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I first learned about BASIC from one of my cousins showing me various little computer programs he made using "something called qbasic." They were all horribly rough versions of games I've seen preinstalled on every computer I ever came in contact with before that point, but that fact that they were made by someone was fascinating to me. Before that point, I had never previously thought about that concept. That a person — I WAS ONE OF THOSE — could make a game. I immediately went home and went about the task of learning how to use BASIC to make a game.
Now, this was well before my family ever even had the vague notion of having the Internet in our household. We lived in a place that was considered rural by even most rural towns. My nearest friend lived approximately three miles away from me. My nearest neighbor lived about a mile away from us. We were surrounded by farmland and trees. That's about it. I even went to a one-room schoolhouse at the time. That's what it sounds like too: a Kindergarten through 8th Grade single room schoolhouse. Sure, there was a bookcase divider down the center that divided K-4 and 5-8 grades, but for all intents and purposes, it was one room. And the teachers were lazy and taught all 5-8 graders the same cirriculum, which means I skipped remedial grammar and basic math and went straight into algebra. There are gaps in my education, is what I'm saying.
I'm getting off topic.
I went straight home to learn BASIC, and how I learned BASIC was not by looking up a tutorial on the Internet, but purely through the painful process of trial-and-error and some really rudimentary documentation of what functions existed in a help file in qbasic. Basically: just trial and error. Learn I did, though, over time. I created a few text adventure games. I got crazy with an intro sequence once and made a bunch of system noises that approximated a dramatic intro theme song with a page-by-page ASCII animation of a sword appearing on-screen (draw page characters, clear page, draw another set of page characters with the animation slightly advanced, clear page — you get the picture).
Eventually I got bored. That's not exactly atypical for me.
Sometime after my freshman year of college, I got a book on C++ and decided that I wanted to learn it to start making games. At this point, I had the Internet, so I had enough information to know that if you wanted to make games for real (and not just play around with Half-Life mods) that you needed to learn a programming language. And C/C++ was the ticket. So, I got this book. I made some decent progress in this book. I followed along with the chapters, I programmed the recommended examples, I messed around with the examples as much as I could to try and get a handle on language features.
And then I got to the chapter on Pointers. And nothing. I re-read the chapter on Pointers maybe three-four times. Still nothing. I got bored again and put the book away, presumably forever.
But then my class on Michigan History the beginning of my sophomore year of high school happened. I should point out: I had a TI-86 for one of my math classes and it was always in my book bag. You see, Michigan History is not entirely uninteresting, but the way it was presented was entirely uninteresting. So, one day, I got my TI-86 out and realized that I could actually program applications for the calculator in the calculator's text editor. I had some minor fun with this, but when I got home I decided to take it a step further and try discovered what amounts to a dev kit for TI calculators. I got this dev kit and, yeah, it's basically just BASIC. So, I remembered what I could of BASIC and made a game for my TI-86: http://www.ticalc.org/archives/files/fileinfo/160/16047.html (the fact that this is still accessible is amazing to me).
After that whole project, I picked up the C++ book and started again from the beginning. And, for some reason, that time the chapter on Pointers clicked. And, boy, did I hate Computer Science in college (I dropped out of the CS program and got a degree in English instead), but my first job of college was working as a Game Programmer for Stardock Entertainment. And now I'm a Creative Director of a game studio. And, basically, it's just because of BASIC. | <urn:uuid:3e05c1d8-0bf9-4e46-9b39-9b162ac64428> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/TrentPolack/20140429/216458/You_Know_Basically_BASIC.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281450.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00180-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984213 | 966 | 2.5625 | 3 |
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It's raining, it's pouring! Simulate the precipitation process with rope or hula hoop and assorted colored construction paper. This simple game should give young students a better understanding of how rain falls.
6 Views 5 Downloads | <urn:uuid:528b2b81-2f67-4729-8ae0-83a2a87dfbe6> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.lessonplanet.com/teachers/the-rain-game | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280900.71/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00002-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.855477 | 91 | 2.765625 | 3 |
RABBIT ANTI-BORRELIA BURGDORFERI SENSU STRICTO (B31) SURFACE LIPOPROTEIN P27 ANTIBODY
This is a polyclonal antibody, prepared against Surface Lipoprotein P27 from the spirochete B. burgdorferi, for use in ELISA and western blotting applications.
PRODUCT DETAILS – RABBIT ANTI-BORRELIA BURGDORFERI SENSU STRICTO (B31) SURFACE LIPOPROTEIN P27 ANTIBODY
- Rabbit anti-B. burgdorferi sensu stricto Surface Lipoprotein P27 polyclonal IgG antibody (strain B31).
- Greater than 95% purity by SDS-PAGE and buffered in 0.02 M Potassium Phosphate, 0.15 M Sodium Chloride, pH 7.2.
Strain B31 is the type strain (ATCC 35210) for this organism and was derived by limited dilutional cloning from the original Lyme-disease tick isolate obtained by A. Barbour (Johnson, et al., 1984).
The p27 gene is located on a linear plasmid of a size of approximately 55 kb and encodes a basic protein of 248 amino acids with a typical prokaryotic leader sequence of 17 amino acid residues at the N-terminus of the proposed translation product, as confirmed by Northern and Western blot analysis (Reindl, et al., 1993).
Spirochetal outer surface proteins (Osps) play a major role in both protection from and pathogenesis of Lyme disease. All Osps (OspA to OspF and P27) have been shown to be lipoproteins, containing hydrophobic N-terminal domains and putative cleavage sites (Leu-X-Y-Z-Cys) thought to be recognized by a lipoprotein signal peptidase (Brandt, et al., 1990).
Borrelia spirochetes are unique among gram-negative (diderm or double-membrane) bacteria in their abundance of surface-displayed lipoproteins, some of which play important roles in the pathogenesis of Lyme disease and relapsing fever. There is evidence that Borrelia lipoproteins are specifically targeted to the bacterial surface, but that they can be retained in the periplasm by sequence-specific signals (Schulze & Zückert, 2006).
- Brandt, M. E., Riley, B. S., Radolf, J. D. & Norgard, M. V., 1990. Immunogenic integral membrane proteins of Borrelia burgdorferi are lipoproteins. Infect. Immun., Volume 58, p. 983–991.
- Johnson, R.C., et al. 1984. Borrelia burgdorferi sp. nov.: etiologic agent of Lyme disease. Int J Syst Bacteriol, 34, pp. 496–497.
- Reindl, M., Redl, B. & Stöffler, G., 1993. Isolation and analysis of a linear plasmid-located gene of Borrelia burgdorferi B29 encoding a 27 kDa surface lipoprotein (p27) and its overexpression in Escherichia coli. Mol. Microbiol., 8(6), pp. 1115-24.
- Schulze, R. J. & Zückert, W. R., 2006. Borrelia burgdorferi lipoproteins are secreted to the outer surface by default. Mol. Microbiol., 59(5), pp. 1473 – 1484. | <urn:uuid:9ce42cdf-03ee-4009-9bc4-7dbfd204cbbf> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://thenativeantigencompany.com/products/rabbit-anti-borrelia-burgdorferi-surface-lipoprotein-p27-antibody/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570913.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809064307-20220809094307-00066.warc.gz | en | 0.798208 | 806 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Posted on December 11, 2000 in Washington Watch
This week 40 Arab Americans from 14 states representing 10 national organizations and a number of local organizations will convene a leadership summit in Washington, DC. After developing a consensus agenda on issues, the group will meet with White House and State Department officials and then present their recommendations to representatives of the transition teams from the next Administration.
The meetings occur against the backdrop of the continuing Palestinian intifada and growing anti-U.S. sentiment in the Arab world. The Arab American leaders hope to use the meetings to challenge the foreign policy makers to change course in the U.S.’s approach to critical Middle East issues.
The matters to be raised fall into three categories: immediate issues that must be clarified and acted upon; what still can be done by the Clinton Administration in its final weeks; and proposals that are to be addressed to the next Administration.
I. In two previous meetings with State Department officials, Arab Americans raised the matter of Israel’s use of U.S. supplied weapons in its assaults on Palestinian civilians and offices. At an October 6, 2000 meeting we stated that we believed that Israel’s behavior was in violation of the terms of the Arms Export Control Act. We, therefore, asked the State Department for a ruling on this matter. At that time we were told that they had already requested a ruling from the Department’s legal advisor on this question.
In the past two months, Israel has accelerated its use of advanced U.S. supplied helicopter gunships and tanks against both Palestinians and Lebanese and yet we still have not received an answer to our request from the State Department.
Also at the October 6, 2000 meeting we insisted that the United States support the Palestinian request for an international commission of inquiry into the root causes of the outbreak of violence that by now has taken more than 300 lives. While the United States finally appeared to agree to this request and established a committee headed by former Senator George Mitchell, we are concerned that there are efforts underway to so constrict the work of the committee so that it will be unable to make any determination of blame or any meaningful contribution to improve the situation of the Palestinian people.
In particular we were disturbed both by recent comments attributed to Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in a conference call she had with American Jewish leaders and with press reports about the call and the proposed work of the “Mitchell committee”.
Continued U.S. comments, such as those attributed in the press to Secretary Albright, blaming the Palestinians for “fomenting the violence” coupled with reports of U.S. efforts to disallow the “Mitchell committee” from objectively determining the root cause of the violence are, at best, troubling.
II. While it is too late for the Clinton Administration to undertake any major push to achieve Middle East peace, the President can still use his final weeks in office to publicly make clear the terms of the peace process. If he cares to leave any Middle East legacy whatsoever, he can at least restate, in unambiguous language, the requirements of a just peace, and project a vision of a final settlement that would provide for Israelis, Palestinians and his successor a set of benchmarks and goals that will be helpful in future peace efforts.
Included in such an effort should be:
A clarification and an elaboration of the U.S. understanding of UN Security Council resolution 242;
A clear statement of U.S. opposition to all Israeli settlement building in the occupied Palestinian lands;
A renewed rejection of congressional efforts to force a move of the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. The President should reaffirm, for his successor, the position he took after Congress passed the Jerusalem Embassy Relocation Act in 1996; and
A clear U.S. statement of support for the creation of an independent, sovereign and viable Palestinian state as the necessary outcome of the peace process.
Arab Americans will raise at least two other issues that should be addressed before the end of this Administration. We have repeatedly asked for a clarification of U.S. policy on the rights of Arab Americans who travel to Israel and Israeli controlled areas of Palestine. Both the White House and State Department have assured us that they have raised these issues with Israeli officials and they point to some changes to which the Israelis have agreed. We will ask that the State Department issue a written policy affirming Arab American rights in Israel and that they outline for us the efforts they have undertaken and the success they have achieved to date on this issue.
Finally, Arab Americans were deeply disturbed that the Administration bowed to pressure from pro-Israel groups and members of Congress and did not even propose to give Lebanon a supplemental foreign aid package to assist in reconstruction efforts. It was even more troubling that Israel was given $450 million to assist in its withdrawal from the south.
III. The next Administration inherits not only an inflamed Israeli-Palestinian conflict but also a deeply troubled U.S.-Arab relationship.
Our early advice to both teams aspiring to the still undecided presidency will be that they make an effort to cultivate a dramatically altered view of Middle East realities. The problem with U.S. policy for many years now has been that formulations of that policy have usually developed a view of the region beginning from Israel and the Israeli-Arab conflict and then looking outward. In fact, we believe that it is important to see the Arab world on its own terms and to see the Israeli-Arab conflict from the vantage point of the Arab world and the U.S.-Arab relationship and then looking inward.
In this context we will propose that the next Administration convene a “Middle East Policy Summit.” Bringing together policy experts, foreign leaders and scholars, the summit would review U.S. relations with individual Arab countries and blocs of countries and recommend ways of enhancing those relations.
It would also be useful to convene similar meetings in the Middle East that would allow for a dialogue between U.S. officials and the political, business and academic leaders in the Arab world. The input generated by both sets of discussions would be helpful in the formulation of U.S. policy for the next decade.
We also believe that it would be important for the next Administration to bring more Arab Americans into policy roles in the White House and State Department. In the case of key Middle East foreign policy posts we might suggest that the next Administration only appoint senior foreign policy professionals so that the next Administration can begin its tenure with support from all sides in the Middle East.
Arab Americans will develop more detailed proposals for the transition teams in the weeks to come and we, like others, will do postmortems on the outgoing Clinton Administration. But at this critical juncture in the conflict that is brewing and the crisis that is developing in U.S.-Arab relations, Arab Americans feel it is important to make an immediate effort to renew the challenge to policy makers to change course and to provide them with some proposals toward that end.
For comments, contact email@example.com powered by Disqus | <urn:uuid:d2a5c0db-6503-4fb7-afdd-59d0a2beb8d1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.aaiusa.org/w121100 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281069.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00265-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962211 | 1,452 | 1.640625 | 2 |
|Search Results (4 videos found)|
|ACM CHI 1992 Issue 76 - Using Spatial Cues to Improve Desktop Videoconferenceing
In the video they describe and demostrate Hydra; a prototype system for supporting four-way videoconferencing. The design is intended to build as much as possible upon existing skills used...
Keywords: CHI; Video Conferencing; Video; Hydra;
Popularity (downloads): 452
|ACM CSCW 1996 - Majic and DesktopMajic
This video shows a multiparty videoconferencing system “MAJIC” and a multiparty desktop conferencing system “DesktopMAJIC”. MAJIC is composed of 2 video cameras, 2 video projectors, a one-way transparent screen, and...
Keywords: CSCW; videoconferencing; MAJIC; DesktopMAJIC; awareness; collaborative environment;
Popularity (downloads): 502
|ACM CSCW 1996 - The MIT design studio
The MIT Design Studio of the Future is an interdisciplinary effort to focus on geographically distributed electronic design and work group collaboration issues. The physical elements of this virtual...
Keywords: CSCW; constraints; dependencies; process description; process support; workflow; computer supported cooperative work;
Popularity (downloads): 532
|NASA Connect - Geometry of Exploration: Water Below the Surface of Mars
NASA Connect Video containing six segments as described below. NASA Connect Segment involving students participating in an activity to measure and calculate ellipses. The activity explains ellipses and their...
Keywords: NASA Connect; Mars; Geometry; Pythagoras Theorem; Ellipses; Mars Millenium Project; Mars Microprobe; Orbits; calculate; Student Activity; Johannes Kepler; Mars Microprobe; Mars Navigation; Water; NASA Online Activity; Life On Mars; Navigation to Mars; Spacecraft; NASA Viking Mission; Geometry in Navigation; Pythagoras; Pythagoras Theorem; Right Triangle;
Popularity (downloads): 4447 | <urn:uuid:2cf3bc64-be2c-484e-aabf-95a4c8d0fb78> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://open-video.org/results.php?keyword_search=true&terms=+videoconferencing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280891.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00162-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.80031 | 443 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Brainiacs at Rice University today debuted a spray-on lithium ion battery that they say could be applied to nearly any surface. You read that right -- a paintable battery.
The paint contains layers, each representing a necessary component of a conventional battery -- current collectors made in part from purified single-wall carbon nanotubes, a cathode, an anode, and a polymer separator -- as described in a report published today in Nature authored by Rice graduate student Neelam Singh and her team. Spraying the painted battery is a multilayer process, but when you're done, you have a covered surface that stores energy and discharges it when needed -- that is, a battery.
Skeptical? One experiment conducted by Singh and her team reveals the promise of the technology: Nine bathroom tile-based batteries were connected in parallel. One was topped with a solar cell that converted power from a white laboratory light. When fully charged by both the solar panel and house current, the batteries alone powered a set of light-emitting diodes that spelled out "Rice" for six hours; the batteries provided a steady 2.4 volts.
Even after 60 charge/discharge cycles, the unusual battery barely lost capacity. The team also airbrushed the spray formula onto ceramic bathroom tiles, flexible polymers, glass, stainless steel, and a beer stein. (That's sure one way to charge up a drink.)
Singh worked on the paintable battery with a wide range of people from Rice and the scientific community, including graduate students Charudatta Galande and Akshay Mathkar; Los Alamos National Laboratory researcher Wai Gao; research scientist Arava Leela Mohana Reddy; Rice Quantum Institute interns Andrea Miranda; and Alexandru Vlad, a postdoctoral researcher at the Universite Catholique de Louvain, Belgium.
Singh and her team continue to work on refining this spray-on battery. Future versions of the concept could include electrolytes that make it easier to paint on batteries in the open air, or sprayed batteries on "snap-together tiles that can be configured in any number of ways," as the university release puts it.
Did she just hint at Lego-style batteries? Sign me up! | <urn:uuid:24ec81a9-49cc-4b3e-807e-71c15fc01e4a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.cnet.com/news/spray-on-battery-makes-power-paintable/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281574.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00022-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935364 | 464 | 3.140625 | 3 |
Four suggestions for getting privacy right when developing edtech
As digital interactions increase, so does the flow of learner data—and the risk of its misuse. But edtech can respect and protect learner privacy. Here’s how.
Edtech is, and perhaps always will be, in the privacy spotlight.
In order to bring the benefits of technology to learning and assessment, we need to capture information about the learning process and people’s skills. The more data we capture, the better the analysis we can do and the better the learning or assessment will be.
But with great amounts of data comes great responsibility. And so regulators, politicians, learners and their stakeholders are keen to ensure that privacy is respected.
Three of the most pressing concerns are that:
- Learners, parents and those with their interests at heart need to ensure personal learner data is used only for learning or assessment and not for marketing or commercial purposes.
- With the shocking commonality of data breaches, everyone wants to make sure that private data about learners is not hacked or disclosed.
- Governments and other stakeholders are often keen to ensure that information on their young people isn’t disclosed to foreign governments.
Most edtech companies are highly reputable and many (including Learnosity) have signed the Student Privacy Pledge, which is committed to the responsible use of learner data. However, edtech is expanding rapidly—one report suggests that edtech venture funding in 2021 was three times that prior to the pandemic. Inevitably, there is increasing legislative and regulatory interest in privacy and edtech.
Recent regulatory developments
Let’s start with President Biden’s State of the Union address in March:
“It’s time to strengthen privacy protections, ban targeted advertising to children, demand tech companies stop collecting personal data on our children.”
Although Biden’s main focus was social media companies, there is a natural spillover to edtech. And although his address was just a speech, there is active discussion going on in Washington about new US legislation to protect children.
Let’s move onto California, which is often a leader in privacy among US States. Many privacy laws are being considered at present that could impact edtech. For example, one proposed bill (AB-2486) would set up an Office for the Protection of Children Online to protect the privacy of children using digital media. Another proposed bill (SB-1172) would apply additional privacy protection to proctoring exams in an educational setting. These bills are not yet passed, and may not be passed this year but they reflect legislator concern.Edtech venture funding in 2021 was three times that prior to the pandemic. Inevitably, there is increasing legislative and regulatory interest in privacy and edtech. Click To Tweet
Meanwhile in Europe, regulators are stepping up enforcement of the GDPR privacy law, with over 1,000 GDPR fines recorded to date. Some of these are in the education space—including for inappropriate remote proctoring and various data breaches. A current regulator focus has been on personal data being shared into the US without sufficient supplementary measures to protect it.
Many other countries are also making new legislation to protect personal data. This is going to increase, not decrease.
What can you do about it?
Privacy is not something you do once and don’t have to worry about again; it needs to be a permanent part of your modus operandi. Here are four suggestions for edtech companies to consider.
1. Build privacy into your design and design process
It’s a cliche but it really is true that it’s much more expensive to retrofit privacy later than add it in to start. As part of this, consider pseudonymization. This is when you separate out the name and other identifying information for learners from the data about them and is described more below.
2. Adopt an approach of full transparency with learners and their stakeholders
Document what data you gather, the purposes you collect it for, what you do with it and how long you keep it. Often this is required by law, but if you go beyond the minimum required, do it proactively and communicate it well, it will help build trust with your learners and stakeholders.
3. Your privacy is only as good as that of your suppliers and partners
Many privacy and security failures are down to third parties so make sure that you review the privacy practices of your vendors and put in place good data protection contracts. At Learnosity, we strive to be leaders in assessment privacy and work only with trusted suppliers.
4. Get someone on your team who knows or learns about privacy
Privacy is principle based, and understanding these principles will stand you in good stead in the myriad of product and communication decisions made day to day. The IAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals) is a good place to learn and get certified. Two of my Learnosity colleagues and I have IAPP certifications and it helps us greatly.
Pseudonymity: Reducing risk by reducing identifiability
At the recent ATP Innovations in Testing conference, I led a session with Marc Weinstein of Caveon on “Pseudonymity, an Answer to Assessment Privacy Concerns?” (the whitepaper we wrote for the session with Jamie Armstrong, Learnosity general counsel, is available for download below).
Pseudonymity is a way of storing electronic data where names or other information that identify a person are stored separately from the data about them. When using pseudonymity, learner data is associated with a numeric ID representing the learner rather than with the person’s name. There is a separate index that allows matching the numeric ID to the name, stored separately.
For example, Learnosity customers know who their learners are, but they pass to Learnosity APIs a pseudonymized ID only. In the diagram below, the learner is called Jane Doe, but an ID is generated “1234567”. Learnosity knows only this and not the learner’s name, address, or date of birth. Learnosity’s APIs deliver the assessment and pass the result back to the client, but are never privy to who the learner is.
Pseudonymous data is still personal data, but pseudonymity reduces the number of people or systems with access to real identities and so greatly reduces compliance and security risks. | <urn:uuid:747ba34d-0e96-4ab3-820c-33338cc89f3f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://learnosity.com/edtech-blog/four-suggestions-for-getting-privacy-right-when-developing-edtech/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00472.warc.gz | en | 0.947249 | 1,324 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Thoughts On The Death Penalty
Yesterday, executions were put on hold in two states over concerns about the manner in which the most common form of execution is administered:
MIAMI, Dec. 15 — Executions by lethal injection were suspended in Florida and ordered revamped in California on Friday, as the chemical method once billed as a more humane way of killing the condemned came under mounting scrutiny over the pain it may cause.
Gov. Jeb Bush (R) ordered the suspension in Florida after a botched execution in which it took 34 minutes and a second injection to kill convicted murderer Angel Nieves Diaz. A state medical examiner said that needles used to carry the poison had passed through the prisoner’s veins and delivered the three-chemical mix into the tissues of his arm.
