no governing party has won one since 1982 and no governing party has gained a seat in a by-election since 1975. On this front, Labour’s victory as a governing party is pretty big. But it speaks more to the terrible state of Ireland’s opposition – FF is crippled and has little to no legitimacy left as a governing party and SF has trouble breaking past its IRA past to establish itself as a major alternative – than to the strength of the government – FG had a terrible day on October 27 and Labour is not reaching new heights.
Kyrgyzstan held presidential elections on October 30. In April 2010, protests had ousted President Kurmanbek Bakiyev who had grown too authoritarian despite himself having been the victor of a revolution in 2005 which had ousted another authoritarian ruler. The provisional government soon faced ethnic riots between ethnic Kyrgyz and and ethnic Uzbek in Bakiyev’s native south (around Osh) and the October 2010 legislative elections were won by the southern-based pro-Bakiyev nationalist Ata-Zhurt party won 28 seats against 26 seats for the centre-left moderate Social Democrats (SDPK) who dominate the provisional government and favour a parliamentary system. This election was to replace interim President Roza Otunbayeva (SDPK). The government’s candidate was Prime Minister Almazbek Atambayev, who is seen as the man behind the reforms and new constitution. The main opposition candidates were Adakhan Madumarov and Ata-Zhurt’s Kamchybek Tashiev, both from the nationalist and ethnically unstable south. Atambayev was the runaway favourite and had the most funds, and indeed he won easily: 63% against 15% for Madumarov and 14% for Tashiev. The opposition has called foul, but it is hard to say whether there were real frauds or this is more the case of grubby opponents who are unhappy they lost in a landslide and thus call out for fraud. The OSCE noted a few irregularities but no independent observers, as far as I know, have claimed massive frauds.
Bulgaria held presidential elections on October 23 and 30. This is a largely ceremonial office as well, and has been held since 2001 by Georgi Parvanov, elected as a Socialist. The last elections in 2006 had seen low turnout (42%) and Parvanov face far-right leader Volen Siderov in a runoff, which Parvanov won with 76%. Parvanov was not eligible for reelection this year. The governing right-wing GERB party nominated Rosen Plevneliev, the former popular Minister of Regional Development and a rival of sorts to Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. The Socialists, who lost the 2009 elections to GERB in a landslide, nominated former foreign minister Ivaylo Kalfin. Former EU commissioner Meglena Kuneva, formerly a member of the liberal NDSV, ran as an independent. In the first round, Plevneliev won 40% against 29% for Kalfin and 14% for Kuneva. Siderov won just 3.6% of the vote. Plevneliev won on Sunday with 52.6% against 47.4% for Kalfin, a very strong showing for Kalfin and the BSP. Turnout was 51% in the first round but only 48% in the runoff. Local elections were also held on both days, but the electoral commission doesn’t have an English webpage, so I didn’t find out a lot about those. Apparently GERB held Sofia and Burgas easily by the first round, and it won Varna in the runoff.
These elections were marred by some irregularities in the vote count process, leading 6% of first round votes to be disqualified – apparently at a whim by GERB observers. GERB has also been accused of controlling the media while there are the eternal problems with vote-buying and voter rolls which have way too many voters on them.
A general election was held in Ireland on February 25, 2011. All 166 members of the lower house of the Oireachtas, the Dáil Éireann, were up for reelection. Held in the wake of one of Ireland’s most dramatic economic collapses after a long stretch of growth, it was obviously going to be an historic election and it was one. For those not familiar with the bizarre world of Irish politics, I’ve explained the parties and their roots in a preview post.
Fine Gael 36.10% (+8.78%) winning 76 seats (+25)
Labour 19.45% (+9.32%) winning 37 seats (+17)
Fianna Fáil 17.45% (-24.11%) winning 20 seats (-57)*
Sinn Féin 9.94% (+3%) winning 14 seats (+10)
Green Party 1.85% (-2.84%) winning 0 seats (-6)
Socialist Party 1.21% (+0.57%) winning 2 seats (+2)
People Before Profit 0.97% (+0.52%) winning 2 seats (+2)
Independents and Others 13.04% (+7.73%) winning 15 seats (+10)*
* includes Séamus Kirk (FF), Ceann Comhairle (speaker), automatically returned in Louth
* includes Séamus Healy, a ULA candidate and other votes cast for certain ULA candidates; and parties such as South Kerry Independent Alliance, Christian Solidarity or Workers’ Party. My estimate places the remaining 14 real independents at 6 left, 3 ex-FF, 3 right, 1 ex-FG and 1 maverick.
Results for all 166/166 seats pending a recount in Galway West between Seán Kyne (FG) and Catherine Connolly (I, ex-Labour). Kyne had a 17 vote edge over Connolly on count 13.
Note on the map: independents counted separately and individually
First, getting the records of this historic out of the way, though needless to say they’re very symbolic factoids. This is the first time since 1932 that Fianna Fáil will not be the largest party in the Dáil and it is also FF’s worst showing both seat-wise and vote-wise since its foundation in 1926. This is not, however, Fine Gael’s best showing – it did better in 1981 and 1982, but it will probably be its best showing seat wise and obviously it has the symbolic victory of being the largest party for the first time in its history. Labour did slightly worse vote-wise this year than in 2011, but 35 seats is the party’s highest seat count in its history. This is also Sinn Féin’s best result in the Republic of Ireland since the 1926 split from which FF was born. Turnout was 70.1%, which is up 3% on 2007 and which is the highest since at least 1992 (where my data stops).
The results of Friday were an unambiguous thumping for FF. Needless to say, it’s quite obvious that it was punished heavily for its economic incompetence during the crisis and the unpopular IMF-EU bailout. FF’s 17.5% is in the top range of its poll results and even slightly over, which shouldn’t be surprising given that unpopular governments tend to underpoll (UK 1992 being the best case of this). However, even a “decent” (for the times) vote share hasn’t translated into many seats. As predicted, FF candidates were “toxic” and got roughly 7-10% of transfers from other candidates only. Transfers from the Greens were probably poor, terrible from the other parties and the vote management between FF candidates in constituencies wasn’t what it was in the good years. Poor transfers have certainly hurt it a lot in a number of constituencies. While current FF leader Micheál Martin managed to top the count with 16.7% in Cork South-Central, the party’s defeat has scalped several high-ranking members including all but two ministers and two junior ministers. The two most notable are Mary Hanfin (Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Innovation) who lost in Dún Laoghaire and took only 9% of first preferences; and most importantly the Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan who lost in Donegal South West taking 11.5% of first preferences. Not an actual cabinet member but certainly a dynastic name, Seán Haughey lost his seat in Dublin North Central which means that there will be no Haughey in the Dáil since 1957. Éamon Ó Cuív, Éamon de Valera’s grandson, however, was reelected in Galway West without too much trouble. A number of constituencies will be left with no FF TD, when FF has had at least one TD in each constituency since 1932. The Tánaiste’s defeat in Donegal SW, for example, leaves FF without a TD in an area where FF has had TDs since its foundation or so.
In Dublin proper, FF now holds only one of the 47 seats in the city with Brian Lenihan, the outgoing Finance Minister, who managed to save his seat in Dublin West. His brother Conor (Dublin SW), however, was not so lucky and got creamed badly. Cyprian Brady, Bertie Ahern’s running-mate in 2007 (in Dublin Central) and who ran for reelection as TD this year, closely supported by Ahern, got the worst result for a FF TD with only 4.7% in his seat. In the areas directly bordering Dublin and considered as part of the broad suburbia (Kildare, Meath, Wicklow) there will be only one FF TD, Seán Ó Fearghaíl in Kildare South (which includes rural areas where Ó Fearghaíl is from, so arguably the suburbia has no FF TD anymore). FF took a big beating in the working-class areas of west and north Dublin where it was strong, way back when. The suburbs of Dublin grew dramatically during the Celtic Tiger years as middle-class families moved out of the city and bought houses on credit. Nowadays, these families have been the hardest hit by the economic crisis and have punished FF by giving it its worst results in the country. It resisted better in rural areas, but still got trounced. FF’s best result was 28.1% in Carlow-Kilkenny.
FF had sought to adopt first-past-the-post twice in 1959 and 1968. In those days, it was to guarantee FF a permanent majority. Perhaps FF is now thanking the heavens that it failed or else this election would have been a true wipeout for FF, which would likely have gotten at most 5 seats and perhaps only Martin in Cork and one or two outside that. In this case, this election would have been similar to Canada 1993 (the PCs won 16%, slightly less than FF, but got 0.7% of seats instead of FF’s 12% this year).
FF’s demise brought their former fledgling partners, the Greens, down with them. The Greens became a joke party, winning 1.9% of the vote and losing all 6 seats rather easily. Its former leader, Trevor Sargent managed 8.5% in Dublin North (-8.2% on 2007) while current leader John Gormley got 6.8% in Dublin South East. Its most outspoken member, Paul Gogarty got wiped out taking 3.5% in Dublin Mid West.
credit where it’s due: this isn’t my map
On the side of the winners, Fine Gael is probably the one which has gained the most coming out of this. Despite its leader, Enda Kenny, having poor leadership numbers and being almost constantly criticized within his own party (most recently in summer 2010), FG managed some impressive gains on the back of good transfers but also very good vote management in its constituencies. It did quite well in rural areas, where it took a lot of FF votes and also in the most ‘affluent’ (a relative term nowadays) of the Dublin suburbia in Meath or whereabouts. Its best result overall was 65% in Mayo, where a lovefest for Enda Kenny in his home turf (since 1975) is to blame. Kenny got in on the first count with 23.6% of first prefs and brought in three other Fine Gael-ers to give FG 4 out of 5 seats in the constituency. Definitely an impressive feat and the most extreme example of FG’s competent vote management on Friday. It will probably, however, kill itself for giving away freebies like in Kildare South where Michael Heydon’s 33% as FG’s sole candidate could have given it a second seat without too much trouble. Heydon’s 33% was the best result for a candidate in all of Ireland. However, FG did not win enough seats to form a majority government, meaning that it will need to govern in coalition – a point I’ll come back to later.
Labour were the second biggest winners and also became the second party in the Dáil for the first time ever. It will have its largest caucus ever, with 37 seats. It did best in Dublin, where it is the largest party. Its results were particularly strong in the working-class constituencies of Dublin (where it’s been strong since the 90s or so) were strong, the most impressive of which was in Dublin North West with 43.2% overall it got 2/3 seats with the final seat going to Sinn Féin, meaning that Dublin NW is the only one with no FG TD and is the only constituency entirely dominated by the left (probably the first time in Irish history). Labour won 6 constituencies in Dublin, most roughly in the west of the city which includes the most working-class or low income areas. FG did best in the more middle-class areas, though Labour seemingly has a ‘bobo’ type vote in places such as Dún Laoghaire (which is Gilmore’s constituency). Labour, however, has been strong or strongest in Dublin only since the 1990s or so, when it integrated the Democratic Left (the moderate wing of the Workers’ Party, the Official Sinn Féin). Current leader Eamon Gilmore is a former DL TD himself. Prior to that, Labour had traditionally been strongest in southern Ireland and weaker in northern Ireland. Its base in southern Ireland was with unionized agrolabour, and traditions don’t die in Irish politics. There are also working-class areas such as Cork or Cobh which provide a strong vote for Labour. It has since grown in Dublin’s suburbs, where it did well this year while the oddity in Longford-Westmeath seems to be a mix of Dublin suburban growth, manufacturing base and a personal vote in Westmeath for Willie Penrose, a Labour TD since 1992. Despite gains nationally, it did poorly in most of Connaught and northern Leinster though it did win a seat in Galway West, which is a very good thing for them. A lack of organization and by consequence a lack of decent candidate pool hurts them a lot. But set against the 2009 locals and Euros, Labour’s vote held up remarkably well (in 2009, it won roughly 14-15% when polls placed it at 18-23%).
Sinn Féin finally made the breakthrough it wanted in 2007. While it slightly over-polled – again – good transfers from other parties have given its candidate a significant boost as they won 14 seats and have made gains in areas outside their border country base around Northern Ireland. Its new base seems to be not only in the border counties of Donegal, Louth and Cavan-Monaghan where it has been strongest recently but also in the working-class areas of Dublin (in stark contrast to even middle-class liberal areas, where it is very weak) and now in old nationalist areas in Munster such as Cork or Kerry (though SF has been present in Kerry North for a good time now with Martin Ferris, and, soon, his good-looking daughter). Gerry Adams himself won in Louth, topping the poll with 21.7%. Pearse Doherty, SF’s popular finance spokesperson since his by-election win in Donegal South West last year, won 33% of first preferences (as the only SF candidate) and in doing so allowed SF to be the largest party in the constituency. Doherty’s high vote makes it likely that SF could likely have gotten a second seat here if it had run a second candidate.
The United Left Alliance (ULA) isn’t a registered party and as such didn’t appear on ballots. Therefore, its candidates are still counted for their respective parties (Socialist or People Before Profit) or as independents so it’s hard to quickly give the whole ULA a vote share. It has five seats, 2 Socialists, 2 PBP and one independent (technically, Workers and Unemployed Action Group). Joe Higgins, the Socialist Party’s leader and incumbent MEP (TD until 2007) won rather easily in Dublin West with 19% on first prefs. Clare Daly (SP) won in Dublin North (which includes the airport, where the radical left is strong) with 15.2% on first prefs. Joan Collins of People Before Profit (formerly SP herself) won with 12.9% in Dublin South Central. Finally, Richard Boyd Barrett, the bourgeois Trot of PBP won narrowly in Dún Laoghaire where he took 10.9%. Seeing Dún Laoghaire the middle-class suburb electing a Trot is always amusing. Séamus Healy of the WUAG (counted here and elsewhere as independent) won in Tipperary South toping the poll with an impressive 21.3%.
The number of Independents has increased considerably for the 31st Dáil. There are 14 outright independents (not counting Séamus Healy) in the new Dáil. Of those, six (O’Sullivan, McGrath, Murphy, Halligan, Pringle and Wallace) are left-wingers. O’Sullivan was elected in a 2009 by-election in Dublin Central as the ‘heir’ to long-time left-wing independent TD Tony Gregory. Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central) is also associated to the late Tony Gregory. Catherine Murphy (Kildare North) is a former member of outfits such as the Workers’ Party, DL and Labour. John Halligan (Waterford) is undoubtedly left-wing, he’s a former member of the Workers’ Party which is strong in Waterford (a working-class town). Thomas Pringle (Donegal SW) is a local councillor elected as a republican socialist and a former member of Sinn Féin. Finally, Mick Wallace (Wexford) is a building contractor/property developer who runs the local soccer team and is known for opposition to the Iraq War.
Three are FF defectors or people who were FF once upon a time: Mattie McGrath (Tipp South), Tom Fleming (Kerry South) and Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South). McGrath was elected as a FF TD in 2007 but was a thorn in the party’s side before finally leaving FF earlier this year. Fleming ran as an independent after FF didn’t select him. As for Michael Healy-Rae, he’s the son of well-known local fixture Jackie Healy-Rae (a TD since 1997) and is a rural populist type with a distinctive redneck/Ireland in the 1800s feel. There is one FG-independent (though he supported the government): Michael Lowry in Tipp North. He’s a former FG cabinet member who was forced out of the party for shady stuff and is seemingly a pork-barrel spender type of TD.
There are three right-wingers: Senator Shane Ross, easily elected in Dublin South, is a right-wing populist maverick type. A former FG member, he’s a stockbroker and campaigner on shareholder issues. His opposition to the bailout makes him a populist more than a classical liberal. In Wicklow, there is Stephen Donnelly, a former management consultant who campaigned on vague economic issues. Finally, there is Noel Grealish, a former PD TD reelected as an independent in Galway West.
Finally, there’s Luke Flanagan in Roscommon-South Leitrim. Flanagan is a prominent cannabis legalization activist, though nowadays focused on local issues as a county councillor in Roscommon. He seems to be a left-wing populist type.
Now comes the future. Enda Kenny will certainly become Taoiseach. He can thank his God for the economic crisis, because it’s quite unlikely an uncharismatic and incompetent leader of his type would have come close to power in normal times. His speech last night was one of the most boring and cliche speeches in politics, which means that Enda Kenny is a cure for insomnia. Yet, he’s won. FG doesn’t have enough to form a majority government and the independents don’t seem to be of the type to support a right-wing agenda which FG will allegedly implement. Furthermore, having a government reliant on independents never works especially in Ireland when a good number of those are rural pork-barrel spenders. Another solution is an FG minority supported by FF, without FF’s participation. Micheál Martin might be open to something like that, though it’s still hard to see the two parties working together (even out of a coalition) because, after all, Éamon de Valera didn’t sign the treaty in 1921. Yet a FG-FF type setup with an FG minority cabinet would probably be best for Labour’s long-term future as it could keep FF tied down while not hurting Labour. A FG-FF setup would be more likely to introduce the most stringent and austere of economic policies because it would be a quasi-uniformly right-wing government. As such, that option might please people such as Leo Varadkar, a right-wing FG TD. The most likely outcome, according to the pundits, seems to be a FG-Labour government. Éamon Gilmore has said that Labour is open to talks. Such a government might find its most right-wing policies frustrated by Labour’s presence and would implement a somewhat less austere policy. But it would still be a centre-right policy which would be taken (largely similar to FF’s recent policies during the crisis) and as such Labour would undoubtedly suffer a lot, maybe more than FG, from such a government which would inevitably become unpopular very quickly (especially given that Enda Kenny doesn’t seem a competent leader). SF could only be rubbing its hands in such a scenario which would assure it a bright future, and it would also allow FF to slowly rebuild independently in the opposition. Labour’s strategists ought to think about the long-term consequences on Labour and Irish politics as it enters or not government.
As said in the preview, we won’t know for a long time if 2011 was a realignment or a deviation. As such, I wouldn’t be quick to jump to conclusions about this being a historic election signaling the end of Civil War politics in Ireland and a realignment on ‘normal’ left-right lines. FF is certainly very seriously crippled, but Martin has some credibility left to rebuild the party and a FG-Labour government would probably make rebuilding much easier. FF is still a serious player, with members and organizations on the ground which can either break down further or be oiled up to run again in the future. However, FF’s future chances would be seriously compromised if Labour isn’t in government. In that case, Labour would grow in opposition and would seriously threaten FF’s chances and would enhance transition from Civil War politics towards left-right politics. From my point of view, moving Ireland towards left-right politics rather than archaic Civil War politics would be a welcome thing.
Election Day: follow the Irish election results on twitter now!
Ireland votes in an historic election, perhaps the most historic election in Ireland since 1932, on Friday February 25. Earth-shattering changes to Ireland’s remarkably stable party system could come out of it, even though it is far too early to tell whether this will be a turning point realignment election or only an historic but merely deviating election. Unsurprisingly, this election is being fought largely around economic matters. Anybody knows that Ireland has been one of the worst victims of the economic crisis, having suffered a huge housing bubble burst which led to Ireland becoming virtually bankrupt. As a result, it was bailed out late last year by the IMF and EU at the cost of heavy austerity policies. Those who wish for this election to mark a major change in economic policy, however, will probably be disappointed.
How it works
The lower house of Irish parliament, the Dáil Éireann, has 166 seats elected by single-transferable vote in 43 multi-member constituencies. Ireland is pretty much the textbook example of STV in the world, and it has used that system since 1921. I’ll save you the details of STV, readily available online if need be.
The STV system makes for Ireland’s high number of independents, localist politics and family dynasties. Especially in rural Ireland, local constituency issues are major voting determinants and rural voters are traditionally conservative, in the Irish case this means they’re pro-incumbent and they’ll heavily back the two dominant parties. Family names are also very important in Ireland, meaning that politics has a lot of family dynasties.
A Very Brief Political History
Ireland’s party system has been remarkably stable and is also somewhat odd for Europe. Irish politics has been dominated since the end of the Civil War by two parties which took their current names in 1926 and 1937 respectively. On one hand, the long-time hegemonic Fianna Fáil (FF, Soldiers of Destiny) and Fine Gael (FG, Family of the Irish) on the other. Both, however, do not conform the left-right divide present in almost all European countries in that both parties are big tent parties which are broadly centrist, with one more right-wing than the other. Both FF and FG can be described as patronage machines with no ideologies, though that view is slightly pessimistic. The roots of FF and FG, and by consequence the roots of modern Irish politics, lay in the Irish Civil War fought between 1922 and 1923.
Ireland was a part of the United Kingdom until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. Politics were dominated until 1918 by the Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) whose raison-d’etre was home rule for Ireland, which then also included the Protestant counties of Ulster. The home rule bill for 26 of the 33 counties was passed in 1914 but application delayed until the end of the First World War. The exclusion of the six counties of Ulster was to be a major spur to the rise of Sinn Féin (SF), a radical party which demanded the independence of a united Irish Republic. The violent repression by London of the 1916 Easter Rising also played a major role in boosting SF’s standing in Ireland. By the time of the 1918 election in Ireland, SF, led by Éamon de Valera, won 73 of Ireland’s 105 seat in Westminster, while the IPP was reduced to a mere 6 in Ireland (22 Unionists were elected, largely in Ulster).
Following the conclusion of the Irish War of Independence, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed in December 1921. An Irish Free State, a self-governing dominion of the Empire similar to Canada would be formed but Northern Ireland could and did ‘opt-out’ from the Free State. The treaty split SF into two wings, one pro-treaty led by Michael Collins and another anti-treaty led by de Valera. This led to a Civil War which was won by the pro-treaty wing which later became the Cumann na nGaedheal, or Society of the Gaels. de Valera’s anti-treaty wing of SF adopted an abstentionist policy by the election of the 4th Dáil Éireann in 1923 at which time Cumann na nGaedheal’s W.T. Cosgrave became President of the Executive Council, a position he held for ten years.
Cumann na nGaedheal, the predecessor of the modern Fine Gael, was a broadly centre-right moderate party which accepted the Free State and partition and supported free trade. Cosgrave’s government, in power until 1932, established a peaceful democratic state, restored rule of law and ensured the political stability of Ireland.
Meanwhile, the (anti-treaty) SF, which refused to take their seats in the Dáil, split. Éamon de Valera saw more advantages in making his peace with the Free State and republicanize it from inside rather than continuing with the SF abstentionist policy. When a motion by de Valera to end the policy of abstention failed at SF’s 1926 Ard Fheis, he split from SF to create Fianna Fáil.
The parties in 1932 had clear ideological differences. FF represented a republican, nationalist, protectionist and populist ideology which supported social measures and self-sufficiency, while the Cumann na nGaedheal represented a conservative, free-trade and middle-class trend which played the ‘red card’ on FF. FF won the 1932 election, and after a peaceful transition of power, Éamon de Valera, the former enemy of the Free State, became its leader.
de Valera led a nationalist policy in his first years in office, including a trade war with England which resulted in British sanctions on Ireland’s agricultural produce. The dispute was resolved in 1938 with the signature of an Anglo-Irish Trade Agreement. Most notably, de Valera drafted a new constitution for Ireland in 1937 which replaced the Governor-General with a President, recognized the special status of the Catholic Church (the Vatican approved the constitution’s draft before the government even submitted it to a referendum) and the recognition of Irish as the national language and first official language. The 1937 Constitution’s emphasis on the use of Irish led to the modern use of terms like Taoiseach (Prime Minister), Tánaiste (a deputy PM), the Seanad (Senate) or the Dáil (lower house, its members being TDs). Ireland became a de-facto republic in 1937, but only officially became a republic in 1949. Ireland was neutral during World War II, though there remains controversy about de Valera’s appreciation of Hitler.
Cumann na nGaedheal fell into disrepair following its 1932 defeat and merged with the small agrarian National Centre Party form Fine Gael in 1933 after a brief flirtation with fascism. FG did poorly in the 1948 election, winning 20% of the vote against FF’s 42%, but FF lost 8 seats and allowed for the formation of an unlikely coalition including FG, Labour, the agrarian Clann na Talmhan, the anti-communist National Labour and finally Seán MacBride’s Clann na Poblachta. Seán MacBride, a former IRA chief of staff, had founded the Clann na Poblachta in 1946 and it quickly drew support from left-wing, radical nationalists (who felt FF had betrayed republicans by executing IRA members) and other unhappy voters. It did remarkably poorly in the 1948 snap election, called by de Valera to halt Clann na Poblachta’s rising success. FG’s John Costello, acceptable to the Clann na Poblachta, became Taoiseach.
The Costello coalition was generally successful, but was severely hurt by the flop of the Health Minister’s Mother and Child Scheme which introduced free maternity care and free healthcare for all children. Opposed by the Church, the health minister was subsequently abandoned by his colleagues. de Valera returned to power in 1951. The new FF government was forced to implement deflationary austerity measures to deal with a poor economy, which led to FF’s defeat in 1954 and a second Costello coalition with Labour and the Clann na Talmhan. The second Costello government, unable to deal with the economic crisis, has been deemed one of Ireland’s worst governments. FF, embracing free trade, returned to power with an absolute majority in 1957.
de Valera was elected President in 1959 and replaced by Seán Lemass. Lemass, who had served as de Valera’s Tánaiste played a major role in FF’s conversion to free trade and to the subsequent economic growth in Ireland as a result of the government’s new free trade-oriented policies which included tax grants and concessions for foreign firms setting up in Ireland. Though Ireland and FF remained socially conservative, Lemass’ government did liberalize society through the creation of RTÉ television and educational reforms. Lemass retired in 1966 and was succeeded by the finance minister, Jack Lynch. An easy-going and popular man, as well as the representative of a new wave of younger FF politicians who weren’t connected to the Civil War; Lynch won a new majority for FF in 1969.
Lynch lost power to a National Coalition of FG and Labour in 1973 led by Liam Cosgrave. A poor economy following the oil crash and republican anger at Cosgrave’s hard-line policy towards the IRA in Northern Ireland led to a surprisingly massive defeat by FF in 1977, where Lynch won the party’s best result with 50.6% of the vote and 84 seats. Lynch’s government became unpopular two years into its term, the results of the 1979 oil crisis. He resigned and was replaced by Charles Haughey, formerly disgraced in the Arms Crisis, who went on to become one of Ireland’s most controversial Taoiseach. Haughey initially seemed to be favouring some austerity measures, but in reality implemented high spending measures which led to the deficit ballooning out of control.
In the 1981 election, Haughey led a populist campaign supporting continued spending while FG had an attractive tax-cutting policy which gained it 22 seats for a total of 65 against FF’s 75. FF also suffered from the competition from abstentionist Anti H-Block candidates who took votes from FF. A FG-Labour coalition led by Garret FitzGerald took office and implemented severe austerity measures, but the government fell in January 1982 leading to a snap election. Haughey, despite internal divisions in FF which lasted until 1983, was able to form a government with external support. Haughey continued his economic mismanagement and runaway spending, which led to a leadership challenge to Haughey in October which he easily survived but his government later fell when FF was apparently going to implement massive cuts. A left-wing independent and the 3 Workers’ Party TDs withdrew support and led to a snap election in November 1982. FG came within five seats of FF (70 to 75) and formed government with Labour, with FitzGerald as Taoiseach.
FitzGerald liberalized society, moving Ireland to the left although it remained a largely conservative country. In Northern Ireland, he negotiated the 1985 Anglo-Irish Agreement. But domestically, the government was unable to control the spiraling deficit and bad economic situation. FG did support public spending cuts, but Labour rejected any spending cuts. Although the government held together, its inability to control finances led to an outflow of right-wing support towards the new Progressive Democrats (PDs), a liberal party both on economic and social issues.
Haughey returned to power in 1987, with the PDs taking 12% of the vote and 14 seats, becoming the third largest party. Broadly supported by both FG and the PDs, Haughey this time implemented budget cuts, tax reform and other similar measures. Haughey called a snap election in 1987, hoping to get a majority, but instead FF lost four seats. After 27 days, Haughey finally managed to form a government with the PDs, and in doing so angered much of FF by abandoning FF’s sacred opposition to coalitions.
Haughey’s term didn’t go to well. FF suffered a major defeat in 1990, when its presidential candidate, Tánaiste Brian Lenihan Sr. was defeated in the presidential election by Labour’s Mary Robinson. Opposition within the party to Haughey strengthened and a string of corruption scandals emerged, notably the reemergence of the 80s phone tapping scandal which Haughey had authorized.
The 1992 election was FF’s lowest point, with 39% and 68 seats. FG also did poorly, while Labour won an historic 19.5%. A FF-Labour coalition around FF’s Albert Reynolds was formed. Reynold’s greatest legacy was his ability to de-escalate the conflict in Northern Ireland with the IRA announcing a cease-fire in 1994. However, Labour and FF split over a High Court nomination, leading Labour to leave the coalition. No election was held, instead a ‘Rainbow Coalition’ was formed by FG, Labour and the smaller Democratic Left. FG’s John Bruton became Taoiseach. Bruton was generally successful, except perhaps in Northern Ireland where the IRA broke its cease-fire in 1996. He liberalized divorce law and saw the beginning of the Celtic tiger economic miracle. However, perhaps because of Northern Ireland, FG narrowly lost power to Bertie Ahern’s FF in 1997. Though FG gained seats, Labour suffered badly. FF formed a coalition with the PDs.
Bertie Ahern, the teflon Taoiseach, had the ability to remain unmarred by the plethora of corruption cases. Perhaps the booming economy of the Celtic tiger (till 2008) helped, as did the 1998 Belfast Agreement. In 2002, FF was reelected while FG suffered a catastrophic meltdown, being reduced to just 31 seats. Labour did poorly, but the PDs, Greens and SF all did well. Despite a shaky second term which was marked by bad local results for FF in 2004, Ahern won a third term in office in 2007. It lost only 4 seats, for a total of 77. While FG bounced back 20 seats to get 51, Labour didn’t move. The PDs collapsed from 8 to 2 seats, with its leader losing its seat, leading to the party’s dissolution later. While the PD’s Mary Harney remained in cabinet, the government was expanded to the Green Party and supported by some independents. Ahern, faced with corruption and the beginnings of the meltdown, stepped down in 2008 in favour of Tánaiste Brian Cowen.
The Celtic tiger boom coincided with a property boom, helped by lax planning laws which allowed buildings to spring up practically everywhere and selling it at overpriced rates. Supply for property vastly surpassed demand for property, and led to the meltdown. Properties being backed by banks, Cowen was forced to guarantee the bank’s assets with public money. This, of course, led to a massive deficit where Ireland was on the verge of bankruptcy when the IMF and EU bailed it out late last year.
The Parties and the Campaigns
As explained above, both FF and FG are not parties with profound ideological roots. They’re largely similar, and they come close to representing nothing more than two broadly centrist outfits whose only use is patronage.
Fianna Fáil is traditionally more leftist and more republican/nationalist, but that’s hard to tell from its recent policies. FF is also socially conservative. Perhaps one of the reasons why Cowen and FF were so destroyed by the crisis, unlike any other governing party, is that their acceptance of IMF-EU bailout went against the party’s long-standing republican and nationalist rhetoric which at times included a dose of Euroscepticism. FF’s base is largely made up of certain working-class voters and small farmers (most of which are traditionally in western Ireland). It notably has a strong support base with the agricultural lobby groups.
FF has been in power, as we’ve seen above, for 61 of the last 79 years and most recently since 1997. That makes it the second most successful party in the democratic world after the Swedish Social Democrats. It has topped the poll in every election since 1932 and its worst result since then was a still relatively healthy 39% in 1992. A party with such a hold on power means that it is more than a bit corrupt, and perhaps one of the reasons for its success is its ability to control the sources of patronage for so long.
Questions over Cowen’s leadership arose in September 2010 after he showed up drunk to a radio interview. He survived a confidence ballot on January 16, 2011 but four days later he announced that he was stepping down as leader of Fianna Fáil but not as Taoiseach. Foreign Minister Micheál Martin, Cowen’s longtime rival, easily won a leadership contest and became leader on January 26. Martin is a capable communicator, and has managed to get strong leadership ratings. However, while he might boost FF a bit, the party has become too toxic for even he to lead it to victory.
Fine Gael is traditionally the more right-wing, liberal and less nationalist of the two. Yet, despite its right-wing reputation, it has always governed in coalition with Labour meaning that it has rarely implemented truly right-wing economic policies. FG’s close alliance with Labour is explained by its thirst for power, and given FF’s hegemony since 1932 a coalition with the third party is the only way of getting power and access to patronage. FG’s traditional base is with large farmers (in eastern Ireland) and with the urban middle-classes, where it has suffered competition from the PDs, Green and Labour.
FG’s current leader, Enda Kenny, is, to put it frankly, economically inept and a poor leader. Kenny survived a leadership challenge in 2010, a year which went particularly badly for it given that it was unable to capitalize, as the main opposition, on FF’s unpopularity. Nowadays, however, with FG mounting a tough anti-deficit campaign, Kenny has managed to make people forget that he’s probably as incompetent as Cowen and has come to embody financial stability. It has had a very good campaign.
FF and FG’s dominance has been helped by their implantation as the dominant political forces in Ireland right after the Civil War, which cast a long shadow over Irish politics. Furthermore, in rural areas, family ties and history play important roles in determining party affiliation, plus the electoral system means that politics are very local and the rural areas are pro-incumbent, making it hard for FF/FG to lose their bases there. In rural areas, voters vote heavily on local issues and as such it is hard to define any one county as a longtime FF or FG stronghold given that one party’s stronghold in 2007 might have been one of its weakest zones in the 80s. Urban areas, notably Dublin, while still voting FF/FG, also provide a base for Labour, the Greens, SF and smaller parties.
Labour has been a perennial third (or worse) party and has never won over 20% of the vote. Its weakness in Ireland is due both the aforementioned long shadow of the Civil War, FF’s populist left-wing rhetoric in its early days and also the weak implantation of industry and a urban working-class outside Dublin in Ireland. For a long time, Labour was strong with rural labourers, but its main modern base remain Dublin.
Labour’s Eamon Gilmore rode high in 2010, even surpassing all other parties in some polls until not very long ago. But the campaign has been pretty bad, and its economic policy has been under attack by both left and right. In addition, perhaps voters have shied away with electing a party which has little executive experience. Yet, anything short of an historic success (beating 1992’s 19%) would be a defeat for Labour.
Sinn Féin dropped its abstentionist policy towards the Dáil in 1986 and has stood in elections since 1987. It won one seat in 1997, 5 in 2002 and 4 in 2007. Traditionally, its Irish base has been limited to Republican areas bordering Northern Ireland and some working-class areas of Dublin. The party in Ireland received a major boost when Gerry Adams, its traditional leader and until then MP for West Belfast, decided to move his political career south, probably to leave Belfast open to Michael McGuinness. SF originally experienced a boom, out-polling FF for third place (prior to Martin taking over). Pearse Doherty easily won a seat from FF in a by-election in Donegal SW in November 2010. The party opposed the bailout and wants to default on at least some of the deficit. But the party’s economic policy has been heavily criticized and Adams himself was shown to be particularly weak on economic issues. It remains to be seen if it can perform as well as it polls, or if 2011 will be another disappointment like 2007.
The Greens won nearly 5% and 6 seats in 2007, but being in government until very recently with FF has killed them both because the government is as popular as the plague and because they were particularly incompetent in government. They’ll need to fight to retain all of their seats, and it certainly is foreseeable that they’ll lose all of them.
A bunch of small far-left groups, notably Joe Higgins’ Socialists, formed the United Left Alliance (ULA) to contest this election. Joe Higgins, who won a seat in the 2009 EU election in Dublin, is contesting his old seat, lost in 2007, in Dublin West. He’ll undoubtedly win, but it’s tough to tell if the ULA will manage more.
Here were the results of the 2007 election:
Fianna Fáil 41.56% (+0.1%) winning 77 seats (-4)
Fine Gael 27.32% (+4.8%) winning 51 seats (+20)
Labour 10.13% (-0.7%) winning 20 seats (±0)
Green Party 4.69% (+0.9%) winning 6 seats (±0)
Sinn Féin 6.94% (+0.4%) winning 4 seats (-1)
Progressive Democrats 2.73% (-1.3%) winning 2 seats (-6)
Socialist Party 0.64% (-0.2%) winning 0 seats (-1)
Independents 5.15% (-3.8%) winning 5 seats (-8)
In the 2009 European elections, FG won 29% against 24% for FF, while Labour won 14%, SF 11% and the Greens 1%.
Here are the current ranges for the parties in polls since February 20:
Fine Gael 37-40%
Fianna Fáil 14-16%
Sinn Féin 10-12%
Independents and others (incl. ULA) 14-19%
Seats are hard to estimate, but FG will likely fall short of a majority on these numbers. With Labour falling back, it is likely to not win more seats than FF. Labour has a very weak organization in a lot of rural areas, where it can hardly find itself good candidates and totally lacks a base. On the other hand, FF is still a party with a machine and isn’t (yet) a dead shell. However, in STV, FF could very well be toxic – it would get very few transfers. It faces wipeout in Dublin, and if transfers are awful FF could do extremely poorly. Sinn Féin will likely gain some seats, but given its tendency to overpoll, I’d be very reluctant to give them more than 8 or so.
Enda Kenny will more likely than not be the next Taoiseach, and he could do so with an overall majority of his own. That, of course, would be an even larger feat than just merely outpolling FF. Enda Kenny with a majority might not be a good news for the country’s finances, but it would be the best situation for Labour. It wouldn’t need to enter a government that will need to do some major slashing and cutting, and could establish itself as the main opposition party to FG and in doing so work to kill off FF. However, FG will probably fall short of a majority which means a coalition with Labour is most likely. While some of FG’s neoliberal minds such as Leo Varadkar might be highly critical of Labour, FG might itself like a coalition with Labour in that it would neutralize a source of potential, populist opposition to the tough economic policies which are inevitable. As for FF, the size of its defeat will determine where it goes. I’m always a bit wary of talk about earth-shattering political changes, so I’m not one to believe that FF will die after this election. After all, the PRI and LDP haven’t died after they lost the leverage of power, and FF will probably remain a strong political machine. In the case of a FG-Labour coalition, it would more likely than not be the main recipient of popular opposition to the government which will be inevitable once Kenny gets down to slashing and cutting. After all, no FG-led government has ever won reelection and I certainly have a hard time seeing how a government which will need to implement some very austere economic measures will be able to maintain high numbers. Questions of whether 2011 will be realigning or a mere deviation won’t be answered on Friday, and they probably won’t be answered in 2011.
Ireland held a “you gave the wrong answer” re-vote referendum on the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty yesterday after the previous referendum in 2008 had failed, much to the glee of Eurosceptics across the EU. Ireland’s constitution requires popular ratification of treaties of this type, and it did so for past European treaties such as Amsterdam and Nice (again, for Nice, the first failed but the second passed).
Ireland is now seriously hurt by the economic crisis, and its government is extremely unpopular. However, it did manage to obtain special advantages for Ireland in the new treaty, in regards to Ireland’s neutrality and its abortion laws. The YES, supported by most major parties, was expected to win easily and enjoyed a consistent lead in polls. And it did win, by a very large margin which surprised me.
Yes 67.13% (+20.5%)
No 32.87% (-20.5%)
Turnout: 59% (53.13% in 2008)
Only two of Ireland’s 43 electoral constituencies opposed the treaty: the two Donegal constituencies. Donegal, an isolated area of Ulster, has a tradition of general opposition to Europe and the governing authority. The YES was strongest in the affluent suburbs south-east of Dublin, where it broke 80% in two constituencies. The YES’ weakest areas, outside of Donegal, were generally poorer working-class areas. It did win, however, in working-class Dublin South West, where the NO had won its largest victory in 2008 with 65.05%.
The next steps for the Lisbon Treaty in Ireland is Presidential assent, a vote on a statute bill in the Dáil and Seanad before receiving final Presidential assent. All of which should be done soon.
Now, only the Czech Republic lacks Presidential assent and Poland hasn’t yet deposited the instruments of ratification with the Italian government as required by Article 6, paragraph 1.
Here is the first post in a series of posts concerning the various Euro results from June 7. The results for the major parties winning seats (or not, in a few cases) are presented here, along with a very brief statistical analysis of what happened. If applicable, a map of the results is also presented. Again, except for the Germany map, all of these maps are my creations.
ÖVP 30% (-2.7%) winning 6 seats (nc)
SPÖ 23.8% (-9.5%) winning 4 seats (-3)
HP Martin’s List 17.7% (+3.7%) winning 3 seats (+1)
FPÖ 12.8% (+6.5%) winning 2 seats (+1)
Greens 9.7% (-3.2%) winning 2 seats (nc)
As I expected, the junior partner in government, the centre-right ÖVP came out on top but the most surprising was the ÖVP’s decisive margin of victory over its senior partner, the social democratic SPÖ. In fact, the SPÖ, like the German SPD, has won its worst result since 1945. This is probably due to a poor campaign a poor top candidate – Hannes Swoboda. Swoboda ranted against job losses and outsourcing when he himself did the same thing to his employees at Siemens. The good result came from Hans-Peter Martin’s anti-corruption outfit, which got a third seat and increased it’s vote. While improving on its poor 2004 result, the far-right FPÖ is far from the 17.5% it won in the 2008 federal elections. A lot is due to abstention (anti-Euro voters being a large contingent of the abstentionists) and also Martin’s success. The Greenies have unsurprisingly fallen, though they held their second seat due to late (and still incoming) postal votes. The BZÖ of the late Jorg Haider fell just short of the threshold, and it did not win Haider’s Carinthian stronghold. Turnout was 45.3%, slightly up on 2004.
GERB 24.36% (+2.68%) winning 5 seats (nc)
BSP 18.5% (-2.91%) winning 4 seats (-1)
DPS 14.14% (-6.12%) winning 3 seats (-1)
Attack 11.96% (-2.24%) winning 2 seats (-1)
NDSV 7.96% (+1.89%) winning 2 seats (+1)
Blue Coalition (UDF and DSB) 7.95% (-1.14%) winning 1 seat (+1)
The pro-European centre-right GERB won, as in 2007, defeating the Socialists (BSP, officialy grouped with smaller parties in the ‘Coalition for Bulgaria’). The Turkish minority party DPS fell significantly compared to its surprisingly excellent 2007 result. This is due to higher turnout and to competition (by Lider) in the very active vote buying market in Bulgaria. The liberal NDSV led by former Bulgarian monarch Simeon II came back from the dead to win 2 seats and increase its vote share – all this due to a top candidate who had a high personal profile and popularity in an election where person and popularity are very important.
Democratic Rally 35.7% (+7.5%) winning 2 seats
AKEL 34.9% (+7%) winning 2 seats
Democratic Party 12.3% (-4.8%) winning 1 seat
Movement for Social Democracy 9.9% (-0.9%) winning 1 seat (+1)
European Party 4.1% (-6.7%) winning 0 seats (-1)
To my surprise, the opposition centre-right (albeit pro-reunification) DISY defeated the governing communist AKEL. However, both parties increased their share of the vote compared to 2004, mainly on the back of the centrist anti-reunification DIKO and the Social Democrats (who won a seat due to the collapse of the liberal European Party).
Civic Democrats (ODS) 31.45% (+1.41%) winning 9 seats (±0)
Social Democrats (ČSSD) 22.38% (+13.6%) winning 7 seats (+5)
Communist Party (KSČM) 14.18% (-6.08%) winning 4 seats (-2)
KDU-ČSL 7.64% (-1.93%) winning 2 seats (±0)
Of the shocking results of the night, the Czech result was a shocker to me. I had predicted the Social Democrats to win all along (most polls agreed, albeit very late polls showed a narrow ODS lead), and you have this very large ODS victory that really comes out of the blue. This is really quite a piss poor result for the ČSSD and its controversial and, in my opinion, poor, leader, Jiří Paroubek. I wasn’t surprised by the results of either the Communists (on a tangent, the KSČM is the only formerly ruling communist party which hasn’t changed it name and it remains very much stuck in 1950) or the Christian Democrats (KDU-ČSL). The KSČM’s loses were predictable because 2004 was an especially fertile year for them (the ČSSD was in government, a very unpopular government). Two small parties which won seats in 2004 – the centre-right SNK European Democrats (11.02% and 2 seats) and the far-right populist Independents (8.18% and 2 seats) suffered a very painful death this year. The SNK polled 1.66%, the Independents (most of which were Libertas candidates) won 0.54%. The Greens, a parliamentary party, won a very deceiving result – 2.06%. This is probably due to turnout, which remained at 28%.
Social Democrats 21.49 % (-11.1%) winning 4 seats (-1)
Venstre 20.24% (+0.9%) winning 3 seats (nc)
Socialist People’s Party 15.87% (+7.9%) winning 2 seats (+1)
Danish People’s Party 15.28% (+8.5%) winning 2 seats (+1)
Conservative People’s Party 12.69% (+1.3%) winning 1 seat (nc)
People’s Movement Against the EU 7.20% (+2.0%) winning 1 seat (nc)
Social Liberal Party 4.27% (-2.1%) winning 0 seats (-1)
June Movement 2.37% (-6.7%) winning 0 seats (-1)
Liberal Alliance 0.59%
Red: SD, Blue: Venstre, Purple: SF, Green: DF
No real surprise in the Danish results, which were as I expected them to be. The Social Democrats drop compared to their superb 2004 showing was to be expected, obviously. Obviously, these loses were profitable not to the government (Venstre, Liberals) but to the Socialists (SF) and the far-right (DF). SF and DF have won their best result in any Danish election, either European or legislative. The June Movement, the second anti-EU movement which is in decline since it’s shock 16% in 1999, has lost its sole remaining MEP. The older (and leftier) People’s Movement has picked up some of the June Movement’s vote, though its results are far from excellent. Despite an electoral alliance with the Social Democrats, the Social Liberals (Radikal Venstre) lost its MEP.
Centre 26.1% winning 2 seats (+1)
Indrek Tarand (Ind) 25.8% winning 1 seat (+1)
Reform 15.3% winning 1 seat (±0)
Union of Pro Patria and Res Publica 12.2% winning 1 seat (±0)
Social Democrats 8.7% winning 1 seat (-2)
Estonian Greens 2.7%
Turnout was up 17% in Estonia over 2004, reaching 44% (26.8% in 2004), correcting the weird result of 2004 which saw the normally weak Social Democrats come out on top. However, the surprising result here was Reform’s rout (compared to the 2007 general elections) at the profit of Indrek Tarand, a popular independent. The opposition Centre Party, however, came out on top. However, the map clearly shows that Tarand took votes from all places – Centre, Reform, right, Greenies (winning a very deceiving 2.7%), and Social Democrats. The Centre came out on top purely due to the Russian vote in Ida-Viru and in Tallinn, the capital (despite the name, the Centre performs very well in urban areas – it’s not at all a rural centrist party a la Finland).
National Coalition 23.2% (-0.5%) winning 3 seats (-1)
Centre 19% (-4.4%) winning 3 seats (-1)
Social Democratic Party 17.5% (-3.7%) winning 2 seats (-1)
Greens 12.4% (+2%) winning 2 seats (+1)
True Finns 9.8% (+9.3%) winning 1 seat (+1)
Swedish People’s Party 6.1% (+0.4%) winning 1 seat (nc)
Left Alliance 5.9% (-3.2%) winning 0 seats (-1)
Christian Democrats 4.2% (-0.1%) winning 1 seat (+1)
No surprises from Finland, which came out roughly as expected. The junior partner in government, the centre-right National Coalition (Kok) defeated its senior partner, the agrarian liberal Centre Party. However, the Finnish left (SDP and Left) suffered a very cold shower, winning its worst result in years. The Left even lost its sole MEP. A lot of that left-wing vote probably went to the Greenies (who won a very good result) and also the anti-immigration True Finns (in coalition with the Christian Democrats, which allowed the Christiandems to get one MEP). The Swedish People’s Party ended up holding its seat. The map is quite typical of Finnish elections, with the agrarian Centre dominating in the sparsely populated north and the National Coalition dominating in middle-class urban (Helsinki, where they narrowly beat out the Greenies for first) and suburban areas. The Swedish vote is concentrated on the Åland islands (over 80% of the vote for them) but also in small fishing communities on the west coast of Finland (which does not show up on the map).
CDU/CSU 30.7% + 7.2% (-6.6%) winning 42 seats (-7)
SPD 20.8% (-0.7%) winning 23 seats (nc)
Greens 12.1% (+0.2%) winning 14 seats (+1)
Free Democrats 11% (+4.9%) winning 12 seats (+5)
The Left 7.6% (+1.5%) winning 8 seats (+1)
In the EU’s most populated country, the Social Democrats took a major hit by failing to gain anything after the SPD’s horrible (worst since 1945) result in 2004. Overall, the Christian Democrats (CDU) of Chancellor Angela Merkel and its Bavarian sister, the CSU, won as in 2004 but their vote also took a hit (the CDU/CSU was a popular opposition party then, they’re the senior government party now). The winners were of course the Greens, who held on to their remarkable 2004 result and in fact gained a 14th MEP, but certainly the right-liberal Free Democrats (FDP). The Left also gained slightly compared to 2004. The Left’s map remains largely a map of the old DDR but, for the first time, you have darker shades appearing in the West – specifically in the industrial regions of the Saar, the Ruhr and Bremen city. In the end the CSU had no problems with the 5% threshold and they won a relatively decent (compared to most recent results, not 2004 or 2006) result – 48% – in Bavaria. Frei Wahler took 6.7% in Bavaria, and 1.7% federally.
PASOK 36.64% (+2.61%) winning 8 seats (nc)
New Democracy 32.29% (-10.72%) winning 8 seats (-3)
Communist Party 8.35% (-1.13%) winning 2 seats (-1)
Popular Orthodox Rally 7.14% (+3.02%) winning 2 seats (+1)
Coalition of the Radical Left 4.7% (+0.54%) winning 1 seat (nc)
Ecologist Greens 3.49% (+2.88%) winning 1 seat (+1)
Pan-Hellenic Macedonian Front 1.27%
No Greek surprise overall, though the Greenies’ poor result could be one. As expected, the opposition ‘socialist’ PASOK defeated the governing unpopular and corrupt right-wing New Democracy. However, there remains no great love for PASOK, partly due to the fact that both ND and PASOK are very similar. The Communist Party (KKE), one of Europe’s most communist communist parties (it still lives in 1951, decrying bourgeois and capitalists), won 8.35%, slightly above its 2007 electoral result but below the KKE’s excellent 2004 result (over 9%). The surprise came from LAOS and the Greens. The Greenies, who were polling 8-11% in the last polls, fell to a mere 3% partly due to a controversial video by the Green Party leader who said that Macedonia (FYROM, the country) should be allowed to keep its name (s0mething which does not go down well in Greece). Most of the Green strength in polls came from disenchanted ND supporters who ended up voting LAOS (the ultra-Orthodox kooks). The Radical Left (SYRIZA) won a rather poor result, probably due to the fact that it is seen as responsible for the violence and lootings during the 2008 riots in Athens.
Fidesz 56.36% winning 14 seats (+2)
Socialist 17.37% winning 4 seats (-5)
Jobbik 14.77% winning 3 seats (+3)
Hungarian Democratic Forum 5.31% winning 1 seat (nc)
The surprise in Hungary came from the spectacular result of the far-right quasi-Nazi Jobbik (which has its own private militia), which did much better than any poll or exit poll had predicted. Jobbik’s results significantly weakened the conservative Fidesz which won “only” 56% (down from 65-70% in some polls). The governing Socialist MSZP took a spectacular thumping, as was widely expected. While the right-wing MDF held its seat, the liberal SZDSZ (f0rmer coalition partner in the MSZP-led government until 2008) lost both of its seats.
Fine Gael 29.1% (+1.3%) winning 4 seats (-1)
Fianna Fáil 24.1% (-5.4%) winning 3 seats (-1)
Labour 13.9% (+3.4%) winning 3 seats (+2)
Sinn Féin 11.2% (+0.1%) winning 0 seats (-1)
Libertas 3.1% (new) winning 0 seats (new)
Socialist 1.5% (+0.2%) winning 1 seat (+1)
Green Party 1.1% (-3.2%)
As expected, Fine Gael came out on top of FPVs in Ireland, inflicting a major defeat on the governing Fianna Fáil. Fianna Fáil, did not, however, slip to third behind Labour as some pollsters made it seem. This is due in a large part due to Labour’s complete lack of organization in most rural areas. In Dublin, both Fine Gael and Labour incumbents made it through without much sweat. The race, as expected, was for the third seat between the Fianna Fáil incumbent (Eoin Ryan), Socialist leader Joe Higgins and the Sinn Féin incumbent (Mary Lou McDonald). Surprisingly, Sinn Féin was the first out leaving the final seat between Ryan and Higgins. In the end, Higgins got the quasi-entirety of McDonald’s transferable votes and defeated Ryan with 82,366 votes against 76,956 votes for Ryan on the 7th count. Former Greenie (against the party’s participation in government) Patricia McKenna won 4.3% on first preferences against 4.7% against the official Greenie (however, further transfers from joke candidates got McKenna all the way to count 5, while the Greenie got out by count 3). In the East, Fine Gael’s Mairead McGuinness got elected on the first count, quite the feat indeed. However, no luck for Fine Gael’s second candidate in holding the third seat held by a retiring Fine Gael incumbent. Labour’s Nessa Childers, second on first prefs, far outpolled John Paul Phelan (FG’s second candidate) and got the second seat. Fianna Fáil held its seat. In the North-West, all incumbents (1 Independent ALDE, 1 FF, 1 FG) held their seats with Marian Harkin (Ind-ALDE) topping the poll (however, both Fianna Fáil candidates combined outpolled him and Fine Gael’s MEP). The founder and leader of Libertas, Declan Ganley polled a respectable 13.66% on FPVs and held out till the last count but lost out to Fine Gael due to rather poor transfers from the other anti-Lisbon outfit, SF. In the South, FF incumbent Brian Crowley topped the poll and won easily, as did Sean Kelly (FG). The third seat was between the incumbent Independent (eurosceptic and social conservative) Kathy Sinnott and Labour’s Alan Kelly. Kelly won.