In California, a federal judge ruled that the state must overhaul its lethal-injection procedures, calling its current protocol unconstitutional because it may inflict unacceptable levels of pain.
These are the latest developments in a year that has seen several challenges to the way executions are conducted in the United States:
In Maryland, a federal judge is considering the constitutionality of lethal injection. A ruling is expected next year. Officials in Missouri and South Dakota have delayed executions while lethal injection is reviewed. Oklahoma altered its procedure so that the prisoner receives more anesthesia before being executed. And in North Carolina, a federal judge ordered that a brain monitor be used to make sure an inmate is unconscious before the final drug is administered.
In June, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed another Florida death-row inmate to challenge that state’s lethal-injection procedures through a federal civil rights lawsuit, a ruling considered a procedural victory for opponents of the death penalty.
I’ve generally always been supportive of the death penalty in appropriate circumstances, but I’ve recently been having second thoughts that lead me to wonder if the state really does have the right to execute even the most violent of murderers. There are two basic areas that concern me, one based on the Constitution, and one based, in part, on what I know the legal system is actually like rather than what it should be.
When most people think of Constitutional arguments against the death penalty, they think of the Eighth Amendment and its prohibition on “cruel and unusual punishment.” There are some who argue that any form of the execution is inherently cruel and unusual and, therefore, unconstitutional. Given the context in which the Eighth Amendment was adopted, though, it is clear that the Founders did not intend to outlaw executions. Executions, and other forms of punishment that we would consider barbaric today existed both before and after the Amendment was adopted. Therefore, it is clear that, in adopting the Eighth Amendment, the Founders did not intend that capital punishment be declared unconstitutional in all circumstances.
The Eighth Amendment is also used by some, including the California Judge referenced in the article above, to argue that certain forms of execution are unconstitutional. Clearly, there are ways that capital punishment could be carried out that are needlessly cruel and which would arguably be barred under the Eighth Amendment. Something that caused prolonged torture and punishment would certainly be a candidate. As would a form of execution that shocked the public conscience, such as the type of beheading common in places such as Saudi Arabia. To argue, though, that the fact that a convict might feel some small degree of pain in connection with an execution makes it per se unconstitutional goes beyond what the Eighth Amendment was meant to address and strays perilously close to the argument that all executions violate the Amendment.
The Constitutional provisions that concern me in connection with the death penalty lie in the Fifth Amendment and Fourteenth Amendment, both of which provide that no person shall be deprived of their life, liberty, or property without due process of law. In theory, every person accused of a capital crime is supposed to be have their rights protected in the same way. In reality, it often doesn’t work out that way. Many Defendants are unable to afford their own attorneys and are, especially at the trial stage, represented by public defenders or court-appointed attorneys who are often either too busy or too incompetent to provide the zealous defense that their client is entitled to.
Take the O.J. Simpson case as an example. This wasn’t a death penalty case, but it was close. Does anyone actually think that Simpson would have walked free if he’d been represented by court-appointed counsel ? If you do, you’re deceiving yourself. Simpson is a free man today because he was able to afford a cadre of lawyers — including two of the best criminal defense attorneys in Los Angeles and a man who has been an icon among criminal defense attorneys nationwide since the 1950s — to defend him. Yes, the prosecution made a lot of mistakes in that case, but if his lawyers hadn’t known to take advantage of them, it wouldn’t have mattered.
I’m not saying that everyone is entitled to have Johnny Cochran and F. Lee Bailey represent them. What I’m saying is that we should have some doubts about the objectiveness of the legal system often depends on what kind of attorney you have, especially when we’re talking about a question of life and death.
Additionally, anyone on either side of the death penalty debate should be concerned with the question of whether even 99.99% assurance of guilt is enough to say it’s okay to kill someone. Sometimes, the legal system gets it wrong, as The Innocence Project and others have shown, innocent people get convicted all the time and, while it’s true that we’ve yet to see a case of someone executed who is later conclusively shown to be innocent of the crime, this level of uncertainty (along with the fact that it’s someone with a court-appointed attorney who is most likely to be wrongfully convicted) should lead us to think twice about just how sure we are that we’ve got the right guy.
When the state kills, it kills in all of our names. Given the way the system really is, perhaps we need to ask ourselves if that’s what we really want. | <urn:uuid:7244b707-bc50-4672-8e9e-fccd53146929> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.thelibertypapers.org/2006/12/16/thoughts-on-the-death-penalty/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560284411.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095124-00461-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973938 | 1,265 | 2.21875 | 2 |
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Selenium Fundamentals, Part 2: WebDriver
with expert Brigitte Birze
WebDriver is the main tool in the Selenium tools suite, with the ability to natively drive a web application in the same way a human user would. This course will give you the basics you need in order to create WebDriver applications. You’ll be learning how to build with the WebDriver libraries, configure WebDriver to talk natively to the different browsers and use the main WebDriver classes to exercise your web applications.Course Outline | <urn:uuid:c4bde686-3c3f-4b0b-9591-f768131b547b> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.learnnowonline.com/trailer/sni2/selenium-fundamentals-webdriver | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281151.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00114-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.810589 | 119 | 2.375 | 2 |
Spread by e-mail, Web sites and plain old-fashioned word-of-mouth, new words bounce around English faster than dictionary editors--or anyone else--can track.
Often, people come up with new terms to fill what dictionary editor Erin McKean calls English's "semantic gaps," where a word could exist but does not.
Many of the terms arise as pure whimsy. Others are sure signs of the times, such as "e-dress," an e-mail address.
Most made-up words never gain wide circulation, but every now and then one emerges with staying power.
"You never know," says McKean, a senior editor with Oxford University Press-USA. After a recent article about McKean, readers sent in words they have made up or noticed being used.
Linguistic legs or not, here is a sampling:
Cellicide (cell-a-cide) n . Killing of pedestrians, cyclists, motorists and passengers in accidents caused by drivers distracted by use of their cell phones. Cellicidal--adj.--Duane Carlson, Chicago.
Chillaxing (chill-axing) n. Chilling out and relaxing. Spotted online and heard in conversation with area teens.--Kathleen Eng, Skokie, Ill.
Frustankerous (frus-tank-er-us) adj. My wife (Olena) and I have invented a word to describe the behavior of our 11-month-old boy who, when he doesn't get what he wants, acts both frustrated and cantankerous. This behavior includes yelling, pounding fists, working up his face to cry, but also looking angry.--Robert S. Marshall, Evanston, Ill.
Chompacuted (chom-pac-uted) vt. When you get mangled and electrocuted at the same time. My friend Jesse was always scared at the elevated stations of getting hit by a train and kept saying, "I don't want to get chompacuted!" ... He is an aspiring filmmaker and plans to use it in a film someday, so maybe it will see the light of day sometime.--Brendan Walsh, Chicago.
E-dress (e-dress) n. An e-mail address. Several months ago, in the midst of retrieving/logging daily e-mail and phone messages to paper, and quite by accident, I elided the words for "e-mail address" into "e-dress." As I read it back, I thought it quite clever, and asked my co-workers if they had ever read or heard of such a term. It seems to be a natural reference to such a, now, often-used term. No one I have spoken to has seen or heard of it since I suggested it.--Karin Magnuson, Chicago.
Disenhancement (dis-en-hance-mint) n. To be used as follows: (1) When a computer company issues a new, expensive update of its software, which fixes current bugs and introduces new ones. (2) When an airline, along with some minor changes, requires 25,000 instead of 20,000 miles for a free ticket. At the present time these are called "enhancements."--Alan D. Corre, Milwaukee, Wis.
Gak (gack) n. Here's a word I made up in the '70s....It was the sound my cat made while coughing up hairballs. The word "gak" later evolved from onomatopoeia to a noun, as in "What is this gak in the sink?"--Linda M. Cain, Schaumburg, Ill.
Ginormous (gin-or-mus) adj. Uncommonly large; ridiculously out of proportion with surrounding environment; large beyond all expectations. [This] is a word I think my sister made up, but everyone who hears it begins to use it because it sounds funny and is just the perfect word to describe certain things.--Michael Page, Geneva, Ill.
Kinly (kin-lee) adj. Someone who is not blood relation, nor an in-law, but is nonetheless connected to a family. Such as my brother's in-laws ... his mother-in-law is my "kinly."--Michelle McMullin, Aurora, Ill.
Natchachuk (natch-a-chuk) v. My mom, Arlene Schau, made this word up so long ago we grew up thinking it was a real word--either Hungarian or Polish (which our mother is). Its meaning has evolved to be either "give that to me" or "let me do that."--Tim Schau, Chicago.
Shophopping (shop-hop-ping) n. As in "I refuse to go 'shophopping,' hunting sales or bargains from store to store." Going from one store to the next in search of the right fit or a flattering style qualifies too.--Joan R. Hahn, Arlington Heights, Ill.
Talkaboutable (talk-about-able) adj. Someone who is discussed, talked about, whether well known or not.--John O'Neal, Glenwood, Ill.
Verbivore (verb-I-vore) n. A word that I believe my brother Stephen Conard made up (but my friends are starting to use) is "verbivore," a noun to describe those of us who thrive on words.--Linda Conard, Springfield, Va.
Marja Mills is a staff writer for the Chicago Tribune, a Tribune company. | <urn:uuid:86c406c3-2609-43e2-81c6-a91233b796f5> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://articles.latimes.com/2002/aug/20/news/lv-words20 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718423.28/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00272-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94994 | 1,165 | 2.21875 | 2 |
Ethics And Competence There is nothing new under the sun
by Coach Stan Lewis
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In this article, I want to show you that there is nothing new under the sun, as far as, not being where you want to be in life, dealing with unethical practices in the work place, and the injustices that come about as a result of such things. More than anything, I want to leave you with a sound foundation of hope that you can grow personally, improve upon your unique gifts, and become very competent despite where you are now in life.
We need to grow where we are planted, by improving upon our unique gifts, by growing spiritually, by growing physically, and by growing mentally. We can complain and cry out in anger about where we are in life, unethical practices in our workplaces and the injustice of it all. However, where will that take you Ė bitterness, anger or depression? And more importantly -
is that where you really you want to go? No, it will take you nowhere unless, - 1.) You put to gather a plan that will help you grow despite where you are now in life and 2.) You realize that you are not the only one to have gone through what you have encountered in life.
Let's go back in time and look at some Israelite youths in the book of Daniel, who where taken from their homes as captives to Babylon. Not only where they taken against their will, but they where now in an environment that ran in opposition to their moral and ethical beliefs.
Complaining would not have gotten Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, or Abednego very far. So how did these Jewish youths handle their situation? Well, they stuck to their moral and ethical teachings. They put God first in all they did and grew spiritually. They followed Godís directives and grew physically. They grew mentally by putting together a plan of action to master all the literature and science of the time. Each became very competent as they mastered these skills.
At the end of three years, the King called all the young men in the palace to him, including Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and gave each one an oral examination. The king was so impressed with Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego that he put them on his regular staff of advisors. (Dan 1:20) "And in all matters requiring information and balanced judgment, the king found these young men's advice ten times better..." than any other advisor. Daniel was appointed as the king's counselor. These young men where not limited by where they where planted. Ethics, growth, and competence took these young men far.
Even though some of our present situations leave a lot to be desired for, you have to admit it was not as bad as these guys situation. However, they grew spiritually, physically, and mentally where they where planted - despite life's injustices and the unethical environment. They grew and developed despite where they where planted. You too can grow and develop right where you are.
So, what are you doing to grow spiritually in your everyday life? What are your goals for physical growth? What are you doing now to feed and promote your growth mentally? What are the gifts that make you special and what are you doing with them? These are serious questions that each of us need to answer for ourselves. Not only do we need answers for them, but we need to set goals in place and the action steps to accomplish those goals.
So maintain your moral values and ethics; seek ways to grow spiritually, physically, and mentally; and become highly competent where you are planted. By growing and improving upon your unique gifts you will be ready for life's opportunities. And when opportunity comes - you shall rise above where you are now.
I have shown you that there is nothing new under the sun, as far as, not being where you want to be in life, dealing with unethical practices in the work place, and the injustices that come about as a result of such things. I trust that I have left you with a sound foundation of hope that you can grow and improve upon your gifts despite where you are now- just like Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. Remember each of them where human just like you and I with the same human weaknesses as you and I. They rose above where they where planted and you can too.
WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR NEWSLETTER, E-ZINE OR WEB SITE? You can, as long as you include the following with it: Stan Lewis is a Christian Leadership & Life Coach. If you liked this article, you should really check out his FREE audio course "Seven Basic Steps To Becoming a Servant Leader" and other FREEBIES at www.realleadership4coachinglife.com Questions/Need assistance call 214-629-7217.
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God is Not Against You - He Came on an All Out Rescue Mission to Save You
...in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them... 2 Cor 5:19
Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Acts 13:38
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This article has been read 848 times < Previous | Next > | <urn:uuid:81d6f9a9-e013-4c99-bda3-8d30085c0cc7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=32982 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281162.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00536-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962863 | 1,232 | 1.726563 | 2 |
CUMBIA MODERNA DE LA CLAVADA
[engl] Contrary to popular belief, so-called ‘folkloric’ music is not always conservative and static, and is often the cultural space where musical innovation and experimentation first take place. Additionally, since folk music is often produced “by the people for the people”, it is frequently quite popular and dynamic; indeed it is seen as an integral part of a people’s identity, and yet often keeps its humble and unadorned trappings from whence it came, even when commercial interests try to harness, modify, water it down and sell it elsewhere. Though it may not be fashioned for the mass pop youth market, folkloric music has not only influenced more mainstream popular styles, it has often cross-pollinated and reacted to the larger more hegemonic mainstream music surrounding it in creative and innovative ways that bely the musicians’ seemingly simple, ‘homespun’ or humble origins or modes of expression.Such is the case with the octogenarian musician, composer, vocalist and teacher Pedro Beltrán aka “Ramayá” who hails from Patico, a small town in Colombia’s Bolívar province, not far from the Caribbean coast. He has been crowned Rei Momo of the carnival in Barranquilla, and recorded many albums as a leader and sideman, working with various domestic and international pop artists as well, from Quantic and Thornado to Systema Solar. While his main instrument is the ‘caña e millo’ flute, he is also proficient in the various percussion instruments of his region as well as the reed instrument known as the ‘gaita’. His group La Cumbia Moderna de Soledad (named for the large city within the municipality of Barranquilla) was founded in the early 1970s when Ramayá had already retired from a career in the army and was living in Soledad. With this group he set out to “modernize” the folkloric music of his people, adding the electric bass and a brass section to fresh arrangements of cumbias, porros, fandangos, puyas and other costeño genres. What’s more, the band often did left-field cover versions of international dance hits that were popular in the region’s sound systems (picós) and discotheques, from Fela Ransome-Kuti And The Africa ‘70’s ‘Shakara Oloje’ to Rod Stewart’s ‘Da Ya Think I’m Sexy’. If you think this sounds like a case of post-colonial cargo-cult worship or a record label marketing gimmick, think again, because there is something fantastically otherworldly yet “right” about this cross-cultural mash-up, especially since La Cumbia Moderna de Soledad proudly maintained its authentic Afro-Colombian and indigenous roots throughout, making for an infectious mix that was very popular at the time (especially in the Carnaval de Barranquilla) and is still danced to today by Colombians and other fans all over the world. In a way it’s as if these musicians, brought up in the ancient rural traditions of their culture, were trying to make musical sense of the rapidly changing and mechanizing urban environment around them.“La Clavada” (1979) was La Cumbia Moderna de Soledad’s sixth record and first for Codiscos’ Costeño imprint. The LP has many excellent examples of Pedro “Ramayá” Beltrán’s innovative, catchy and downright playful mix of the ancient and the modern, making for a collection of tunes brimming with tradition and yet fearlessly bristling with innovation, not the least of which is “Crees que soy sexy” with its crazy yet very catchy “English” lyrics and haunting gaita refrain mimicking the main melody of Rod Stewart’s previously mentioned international disco smash. In addition, the title song was a massive hit in Colombia and has been covered as a merengue by Dominican artist Cuco Valoy & Los Virtuosos, and ‘Cumbia Soledeña’ became an imported discotheque hit in Europe and England as well. Now, faithfully restored to its original glorious sound, this album is poised to be rediscovered as an innovative yet rootsy gem that deserves a second life within today’s vinyl revival and continued interest in Colombia’s musical past. | <urn:uuid:ba5129a4-4f6e-4c21-a9bc-2fcfb73dcb46> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.soundsofsubterrania.com/b2b/?pid=16980 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572163.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815085006-20220815115006-00672.warc.gz | en | 0.951318 | 977 | 1.984375 | 2 |
This days it makes no different in most cases.
If you look in the URL field, you will always notice that the http:// is their automatically. People are still accustomed to butting www. in front of the domain. Go ahead and try it. search on a domain without the www. Then without the http:// then without both. Use in most cases will still be taken to that website's.
As for me, if I want to go to the Sears website I wound just type Sears.com. If that didn't work for some reason, then I would type www.sears.com because the htp:// is already apart of the domain you are typing in. To check this, just put your cursor anywhere in the domain and move it all the way to the left. You will see the http:// as part of the domain.
One comment - if the domain is https:// then the http or any combination will not work because the https:// is a secure domain. | <urn:uuid:34a35976-fff3-497e-a88b-03a73a9de550> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.affiliatemarketingdude.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=54&t=1187 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279368.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00330-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931725 | 201 | 1.796875 | 2 |
In the early days of the automobile, examples bodied in wood were hardly uncommon. In fact, wood was a natural choice, given that the craftsmen who made horse-drawn contraptions like wagons and coaches, and whose business evolved into car making, built most all of their conveyances in wood . . . wheels included. Metal soon became the favored material, as well-suited to volume stamping (think Ford Model T) as to handmade, bespoke commissions from the finest European and American coachbuilders. But wood still had its admirers, and probably the most well-known car—and certainly most beautiful—to wear a wooden body is the 1924 Hispano Suiza H6C Tulipwood Torpedo.
Founded in 1904, the Spanish automotive engineering company known as Hispano Suiza gained renown as a maker of luxurious, high-performance cars under the direction of Swiss engineer Marc Birkigt. Employing state-of-the-art technology with quality every bit the equal of Rolls-Royce, Hispano Suiza won races and attracted the attention of Spain’s King Alfonso XIII, who acquired more than two dozen examples over the years.
During World War I, the company provided more than 50,000 V-12 engines for Allied aircraft. Powerful and reliable, the engine became the basis for an inline-six mill—introduced in 1919 and made through 1933—that was essentially one half of the V-12 design. Advanced for its day, the 6.6-liter engine, called the H6, featured an aluminum head and block, a seven-bearing crank and shaft-driven overhead cam. It was eventually enlarged to 8.0-liter displacement with the H6C, in which form it developed about 195 hp, shifted by a three-speed transmission.
Using a ladder frame, the rolling chassis featured a power-assisted hydraulic drum brake system, an industry first that was so advanced it was even licensed to Rolls-Royce. Each Hispano Suiza was delivered as a rolling chassis to a client’s coachbuilder of choice. As a result, cars from the marque have featured stunning bodies from a variety of makers. The example offered by RM Sotheby’s during its annual sale in Monterey, Calif., from August 18 through 20, is justly famous, not just for its exquisite and unrepeatable body but because of its provenance and competition history.
As heir to the aperitif and cognac fortune, André Dubonnet was one of the automaker’s most important customers. He was also a pilot and “gentleman racer,” like his contemporary competitor Woolf Barnato, who captured eight international records in an H6. Dubonnet had ordered his H6C so that he could compete in the 1924 Targa Florio, commissioning Nieuport, a French aviation company, to build a lightweight, torpedo-shaped body in tulip wood, its planks attached to an aluminum frame with thousands of brass rivets.
At more than 18 feet long, the Hispano Suiza is huge—just ten inches shorter than a new Rolls-Royce Phantom—but weighs less than 3,500 pounds, of which the body accounts for only about 160 pounds. A 46-gallon fuel tank and low-profile competition radiator made the Torpedo a purpose-built machine, which Dubonnet piloted to sixth place in the 1924 race, later competing in the Coppa Florio where he finished fifth overall and first in class.
Following its short racing career, the car was modified for road use, eventually with new fenders to complement the torpedo body, along with copper trim embellishing the design. Recently in the Blackhawk Museum in Danville, Calif., this unique and irreplaceable masterpiece is expected to fetch as much as $12 million. | <urn:uuid:d73d9803-de6a-462a-8523-5f5f4f197265> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://robbreport.com/motors/cars/1924-hispano-suiza-h6c-tulipwood-torpedo-rm-sothebys-auction-1234694047/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570879.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809003642-20220809033642-00672.warc.gz | en | 0.971599 | 805 | 2.5625 | 3 |
Solid solution Bi2Cu0.5Mg0.5Nb2O9–δ with the pyrochlore structure is synthesized by three different methods. Its structure and chemical composition are confirmed by X-ray diffraction analysis, electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive spectroscopy. The electronic-ionic processes are studied by the method of impedance spectroscopy in the frequency range from 0.3 Hz to 1.0 MHz and the temperature range from 0 to 340°С. The data are processed with the use of ZView program. Electrochemical models of samples are obtained in the form of equivalent circuits. The sign of the main charge carrier is determined by the thermo-emf method. Nonlinear effects are studied based on voltammetric characteristics. It is found that at room temperature, the charge in samples is transferred by electrons and cations (presumably, copper). In the temperature range of 260–300°С, the capacitance of samples and the specific conductivity of their volume demonstrate local minimums. Insofar as at these temperatures the oxygen conduction may occur, it is assumed that associates of anions and cations are formed. The decrease in the concentration of charge carries is confirmed by sample’s equivalent circuit into which the Gerischer impedance is introduced to enhance the accuracy. It is shown that at t = 260°С, the lifetime of charge carriers is the minimum. | <urn:uuid:ef55e896-0122-4f53-bf54-85273eb87b33> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://sciendar.com/work/i1x0l0zxepazpmnnb3al | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570868.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808152744-20220808182744-00068.warc.gz | en | 0.947945 | 296 | 2.15625 | 2 |
Gary Rosenzweig looks at two ways to convert video files to mp3 audio files so you can listen to them on audio-only devices. The first method uses QuickTime Pro and iTunes. The second method uses FFMpegX.
You can slow down a section of a recorded track in Garageband. You'll need to isolate the track in its own Garageband file and then set things up just right to slow down the track.
Live Loops is a new feature of GarageBand for iOS that makes it easy and fun to create music. You can use one of the provided set of loops, or full in cells in a grid with recordings or loops to create your own. Then you can play Live Loops in real time and record. When you are done, you can go into the normal GarageBand interface to add more or fine tune.
Apple released a new free app for iPhone and iPad this week that allows music creators to easily capture new ideas. You can sign or play an instrument and record it. You can add backing bass and drums and play around with the song. You can then export to Garageband or upload to a number of different places.
The latest version of GarageBand allows you to create drum tracks using various settings rather than picking a fixed drum loop. You can select a drummer, and then change the style, which drums are used and many other factor to create a unique drum loop for your project. If nothing else, the drummer function in GarageBand is fun to play with!
You can use GarageBand as a basic audio editor. You can import most standard audio formats into a project and then proceed to trim, split or re-arrange the track. You can also use filters and add sound effects and loops. Then you can export the finished product as a new audio file.
You can use GarageBand on your Mac to create custom ringtones for your iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. You can combine your voice, GarageBand loops, instruments and external files to create almost anything you want. Then you can export them to iTunes and use iTunes to sync the ringtones to your iOS device. They can be assigned to ringtones, message tones, alerts or anywhere tones are used.
You can use GarageBand to create music with its built-in loops. By combining various loops, you can create a unique song to use in videos, presentations and elsewhere. Loops can be carried throughout the song, or appear only at certain times.
You can use GarageBand as a way to record your voice or anything with your Mac's microphone. You can record bits and pieces and rearrange and edit them. You can also overlay tracks. Each track can be altered with editable filters. You can then export your audio as a standard file to share or use in other software.
By using the GarageBand app on the iPhone, iPad or iPod touch, you can create ringtones and use them on your device, without needing to connect to a computer. You can use instruments, music loops, songs on your device or just record from the microphone. You can assign these ringtones to any alert sound in the Settings app.
Learn to use GarageBand for iPad to build a song. You can use pre-made Apple Loops in combination with tracks that you record using GarageBand's instruments. You can mix and combine them, and add song sections. Then you can export in a variety of ways to use the music in your projects or share with friends.
Have a look at using a real guitar with GarageBand for iPad. You can filter your guitar to make it sound like you are using a wide variety of amplifiers, pedals and settings. Also look at how you can record vocals. You can also use a microphone to record samples to play on the keyboard.
Learn how to use the Keyboards and Smart Keyboard instruments in GarageBand for iPad. You can choose from dozens of different keyboard instruments, each with its own set of features and controls. You can use scales and chords to easily make usable sequences of notes for your songs.
Learn how to use the smart bass and smart guitar instruments in GarageBand for iPad. You can play a variety of basses and guitars using single touches on virtual strings, or by using chord mode or autoplay mode. You can then record your playing into tracks to mix with other instruments.
GarageBand for iPad is a fun and useful app where you can build your own music. In this episode, we'll look at the two ways you can create drum loops. You can build them with a grid using the Smart Drums function. You can also play a virtual set of drums and record the session. Afterward, you can edit the drums beat for beat.
Automation curves are what let you control volume over time for an individual track or an entire song in GarageBand. In addition to volume, you can also control panning and sound effects. Master Track automation curves let you control pitch and tempo as well.
While iMovie doesn't really have any audio effects, its sibling app GarageBand allows you to take video clips, or an exported iMovie video and apply all sorts of effects. You can change voices, echo, distort, and so on. You can apply the change to the whole video, or only a portion. You can use the same techniques in regular audio projects.
It is difficult to change the tempo of an individual track in GarageBand because all tracks will match the tempo of the song by default. But if you copy tracks into new loops, you can hold the speed of those tracks steady as you adjust the tempo of the song.
Learn how to record your voice in GarageBand. You can record in segments, replacing and removing as you go along. You can also add intro music and background music. See how to export the final product as an audio file.
Learn how to record audio coming from applications using SoundFlower and WireTap Studio. SoundFlower acts as alternative sound input and output devices on your Mac. WireTap Studio lets you record and edit sound coming from all internal sources.
You can record multiple microphones each into its own track in GarageBand. First you must set up an aggregate device using the Audio MIDI Setup utility. Then you need to enable multitrack recording in GarageBand and give each track a channel from the aggregate device. To get all microphones working well it takes some trial and error.
Take a look at the new GarageBand app for iPad. It provides a similar, but simpler interface for editing music as compared to GarageBand for Mac. But it also has screens that allow you to play keyboards, guitar, bass and drums. You can play each note, or use smart instruments to quickly compose with chords, rhythms and beats.
Learn about GarageBand 11's new features that help you adjust the timing of recorded tracks. You can force one track to match the beat of another, adjust individual notes or force a track to adhere to consistent timing.
You can use GarageBand as a simple audio file editor. Just drag and drop a sound file into GarageBand to edit it. You can adjust the volume, cut out parts of the sound and apply filters. You can then export as a standard sound file or a compressed file.
Learn how to make a simple music loop using GarageBand in this excerpt from the MacMost.com Guide to Switching to the Mac by Gary Rosenzweig. You can use simple loops in photo slideshows, videos and other projects.
You can use GarageBand to edit your video's audio. You can filter the audio, add music, adjust the volume and re-arrange the sound.
Gary Rosenzweig shows you how to use GarageBand to make your own iPhone ringtones. You can use music and effects from GarageBand, or import your own sound files. Then you can transfer them to your iPhone via iTunes and assign them as your main ringtone or specific ringtones for specific contacts. You can also go to http://macmost.com/iphoneringtones/ to get some free ringtones to use. | <urn:uuid:3ed21ce7-1be3-4fc3-ae09-cb4e8169d9ee> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://macmost.com/tag/garageband | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00546-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.910067 | 1,652 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Essential for understanding the basics of reading a Human Design chart. Gain insight into how the open areas in your chart shape how you see the world and identity the major conditioning forces in your life.
Join Ra as he covers the chart analysis of live participants. Learn the basic mechanics of Penta and the Wa configuration. Delve into practical information for any student interested in group mechanics.
In Part 3 of the Not-Self course, Ra continues with the chart analysis of each of the participants. With each chart in front of you, listen to how Ra gives a reading - and learn how they are meant to be read! | <urn:uuid:f1541776-8dd1-423f-aa48-0572a1a8580a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://jovianarchive.com/Videos/15/The_Wa_Immersion-_The_Not-Self | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281746.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00285-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.914822 | 126 | 1.5625 | 2 |
Did Cash for Clunkers Hurt the Environment?
January 7, 2013 2 Comments
Drudge linked to that piece as a study, but it’s actually quoting facts from this article at E Magazine. So we’ve got some facts, but calling it a study is a stretch.
That said, the article raises some of the same questions that people wondered about at the time. Isn’t destroying a functional car bad for the environment? And won’t this reduce the supply of used cars and hurt poor people?
Shredding vehicles results in its own environmental nightmare. For each ton of metal produced by a shredding facility, roughly 500 pounds of “shredding residue” is also produced, which includes polyurethane foams, metal oxides, glass and dirt. All totaled, about 4.5 million tons of that residue is already produced on average every year. Where does it go? Right into a landfill.
E Magazine states recycling just the plastic and metal alone from the CARS scraps would have saved 24 million barrels of oil. While some of the “Clunkers” were truly old, many of the almost 700,000 cars were still in perfectly good condition. In fact, many that qualified for the program were relatively “young,” with fuel efficiencies that rivaled newer cars.
But all that vehicular destruction did more than create unnecessary waste for the environment. It also had some far-reaching economic effects.
According to a recent TriCities op-ed from Mike Smith of Ralph Smith Motors in Virginia, CARS created a dearth of used cars, artificially driving up prices. For those who needed an affordable car, but didn’t qualify for the program, this increase in price meant affordable transportation was well out of reach. It also meant used-car dealers, most of whom are independently owned, small-business owners, had little to no stock. According to Smith, 122 Virginia dealers chose not to renew their licenses after that year.
Another question is whether Cash for Clunkers created net additional demand for cars, or if it just pulled demand forward. Sure, lots of people bought cars during the program, but fewer people were buying cars when the program was over. So did car sales increase overall, or did sales just shift in time?
(We use to resell a product line that was famous for a while for having Crazy Eddie pricing at the end of every quarter to boost their sales numbers. At quarter end customers would buy and we’d buy extra inventory. But then the new quarter would start. Many customers and dealers already had what they needed, so the company’s sales numbers would look bad. At the end of the quarter they’d have fire sale prices again to make sales look good. This went on for a couple of years. Eventually they realized that they were cutting their own throats and quit with the Crazy Eddie routine.) | <urn:uuid:6c7e6294-17a8-4bb0-8bf9-c13fcf81ff9d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://lesjones.com/2013/01/07/did-cash-for-clunkers-hurt-the-environment/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281419.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00483-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979816 | 606 | 2.3125 | 2 |
"Pleasure Deficit" In Brain May Contribute to ADHD
the Psychiatry Advisor take:
A new study of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (Vyvanse) indicates that those who suffer from the disease are unable to do everyday activities with ease because they suffer a pleasure deficit making it extremely difficult to complete such tasks.
The results, presented at a meeting of the American Society of Clinical Psychopharmacology, strongly suggest that the brain's pleasure and reward system play a key role in ADHD.
Research conducted by Nora D. Volkow, MD, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and colleagues found that those suffering from ADHD may have problems with dopamine levels in the brain. And since dopamine is critical to human’s reward system, a dopamine dysfunction might lead some with ADHD to lack the same pleasure sensations that other enjoy.
In the study, researchers looked at the brains of 20 adults (11 men, nine women) with ADHD over at least four weeks. Participants were either given increasing titrated amounts of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate or placebo.
Following a passive-avoidance learning task given to participants during the trial, brain scans showed that those who took lisdexamfetamine dimesylate has increased activity in brain areas associated with reward, especially the ventral striatum and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
Military Brain-Chips to Cure Psychiatric Disorders?
Adults and children with ADHD frequently report that they just can't seem to do the things that keep their lives running smoothly.
Whether it's doing homework every day, remembering to pay bills, or keeping up-to-date with work projects, people with ADHD have more trouble completing tasks than average. Unsympathetic friends, family, and even clinicians occasionally advise people with ADHD to “just force yourself.”
A new study demonstrating how ADHD drug lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (Vyvanse) works in the brain, though, suggests that people with ADHD suffer a pleasure deficit that makes it challenging – if not impossible – to force themselves to complete tasks.
Psychiatry Advisor Articles
- Low-Dose Dexmedetomidine Reduces Postoperative Delirium in Older Patients
- Lithium Side Effects for Bipolar Disorder Lead to Lower Prescription Rates
- First-Episode Schizophrenia Approaches Aided by Guidelines Instrument
- Predictors of Favorable Outcomes in First-Episode Psychosis Without Medication
- Facebook Addiction Associated With Social Insecurity
- Suicide Prevention and Intervention: Cross-Cultural Perspectives
- Antipsychotic Switching in Schizophrenia: Immediate vs Gradual Discontinuation
- Bipolar Disorder Monotherapy Treatment Approved
- Slightly Higher HIV Screening in Patients With Severe Mental Illness
- Treating Pain in Depression May Improve Cognitive, Functional Outcomes | <urn:uuid:5d28f3b1-c70d-43e7-926a-0c0051429638> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.psychiatryadvisor.com/adhd/pleasure-deficit-in-brain-may-contribute-to-adhd/article/361688/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283301.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00512-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.918225 | 606 | 2.75 | 3 |
Essays play a big part in your college career, so it’s a good idea to start cracking down on your skills. You have to write them to get into college and you have to write them to complete college. The purpose of essays is to showcase your knowledge and ability to communicate it in written form. This is essential whether you’re going to Harvard or taking up Northeastern’s MBA online. If you didn’t pay much attention in English class in high school, it’s time to sharpen your writing skills now or you’re going to be in a world of trouble when college rolls around.
The following tips can be used to help you get a better handle on essay writing.
Always Brainstorm Before You Write
You don’t want to just start writing your essay without first planning out what you’ll say. What is your argument? Is it asking you to explain something, persuade others or answer certain questions? How will you hook the reader into the essay from the beginning? What fine points will you make? Are your arguments or explanations strong and supported? What sources will you use? Make sure that whatever sources you cite are reputable or they won’t be accepted. You can brainstorm your ideas on paper or on your computer. A road map is key for any destination or goal you wish to accomplish.
Don’t Edit as You Write
Your first draft doesn’t have to be perfect, so just continue writing until the end. Once you complete what you have to say, go back and do the editing. This will prevent you from losing your train of thought as you’re writing. You can return to the beginning to change ideas and sentences, and make any other corrections that are needed. This is a great way to get past writer’s block as well.
Adopt the Three Part Essay Model
There are three parts to every essay – the intro, body and conclusion. The first paragraph is your intro, so make it catchy. You can ask a question, make a wild but true statement or state a fact or opinion. The body of the essay should then support whatever concept or topic you introduced in the beginning. At the end, draw up the conclusion to your argument.
Be Specific and Focused
Colleges don’t like essays that ramble on without any direction or purpose. Make sure you have a main focus for your essay and ensure everything placed in there is relevant. You can do this by adopting a specific angle and backing it up with whatever evidence you have gathered.
Ask for Feedback
You may be your own worst critic, so get a second pair of eyes to review your essay. What you write may never be satisfying to you, which means you’ll never stop writing and correcting. Take your draft to friends, family and teachers to see what they think. Use the advice you gather, but make sure to keep your own voice. This is an issue a lot of people have when making corrections after obtaining feedback. | <urn:uuid:971e63f9-14a5-438c-8021-9c7fbb6583db> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://juliansherman.net/5-tips-for-crafting-an-amazing-college-essay/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280410.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00450-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933989 | 625 | 2.828125 | 3 |
Background: With the development of technology, human beings are increasingly under the exposure of Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR) (due to wireless technologies, mobile phones, base stations etc). The aim was to investigate the possible effects of Radio Frequency Radiation (RFR) on blood, aorta and heart tissue in hypertensive and non-hypertensive rats with various parameters. Materials and Methods: Male Wistar Albino rats were divided into 4 groups: 1.Control (C), 2.Hypertension (H), 3.RFR, 4.RFR+Hypertension (RFR+H). 60 mg/kg L-Nitroarginine Methyl Ester (L-NAME) was administered for 1 month by oral gavage to induce hypertension. The rats were exposed to 2100 MHz RFR for 60 minutes/day, 5 days/week for 8 weeks. Blood hematocrit, blood and plasma viscosity, malondialdehyde (MDA), total nitric oxide (NOX), and Total sulphydril groups (RSH) / glutathione (GSH) levels in plasma and heart tissue were determined. Histological examination of the aortic wall and left ventricular muscle was performed. Results: RFR exposure resulted in a marked increase in cardiac and plasma MDA and NOX levels and a decrease in RSH/GSH levels (p<0.05). Blood viscosity increased in the hypertensive group with RFR exposure (p<0.05). There was an increase in left ventricular weight and number of muscle cells in hypertensive groups (p<0.05). Conclusion: According Our study suggests that exposure to RFR causes more negative effects on hypertension in terms of oxidative stress and antioxidants in the heart and plasma. Also, RFR exposure showed more prominent left ventricular fibrosis and aortic degenerative effects in hypertensive groups. | <urn:uuid:ab571357-3d89-430d-9730-e02a341430a9> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://avesis.lokmanhekim.edu.tr/yayin/12b86f6e-b842-47b4-bb0e-c9d0a667f077/effects-of-2100-mhz-radio-frequency-radiation-on-the-viscosity-of-blood-and-oxidative-stress-parameters-in-hypertensive-and-normal-rats | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572833.95/warc/CC-MAIN-20220817032054-20220817062054-00466.warc.gz | en | 0.90421 | 392 | 2.5625 | 3 |
This year my 7 year old son Luke wanted to be a penguin and a shark. After racking my brain for what I could make that would incorporate both a penguin and a shark, I decided to try creating an illusion costume of a penguin (his favorite animal) carrying him (the boy), while being attacked by a baby shark.
It was a challenge to figure out how to make this costume but it was hilarious to see him wearing the finished product. I started with a foam mat rolled into a cylinder to create the penguin at the bottom of the costume. I measured and trimmed the mat to the right height, then covered the mat in black fur fabric. To this I added a white penguin face and tummy and secured it to the cylinder.
Next I used a 30 inch floaty to top the mat, then attached suspenders to the top of the penguin. I used large googly eyes and fashioned a beak using mat pieces covered in fabric. Two slits were cut into the sides of the covered cylinder for insertion of the wings to be inserted at an angle so that the penguin looks like he is holding a boy up on a floaty. I added a tail to the back to complete the penguin.
Next challenge was to create life like legs and feet, I used the legs of an old pair of jeans and slipper socks for the feet. Pipe insulation and a ball were used to create the legs inside the jeans with added stuffing. The legs and feet were glued to the penguin over the floaty.
I finished the costume with penguin feet worn over the shoes, a sweatshirt jacket to cover the suspenders, and a light up shark hat for Luke’s head. Lighting was added under the floaty to accentuate the penguin under the floaty.
My son loved this costume, he had a lot of fun wearing, it was very lightweight and no sewing was involved. Everywhere he went people stared and asked how he was moving while sitting on a floaty. Most people had to squeeze the legs to figure it out. | <urn:uuid:76644f62-c3be-4caa-8b36-37d9b15100b1> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://ideas.coolest-homemade-costumes.com/2015/11/29/boy-on-a-penguin-ride-illusion-costume/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00547-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97177 | 427 | 1.625 | 2 |
Date: Thursday, 26 August 2021
Time: 2.00pm - 4.00pm
Lee Wai Kong received a Ph.D. degree in engineering from Universiti
Abdul Rahman (UTAR), Malaysia, in 2018. His research interests are in the areas
of cryptography, numerical algorithms, GPU computing, Internet of Things, and
energy harvesting. He is currently a post-doctoral researcher in Gachon
University, South Korea. Before that, he was an Assistant Professor
Processing Units (GPU) is originally developed for graphics and video
applications, but nowadays it is widely used in many applications beyond
graphics. The booming of blockchain technology invited many "miners"
to develop efficient hashing software to perform high performance proof-of-work
consensus (mining). GPU also accounted for the success of deep learning
applications, wherein the massively parallel GPU architecture is turned into an
efficient machine for neural networks training and inference. In this talk, an
overview of the GPU architecture and programming model will be given, followed
by some successful development of GPU-based implementation techniques for
lattice-based cryptographic schemes. Some potential research directions of
GPU-based cryptographic engineering will also be discussed.
To attend this virtual talk, please register with the following link:
*Registered participants will be added to a Microsoft Teams Group. For UTAR Students, please register with 1UTAR email address for the reward of USSDC points. | <urn:uuid:de6a1d86-cd4e-446f-b236-d452043696fa> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://ccs.research.utar.edu.my/Invited_Talk_by_Dr-_Lee_Wai_Kong.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571090.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809215803-20220810005803-00072.warc.gz | en | 0.923284 | 325 | 2.09375 | 2 |
Ever since the spread of the passenger railway network in Victorian times, the seaside has held an attraction for British people. As the rail tracks made the coast more accessible it was tradition for the wealthy, and then later the working class, to make day trips to the seaside, and later when resorts grew, they took holidays as well.
It wasn’t just the fish and chips, variety style entertainment shows, or walks along the promenade that appealed, it was the health benefits of being by the coast, and experiencing the salty and fresh sea air. Sea bathing was very popular, and even recommended by doctors. Fast forward to 2012, and there was a new media influx of articles proclaiming the benefits of seaside living. Surveys conducted by the European Centre For Environment And Human Health, examined census data, and conducted a survey of 2,750 people, looking at the effects on them, of different outdoor environments such as the countryside, urban parks, and the seaside. The seaside came out on top for a sense of well-being, being a favourite place to exercise, and in terms of the census data conclusions made, people were more likely to declare themselves happy and healthy living by the coast.
There are many other reports suggesting that as Brits, we really do love to be beside the seaside, something that’s celebrated in Coast Magazine. This is a whole publication celebrating the UK coastline, from its history, to things to do, places to see, and the people and communities that live alongside the sea. Their website and magazine contains lots of useful travel reviews, and features on recipes, interior design, and lots of information on living by the sea, and the types of seaside properties that come up for sale.
But Coast Magazine isn’t the only place you can find information on homes by the sea. This site will take a journey around the UK, filling you in on some of the best coastal destinations, from small fishing villages like St Mawes in Cornwall, to the coastal town of Whitby in North Yorkshire, and the historical maritime town of Rye in East Sussex. Also look out for features on North Berwick in Lothian, Aldeburgh in Suffolk, and Olban in Argyll. Each has its own interesting story to tell, an interesting history, and lots to recommend it to those thinking of moving to the coast.
If you’re thinking of buying a home by the sea, here are a few tips that Prime Location offered to its readers.
- Some seaview homes may have higher maintenance charges because of sea and saltwater damage
- You shouldn’t impulsively think about buying a home with great sea views, without having a survey done first.
- When researching coastal destinations, visit any possibilities out of season, so you can experience what a seaside town or village is like in the (sometimes quieter and bleaker) winter months.
- Also check local tidal conditions and flood prevention methods in the area you are considering moving to, as this may affect your decisions.
- If you’re partly buying a property for a sea view, then check to see if there are any development plans in the future which may obscure it. | <urn:uuid:c0a789ee-aaa8-45e9-855b-cf06652b6aee> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.homes-by-the-sea.co.uk/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00473-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964043 | 660 | 1.703125 | 2 |
St. Louis Business Journal
June 7, 2013
An environmental group and a Washington farmer each filed suit against
Monsanto yesterday, bringing to three the number of lawsuits the company faces over claims it failed to prevent genetically modified wheat from contaminating regular wheat fields.
The Center for Biological Diversity and Dreger Enterprises, a Washington farm, each filed suit in Spokane, Wash., yesterday, Bloomberg reports. A Kansas farmer filed a similar suit against Monsanto earlier in the week.
In its suit, the Center for Biological Diversity’s lawyers said they seek to represent all people and entities that grew soft white wheat since May 13. The suit seeks a court ordering finding Monsanto negligent, compensation for the plaintiffs’ losses and an order requiring Monsanto to decontaminate wheat fields. | <urn:uuid:1b673c3f-7747-476e-bcc3-50c616ed0fd5> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.prisonplanet.com/monsanto-faces-third-lawsuit-regarding-rogue-wheat.html/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719273.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00065-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.898919 | 159 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Teaching resources for KS3 and GCSE History
How does conflict damage national health?