In the local elections, the final seat share is as follows:
Fine Gael 340 seats (+47)
Fianna Fáil 218 seats (-84)
Labour 132 seats (+31)
Others and Indies 132 seats (+40)
Sinn Féin 54 seats (nc)
Socialist 4 seats (nc)
Green Party 3 seats (-15)
People of Freedom 35.26% winning 29 seats
Democratic Party 26.13% winning 21 seats
Lega Nord 10.20% winning 9 seats
Italy of Values 8.00% winning 7 seats
Union of the Centre 6.51% winning 5 seats
Communists (PRC+PdCI) 3.38% winning 0 seats
Sinistra e Libertà 3.12% winning 0 seats
Italian Radicals (Bonino-Pannella List) 2.42% winning 0 seats
Pole of Autonomy (La Destra+MPA) 2.22% winning 0 seats
South Tyrolean’s People Party 0.46% winning 1 seat
Berlusconi Coalition (PdL+LN+Autonomy) 47.68% winning 38 seats
PD Coalition (PD-SVP+IdV+Radicals) 37.01% winning 29 seats
Red: PD, Blue: PdL, Green: Lega Nord, Yellow in Aosta Valley: Valdotanian Union (PdL ally), Yellow in Sudtirol: SVP (PD ally)
The Italian results were certainly a setback for Silvio Berlusconi and his “party”, the PdL, which performed a bit lower than what he and polls had expected (38-41% range). The centre-left PD did relatively well, and this will atleast keep the party from splitting up into the old Democrats of the Left and the Daisy. In terms of coalitions, the two large parliamentary blocs stand almost exactly where they stood overall in 2008, with a very very slight improvement for Berlusconi’s coalition. The marking result of this election is probably that of Lega Nord, which has won its best result in any national Italian election (narrowly beating its previous record, 10.1% in the 1996 general election). The Lega has expanded its support to the “south” (north-central Italy), notably polling 11% in Emilia-Romagna and 4% in Tuscany. The support and future of Lega Nord is to be watched closely in the future, due to a potential new electoral law which could significantly hinder it’s parliamentary representation (more on that later). The other good result is from Antonio di Pietro’s strongly anti-Berlusconi and anti-corruption populist Italia dei Valori, which has won its best result ever, by far. It has almost doubled its support since last year’s general election. After being shutout of Parliament in 2008, the Communists and other leftie parties (Socialists and Greens) are now out of the European Parliament, depsite improving quite a bit on the Rainbow’s 2008 result. Of the two coalitions, the old Communist one made up of the Refoundation Commies and the smaller Italian Commies polled slightly better than the Sinistra e libertà, the “New Left” coalition (Greenies, Socialists, moderate “liberal” Commies). Such was to be expected, but the irony is that both leftie coalitions were formed to surpass the new 4% threshold, and none did. However, if there had been a new Rainbow coalition (the 2008 Rainbow included both the hardline Commies and the New Left), they would have made it. As expected, those small parties which won seats in 2004 due to the old electoral law have been eliminated. These include the fascists, La Destra-Sicilian autonomists/crooks, and the Radicals. The South Tyrolean SVP only held its seat due to an electoral clause which allows these “minority parties” to ally with a party to win a seat. The SVP was the only one of these which was successful in doing so. Two smaller Valdotanian parties (one allied with PdL, the other with IdV) failed to win a seat. In provincial elections held the same days, the right was very successful and of the forty provinces decided by the first round, they had won 26 against 14 for the left. 22 provinces will have a runoff. I might do a post on that if I have time.
Civic Union 24.33% winning 2 seats (+2)
Harmony Centre 19.57% winning 2 seats (+2)
PCTVL – For Human Rights in United Latvia 9.66% winning 1 seat (nc)
Latvia’s First Party/Latvia’s Way 7.5% winning 1 seat (nc)
For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK 7.45% winning 1 seat (-3)
New Era 6.66% winning 1 seat (-1)
Latvian politics are very confusing, mostly due to the huge swings. This time was no different. A new party, Civic Union (probably EPP) topped the poll over the Harmony Centre, a Russian minority outfit. The PCTVL, another Russian outfit, fell slightly compared to its 11% result in 2004, but remained remarkably stable. TB/LNNK, a UEN party which topped the poll in 2004 fell down three seats. The conservative New Era, senior party in the governing coalition, won only 7% (a lot of its members, along with TB/LNNK members apparently joined the Civic Union). The People’s Party, the senior party in the old coalition which fell apart this year due to the economic crisis won barely 2%. The Union of Greens and Farmers, which won something like 16% in the 2006 election polled a mere 3.7%.
Homeland Union-LKD 26.16% winning 4 seats (+2)
Lithuanian Social Democrats 18.12% winning 3 seats (+1)
Order and Justice 11.9% winning 2 seats (+1)
Labour Party 8.56% winning 1 seat (-4)
Poles’ Electoral Action 8.21% winning 1 seat (+1)
Liberals Movement 7.17% winning 1 seat (+1)
Liberal and Centre Union 3.38% winning 0 seats (-1)
Remarkable stability for a Baltic nation in Lithuania. The winner of the 2008 election, the Homeland Union (TS-LKD) won a rather convincing victory, improving on its 2008 result (only 19.6%) and obviously on its 2004 Euro result (12.6%). The LSDP has picked up an extra seat and has cemented its place as the opposition to the TS-LKD, along with the third-placed populist Order and Justice. Labour, the centrist party which won the 2004 Euro election has seen its seat share cut down from 5 to one, a logical follow-up to its collapse in 2008. The Poles have probably benefited from low turnout (21%) to motivate their base and won an outstanding 8.2% and elected one MEP. I don’t really follow Baltic politics, but if I remember correctly, a government rarely wins re-election, so if that’s true, the result of the TS-LKD is even more remarkable.
Christian Social Party 31.3% (-5.8%) winning 3 seats
Socialist 19.5% (-2.5%) winning 1 seat
Democratic Party 18.6% (+3.7%) winning 1 seat
The Greens 16.8% (+1.8%) winning 1 seat
Alternative Democratic Reform 7.4% (-0.6%)
The Left 3.4% (+1.7%)
Communist Party 1.5% (+0.3%)
Citizens’ List 1.4%
Remarkable and unsurprising political stability in Luxembourg, with no changes in seat distribution. While the CSV and LSAP suffer minor swings against them, the DP and Greens get small positive swings. The Greens’ result is their best ever and one of the best Green results in European elections.
On election night last week, I also covered the simultaneous general election. Here are, again, the full results.
CSV 38% (+1.9%) winning 26 seats (+2)
LSAP 21.6% (-1.8%) winning 13 seats (-1)
DP 15% (-1.1%) winning 9 seats (-1)
Greens 11.7% (+0.1%) winning 7 seats (nc)
ADR 8.1% (-1.8%) winning 4 seats (-1)
Left 3.3% (+1.4%) winning 1 seat (+1)
KPL 1.5% (+0.6%)
Labour 54.77% winning 3 seats (nc)
Nationalist 40.49% winning 2 seats (nc)
Obviously no surprise in tiny Malta, where the opposition Labour Party has defeated the governing Nationalist Party. Both sides made gains in terms of votes, feeding off the collapse of the green Democratic Alternative (AD), which won a remarkable 10% in 2004 but a mere 2.3% this year.
Civic Platform 44.43% (+20.33%) winning 25 seats (+10)
Law and Justice 27.4% (+14.73%) winning 15 seats (+8)
Democratic Left Alliance-Labour Union 12.34% (+2.99%) winning 7 seats (+2)
Peasant Party 7.07% (+0.67%) winning 3 seats (-1)
Map by electoral constituency. Key same as above table
Polish politics move quickly, but it seems that this ‘setup’ is here to stay, atleast for some time. The governing right-liberal pro-European Civic Platform (led by PM Donald Tusk) has won a crushing victory over the national-conservative eurosceptic Law and Justice of President Lech Kaczyński. PO’s margin of victory is slightly larger than its already important victory in the 2008 elections. The SLD-UP electoral alliance, which is what remains of the Left and Democrats (LiD) coalition of the 2008 election (encompassing SLD-UP but also a small fake liberal party), won 12%, the average result of the Polish left these days. The Peasant Party, PO’s junior partner in government, won slightly fewer votes than in 2008 (or the 2004 Eur0s). The 2004 Euros, marked by the excellent result of the ultra-conservative League of Polish Families (LPR, now Libertas) and the left-wing populist Samoobrona saw both of these parties collapse. Libertas-LPR won 1.14% and Samoobrona won 1.46%. Smaller ultra-conservative jokes also did very poorly. After the 2004-2006 episode, sanity seems to have returned to Polish politics.
Social Democratic Party 31.7% winning 8 seats (+1)
Socialist Party 26.6% winning 7 seats (-5)
Left Bloc 10.7% winning 3 seats (+2)
CDU: Communist Party-Greens 10.7% winning 2 seats (nc)
Democratic and Social Centre-People’s Party 8.4% winning 2 seats (nc)
Blue: PSD, Red: PS, Green: CDU (PCP-PEV)
Cold shower for the governing Portuguese Socialists after the huge victory of the 2004 Euros. The centre-right PSD has won a major victory by defeating the PS, albeit a relatively small margin between the two. The lost votes of the PS flowed to the Left Bloc (the Trotskyst and more libertarian component of the far-left) and the CDU (the older and more old-style communist component of the far-left), both of which won a remarkable 21.4% together. These voters voted BE or CDU due to the PS’ economic policies, which are far from traditional left-wing economic policies. The PS will need to fight hard, very hard, to win the upcoming general elections in September.
Social Democratic Party+Conservative Party 31.07% winning 11 seats (+1)
Democratic Liberal Party 29.71% winning 10 seats (-6)
National Liberal Party 14.52% winning 5 seats (-1)
UDMR 8.92% winning 3 seats (+1)
Greater Romania Party 8.65% winning 3 seats (+3)
Elena Băsescu (Ind PD-L) 4.22% winning 1 seat (+1)
The close race in Romania between the two government parties ended in the victory of the junior partner, the PSD with a rather mediocre 31%. The PDL’s 30% was also rather mediocre. The PNL also did quite poorly. The two winners are the Hungarian UDMR, which won a rather remarkable 9%, probably benefiting from high Hungarian turnout in a very low turnout election. The far-right Greater Romania Party overcame past setbacks and won three seats and a surprisingly good 8.7%. This is due in part to the participation of the far-right quasi-fascist PNG-CD on its list (the party’s leader, the very controversial Gigi Becali, was the party’s second candidate on the list). László Tőkés, an Hungarian independent elected in 2007 (sat in the Green-EFA group) has been re-elected as the top candidate on the UDMR list.
Smer-SD 32.01% winning 5 seats (+2)
Slovak Democratic and Christian Union–Democratic Party (SDKÚ-DS) 16.98% winning 2 seats (-1)
Party of the Hungarian Coalition 11.33% winning 2 seats (±0)
Christian Democratic Movement 10.87% winning 2 seats (-1)
People’s Party–Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (ĽS-HZDS) 8.97% winning 1 seat (-2)
Slovak National Party 5.55% winning 1 seat (+1)
Smer’s result is definitely deceiving for them and possibly a sign that their past stellar poll ratings will slide to the benefit of the opposition SDKÚ-DS. However, the SDKÚ-DS (but also the KDH and obviously the ĽS-HZDS) have slid back compared to their 2004 Euro results. While the collapse of the ĽS-HZDS (formerly led by former quasi-dictator Vladimír Mečiar) is good news, the entry of the quasi-fascist Slovak National Party, Smer’s charming coalition partners, is not. However, the SNS’ 5.6% is not the 10% it used to poll and hopefully they stay low.
Slovenian Democratic Party 26.89% winning 2 seats (nc)
Social Democrats 18.48% winning 2 seats (+1)
New Slovenia 16.34% winning 1 seat (-1)
Liberal Democracy 11.52% winning 1 seat (-1)
Zares 9.81% winning 1 seat (+1)
In Slovenia, the oppostion centre-right SDS has defeated the ruling Social Democrats. Here again, the current political setup between SDS on the right and SD on the left, a rather new setup, seems set to stay for a few years. The NSi, which won the 2004 election, and the LDS, which used to dominate Slovenian politics, have both slumped back. The new liberal Zares won 9.8%, roughly its level in the 2008 election.
People’s Party42.23% (+1.02%) winning 23 seats (-1)
Socialist 38.51% (-4.95%) winning 21 seats (-4)
Coalition for Europe (EAJ-CiU-CC) 5.12% (-0.03%) winning 2 seats [1 EAJ, 1 CiU] (±0)
The Left 3.73% (-0.38%) winning 2 seats (±0)
Union, Progress and Democracy 2.87% winning 1 seat (+1)
Europe of Peoples 2.5% (+0.05%) winning 1 seat (±0)
As expected, the conservative PP defeated the governing PSOE, but due to the polarized nature of Spanish politics, no landslide here. However, the PSOE definitely polled poorly, though the PP didn’t do that great either. The regionalists held their ground well, and CiU got some little gains going in Catalonia. Aside from UPyD’s narrow entry and the obvious PP gains, it was generally status-quo.
Social Democrats 24.41% (-0.15%) winning 5 seats (nc)
Moderate Party 18.83% (+0.58%) winning 4 seats (nc)
Liberal People’s Party 13.58% (+3.72%) winning 3 seats (+1)
Greens 11.02% (+5.06%) winning 2 seats (+1)
Pirate Party 7.13% (new) winning 1 seat (+1)
Left 5.66% (-7.14%) winning 1 seat (-1)
Centre 5.47% (-0.79%) winning 1 seat (nc)
Christian Democrats 4.68% (-1.01%) winning 1 seat (nc)
June List 3.55% (-10.92%) winning 0 seats (-3)
Sweden Democrats 3.27% (+2.14%)
Feminist Initiative 2.22%
First map: Parties (SD in red, M in blue) – Second Map: Coalitions (Red-Green in red, Alliance in blue)
The Swedish results must come as a major deception for both major parties, the Social Democrats and the governing Moderates. Both had done horribly in 2004 and the 2009 results are no improvements for either of them. In fact, the opposition SD has in fact dropped a few votes more from the 2004 disaster. These loses profit to the smaller parties in their respective coalitions (Red-Green for the SD, Alliance for M). The Liberals did very well, unexpectedly well in fact, and elected a third MEP. The Greens drew votes from Red-Green voters dissatisfied by the unpopular SD leader, Mona Sahlin, and its vote share increased by 5%. Of course, Sweden is now famous for electing one Pirate MEP, and even a second MEP if Sweden gets additional MEPs as planned by the Treaty of Lisbon. The Left’s vote fell significantly from its good showing in 2004, while the vote for smaller coalition parties – the Centre and Christian Democrats also slid a bit. The eurosceptic June List, which had won 14% in 2004, fell to a mere 3.6% and lost its 3 MEPs. However, this result might have prevented the far-right Sweden Democrats from picking up a seat. The Feminists, who had one MEP after a Liberal defection, won a surprisingly decent 2%, far better than what polls had in store for them. In terms of coalitions, the governing Alliance actually won with 42.56% against 41.09% for the opposition Red-Greens.
Longer, special posts concerning the Euro elections in Belgium, France and the UK will be posted in the coming days.
A number of countries vote today in the Euros, though many more vote tomorrow. Only the Dutch have taken the risk to publish Euro results before they were technically allowed to, while the Brits and Irish who voted before-yesterday and yesterday respectively have not published their Euro results (they will do so tommorrow, when all 26 other countries do so).
However, local elections were held in England and Ireland (where there were also two by-elections).
The Conservatives have won a landslide in the local elections (27 county councils, 3 old unitary authorities, 5 new unitary authorities, and 3 directly-elected Mayors). According to the BBC, the figures for seats and councillors for all these authorities (except the Isles of Scilly, where all are Indies) are the following:
Conservative 1,476 councillors (+233) winning 30 councils (+7)
Liberal Democrats 473 councillors (-4) winning 1 council (-1)
Labour 176 councillors (-273) winning 0 councils (-4)
Independents 95 councillors (+6)
Green 16 councillors (+6)
Residents Associations 9 councillors (+2)
UKIP 6 councillors (+6)
Mebyon Kernow 3 councillors (±0)
BNP 3 councillors (+3)
Liberal 2 councillors (±0)
Others 28 councillors (+13)
No Overall Control winning 3 councils (-2)
The BBC has done a “projected PV share” estimate, which is quite worthless (anybody applying it to a general election is a useless tool) and probably very flawed. The Tories would have 38% (44 in 2008), the LibDems 28% (25 in 2008), and Labour 23% (24 in 2008). However, do note that the 2008 figure is based on entirely different councils, so the 2005 estimate is a much better comparison. The 2005 result is not available.
Anyways, Labour has suffered a very humiliating defeat. What is most striking is Labour’s total rout in some of its strongholds. In Lancashire, Labour fell from 44 seats in 2005 to 16 today (the Conservatives gained 18, the LibDems also gained 6). In Staffordshire, a Labour-held council, Labour is now the fourth party. It fell from 32 seats in 2005 to just 3 today (the Conservatives have gained the council with 49 seats, the LibDems and UKIP have four each). Other Labour council loses are Derbyshire (-16 seats for Labour), Nottinghamshire (-22).
The Liberal Democrats have picked up Bristol from NOC (they were the largest party before though). However, they have performed very poorly in Cornwall (where they hold all 5 – or 6 on new boundaries – seats in Westminster). They controlled the old Cornwall County Council, and today the Conservatives are by far the largest party with 50 seats (38 LibDem, 32 Indies and 3 Mebyon Kernow – a party which wants a devolved assembly and greater self-governance for Cornwall). This is certainly a bad sign for the LibDem incumbents in Westminster.
The other NOC councils are Cumbria (38 Con [+6], 24 Lab [-16], 16 LDs [+6], 5 Ind [+2], 1 Other [+1]) and Bedford, a new unitary authority (13 LDs, 9 Con, 7 Ind, 7 Lab).
This does not smell good for Labour in the Euros, and the UKIP and BNP’s local gains do smell good for them tomorrow.
On a negative note for all (although that may end up a positive note for certain parties), turnout was at joke levels. Around 20% for the Euros (the UK had a decent turnout by British standards for the 2004 Euros – 38%), which is close to 1999 levels (23%). In the locals, turnout was 30% (low turnout in locals is not a surprise or an abnormality in British electoral life). In Glasgow, turnout was 7% (yes, 93% did not vote).
In Northern Ireland, rumours have it that Sinn Féin has topped the poll (an excellent result for them which I did not see coming) due to a strong performance by incumbent “Traditionalist Unionist” MEP Jim Allister against his old Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). It seems that Sinn Féin’s Bairbre de Brún has made the quota by first count, while the DUP gets the second seat but without reaching the quota. The third seat is a thing to watch between the Conservative and Unionist (Conservative + Ulster Unionist [UUP]) MEP Jim Nicholson, the nationalist Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) candidate Alban Macginness and Allister. These, however, are just rumours.
Ireland Locals and By-Elections
Ireland also voted in local elections (counties, county borough, city and town councils) and two by-elections for the the Irish lower house, the Dáil. Again, the government has suffered a humiliating defeat by the looks of the exit polls.
The local elections exit poll from RTÉ.
Fine Gael 34% (+6.5%)
Fianna Fáil 24% (-8%)
Labour 17% (+5.5%)
Sinn Féin 9% (+1%)
Green Party 3% (-1%)
The current standings (190 seats out of 883)
Fine Gael 72 seats
Labour 46 seats
Fianna Fáil 30 seats
Others and Indies 29 seats
Sinn Féin 13 seats
In the Dáil by-elections, the counts are almost over.
Dublin South (Quota: 26,019)
George Lee (Fine Gael) 53.4% (+26.1% on 2007) / 27,768 votes
Alex White (Labour) 19.8% (+9.4%)
Shay Brennan (Fianna Fáil) 17.8% (-23.6%)
Elizabeth Davidson (Green) 3.5% (-7.5%)
Shaun Tracey (Sinn Féin) 3.3% (+0.3%)
Ross O’Mullane (Ind) 1.2%
Frank O’Gorman (Ind) 0.7%
Noel O’Gara (Ind) 0.3%
Fine Gael GAIN from Fianna Fáil
Dublin Central, Count One (Quota: 14,207)
Maureen O’Sullivan (Ind Gregoryite) 26.9% (+13.5% on Gregory 2007) / 7,639 votes
Paschal Donoghue (Fine Gael) 22.7% (+13.1%)
Ivana Bacik (Labour) 17.3% (+4.8%)
Christy Burke (Sinn Féin) 13.3% (+4.1%)
Maurice Ahern (Fianna Fáil) 12.3% (-32.2%)
David Geary (Green) 2.9% (-2.9%)
Patrick Talbot (Immigration Control) 2.2% (+1.5%)
Malachy Steenson (Workers’ Party) 1.8%
Paul O’Loughlin (Christian Solidarity) 0.7% (-0.04%)
On count 8, O’Sullivan has won without a quota. She has 13,739 votes against 10,198 for Donoghue. Therefore: Independent HOLD.
These results are a very bad result for Fianna Fáil, and this should be confirmed by the Euro counts. Talking about the Euros, RTÉ does have an exit poll out:
Fine Gael 30% (+2.2%)
Fianna Fáil 23% (-6.5%)
Labour 16% (+5.5%)
Sinn Féin 12% (+0.9%)
Libertas 4% (new)
Socialist 3% (+1.5%)
Green Party 2% (-2.3%)
The rumours say that Declan Ganley has performed quite well in North West. In the East, FG and Labour seem assured a seat each though the third seat is close between Aylward (FF) and Phelan (FG). Fine Gael will be hoping that Phelan wins to prevent an explanation of why they lost a seat there. In the South, Crowley (FF) and Seán Kelly (FG) are assured re-election and the third seat is too close to call. In Dublin, Mitchell (FG) and deRossa (Lab) are safe while the third seat is up in the air between SF, FF and the Socialist leader Jim Higgins.
Turnout in the locals is 55% – turnout in the 2004 Euros was 59%
Related to tommorrow’s big day, I hope to be able to live blog results if possible.
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If you imagine that the nucleus had increased to the size of an orange, then the electrons will appear as the point diameter, no thicker than a human hair, fast racing on the orbits distant from the core for several kilometers!
A cup of black coffee (capacity 0,25 L) lies a rather considerable energy. I do not think that I mean the miracle chemical composition of coffee, thanks to which a cup of hot beverage is able to put on your feet tired man. A large amount of energy contained in a 0.25 liter of hot water.
Scientists have calculated that the share of the visible mass in the universe accounts for approximately 5% ordinary matter, and the rest is 70% - this is the contribution of "vacuum energy", and 25% - the contribution of "dark matter» - a matter we can not see, but it exists.
As you know, the easiest way to magnetize metal object is to touch them to the magnet. This article will discuss about another, rather unusual and perhaps, like me, an unknown, but very curious way.Perhaps it is not particularly practical, but, nevertheless, this method exists.
Sergey Litovchenko , tall, slender, tanned, fifty, Ph.D., Honored Inventor of the RSFSR, the author of 60 inventions, casually opens a briefcase, pulls out a few details about the size of a bowl, easily connects them and sticks plug into the power outlet.
Two parallel metal rod, between metal cylinder ... It would seem that this kit is deprived of any meaning, but if applied to terminals a constant voltage, the cylinder begins to rotate. At physics textbooks, this effect is not yet described - Kaluga inventor Sergei Litovchenko discovered it recently.
If you imagine that the atomic nucleus grew to the size of an orange, then the electrons will look like a point diameter, no thicker than a human hair, a runaway in orbits distant from the core for several kilometers! A huge space between them - than it is filled? Nothing, emptiness?!
In the language of science is "nothing" is called physical vacuum. That is a vacuum in terms of modern physics, we talk today.
Gaston Plante was born on April 22, 1834 in Béarn (France). Already in school he chose physics as his specialty, and since 1855, his research interests are focused in the field of electrical phenomena.
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OECD countries have agreed new rules to strengthen current environmental and social due diligence processes when providing export credits and to create financially prudent incentives to support business projects with low CO2 emissions. The second agreement also aims to encourage support for advanced climate-friendly technologies such as carbon capture and storage.
The first agreement is an OECD Recommendation that broadens and enhances the provisions for addressing environmental and social issues relating to the export of capital goods and services qualifying for official export credits. This agreement updates and improves a 2007 Recommendation.
The new Recommendation provides clarity to existing disciplines and aims to promote international coherence. It reflects recent developments in the fields of environmental, social and governance due diligence, such as measuring greenhouse gas emissions and addressing project-related human rights impacts, in reviews of environmentally and socially sensitive projects.
The agreement results from extensive negotiations by the Working Party on Export Credits and Credit Guarantees (ECG) and consultations with relevant stakeholders, such as non governmental organisations, business and banking groups, labour unions, and other international organisations. The UN Secretary General’s Special Representative on business and human rights, Prof. John Ruggie, also provided input.
The second agreement, which has been approved by the participant countries to the Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits, creates a framework and incentives for the financing of large, capital intensive projects in sectors that help mitigate climate change, including renewable energies and water projects.
Participating countries may now support export projects that can support credits with up to a 15 or 18 years repayment term, and use flexible repayment structures for long-lived projects. In addition to financing for renewable energy projects with 18 years repayment, which has been in place for the previous three years, several advanced technologies are now eligible for longer-term financing when projects warrant them, including carbon capture and storage, fossil fuel substitution projects (waste to energy projects, hybrid power plants) and projects that promote energy efficiency.
The terms and conditions for each project will have to meet several environmental standards and be financially justifiable. This agreement will be reviewed regularly to ensure that future technologies will be included within the scope of the Sector Understanding on Export Credits.
The full texts of the Recommendation of the Council on Common Approaches for Officially Supported Export Credits and Environmental and Social Due Diligence (the “Common Approaches”) and of the Sector Understanding on Export Credits for Climate Change Mitigation, Renewable Energies and Water Projects (the “CCSU”) are available on the OECD website.
For further information, journalists are invited to contact Steven Tvardek in the OECD Trade and Agriculture Directorate (tel. (0)1 45 24 89 10).
>> More information on Export credits.
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For many couples, pillow talk soon gives way to pillow snores. Seriously, snoring is a major problem even if you’re single, and sleep apnoea is a recognized disorder that, in extreme cases, can even lead to loss of life.
The Japanese have brought to bear their well-known expertise in robotics to find a possible solution. Christened “jukusui-kun”, which means “deep sleep”, researchers at Wasaeda University have developed a robotic pillow that, they claim, will help people who snore to overcome the problem.
Here’s how the robotic pillow is supposed to work. The person with sleep apnoea or a snoring problem lies down on a specially designed sheet that has monitors built into it.
His head rests on this polar bear-shaped robotic pillow and the fingers on one of his hands are connected to a monitor that measures “saturation” or amount of oxygen reaching the fingers. The pillow has microphones to pick up the sound of snoring and robotic arms attached to it.
Low oxygen readings detected by the finger monitors, accompanied by loud snores detected by the microphones in the pillow get the robotic polar bear to act by raising its robotic arm and gently tickling the sleeping person’s face.
The objective is to get the person to change the position of the head, so that the episode of apnoea / snoring ends.
The pillow itself looks quite soft and comfortable. However, whether keeping one’s fingers connected to a monitor all through the night and sleeping on sheets with cables connected to monitors will be seen as better than snoring is a moot question.