MSF presents an animation, commissioned in 2018 to look at the topic of conflict and national health. The PowerPoint presentation explains the difficulties and consequences of treating epidemics in conflict zones. It compares two case studies, 100 years apart: influenza in 1918 and Ebola in 2018-20.
This resource is particularly helpful for students of KS3 and GCSE History and includes some past paper exam questions.
Attention History teachers!
Are you a teacher who uses these resources in the classroom? If so, we would love to hear your feedback, good or bad, to help us keep improving our resources. Please send us an e-mail with your thoughts.
Look out for more resources from MSF on the Times Educational Supplement website | <urn:uuid:260941c5-3b61-40c3-85e4-e2ab8717a035> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://stories.msf.org.uk/teaching-resources-ks3-and-gcse-history | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571150.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20220810070501-20220810100501-00671.warc.gz | en | 0.899995 | 166 | 3.328125 | 3 |
Students and staff at Rochester Grammar School are celebrating today after receiving outstanding GCSE results. 100% of students achieving 5 A*-C grades including English and Maths, placing the school as amongst the highest performing in the country.
95% of students achieved at least a Grade 5 in English and Maths – defined by the Government as a “strong pass” or better, and every single student achieved a Grade 4 or better in English and Maths, with a 4 the new grade set by the Government as a pass. This matches the success of last year, despite the fact that the exams this year are widely perceived to have been made more difficult.
RGS is a member of the Thinking Schools Academy Trust (TSAT), a family of thirteen schools in Medway and Portsmouth that prides itself on academic excellence and providing the best possible cognitive education for all students.
Progress across the school was also particularly strong, underlining the value that Rochester Grammar adds to students from when they join aged 11. The provisional “Progress 8” score – which measures improvement from Year 7 across eight subjects, including key academic subjects – was 0.44. That equates to each student achieving on average almost half a grade better per subject than they had been expected to achieve when they joined.
In the core subjects of English and Maths, where students were sitting reformed examinations for the first time, a high proportion of students achieved the very highest grades. In English Literature, 55% of students achieved a 7 or above (equivalent to an A, A* or higher), and the figure was 59% in English Language and 57% in Maths.
Clare Brinklow, Head of School, said:
“This is the first year of the new GCSEs, and English and Maths are tougher than in previous years, with new grades introduced as well – but our students and staff have responded brilliantly, as shown by today’s results.
“I am so proud of all of our students. I know how much time, effort and dedication goes into achieving these outstanding results. I wish to congratulate all our year 11 students and as ever, thank the teaching staff for all their hard work.” | <urn:uuid:35496db9-ad4f-4db8-b437-c6d30ef37512> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.rochestergrammar.org.uk/2017/08/rochester-grammar-school-celebrates-outstanding-gcse-results/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571950.76/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813111851-20220813141851-00673.warc.gz | en | 0.974661 | 457 | 1.90625 | 2 |
“Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain.”
– Carl Jung
Massage is the manipulation of the body’s soft tissues. Massage techniques are commonly applied with hands, fingers, elbows, knees, forearms, feet, or a device. The purpose of massage is generally for the treatment of body stress or pain. A person who was professionally trained to give massages was traditionally known as a masseur or a masseuse, but those titles are outmoded, and carry some negative connotations. In the United States, the title massage therapist has been recognized as a business norm for those who have been professionally trained to give massages.
Massage therapy history dates back thousands of years to ancient cultures that believed in it’s medical benefits. The first written records of massage therapy are found in China and Egypt.
2700 BCE: The first known Chinese text is called “The Yellow Emperor’s Classic Book of Internal Medicine.” This book was first published in English in 1949, but has become a staple in massage therapy training and is also often used as a textbook for teaching many other forms of alternative medicine such as acupuncture, acupressure and herbology.
2500 BCE: Egyptian tomb paintings show that massage therapy was also a part of their medical tradition. Egyptians get the credit for pioneering reflexology. Their studies and traditions greatly influenced other cultures such as the Greeks and Romans.
1500 and 500 BCE: The first known written massage therapy traditions come from India, but practice may have actually originated around 3000 BCE or earlier. Hindus used the art of healing touch in the practice of Ayurvedic medicine. Ayurveda, a Sanskrit word, translates to “life health” or “life science.” It is regarded as the basis of holistic medicine, combining meditation, relaxation and aromatherapy.
Early 1800s: It was from this early massage therapy history that the Swedish doctor, gymnast and educator Per Henril Ling developed a method of movement known as the “Swedish Movement System.” This is regarded as the foundation for Swedish massage most commonly used in the West today.
Although the “Swedish Movement System” was developed by Ling, it was Dutchman Johan Georg Mezger who defined the basic hand strokes of Swedish massage.
Today the most common types of massage practiced in the western hemisphere are Swedish massage and the Japanese massage practice of Shiatsu.
Considering the long history of massage, its incorporation into Western medicine is only in its infancy. The potential for growth and research of the healing properties of therapeutic massage and body work has gained great momentum over the last fifty years, and the public demand for massage therapy is at an all-time high.
As a preventative practice, therapeutic massage is used in spas, gyms and work places all over the country. Using massage therapy to promote balance and maintain internal and external health is something that is now a standard part of the North American lifestyle.
In the health care industry, massage is commonly used in hospitals, nursing homes and birthing centers. It is also used in physical therapy and in chiropractic clinics to treat pain, increase circulation and expedite the healing of injured muscles. | <urn:uuid:3e49ab0c-49a7-44d3-b7bb-661af0ac0471> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://maplebrookacupuncture.com/massage/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571719.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20220812140019-20220812170019-00277.warc.gz | en | 0.95827 | 672 | 2.90625 | 3 |
Proper Lighting, Heating, and Humidity for Iguanas
Lighting & Heating
Hot rocks are not recommended for iguanas! Not only are hot rocks inadequate in providing heat, but they are dangerous. There have been numerous cases of iguanas obtaining serious burns from hot rocks. Heat and light should come from above, since in the wild iguanas bask in the sunlight. Ordinary incandescent light bulbs work great to provide both heat and light. You do not need to purchase expensive “basking bulbs” from the pet store. These are no different than ordinary bulbs.
What wattage of bulbs you will need depends upon the ambient air temperature of the room and the size of the enclosure or basking area. Do not guess when it comes to temperature! It is imperative that you install a few good, reliable thermometers at various places in the enclosure to give you an accurate temperature readout. You can also hook up dimmer switches to your lights, which will allow for minute temperature adjustment.
Hooded clamp fixtures work well for basking lights, come in a variety of sizes and can be positioned in various ways within an enclosure. Be sure to use fixtures that are designed to accommodate the bulb wattage you are using. If you are using high wattage bulbs (150-250W), you must use a fixture with a ceramic socket to prevent fire hazard. Be sure to place the fixtures in such a position that your iguana cannot climb on or touch them.
If you place the fixtures inside the enclosure, it is a good idea to add a wire “bulb guard”, such as you see in the photo below, to prevent your iguana from coming into direct contact with hot bulbs. Bulb guards can be made from hardware cloth or other safe types of wire. If you have a smaller iguana that is likely to climb up on and/or cling to the light fixtures, consider placing the fixtures outside of the enclosure.
This simple bulb guard was made from a small piece of hardware cloth, which is held in place by the simple guard that came with the fixture. The edges of the wire have been bent under so that no sharp edges are exposed.
Nighttime heat – Like all other animals, iguanas must have a day/night cycle. We recommend a 12:12 or a 13:11 cycle. This means that you must shut your iguana’s lights off at night for 12 or 13 hours, or better yet, have them on a timer that turns them off at night and on again in the morning so you do not have to remember to do it. This allows the iguana to regulate behaviors and rest peacefully when necessary. Not providing a day/night light cycle can stress an iguana, causing behavioral changes such as feeding, pooping and unnecessary aggression.
Iguanas can and should have cooler temperatures at night, but they still need ambient air temperatures to fall no lower than 75-78ºF. How then, do you provide best heat lamp for iguanas, if you use light bulbs to heat the enclosure? There are a few methods of providing nighttime heat. One of the best is to use Ceramic Heat Emitters (CHEs), which screw into an incandescent light fixture and give off only heat, not light.
These are available in different wattages. It is possible to have a set up where the lights come on in the morning and turn off at night, and the CHEs come on at night and turn off in the morning. Another possibility is to use a low wattage CHE 24 hours a day in addition to the daytime lights. Since iguanas can and should have cooler temperatures at night, a CHE of the appropriate wattage should provide adequate nighttime warmth.
A word of caution about CHEs – they get very hot and can be fire hazards and/or dangerous to your iguana if not used correctly. Be sure to use them only in fixtures with porcelain or ceramic sockets, and keep them away from dry wood or fabrics that are flammable. Be sure to place them in a way that will not allow your iguana to come in contact with them, because their surfaces get very hot and can cause severe burns.
Use only the appropriate extension cords that can handle the amount of wattage you plan to plug into them. A CHE can be an efficient and safe source of heat for your iguana, but only if you use them properly. Be sure to read all of the directions and cautionary statements supplied by the manufacturer. Be safe, use your common sense, and above all, be careful – not only with CHEs, but with other heating and lighting devices as well.
In addition to CHEs, there are other methods of providing nighttime heat, such as letting your iguana sleep on a human heating pad wrapped in a soft towel. It can be dangerous to use heating pads for long time periods unsupervised, so CHEs are probably the better way to go.Some people use nighttime blue or red light bulbs to provide warmth at night. Some iguanas do not mind this at all, while others are bothered by the light and have trouble sleeping. You may want to watch your iguana carefully for signs of stress if you decide to try these nighttime bulbs.
In addition to these heating methods, many herp supply stores carry items such as “pig blankets”, radiant heat panels, and heat tape, which may be appropriate nighttime heat sources for your iguana’s enclosure. It is a good idea to explore all options to help you decide what will work the best for you.
Iguanas require a source of UV radiation, specifically UVA and UVB. UVA is used by the iguana, just like humans, for a general sense of well-being. UVA is necessary to keep the Iguana happy and feeling good. UVA is easily supplied to your iguana through window glass or your standard room lighting. Providing a source of UVA like window exposure or room lighting will satisfy the UVA requirements for your iguana.
UVB is the tougher of the two to supply. There are many fallacies concerning UVB sources and it is very important that you know quite a bit about it and how it works. Being a diurnal creature (awake in the daytime), iguanas are basking reptiles that require a strong source of UVB (in a very specific range) in order to properly synthesize Vitamin-D, which allows them to absorb calcium from their digested foods.
Without proper calcium metabolism, the iguana’s system will begin to use calcium from the bone structure in order to satisfy the requirements that keep their nervous system functioning properly. This leeching of calcium from the bones weakens them over time and causes a serious and often fatal set of illnesses including nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism, fibrous osteodystrophy, rickets, osteomalacia, and metastatic mineralization, all relating to the common term Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD). To better understand the way UVB is used by your iguana, please read Calcium Metabolism in Iguanas by Dominick Giorgianni.
Remember – the absolute best source of UV light is the sun. When using natural sun exposure be sure to follow these guidelines:
UVB from natural sunlight is filtered out by most window glass and significantly reduced by obstructions like screen or mesh.
Preferably the ambient temperatures outside should be close to optimal. Do not leave your iguana outside if temperatures are lower than 80 degree and higher than 100 degrees.
Be sure your iguana is secure in its outside basking location, preferably a basking cage. Unprotected or unsecured iguanas can fall prey to birds and other wildlife or run off and are rarely ever found again. You should supervise the iguana while outside until you are sure there is no possible way him it to get harmed, injured or escape.
Be sure to provide plenty of shade for the iguana while outdoors. Iguanas need to thermo-regulate to protect against excessive heat. Half of the basking cage should be sunny, the other half well shaded, allowing the iguana to move from sun to shade at will.
Be sure to provide a good source of water during the basking time. Iguanas can quickly dehydrate and will need access to clean water at all times while outdoors.
Provided there is a shaded area, the iguana will stay at a comfortable temperature and the amount of sun exposure will be determined by the iguana. As little as an hour a day will provide the iguana with all the UVB it requires.
The use of artificial UV bulbs or lamps in your iguana’s basking area is strongly recommended – especially if you live in an area where your iguana cannot bask in the sun every day. UVB lamps are a hotly debated topic and the better educated you are, the better off your iguana will be. It is important to remember that not all UV lamps are created equal! In this regard the old adage, “Let the Buyer Beware” is very pertinent. Many ill-advised or unscrupulous companies will advertise that their lamps provide the proper levels of UVA and UVB for basking reptiles. While these lamps can provide a source of useable UVB, they vary greatly on the amount and how long it will last.
There are currently two types widely available of lamps that will emit enough UVB light to be beneficial to your iguana: Fluorescent tubes and Mercury Vapor lamps. Both of these types of UV lights can be purchased at pet stores and can be ordered from herpetological suppliers such as those listed on our Companies and Stores page.
By far the most widely used and accessible type of UV bulb or lamp is the fluorescent tube. Just like natural sunlight, these tubes need to be set up and used responsibly in order to provide your iguana with the life-sustaining amount of UVB it needs to live a long, happy and healthy life. Several brands of fluorescent UVB lights are available, but not all brands are of equal quality. The Green Iguana Society recommends the ZooMed Iguana Light 5.0 (also called Reptisun 5.0).
This bulb has been on the market for some time and has been shown through studies to provide large enough amounts of UV light to keep your iguana healthy. We recommend that you mount two ZooMed 5.0 bulbs in a high-quality fluorescent fixture to get the best results. Ordinary “full-spectrum” fluorescent bulbs (such as plant-grow bulbs) do not produce adequate amounts UVB! Only bulbs especially made for reptiles do. When selecting a fluorescent lighting solution, please be sure to choose one that is specifically made for basking reptiles and all is rated for high UVB emissions.
There are several factors that are important to remember when setting up fluorescent lamps:
The fixture should be no more than 8” from the basking spot where the iguana spends its time basking. UV wavelengths only travel up to 8″ or so from the bulb, so if your iguana sits any further away than 6-8″, it will not get the benefit of the UV light.
Light, heat and ambient air temperatures should all be balanced and monitored to ensure a safe environment for your iguana.
Tube output should be periodically tested using a Solarmeter 6.2 Spectral radiometer. For more information about the Solarmeter 6.2. Solarmeters are also available through Carolina pet supply.
Without a meter, it is best to replace the tubes every six-nine months because after this time, the UV degrades to the point that it is no longer useful, although the bulb still produces visible light. One bulb changing schedule that works well is to put fresh bulbs in around the time when real sunlight basking time is becoming scarce, such as in the fall for those that live in northern climates. The bulbs are then at their full strength when your iguana is relying more heavily on the artificial UV source. Then, when the bulbs’ UV output in dwindling in the spring and summer, your iguana is getting plenty of access to real sunlight.
Multiple tubes may be necessary to emit the proper levels of UVB.
The ballast contained in your fixture may affect the UVB output. High-quality fixtures with an electronic ballast will get the best performance out of an UVB tube.
There can be no obstruction of the light emitted from the fluorescent tubes. This means that no glass or plastic cover or shield should be used. The light must go directly from the tube to the iguana. Glass and plastic filter out UVB wavelengths.
Merycury Vapor lamps
Mercury Vapor lamps (bulbs) are a newer way to provide your iguana with UVB rays. Mercury Vapor (MV) bulbs screw into an ordinary light fixture like an incandescent bulb. MV reptile lighting technology has advanced by leaps and bounds recently and is now a cost-effective, viable solution for an artificial UVB source, and in some cases is even better than fluorescents. MV lamps produce up to three-times more UVB in the 290-300 nanometer range (D-UV, the most beneficial to the iguana) of the total UVB output than tube-style bulbs. There has been great debate over the safety and usefulness of this type of lighting source. As the technology continues to advance, manufacturers are beginning to address safety concerns and stability and significantly decrease the “hazards” of mercury vapor lamp use.
It is important to realize that there are two types of MV bulbs: those with an internal ballast, and those with an external ballast. Although both give off high amounts of UVB, these two types of bulbs are actually quite different in their properties. The internally-ballasted bulbs are the type more commonly sold at pet stores and include brands such as Mega-Ray, T-Rex Spots and ZooMed Powersuns. Internally-ballasted MV bulbs give off heat as well as UVB. In this way they are convenient because you can provide your iguana with both heat and UVB from one bulb in one fixture.
However, the internally-ballasted bulbs have a high failure rate, regardless of the bulb brand. Because the bulb gets so hot, the fragile filament breaks easily if the bulb is jiggled while it is on. The externally-ballasted bulbs are not as easy to find, but they are sturdier and have a much lower failure rate than the internally-ballasted bulbs. This is because they do not give off much heat, so the filament does not get as hot. In this way, the externally-ballasted MV bulbs are more similar to the traditional fluorescent tube, and therefore additional, separate heat bulbs must be used in the enclosure.
Based on current research, the Green Iguana Society strongly recommends the Mega-Ray MV bulb by Westron lighting/Mac Industries. Of the different types of mercury-vapor UVB bulbs available, the Mega-ray consistently gives off high amounts of UVB and has a lower UVB decay rate than other bulb brands. In addition, externally-ballasted Mega-rays are also available.
As with any lighting solution, there are several guidelines that must be followed when using any type of MV bulbs:
Set up your MV lamp according to manufacturer’s guidelines and instructions concerning placement and distances.
Closely monitor the iguana and enclosure to ensure proper temps are maintained.
Be mindful of the bulb’s direction and placement in a room so as to minimize the exposure to humans. Because they produce high UVB levels, treat a MV lamp like natural sunlight. Excessive and prolonged direct exposure by humans is not desirable.
Monitor the UVB output using a Spectral Radiometer (UVB meter). Strong MV lamps should only be used in conjunction with a radiometer to measure UVB output on a regular basis.
As with fluorescents, there should be no obstruction of light between the lamp and the iguana. | <urn:uuid:769e1ce9-51ae-4bc7-b4e8-8fd6c1624aec> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://barkingorders.net/proper-lighting-heating-and-humidity-for-reptile/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572127.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815024523-20220815054523-00268.warc.gz | en | 0.932921 | 3,347 | 2.3125 | 2 |
Little Richard, Genre-Bending Music Pioneer, Dead at 87
Little Richard, the flamboyant musician whose decades-long career spanned rock, R&B and gospel music, has died at the age of 87.
Rolling Stone reports that the legendary rock and roll pioneer's son, Danny Penniman. confirmed his death to the publication on Saturday (May 9), saying the cause of death is unknown.
Little Richard was born Richard Wayne Penniman on Dec. 5, 1932, in Macon, Ga., as one of 12 children. He grew up in poverty and was first exposed to music while singing in church. Rolling Stone reports that he moved in with a white family at the age of 13 after his father accused him of being gay, and he began performing in local clubs in Macon by the age of 15 and won a local talent show, taking on the name Little Richard because nobody could pronounce his real name properly.
Little Richard landed a record deal with RCA in 1951, but his career advanced slowly until 1956, when he hit the charts with a groundbreaking single called "Tutti Frutti," which he wrote in his head while working a job washing dishes. That song introduced his unique style and flamboyant persona to audiences everywhere, and he quickly followed up with a string of hits that would become classics, including “Rip It Up," “Lucille” and “Good Golly Miss Molly."
His over-the-top persona, wailing vocal delivery, piano skills and high-energy live shows made him into one of rock's biggest early pioneers and superstars right alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and other white performers of the era, and Little Richard is often credited with helping black performers garner acceptance from mainstream white audiences.
The entertainer struggled with his sexual identity throughout much of his life, and he abandoned his rock music career in 1957 to attend Bible school and become an ordained minister after he became convinced he would be condemned. He switched his focus to gospel music for a period before returning to his rock roots, and he would thereafter pursue gospel music off and on and espouse Christianity, while alternately describing himself as gay, attracted to both sexes or condemning homosexuality outright.
Though his career never again attained the heights of his fiery early years, Little Richard went on to become a cultural icon whose influence was reflected in generations of artists including the Beatles, Elton John, Prince and many more. He was one of the first ten artists inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986, and he received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy in 1993.
The music icon was based in Nashville in his later years, and he continued to perform sporadically. Funeral plans have not been announced publicly.
Remembering the Country Artists Who Died in 2019: | <urn:uuid:b9ec51f5-8905-429a-9f59-91425a5ad372> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://wgna.com/little-richard-dead-dies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573193.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818094131-20220818124131-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.9864 | 577 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Eric W. Biederman
ebiederman at lnxi.com
Fri Jun 15 18:08:48 CEST 2007
"ron minnich" <rminnich at gmail.com> writes:
> This should all be so simple.
> The original idea was that LB would turn on dram, call OS, done. OS
> would do all config space.
> Then, turned out linux can't configure unconfigured PCI BARs. And, we
> needed to do some PCI config for SPD.
> So, LB starts doing ALL PCI config -- no way out.
> Then, turns out some devices put things in IO space that affect PCI
> config space. YUCK! But we have to start doing things in IO space for
> PCI config space.
> Then, turns out that many IRQ tables are wrong. So, we start setting IRQs.
> And so on and so on ....
> Really, I think LB should only do those things the OS can not possibly
> do. The "OS can't do" is a boundary we hoped would be very solid and
> immovable. The problem is, buggy hardware, and buggy kernels, make
> that boundary very, very hard to find. And, both hardware and kernels
> keep changing --> the boundary is flexible. In 1999 I thought there
> would be simple, hard rules; I was quite wrong.
I think we can have a definition that is slightly more stringent.
LinuxBIOS should take care of the motherboard specific details, and
ensure architectural hardware shows up at the architectural defined
None of this suggests we will setup any of this hardware for use
other than setting it's bars.
It makes the responsibility of the OS/payload to figure out how to
use everything that is not hardware specific.
> Every new piece of hardware seems to push the boundary around in some
> way. It is difficult sometimes to know what to do. But, in the end, LB
> should really try to do almost nothing, and let its payload(s) do
> almost everything.
More information about the coreboot | <urn:uuid:8f0acfe1-7b8d-4efd-824a-9d9f105acec4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.coreboot.org/pipermail/coreboot/2007-June/022292.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00070-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939957 | 456 | 1.546875 | 2 |
You may know Christina Hendricks best from her role as Joan Holloway in Mad Men. There, she drinks liquor for lunch, types up notes using — what else? — a typewriter, and keeps the younger ladies in the office in line. After all, it’s the 1960s — what else is she to do?