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In a statement, the EU Commission said a group of countries representing about two thirds of the European Union’s GDP will, “for the first time ever”, be able to apply this tax at a regional level “answering the long-time calls of their citizens”.
The UK is one of 15 countries which will not be implementing the Financial Transactions tax.
Announcing the agreement, Algirdas emeta commissioner responsible for tax at the EC, also urged other countries to sign up for the Financial Transaction tax and commended those who had.
“Today is a milestone in global tax history... there is everything to gain from being part of an EU approach to the financial transactions tax,” said emeta.
“The considerable new revenues it will generate can be used for growth-friendly investment, and to support wider policy commitments such as development. Taxation will become fairer, as the financial sector makes a proper contribution to public finances and the costs of the crisis.”
emeta added that the single market will be strengthened “as a patchwork of national approaches is replaced with one harmonised FTT”.
Angela Foyle, tax partner at BDO, questioned whether this would in fact create the harmony emeta describes.
“I can’t see the UK changing its stance, unless the rest of the world also implements the tax. The current agreement could reduce liquidity in the markets and adversely affect the wider economy, as international businesses will find it more expensive to do normal business hedging transactions.
“When a similar tax was imposed on Sweden in the eighties, there was a reduction in home market liquidity and increased volatility as a result, will we see a similar problem unfold with the current tax?
“Should the 11 member states decide not to adopt a ‘pan-EU model’ and instead tailor the proposal to their country-specific needs, both the complexity and the cost of compliance and for all parties involved will increase. This FTT might well be raising more revenue, but at what cost?”
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Hobby horse toy plan
The hobby horse is one of the oldest known toys. In its earliest form hobby horse was not a toy, instead it was used by a pre-historic tribal story-tellers. Throughout the history, hobby horse slowly became a play toy, and it was very popular among ancient Greek and Roman children, as well as in the middle Ages. The hobby horse was quite popular toy, while the horses played important role in people’s lives. With the invention of cars, the presence of horses rapidly decreased, and consequently the children become more interested in toys that resemble the cars.
Hobby horse consists of a straight stick and a horse head. Head is usually made of wood or stuffed fabric and it is attached on one end of the stick. On the other end there is usually nothing attached, but sometimes it can have a ball or wheels attached. Hobby horse is a very good toy, because it encourages children on physical activities by placing a hobby horse between their legs and run with it, thus simulating the horse riding. With this toy children can play outside or inside the house. But if you do not have enough large room in your household, than this toy is not suitable for your child, while it can easily break some things in the room. In that case, it is better for the child to play with the toy outside. And that is an advantage of this toy – allowing the children to be in the fresh air while playing. Hobby horse is usually made in a shape of a horse head, because the horse is a synonym for riding. But if you like, you can attach heads of the other animals or mythical beings on the end of the stick, like the dragon, bull, etc.
DOWNLOAD COMPLETE PLAN:
The term hobby horse is not always associated with the toy. This term is also used by the folklorists to refer to the costumed characters that feature in some traditional seasonal customs.
When making the hobby horse, you have to pay attention on the weight and dimensions of the horse head. Heads made out of the stuffed fabric are quite light, but if you want to make it of wood, you will need to use some light wood, so the head would not be too heavy. Woods like Alder, aspen, basswood, yellow Buckeye, Butternut, Cedar, Hemlock, Cottonwood, eastern white pine, Poplar, Spruce, Black willow, American redwood and Balsam fir have relatively low density, so they are appropriate for this project.
Total length of the toy should be slightly smaller than the child’s height. Based on this way measured toy length determine the stick dimension. Although the stick has defined dimension in our plan, your task is to adjust the stick length to the height of your child.
In our hobby horse plan we presented two versions of this toy.
Hobby horse plan - Version 1
The first toy has wheels, and the head is decorated with the intarsia technique, which gives great degree of reality to the toy. Pattern of this intarsia is included in the Hobby horse plan, so you can use it for our hobby horse, but it also can be used for a completely different project.
Hobby horse plan - Version 1 - Parts list
Hobby horse plan - Version 1 - Assembly drawing
You can draw the pattern for the horse head intarsia using the following picture, or if you prefer the 2D CAD drawings, you can download it in DWG and SVG extension.
Hobby horse plan – Version 2
The other plan version is simplified, and instead of the wheel it has mounted a wooden ball at the end of stick. In this version, head is simply cut out in a shape of a horse silhouette. You can draw the horse face on it, and you can also glue a piece of artificial long hair fur as a horse mane.
Hobby horse plan - Version 2 - Assembly drawing and parts list
DOWNLOAD COMPLETE PLAN:
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Hamburg 22nd. Novbr. 1806.
I had last the honor under 18t. ulto. announcing the Commencement of hostilities between France and Prussia and the various success of two small affairs there reported to ⟨ha⟩ve taken place. Previous to the date of my letter, however the fate of the Campaign as it regarded ⟨the⟩ Prussian Monarchy was nearly fixed. On the 14th. October a general Action was fought at ⟨Je⟩na on the Saal River in or near the Duchy of Weimar in which the grand prussian Army ⟨comma⟩nded by the king in person was totally defeated with an immense Loss both in killed and prisoners. ⟨The⟩ dispersed detachments of the Army, the two largest of which were under the Commands of ⟨Pr⟩ince Hohenlohe and General Blucher have at different periods between the 14th. last and 8th. present ⟨mo⟩nth fallen also into the hands of the French. The Corps under General Blücher about 14000 ⟨acti⟩vely pursued and almost continually engaged with a very superior force under Prince Murat ⟨an⟩d Marshall Bernadotte (now Prince de Ponte Corvo) traversed Mecklenburg and sought an ⟨A⟩sylum in our Sister City Lubec. Their resistance was desperate through ineffectual. Lubec was taken ⟨by⟩ Assault and exposed for several hours to indiscriminate Massacre and plunder. At least 5000 men were ⟨ki⟩lled in that unfortunate City and this City escaped a similar fate or even much greater evils from the <⟨most⟩ ⟨acci⟩dental Circumstance. Blucher was directing his flight to our Gates when he heard that a body of Swedes who had fled to Travemunde to embark, had a considerable park of Artillery with them. This Circumstance ⟨dec⟩ided him on flying to Lubec. The Inhabitants of this City were in the greatest Consternation for several ⟨da⟩ys. At length on the 8th. inst. Blucher and his whole Corps capitulated to Prince Murat and Prince ⟨de⟩ Ponte Corvo’s Corps near Travemunde. After the surrender of the Prussians, the French except a very ⟨sm⟩all number drew off towards Brandenburg to join the grand Army under the Emperor and the ⟨gen⟩eral opinion here was that this City and its immediate Vicinity would escape actual invasion. ⟨Thi⟩s hope however suddenly vanished when on Wednesday Morning last, the 19th. of the present mon⟨th M⟩arshall Marlier at the head of the Dutch Army called the Army of the North, notified to the Senat⟨e th⟩at he was to occupy the City on that day and accordingly entered our Gates at two o’Clock. About ⟨o⟩ne thousand came into the Gates that day, two thousand being lodged in the Suburb of St. George. ⟨Thi⟩s step was as little expected by the French Minister as by the Government of this City. Since that ⟨da⟩y troops have been daily entering the City and various Suburbs. Marshall Marlier has taken ⟨po⟩ssession of the City in the name of the Emperor & king and although the Senate have not yet ⟨been⟩ dissolved, the Garrison has been disarmed and the whole Police is in the hands of the French. On ⟨the 21⟩st a Proclamation was published here ordering the declaration of all British manufactures ⟨with⟩in 24 hours under pain of Military punishment. Inclosed is a printed Copy of this proclama⟨tio⟩n. Last night at a late hour all the members of the British factory together with some other ⟨con⟩siderable Merchants were arrested and detained untill about noon this day, when the Government ⟨of⟩ the City having given security, they were suffered to return to their houses accompanied by a guard ⟨hav⟩ing previously given their word of honor, not to quit the town, untill the Will of the Emperor ⟨is⟩ known. A Courier was immediately dispatched to Berlin with representations calculated ⟨to⟩ mollify the Severity of this measure and these Gentlemen are waiting the answer. It is difficult even to narrate the rapidly succeeding events of the present times. To conjecture the Consequences from one day to another is quite impossible. I must necessarily refer your Excellency for the details of the various Actions, to the official Bulletins. The views of the Emperor are confided to no one and while the most intelligent men are wholly unable to account for the sudden Change of Policy which has dictated the occupation of our City, it is supposed that even Marshall Marlier is uninstructed as to any further measure connected with it. It is universally admitted, however that this measure will give a most tremendous shock to the Commerce of all Europe. This has allways been the Central knot of those great Exchange ope⟨ra⟩tions which not only give life to trade, but are interwoven with the Finances of every Governmen⟨t of⟩ Europe. If, therefore the occupation of our City has for its object a blow at the trade of England, i⟨t⟩ will involve every Country in Europe in Consequences not less injurious. It is understood ⟨that⟩ the French are Masters of the Country quite up to the Wisla. All Communication with Prus⟨sia⟩ is intercepted by the Army. Of course we are ignorant, of what is going on there. I have ⟨recei⟩ved oral Assurances from the Governor of the City, that I shall be permitted to continue my functions. I have the honor to be Your Excellency’s very obedient Serv⟨ant⟩
(signed) J. M. C. Forbes
DNA: RG 59—CD—Consular Despatches, Hamburg.
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Recent iiG research looks at the relationship between taxation and state-society relations in Lagos State, Nigeria. By focusing on non-PAYE informal sector market traders and professionals it examines how taxpayers think of Lagos State and what they expect from it. We conducted semi-structured interviews and focus groups with thirteen informal sector professionals and eleven market traders, to explore taxpayer perceptions as a key factor in building tax systems that are publicly supported and that can help to boost government revenue.
Gatt, L. iiG Briefing Paper 24. Encouraging tax compliance in the informal sector. CSAE Economics Department, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK (2013) 2 pp.
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Liberty, Love, and Life With Christ Conclusion
During its formative years, the church was entirely Jewish, as Jewish people by the thousands recognized Jesus as their long-promised Messiah. But by the end of the apostle Paul’s first missionary journey, a considerable number of Gentiles had joined the church. Many Jewish Christians felt the Gentiles should be circumcised and keep the Mosaic Law to be saved. The issue became so troublesome the church held a special meeting, the Jerusalem council, to settle the matter (Acts 15:19–31).
The fact that the Jerusalem council established a code of conduct for the church sheds light on the responsibilities of Christian institutions today. The law of Christian liberty lets believers practice anything God’s absolutes do not prohibit. However, God’s Word also teaches that Christians must refrain from offending the consciences of others—even if doing so entails restraining their own liberty in Christ. This rule also applies to Christian institutions, which have the right to require their members to adhere to standards of conduct.
The Jerusalem council decided Gentiles did not have to be circumcised and observe the Law of Moses to be saved and accepted into church membership. Faith in Messiah Jesus was all that was required. But the practical problem of Jewish sensitivity to certain Gentile practices remained. Gentiles and Jews came from two radically different cultural backgrounds, and the Mosaic Law shaped the Jewish conscience.
As a result, Gentile Christians were much freer in their actions than were Jewish Christians. The church had to decide what to do concerning the Gentile practices that would offend the Jewish conscience. New Testament scholar F. F. Bruce described the problem this way:
There remained, however, the practical difficulty that in most of the churches Gentile believers had to live alongside Jews, who had been brought up to venerate certain food-laws and to refrain as far as possible from intercourse with Gentiles….While there was no more question of requiring Gentile Christians to be circumcised and to keep the Mosaic law, these would do well to respect the scruples of their weaker Jewish brethren (all of whom could not be expected to become as emancipated as Peter or Paul), provided that there was no compromise on matters of principle.1
The early church functioned as an institution. The council of Jerusalem was not a spontaneous, informal gathering of a few Christians. It was an organized, formal church meeting that made difficult, practical decisions for its life and ministry.
The church instituted a specific code of conduct for its members. James, the leader of the church in Jerusalem, said, “Therefore I judge that…we write to them [Gentile believers] to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality [fornication, KJV], from things strangled, and from blood” (vv. 19–20).
The code’s standards were specific, restrictive, and limited.
Specific. As an institution, the church provided four specific standards. It did not provide a general statement about conduct.
Restrictive. The council restricted the liberty of Gentile Christians, listing certain activities from which they should abstain.
Limited. The standards were limited to prohibiting certain practices of Christian liberty, not practices concerning God’s moral absolutes. The command concerning fornication may be an exception. However, Bruce and several other theologians believe that, within context, the passage’s use of the term fornication probably does not refer to sexual immorality.
Instead, it may refer to certain kinds of marriages forbidden for ceremonial rather than moral reasons to Jewish people under the Law (Lev. 18).2 But since the Mosaic Law had been set aside, those marriage laws became a matter of conscience. Had it not been for the presence of Christians whose consciences were sensitive about those things, any Christian would have had the right to indulge in them.
The church addressed the code of conduct to those who were freer in their practices (Gentile Christians), not to those who were weaker in faith (Jewish Christians). The code restricted the majority, not the minority, in the church.
Sir William Ramsay, an authority on the early church, explained that by the time of the Acts 15 council, Gentile Christians outnumbered Jewish Christians.3 Thus the church did not determine its code of conduct according to how many members would favor it.
The church did not tell the weaker minority it was wrong to have such scruples. Instead, the church lovingly protected their consciences.
The church addressed its code of conduct only to its own members. Church leaders never intended to instruct people outside the institution.
The church did not regard its code as something its members could accept or reject, according to their personal preferences. Its restrictions were “necessary things” (Acts 15:28) because of the large number of Jewish people who held strongly to the ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic Law (v. 21).
If church leaders referred to the consciences of both Christian and non-Christian Jews, they then had two reasons for instructing Gentile Christians to obey its code of conduct: (1) to prevent Gentile Christians from unnecessarily offending unsaved Jewish people whom the church hoped to reach with the gospel (1 Cor. 10:32) and (2) to preserve the church’s life and unity between Jewish and Gentile Christians (Eph. 2:11—3:6).
The church regarded the salvation of Jewish people and the life and unity of its church body as more important than the full exercise of Christian liberty.
The church was not being legalistic in establishing this code of conduct. Two facts support this conclusion:
First, Paul, a staunch opponent of legalism and proponent of Christian liberty, fully approved of this code. He did not protest it at the council but, instead, helped to deliver the written notice to the Gentile Christians (Acts 15:22–23). Evidently, Paul regarded the code as a valid restriction of Christian liberty and not a form of legalism. Bruce commented,
There is no good reason to suppose that Paul would have found the decree objectionable; where no compromise of principle was involved he was the most conciliatory of men (cf. 16:3; 21:26; 1 Cor. 9:19ff). In his epistles he himself urges that those who are strong in faith should voluntarily restrict their liberty in food and other matters, to avoid offending those with weaker consciences (cf. Rom. 14:1––15:6; 1 Cor. 8).4
Second, the Holy Spirit initiated and fully approved of the code of conduct (Acts 15:28). Bruce stated the Holy Spirit “was given prior mention as chief Author of their decision.”5 No doubt the Holy Spirit cared about the formation and keeping of this code since His ministry involves maintaining church unity (Eph. 4:3).
If this code of conduct was not legalistic, what, then, constitutes legalism? It is obvious from the Jerusalem council’s decision that an institution is not legalistic for simply establishing rules of conduct. Rather, the purpose for which it establishes its code reveals whether or not it is legalistic.
If a Christian institution wants to turn questionable practices into moral absolutes or sees its code as gaining merit from God, then the code is a form of legalism. But if the institution wants to show genuine love by not offending those with weaker consciences and truly wants to help its members avoid such offenses to enable more effective ministry, then it is not legalistic.
Gentile Christians gladly accepted the code of conduct: “They rejoiced over its encouragement [consolation]” (Acts 15:31).
According to theologian Richard B. Rackham, in the word translated “consolation,” the “meanings of consolation and exhortation run into one another and can hardly be separated.”6 Bruce likewise wrote that the word means both exhortation and relief.7
Thus the Gentile Christians were relieved to hear the good news that they did not have to be circumcised and observe the Law of Moses and were exhorted to hear the code of conduct.
But the main point of verse 31 is that they rejoiced over both parts of the council’s letter—the good news and the code of conduct. They were thrilled to be accepted as believing Gentiles into full membership in the church at Jerusalem, and they joyfully accepted the code of conduct. They regarded membership in the church and sharing in its ministry as more valuable than the ability to fully exercise their Christian liberty.
In conclusion, since the early church as an institution was justified in requiring all of its members to adhere to a code of conduct that was necessary because of its specific cultural situation, Christian institutions today are likewise justified in doing so.
- F. F. Bruce, The Acts of the Apostles (Chicago, IL: InterVarsity, 1952), 289.
- Ibid., 300.
- William M. Ramsay, Pictures of the Apostolic Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1959), 134.
- Bruce, 289.
- F. F. Bruce, Commentary on the Book of the Acts (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1968), 316.
- Richard Belward Rackham, The Acts of the Apostles (London: Methuen, 1953), 257.
- Bruce, Acts of the Apostles, 300.
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Dr. Susan Tarlo is a respiratory physician with main clinical and research interest in respiratory allergic responses, and occupational respiratory diseases. She has a primary appointment at the University Health Network, Toronto Western Hospital, with a cross appointment at St. Michael’s Hospital, and has clinical activities at both sites. She has research appointments at the Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute of St. Michael’s Hospital and the Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Toronto. She is also a Professor in the Department of Medicine, University of Toronto with a cross-appointment at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health. She is a member of the Centre for Research Excellence in Occupational Diseases, St Michael’s Hospital.
She has over 200 peer-reviewed publications, mostly in the area of occupational and allergic respiratory diseases, especially work-related asthma. Recent research has included a focus on prevention of work related asthma. She has also authored the chapter on occupational lung diseases in Cecil Textbook of Medicine 24th-26th editions, was first author of a review of occupational asthma in the New England Journal of Medicine, and has co-authored the BMJ Point-of Care Epocrates web monograph on occupational asthma since 2009, with yearly updates. She has given the 2012 Canadian Thoracic Society Christie Lecture and was the 2015 Mastromatteo Orator for the Occupational and Environmental Medical Association of Canada. She was given the 2018 John Peters award of the American Thoracic Society, for outstanding contributions to occupational or environmental medicine.
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Tutorial Rendering Vray Sketchup. A powerful, scalable distributed rendering system that's simple and fast. This tutorial has been taken from our masterclass course which teaches you how to create a photorealistic kitchen scene using vray 5 for sketchup.
In this short tutorial, we will learn how to create batch renders in vray 5 for sketchup the right way. Sketchup to 3ds max vray render | vray tutorial | architutorsarchitutors | 3ds max and vray tutorials, tips and trickslearn how to make vray rendering enviro. These stairs for learn what it takes to.
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In public and private, the president has been holding up Michelle Obama's initiatives in the East Wing as a template for how the West Wing could accomplish a policy agenda the non-legislative way. He has called his wife's team a model for what's possible, and, in his State of the Union address last week, he said, "As usual, our first lady sets a good example."
The first lady's "Let's Move" campaign has reduced childhood obesity for the first time in three decades, Obama asserted in his prime-time speech to Congress and the nation. Her "Joining Forces" effort has led companies to hire or train nearly 400,000 veterans and their spouses, he said. And her successes have come without help from the lawmakers on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
On college opportunities, long-term unemployment and other policy goals, the president promised to take "a page from that playbook" as he described his plans for a "year of action" in the face of Capitol Hill's inaction.
It's easy to see why Obama would want to link his new executive action push to his wife's work. While his approval rating has plunged and his domestic agenda appears stuck, the first lady has remained popular, powerful — and largely out of the squabbles that consume Washington. Her "Let's Move" campaign to encourage children to exercise more and eat right is one of the administration's best-known public policy efforts.
Still, the idea that the nation's most powerful political office could take a lead from an office with almost no prescribed power was a notable moment in the White House's evolving strategy on using its influence. Obama has often struggled to wield soft power in Washington, where lawmakers have been largely immune to his persuasion and his attempts to use the bully pulpit have often failed.
This fresh focus on convening interest groups to tackle an issue — part of a host of planned executive actions — was for some an example of an ethos that pervades a White House run by a former community organizer. Others saw it as a reminder of the diminished powers of the presidency.
"In order to lead, he's bringing all the tools he has to try to effect change," said James Thurber, a presidential historian at American University. But whatever change can be accomplished through voluntary initiatives, he continued, "it's usually not permanent. It's more symbolic than real. And that is a problem for a modern-day president."
The West Wing's elevation of the East Wing strategy was on display Friday as the president gathered 21 corporate executives at the White House to discuss long-term unemployment. The president has failed for months to persuade Congress to pass an extension of jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed, which expired at the end of last year for more than a million people.
The meeting of influential stakeholders was at a venue few could refuse. The price of entry was a pledge not to discriminate against job seekers long out of work and to review hiring practices that might unfairly weed out such applicants.
Gene Sperling, Obama's chief economic advisor, led the long-term unemployment initiative. He said he'd consulted for months with executives. He emailed and called many — including News Corp.'s Rupert Murdoch, an Obama critic — to ask them to sign the pledge.
The tactic, Sperling said, was to take a "positive approach," focusing on what businesses could do better. "It is not an admission in doing anything wrong in the past," he said.
Working with companies, nonprofit groups and advocates is hardly a new approach for a president, but the willingness to reward companies with high-profile praise and the emphasis on voluntary commitments struck some as a new twist.
President Clinton's White House turned to similar "micro-strategies" to advance ideas and goose Congress, particularly after his party lost the House in 1994, but they didn't include an "ask" from the White House, said Mark Gearan, a former Clinton deputy chief of staff.
Gearan, now president of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in Geneva, N.Y., was on the receiving end of such a request last year when he participated in a White House effort to address inequality in higher education.
More than 100 colleges and universities pledged to find ways to make college more accessible to low-income students. Hobart and William Smith Colleges vowed to work with local public schools to get students ready for college, among other efforts. Other institutions committed to increase financial aid, partner with foundations to work on college readiness and expand scholarship programs for first-generation college students.
Top administration officials, including Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama's closest advisors, asked colleges what was possible and offered suggestions and guidelines for pledges, but generally left the options open. The White House reviewed the pledges and presented them to the media and other college officials.
"I think it was a rather savvy blending of the convening authority, the bully pulpit and the opportunity to gain something concrete," Gearan said.
"Let's Move" solicits pledges from food companies, restaurants and day care centers aimed at improving food choices for children or encouraging exercise. In return, Michelle Obama often showers praise on participants — sometimes rewarding them with a visit — high-value publicity for any company. Last month, from a Subway sandwich shop in Washington, she heralded the chain's promise to market only healthful food to children and include more nutritious options on its kids' menu.
Over the years, the approach has garnered criticism from some health advocates as being too soft on business and providing cover for companies with unhealthful products. White House officials argue that in their partnerships they prod companies in the right direction.
"We're asking them to do something that is in their interest to do, in the end. But what we're creating is a platform for them to do it which will be visible," said Cecilia Munoz, director of the White House Domestic Policy Council.
West Wing officials note that, despite the high-profile — and deserved, they say — shout-out to their East Wing colleagues, the sort of initiatives now getting attention are a signature of the Obama White House, which started the Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation to create partnerships with nonprofit groups, local governments, advocacy groups and companies.
"A lot of our colleagues in the West Wing and East Wing started out as organizers and think from an organizer's mentality. Since the beginning, we've been trying to identify big goals that move the needle in ways that engage people," Munoz said.
What the White House says is "moving the needle" some call "small ball" and a distraction from more substantial and permanent change that could be accomplished with legislation. Despite the attention on these initiatives, follow-up and accountability can be difficult to track.
"Let's Move" has an affiliated nonprofit group that monitors its pledges, but the promises made by colleges to help low-income students and by businesses to hire the long-term unemployed have no enforcement mechanism.
Still, White House officials say, they're being more aggressive in rounding up allies than presidents were in the past. Sperling, a former Clinton official, suggested a better comparison might be to a different office, one with only symbolic power: former president.
"Interestingly enough," he said, "I think this may be somewhat more similar to some of the efforts President Clinton has done in his post-presidency."
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|Aluminum Prototype Mold for End Cap of X-Wing Fighter|
|This odd looking thing is an actual aluminum mold used to create the first production-scale prototypes of Kenner's X-Wing fighter toy. Well, it was used to create part of Kenner's X-Wing fighter toy at any rate. If you haven't figured it out yet, the piece of the X-Wing that this corresponds to is the plastic "cap" that fits onto the back end of the vehicle and helps to hold the two halves of the fuselage together. In this first image you see the two halves of the mold, along with an example of the production part (which came not from this mold, but from a steel production mold).
As you can see, the central portion of the mold half that is responsible for the undetailed half of the part, or the half that is not visible on the toy's exterior, includes a sort of insert, which, for lack of a better term, "stamps" the plastic once it's been injected into the cavity, leaving it thin and formed to the correct shape.
Here's a third shot of the two halves together, with the insert separated off to the left.
This last image shows the mold beside the piece that was used to create it, the original 2-up wood pattern. The 2:1 scale of the pattern is typical; the larger size allowed the pattern makers to bring a greater degree of precision to their work. However, working in this scale created a prototyping problem: since the piece was larger than the intended production scale, any hardcopies made using it would also be two times larger than the actual toy. So, in order to create production-scale prototypes of the piece, for pre-tooling use in testing, presentation, etc., the pattern had to be subjected to a pantographing process, in which it was simultaneously diminished in size and translated into a metal prototype mold like the one seen here. In the creation of such molds, which served only to produce in-house prototypes, Kenner used aluminum, a cheaper and less durable alternative to steel, the standard material for producing production molds. As you can tell from the image above, the details of the pattern and mold are the same, but the scale of the mold is greatly reduced.
This is the only Star Wars era aluminum prototype mold I've ever seen. It's actually a blessing that it survived, as most of these things were scrapped and recycled after they'd served their purposes. This particular example was rescued by a Kenner employee who pulled it from a scrap heap composed of many similar molds because he had saved the pattern and thought the mold would make a nice companion to it. More photos and information about the pattern for this piece can be found here.
|Description by:||Ron Salvatore|
|From the collection of:||Ron Salvatore|
|Film:||A New Hope|
|Category:||Prototypes / Action Figure Related|
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Extracted from the Farm Tender weekly Newsletter - Sign up and get the email every Wednesday morning before 6 am. www.farmtender.com.au
By Dwain Duxson
Talking to Farmers and Rural people and you get the sense that Rural and Regional Australia is going through a mini-boom that could eventually become something more substantial.
Regional cities like Wagga Wagga, Toowoomba, Tamworth, Ballarat, Orange, Dubbo, Bendigo, etc are all experiencing housing issues. This has been going on for a while, but now it's filtrating further out to the smaller, more isolated towns.
I was talking to a real estate agent in the town of St Arnaud (Vic), and he said some places are getting snapped up in a matter of hours. And it's got to a point now where some houses don't even make it to market.
If you have ever driven through St Arnaud, population 2193 according to Google Maps, you would have noticed that it was once a thriving joint. In the seventies, the locals used to boast that they seven pubs in town. They only had one pub until recently when another one joined in and reopened, hence the new level of activity in town.
Donald, 30 odd kilometres away, you can't buy a house to save yourself, and neighbouring Wycheproof is the same, I'm told.
All these places are Agriculture towns, and some of the buildings you see, like the Silos and the Mills, were massive undertakings back in the days.
I don't think we will ever see massive infrastructure projects in these small towns, but we will see new businesses move in. We are now seeing individuals running or working in businesses that operate across Australia or worldwide, living regionally. This is exciting.
Some Farmers have decided to live in town and commute to the Farm each day.
This is only a tiny pocket of Victoria we are talking about here, but it's happening almost everywhere.
During the nineties and naughties, alot of these rural communities went backwards, so let's hope we can restore a level of activity that will see all parts of Rural and Regional Australia thrive again.
One thing's for sure. They will be different places from what they once were.
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Tweed is an accepted winter staple found in luxury and sporting clothes— in short, it’s a classic. Originally introduced as sportswear, tweed is now much more versatile. It’s used in suiting, outerwear, accessories, and more. Tweed is a woven fabric made up of two or more types, weights, and colors of yarn woven together to give it its signature, textured look. It is durable, breathable, and water-resistant when it is made with wool.
Download a free Sewing with Tweed info sheet!
- To avoid extra bulk, use a thin facing when needed
- Handle with care to avoid excess unraveling
- Tweed comes in many varieties, patterns, colorways, and weights
- Use sharp cutting tools for a clean cut
- Allow the tweed to settle with the pattern pieces for at least a day before cutting
- Cut out pattern pieces in the same direction
- Cut one layer at a time if the tweed is on the heavier side
- Match up prints before sewing for a professional finish
- Chalk and marking pens do not show up on tweed, so thread trace markings during construction instead
- Some tweed has a loose weave, so stabilizing the fabric before sewing is advised to prevent drooping weaves
- Stabilize shoulder seams by using twill tape to prevent stretching
- Use a sharp new universal or denim needle between sizes 10-14 (depending on the weight) to sew with tweed
- Set machine stitch length to 2-3mm
- An all-purpose thread will do the job
- Use a zigzag or overlock stitch to finish off seams or bias tape if a lining isn’t being used
- Use a pressing cloth to protect the fabric when going over seams or wrinkles to avoid fabric damage
- Before hemming, hang the assembled garment to allow it to drop
- Dry clean tweed to keep it looking its best
- Keep tweed garments in a cool, dry place to avoid any moth interactions and apply moth deterrents
Tweed fabric may have been traditionally worn as sportswear, but a modern day spin has given tweed new life. Create wintery cloaks, coats, tailored dresses, handbags, hats, and more! Check out the free pattern suggestions below for some fashion-forward tweed inspo!
Choose a fabric that’ll keep you warm and stylish. Sewing with tweed is manageable and the results you’ll achieve are totally worth the extra time spent to cut and sew with care!
What garments come to mind when you think of sewing with tweed? Drop a comment below!
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Deir Istyia Demands Safe Access to Wadi Qana
Busy Highway 5066 connects parts of the illegal Settlement Bloc of Ariel with Tel Aviv. It also has become a de-facto check point for the farmers of Deir Istyia. Their agricultural land lies on the other side of Hwy 5066, and the agricultural roads that once connected the village with their farmland in the Wadi Qana have been closed by the Israel Occupation Forces. The villagers are resisting.
Par for the course in Occupied Palestine, demands for justice are answered with more injustice. After several weeks of peaceful village protests, Israeli Occupation Forces raid the village, ransacking homes and terrifying children.
Luckily medics are on hand. During the most recent demonstration, Occupation Forces sprayed peaceful demonstrators with pepper spray. This child is suffering its effects.
Highway 5066 is heavily traveled, especially by illegal settlers and Israeli building contractors moving equipment and building materials to the illegal settlements that surround Deir Istyia’s agricultural land. Village farmers must cross this road with their farming materials, donkeys, and flocks of goat and sheep. The closure of agricultural roads makes the crossing next to impossible, and surely very dangerous.
Guardrail is a Closed Checkpoint for DI Farmers.
Villagers will continue to resist the closure of their agricultural roads. Their way of life, a way of life that is sustainable with the environment of Palestine, depends on their access to their farmlands in the Wadi Qana valley.
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The Architectural Image Archives contains historic photographs, digitized slides and negatives, and postcards.
- The Barbara Hoffstot photography collection was donated in the late 1990s and includes over 200 original photographs from the publication of Landmark Architecture in Palm Beach. The photographs are part of the Property Files collection at the Foundation which document vital information about the built environment of Palm Beach.
- The Postcard collection consists of two donations from Leslie Robert Evans (2000) and Olive Gowen (2006). The approximately 1,000 images in the collection capture the early hotels and resort lifestyle in Palm Beach. Many of the cards are postmarked in the 1920s-1930s and offer a glimpse into life at that time. In 2001, the Preservation Foundation published a selection of postcards from its collections in Palm Beach--The Way We Were.
- In 2017 Patrick Montgomery donated over 2,000 photographic negatives taken by Bert Morgan and his son Richard. These images document Palm Beach’s architectural and social history from the 1930s-1970s. The entire Bert Morgan Archive, consisting of over 500,000 negatives, is administered by Archive Farms, Inc.
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June Singer, PhD. 1 hour 19 minutes. Audio.
Topics: Religion and Spirituality.
The Evolution of the Soul: Gnosticism & the Quest for Personal Integrity
The unknown writers of the Gnostic book The Exegesis of the Soul might well have titled it “The Evolution of the Soul.” They wrote of the feminine soul that incorporated all the charms, beauty, and grace of the Hellenic lady, as well as the dark, scheming aspect of the sinful woman of Judaic lore. Jungian analyst June Singer, author of The Gnostic Book of Hours, explores this tale of violation and redemption emerging from the polycultural scene of first or second century Alexandria. In telling about what happens to the soul that descends to earth and falls into the snares of the dark powers of the visible world, the ancient writers addressed the split in the psyche between “mind” and “soul.” Since our contemporary culture still suffers from this division, we look for guidance in the images and symbols of Gnosticism as we pursue our own quest for personal integrity.
This lecture is part of the conference The Cosmology of Inner Space: The Gnostic Vision in Jung’s Psychology and the World Today. Purchase the full conference for 40% off the individual titles!
© 1993 June Singer.
Ⓟ 1993 CG Jung Institute of Chicago.
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WHAT MEDIATION IS AND HOW IT CAN HELP
When there’s a dispute (‘ conflict’) in between 2 or even more people or groups, we can try to aid both sides come to an arrangement. This is called ‘mediation’.
Mediation can not be used if a case has been made, or can be made, to a work tribunal regarding a conflict.
Mediation is held by a neutral individual (a ‘mediator’). The mediator is impartial. This implies they do not take sides. They exist to assist both events locate a remedy that all the events accept.
It’s typically made use of to resolve conflicts about functioning partnerships. Mediation is not judging that was wrong or best in the past, however looks at exactly how to agree on interacting in the future.
Mediation is a quick method to resolve a conflict as well as is:
- less formal
- usually not legitimately binding
Call us today and speak to a mediator on 03300100179
HOW MEDIATION CAN HELP
Mediation aids to heal office partnerships by:
- finding remedies that everybody consents to
- boosting communication in between both sides of the disagreement
- allowing both sides to have control of what’s finally agreed
There are lots of advantages of mediation. For instance, mediation can assist to:
- lower stress and anxiety
- maintain valuable workers
- prevent more official procedures, such as litigating
- quit more complaints being increased
- avoid paying high costs, as an example, employment tribunal cases
Mediation end results are decided by both sides and can be versatile. Results might include:
- an acknowledgement of each party’s views
- a dedication to transform behaviour
- a dedication to regularly evaluate the agreement got to
- a contract to evaluate treatments and plans
- an agreement to share work a lot more fairly and also supply more obligation
A VOLUNTARY AND CONFIDENTIAL PROCESS
Mediation is volunteer. At the first meeting, a mediator will certainly speak with you regarding what happens in mediation so you can choose if it’s for you. They’ll tell your employer mediation is not possible if you decide you do not desire to mediate.
Mediation is likewise personal. The mediator will concur with both sides which information can be shared outside the mediation and exactly how. If you do not get to an agreement, anything that’s been claimed throughout the mediation needs to be maintained private and also can not be made use of in future procedures.
WHEN MEDIATION CAN BE USED
Mediation is made use of to solve disagreements concerning office relationships as opposed to various other conflicts, such as pay or issues connected to termination or conduct.
You can make use of mediation to fix:
- harassing as well as harassment
- interaction issues
- character clashes
- partnership break downs
WHEN TO START MEDIATION
It’s an excellent idea to try and fix the trouble informally first, before believing regarding utilizing mediation.
You can utilize mediation if the trouble can not be settled informally. Mediation can be used at any phase in a conflict, but it’s ideal to begin it immediately. The earlier the conflict is managed, the much less possibility there is of points becoming worse.
You might likewise utilize mediation to restore relationships after a disciplinary or grievance procedure.
The cost for mediation is generally paid for by the employer yet the price can additionally be shared or paid for by the employee.
Call us today and speak to a mediator on 03300100179
This web page discusses the procedure of family mediation, when mediation is needed and the expected standards of a family mediator.
WHAT IS MEDIATION?
Mediation is the procedure through which families can work out concerning future arrangements for kids with the help of a neutral 3rd party. The mediator does not tell celebrations what to do, but can assist the celebrations to reach their very own agreements agreeably, whilst trying to improve communication in between them.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF MEDIATION?
When parents find it hard to concur on making suitable setups for kids after a family breakdown, Mediation is advised. There are numerous benefits to going to mediation, such as:
- providing you much more control over what decisions are made in regard to youngsters, instead of putting on the courts;
- providing a much less stressful method of taking care of delicate matters;
- improving interaction and also helping you to figure out future arrangements;
- permitting plans to be examined as well as altered less complicated, so long as they are equally agreed by both celebrations; as well as
- giving a quicker and also less costly method of resolving conflicts.
ARE ANY AGREEMENTS MADE THROUGH MEDIATION LEGALLY BINDING?
Any type of contracts made during mediation are not legitimately binding in the feeling of being enforceable in a court. Some individuals do decide to get a solicitor to examine the arrangement, and also the arrangement can be utilized in court at a later phase in order to create a Consent Order. See our page on Authorization Orders for additional information.
WHAT IS A MEDIATION INFORMATION AND ASSESSMENT MEETING (MIAM)?
A Mediation Information Analysis Meeting is the initial meeting which will certainly help develop whether mediation will certainly be ideal in your conditions, and also whether it will certainly help you to get to a contract.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN AT MEDIATION?
The mediator will certainly try to locate common ground in between you. If you’re not comfortable with being in the same area as your ex-partner, the mediator can set up ‘shuttle bus’ mediation. This is where the mediator speaks to you alone as well as after that speaks with your ex-partner with your proposals independently. It may take even more than one session to reach a contract.
Upon a contract being reached in between you and your ex-partner, a “memorandum of understanding” will certainly be developed by the mediator so everybody comprehends what has actually been concurred.
DO I HAVE TO GO TO MEDIATION?
From April 2014, any individual putting on the courts for assistance in solving disagreements concerning financial resources or kids will certainly be needed to participate in a conference Mediation Details Analysis Satisfying. This includes any type of applications for:
- Child Setups Order
- Specific Issue Order
- Prohibited Steps Order
- Adult Obligation Order
- An order appointing a Child’s Guardian
- Elimination from Jurisdiction Order
- Special Guardianship Order.
You will not require to participate in mediation for the above applications if you are requesting a Permission Order, or if there are continuous emergency situation proceedings, care procedures or supervision procedures for a child or there is an Emergency Situation Protection Order, Treatment Order or Supervision Order in place.
You can additionally be excluded from needing to participate in a MIAM, if you fulfil one of the exceptions described in paragraph 3 of the C100 application type, which can be downloaded and install from www.justice.gov.uk. A few of the major exceptions include:
- where there has been any type of domestic physical violence in between you and your ex-partner and it has actually been reported to the police, courts, health and wellness professionals or specialist company;
- where the child is the subject of a Child Defense Strategy or an area 47 query;
- where the situation refers seriousness, i.e. a risk of harm to the child’s safety and security;
- where mediation has been attempted within the last 4 months; or
- where the person seeking to make the application does not have enough contact information of the other person to which the application relates.
- From April 2014, it is mandatory to participate in a Mediation Details Evaluation Satisfying before making an application for court.
WHAT CAN I EXPECT FROM MY MEDIATOR?
A family mediator have to act impartially and avoid any kind of dispute of interest. This means that a mediator must not moderate on a disagreement where they have obtained pertinent info concerning the celebrations. In addition, a mediator should remain neutral on the end result of the mediation. They need to not look for to impose their preferred result or impact on any of the celebrations.
You need to additionally anticipate the mediator to keep personal all details acquired throughout the course of mediation. The mediator can not even disclose information to the court, without the consent of both individuals. The mediators might just divulge details where there are severe claims of damage to a child or grownup.
Mediation is a voluntary process and also any kind of session for mediation can be suspended or ended, if it is felt that the celebrations hesitate to fully take component in the procedure. Mediators should likewise motivate the participants to take into consideration the wishes as well as sensations of the kids.
HOW LONG CAN MEDIATION TAKE?
Mediation can continue while it fulfills the requirements of the private celebrations entailed. The first conference lasts around 45 minutes. Complete mediation sessions will normally last between 1 to 2 hrs, depending upon the intricacy of the scenario.
WHAT IS THE COST OF MEDIATION?
If you get on a reduced income or in invoice of particular advantages, you could be able to obtain Lawful Aid to aid with the prices. So one event is qualified for lawful help, Legal Help can cover the very first MIAM session for both of you. The mediator needs to be able examine whether you are qualified for legal aid or you can contact Civil Lawful Recommendations on 0345 345 4345.
WHAT IF WE CANNOT REACH AN AGREEMENT THROUGH MEDIATION?
If you can not reach an arrangement with the various other participant, or mediation falls short for any type of various other factor, for example the various other celebration will certainly not participate in or the mediator feels that mediation is unfeasible, you might wage your disagreement to the courts. You have to make certain that the mediator indicators and also licenses your application type.
Call us today and speak to a mediator on 03300100179
COSTS & PAYMENTS
CAN I AFFORD MEDIATION?
WHO PAYS FOR MEDIATION?
The average expense of family mediation in the UK is ₤ 140 each per hr. *.
* according to the Family Mediation Council– January 2021.
Free Family Mediation keep our prices fixed at ₤ 115 each per hr throughout your whole mediation process. And keep in mind, every extra pound you pay can be removed our fixed-fee lawful plans once your contract is worked out.
A lot of people pay their share, but you can agree that person will pay completely.
WHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE PRICE OF MEDIATION?
Included in the expense of your mediation is the moment considered the mediator to prepare for your session, compose up any kind of notes from your conferences and get your economic disclosures.
We do not charge additional for sending letters or e-mails, or for telephone call. All meetings can additionally be held online.
Once you have actually reached an agreement, we can function out one of the most set you back efficient legal plan for you based on the number of mediation sessions you have utilized.
Bear in mind, you only pay the per hour rate for mediation till you are all set to choose a lawful bundle that is best fit to you, on reaching your arrangement.
MEDIATION & DIVORCE COSTS
Please note we no much longer offer Lawful Help for mediation.
Initial meetings– ₤ 115 per hour (all consultations are paid at time of booking).
Child comprehensive mediation– ₤ 115 per hr (all payable ahead of time).
Mediation conference– ₤ 115 each per hr (payable at time of reserving your conference).
Form A/ C100 for court– ₤ 60.
Dealt with cost legal splitting up package (includes your first meetings, approximately 4 hrs joint mediation sessions and also a lawyer prepared act of splitting up)– ₤ 999 each.
Silver dealt with charge divorce and also mediation package (includes your first conferences, as much as 4 hours joint mediation sessions, solicitor took care of divorce via to your decree outright)– ₤ 1399 per person.
Gold dealt with cost divorce and mediation bundle (includes your preliminary conferences, as much as 6 hours of joint mediation sessions, solicitor handled divorce, lawyer substituting the participant, lawyer drafted authorization order)– ₤ 1699 each.
Platinum taken care of charge separation and also mediation package (includes your initial conferences, 2 hrs lawful advice, written record of that suggestions, approximately 8 hrs of joint mediation sessions, solicitor handled separation, solicitor drafted permission order, different solicitor representing the participant and also a brand-new will for each and every of you on your divorce)– ₤ 2399 each.
Taken care of fee approval order bundle (includes your first conferences, 4 hours joint mediation sessions and also a lawyer drafted and checked consent order, submission of the order to court and all court document)– ₤ 999 per person.
Lawyer Review (consists of a record sent out to our barrister chambers, that will certainly assess your situation and also compose a report of what they really feel would be a most likely result if your situation went to court)– ₤ 499 each.
Legal suggestions as well as a composed record based upon your conditions can be included to any kind of bundle (It is consisted of as standard with the platinum package)– You have the option of a 1 hr examination and created report or more hour consultation as well as composed report– ₤ 299 for 1 hour or ₤ 399 for 2 hrs.
Child Setup Order a solicitor prepares a child setup authorization order and also finishes a C100 kind and sends to your neighborhood court. They handle Cafcass enquiries in your place. This makes your parenting plan lawfully binding. You will require to go to court for this– ₤ 399 each.
HMCTS court charges for divorce– ₤ 550.
HMCTS court costs for a monetary consent order– ₤ 50.
HMCTS Court charges for a child setup order– ₤ 215.
Type A/ C100– ₤ 60.
Respondent Just Service (Lawyer to take care of the separation for the participant)– ₤ 399.
Memorandum of Recognizing (Free with any type of fixed charge legal plan)– ₤ 110 per individual.
Parenting Plan (for Child Just Mediation)– ₤ 72 per individual.
End result Declaration (files the end result where no or partial arrangement got to)– ₤ 72 each.
Qualified translation of marital relationship certificate– (from) ₤ 120.
Lawyer drafted consent order (if added to any divorce bundle)– ₤ 499 each.
Licensed duplicate of a marital relationship certification– ₤ 25.
Work with of 2nd area for shuttle mediation– ₤ 30 per individual per meeting.
Call us today and speak to a mediator on 03300100179
How Long Does It Take To Divorce Through Mediation?
You’re probably feeling an entire host of feelings if there is a separation impending in your near future. Unhappiness, stress and anxiety, anxiety, as well as stress are simply a few of things on that listing. As well as when the thought of all the needed company of separation hits you, you possibly really feel exhausted to boot.
Separation doesn’t have to be a prolonged procedure. If you as well as your spouse are amenable, you can decide to moderate your means via this hard time as opposed to experience excruciating litigation.
If there is a separation impending in your future, you’re most likely feeling a whole host of feelings. Unhappiness, stress and anxiety, tension, and also worry are simply a few of things on that particular checklist. And also when the idea of all the required service of divorce strikes you, you most likely really feel exhausted to boot.
Divorce does not have to be a prolonged procedure. If you and also your partner are amenable, you can make a decision to mediate your means via this difficult time instead of experience unpleasant litigation.
Exactly how much time does divorce through mediation take? We’ll go over that and also more today.
Call us today and speak to a mediator on 03300100179
What Is Mediation?
Mediation is a process of divorce that enables both celebrations to take control. Rather than leaving the choices approximately a court, you will certainly have the ability to make the options for your very own future.
This approach is specifically excellent for parents and people that will require to continue to co-exist in spite of the separation.
Along with being faster and less complicated than a traditional divorce, separation via mediation has a greater rate of conformity since both celebrations pertained to terms on the arrangement together.
Just how Does It Work?
A mediated divorce entails an individual called a family legislation mediator. This is an individual trained to help people solve their divorce issues. They work as the interaction between the couple.
The mediator’s job is to make certain that everybody has their chance to speak without being disturbed. He assists clear up the points that both parties make and asks questions to maintain the discussion on the right track with clear communication.
The mediator will certainly also give you info concerning exactly how the legal system functions and what options you can take to prevent them.
Generally, you, your ex, and also the mediator will get with each other in a number of sessions that vary in length from one to two hours.
When you will certainly aim out the points that require to be talked about and exactly how essential they are, the first conference is. It’s additionally where you will learn all of the paperwork you will need to take in order to speed the procedure along.
From there on, you’ll utilize each conference to discuss the different compromises you need to make in order to fulfill everyone’s requirements. The mediator offers info about the lawful system and also valuable hints for just how various other individuals have managed similar troubles.
Ultimately, you will meet the mediator and an arrangement composes it up for you and your legal representative to authorize.
How Lengthy Does It Take?
The solution to this concern varies because every separation as well as every marital relationship is different. If you have a lot of properties that you require to separate, or if you and also your spouse have a tough time agreeing, it could take a lot longer.
Nonetheless, if you can both involve terms rather quickly, you could be considering a very short process.
One of the major advantages to divorce via mediation is the reality that you will not have to appear in court. This minimizes the size of time substantially.
In basic, less complicated instances take about 3 or 4 two-hour sessions that the mediator expands over a training course of a month approximately.
Below are a few of things that impact the size of separation with mediation.
If you have a great deal of things that you require to divide, it can take a while. There are much more decisions to make.
If you’ve come to an arrangement on pretty much everything as well as simply have one or 2 points to function out, the procedure could go smoothly.
There’s no great method to put it: youngsters make divorce hard. Individuals are normally ready to endanger when it comes to financial issues. Yet when you include children to the mix, it obtains sticky.
When it comes to the custodianship of your youngsters, expect to invest a while in mediation. But it deserves it, you want something that’s going to benefit all the parties included.
There’s no wonderful means to place it: kids make divorce tough. Individuals are normally willing to compromise when it concerns monetary matters. When you add youngsters to the mix, it gets sticky.
Expect to invest a while in mediation when it concerns the guardianship of your youngsters. However it’s worth it, you desire something that’s going to function for all the celebrations involved.
Readiness to Concession
Your mediator can not tell you what you need to do. They do not make the selections or provide orders. They’re only there to aid you compromise and satisfy a common agreement.
It’s going to take for life if you and your partner aren’t prepared to meet in the middle on some things.
There are a number of issues that can make your mediation go a little longer than standard. That’s still a small cost to pay when you take into consideration the cost and time that goes right into a standard divorce.
It’s extremely unusual for a divorcing couple to agree on every little thing. Even if you can not concur on primarily anything, there is still an objective behind mediation.
Also taking 1 or 2 things off of the checklist of lawsuits can reduce the length of time you are in court.
Also if you and also your partner can’t obtain along, there’s still reason to try mediation. Even though pairs who are friendly usually choose this route, it doesn’t imply it’s a regulation.
When emotions run high, it’s part of the mediator’s job to aid both celebrations interact also. It is feasible to make it through mediation even in circumstances like these.
Taking Care Of Separation with Mediation
Separation is hard, that’s a straightforward truth. It’s stressful and also it can in some cases make you feel like you don’t wish to also obtain out of bed in the morning. But it does not need to be by doing this.
You can make divorce as pain-free as possible when you select to resolve divorce via mediation.
30 ESSENTIAL UK FAMILY MEDIATION FACTS 2021
WHAT IS FAMILY MEDIATION?
Family Mediation is the procedure of dealing with problems on your divorce, splitting up or ongoing parenting arrangements. Formerly, if you could not concur on these issues, you would have no alternative but to file an application with the family court for either a Child Arrangement Order or a separate application for a Financial Order. The court process takes a long time to get to a judgement, is pricey and also oftentimes is not the finest area to resolve disputes, especially within a family setting.
Family Mediation replaces the demand of going to court. By using a professional family mediator, most individuals can reach an agreement that permits them both to proceed.
Having a neutral 3rd party to control the discussion, make certain parity as well as fairness in the procedure and maintains conversations on things that matter. Across the country, even more than 70% of customers reach arrangement with mediation. Mediate UK handle to attain a 90% success price for those that take place to joint mediation.
Family mediation is not treatment or partnership coaching and also whilst it can look at just how you interact with each various other, it is very much regarding preparing the future and not recalling over the past.
Call us today and speak to a mediator on 03300100179
For How Long DOES MEDIATION TAKE?
This can differ from instance to case. For a one concern matter, such as parenting plans at Christmas, a holiday abroad or a change in the amount of spousal maintenance after that lots of are able to get to contract in just one joint 90 min mediation session.
The standard for the majority of customers on parenting or monetary matters is 3 x 90-minute mediation consultations.
WHAT HAPPENS AT A MIAM CONSULTATION?
You will originally need to complete an initial mediation meeting called a MIAM. They can also be described as an intake meeting. These are normally attended on your very own, but often you can go with each other. , if this is the instance the mediator will still want to talk to each of you separately.
The MIAM offers 2 functions:.
- It is your chance to clarify to the mediator concerning your circumstance, what the problems are, what you would certainly such as to happen and any kind of problems you might have.
- It likewise enables the mediator to give you complete info concerning how mediation functions. The mediator will then choose whether mediation appropriates for your case. You might likewise determine whether to try mediation at this stage as well.
WHAT IS THE FAMILY MEDIATION PROCEDURE?
Click the flow sheet below for Mediate UK’ s procedure. We are various from the majority of mediation solutions as we can additionally make you agreement legally binding as part of a taken care of charge plan.
The beginning of the process is the very same country wide. Most of the times we would see you separately at first for your MIAM and after that prepare a plan for your joint mediation meetings. We would typically talk about any kind of parenting setups initially, before completing a monetary disclosure with you both and after that experiencing your financial contract.
You would normally have an end result recap prepared at the end of your joint meetings as well as when agreement reached, the mediator can compose a complete parenting plan, memorandum of understanding and financial arrangement.
These files can after that be made lawfully binding depending upon your situations.
DO I NEED A DIVORCE LAWYER?
Legal guidance throughout the process should be recommended by every family mediation service in the UK. Taking great legal guidance before as well as during the procedure can assist as well as a lawyer can additionally check your arrangement at the end. Moderate UK likewise use repaired charge legal advice, which include a written report that you can bring into mediation if you want.
At the end of the mediation process, you will typically require a family regulation lawyer or lawyer to make your contract lawfully binding or you can pick one of Mediate UK’s dealt with cost lawful plans. The option is always yours.
IS MEDIATION IN THE UK COMPULSORY?
For the most part, it is a lawful requirement to take into consideration mediation by ways of going to a Mediation Info Assessment Fulfilling (MIAM) before you can ask a court to choose on your situation. There are currently 15 exceptions to this, which vary from residential abuse, to living abroad or child security. If, having attended a MIAM either you (or the mediator) decide that you do not want to do mediation, then you do not need to attend.
If you have actually been invited to attend a MIAM and do not respond or decline, you might have to discuss your factors why to the judge.
In many cases the judge may adjourn your proceedings whilst you attempt mediation. Also in such conditions you do not need to attend, although the judge will certainly need to know the factors why.
IS FAMILY MEDIATION SIMPLY FOR DIVORCING COUPLES?
Not at all. Family mediation can help parents who are separated, grandparents with accessing to their grandchildren, pairs that were co-habiting or pairs who have divorced and have ongoing monetary or parenting concerns to resolve.
Family mediation can help if you would ultimately submit an application at court to deal with the concern.