(Photo Credit: Funnyordie.com)
Though Mad Men is currently between seasons, Hendricks’s character is revived in a brilliant PSA that debuted this week, which we spotted first on HelloGiggles, only this time in a “modern office” featuring smartphones and desktop computers. As we watch Joan try to erase typos on her computer screen, make martinis in the lunchroom and bring her own jello salad to work for lunch, her new co-workers from the year 2014 ask her what in the world she’s doing. Is she really incapable of working in office 50 years ahead of her time?
Holloway (or rather Hendricks) replies that “In the United States, women make 23 percent less than their male counterparts. Almost 70 percent of the minimum wage work force is female, but only 15 percent of fortune 500 CEOs are. …If we’re going to run our businesses like it’s the 1960s, I’m going to act like it.”
There’s much more to the story. PayScale’s research shows that there is definitely a gap in pay between men and women, at least partly due to the fact that more women work in jobs that pay less. The CEO pay gap is also a notable problem — regardless of gender. (Although as Hendricks points out, women are more likely to have those low-earning jobs.) The worst offender? CVS, which pays its CEO over $12 million per year, while its average employee only makes $28,000 per year.
When you look at the data, it does seem like Joan has a point: we may as well work like it’s the 1960s with these kind of numbers — unless we do something about it.
Tell Us What You Think
How bad do you think the pay gap is? We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or join the discussion on Twitter. | <urn:uuid:04f8fc60-7662-4489-b7bc-a104afd266d4> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://v2-wp-staging.payscale.com/career-news/2014/08/christina-hendricks-makes-a-plea-for-equal-pay-with-psa | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572192.79/warc/CC-MAIN-20220815145459-20220815175459-00070.warc.gz | en | 0.970062 | 472 | 2.015625 | 2 |
ERIC Number: ED035027
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1968
Reference Count: 0
The School Psychologist As A Therapist. A Psychological Services Monograph on Psycho-Educational Therapy.
Jackson, John H.; Bernauer, Margaret
The hypothesis explored in this report is whether a staff of school psychologists can successfully provide therapy in the schools to students and adults, even when their previous training has neglected therapy. The therapy program is conducted under the auspices of Milwaukee Public Schools under Title I. Both administrators and psychologists set up the program. Only students with serious problems, a total of no more than 25 per building were seen for therapy. A total of six different therapy programs were offered to the disadvantaged, their parents and their teachers. These programs are described in detail. The criteria evolved for indicating the type of therapy for each child is discussed thoroughly. Techniques used are also presented. The responsibility of the therapist is given, as well as his role within the school. The Volunteer Aide program, the Behavior Modification program, and cognitive structure work are also discussed in relation to the therapy program. (KJ)
Publication Type: N/A
Education Level: N/A
Sponsor: Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: Milwaukee Public Schools, WI. | <urn:uuid:8cc7e3cf-0737-4b57-af9d-c7edb76735a8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED035027 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280763.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00516-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95261 | 274 | 2.265625 | 2 |
Parents play an essential role in the education of their children and at GEMS we believe that parents who take an active and consistent interest in their child’s education at home will contribute to the child’s success in school. A study by Professor John Hatte from Melbourne Universtiy shows that “consistent engagement can add 2-3 years of formal education, result in higher grades, improve attitude, attendance, life choices, social skills, behavior and effort.”
At GEMS, we proud ourselves in proposing an active programme for parents including coffee mornings, a variety of workshops, conference opportunities with teachers, sports, whole school events as well as having a point of contact for parents to give any feedback and comments. Our workshops cover topics related to the learning that is happening in the classrooms as well as subjects particular to an international community.
What makes us even more proud is the active programme that volunteer parents have established for the school community. The GEMS Parent Group organise 2 events per Term for the whole school and these have included a Winter Market, a fund-raising Gala, a family BBQ, bake-sales and a Halloween party. In addition, they have created parent sports clubs, French and German conversation clubs, parent social ski days and winetasting evenings, and they have designed a dedicated website for all parents. | <urn:uuid:ba67feef-759e-437a-b23d-9cc5f20c1233> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://internationalschoolparent.com/role-parents-gems-world-academy-switzerland/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285289.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00145-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964516 | 274 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Congress is a mess — and so is the federal government it controls. But this is nothing new. The realization that Congress is a cesspool of corruption may have been heightened by the Abramoff scandal, but is not exactly a shock. Americans have long held Congress in low esteem.
How low? A New York Times poll finds that 77 percent of us believe that lobbyists bribing members of Congress is "the way things work in Congress." Only 16 percent think the recent scandals are "isolated incidents." A Rasmussen Reports release on its polling tells us, "Americans Not Shocked by Abramoff," and that 40 percent of Americans judge used-car salesmen to be "more ethical than members of Congress."
The problem of a corrupt Congress is compounded by three bigger problems:
Many will quibble with the assertion that Congress is somehow beyond our control. As Lily Tomlin once joked, "Ninety-eight percent of the adults in this country are decent, hard-working, honest Americans. It's the other lousy two percent that get all the publicity. But then — we elected them."
So why not just blame the voters? Well, put it in perspective. Voters are given two choices. They switched parties barely a decade ago, replacing a corrupt Democrat-controlled Congress for one under Republican control. The new members, half of them never having served as politicians before, enacted some meaningful reforms. But the old guard Republicans remained and the incentive structure in Congress quickly turned the new Congress into nothing better than a more brash version of the power-mad Democrats they had replaced.
The voters asked for a revolution . . . and they got a slight re-arrangement of deck chairs. Sure, there are new people skimming and scheming, but there's been no substantive change.
No wonder voters have become more and more disgusted with Congress.
So how do you explain re-election rates that are consistently over 98 percent? Well, the voters could switch parties again, if they thought it would do any good. But a Rasmussen Reports poll showed that 63 percent of Americans think corruption would be as bad or worse under Democrats.
And switching parties wouldn't be easy, even with a slim Republican majority. You see, incumbents have voted themselves so many advantages that voters wind up with almost no viable alternatives. Most political observers are familiar with the litany of freebies to which incumbents take advantage: radio and TV studios used to beam messages back home, mass mailings to voters. But the real advantage incumbents in Congress have is power. A large part of that power is the trillions of dollars they spend, some in slices of pork they can send back home, and for which they take full credit.
But their power doesn't just stop there. Congress also has the power to regulate. Congress can make or break any business in America. Got a competitor? Congress has regulations! We're talking power that is worth trillions more. Good, negotiable power. So, is it surprising that interested parties would hire lobbyists to protect themselves or advance their own economic agenda?
The solution? The power of individual congressmen must be reduced by limiting time in office. And the awesome power that the federal government has snatched from the people and the states must be pried out of the fed's cold, callous fingers.
As U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) put it, "The problem is us," adding, "We're not going to change anything till we change the motivation that the next election is more important than anything else."
But reforming themselves is not on the agenda of Congress. Nor is reducing congressional power. Instead, Congress is looking to enact band-aid reforms along with attacks on free speech by groups that might seek to take politicians to task. Somehow one way to reduce the public's disgust for Congress is to prevent the groups from speaking out about it.
Already the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law has silenced many non-profit citizen lobbies from speaking out on the public airwaves anytime close to an election, and Congress is still ruminating on to whether or not to regulate the Internet's blogs. Recently, a radio talk show host's comments were found to constitute a "contribution" in a political campaign and thus, according to a judge, would allow state regulation of his talk show.
That's not enough. U.S. Senators John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) are now looking to further restrict 527s that have been vocal during political campaigns and other vehicles for grassroots communications. As Lieberman put it, "We now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reach agreement on a broad set of lobbying reforms that will reduce the cynicism."
But cynicism is highly called for. Today, to be cynical about government just means you have your eyes open. To seek to squash cynicism is to suppress truth.
And good ol' Joe Lieberman and John McCain aren't alone in their desire to squash honest dissent. After all, how can they and their friends on Capitol Hill be sure of re-election if all of a sudden there was unfettered free speech and everyone started speaking truth to power? Why, the whole corrupt system might fall apart! | <urn:uuid:9b8fcd47-167b-4c3a-a915-0faee72fcd87> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://townhall.com/columnists/pauljacob/2006/01/29/its_the_power%2C_stupid/print | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281574.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00023-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968187 | 1,072 | 2 | 2 |
Readers Who Run with Wolves
You ask, "Can we learn to dance with wild things again?" ["Wolves at the Door," June] Unfortunately your article didn't question our continued dance with domestic livestock, which has led to the elimination of wolves throughout most of the lower 48.
You gave considerable space to those within the environmental movement who would have the public believe that caving in to ranchers' demands that wolves be shot whenever they take a few sheep or calves is essential to the success of the wolf in the West. But you ignored those scientists and environmentalists who argue that wolf control in the name of domestic livestock protection is not compatible with recovery.
Your readers should understand the high cost of public-lands ranching to both the environment and taxpayers. First, the 20,000 or so ranchers who occupy public lands in the West pay only $1.35 per cow/calf pair for the privilege. Fifty percent of this fee is returned to the rancher for maintenance of fences and other structures. (Ask yourself how much you pay to feed your dog or cat each month and you will see how ridiculous this fee is.) In return, the taxpayer provides predator control, monitors the effects of livestock grazing through various agencies, and pays for the recovery of numerous threatened plants and animals placed on the endangered species list in large part because of overgrazing.
Our organization hopes that in the future, Discover will provide readers with the viewpoint of those of us who argue it is time for public-lands grazing to end. Until we allow native wildlife to go unmolested on our public lands, there will be no true recovery for the wolf, grizzly, or countless other species that have suffered at the hands of a few who would use our public lands for their own benefit and give nothing in return.
Program Director, Utah Environmental Congress
Salt Lake City
I live in Alaska, the only state that has retained its native wolf population. Because of my strong interest in their preservation as a vital part of a healthy wilderness, your article about the wolves in Yellowstone and Oregon caught my eye.
This past legislative session saw the overturn of a ban on airborne hunting that had been voted into place in 1998 by Alaskans. This overturn, advocated by the largest trappers' association as well as Alaska's largest hunting organization, now makes it legal in some areas to use airplanes in locating and pursuing wolves. More than 1,700 pounds of aluminum against 100 pounds of flesh and blood; a plane capable of speeds of more than 100 mph against an animal running through snow at a top speed of 20. Legislators point out that state law requires that any such hunter first land and fire from no closer than 300 feet, but enforcement agents are few and far between, and some hunters pursue to exhaustion or shotgun from planes. As though this were not enough, our state game board recently made it legal in some areas to use snowmobiles in hunting wolves.
The concept of "fair chase" has been abandoned in Alaska at the behest of a small but influential group of trappers and hunters who, having the ear of our legislature, believe, like some of the ranchers in the lower 48, that the "only good wolf is a dead wolf." I fear we in Alaska may learn too late the lesson the rest of the states have learned and are now trying to reverse.
My father-in-law once lost 3,000 sheep to the Burlington Northern Railroad as its train plowed through his herd. Were there any attempts to ban, shoot, or destroy the BNRR for killing his livestock? I believe he would have much preferred wolves to the railroad.
Gordon R. Cavana, Ph.D.
Solstice in the States
I think people here in the Hawaii sovereignty movement were glad to read that "in the United States the sun never reaches a spot directly overhead" [Sky Lights, June]. It does here, twice a year.
I guess we're not part of the United States after all. I wish someone had told me before I sent in my Federal income tax. H. Doug Matsuoka
Editor's Note: The sun never appears directly overhead in the continental United States. The qualification was inadvertently omitted.
In "Why Has Our Weather Gone Wild?" (June), the date of the infamous Buffalo blizzard should have been given as 1977.
The photograph on page 30 of the July issue should have been credited to Satish Parashar/Dinodia Picture Agency. The photographs on page 12 should have been credited to (from top to bottom): Ohori, Karen Wright, and Cheung Ching Ming. | <urn:uuid:302d2c4a-2a40-4f45-ad88-fa7cd8a29882> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://discovermagazine.com/2000/aug/letters | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721555.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00179-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961106 | 944 | 2.046875 | 2 |
Geostellar discovers solar market on rooftops
Geostellar debuted late last year as a way to speed up solar and wind-power energy projects, and Chief Executive David Levine was pounding the pavement from coast to coast giving demos mostly to engineers and developers.
The company’s Web-based modeling tool offers new and dramatically faster ways to measure solar resources on a given plot of land, and he was sure the development community would be all over it. But he was so focused that he almost missed his real audience.
About a month ago, he started listening: Yes, Geostellar was a development tool. But it was an even better marketing tool.
“Duh, listen to the customer,” laughed Levine in an interview last week. He had just come out of a meeting with a major Southern California utility that had asked him to pitch Geostellar as a way to identify and target homes and commercial buildings that are suitable for rooftop solar installation in a ZIP Code, and thus potentially saving tons of marketing money.
“We had been hearing this for months, but we were so thick about it,” adds Levine. “Now we understand that this could be the first use that pulls the technology forward. All the other things, we’re still going to do, but it’ll be pulled by the market need, rather than trying to push, push, push.”
In April, Geostellar received its first round of financing with a $2 million investment from Flash Forward Ventures.
Several other long-established companies provide detailed site studies, and even online modeling tools, such as 3TIER, AWS Truepower and Clean Power Research. But the Geostellar team capitalized on its gaming expertise to create innovative modeling techniques that allow for instant access to highly detailed information, such as the amount of average solar energy on a one-meter-square piece of every single rooftop in a given area. No one else could do this.
Companies like Solar City, however, saw another use. Instead of blanketing whole neighborhoods with marketing materials, they could instantly identify the top 200 rooftops best suited for producing electricity, and focus their efforts on those instead.
Griffith Harrison, vice president of sales for Geostellar, said the big breakthrough came about two weeks ago.
“I was meeting with the U.S. Department of Energy in downtown Washington, and after we went through the overview, basically the response was, 'You guys could just put these results into batches or packages, that could be based on ZIP Codes or counties, and be delivered to these companies that really need to know who these premium rooftops are.' ”
Meanwhile, Levine was at a meeting with Mountain View Solar, a West Virginia-based company that serves the mid-Atlantic states, and they were telling him exactly the same thing.
On the day before this interview, Geostellar's leaders gathered in a big huddle and changed their entire business model. “Yesterday, what we did was: We have to pivot. We have to make it formal. We have to get everybody in a room and say, ‘This is the way we’re going,’ so we’re not fragmented,” Levine said.
Armed with new pricing models and a new pitch, they headed west.
Levine sees that this use of the technology could aid the adoption of renewables. When developing rooftop solar, he says, “a huge part of the cost is marketing and efficient marketing. And if you could take that out, then you get to grid parity a lot quicker. Because there’s no marketing costs for coal. So we could totally collapse that, and suddenly the whole industry gets cost competitive.”
-- Dean Kuipers
Photo: David Levine at the downtown office of Holland & Knight, an energy consulting firm. Credit: Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times | <urn:uuid:3847ab4d-8664-4590-b864-9395567ac550> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2011/05/geostellar-solar-wind-power.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281419.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00482-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965586 | 810 | 2 | 2 |
Many women must have learned about the sign of implantation bleed that occur in the early pregnancy phase. A study shows that only 33 percent ladies tend to notice this implantation bleed when they become pregnant. So, this means that majority of the women never discover this sign. There's two reasons behind this. First, the augmentation hemorrhage might have not occurred at all or the bleeding is so scanty to be seen. Consequently, it is not necessary that an expectant lady should experience implantation bleeding. To know this obviously, we'll now share with you concerning the implantation bleed procedure. This is extremely vital to know so you receive clarity on this natural alter taking place in the body. Or else, it may scare you or cause you to worry. For an implantation bleed to occur, ovulation accompanied by fertilization should first take place. Following your menses, the ovaries emit an adult egg or egg (ovulation). This egg cell will be channelized to achieve the womb lining via the fallopian tube. If on the way it communicates with a sperm, then each get combined that produces a zygote that then turns into a blastocyst (a cluster of cells). This zygote now makes its way into the endometrial lining of the womb in order that it could be nurtured there with the help of bloodstream and essential vitamins and minerals generously contained in the lining. Because this zygote attempts to dig the lining, a little quantity of blood might get released that will reach the vaginal canal waiting around to throw it out. Generously note that this blood may be discarded, so the should condition isn't present. Nevertheless, if happens, the discharge is implantation bleed that's mainly brown or pinkish in character. In some instances, you might be pregnant and you still might not experience this hemorrhage. Which means that implantation bleed on your own can't prove that you are transporting. This implantation hemorrhage always take place during the first trimester. The zygote actually determines a link using the blood circulation system from the moms body with the uterus wall and in this manner the egg will get its bloodstream and vitamins and minerals. In normal instances, this bleed is just a place or couple of drops that tend to last for hours to three days after starting every day between your 6th and 12th day of fertilization.
Chances Of Getting Pregnant If You Pull Out In some ladies, this implantation bleed will generally happen with mild cramping. If this happens, then you'll have a good being pregnant test. It is because this bleeding occurs before a days duration of the following menses date. Not every woman will undergo implantation bleed. Usually be aware in mind that pregnancy tend to be completely all right regardless of whether implantation hemorrhage requires or doesn't occur in the first phase. If you see implantation hemorrhage, you can go for a test after three days. In rare cases, you will possibly not hemorrhage slightly. This time around the flow experienced is quite large. Then, understand that it's your normal menses. But, if the movement is with some other symptoms for example serious cramps, shoulder discomfort, and pelvic ache, you may be caught within the complexity of what is known as ectopic being pregnant. This can be a scenario where the zygote has been sent towards the fallopian pipe. So, the egg has not arrived at the womb at all. This egg can even be routed to the ovary, cervix, and stomach. In short, if you see blood loss anytime among the menses period, you shouldn't draw your personal findings and neglect it even though it might be minor. It is because there are plenty of reasons for it to happen and they aren't so easily known with no doctors help.
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All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:c0f3d96a-3d0d-47f6-a026-9ff375406e24> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://gettingpregnant.tripod.com/chances-of-getting-pregnant-if-you-pull-out.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280292.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00348-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938122 | 807 | 2.53125 | 3 |
PMS may be a joke to those who have never felt it (i.e. men), but it is a really huge problem to many women. It has been turned into a joke by many, disregarding any irritable behavior of a woman as "having PMS" without knowing what it actually is and what consequences it may bring.
Most women (anywhere from 80 to 95%) have felt this annoying and even detrimental collection of physical (such as swelling of the abdominal area and breast tenderness), psychological (depression) and emotional symptoms, all of which are nothing short of bad news for the male element of the house.
The symptoms of PMS vary from woman to woman and month to month but the most common ones tend to be present every time: most women suffer from depression, a term used freely and not necessarily meaning a physical condition, but more likely a lack of desire to do anything, thus leading to a milder or more extreme form of apathy, sadness and so forth. Some of them feel so "depressed" that they can't go anywhere and stay at home vegetating and not being able to stomach the pleasant sound of soccer games on TV.
Another popular symptom is sensitivity and irritability, typically the one most noticeable on the outside. If this is noticed you should be gentle to the woman and try not to vex her in any way or you may fall victim to the seemingly endless flood of crying, cursing and hysteria, which is undoubtedly an uncomfortable feeling. Compliments are the most simple, yet effective, remedy to this symptom, so it is advised to premeditate those in great advance. Do not overdo it, though, because, due to the ever-active irritability and sensitivity, a compliment, that a woman during her PMS deems an obvious lie, will surely offend her, hence the extra crying, cursing and hysteria.
Tender though men usually tend to be concerning women (and with good reason, one might add), they may have to turn the dial to "excessively tender, moreso than pink furry bunnies may seem on the best of their days", which is obviously a difficult, if not impossible thing to do for the average beer-chugging specimen of the primal kind.
Probably the most dangerous of symptoms due to the delicate nature of females is the feeling of being "not pretty", which has a lot of other more specific terms, such as "too fat", "too skinny", "too wrinkled" and the less common, albeit decisive, "I have an appointment with my plastic surgeon". The task is then more difficult than it may seem, for saying "you're not fat" is never enough (and it is hard to even imagine the consequences of "plastic surgery will fix nothing"). This brings about many a problem ranging from the most obvious monetary ones to the even more annoying constant stalling in front of any and all mirrors in the house, most notably when it's time to leave the house.
The best idea is to use actions instead of words. A dinner in a posh restaurant, a present, a kiss and a hug, along with the ultimate one explained in the paragraph below, is the best way to tame the beast that PMS is.
The worst part, however, are the unexpected mood swings. In the best traditions of Stanley Kubric's "The Shining", a woman may be nice, loving and caring one moment, and searching for "that axe that you used to chop down the god-damn Christmas tree with" the other moment. These back-flip changes are seemingly unpredictable, but one can save himself by handing her an insane amount of sweets (preferably - chocolate) and a TV program with old melodramatic movies the times of which you have, preferably, underlined in advance. This method is not good for her (and may worsen the "I'm not pretty" symptom), but when lives are at stake, it is perfectly legitimate.
Chocolate and oldschool movies are actually a means of salvation in many cases, so a man should have stashes available at all times. The geographical placement of these stashes is down to strategic planning, so experience from such things as computer gaming (and tactical allocation of certain adult entertainment magazines) is very welcome. The list of these places would typically include the bedroom (under the bed or near it), because of the insomnia which drags together with PMS. Also, the bathroom - a subtle destination which some find effective and others don't. The bathroom stash is a way to counterattack the "I'm not pretty and therefore shall stand before the mirror in vain for hours and not let you shave" situations. And the crucial living room/kitchen stashes.
These guidelines should get you through a woman's PMS with only slight bruises or the occasional dislocated joint, so it is advised to follow them with immense vigor. | <urn:uuid:37ef64aa-0a17-4ab5-8094-f828d2f022de> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.jurgita.com/articles-id2414.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00213-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958239 | 1,003 | 1.5625 | 2 |
- Health monitoring
- Industrial and consumer sector networks
Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are an emerging technology that will have a major societal, environmental and financial impact. By 2020, it is predicted that there will be more than 50 million interconnected nodes worldwide. WSNs seek to capture compressible analog signals and aim to transmit them reliably to one or more nodes, while maintaining low power consumption. Technical challenges include achieving communication reliability under delay constrains in harsh environments and limiting power consumption to ensure extended lifetimes. Current methods are often highly application-specific. In addition, they do not work well in environments with unknown signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio, have limited performance in multiuser scenarios and lack feedback functionality.