HOW MUCH DOES MEDIATION COST IN THE UK?
According to a research by the Family Mediation Council in 2019, the ordinary per hour rate including VAT for family mediation is ₤ 140 each per hour. Many concerns are fixed in 3 to 4 90-minute conferences. At Mediate UK the cost to reach resolution in this time is ₤ 632.50 each consisting of VAT.
If you get on particular benefits or have a reduced income without lots of assets, then you might be qualified for lawful help for mediation. The various other celebration will certainly not have to pay for their MIAM or their first joint mediation session either if you are qualified.
WHO SPENDS FOR MEDIATION COSTS?
This is by agreement between you. If both parties are paying their share, a lot of services will estimate per individual as it shows a commitment to the process. In some cases couples will agree that they will go to if the other party pays and also occasionally they will certainly work out up the costs from the financial arrangement reached.
Most mediation solutions will certainly ask you to pay as you go for the mediation you get. See our blog on who spends for even more family mediation if you can not concur.
WHY TAKE INTO CONSIDERATION FAMILY MEDIATION AS AN CHOICE?
There are four major factors why you need to consider family mediation.
- We understand it is mandatory to consider it. But why is that? A lot of family law experts, the Judiciaries themselves and also Department of Justice concur that family mediation is a much much better method to resolve conflicts, instead than litigating.
- It is quicker– the typical length for a monetary order to be finalised is 14.5 months, according to a Aviva Report published in 2018. Family mediation can be established up within a few days or weeks.
- It is less expensive– most firms of lawyers will quote you over of ₤ 20,000 for a complete monetary order with the courts, which will certainly include 3 hearings.
- It is extra friendly– this is especially crucial if you have kids together, regardless of their ages. Courts are established to be adversarial.
WHAT CREDENTIALS DOES A FAMILY MEDIATOR HAVE?
There are 3 degrees of family mediator:
- Educated Family Mediator (FMCT).
Although not formally identified as a FMC standard, this shows they have successfully completed an FMC accepted family mediation training course. They will usually be functioning in the direction of their certification.
- Accredited Family Mediator (FMCA).
This reveals the family mediator has completed a portfolio of situations, which generally takes about 2 years.
- Expert Practise Professional (PPC).
A Pay Per Click is one of the most seasoned family mediator and also will certainly have effectively passed a further PPC training course and also will certainly have numerous years of experience. They will instructor as well as help various other family mediators.
CANISTER OUR YOUNGSTERS HAVE A SAY IN THE END RESULT?
Yes! It is encouraged in family law. The youngsters can be invited to mediation by a particularly educated family mediator if both parents concur. The youngsters will talk to the family mediator on their own and afterwards, with the kids’s consent, this can be fed back to the parents at a different meeting.
If you litigated, as long as the kids are of a certain age and the court concurs, after that CAFCASS will talk with the youngsters. Family mediation just looks to replace this procedure.
ARE FAMILY MEDIATION SERVICES CONFIDENTIAL?
Definitely. It is just one of the 5 core principals of family mediation in the UK. You can talk freely to your family mediator during the MIAM without needing to worry that what you say will be handed down to the other party. Likewise you can review options, solutions and also make offers in mediation without being bound to them were mediation to break down.
All divorce mediation in UK is ‘without bias’– which implies you can securely make deals and also discover services, without being linked to them if your case litigates. It is a risk-free negotiating environment.
There are exemptions to this discretion, such as if a child is recognized as being at danger of major damage, or if money laundering is occurring. The family mediator has specific legal commitments to pass this info on in these uncommon circumstances.
Call us today and speak to a mediator on 03300100179
WHAT CAN BE DISCUSSED DURING A MEDIATION SESSION
The family mediator will certainly have agreed with you before the sessions what you wish to review throughout mediation. This will normally revolve around what future parenting setups you can concur as well as what economic contract you can get to. However it can also cover how you connect with each various other relocating forwards or what interim plans can be reached whilst your divorce mediation is occurring.
Family mediation additionally covers certain problems such as a family vacations, plans at Christmas or who will certainly make the following home mortgage repayment on your residential property.
Family mediation can also assist Grandparents that desire to concur setups to see their grandchildren.
WHAT'S THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN FAMILY MEDIATION & THERAPY?
There are lots of differences, yet these are the major ones:
- Family mediation is a process that replaces litigating.
- Family mediation looks forwards, not back over the relationship.
- Family mediators focus much more on the concerns to be fixed and much less on the underlying partnership.
- Family mediation consideration is a lawful requirement, in many cases, prior to litigating.
Counselling can absolutely assist with your recurring relationship with each other or the broader family. You can look for neighborhood counsellors below.
DO WE NEED TO BE IN THE SAME AREA AS EACH OTHER?
No. The majority of mediation for splitting up, divorce or parenting arrangements includes you as well as your family mediator remaining in the very same area. This often tends to work best and also helps you reach an arrangement in much less time.You can nevertheless pick to have shuttle mediation. This is where you remain in separate rooms and will.
normally have different arrival as well as separation times. The mediator will designate their time equally in between you and also ‘shuttle’ between rooms to aid you get to an agreement.
With the appeal of on-line mediation, you don’t also need to remain in the same structure and also you can even do ‘shuttle bus mediation’ on-line– where you will certainly remain in separate break-out areas. You do not have to be on the very same display as the other celebration in this case.
HOW DOES ONLINE MEDIATION WORK?
On-line mediation occurs in similar means as face-to-face mediation in the UK.
The mediator will usually hold different MIAM appointments as well as will then place a strategy together for your joint mediation designate. Online Mediation can work actually well as it assists individuals focus on the problems. Just one individual can speak each time and as you are not in the same space, increased emotions can be less of a problem.
WHAT OCCURS WITH FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE DURING FAMILY MEDIATION?
Each solution will have their very own policy on economic disclosure.
There are three levels of economic disclosure you can make with Mediate UK:.
High level– simply the overall for each and every of the 4 disclosure classifications (property, other assets, liabilities and also pension plans).
Financial Disclosure Kinds– You total our spread sheets, which are lawfully appropriate for a disclosure.
Form E– You both total a Form E and sign them off as precise. This is the kind you would certainly finish if you were to head to court.
The disclosure is switched in between you both as well as you have a possibility to examine it, ask questions through the mediation procedure as well as lastly concur it. The disclosure can be revealed to court, so it is essential that it is exact, as up to day as feasible as well as you have included whatever you need to disclose. This consists of assets, even if they are not being divided between you or transforming hands as component of the negotiation.
A precise disclosure will certainly enable you both to get a consent order from the court. Without this, either of you might make a future insurance claim against the various other.
At Mediate UK, 80% of clients utilize our own monetary disclosure kinds. They have to sign a please note prior to the agreement can be sent out to the lawyers if customers decide for a high-level disclosure just.
Collating, settling and also concurring what assets you both have is a crucial part of the mediation procedure. If you can not settle on which disclosure option to do, then the default is to full Kind E’s each. Review our Ultimate Guide to Financial Disclosure for more details about this.
IS MEDIATION LEGALLY BINDING?
At the end of the family mediation procedure, you will certainly be typically receive among the complying with files:.
- A Result Declaration.
- A Memorandum of Understanding.
- A Parenting Strategy.
- A Financial Declaration.
An End result Declaration is utilized when no or partial arrangement is reached. It can be useful in tightening the scope of the problems, to ensure that you spend less time going with the lawful procedure, allowing you to simply focus on the problems that have not been concurred in family mediation.
A Memorandum of Comprehending.
This is the major records generated from effective family mediation. It will certainly lay out what you have concurred in your mediation appointments. It is not lawfully binding however can be made so through an authorization order with your divorce.
You can likewise have your purposes tape-recorded in an action of separation, which welcomes the court to accept your arrangement in case of any future conflicts. These are usually prepared by a solicitor as well as your trademarks are experienced with the paper hung on file.
A Parenting Plan.
This is the plan that demonstrates how you will certainly raise your kids whilst living individually. It can cover whatever from education, holidays to grandparents and also religious factors to consider. The plan is not legally binding however can me made so by authorization through a child setup order.
Call us today and speak to a mediator on 03300100179
WHAT VARIOUS OTHER PARENTING ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE FOR US?
Often the relationship between parents is harmful as well as so fraught, that it appears difficult to work together to get to an arrangement on exactly how to elevate the children. Family Judiciaries can send out parents on a Separated Parents Details Strategy (PIP)– where the parents find out how to prioritise their children as well as handle conflict in their ongoing relationship.
Mediate UK desire to maintain parents out of court, so we have actually partnered with Children Come First to give mentoring to parents experiencing a splitting up. It can function really well when there is high dispute, when your views on parenting are far apart, or when you just desire a seasoned professional to lead you via the splitting up.
WHERE CONTAINER I OBTAIN LEGAL SUGGESTIONS IN THE UK?
Good lawful suggestions is an integral part of UK Divorce Mediation. To obtain the most specific recommendations for your monetary case, it is handy to have a full monetary disclosure from each event. This allows the lawyer to comprehend the complete image for your specific scenario and afterwards suggest as necessary.
To obtain the suggestions you require you can discover a solicitor local to you– as well as we recommend looking for a Resolution accredited solicitor.
Additionally you can reserve in a a couple of hr legal recommendations package, which significantly, consist of a written report of that advice. These can be made use of at any time during the mediation process, or perhaps if you are not attending moderating. The two-hour package does not have to be taken at one time, so you can utilize it before and after the mediation.
WHAT TAKES PLACE IF MEDIATION BREAKS DOWN?
If mediation does not work, the majority of people would have five alternatives:
- Not do anything.
- Pause from discussions.
- Ask For a Barrister Evaluation.
- Lawyer Arrangement.
- Relate to the Family Court.
Do absolutely nothing– if you have actually not consented to alter the current scenario and also you can not agree to transform it with mediation, you might approve that you attempted and proceed with the status.
Pause– Sometimes it is useful, specifically in high stress as well as emotive matters to pause from the process and try once again in a few months, as soon as matters have relaxed down somewhat.
Barrister Evaluation– Set up by Mediate UK in 2015, our Lawyer Reviews have been a revelation to assist clients where they could not get to a contract in mediation yet additionally desire to avoid the costs of going to court. An independent lawyer will certainly write a report on what the law is, exactly how it puts on your case and also, if you went to court, what would be a likely result.
Solicitor Negotiation– You would certainly ask your respective solicitors to bargain in between each other, in the hope that this will lead to a contract before court.
Put on the Family Court– By attending mediation as well as it ultimately breaking down, you will certainly have satisfied the lawful requirement to submit an application to the court, for them to make an order on your matter.
WHAT HAPPENS IF THE VARIOUS OTHER PARTY DOES NOT WANT TO ATTEND MEDIATION.
Family Mediation is always voluntary, also when an instance is adjourned by the court to attempt to reach an arrangement via mediation.
You do not need to go to and neither does the various other celebration. It is just one of the core principals of mediation– you have to desire to take part in the process and also want to solve the matter.
Family mediation is not a suitable technique of alternate dispute resolution if you don’t. If the other party does not intend to participate in family mediation and is not interacting to fix the issue, then you can put on the court, having went to a MIAM. In such scenarios, a Fast-Track Online MIAM could be extra ideal for you.
If the various other party does not subsequently attend the court hearing without good reason, they may be held in contempt of court, or even more generally, a legally binding order will be made on the instance in their absence.
Remember: The judge will usually desire you to discuss why you have actually not participated in family mediation if you have been asked to go. If you do not participate in mediation, see here for more information on whether it will go versus you.
Call us today and speak to a mediator on 03300100179
WHAT IS AN INDEPENDENT LAWYER TESTIMONIAL?
These are a great device if family mediation breaks down, however it can additionally be used from the start of arrangements if you both agree.
Unique to Moderate UK, we hold a certificate for Direct Bar gain access to. We carry out a complete economic disclosure and also after that ask you to list what the problems are that you can not concur on, and what you want to happen for each issue, together with your reasons.
We after that send this record of to an independent however expert family legislation barrister, who writes a record on what the regulation is, how it applies to your instance and, if you litigated, what would certainly be a most likely result. In the last four years all but one case (an exceedingly made complex one involving a drastically disabled child) have actually approved the barrister review or bargained a little on it to get to an arrangement. See right here for even more information on our independent barrister reviews.
SUPPOSE WE ALREADY HAVE AN AGREEMENT OR ARE CLOSE TO REACHING ONE?
We have several customers approach us who do not wish to most likely to different lawyers, but do not require family mediation as they have either reached agreement, or are extremely near to getting to one.
If you are in a similar situation, you may like to consider Separation Settlement. This is where we collect your economic disclosure, and obtain a summary of your present scenario and what you have agreed. You then have a 90-minute conference with one of our divorce experts to pick up inspect your arrangement, make certain you have actually thought about every little thing the court would like you to have taken a look at and after that aid see to it you are splitting the properties as cost-effectively as possible.
This is terrific to help you fast-track your separation arrangement to our family regulation lawyers to aid make it legally binding.
WHERE CONTAINER I GET MORE INFO ON MEDIATION?
There is even more info on the Family Mediation Council web site.
Moderate UK provide a no obligation Divorce and Separation Examination.
You can book in a 30-minute appointment with our divorce professional who will discuss your particular case, give you all the choices you have and also give you with the info you need to think about how ideal to proceed.
WHAT SHOULD I THINK ABOUT WHEN CHOOSING A UK FAMILY MEDIATION SOLUTION?
There are several variables to think about when selecting who to trust with your family mediation:
- Credentials– Anybody can call themselves a mediator, however to be a Family Mediator they must have participated in an identified family mediation training course. Always examine that you are dealing with a mediator that is registered as either FMCA or FMCT.
- Subscription– The mediator and preferably the business should belong to among five mediation bodies:.
- Experience– How long have they been carrying out mediation? Have they simply a couple of years’ experience or a decade of moderating instances?
- Dimension– Is the mediator a one or two-person micro business or are they a well established service with an option of mediators to select from? This can be a significant consideration if your mediator was lengthy term sick, retires or the local business goes under. What would take place to your instance in such conditions?
- Price– Just how a lot do they bill per hr? If you are qualified for lawful aid, you ought to absolutely select a mediator who gives mediation funded by legal help. Pricing for mediation does not always mirror quality or imply that they are a finest suitable for your instance. You are far better off considering:.
- Reviews & Recommendations– There is absolutely nothing better than a personal recommendation. If you do not know any individual that has utilized a regional mediator near you, then see if there are any genuine evaluations for them online.
- Lawful Bundles & Other Solutions– Just how much does the mediation service fee for their documents at the end of your family mediation appointment? Do they help you make these legally binding? Can they advise a pension professional, legal consultant, mortgage broker or other specialist to assist your instance?
WHAT VARIOUS OTHER CHOICES OF CONFLICT RESOLUTION ARE THERE?
There are 10 approaches to deal with a dispute on your separation or splitting up. You can watch our series on these on our YouTube channel right here:
In some instances you can solve issues with your solicitors sitting round the table, called collective regulation. You can additionally think about going to a mediation solution– which is more affordable and also quicker than litigating, however still gives you a lawfully binding order at the end.
Call us today and speak to a mediator on 03300100179
DOES MEDIATION IN THE UK ACTUALLY WORK?
Definitely. We have actually been aiding couples moderate since 2011 as well as of those that take place to moderate with each other, a remarkable 90% reach an agreement. The nationwide average is simply over 70%– so whichever Family Mediation Service you choose to assist fix your conflict, you are most likely than not to reach an agreement.
WHAT IS 'DYNAMIC MEDIATION' AND ALSO HOW CONTAINER IT AID?
Mediate UK have actually developed a process of family mediation called progressive mediation. We intend to assist you obtain to an arrangement as cost-effectively as feasible, so we help concentrate on the problems that will help you move on, prioritise any type of youngsters of the connection and also maintains conversations on what you can do in the future, as opposed to what has actually taken place in the past. This means you improve worth for your extra pound however likewise obtain to a resolution quicker, permitting you both to relocate on and locate your future.
Progressive Mediation aids you concentrate on the practical needs of your separation or separation, enabling you to focus a lot more on the psychological side.
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Face The Challenge
Pinchas (Numbers 25:10-30:1 )
Being tolerant doesn't mean tolerating destructive behavior. This week we learn about Pinchas, who saved the Jewish people from a very serious crisis by taking a stand, and unlike many others around him, refusing to look the other way and tolerate the destructive wrongdoing happening around him. When we take a stand for what is right, we improve the world and show we care.
In our story, a kid faces the challenge of standing up for what is right.
"TAKING THE HEAT"
"Wow! It sure is pretty out here!" exclaimed Judy, as she and Wendy hiked along the green woodland trail.
"Of course it is. We're just usually too busy to notice!" replied her friend. The two of them were working real hard all week as junior counselors at Camp Northstar. Now they were enjoying their day off with a relaxing hike along some of the camp's beautiful trails.
They had just sat down on a couple of big rocks and unpacked their picnic lunch when Judy began to sniff. "Hey, do you smell smoke?" Judy asked with alarm.
Wendy shrugged. "Probably just some barbeque at one of the local trailer parks. Let's eat."
"No," Judy insisted, "it really seems close. Hey, look over there!" Judy said, pointing to some smoke billowing up just over the ridge. Before Wendy could even answer, Judy had already jumped up and began running in its direction.
Breathing hard, the girls arrived at the scene of a group of kids from the camp sitting and laughing around a campfire they had made. They looked up, surprised at the sudden arrival of the two counselors.
"False alarm, let's get back to lunch," Wendy said with a relieved smile.
But Judy wasn't relieved at all. "What do you mean 'false alarm'? You know as well as I do the camp safety rule that nobody's allowed to make any unsupervised fires." Judy turned toward the group of kids and ordered, "Put it out - right now!"
But the campers balked. "Leave us alone. What's the big deal? We're being careful," they argued.
Even Wendy seemed to be on their side. "Oh come on Judy, wouldn't you rather spend our day off relaxing than fighting with these kids? Let's just pretend we never saw it and let them have their fun - and us, ours."
Judy didn't know what to do. Maybe Wendy was right. It would be easier to just turn their backs and be on their way, but then again it would be irresponsible. That safety rule hadn't been made for nothing. Fires could be dangerous - who knew what could happen?
"No," she shook her head. "I'm sorry, fun or no fun, complaints or no complaints, it's wrong and dangerous to keep this fire going. If this fire doesn't go out and stay out, I'm going to report you all to the camp director." She determinedly walked up to the fire, picked up a big stick and began using it to shovel dirt onto it to put it out.
Meanwhile the kids kept up their taunts, calling Judy mean and unfair, and asking why couldn't she be cool like Wendy, etc. For her part, Wendy just stood there glowering and shaking her head. "There goes our day off. Is it really so dangerous?" she whispered sharply.
Judy tried to ignore them as she shoveled the dirt. The unkind comments hurt, but she was doing the right thing - wasn't she?
The fire was just about out when Judy's stick hit something hard. She pushed away the dirt and what she saw made her nearly fall over. "Guys, Wendy, could you all please do me a favor and come take a look at something interesting."
Despite their annoyance, out of curiosity they came near.
COMPRESSED FUEL. HIGHLY FLAMABLE! KEEP AWAY FROM FIRE read the bright red warning label. It was the camp fuel tank that somehow got covered up by dirt and sand right where the kids had made their fire!
Wendy looked in disbelief. "Wow, what a miracle. If this fire had keep going there is a good chance you all would have gotten blown to the moon."
The kids nodded their heads in silence. All eyes turned to Judy. The girl they had all been putting down was suddenly the big hero, because she was willing to take the heat, and stand up for what was right.
Q. How did Judy and Wendy feel differently when they discovered the kids had gone against the rules and made a fire?
A. Wendy wanted to leave them alone and not bother to make them put it out, even though it could be dangerous. Judy wasn't willing to tolerate something wrong and dangerous, and took the responsibility to put it out even though she got teased about it.
Q. How did everyone feel when they found the fuel tank under the fire?
A. They felt grateful that Judy was willing to take a stand and put it out even though it wasn't easy.
Q. Who do you think was a better counselor, Judy or Wendy? Why?
A. Even though Wendy might have seemed better or nicer for letting the kids do what they want despite the danger, she was really acting irresponsibly. Judy was the better counselor. She had to be strict, but she did so because she had the kids' best interest and safety in mind.
Q. Let's suppose there had been no fuel tank under the fire, and even nothing bad would have happened if the fire kept burning - would Judy have been proven wrong to make the kids put it out?
A. No matter what had or hadn't happened, Judy made the right decision. We have to always try to do the right thing in every situation, and shouldn't gamble that things will turn out okay even if we don't.
Ages 10 and Up
Q. Our sages teach that it is better to seem foolish in the eyes of people all our lives than to be destructive in the eyes of God for even a moment. What does this mean, and how does this apply to the theme of the story?
A. Our focus in life shouldn't be on winning other people's praise and approval, rather we should act according to our true values, i.e. doing what is right in God's eyes. Even if it means people mocking or disapproving of us, it is the price a spiritually attuned person, like Judy in the story, is willing to pay.
Q. Is there a difference between tolerating people and tolerating their behavior?
A. Tolerance is an important value. It means recognizing and accepting that God has made each person unique, with his own way of looking, acting, and thinking. However, it doesn't mean that we must passively tolerate behavior that is negative or destructive to the doer or to others. Humanity is all one big family, and God wants us to take active responsibility for one another even if it is easier to just 'look the other way.'
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May 15, 2016
Being a successful independent contractor or a client of choice isn’t just about doing the best work or having the best perks. It also means staying one step ahead of the curve. That’s why each week we bring you The Weekly Independent, a quick-hit digest of news of note from around the web.
- Independents make meaningful contributions to the U.S. economy – the independent population contributes more than $1 trillion each year. Our new infographic shows the many ways in which independents contribute to the national and local economy.
- In addition, high-income freelancers are on the rise. There are more than 3.8 million freelancers predicted to make more than $100,000 annually by 2020, shows data from MBO highlighted in a new article from Entrepreneur. Many of these workers serve businesses as IT professionals, consultants, and marketers, but a hot job also earning the big bucks? Travel agent, finds Forbes.
- Where are all these independents going during the day? Many find coffee shops and coworking spaces more productive (and enticing) than sitting at home.
- Congress has passed an extension of the Defense Trade Secrets Law to apply to independent contractors.
- Following on the heels of Uber’s $100 million settlement to independent contractors from earlier this month, rival Lyft has agreed to pay a similar $27 million settlement.
- Uber made headlines this week for pulling out of Austin. Has this impacted Uber – or Austin – more? It is now the largest U.S. city in the country without ridesharing. National Review has gone so far as to now call it a “second rate” city. It’s an interesting commentary on the value of the gig economy. In case you missed the news, Uber and Lyft left Austin over controversy regarding the city’s right to demand background checks on the companies independent worker (driver) population.
- Let’s take a deeper look at several ways the gig economy is leveraging the human cloud.
- New to working with employees or ICs? Don’t break these five laws.
Should you have any questions, we’re always here for you.
Of course, we’d love to talk virtually as well. Share your thoughts with us at MBO Partners on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, and we’ll see you again next week!
Self-employed professionals can use these 7 mobile apps to help with everyday business needs.
News and notes for independent contractors and their clients. This is the January 16, 2017 edition of The Weekly Independent from MBO Partners.
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Web directory that provide information and review about Indonesian sites.
National poverty alleviation programs, especially community based empowerment.
PNPM Mandiri is a national program in the form of a policy framework as a basis and reference for the implementation of poverty reduction programs based on community empowerment. PNPM Mandiri implemented through the harmonization and development of systems and procedures and mechanisms for the program, providing mentoring and funding stimulant to encourage initiative and innovation communities in sustainable poverty reduction.
PNPM Mandiri has much to contribute to the community in rural areas. Many development programs which in the end was able to reach out to people living in remote rural areas through programs PNPM Mandiri.
Forum communication, coordination and consultation for all actors Indonesian electricity.www.mki-online.or.id
Mastan is a non-government community organizations competent and concerned with standardization is independent and non-profitwww.mastan.or.id
LPMAK Community development organization Amungme and Kamoro are in Timika, Papua.www.lpmak.org
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Mount Gambier, South Australia
January 6th 2008
AUFORN Sighting Form Report
Received 6/01/2008 19:09:37
06.01.08 MOUNT GAMBIER (SA) 1215hrs (NL)
Source: AUFORN ONLINE UFO Report Form
Witness: MR. A
Number of witnesses present: 1
Sighting Duration: 3.5 to 4 minutes
Occupation: Bakery Assistant
Observation: Walking into the centre of Mount Gambier with several friends early in the morning, I noticed a bright orange light, comparable to a street light, moving in a westerly direction over Mount Gambier. I brought this to the attention of the 3 friends I was with, all of whom also witnessed the light. Initially the light maintained a steady velocity, then began to slow and appeared to hover. At this point, the light appeared to move south slightly, then north, travelling only just faster than a hover. It again came to a halt and appeared to hover, then the light's intensity appeared to diminish. Its brightness fluctuated for several moments before completely fading away. The light traversed open sky initially, and after that under dense cloud cover.
Description: Relatively smooth movements, no observable shape (other than the appearance of an orange street light) and nil audible sound. I initially believed the light to be from an aircraft, until it came closer and no other lights were visible (e.g.. nav lights, beacons, strobes etc.)
Location : Duigan St, Mount Gambier, alongside Mount Gambier High School.
Apparent Size : Pea-Sized
Actual Size : Can't say.
Altitude : Appeared to be just below cloud cover.
Object Origin : East
Object Destination : Object was north of our position when it disappeared.
Planets Visible : Stars were visible in patches of clear sky, generally they were obscured by cloud cover.
Viewing Aids : Videoed using mobile phone camera.
THE AUSTRALIAN UFO RESEARCH NETWORK
(A Non-Profit Organization)
AUFORN NATIONAL DIRECTOR E-Mail: Diane@auforn.com
AUFORN CLUB MAGAZINE EDITOR Robert Frola
PO Box 738, Beaudessert 4285
QLD Australia....Tel 07 55 44 6888
Australian UFO Research Network Hotline Number
1800 77 22 88 Freecall any state any time
[UFOINFO thanks Diane Frola and AUFORN for granting permission to use this report.]
Please visit the AUFORN website for more news from Australia
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Felix Kjellberg (better known as Pewdiepie) has made a career out of playing video games, whilst recording said video game and himself. His YouTube channel earned him $12 million (approx. Rs. 82 crores) in 2015, and since then he has expanded his partnership with Disney-owned Maker Studios into newer avenues to produce original content for YouTube's paid subscription service - YouTube Red - and collaborate with fellow web stars for a whole variety of things in Revelmode.
While we can't help you develop the personality that is behind the continued success and loyal support of Pewdiepie's Bro Army, we can show you the right set of tools you need to record your game videos - as a hobbyist or as a professional.
There are dozens of free screen recording tools you can pick up that will do the job; if you're on Windows 10, then the pre-installed Xbox app has some simple recording features as well. The problem there is that the control and flexibility is limited. Other apps like Fraps are an option, but they consume a huge amount of space to record video.