The invention is a low complexity architecture for communicating captured sparse signals in WSNs. The application-independent physical layer design leverages sparsity existing in many physical signals to parsimoniously represent them. By preserving the relative bit importance during transmission, it achieves graceful tradeoffs between distortion and channel SNR, resulting in increased robustness against channel errors across a wide range of SNR values in a rateless fashion. The invention was proved to be optimal in terms of distortion in the high SNR regime in point-to-point links and can efficiently serve multicast scenarios. The device is applicable to a wide range of applications and performs close to an idealized layered transmission scheme in terms of reliability and end-to-end distortion.
- Application and signal model independent communication architecture
- Simultaneous service of multiple receivers at their highest possible information rate
- No receiver feedback needed for optimal rate selection
- No computationally intense algorithms in transmitting sensor nodes | <urn:uuid:84ad86b5-dbe4-4e74-acf0-1ca52ac618a1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://tlo.mit.edu/technologies/efficient-and-reliable-transmission-sparse-signals-wireless-sensor-networks | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573876.92/warc/CC-MAIN-20220820012448-20220820042448-00065.warc.gz | en | 0.916635 | 357 | 2.78125 | 3 |
Greenway Trails Top 100
At its Jan. 20 board meeting, the Hudson River Valley Greenway, (HRVG) announced the designation of the Marbletown O&W Rail Trail, in Ulster County, as part of the Greenway Land Trail. The Rail Trail is an 8.7- mile segment that connects to the Hurley Rail Trail and is part of over 324 miles of designated riverfront trails throughout the Hudson Valley. The Greenway Land Trail system has over 100 individual designated trails running along both sides of the Hudson River from the Capital Region to Manhattan.
“The Greenway is pleased to add this trail segment to our trail system,” said Mark Castiglione, HRVG acting executive director. “Community trails are important for many reasons,” continued Castiglione. “They help to drive the economy, increase the quality of life, and connect natural and cultural resources throughout the Valley. Trails like this one provide alternative forms of transportation and help connect communities together.” Designation by the HRVG recognizes the regional significance of the O&W Rail Trail as a destination for experiencing the natural, scenic, cultural and historic resources of the Hudson River Valley. It also recognizes that the trail is an important link in the Greenway Trail System. “The … Rail Trail is a beloved asset in the Town, allowing everyone … to enjoy walking, running, biking, skiing and horseback riding surrounded by the beauty of the woods and fields we all treasure,” said Marbletown Supervisor Brooke Pickering-Cole.
The Greenway Conservancy for the Hudson River Valley is a public benefit corporation established by the Greenway Act of 1991 to continue New York State’s commitment to the preservation, enhancement and development of the scenic, natural, historic, cultural and recreational resources of the Hudson River Valley, while emphasizing appropriate economic development activities. One of the Conservancy’s primary objectives is to establish a Hudson River Valley Greenway Trail system linking cultural and historic sites, parks, open spaces and community centers, and provides public access to the Hudson River.
Additional information may be found at http://www.hudsongreenway.ny.gov/ (for the Greenway and its programs); www.hudsongreenway.ny.gov/Trailsandscenicbyways/LandTrail.aspx (for Greenway Trails) and http://www.hudsonrivervalley.com/ for the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area.) | <urn:uuid:ba70a9e5-aafb-4fe8-ab09-b8e17b97aa70> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://highlandscurrent.org/2011/02/18/greenway-designates-new-trail/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573623.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819035957-20220819065957-00665.warc.gz | en | 0.906879 | 507 | 1.5 | 2 |
Why choose a .codes domain?
Whether you're a programmer or you run a website that shares discount codes, .codes could be the perfect domain extension for you. As a generic top-level domain (TLD), anyone in the world can register a .codes domain name, making it a great alternative to .com and other competitive domain names.
.codes facts, stats & history
.codes is a newer TLD, having first become available to the public in 2014. It's managed by Donuts, a US-based registry service, and has over 19,000 registrants. Since Google treats all new TLDs the same, you don't have to worry about SEO when it comes to .codes. In fact, because they're more readily available, you're more likely to get the exact .codes domain name you want.
Find a .codes domain alternative
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Check your domain availability.
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FAQ - Learn more about .codes domains
.codes is a generic top-level domain (TLD) that's suitable for programmers, coupon sites, gamers, and more.
A .codes domain extension can help you build a branded website right from the get-go. It's unique, memorable, and versatile.
Anyone can buy a .codes domain name as long as it hasn't already been registered.
Yes, you can buy your branded .codes domain names through Shopify.
Shopify offers free SSL certificates for all domains registered through our platform. SSL certificates can cost you hundreds of dollars annually. | <urn:uuid:f19c14d3-6be4-4304-a53a-be9643b679ff> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://en.shopify.be/domains/codes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573540.20/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819005802-20220819035802-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.864301 | 559 | 1.757813 | 2 |
The Radial Twinline is a unique device that enables a guitarist to share effects pedals between two amps when using the amplifier's built-in (rear-panel) effects loops.
Consider the problem: Many guitarists prefer to use the effects loop in the amplifier to insert pedals into their signal chain. This is particularly useful with delay pedals where applying echo to the signal after the guitar amp's preamp distortion as this results in more distinctive notes and more pleasing sonic results. A problem arises when using two amps on stage: how do you toggle the pedalboard between the two amps? The guitar player must either duplicate his pedal setup (one for each amp) or completely change his setup by connecting the pedals to an AB switcher and then connect the pedals to the front panel inputs of the amps.
The Twinline can be thought of as a pedalboard switcher that lets you remotely toggle the effects from one amp's effects loop to the other, thus allowing the guitarist to share his pedalboard between the two amps. To accomplish this, the Twinline is equipped with two amplifier effects loop circuits – each with separate send and receive levels to optimize the signal path for each amp's effects loop. There is also a third effects loop for the pedalboard. This features a choice of unbalanced ¼" connectors for typical guitar pedals or balanced XLR connections for studio effects. A remote control input is used to toggle the active amplifier's effects loop via a contact closure using a MIDI system or latching footswitch. When used with the optional Radial JR2 remote, this adds the ability to bypass the effects completely.
As with all Radial products, the Twinline is made from heavy duty 14 gauge steel for ultimate durability and maximum shielding against stray magnetic fields while the book-end design creates a protective zone around the controls and switches. Inside, 100% discrete class-A electronics deliver optimal sonics as it buffers the circuit while transformer isolation eliminates troublesome ground loops that can introduce hum and buzz if left unchecked.
The Radial Twinline brings forth a unique solution to a long standing problem.
WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov | <urn:uuid:31149f0f-439b-4e70-b0ae-ebd12d15191f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://djbandsupply.com/twinline-effects-loop-interface-for-two-amps-1.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571284.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811103305-20220811133305-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.917596 | 472 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Julius Caesar was a man of action. His impetuous rise in popularity and influence is a testament to his resilience and willingness to do the legwork.
His bitter enemy, Cato thought long and hard. Too long and too hard. He opposed Ceasar’s every move in the senate when the latter was consul. Not for pragmatic, well reasons, but to spite him. He wanted to stop Caesar’s every move by being a strictly static man who wasn’t lotj to share his thoughts in long and winding speeches he used as filibuster. He thought it might achieve something.
Meanwhile, the would-be dictator just moved past him, stepped out of the static chamber of the senate, and went to convince masses rather than the spiteful few.
Caesar went to conquer Gaul while Cato was thinking hard how to stop him. While he thought, Caesar’s power and popularity went way beyond the scope of his cognition.
Caesar won in the end and changed all Cato though dear. Caesar’s actions are still touted today. What would Cato think of that?
“[…] [T]hink but not make thoughts your aim”, to quote Kipling. Thinking is important, but if it is not followed by action, ideas will forever wander aimlessly in the cerebral labyrinth of neuron paths. Why then do we still have think tanks and not more do tanks?
How much of the thoughts they tanked up on was actioned? Today writing papers, research and recommendations simply don’t cut it anymore. The responsibility to put their thoughts to use falls on the civic sector.
Think tanks are stuck at what should be done, and what would be ideal. Ideally democratic values will not be threatened in any country. Ideally, politicians would act for the people not for their own benefits. In an ideal world we wouldn’t need think tanks at all.
The reality is that in the 2016 Republican primaries, while the heads of candidates were full of ideas, and date itching to burts it in a debate, Trump didn’t bother to show up, but rather went out to rally people. He didn’t have to lose the intellectual clash of views, but won the hearts of people through populistic pragmatism.
In reality, populists (such as Orbán in Hungary) have set aside the adherence to principles and morals. Their opposition bickers over what is just and what is proper in their own ideological framework. Populists act. Why don’t we?
Granted more and more civic organizations have a hands-on approach, they do the research, and act on it, but still much more such do tanks are needed. We can’t wait for others to action our ideas. We must take matters into our own hands. Lead by example and others might follow you.
Think tanks must evolve into do tanks, while not neglecting thinking. Don’t just think about it, act! | <urn:uuid:379028f5-1d99-4a86-adff-2f3aa35672bb> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://4liberty.eu/what-were-you-thinking-future-of-think-tanks/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572043.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814143522-20220814173522-00468.warc.gz | en | 0.973104 | 621 | 2.171875 | 2 |
Today, November 11th, is Remembrance Day in Canada.
In Nova Scotia it was a day off from school, for all children, and work, for many adults, so they could reflect on the many sacrifices that have been made by soldiers of the Canadian Military so that we can enjoy our many freedoms.
It was the first thing on my mind when I woke up this morning.
One of the ways we chose to reflect, pay our respects, and express our thanks, was to attend a Remembrance Day Ceremony at our local cenotaph.
So that is exactly what we did.
It was a gorgeous Autumn morning, so we decided to park a fair distance away and walk along the Bedford Highway and Shore Drive to the cenotaph in Fish Hatchery Park. We were not alone. Many people chose to walk and it was so moving to enter the park from Shore Drive and see a sea of people already there. People were even lining Sunnyside Bridge above the park. It really made me feel so proud.
The ceremony was beautiful and I shed many tears thinking of all the Daddies and Mummies who were lost and the ones who are still offering up their lives to go on dangerous Military missions. Then I thought of all the little children who were without those Mummies and Daddies. It was too much. When “The Last Post” was played I could no longer hold back tears. It’s just such a sad and meaningful piece of music.
I very conscientiously did not touch my iThing for the entire ceremony out of respect for those we were honouring. I chose to remember the ceremony for myself. There were many families present and the children were so respectful and extremely well behaved. It was another proud moment.
After the Act of Remembrance was complete and the many wreaths were placed at the base of the cenotaph and the ceremony was complete we removed our poppies and, along with many of the other attendants, added them to the wreaths.
I felt this was an acceptable time to take a photo (once all the people had gone). I just wanted to capture how lovely the cenotaph looked with all the bright poppies in front of it.
Thing 2 can point out where her poppy is in this photo. It was important to her to choose the right spot. It was sweet to watch the Things taking all of this in this morning. It’s important for children to learn their history and why we do the things we do when it comes to historical events. I am glad our kids are curious and interested. It makes talking about tough topics a lot easier for the parents.
Thing 1 and Thing 2 after removing their poppies and placing them at the cenotaph. They insisted on dressing up this morning. Thing 1 wore dress clothes and, to me, Thing 2 was like a poppy personified.
It was a wonderful morning. We walked back to our car and I noticed these huge poppies on the Mosque on the Bedford Highway and had to take a picture. Isn’t that nice?
We were trying to think of something nice we could do with the remainder of Remembrance Day and we decided to visit Video Difference to see if there was something we could watch as a family. How nice is this “Feature” section for Remembrance Day?
We had a hard time finding something. I mean, let’s face it, war isn’t exactly a topic we want our children exposed to in movies, so it makes sense there are not a lot of selections, but then I spotted “From Up On Poppy Hill”. We have enjoyed many of the Miyazaki films, so we thought we’d judge a book by it’s cover – just this once – and give it a go.
We are just about to watch it, actually.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
It has been a nice day, all-in-all.
Even though it is sad to think about war (and all that goes with it), it is very important to stop and remember all of the people who sacrificed so much, so that we could have the freedom to enjoy a sunny day in November with our families and communities sharing expressions of those very freedoms.
So, how did you spend today? Did you visit a local cenotaph? Did you attend a Remembrance Day ceremony?
Was this Remembrance Day different than last year?
The Act of Remembrance is generally performed by a solo reading of the poem extract, with a response by all assembled. The exact wording of the Act of Remembrance is:
They shall grow not old,
as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them,
nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
and in the morning
We will remember them. | <urn:uuid:49cfc5e1-cd3b-4b1e-b308-27ba27b18eff> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://temperedwithkindness.com/tag/children/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573760.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819191655-20220819221655-00672.warc.gz | en | 0.984967 | 1,024 | 1.679688 | 2 |
The faculty at the University of Colorado at Boulder is apparently quite left-leaning, like the faculty at many academic institutions. University Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson fears such a strong ideological tilt compromises the institution's commitment to diversity, of which intellectual diversity is an integral part. So the Chancellor has come up with a rather simple (and somewhat simple-minded) solution: Hire a conservative professor. As the Daily Camera reports, Peterson is raising money to create an endowed Chair in "Conservative Thought and Policy."
Mr. Peterson — a Republican who took over as chancellor two years ago — says he would like to bring a new luminary to campus every year or two to fill the chair, for an annual salary of about $200,000. No candidates have been approached, but faculty and administrators have floated big names like Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, columnist George Will and Philip Zelikow, who chaired the 9/11 Commission.
"Like Margaret Mead among the Samoans, they're planning to study conservatives. That's hilarious," says Mr. Will, dryly adding that "I don't think it would be a good fit." Ms. Rice didn't respond to a request seeking comment, and Mr. Zelikow declined to comment.
On campus, the chancellor's fund-raising efforts set off a prickly debate. Faculty members demanded to know whether donors would control the appointment. (They won't.) They asked for a chance to vote on the endowment. (They didn't get it.) "We don't ask the faculty if it's OK if we create a chair in thermodynamics," Mr. Peterson says — so why give them veto power over conservative thought? After all, he says, "It's an intellectual pursuit."
Ken Bickers, who chairs the political science department, says that while he supports the concept of intellectual diversity, he has reservations about the university's strategy. He worries students will get the impression that the "conservative thought" professor speaks for all conservatives. And he resents the implication that ordinary professors don't air conservative ideas in class. Registered as unaffiliated with any party, Mr. Bickers says he makes a point of discussing all perspectives, but because he doesn't stick a political label on each lecture, students "don't realize, 'Oooh, that was conservative.'"
Mr. Peterson agrees that most professors try to be fair. He adds, "I don't know that it always happens."
I am all for efforts to encourage intellectual diversity on campus, but creating token chairs reserved for conservatives is not the way to do it.
Related Posts (on one page):
- Affirmative Action for Conservative Academics Revisited:
- Ideological Affirmative Action at University of Colorado: | <urn:uuid:18a9adfd-565d-42e1-b3f1-f82c270a5e35> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.volokh.com/posts/chain_1210730272.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281151.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00114-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955916 | 568 | 1.601563 | 2 |
The interface pointer and a specification of the method to be called.
A form which is evaluated to yield a COM
A symbol which names the property getter method. It is not evaluated.
Arguments to the method (see Data conversion when calling Automation methods for details).
Values from the method (see Data conversion when calling Automation methods for details).
macro is used to invoke an Automation property getter method from Lisp. The
should be a COM interface pointer for the
interface. The appropriate Automation property getter method, chosen using
, is invoked after evaluating each
s must be values that are suitable for the method and of types compatible with Automation. The values returned are as specified by the method signature. In general, property getter methods take no arguments and return the value of the property, but see Data conversion when calling Automation methods for more details.
There is also
, which can be used as an alternative to the | <urn:uuid:fbeafe3e-4338-4d7f-bcb2-a268c2398014> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/lw60/COM/html/com-109.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281162.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00528-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.794049 | 198 | 2.609375 | 3 |
“Excuse me, do you know what this line is for?” I asked the last person standing in a line outside the Supreme Court on Friday.
“Oh, I think it’s just to get into the Supreme Court to walk around as a visitor,” he responded.
“Today’s a good day for that!” I smiled as I joined him in line.
We made small talk and noticed the guy behind us wearing a cool shirt with a rainbow akin to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon album. We lamented that we both weren’t wearing clothes more celebratory, having just come from work. He handed us rainbow bead necklaces and put on a sparkly green hat. We became friends, walked inside, and started decorating statues of old men with our beads, taking pictures every time, having only gotten yelled at by a security guard once. We took pictures in front of the Supreme Court sign and selfies on the steps outside, thrilled just to be here.
The energy was electrifying. We walked through the crowds of people who were celebrating- and a few warning angrily of God’s wrath- and began listening to people’s stories. There was the woman who let us pose with her peace statue, a staple she’s carried to the first and second Gulf War protests, HIV/AIDS marches and here to the Supreme Court two years ago to the date to celebrate the end of DOMA. There was the woman next to her who showed us three signs she made. “This one was going to be for if they voted against marriage equality,” she showed us, pointing to a sign that read, “Unite the States of America” in big rainbow colored letters. “This one for if they decided to keep it to the states,” she explained, referencing the sign that read, “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” “But instead, I get to hold this!” She exclaimed, bearing a sign that read, “Not just gay, ecstatic!”
There was a man wearing all black with red bike lights tied around his waist, shouting that men who have sex with feces are going to hell, and so are men who have sex with men. “Come on, let’s hug it out!” A guy implored. “This is not a time for hugging,” The man replied back flatly, going back to calling out his warnings against “homosexual acts.” “I’ll give you a hug!” I called out the imploring hugger and we embraced tightly, while enthusiastic passengers in cars continued to drive past waving, cheering, honking in conviviality.
Tears warmed my eyes thinking about how far we’ve come since 2004, when Massachusetts lead the way by becoming the first state to recognize same sex marriage. My own journey in becoming an ally to the LGBTQAI community began with actual action in 2012, after a dear one shared that growing up they considered committing suicide because of the bitter retaliation they received simply for their sexual orientation. I’d always wanted to become a better ally, and this person’s experience reminded me just how urgently all of our voices are needed for equality. I joined a church with a focus on LGBTQ inclusion, led by a pastor who was a married lesbian. I got involved with Believers for Marriage Equality, a series of videos from people in the faith based community voicing support for marriage equality as we neared election time, in which we Marylanders would vote on marriage equality since protesters garnered twice the amount of signatures needed to place a referendum on the ballot. On March 1, 2012, same sex marriage was passed by Maryland’s General Assembly, and now on election day, ran the risk of being taken away through Question 6. I wrote blog posts supporting Question 6 and advocated for it on social media. I went to the Marylanders for Marriage Equality election night watch party and celebrated with newfound friends as Maryland became the first of three states that night to vote in equality. My friendships became more diverse. I went to lectures on marriage equality from a public health perspective (Access to health insurance? Right to visit a sick loved one? Yes, this is why I love public health). I brushed up on the history of marriage equality, got pissed off, and joined organizations that were moving equality forward. I say all this not to call attention to myself, but to hopefully paint a picture of why I will forever remember June 26, 2015, honoring the blood, sweat, and tears of activists who’ve done much more than me to collectively bring us here.
This is a victory.
We made history.
And I am celebrating.
But it didn’t take long for me to see all sorts of social media posts about other injustices going on in our world. Violence in Burundi. Burnings of multiple predominately black Churches. Terrorism in Tunisia. Human trafficking. More details on the Emmanuel AME Shooting. Baltimore County officers shoot and kill unarmed man. The intersectionality of all of these issues- and the actual lives affected by such broad sweeping experiences- demands more action, voices, and public outrage. Even the SCOTUS ruling doesn’t mean everything will be ALL rainbows, as we consider that people who identify as LGBTQ still experience higher rates of poverty, worse health outcomes, bullying and job discrimination compared to those who identify as straight or heterosexual.Societal attitudes also aren’t different overnight just because of the SCOTUS ruling, but as we consider the changing public opinion of gay marriage, going up in public approval rating from 67% to 73% in just this past year alone, I am hopeful that we are indeed “bending toward justice,” to quote Dr. King.
We still have a ways to go in achieving social justice in gender equality, immigration, racial unity, ending war and violence and so many more areas.
But just for right now, I am taking a sabbath to rejuvenate my soul by relishing in what can happen when we collectively organize ourselves into activism. I am listening to others’ stories of what this ruling means to them. I am taking full advantage of every free hug I can get. I am pausing to witness every single rainbow flag I have seen lining the streets of my home city. I am smiling at the increase I’ve seen in the number of hands held by people of the same gender—just in one weekend alone— perhaps because some people who once may have felt unsafe are just beginning to feel as though they can truly be themselves and be respected. I am feeding off this energy I feel as I see people talking to one another, feeling less like strangers and more like the brothers and sisters we truly are. I see an influx of connecting, as perhaps we can ever so slightly stop having to fight for equal marriage and simply get on with the loving and enjoy our cake while we’re at it, too.
I know that even after a wedding, there are still challenges that come, conflicts that arise, differing opinions about important and not-so-important things that must be worked through with grace. And we, too, as a society will have to come back down from the apex high of Friday’s decision. But I know I will be able to return to the peaceful fight for justice with more tenacity, vigor, and passion if you can just let me soak in this sabbath in which I am still celebrating. I may need to take a longer sabbath than some, and some may need more time than me. But come together again we will with just a little more space to tackle these other social justice issues as I slowly loosen my grip from the battle for marriage equality, more room in my hands for activism, strength, a patient heart that understands we are daily writing our histories and though some pages are long and others thin, together, I believe, we are still writing something beautiful.
Now, please, pass the funfetti. | <urn:uuid:fc966d49-845d-435c-9b78-474af12b7a11> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://melissaotterbein.com/tag/celebration/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571987.60/warc/CC-MAIN-20220813202507-20220813232507-00270.warc.gz | en | 0.972028 | 1,679 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Detroit, MI; 20, January 2016: How well does your child really know basketball? Are they as active and healthy as they could be? Peety Poppers is the next biggest thing. He’s going to be loved internationally by young children whose parents are looking for a way to get their kids excited about eating healthy and staying active. Peety Poppers is a two-part brand: a YouTube-based web-series and a fun children’s website.