But one of the best ways to do this that we have used, is the GeForce Experience, a companion app for the video cards that makes it extremely simple to record gameplay footage. If you have a PC with an Nvidia card - and most gamers do - there is no need to install anything. Thanks to its software suite, called the Nvidia GeForce Experience, you won't have to look far at all. Hence, for the purposes of this tutorial, we shall focus on what Nvidia has to offer.
What do you need?
Whether you're planning to record and share to YouTube or stream live to Twitch, the Nvidia GeForce Experience is quickly becoming your simplest bet. The game recording feature of GeForce Experience is called ShadowPlay. There are a few boxes your PC must tick before you can record your videos. First and foremost, any ordinary Nvidia card won't do. Current requirements state the following:
- Desktop GPU must be
- GeForce GTX 600 series or higher
- Notebook GPU must be
- GeForce GTX 660M
- GeForce GTX 670MX / 675MX
- GeForce GTX 680M
- GeForce GTX 700M series or higher
You will also need a minimum of 4GB RAM, and Microsoft Windows 7, 8, or 10. There's an easy way to tell if your system is compatible: open GeForce Experience and look at the top right. If you see a 'ShadowPlay' button, you're all set.
Recording video games: The options at your disposal
Open the ShadowPlay floating box by clicking in the top right corner. The power switch on the left controls whether ShadowPlay is on or off. There are four buttons to the right of the power switch, which control how you record your gameplay footage and its different properties. And a two-line summary above the buttons states all the options chosen by you. By default, it goes: In-game resolution, 60 FPS, 50 Mbps, H.264.
The first of those four buttons controls the record mode, and there are four options: Shadow & Manual, Shadow, Manual, and Twitch. If you're planning to edit and splice together footage after you've played the game, you need to concern yourself with only the first three. The fourth one is self-explanatory, in that it connects to your Twitch account and lets you stream your content live. Nvidia has said it will build in support for YouTube Gaming, Google's answer to Twitch, soon.
Picking your record mode
So what do Shadow and Manual mean? Manual is the simpler one. All control is on you - the user and the player - and you decide when to start the recording and when to stop. This is controlled by keyboard shortcuts found under preferences, which you can change to anything that suits you. By default, Alt + F9 initiates and ends a recording.
Shadow on the other hand, helps gamers capture those "Oh God!" moments that would make great viewing, but weren't manually recorded because you weren't expecting them at all.
How does it work? If you select either Shadow & Manual, or Shadow, the GeForce Experience service will continuously record your game in the background. And after you - for instance - score a beautiful goal in EA Sports' FIFA, or a massive kill streak in DOTA 2, and realise you need to save that moment for all time, then you just need to hit the save Shadow data button (Alt + F10 by default). All the action that happened will be saved in all its glory.
The Shadow Time button allows you to set how much is recorded and kept in a temporary folder as you continue to play. You can choose from anywhere between a minute to 20 minutes. The moment you hit Alt + F10, it will save those specified minutes. The only thing to keep in mind with this setting is that the file size can get humongous, especially at higher bit rates. At 1080p game resolution, 60 FPS and 50 Mbps - a recorded file comes in at 1.9GB for XX minutes of video.
Storage is a serious concern
You can end up using over 50GB of storage after two hours of playing Rocket League, as we managed in a recent playthrough. That's where the third button - the quality decider - is of use. It offers three presets - low, medium, and high - and a custom option to set your own resolution and file bit rate. If you stick to the given settings (1080p at 60 FPS) a 5 minute record will result in: 563MB at low, 825MB at medium and 1.9GB at high. Obviously with custom, the file size depends on the settings you choose.
Here's what we recommend
If you've a fairly powerful CPU and GPU, and tons of free hard drive space, here's what we recommend in terms of Nvidia GeForce Experience settings to record in-game video:
- Go for Shadow and Manual for the best of both worlds: flexibility and control
- Shadow time at 10 minutes
- Quality at high, which is 60 FPS at 50 Mbps
- Record at in-game resolution, preferably 1920x1080 or higher
- Only in-game audio
Now that you are armed with this new-found knowledge of recording video games, load up your favourite game, because it's time to become the next Pewdiepie. Or something like that.
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CC-MAIN-2017-04
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|
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|
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| 0.944551
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|
USING SCENARIO PLANNING TO ENHANCE COASTAL RESILIENCE TO CLIMATE CHANGE: COMMUNITY FUTURES IN THE ESTUARINE LANDSCAPES OF BRISBANE WATER, CENTRAL COAST, AUSTRALIA
- 1Section Manager Environmental Strategies, Central Coast Council, Gosford, NSW 2250, Australia
- 2Senior Lecturer, School of Architecture and Built Environment, University of Adelaide, Adelaide 5001, Australia
Keywords: coastal resilience, scenario planning, climate adaptation, local government, urban development
Abstract. Local governments face daunting urban planning challenges in the face of rapid population growth, increasing demand for affordable housing and climate change and divergent community perceptions. There is currently insufficient action to meet these formidable and dynamic challenges. Greater know-how and capacity development need to be invested in local planning and political authorities to promote knowledge-based action. More than two thirds of Australians reside along the coastal cities with over 15 million addresses across 544 local government areas at risk from coastal hazards from 2020 onwards (XDI, 2019). This makes it an urgent priority for local government to fast track adaptation planning for its residents in the low-lying hazard prone areas as well as Council services and infrastructure. In 2019, UNSW students from the Master of Urban Development and Design and Master of Landscape Architecture programs addressed these challenges within a design studio environment. In the studio they developed strategies for urban resilience for a network of five communities surrounding the Brisbane Waters on the Central Coast. The studio adopted an urban scenario planning approach using open source data and on-the-ground evidence to develop diverse community resilience strategies. For each community three scenarios were developed to test alternative urban design strategies and provide insight on possible contrasting futures. This paper demonstrates the benefit of evidence-based scenario planning for local authorities. Such approaches contextualise complex abstract problems and provide new insights for local climate adaptation in accessible and transparent ways. This proactive approach emphasises the need to build the urban design and planning capabilities of local authorities to enhance coastal adaption and resilience to climate change.
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<urn:uuid:8609aa0f-69f8-4588-8025-e72b51eb5616>
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CC-MAIN-2022-33
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https://www.isprs-ann-photogramm-remote-sens-spatial-inf-sci.net/VI-3-W1-2020/51/2020/
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en
| 0.884347
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|
TOFU Learn helps you in learning foreign languages by allowing you to memorize the vocabulary efficiently and effortlessly using advanced flashcards and the spaced repetition technique.
• Flexible and easy to use flashcard system;
• Spaced repetition system gives you cards for review at just the right time;
• Pre-made word lists, but your own personal decks: ensures you have the best mnemonics possible, that is your own ones;
• Quick dictionary lookup right from the cards;
• Comes with frequency word lists for Chinese, Danish, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, and more;
• Maintain your own custom list with Quick Add;
• Create and publish word lists with powerful word list authoring tools.
Special features for Chinese (Mandarin) learners:
• Learn Chinese characters by writing them on the screen;
• Recognition training, learning pronunciations;
• Full set of HSK 1-6 word lists;
• Built-in dictionary with character decomposition, pronunciation audio, and examples;
• Support for Traditional characters and Zhuyin (bopomofo);
• Customizable tone coloring.
TOFU Learn Pro
In addition to the free features, the Pro subscription provides additional tools aiding in language learning. The Pro upgrade is available as a monthly auto-renewable subscription.
If you choose to become a Pro user, the payment will be charged to iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. The account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period, and identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your Account Settings after the purchase.
Terms of Service: https://www.tofulearn.com/tos
Also available on the Web: https://www.tofulearn.com/
• Support for Sign in with Apple
• Ability to filter word lists by native language
• Performance and compatibility improvements
• Bug fixes
Ratings and Reviews
the best app to learn Mandarin
This is by far the best app out there to learn Mandarin vocabulary and writing ! Excellent interface! Character decomposition, example sentences, stroke order , SRS! I tried so many different things: Skritter, different Flashcards apps. But none of them have everything I need! Either character decomposition is not there or no examples of usage or no writing and stroke order is missing. TOFU learn has everything and it’s nicely cleanly presented and organized! TOFU learn should be used by everyone who wants to learn Mandarin vocabulary, usage and writing! Thank you, developers for this wonderful product !
Just what I wanted in a language study app/site!
I stumbled upon this site/app while searching for a WaniKani equivalent for traditional Chinese character studying and boy did it deliver! I’m very happy that it has traditional Chinese characters and also sets for studying other languages like Japanese and Spanish too! I think you can even make your own sets to study from, but so far I’ve just been using the user uploaded ones and they’ve done me well. Highly recommend for anyone looking for an SRS study system for multiple languages! :)
I love this app 🖤
I never write reviews but this is by far the most convenient writing app that I have ever found and it is also way more convenient than writing on paper。I have been using Chinese Skill for learning sentences and this is perfect for addressing and reinforcing individual characters。
No Details Provided
The developer will be required to provide privacy details when they submit their next app update.
- T Studio, UAB
- 76.1 MB
- Requires iOS 8.0 or later.
- Requires iPadOS 8.0 or later.
- iPod touch
- Requires iOS 8.0 or later.
- Requires macOS 11.0 or later and a Mac with Apple M1 chip or later.
- Age Rating
- © 2020 TOFU Learn
- In-App Purchases
- Monthly Pro Subscription $2.99
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|
en
| 0.895015
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| 2
|
In the fight against global warming, it helps to be sexy.
Case in point is the proposed Alton coal mine, a new pit slated to be punched in the ground near—of all places—Bryce Canyon National Park.
You know Bryce Canyon, right? One of America’s most scenic National Parks. A jewel of Southern Utah. A place so beautiful that even the State of Utah passed a resolution calling on the U.S. Congress to protect it.
As recent news reports have pointed out, in proposing the Alton coal mine, which would greenlight 100 million tons of coal stripping, the Bureau of Land Management completely denied that its plans would have any global warming impact.
Of course, in reality, the coal would be mined and burned in power plants, releasing an estimated 220 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
That’s 220 million tons of carbon dioxide released into an atmosphere already dangerously overloaded with carbon dioxide.
And still, the Bureau of Land Management denied. The Agency went so far as to assert that the link between human-caused greenhouse gas emissions and global warming is “uncertain.”
Not only did scientists describe this claim as “far from an accurate reflection of the state of climate science,” but even the boss of the Bureau of Land Management, the Secretary of the Interior himself, Ken Salazar, has stated:
Carbon pollution is putting our world – and our way of life – in peril.
But while the attention on the proposed Alton coal mine is much-needed, what’s gone overlooked is the fact that the Bureau of Land Management’s plans in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming are shaping up to be an order of magnitude worse.
As WildEarth Guardians pointed out last week, coal mining plans in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming—the largest coal producing region in the U.S.—are threatening to lead to the release of more than 11.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide.
That’s billions, not millions. And to put that into perspective, 11.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide is almost twice the total amount of greenhouse gases released in the United States in 2009.
The latest news comes as WildEarth Guardians last week called on the Interior Department to stay the issuance of the North Porcupine coal lease. All told, this lease would lead to the mining of more than 700 million tons of coal, facilitating the expansion of Peabody Energy’s North Antelope Rochelle mine—the second largest coal mine in the world.
And while the North Porcupine coal lease would release more than one billion metric tons of carbon dioxide—four times the amount that would be released from the Alton coal mine—its impacts thus far have gone virtually unnoticed.
Because it helps to be sexy. And, I’ll be the first to admit, the Powder River Basin of Wyoming is no Bryce Canyon National Park.
Yet what the Powder River Basin may lack in scenic beauty, it certainly makes up for in pure ugliness. Because just like in Utah, the Bureau of Land Management is denying that coal mining in the Powder River Basin has any global warming impact.
Put another way, the Agency is actually arguing that 11.3 billion tons of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere simply won’t have an effect on our climate.
In the fight against global warming, that’s pretty ugly.
So while the attention on Alton is certainly welcome, perhaps it’s time to reassess the way we confront greenhouse gas emissions. Everybody likes a sexy place, but the reality is, it’s the ugliness that matters.
And in the case of the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, global warming doesn’t get much uglier than this.
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<urn:uuid:b2f2e4af-18da-44c5-8ebf-2f447d33dc32>
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CC-MAIN-2017-04
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https://climatewest.org/2011/11/27/its-the-ugly-that-matters/
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|
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| 0.934432
| 784
| 2.734375
| 3
|
Summary of International Project Management
Concise, comprehensive guide to international project management, from controlling the budget to coping overseas.
This book offers a curious combination of wide generalizations about managing projects overseas, and extremely detailed guidance in the shape of project-management forms and checklists. Owen Jay Murphy explains obvious information – people pursue international projects to make money and folks in other countries have different customs. Yet he also provides sophisticated information, like detailed, complex data on some Six Sigma techniques, and project evaluation and review templates such as Gantt, PERT and WBS charts. At its best, getAbstract finds that this book provides a reasonably easy-to-read summary of some crucial steps and useful tools for managing international projects.
In this summary, you will learn
- How to manage an international project
- What factors make international projects different from domestic ones
Comment on this summary
Customers who read this summary also read
Ernest Gundling et al.
Wharton Digital Press, 2016
Princeton UP, 2010
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<urn:uuid:e0067406-79ce-4229-86d9-edc214375d24>
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CC-MAIN-2017-04
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https://www.getabstract.com/en/summary/leadership-and-management/international-project-management/5176
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en
| 0.835545
| 210
| 2.140625
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Two rail lines in Cincinnati, Ohio frame today’s Abandoned update. Covering the Little Miami Railroad — the second railroad in the state and the Baltimore and Ohio Southwest Spring Grove Industrial Track, both present a bit of history that is becoming long forgotten.
Chartered as Ohio’s second railroad, the Little Miami connected Cincinnati to Xenia and Springfield, and later with Columbus. The Little Miami, one of the most profitable railroads in the United States, saw its usage and importance decline after World War II. After consolidations and mergers, the Little Miami was dismantled in 1976, although it was revived less than a decade later as the longest rail to trail in the United States.
The following photographs are from the end of the line at the Montgomery Inn Boathouse east of downtown Cincinnati to the Undercliff Yards. Fellow historian Jeffrey Jakucyk, of Cincinnati Traction History, gave additional background to the railroad, which is penned below.
The Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railroad (B&O SW) Spring Grove Industrial Track was located in Cincinnati, Ohio and is currently out-of-service.
The former single-track alignment split from the mainline at the B&O SW Coleraine Avenue underpass and proceeded south east of Spring Grove Avenue. By 1912, the line extended south to Brashears Street and eventually Monmouth Street, where the track split to service two customers. The rail line served the Crosley Radio Corporation, among others. The industrial track has been out of service for over a decade, with all roadway crossings removed.
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<urn:uuid:3817e7ee-6e14-4461-93b6-428defb4e438>
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CC-MAIN-2017-04
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http://abandonedonline.net/2010/04/20/little-miami-and-the-bo-sw-spring-grove-industrial-track/
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en
| 0.957131
| 320
| 2.59375
| 3
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Tokyo Residents: Don’t Touch the Black or Blue Dirt
Fukushima has been decimated by radiation.
Tokyo soil has been blanketed by Fukushima radiation, even though the Japanese capital is 170 miles from the Fukushima nuclear complex. Indeed, officials just found “high levels” of radiation at 13 of 14 areas tested in a Tokyo public park.
Now, substances with even higher levels of radiation are showing up around Tokyo.
Minamisoma city council member Koichi Oyama writes:
People in Tokyo, the black substance is here!
Please, people who live around, look at that!
It’s on the roof, on the asphalt, on concrete… Everywhere on all surfaces.
“Almost every part where is black”.
“Those black substances have fallen away and because of the rain water it accumulates underfoot”.
“I think 1 micro is almost 100000 becquerels～, 1 second α,β,γ Ray 100 needles～”.
“Never touch them with naked hands”.
What is he talking about?
City council member Koichi filmed black “dirt” on the ground in various areas of Tokyo, showing very high radiation levels.
For example, here’s Tokyo University last month:
Tokyo University Hospital:
Blue dirt at Sano SA
Blue dirt at Shinozaki Garden in Edogawa District
Blue dirt in front of National Printing Bureau in Kita District
Radioactive black substances have previously been found all over Japan, including on roads, near schools and other locations. Indeed, some of the highest radiation readings ever found in Japan come from such black substances.
Many in Japan are claiming that certain types of algae or bacteria are attracted to the radiation, and that the organisms are turning the radioactive substances black or blue. Some bacteria do use radiation as “food”, and some algae do selectively “eat” cesium … a substance put out in large quantities by Fukushima.
Others claim that this is ash from Japan’s program of burning radioactive materials. Still others say that it is something coming directly from Fukushima’s crippled reactors.
Whatever it is, one thing is for certain: Tokyo residents should not touch the stuff.
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<urn:uuid:8bc9b1a5-e793-46e0-9b9d-fb93a61ca672>
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CC-MAIN-2016-44
|
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2012/06/tokyo-residents-dont-touch-the-black-dust.html
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en
| 0.917187
| 484
| 2.515625
| 3
|
Dapper Founders to Speak on Functional Mashups, Web as a Database, Synthesizing Data from the Web
Great Indian Developer Summit 2009 – India’s Biggest Gathering of Software Developers
Bangalore, November 19, 2008: Today's Web is nothing like a database, but it has potential. As it becomes more and more structured, a variety of opportunities arise. Many companies are working on causing a major shift in the way the Web works, from Yahoo!'s SearchMonkey to Dapper, making it ever more like a database. Dapper Founders Jon Aizen and Eran Shir are coming back this summer to India's biggest summit for the developer ecosystem - Great Indian Developer Summit (http://www.developersummit.com
/) to explore and disseminate the possibilities that arise from structured access to the Web - both things that have been done and things that are to come. They will, for example, discuss vertical search engines, dynamic advertising solutions, and information worker tools, and potential new uses of web data as well. Jon and Eran will also be addressing a novel concept: building an application by gluing together services and functionality that exist on the web as well as conducting a hands-on workshop on synthesizing data from the Web.
Jon and Eran will also be addressing a novel concept: building an application by gluing together services and functionality that exist on the web. Imagine MS Word with a built-in translation function from Google's Translate service, storage of files on Amazon's S3, spell checking and thesaurus from Miriam Webster online, and image conversion using online tools. In this fashion, they will demonstrate how an entire application can be built using existing code. This is a true and deep extension of the mashup concept, but applied at a more application-feature level.
Dapper founder will also delve into the brass tacks on creating mashups by showing attendees hands-on how to build a working application that brings content in from various sources on the web. Topics will include XML parsing, JSON, RSS, YQL, caching, and best practices for obtaining data. Various platforms and tools will be shown, including Dapper and Yahoo! Pipes.
About Great Indian Developer Summit
Great Indian Developer Summit, produced by Saltmarch Media (http://www.saltmarch.com
/) is the biggest gathering of software developers from Java/J2EE, Microsoft computing technologies, Rich Internet Applications (RIA), Web 2.0, Ajax, Agile, SOA, and Enterprise IT. For both veterans and newcomers to the world of .NET, Java, and the Rich Web, the Great Indian Developer Summit provides participants with a well-balanced learning experience that guaranteed they went back with a richer understanding of the technologies that make a difference to their careers. See the GIDS 2008 Red Stripe Report: http://www.developersummit.com/2008/report/pdf/Red_Stripe_Report-GIDS08.zip
Over 3000 qualified and talented delegates - Source, attended GIDS 2008: The Hindu - Monday, 26 May 2008 (http://www.developersummit.com/2008/report/postPress.html
). With outstanding educational sessions, powerhouse speakers, a high-profile award ceremony, GIDS 2009 will feature premium knowledge, action plans and advise from been-there-done-it veterans, creators, and visionaries.
For further information on GIDS 2009, please visit the summit on the web http://www.developersummit.com
A Saltmarch Media Press Release
E: info at saltmarch dot com
Ph: +91 80 4005 1000
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CC-MAIN-2016-44
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http://www.theserverside.com/discussions/thread.tss?thread_id=51945
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Organization of ideas questions on the ACT Reading section will supply you with a reading passage with portions that correspond with sets of alternative words/phrases. From the options, you must choose the answer choice that works best in context, including a choice for “NO CHANGE.” You may even be asked to add a whole sentence that fits best within the structure of a paragraph or the essay.
Organization Practice Question
Let’s go through all the choices to see which answer’s correct. The original sentence (Though Alexus had never even spoken to anyone lacking an advanced degree, he reluctantly…) isn’t a very good sentence, so maybe there’s a better answer than A. B states that Alexus’s past students had more education than peasants, an idea that doesn’t make sense for why he would take the job. In C, the key word is “intentionally.” Alexus wasn’t interested in the job (he really needed to pay the rent on his hut), so C cannot be correct. And D just brings in irrelevant information and also cannot be correct. Since the original sentence is the only one that makes sense for the organization of ideas, the answer’s A) NO CHANGE.
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<urn:uuid:08d8abba-aff0-4651-b58b-578f0896f9ee>
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CC-MAIN-2022-33
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https://www.kaptest.com/study/act/act-organization-of-ideas/
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en
| 0.951922
| 267
| 3
| 3
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Equine Docusate sodium
This product is used to assist with softening feces and as a laxative. It is commonly available as a solution.
WHAT IS THIS PRODUCT?
- This product assists with hydration of feces and is commonly used as a laxative
- This product is given by mouth
REASONS FOR USING:
- To soften hard feces and assist with constipation
- To soften feces when there is an underlying condition that may result in pain during defecation
Docusate sodium should be given according to your veterinarian’s recommendations.
Give the exact amount recommended and only as often as directed. The amount recommended and frequency of administration is often dependent upon the clinical response and initial reason for use.
Follow label directions regarding appropriate dilution of products. Solutions are commonly diluted and administered by a nasogastric tube. If you are unsure how your horse will react to oral administration of a medication, request assistance or demonstration by your veterinarian.
Your horse may require routine monitoring of hydration and electrolyte status.
Ensure that fresh water is available at all times.
Ideally, give this product at the same time(s) daily.
WHAT IF A DOSE IS MISSED?
If a dose is missed, give it as soon as you can. If it is time already for the next dose, skip the missed dose and go back to the normal schedule. Do not give two doses at the same time.
STORAGE AND WARNINGS:
Docusate sodium should be stored in a childproof container in a cool, dry place at room temperature away from heat and direct sunlight.
Keep this and all medication out of reach of children and pets.
Call your physician immediately if you accidentally take this product.
POTENTIAL SIDE EFFECTS:
- This product is usually well tolerated and adverse reactions are uncommon at recommended doses
- This product may cause cramping and diarrhea
- Notify your veterinarian immediately if your pet experiences any adverse reactions to this product
CAN THIS PRODUCT BE GIVEN WITH OTHER DRUGS?
- Do not give new food or medications without first talking to your veterinarian
- If your pet experiences any unusual reactions when taking multiple medications, contact your veterinarian
Overdoses in horses can be serious due to dehydration, intestinal damage, and even death. Contact your veterinarian immediately if pet receives more than the prescribed amount.
WHAT TO TELL/ASK VETERINARIAN BEFORE GIVING THIS MEDICATION?Talk to your veterinarian about:
- The importance of good management and nutrition in the prevention and treatment of disease
- What tests may need to be performed prior to and during treatment with this product
- When your horse may need to be re-examined
- What are the risks and benefits of using this product
- If your horse has experienced side effects on other drugs/products
- If your horse has experienced any other medical problems or allergies
- All medicines and supplements that you are giving your horse or plan to give your horse, including those you can get without a prescription. Your veterinarian may want to check that all of your horse’s medications can be given together.
- If your mare is pregnant, nursing or if you plan to breed in the near future
WHAT ELSE SHOULD I KNOW?
Notify your veterinarian if your horse's condition does not improve or worsens despite this treatment.
This product may not be recommended for horses intended for human consumption.
Check with the appropriate regulatory body regarding the use in competition horses.
This is just a summary of information about Docusate sodium. If you have any questions or concerns about this product or for the condition it was recommended, please contact your veterinarian.
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|Judges in the Bible|
|In the Book of Judges|
|Deborah (and Barak)*|
|In the First Book of Samuel|
|* Not explicitly described as a judge|
Gideon or Gedeon (Hebrew: גִּדְעוֹן, Modern Gidʻon Tiberian Giḏʻôn), which means "Destroyer," "Mighty warrior," or "Feller (of trees)" was judge of the Hebrews. His story is recorded in the Book of Judges and this account is compiled in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. His story is told in chapters 6 to 8. He is also named in the Epistle to the Hebrews as an example of a man of faith.
As is the pattern throughout the book of Judges, the Israelites again turned away from God after 40 years of peace brought by Deborah's victory over Canaan and were allowed to be attacked by the neighboring Midianites and Amalekites. God chose Gideon, a young man from an otherwise unremarkable clan from the tribe of Manasseh, to free the people of Israel and to condemn their worship of idols.
Very unsure of both himself and God's command, he requested proof of God's will by two miracles, performed on consecutive nights and the exact opposite of each other:
- 36Then Gideon said to God, "You say that you have decided to use me to rescue Israel. 37Well, I am putting some wool on the ground where we thresh the wheat. If in the morning there is dew only on the wool but not on the ground, then I will know that you are going to use me to rescue Israel." 38That is exactly what happened. When Gideon got up early the next morning, he squeezed the wool and wrung enough dew out of it to fill a bowl with water. 39Then Gideon said to God, "Don't be angry with me; let me speak just once more. Please let me make one more test with the wool. This time let the wool be dry, and the ground be wet." 40 That night God did that very thing. The next morning the wool was dry, but the ground was wet with dew. (Judges 6:36-40, Good News Bible)
On God's instruction, Gideon destroyed the town's altar to the foreign god Baal and the symbol of the goddess Asherah beside it. He went on to send out messengers to gather together men from the tribes of Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, as well as his own tribe Manasseh in order to meet an armed force of the people of Midian and the Amalek that had crossed the Jordan River and were encamped in the Valley of Jezreel.
However, God informed Gideon that the men he had gathered were too many – with so many men, there would be reason for the Israelites to claim the victory as their own instead of acknowledging that God had saved them. God first instructed Gideon to send home those men who were afraid. Gideon then allowed any man who wanted to leave, to leave; 22,000 men returned home and 10,000 remained. Yet the number was still too many, according to God:
- 4But the Lord said to Gideon, "There are still too many men. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say, 'This one shall go with you, he shall go; but if I say, this one shall not go with you, he shall not go." 5 So Gideon took the men down to the water. There the Lord told him, "Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel down to drink." 6Three hundred men lapped with their hands to their mouths. All the rest got down on their knees to drink. 7 The Lord said to Gideon, "With the 300 men that lapped I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. Let all the other men go, each to his own place.(Judges 7:4-7, NIV Bible)
During the night God instructed Gideon to approach the Midianite camp. Gideon overheard a Midianite man tell a friend of a dream in which God had given the Midainites over to Gideon. Gideon worshiped God for His encouragement and revelation. Gideon returned to the Israelite camp and gave each of his men a trumpet (shofar) and a clay jar with a torch hidden inside. Divided into three companies, Gideon and the three hundred marched on the enemy camp.