The web-series, which will be accompanied not only by on-screen sign-language interpretation but also by sister-channels in a variety of languages, aims to teach kids new skills and techniques in sports to help motivate and inspire them to get active and get healthy. Our premier series is focused on basketball, and consists of 26 episodes ranging from learning to dribble to taking a dunk shot. This gradual advancement will work to maintain and nourish children’s learning and interest, but also to be accessible to kids of all skill-levels.
“Peety Poppers” is a revolutionary web-series, just for kids! Get ready to learn all the basic and advanced basketball skills with your son or daughter as Peety and his friends show the way. The YouTube show features the lovable jackrabbit Peety Poppers and his friends Penny, Pauly, Perry, and Peggy as they go through easy, fun step-by-step instructions on basketball techniques for all skill-levels, from dribbling for beginners, to the hook-shot for real pros! The premiere episodes teach kids the fascinating story of how basketball first began, and introduces them to the foundation of basketball: dribbling! It’s a great chance for kids to get to know Peety and get excited for the episodes to come.
While the website will serve as a second home to the episodes, it brings in a whole new realm for kids’ exploration: nutrition. The nutrition tab found on the main menu of the website will host a page where kids can learn what it means to eat healthy and all about the different food groups, as well as pages for recipes and downloadable activity sheets (coloring sheets, mazes, etc.). It will also be the home for the Peety Poppers series of fun health facts, which will initially be published daily on Twitter. With a website loaded with all sorts of nutrition and fitness information for kids to explore, Peety Poppers will soon be a household name for kids to look forward to after they do their homework. Get your kids excited about learning sports in a way you never thought possible!
Brand-new episodes will be launched every week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, giving kids plenty of new skills to learn and practice while perfecting previous techniques. It’s a fun, easy, way to get them up and moving! There will also be plenty of Peety Popper attire to keep them fashionable in school and on the playground. With basketball clinics all over southeast Michigan (and soon, all over the nation!), kids can supplement the fun webisodes with in-person practice, and get to meet the real Peety Poppers.
Peety Poppers is a division of Poppersworld, Inc. We are a sporting goods company who created the Poppers™ basketball net. Poppers™ is a revolutionary, patented basketball net that enhances enjoyment and skill development of the game because of its unique and unmistakable popping sound every time the ball goes through the net, coming in contact with our unique leather strips attached at the bottom of the net. Poppers™ enhances the sight, sound and mental satisfaction of the game.
Official Peety Poppers Website: http://www.peetypoppers.com
ABOUT Peety Poppers:
Peety Poppers is a division of Poppersworld, Inc. Peety Poppers was created from the desire to see kids active and healthy. We are committed to raising a generation of healthy and active youth in a fun and exciting way. We believe it is not only possible to get our kids excited about getting fit, but also to find a new hobby they can love and enjoy. At www.peetypoppers.com, we believe learning the merits of good nutrition, exercise, and a healthy mind starts at a young age. We want to be there every step of the way.
For Media Contact:
P.O. Box 5413
Detroit, MI 48205
General Show Inquiries: email@example.com
Social Media Inquiries: firstname.lastname@example.org
Advertising & Promotional Inquiries: email@example.com | <urn:uuid:8b088230-f945-4e71-825a-8959266b6ecd> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.free-news-distribution.com/new-childrens-web-series-peety-poppers-to-launch-mlk-day/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280221.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00232-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934069 | 957 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation
Computer Engineering and Computer Science
Ragade, Rammohan K., 1942-
Wireless communication systems--Security measures
Sensor networks are just in their infancy. Their use will continue to grow as the technology becomes cheaper and more efficient. A current shortcoming with sensor networks is the inability to efficiently provide secure communications. As sensor networks are deployed to monitor and control systems, the security of communications will become a more important. This thesis proposes a new approach to key establishment and renewal through the use of point-to-point keys and software verification and validation to ensure the integrity of two nodes. Sensor networks exist on limited resources, so power efficiency is a concern. The proposed protocol allows for the use of small keys instead of large pre-distributed keys. This thesis explores the design and implementation of a new point-to-point key generation and renewal algorithm. The main contribution is the development of an algorithm that utilizes a software integrity check to ensure the validity of a node. The thesis also utilizes a simulated sensor network to test and validate the new software algorithm.
Hnat, Timothy William, "Software based deployment of encryption keys in wireless sensor networks." (2006). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 622. | <urn:uuid:4feaa116-a5e9-4f07-8c36-2faff931c096> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://ir.library.louisville.edu/etd/622/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00439-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.867875 | 260 | 1.804688 | 2 |
There’s a long-standing debate over whether toe overlap matters.
Some say it’s an unnecessary risk and usually a result of suboptimal design priorities. Others say it’s a harmless and silly thing even to bring up.
After owning several bikes both with and without toe overlap, I’d say both camps have a point.
I’ll get to why in a moment, but first, let’s get our terms straight.
This article might contain affiliate links. As a member of programs including Amazon Associates, I earn from qualifying purchases.
What exactly is toe overlap?
Toe overlap (also known as toe clip overlap) is when your bike’s front wheel contacts your forwardmost foot.
It’s rare on mountain bikes (except for very small sizes) but fairly common on road, cyclocross, gravel, and touring bikes—especially ones with fenders.
Toe overlap is usually a harmless nuisance, but can be dangerous in technical off-road settings.
It sometimes afflicts inexperienced cyclists who place their feet too far forward on the pedals. You can minimize overlap by keeping the ball of your foot directly over the spindle (center) of the pedal.
Here’s what causes it
Toe overlap happens when the crank arms come within about three inches of the front tire (including a fender if you have one). The exact range depends on how large your feet are and how you position them on the pedals.
Traditional road bike geometry calls for a relatively short wheelbase that puts the rider’s weight more directly above the axles. That means the “front center” (the distance from the bottom bracket to the front axle) is as short as reasonably possible, especially on racing-style bikes.
Overlap is not common on mountain bikes. Their wheelbases—especially the front center—are rather stretched out.
How bad is toe overlap on a bike?
Toe overlap is usually annoying but inconsequential. However, it can be dangerous during highly technical off-road riding, since it may interfere with steering.
It’s likeliest to happen on road and city bikes. Fortunately, those bikes normally used in situations where toe overlap doesn’t matter. You might feel an unexpected buzz as your foot grazes the tire during a tight, low-speed turn, but that’s it.
Never say “never”…but crashing is highly unlikely.
It could be a much bigger problem when mountain biking. If you need to make a sharp, low-speed turn as you drop into a rocky chute, then you’d better hope your feet don’t block your steering!
Thankfully, most mountain bikes have such a long wheelbase that toe overlap is essentially impossible in the situations where it would matter most. (Very small sizes are an exception, but overlap is still less severe than on road bikes.)
What can you do to minimize overlap?
Toe overlap is usually something you have to live with, but there are ways to mitigate its nuisance.
1. Proper foot position on the pedals
The pedal’s spindle should be directly under the ball of your foot. Not only is that more biomechanically correct, but it also prevents unnecessary tire contact.
2. The snuggest fenders (that fit)
Fenders are often necessary, but they do protrude about 5mm (or more). If your toe overlap is borderline or minimal, then see whether minimal safe fender clearance does the trick.
(I emphasize “safe” because the risks of debris getting caught in your fenders are much more serious than the mere irritation of overlap. Priorities!)
3. Less pedaling through tight corners
Overlap tends to happen during slow, tight corners. At higher speeds, it just isn’t realistic to rotate the wheel that far.
So, to whatever extent you can coast through slow corners, you’ll avoid pedaling in the situation most prone to overlap.
For maximum clearance, keep your inside foot up or forward (that’s your left foot when turning left, or right foot when turning right). If you need just a bit of pedal power to get through the turn, then you can “ratchet” that inside foot by pedaling and backpedaling a small amout.
Summary: dealing with toe overlap
Toe overlap is an obnoxious but usually harmless phenomenon where your front foot contacts the tire or fender. It usually happens during low-speed turns, but it’s rarely a problem.
Road bikes are prone to it because they have shorter wheelbases than other bicycle types. It’s rare on mountain bikes, and it’s essentially impossible on cargo, folding, and some city bikes.
It’s basically inherent to your bike’s frame and fork design, as well as wheel size. To some extent, you can reduce its occurrence by centering your feet over the pedal, avoiding unnecessarily wide fenders, and avoiding full pedal strokes during low-speed corners. | <urn:uuid:8cd93438-5c17-49bb-a6aa-876a33f3af46> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://twowheelsbetter.net/toe-overlap/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570913.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809064307-20220809094307-00071.warc.gz | en | 0.964023 | 1,063 | 2.09375 | 2 |
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel is one of the most negatively viewed countries in the world, an annual BBC global survey found.
Israel was the fourth most negatively viewed country, ranking just ahead of Pakistan, North Korea and Iran, according to the poll released Monday.
In answer to the question "Please tell me if you think each of the following countries is having a mainly positive or mainly negative influence in the world," 21 percent of people interviewed for the survey viewed Israel mostly positive, with 49 percent mostly negative. The rest were neutral or undecided. Results from Israelis polled were excluded.
Positive views of Israel were up 2 percent over 2010; negative views remained the same.
Among the 27 countries polled in 2011, 22 lean negative, two lean positive and three are divided on Israel. The countries with the most positive view of Israel were the United States, Russia, Ghana and China.
Positive ratings by the U.S. have remained stable in the poll over last year at about 43 percent, but many more Americans, 41 percent, chose to rate Israel negatively in 2011, an increase of 10 points since 2010.
Negative perceptions grew sharper in the United Kingdom at 66 percent, up 16 points; Canada at 52 percent, up 14 points; Indonesia at 68 percent, up 12 points; Australia at 58 percent, up 11 points; Portugal at 52 percent, up 6 points; and Spain at 66 percent, up 6 points.
More than 28,000 people were interviewed for the BBC survey between December and February by the international polling firm GlobeScan and the Program on International Policy Attitudes at the University of Maryland. | <urn:uuid:cce4adc2-c2a2-40c8-8fc6-5cab8e2b166f> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.jta.org/2011/03/07/news-opinion/world/israel-negatively-viewed-survey-finds?f | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988720380.80/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183840-00054-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966316 | 334 | 2.078125 | 2 |
The juxtaposition of two recent news stories may signal a new era in politics in California and many other states. In March, a state planning agency announced that $10.2 billion will be required to finance California prison construction for the remainder of this decade. This new sum--far more than the state has spent building prisons in its entire history--would facilitate the expansion of the prison system from 100,000 persons in 1991 to more than 200,000 by the end of the decade.
Seemingly unrelated to the prison construction story, the Richmond Unified School District in Northern California filed for bankruptcy in April, and the schools remained open only because of an emergency court order. State financial aid to the school district was opposed by a governor who has also been attempting to suspend a voter-approved formula to guarantee state aid to public schools. With program cuts and teacher layoffs all over the state, additional state aid to a troubled school district was a precedent the governor thought California could not afford.
In the fiscally strained 1990s, California's prison situation and its school budget are linked as never before. The unquenchable appetite for expanding prisons is in a zero-sum competition with other essential services. Recognition of this emerging struggle may offer the best hope yet for putting sensible limits on prison growth.
The long shadow cast by the prison crunch on money for other state services is a new development because traditionally prison budgets were not big-ticket items. A decade ago, California's prison budget was less than 1/20th of its kindergarten-through-12th-grade education budget, and expenditures on education and school construction had expanded much more in the previous 20 years than had the commitment for prisons. Even the unprecedented growth in prison population during the 1980s was not fully reflected in public budgets. As the population in the state prisons quadrupled from 22,500 to 100,000 in 11 years, most of the additional prisoners were pressed into existing correctional facilities. This proved only a temporary cost-saving measure, and the 1990s is when push comes to shove.
California is now planning both operating budgets for prisons and construction costs at levels far in excess of those that funded the entire prison costs of the United States 20 years ago. Then again, the state anticipates having a larger prison population by the end of this decade than that of all 50 states had in 1973.
The bills for this tremendous growth will come due during a period of very tight public money. With a $14.4-billion budget deficit, this state will be cutting services substantially. Prisons have been an increasingly visible exception to the pattern of "every program suffers." In this era of conspicuous competition, every prison guard hired is a teacher not employed; every cell unit constructed is many schoolrooms that cannot be built. The visibility of this competition is a new aspect in California politics, as it will be for the majority of states.
Perhaps the explicit competition between prisons and other public needs will end the curious period of non-debate in public life about the purposes and limits of prisons. For 20 years, as the number of prisoners doubled and then trebled in the United States, the policies behind prison expansion have been unexamined as well as uncontested. Instead, next year's prison population is treated in official reports as a natural phenomenon beyond human control, like monsoons or droughts. Public concern about crime is assumed to provide consensus support for any imaginable level of expansion. The conventional political wisdom in most states regards opposition to prison expansion as the moral equivalent of retiring from elective office.
Politics is the sole significant impediment to prison limits. As an administrative and legal matter, placing limits on prison growth is not a mysterious process. The most effective method available under current circumstances is to set arbitrary numerical growth limits at the state level, holding population constant or allowing for growth only to the level of an increase in the state's adult population.
The fact that the obstacles to limiting prison growth are only political does not mean that a solution to the prison boom is an easy matter. But identifying the roots of the expansion as political clarifies why the competition between schools and prisons is of such importance.
Almost nobody succeeded in holding the line on prison population in the 1980s because almost nobody tried. Now that prisons have joined schools, roads, welfare and health care as a major expenditure category in state government, prison budgets cannot remain immune from the intense struggle for limited funds. Less clear is the political outcome once it becomes known that unlimited prison-building is a policy that the schoolchildren of California cannot afford. | <urn:uuid:5607dab0-53ce-4630-9a1d-2ede458f5e99> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://articles.latimes.com/1991-05-31/local/me-2559_1_prison-population | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280221.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00233-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965012 | 926 | 2.234375 | 2 |
I hope you’ve all figured out by now that I’m a huge nerd, and proud of it. This week I’m flying that particular flag high, doing a post swap with Laurie Trueblood, editor of Adventures to Authenticity. Laurie is a good friend of mine, a keen thinker, and a talented freelance writer who put in a lot of research time to bring you the post below. It’s thorough, heart-felt, and actionable.
Laurie’s work with Adventures to authenticity focuses on the intersection between nerd culture and mental health tips, helping gamers and adventurers of all kinds level up their personal lives. Be sure to follow her on her socials and subscribe to her blog if you want more content like this (links at the end). And if you just really miss my writing, you’ll have to read all the way to the end to get the link to my post on her site!
Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) has found huge mainstream success in the last few years. First introduced in 1974, the game was once seen as strictly for nerds, but it has changed dramatically. Inspiring a host of Twitch streams, podcasts, and even movies, D&D has a growing audience with over 50 million players last year alone. But while it has become accessible to most, representation and inclusion for disabled characters and players in tabletop role-playing games is still lacking.
Tabletop roleplaying games (TTRPGs), like D&D, are about cooperative storytelling. The players create a character with attributes and skills, such as charisma, strength, and spellcasting or fighting styles. Under the guidance of the game/dungeon master, players determine their actions through a combination of dice rolls and improvisation in a fantasy world setting. Through cooperation, their characters work together to solve puzzles, overcome obstacles, and defeat monsters and enemies. TTRPGs have been linked to higher levels of empathy, creativity, resilience, and improved social skills.
In the fantasy setting and storytelling, TTRPGs are a fun way to escape from reality and into the world of imagination. And as there is great liberty in character creation, one of the broad appeals of the game is that players can play as whatever they want to be. Whether it be an elf or orc, a magical class, or unique personalities or traits, players can experience this game world in a wide variety of ways. While D&D publisher Wizards of the Coast has made significant strides for inclusion based on gender and sexual orientation, there is still a major lack of representation of disabled characters in the game.
Disabilities in D&D
Historically, characters with disabilities were seen as washed-up or sidelined by their injury. Often they are portrayed as past heroes themselves. But after becoming disabled through battle injury, they could only serve as mentors to non-disabled heroes.
Worse yet, disabled characters were portrayed as villains in D&D. Characters such as Hellenrae, a blind monk who is so full of anger after losing her sight that she becomes filled with dark powers. Or Izek Strazni, who loses an arm as a child. He kills all those who mock him and eventually evolves into a total monster by growing a fiendish arm to replace that loss.
In many TTRPGs, there is commonly an emphasis on physical strength in battles and a belief that only the strongest can be true heroes. Disabilities such as blindness, deafness, paralysis, and neurodiversity are seen as negative effects that happen to characters or calculated punishments that lower a character’s advantages and health points.
Even many of the game guides still include outdated stereotypes in their imagery, such as the aged man with the horn in his ear to represent deafness.
Together, these negative views lead to feelings of exclusion and make for a poorer experience.
Why is Inclusivity So Important
People want to become heroes. They like to play as a representation of themselves and become the in-game heroes they wish to be in real life. Several studies have shown that TTRPGs help players with narrative therapy, building their self-esteem and confidence that goes beyond the game and into their personal lives. The bullied student becomes victorious over the minotaur; the timid member has an audience with a king, and the outsider feels accepted and part of the group. And together, everyone gets to play a role in creating the story.
One of the most significant benefits of TTRPGs is that the games give players a safe place to explore themselves and their personal values through roleplaying. People make characters that are either similar to themselves or have unique traits that they would like to experience. Through the storytelling, they can overcome obstacles that may be reflective of issues they are facing in real life.
However, this narrative therapy can be less effective when players have a difficult time seeing themselves in the characters. Ensuring that there is disablity representation in heroic characters helps make this aspect available to a wider audience. All players should be able to have the opportunity to become the hero, regardless of their impairments or obstacles.
Inclusivity also allows non-disabled players to experience playing disabled characters. Roleplaying has been found to increase levels of empathy. Being able to play as a character with different challenges builds better understanding and appreciation of obstacles individuals with those limitations must overcome. And through roleplay, players of disabled characters can learn that people with disabilities are complex individuals and not just the common stereotypes that define their limitations.
A quote from D&D principal story designer at Wizards of the Coast, Chris Perkins, “The game (D&D) allows us to be ourselves and someone else at the same time.” And yet, for the millions of people living with a disability, the desire to play characters based on themselves, ones that share their impairments, is sadly seen as either overly complex or completely dismissed by the community.
Why Not Be More Inclusive?
While D&D and the rest of the TTRPG genre are becoming more inclusive for gender and sexual orientation, the community still struggles with the acceptance of disabled characters.
One of the most benign arguments against inclusion is the commentary on the lack of resources on playing and creating accessible worlds. Being a DM or game master is already a time-consuming effort, and many see additional complexities for accommodations for disabled characters as too much work.
This viewpoint against inclusion in gaming is not different than those often used in real life. There are arguments against making places and services accessible due to the extra costs and time that may be involved. Therefore, putting a physical price tag on inclusion. When instead, equality and acceptance should be considered a basic right for all.
But if costs are to be considered, in a game which is largely done through imagination, the price of inclusion is very low indeed. Things like ensuring noting that the tavern has menus in braille or ramps instead of stairs take little to no extra work. And including additional details in descriptions, such as the texture of the walls, air temperature, etc. can not only help those with sight issues imagine the game better but make it more immersive for all players.
This argument that it’s too hard too or time-consuming is weak. But it may be a lack of understanding or examples that hold back DMs from providing more inclusive games. This can be solved by making more resources available and the industry embracing inclusion as a priority.
Sadly, there is a more ableist argument over why disabled characters would even exist in the fantasy realms. Some people question how a disabled adventurer could survive in a world full of monsters and dungeon crawling. But through innovation, just as in reality, the fantasy world can be accessible for everyone. An example is the Combat wheelchair, a D&D supplement created by disability representation in gaming advocate Sarah Thompson. It was designed “to enable characters with disabilities to go adventuring the same as an able-bodied character… (It) exists for those of us who need and who want to see ourselves in the tabletop games we so dearly enjoy.”
Using a combination of real-world mechanics and in world magic, the device allows players to fully participate in the fantasy realm. From all terrain design to hovering mechanics for climbing stairs and ladders. The combat wheelchair is downloadable to all players and DM for free with full mechanics, upgrades, subclasses, and NPC characters for play.
But beyond the accessibility aspects of the game world, one of the more prominent arguments against disability inclusion is that in a world of magical healing, why wouldn’t a disabled character just “cure themselves?”
As for the technical in-game aspect, only the highest level of casters would have the spells necessary for this type of action. For example, in D&D, regenerating a limb requires a 7th level spell done by a level 13 caster. Most characters would rarely gain this ability themselves or even encounter one in the game world that could have the magical level needed.
But beyond that technical aspects, many of these opponents fail to see that being disabled isn’t about being broken or being less abled than someone else. For many people with physical or neurodiverse limitations, disabilities are just a way of being and how they navigate the world. And if they want to play a fantasy character that shares those disabilities, it shouldn’t be seen as argument. Nor should those that are ableist consider disabled characters as having some negative trait that needs a “cure” in order for them to participate in a fantasy world fully.
While some members of the community are still arguing about inclusivity, progress is being made with growing representation in the genre.
In April 2020, Wizards of the Coast was called out by Sara Thompson for depicting their negative representation of the one-legged character of Ezmerelda in Curse of Strahd. Their positive response was, “we’re gonna fix that” and they do seem to be working towards that.
Later in 2020, the combat wheelchair supplement was released and embraced by many in the D&D community. Last month, an updated version of the chair was released, streamlining some of the rules to make it easier to play, and is available free for download.
In 2021, Wizards of the Coast released two adventure modules that include disabled representation. Candlekeep Mysteries, a collection of stand-alone D&D adventuring, contains the first official wheelchair-accessible dungeon. And Van Richten’s Guide to Ravenloft sees that the return of Ezmerelda and her prosthesis now does anything but slow her down. As well as the introduction of Alanik Rey, a gun-toting elf detective that uses a wheelchair in his pursuit of solving the great mysteries of Ravenloft.
Other groups are adding content to promote the inclusion of disabled characters. Companies like DnD Disability offer free game mechanics content for physically impaired characters, including supplements for characters with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) or are neurodivergent.
Other creators are developing in-game items. For example, things that allow for nonverbal communication are beneficial for casting spells that are typically verbally conjured. And other items that can make existing game mechanics more accessible to disabled characters.