- 17"Watch me," he told them. "Follow my lead. When I get to the edge of the camp, do exactly as I do. 18When I and all who are with me blow our trumpets, then from all around the camp blow yours and shout, 'For the Lord and for Gideon.' " .... 20The three companies blew the trumpets and smashed the jars. Grasping the torches in their left hands and holding in their right hands the trumpets they were to blow, they shouted, "A sword for the Lord and Gideon!" 21While each man held his position around the camp, all the Midianites ran, crying out as they fled. 22When the three hundred trumpets sounded, the Lord caused the men throughout the camp to turn on each other with their swords. (Judges 7:17-22, NIV Bible)
Gideon sent messengers ahead into Israel calling for the Ephriamites to pursue the retreating Midianites and two of their leaders, Oreb and Zeeb. Gideon and the three hundred pursued Zebah and Zalmunna, the two Midianite kings. When he had asked for assistance in his pursuit, the men of Succoth and Peniel refused and taunted Gideon. After capturing the two kings, Gideon punished the men of Succoth, and pulled down the tower of Peniel killing all the men there. Finally, Gideon himself killed Zebah and Zalmunna as justice for the death of his brothers.
The Israelites pleaded with Gideon to be their king, but he refused, telling them that only God was their ruler. Interestingly, however, he carries on to make an "ephod" out of the gold won in battle, which causes the whole of Israel again to turn away from God. Gideon had 70 sons from the many women he takes as wives. He also had a concubine who bore him a son that he named Abimelech (which means "my father is king"). There was peace in Israel for forty years during the life of Gideon. As soon as Gideon dies of old age, the Israelites turn to again worship the false god Baal-Berith and ignore the family of Gideon.
In both Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Christianity Gideon's fleece was regarded as a type of the Annunciation to Mary, where Mary was the fleece, and Christ the dew. He is regarded as a saint by the Eastern Orthodox Church, who hold his feast day on September 26 (those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar, September 26 currently falls on October 9 of the modern Gregorian Calendar). He is also commemorated, together with the other righteous figures of the Old Testament on the Sunday of the Holy Fathers (the Sunday before Christmas). He is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers in the Calendar of Saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church on July 30.
Gideon of Manasseh
Cadet branch of the Tribe of Manasseh
|Judge of Israel|| Succeeded by|
- ↑ An interesting theory about the significance of the shofar is advanced in Chapter 3-1 of Hearing Shofar: The Still Small Voice of the Ram's Horn, http://www.hearingshofar.com/Book3.htm. The author, Michael Chusid, hypothesizes that most of Gideon's troops owned their own shofar and used them as drinking vessels similar to rhyton. The three hundred that had to kneel were so poorly equipped they did not even own a shofar. This underscores that God wanted Gideon to have a weak force so it would be impossible to claim that their victory was by force of arms and not by divine intervention.
|This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original article was at Gideon (Bible). The list of authors can be seen in the page history.|
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Intel Insider, a Sandybridge feature
that delivers quality movies to your PC, is not another Digital Rights Management (DRM) scheme, according to Intel.
There have been stories describing Intel Insider as a 'DRM' technology. DRM is used to control the use of digital media by controlling access, and preventing the ability to copy media such as movies. This means that if you pay only a rental fee, your service provider decides when and for how long you will be able to view your movie. Or if you buy a film it will let you keep and view it forever, but not copy it and share it with your friends, or burn it onto a DVD, mass produce it and sell it on the streets.
Since DRM is a piece of software and not hardware, Intel claims that the 'Intel Insider' feature of the upcoming Sandybridge chips
is NOT a DRM technology.
Intel describes the 'Intel Insider' as "a service that enables consumers to enjoy premium Hollywood feature films streamed to their PC in high quality 1080P high definition." Currently this service does not exist because the movie studios are concerned about protecting their content, and making sure that it cannot be stolen or used illegally. So Intel created Intel insider, an extra layer of content protection.
"Think of it as an armoured truck carrying the movie from the Internet to your display, it keeps the data safe from pirates, but still lets you enjoy your legally acquired movie in the best possible quality," Intel's PR manager wrote at his blog. "This technology is built into the new Intel chips and will become even more important once wireless display technology like Intel?s WiDi become more popular, as it would prevent pirates from stealing movies remotely just by snooping the airwaves. WiDi enables you to wirelessly beam video to your big screen TV easily and in HD," he added.
Intel has a lot of these kinds of technologies that keep data safe. For example the company's chips include AES-NI, a technology that speeds up encryption and decryption of data and improves performance when you access secure websites like your online banking system. This keeps your credit card numbers safe.
Modern PC?s with components from chip makers such as Intel, AMD and Nvidia already support another feature called 'HDCP' or High-Bandwidth Digital Content Protection - a system that keeps the contents of media such as Blu-Ray movies secure between the Blu-Ray player or PC and your big screen TV.
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Adult Protective Services (APS) provides protective services to elders (65 and older) and dependent adults (18-64) who are unable to protect their own interests or to care for themselves. The State of California provides direction and law on how counties are to meet this goal.
In Humboldt County, the Department of Health and Human Services Social Services Branch manages the APS program. The APS unit is committed to having elders, dependent adults in Humboldt County live to their highest personal potential in the least restrictive environment.
The types of services provided may include:
Information and referral.
Adult Protective Services is committed to having elders and dependent adults live in a safe environment free from abuse and exploitation.
APS staff comprised of social workers, public health nurses, mental health clinicians, and vocational assistants work together to keep elders and dependent adults safe.
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Water stewardship: Does the OECD practice what it preaches?
Today, to mark World Water Week, we’re publishing the second in a series of three articles by Liisa-Maija Harju, Environmental Coordinator in the OECD Operations Service on the OECD’s environmental performance.
This week, when world’s water experts are gathering in Stockholm, Sweden, to attend the annual World Water Week, more than one in six people worldwide – 894 million – don’t have access to improved water sources. To put this into perspective, imagine if nobody in Europe (plus another 100 million world citizens!) had no access to safe drinking water.
Global water demand is projected to increase by 55% by 2050, due to growing needs for manufacturing, energy generation and domestic use. Almost four billion people will live in water-stressed river basins by 2050 if better policies are not introduced. The OECD recognises freshwater as one of the four most pressing environmental challenges today (the others being climate change, biodiversity, and health impacts of pollution). The issues of water security, water and green growth, as well as climate change adaptation, are an important focus of our work.
Australia, for example, has undertaken a long period of water policy reform, and Mexico recently initiated a Water Reform Agenda. In Meeting the water reform challenge, the OECD outlines three fundamental areas that need to be addressed whatever reform agendas are pursued by governments:
- Sustainable financing lies at the heart of many of the solutions to improved water management.
- The governance and institutional arrangements that are in place
- And coherence between water policies and policies in place in other sectors of the economy (such as agricultural support subsidies).
The private sector appears to be taking water stewardship seriously, too. For instance, Coca-Cola, whose products are based on water, has engaged in more than 386 Community Water Partnership projects in 94 countries since 2005. Unilever’s assessment shows that their laundry, skin and hair products account for over three-quarters of the company’s overall water footprint. They will halve the water associated with the consumer use of their products by 2020. Levi Strauss has pioneered the clothing sector’s studies related to the water use throughout the life-cycle of products. Together with Procter & Gamble, Levi Strauss raises awareness about the environmental and economic advantages of washing in cold water because, for example, 45 % of the water used in the lifecycle of a pair of 501 jeans occurs during customers’ wash-and-dry home care.
How about us here at the OECD itself? Water use is one of the key environmental policy areas we work with. We reduced the amount of water used to run the our facilities by 6% over 2010-2011.
So far we’ve installed aerators, small metal balls, in the bathroom and kitchen faucets. These reduce water consumption by 20 %. We’ve put in place eco toilet flush systems that reduce toilets’ water usage by 50%. We studied whether rainwater could be collected and used to supply water to our garden’s irrigation system but this turned out not to be both technically feasible and cost effective.
We also have 54 drinking water fountains in our office buildings because according to the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME), filtered Parisian tap water is safe and 1000 times more environmentally friendly than bottled water. Tap water is also 1000 times less expensive than bottled water. We do however purchase bottled water. In 2010, for example, we purchased 232,000 0.5L-bottles of water that were used by that year’s 50,000 visitors and 2300 employees, but we are currently also studying their replacement by drinking water fountains.
Global water use has been growing at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century. This trend has to be reversed, and we need to be part of this change by finding new ways to minimise water use in our buildings and by reducing the consumption of bottled water. Hopefully, we will soon be able to calculate the real water footprint of our operations in order to perform as well as we can.
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German Shepherds are known throughout the world for their obedience and love for their masters. A dog's training begins from its litter while the best learning stage in the life of dogs is the time between the first 12-14 weeks of its life. While it is true that a young dog/puppy is trained more easily a larger dog can also be trained with a bit of patience. Probably the most common trick taught to dogs is to sit . Here's how your GSD can learn to sit.
1Choose a suitable dog treat which can be brought from the market. Alternatively any homemade tidbit is also suitable.
2Have your dog in front of you, preferably when he is tied up or someone else is holding his/her leash.
3Hold the treat in your hand and slowly move it towards nose of your dog , don't hold it too close and neither too far, hold it it just out of reach of the dog's mouth.
4Move your hand slightly up and forward moving it towards the head of your dog.
5Your dog will move according to the movement of your hand and will automatically come into the sitting posture.
6The moment your dog's body/behind touches the ground say "sit" and stretch out your open hand to make a sign/hand command like the ones shown in the pictures attached with this step and give them the dog treat in your hand.
7Train every day until dog gets the idea. When your dog gets to know how to sit, stop using the whole procedure mentioned above and ask him/her to sit, first with both verbal and hand commands. Then slowly drop the hand commands sometimes using only the verbal command to see if your dog responds and then drop the hand command altogether.
- If you train your GSD in the most effective time of the day(see tips), along with other times of the day and in different places, within 2-4 days your dog will be able to sit at hand command and in another week or so like a pro at verbal command.
Can a German shepherd bite our relatives when they come over?wikiHow ContributorIt depends on how you have raised and trained him. If he's well-trained and friendly, there should be no problem. If he's aggressive (hint: barks at people he doesn't know), you may want to keep him in another room while they're there.
I have a German shepherd puppy who I've been training for a while, but only does it when I have a treat. What should I do?wikiHow ContributorDo consistent daily training for a couple of weeks, giving a treat when he performs the command. Gradually start shifting to praise and affection for successful accomplishment instead of treats to wean him off of them.
- German shepherds are naturally energetic and can be trained more easily if they have burned out their energy after a good walk/run and are in a passive state.
- Keep the training sessions short and do not train more than 3-4 times a day.
- Training in different places and at different times is extremely important as you do not want your dog to associate the trick with a specific place or time.
- Give the verbal and hand commands instantly during training and don't delay the giving of treats or be afraid of presenting your hand with the treat to the dog as no good GSD will bite or snatch if given the treat willingly. (Dogs with an aggressive record are another case).
- Be confident as German shepherds are "prone" to learning and this simple trick will usually present no problem.
- One of the best times to train is when giving a dog its meal and using the bowl/meal as the treat. This worked for me as he got the message and was sitting patiently while I was preparing/bringing his meal to him after one day of training whereas just a day earlier he kept trying to jump on me while I set his bowl down.
- Never use chocolates or chocolate flavoured items as treats as they are potentially poisonous for dogs and cats.
- Do not train too often or for too long and finish training sessions as soon as he seems disinterested or is there is any attempt of biting or jumping.
- Keep just a few treats with yourself, perhaps in your pocket as seeing a large box of treats might distract the dog.
- There is no need to shout. Your GSD wants to please you and work for you and is sensitive to the tone of your voice which nevertheless should be pleasant but firm.
- Holding the treat too low means that the dog might try to snatch the treat and bite you in the attempt. (Although a German shepherd will rarely if ever bite an owner).
- Holding the treat too high forces the dog to jump.
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Wide Range Achievement Test
Wide Range Achievement Test, 3rd ed. or WRAT-3 is a screening test that can be administered to determine if a more comprehensive achievement test is needed. Achievement tests refer to skills that individuals learn through direct instruction or intervention .
The WRAT-3 measures basic skills in reading, arithmetic, and spelling. The test covers ages from five to 75 years old and takes approximately 30 minutes to administer.
Although screening instruments may save time, these instruments can sometimes have misleading results. For instance, the scores may overestimate or underestimate a person's skills or the test does not measure other important achievement abilities. To obtain a more indepth result of an examinee's abilities, a more comprehensive achievement test must be administered. For example, the WRAT-3 has no assessment of fundamental skills such as reading comprehension, writing abilities, and applying mathematical concepts to real-life situations. Finally, psychometric testing requires a clinically trained examiner. Therefore, the test should only be administered and interpreted by a trained examiner.
The WRAT-3 has two alternative testing forms (tan and blue). One form is administered with the second form available if needed. Both testing forms (both the tan and blue forms) can be administered. When this is done, a combined scored is obtained. Each testing form consists of one reading test, one arithmetic test, and one spelling test. The reading test is administered individually, but the other two tests may be given in groups of up to five people. The reading test consists of 15 letters and 42 individual words that the examinee is asked to name or pronounce. The spelling test consists of writing one's name, 13 letters, and up to 40 words dictated to the examinee and used in a sentence. The spelling items increase with difficulty. Finally, the arithmetic test consists of two parts. Part I requires counting, reading number symbols, and solving simple arithmetic problems that are verbally presented to the examinee. Part II consists of using paper and a pencil to calculate up to 40 arithmetic problems within 15 minutes. These arithmetic problems are presented in a test booklet.
Scoring consists of a 1 for a correct answer and a 0 for an incorrect answer. The raw scores are converted to standard scores. These are scores that allow the examiner to compare the individual's score to other people who have taken the test. Additionally, by converting raw scores to standard scores the examiner has uniform scores and can more easily compare an individual's performance on one test with the individual's performance on another test. The average score for each test of the WRAT-3 is 100. An examiner can also obtain grade-equivalent scores, percentile ranks, and normal curve equivalents. A poor performance in any of the three areas assessed by this instrument can indicate the need for further testing.
Kaufman, Alan, S., and Elizabeth O. Lichtenberger. Assessing Adolescent and Adult Intelligence. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 2001.
Sattler, Jerome M. "Assessment of Academic Achievement." In Assessment of Children: Behavioral and Clinical Applications. 4th ed. San Diego: Jerome M. Sattler, Publisher, Inc., 2002.
Wilkinson, G. S. Wide Range Achievement Test–Revision 3. Wilmington, DE: Jastak Association, 1993.
Keith Beard, Psy.D.
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The Black Hammer Party exists to take the Land Back for all Colonized people worldwide. We are focused on building dual contending power of and for the Colonized masses. Under the leadership of the Colonized poor and working class, our mission is to use our collective building power to unite, strengthen and liberate all Colonized nations. Currently, our physical and intellectual labor is being coerced to build for the capitalist white colonial state, but it can be redirected to a noble cause. We will organize our labor to be of service to our people. Our symbol, the Hammer, represents breaking the chains of colonialism and building a self-determined future for all Colonized people worldwide.
Our guiding principles are our four Principles of Unity.
By joining Black Hammer, you follow in the footsteps of our ancestors by continuing the struggle for freedom and self-determination for our people!
EMPOWER YOUR COMMUNITY
BUILD A WORLD WITH NO COLONIZERS
GROW YOURSELF AND LEAD!
“A race of people is like an individual man; until it uses its own talent, takes pride in its own history, expresses its own culture, affirms its own selfhood, it can never fulfill itself.”
– MALCOLM X
Black Hammer understands that our people are busy trying to survive. Once you have joined, we will reach out and work with you to find the best avenues for you to support the movement.
We have membership options that range from $5-100/month. If you are able to, select at least the $5/month option to sustain our organization to continue building for liberation for all colonized people. We understand that as colonized poor working class people that not everyone can afford to pay $5 a month for membership dues, email [email protected]. Please provide your contact information and we will ensure that you are an active member in your chapter and have also participated in the Membership Bootcamp.
Marcus Garvey – $5.00/month
Margarita Neri – $10.00/month
Ho Chi Minh – $20.00/month
Thomas Sankara – $50.00/month
Che Guevara – $100.00/month
Are you a white person looking to contribute and unite with anti-colonial revolution? Curious about the colonizer’s role in this decolonization process? Join the Reparations Corps today!
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framing climate action for conservatives (rough draft)
Climate change is a danger to you and your family. You can feel in your gut how the weather is changing for the worse, and the people who keep track of the weather agree with you. The lawyers and executives for Big Oil companies don't care about your family—just about making money. And they're using every bureaucratic trick in the book to get in the way of you exercising your right to take action to keep your family safe. Don't let them.
So I realize I've been thinking of social networks as graph-based and set-based.
Graph-based means you follow other users and get a feed of their posts. (E.g. Facebook, Goople, birdsite, here).
Set-based means you are either in or out and if you're in, your feed is the same as everyone else who's in. (E.g. subreddits, mailing lists, USENET groups, web fora.)
I'm finding this to be a useful distinction.
Cons of looking at weird fringe internet-based politics:
- I mentally overestimate how significant (culturally or otherwise) those ideas are, because of exposure;
- I don't get most of it and I feel a slight pressure to spend time getting it when it would almost definitely not be worth it
Pros of looking at weird fringe internet-based politics:
- I get to see tweets like "unmute me reactionary coward"
Never forget: most of us have been poisoned by a toxic educational system that teaches us systematically that failing at a task or not knowing a correct answer is shameful.
There is no inherent shame in failure, in not knowing, or in being wrong, and we shouldn't actively shame others for it.
Get back up, learn something new, and try again.
Anyway, for anyone who may have missed it: @phildini and I are seeking new caretakers for The Shop: https://wandering.shop/@phildini/108210776141815606
If we find said caretakers I may stick around in some kind of emeritus capacity, but as demonstrated by my disappearance it's not a good idea for me to be a single point of anything around here.
if you were wondering what happens when oulipo.social (doesn't allow the letter E) meets dolphin.town (only allows the letter E): https://dolphin.town/users/e/updates/2643
I've appreciated the recommendations! Good to know about https://librem.one/ , https://masto.host/ , and many other options. So far I think @SocialCoop is likely the best fit, as a paid-users-only shared instance for folks of about my temperament, that does not (unlike @cloudisland.nz ) specifically cater to a geographic locality really far from me, and and (unlike https://dobbs.town/) require that I join the Church of the SubGenius.
antiviral COVID treatment available in US
Early testing & treatment for COVID can mean the difference between a hospital stay vs at-home treatment with antiviral pills. Get tested at a #TestToTreat site as soon as you experience symptoms, get a prescription if eligible, & start treatment. https://aspr.hhs.gov/TestToTreat/Pages/process.aspx
a boost from birdsite, US healthcare
If there are any journalists on the disability/mental healthcare beat who want to write about how psychiatrists are being criminalized for giving actual care to Medicare patients, there sure is a story!
Inform is now open source. #if #interactivefiction https://intfiction.org/t/inform-7-v10-1-0-is-now-open-source/55674
“Apple's Self Service Repair program is now available [US-only, for now]. If you have an iPhone 12, iPhone 13 or third-generation iPhone SE, you can buy key parts (such as batteries, cameras and displays) from a dedicated store and consult official repair manuals as you fix a device yourself. You can even […] rent a toolkit for a week if you'd rather not buy tools you're unlikely to use often.”
New York City, Changeset Consulting, Recurse Center, WisCon, MetaFilter, Python packaging, Geek Feminism, Dreamwidth, harihareswara.net
The original server operated by the Mastodon gGmbH non-profit
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https://mastodon.social/@brainwane
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The board game industry has seen an incredible influx of nature and wildlife themed games hit the market recently. While I really enjoy games like Wingspan, Cascadia, Ark Nova, and Oceans that focus on animal species and habitats, the horticulturalist in me has been super excited about a number of new games that focus on the greener side of mother nature. I’ve had the opportunity to learn, teach, and play two games recently that both get an enthusiastic green thumbs up from me.
Wander tranquil meadows and compete to become the best nature observer. Meadow is a game that has found its way onto the BGG hotness in recent months, and for good reason. This game boasts over 200 unique cards that all feature hand-painted watercolor art by
Karolina Kijak and Katarzyna Fiebiger. It also uses a clever action-selection mechanism that lets 2-4 players draft cards, collect sets, and build their own flourishing meadow.
The main game board consists of a four by four grid that is filled with meadow cards. There is also a campsite board players can use to perform special actions and complete goals. Each player is given five action tokens to spend. Each action token is different and can be used to activate one of the two abilities written on it. Players can slot these action tokens into notches found on the main board and the campsite board. If they play an action token into a notch on the main board, they draft a card and may optionally play a card from their hand into their own meadow. If they play an action token onto the campsite board, they take the corresponding action on the token played and may optionally complete a goal.
Players will earn points by placing cards in their meadows. However, before a card can be played, it must meet some requirements first. Each card has a special symbol depicting a feature it will provide to the meadow, but it also has a list of other symbols that must already exist in the meadow in order for it to be played. The trick to playing a card is making sure all of the symbols it needs are in play. But be careful…when a new card is played, it will cover up one of the symbols needed to play it. This means that the symbols in your meadow are always changing and timing is critical when deciding the order in which cards should be played.
As a game of Meadow progresses, players will build their collection of cards and optionally play cards into a space called “the surrounding area,” where they can discover new locations and collect trinkets. Additionally, if a player has all the right symbols in their meadow, they can complete goals for additional end-game points.
Meadow gets a green thumbs up because it is fast paced, easy to learn, hard to master, beautiful to look at, and fun to play.
Take a walk through the garden! If you can smell better flowers, collect prettier rocks, and spot more interesting insects than your opponents, you win. Floriferous is a fantastic little filler game for 2-4 players that’s easy to set up and plays in about twenty minutes.
One row of five cards is set out for each player in the game…one row above the next to form a grid. Cards in Floriferous primarily feature flowers of various types and colors. However some depict statuary and other garden features, and many of the flower cards include butterflies, lady bugs, beetles, and other garden insects. Above the grid of garden cards are three goal cards that anyone and everyone can claim if they meet the conditions of the cards throughout the game. The real genius of Floriferous can be found in the last row of cards that gets played below the garden cards. These cards offer end-game points for meeting certain conditions (like having a set of tulips or gaining extra points for flowers with beetles), but only for the player who picks them up. Because they are common knowledge, each player must carefully plan their path through the garden in order to acquire the best combination of garden cards and score cards…all while keeping an eye on the goal cards.
Each player has a pawn that starts on the left side of the grid next to each row. Starting with the top pawn and moving down, each player decides which card from the column they want. After everyone has taken a turn, the next round begins with the new pawn closest to the top. Because the top pawn always goes first, the turn order frequently shifts, and players have to weigh what cards they want to collect against what position they want in the next round's turn order. After players have moved through the garden once, the grid is repopulated by new cards and players move backward through the garden again. After three treks through the garden the game ends. The player with the most points wins.
Floriferous gets a green thumbs up for packing so much punch into a little box. The game is easy to set up, easy to learn, offers great choices to players, and can easily be played in under twenty minutes.
What are your favorite nature themed games?
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https://www.meeplenation.com/post/green-thumbs-up
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Muscat: Cyclone Luban's indirect effects have reached Dhofar and southern Al Wusta, but the storm's recorded windspeed has reduced marginally, the Public Authority for Civil Aviation said in its latest storm update.
In its report on Thursday night, PACA said, "Indirect effects of Luban continue over Dhofar and Al Wusta with scattered rainfall and fresh winds between 20-25 knots/37-46 kmph and a rise in sea level of 3-5 metres."
The statement added that Dhofar would start seeing the storm's direc effects on Saturday, October 13, with "heavy rain, running wadis, wind speeds of between 30-40 knots/56-74 kmph, and waves with a maximum height of 6-8 metres".
Meanwhile, southern Al Wusta is expected to be affected with medium to heavy rainfall and gusts between 20-25 knots/37-40 kmph, and waves with a maximum height of 6-8 metres, the report added.
PACA's statement said, "The latest weather maps and analysis of the National Centre for Multi-Hazard Early Warning indicate the concentration of the tropical cyclone Luban in the Arabian Sea. The wind speed around the centre is estimated to be around 64-70 knots/119-130 kmph. The cyclone is about 460 km away from Salalah."
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Re: Best life lessons learned outside class, Letter Nov. 13
Best life lessons learned outside class, Letter Nov. 13
Sarah Flaherty makes interesting observations on what university education means to her. She is only partly correct, though, in saying that university has not helped her with life skills.
While it is true that academic knowledge alone does not prepare one for life skills, one of the greatest things university teaches you is how to think. By trying to juggle your curriculum, quizzes, tests, exams, projects, reports and other deliverables with time as your single, limited resource, one is forced to organize one’s life and plan meticulously so as to not only manage and keep up with the demands, but reach the finish line with flying colours.
In the process, one finds that important life skills have been learned, i.e., how to think, plan and organize yourself to get things done. This is exactly how it works in the real world. So apart from academic skills related to your career, university does also prepare you for the real world.
Mohamedarif M. Jagani, Markham
Many years ago I watched a promo film for University of Toronto in which the last line was, “They came, that in seeking knowledge, they might gain wisdom.”
The letter from University of Guelph student Sarah Flaherty eloquently testifies to her achievement of that goal.
Michael Heuer, Toronto
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There are a lot of ways to help your pet live a better life. If you have a pet that's struggling with range of motion issues and chronic pain, you may want to look into options for animal rehabilitation. Valley Animal Rehabilitation can help, if you're in the Montclair area and in need of rehab for pets. With options like pulsed signal therapy, you can focus on getting your pet the treatment they need to feel better, move more easily, and get back to spending time and having adventures with you.
What Is Pulsed Signal Therapy?
Pulsed signal therapy is a treatment used for arthritis and inflammatory conditions in the joints. It can also be used on tendons and ligaments. By sending magnetic field pulses to the site of treatment, it is believed that this therapy can promote a reduction in pain and inflammation, and speed up the process of healing. It is one of several options that can be used in rehab for pets, and is becoming a much more common choice to help improve animal rehabilitation.
How Does It Help Your Pet?
One of the biggest ways that pulsed signal therapy helps your pet is through reducing any pain or discomfort that they may be feeling. When they aren't feeling pain they're happier and able to move around more easily. Because this therapy also speeds up the healing process, your pet can get back on their feet and back to their life faster, as well. That's good news for them and for you, as we know it's very important for you to help your pet feel better as quickly as possible.
Is It Safe and Effective?
Pulsed signal therapy treatments used in animal rehabilitation are both safe and effective. Studies have shown that this therapy can help pets heal faster and experience less pain, for conditions such as arthritis and hip dysplasia, as well as damage to the tendons and ligaments. Additionally, the therapy has no known side effects, so you don't need to worry about putting your pet at risk of other problems, in order for them to have this treatment.
Contact Us for Animal Rehabilitation Today
If you're in the Montclair area and in need of rehab for pets, contact us at Valley Animal Rehabilitation today. We can give you information and guidance on pulsed laser therapy, and help you decide if it's the right treatment for your pet's needs. With no side effects, giving it a try can only benefit your pet with the opportunity for better healing, a reduction in pain, and the opportunity to get back to feeling well and moving more easily, faster.
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https://www.valleyanimalrehab.com/pulsed-signal-therapy
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