There is a growing number of disabled characters in streaming TTRPG games and podcasts as well. Groups and events such as EveryOne Games and Accessible Adventure Jam host discussion panels on accessibility in TTRPGs and promote disabled game creators.
There are even TTRPGs that are specifically designed for accessibility education, such as Overisles that teach sign language as part of the game mechanics.
And for the inclusion of disabled players at the gaming table, there has been progress made as well.
For the visually impaired, organizations like DOTS RPG Project make Braille polyhedral dice and offer 3D downloads for printing at home. Similarly, other dice companies make dice that light up to enhance visibility over traditional dice.
Some map designers are working on ways to make their products more accessible, with digital maps that can be enlarged, large print designs, greater use of contrast colors, and creating color-blind versions of their work. And more companies are using dyslexia-friendly writing styles and designs for character sheets and game materials.
While the industry has made many strides in the last year, there is still a long way to go. Most players and game masters are unaware of the options available. And while the hostility over the introduction of the combat wheelchair has died down some from last year, some in the community still feel it is inappropriate. They believe, sadly, that in a fantasy land where dragons can be real, disabilities are not.
But everyone deserves a place at the tabletop and to experience that group fantasy storytelling. Whether it is allowing players to be characters that have different challenges than they do to build empathy and understanding, or letting people play characters that remind them of themselves, inclusivity is key. Hopefully, as the industry continues to make its games for all players, disability representation will be increased. And everyone, regardless of disability, will be able to tell their stories better as well.
Today your favorite blindfluencer says the world would be diminished if you didn’t tell your story. | <urn:uuid:1186cbfe-a8ee-4b0f-90bf-6c2fffb4728b> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://comelookonthedarkside.wordpress.com/2021/12/15/guest-post-disability-inclusion-in-dungeons-and-dragons/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571234.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811042804-20220811072804-00069.warc.gz | en | 0.961942 | 2,736 | 1.546875 | 2 |
A decade after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, hospital admissions for heart attacks in the city were three times higher than they were before the storm, according to Tulane University research results presented at the American Heart Association’s Scientific Sessions 2016 in New Orleans this week.
“After Hurricane Katrina devastated our city, the cardiology department found that we had very busy on-call nights,” said study lead author Dr. Anand Irimpen, associate professor of medicine at Tulane University School of Medicine. “We were being called into the hospital for heart attacks much more often than during pre-Katrina days. So, I suggested to our cardiology fellows that we study the data to look at this phenomenon objectively to determine whether this was a real increase or only a perception.”
Investigators found that hospital admissions to Tulane Medical Center for heart attacks increased three-folds in the 10 years after Katrina compared to the two years before the storm in August 2005. In addition, post-Katrina patients were significantly more likely to have other risk factors for heart attack, including:
• coronary artery disease (48 percent compared to 31 percent);
• diabetes (40 percent vs 29 percent);
• high blood pressure (81 percent vs 74 percent);
• high blood levels of cholesterol (59 percent vs 45 percent); and
• smoking (54 percent vs 39 percent).
“Although the general emphasis after an event such as Katrina is on rebuilding, we should not neglect the health of those affected by a disaster,” Irimpen said.
Researchers examined 150 records for heart attack patients admitted to Tulane Medical Center in the two years before Katrina, and 2,341 records in the decade afterwards.
The study identified other potential health risks among the post-storm group such as increased rates of substance abuse, psychiatric disorders and noncompliance in taking prescribed medications. In addition, unemployment and a lack of health insurance were significantly more frequent among the post-Katrina group of patients. | <urn:uuid:fe72bad4-18e1-4340-965e-c0a8f51fa9da> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://news.tulane.edu/pr/increase-heart-attacks-continued-decade-after-hurricane-katrina | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280891.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00163-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962275 | 407 | 2.234375 | 2 |
Charles Duncan McIver, founder of the State Normal and Industrial School (now UNCG), decided Minerva, goddess of Wisdom and Women’s Arts, would be a good symbol for the school. Beginning with the first diploma in 1893, the head of Minerva has appeared on every diploma awarded by this institution. The image of Minerva is also on the University Mace, designed in 1968.
An old statue of Minerva, a gift of the Class of 1907, stood in the entrance hall of the Students’ Building. The Students’ Building, located on College Avenue, was razed in 1950. By 1965, the Minerva statue was placed in Elliott Hall on the occasion of the Greensboro Club Garden Show, she had already lost one forearm and her spear. Over time, the original plaster statue of Minerva became damaged beyond repair.
A New Vision
In 2003, upon the occasion of their 50th class reunion, the Class of 1953 commissioned artist James Barnhill to create a new Minerva statue to be located in the east courtyard of the renovated Elliott University Center. The bronze sculpture is approximately nine feet high. She sits atop a six-foot limestone pedestal to welcome students, faculty, staff, alumni, and visitors to the Elliott University Center. The sculpture depicts Minerva with one hand beckoning and the other outstretched summoning and encouraging learners.
We thank the Class of 1953 for their generous gift! | <urn:uuid:7e2fe7e5-5d29-4949-ae83-2be55ab60eda> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://euc.uncg.edu/history-namesake/minerva/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279169.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00217-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962523 | 283 | 2.21875 | 2 |
What is an actinic keratosis?
Actinic keratosis is a precancerous scaly spot found on sun-damaged skin, also known as solar keratosis. It may be considered an early form of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (a keratinocyte cancer).
Who gets actinic keratoses?
Actinic keratoses affect people that have often lived in the tropics or subtropics and have predisposing factors such as:
- Other signs of photoageing skin
- Fair skin with a history of sunburn
- History of long hours spent outdoors for work or recreation
- Defective immune system.
What causes actinic keratoses?
Actinic keratoses are the result of abnormal skin cell development due to DNA damage by short wavelength UVB.
What are the clinical features of actinic keratosis?
Actinic keratosis may be solitary but there are often multiple keratoses. The appearance varies.
- A flat or thickened papule, or plaque
- White or yellow; scaly, warty, or horny surface
- Skin coloured, red, or pigmented
- Tender or asymptomatic
Actinic keratoses are very common on sites repeatedly exposed to the sun, especially the backs of the hands and the face, most often affecting the ears, nose, cheeks, upper lip, vermilion of the lower lip, temples, forehead, and balding scalp. In severely chronically sun-damaged individuals, they may also be found on the upper trunk, upper and lower limbs, and dorsum of feet.
Many more images of actinic keratoses ...
- Keratoses on the nose
- Keratoses on the face
- Keratoses on the scalp
- Keratoses on the hands
- Keratoses on the legs
- Keratoses treated with imiquimod
Complications of actinic keratoses
The main concern is that actinic keratoses indicate an increased risk of developing cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma. It is rare for a solitary actinic keratosis to evolve to squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), but the risk of SCC occurring at some stage in a patient with more than 10 actinic keratoses is thought to be about 10 to 15%. A tender, thickened, ulcerated, or enlarging actinic keratosis is suspicious of evolution to SCC.
Cutaneous horn may arise from an underlying actinic keratosis or SCC.
Because they are sun damaged, people with actinic keratoses are also at risk of developing actinic cheilitis, basal cell carcinoma (BCC, which is more common than SCC), melanoma, and rare forms of skin cancer such as Merkel cell carcinoma.
How is an actinic keratosis diagnosed?
What is the treatment for actinic keratoses?
Actinic keratoses are usually removed because they are unsightly or uncomfortable, or because of the risk that skin cancer may develop in them.
Treatment of an actinic keratosis requires removal of the defective skin cells. Epidermis regenerates from surrounding or follicular keratinocytes that have escaped sun damage.
Tender, thickened, ulcerated, or enlarging actinic keratoses should be treated aggressively. Asymptomatic flat keratoses may not require active treatment but should be kept under observation.
Physical treatments are used to destroy individual keratoses that are generally symptomatic or have a thick hard surface scale. The lesions may recur in time, in which case they may be retreated by the same or a different method.
Cryotherapy using liquid nitrogen
Liquid nitrogen spray is required to achieve adequate depth and duration of the freeze. This varies according to lesion location, width, and thickness. Healing varies from 5–10 days on the face, 3–4 weeks on the hands, and 6 weeks or longer on the legs. A light freeze for a superficial actinic keratosis usually leaves no mark, but longer freeze times result in hypopigmentation or scar.
Shave, curettage and electrocautery
Shave, curettage (scraping with a sharp instrument) and electrocautery (burning) may be necessary to remove a cutaneous horn or hypertrophic actinic keratosis. Healing of the wound takes several weeks or longer, depending on the body site. The specimen is sent for histological examination.
Excision ensures the actinic keratosis has been completely removed, which should be confirmed by pathology. The surgical wound is sutured (stitched). The sutures are removed after a few days, the time depending on the size and location of the lesion. The procedure leaves a permanent scar.
Creams are used to treat areas of sun damage and flat actinic keratoses, sometimes after physical treatments have been carried out. Field treatments are most effective on facial skin. Pretreatment with keratolytics (such as urea cream, salicylic acid ointment or topical retinoid), and thorough skin cleansing improves response rates. Results are variable and the course of treatment may need repeating from time to time. With the exception of diclofenac gel, field treatments all result in local inflammatory reactions such as redness, blistering and discomfort for a varying length of time.
- Diclofenac is more often used as an anti-inflammatory drug. Applied as a gel twice daily for 3 months, it is fairly well tolerated in the treatment of actinic keratoses, but less effective than the other options listed here.
- 5-Fluorouracil is a cytotoxic agent. The cream formulation is applied once or twice daily for 2 to 8 weeks. 5-fluorouracil cream is sometimes combined with salicylic acid. Its effect may be enhanced by calcipotriol ointment.
- Imiquimod cream is an immune response modifier. It is applied 2 or 3 times weekly for 4 to 16 weeks.
- Photodynamic therapy (PDT) involves applying a photosensitiser (a porphyrin chemical such as methyl aminolevulinic acid) to the affected area prior to exposing it to a source of visible light.
- Ingenol mebutate gel is effective after only 3 applications.
Prevention of actinic keratoses
Actinic keratoses are prevented by strict sun protection. If already present, actinic keratoses may improve with a very high sun protection factor (50+) broad-spectrum sunscreen applied at least daily to affected areas, year-round.
The number and severity of actinic keratoses can also be reduced by taking nicotinamide (vitamin B3) 500 mg twice daily.
What is the outlook for actinic keratoses?
Actinic keratoses may recur months or years after treatment. The same treatment can be repeated or another method used. Patients who have been treated for actinic keratoses are at risk of developing new keratoses. They are also at increased risk of other skin cancers, especially intraepidermal squamous cell carcinoma, invasive cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, basal cell carcinoma and melanoma. | <urn:uuid:769ac31a-f981-4ba7-a1db-81be69ff2ad1> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://dermnetnz.org/topics/actinic-keratosis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882572089.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20220814234405-20220815024405-00078.warc.gz | en | 0.910149 | 1,551 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Moneylenders set to escape new rules on credit checks
Published 27/01/2016 | 02:30
Moneylenders are set to escape new rules that will require lenders to check out the credit history of consumers.
The Central Bank is introducing a new credit register later this year, but lenders will be required to carry out a credit check through the new register only where loans are more than €2,000.
The average moneylender loan is much lower than this, with most between €200 and €500, according to research, which means moneylenders can avoid carrying out credit checks.
Financial expert Frank Conway said moneylenders were getting an “opt-out” and he claimed that the Central Bank was being too accommodating to them.
Moneylenders are legally allowed to charge an interest rate of up to 187pc. It is estimated that around 400,000 people use these door-to-door lenders.
The Central Bank plans to have the building blocks for a central credit register in place by the end of this year, but it will not be operational until next year, as the project has fallen behind schedule.
The lack of a centralised source of credit data has been identified as one of the culprits for the country’s catastrophic lending, since banks and other institutions weren’t able to see the full borrowing history of consumers and companies.
A spokeswoman for the Central Bank said the €2,000 threshold could be revised, adding: “The current thresholds are in the lower range of European public registers reviewed by the Central Bank.”
But Mr Conway said: “So what the Central Bank appears to be saying is that because moneylenders don’t have the technical capacity to report, then they won’t be required to. Sounds like a very accommodating position from the Central Bank in respect to the moneylending industry.”
Fianna Fáil’s Michael McGrath criticised the move to effectively exclude moneylender loans from the register.
He said: “It is very concerning that smaller loans, typically from moneylenders, are excluded from the register.” | <urn:uuid:68f1bbce-c978-4737-9243-0816443962a9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.independent.ie/business/personal-finance/latest-news/moneylenders-set-to-escape-new-rules-on-credit-checks-34400422.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560283301.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095123-00504-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956537 | 446 | 1.867188 | 2 |
Here are some of the events that took place on this day, within the South African history.
1965 Abram Fischer is struck off the roll of advocates
The Johannesburg Bar Council struck Abram Fischer’s name off the roll of advocates for his role in the struggle against apartheid. As an advocate Fischer defended people such as Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu and eighteen others after they were arrested for participating in the Defiance Campaign.
He also led the defence in the Rivonia Trial from 1963-64. On 23 September 1964 Fischer was arrested for contravening the Suppression of Communism Act. At the start of the trial he was granted bail to enable him to leave the country and argue a case in England, undertaking to return. Upon his return, he attended his trial which commenced on 16 November 1964.
Fischer then went underground early in 1965 and eluded the security police until his arrest in December of the same year. In 1966 he was found guilty of contravening the Suppression of Communism Act and conspiring to commit sabotage. He was sentenced on 9 May 1966 to life imprisonment.
At his trial Fischer expressed no regrets for his involvement in the struggle against apartheid exclaiming ‘I believe what I did was right’. While serving his sentence Fischer became ill and after initially delaying his release on medical grounds, the government released him in 1975. Fischer died a few weeks after his release. After the fall of apartheid, Fischer’s daughters, Ilse Wilson and Ruth Rice applied to have their father reinstated to the roll of advocates. In a historic ruling in October 2003, a full bench of South Africa’s high court posthumously reinstated Bram Fischer to the roll of advocates 40 years after he was struck off the roll.
1964 South African pop queen, Brenda Fassie, is born
Brenda Nokuzola Fassie a South African Pop Queen, was born in 1964 in Langa, a township near Cape Town. She was named after the American country singer Brenda Lee. The daughter of a pianist, Brenda began singing to her mother’s accompaniment at a very young age, and at the age of five, she had tourists paying to hear her sing. Brenda Fassie died on 9 May 2004 after allegedly taking a drug overdose. She is survived by her son Bongani Fassie.
1955 Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo is born
Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka was a deputy president of South Africa and wife of former public prosecutor Bulelani Ngcuka, was born in Claremont, Durban. She was appointed as deputy president by President Thabo Mbeki in a gender-friendly move on 22 June 2005 after his dismissal of Jacob Zuma.
1884 First Black-owned newspaper is published
The first Black South African newspaper, Imvo Zabantsundu (Opinion of the People), was published by Thanda Press in King William’s Town as an independent political newspaper for Black people. Its first editor was Tengo Jabavu, well-known politician and educationist. The paper survived a banning order during the Second South African war (or Second Anglo-Boer War) from August 1901 until 1902. Imvo was discontinued in 1998.
Compiled By: REFILWE GAESWE | <urn:uuid:b2a7591c-8a41-486e-b42f-78f02e670a7f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.bloemfonteincourant.co.za/today-in-history-18/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573193.35/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818094131-20220818124131-00478.warc.gz | en | 0.986737 | 691 | 2.453125 | 2 |
34 West Jefferson Avenue,
2 people favorited this theater
Located on Jefferson Avenue at Washington Street in downtown Naperville, the Masonic Temple opened in 1916. The Masons met on the second floor of the building, and rented out the first floor as a movie house. The theater closed in 1931, and for four years, the main floor was used for retail.
In 1935, the building became the Naper Theater, seating 480, given a marquee and showing first-run movies. In 1950, the Naper was remodeled, with a new lobby, foyer area, and sound system. Seating was also increased to 603. A couple years later, the theater’s old screen was replaced by a CinemaScope screen. The Naper operated until 1977, when competition from newer multiplexes, such as the Ogden 6, helped drive the old single-screen movie house out of business.
In 1979, the former Naper was converted to an appliance store, and today houses Mary’s Antique Mall.
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater | <urn:uuid:057badf4-2382-42c3-8eec-dbd8578b560c> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/10883 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721174.97/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00282-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959768 | 222 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Child Abduction Prevention
Safeguarding Your Child in Your Home
Statistically, abductions from a child's home are very rare, but they receive lots of media publicity. The following are a few steps you can take to protect your child in your home. These steps will also help prevent a burglary, but it may just protect your most prized possession, Your Children.
- Always keep your windows and doors locked, even in the summer. An open window is an invitation into the residence for a burglar or predator.
- Install motion lights that activate if a person walks near the perimeter of your home.
- Plant large bushes under the first floor windows to make entry into those windows difficult.
- Keep ladders locked in the garage or locked in a tool shed. This will make entry into second floor windows very difficult.
- Obtain a family dog. The dog does not need to be an attack or vicious dog, but simply a dog that will bark and notify the home owner to an intruder or a suspicious person walking around the house. Check out Draper Animal Services, a good place to adopt a new best friend.
- Use wooden dowels in the tracks of windows and sliding glass doors. This will reinforce the locking device.
- Avoid placing bars on the windows as this causes a fire hazard. A fire is much more likely than an abduction.
- Talk to your child about an intruder. Teach them to scream or notify you immediately if an intruder is seen, regardless of threats made by the intruder.
With the popularity of the internet and chat rooms, this has become the tool of pedophiles and individuals who want to exploit children. You can take the following steps to help protect your child from these predators:
Teach your kids:
- Never give out personal information to anyone online, including: home address, school name, phone number, or photographs of yourself.
- Never agree to meet anyone that you encounter online.
- Tell your parent or teacher if they are asked online to meet anyone.
- Do not respond to messages that contain information or photographs that make them feel uncomfortable.
- Do not open or accept e-mails, files, links, URL's or other things from people you don't know or trust.
- Do not give your password to anyone but your parents or guardian, not even your best friend.
- Take the time to see what your kids are doing online and what their interests are.
- Talk about who they are communicating with online.
- Set a rule that your child never arranges an in-person meeting without you present.
- Share your child's e-mail account and password.
- Place your home computer in the family room or kitchen so you know when your children are online.
- Obtain parental control tools that block access to inappropriate materials and help you monitor your child's activity on the internet. These can be obtained through your Internet Service Provider, bought from your local computer store, downloaded free from the internet, or may be part of some browsers.
- In 80% of abductions by strangers, the first contact (and most frequently the abduction) takes place within 1/4 mile from the victim's home.
- In 74% of non-family abductions the victims are female.
- Each year 3,600 to 4,200 children are abducted by someone outside the family.
- 50% of abduction victims are 12 years of age or older, 66% are female.
Tools Available to the Draper Police Department if an Abduction is Reported
The Draper Police Department takes missing person reports for adults and juveniles immediately. There does not have to be a time frame for the missing person to have been missing before we will respond. We invest a large number of resources to missing children calls immediately. We have very specific protocol for officers, supervisors and detectives to help find missing people.
Additionally the Draper Police Department has the following programs/tools available to assist in the investigation of an abducted or missing child:
- Member Agency of the Utah Child Abduction Response Team
- Convicted Sex Offender mapping
- Crystal system (CAAP - Child Abduction Alert Program)
- Reverse 911 Calls by A Child Is Missing
- Parolee/Probationers mapping
- Registered Ex-Felon mapping
- Vehicle description searches through the DMV database
- Partial license plate researches through the DMV database
- Tattoo searches
Talk to Your Kids
The first suggestion from experts is a good, open line of communication. Communication means listening as well as speaking. Have a password in place that is kept secret between family members. Teach your child not to leave with anyone who does not know the password. Make it simple and practice it often. Abductions of any type are very rare from a school.
- Not tell a caller that he/she is home alone if they answer the phone.
- Never answer the door if they are home alone.
- Never invite someone into the home without a parent or baby sitter's permission.
- Never enter a person's house without telling your parents or someone where you are.
- Never enter a person's vehicle without permission.
- Never take candy or other gifts from strangers or any other person without permission.
- Avoid isolated areas; stay in a public place.
- Avoid shortcuts through empty parks, fields, or alleys.
- Teach your children to walk and play in high visibility areas.
- Scream and scatter any belongings if they are forced towards a vehicle or home.
- Move away from a vehicle that pulls up next to them if they don't know the driver.
- Know that it is OK to say ‘no' to an adult if the adult is asking them to do something you have taught them not to do.
- Tell if someone touches them in an area their bathing suit covers.
- Tell a parent, a school official, or police officer if someone exposes themself, or approaches them.
- Tell their parent if someone has asked them to keep a secret from their parents, regardless of threats made.
- Walk to the nearest cashier if lost in a mall or store.
- Know their full name, address, and phone number at an early age.
- Know how to make a collect call.
- Know how to call 911.
- Play with a friend and walk with other kids.
- Children should be encouraged to use the buddy system. Have them walk and play in groups of at least two.
- Run in the opposite direction of the way a suspicious vehicle is traveling.
- Older Children should:
- Tell their parents where they are, or where they are going to be at all times. Instruct the child to leave a message if you are not available.
- Never hitchhike.
- Avoid shortcuts through empty parks, fields, or alleys.
- Run home or go to the nearest public place and yell for help if you are being followed.
- Learn to recognize suspicious behavior and remember a description of the person or vehicle to give to the police.
- If attacked for clothing, money, or jewelry, give it up rather than risking injury.
Children of all ages have a better chance of surviving an abduction situation if they do everything in their power to avoid being taken to a second location.
Steps for Parents
- Avoid putting your child's name on their clothes or toys. A child is less likely to be suspicious of someone who knows their name.
- Check all potential babysitters and older friends of your child.
- Never leave your child alone in a public place, stroller, or a car.
- Always accompany your child to the bathroom in a public place.
- Always accompany your child on door-to-door activities such as Halloween, school fund raising, etc.
- Show the location of ‘safe homes' in the neighborhood that the children can run to if they are being chased or followed. If possible mark the homes with a sign.
- Teach your child that the police are their friend and they can rely on them if they are threatened.
- Talk to your children and tell them they can call you for a ride anytime, anywhere.
- Keep updated color photographs of your child, medical and dental records, and have your child fingerprinted.
- Listen when your child tells you they don't want to be with someone. Find out why.
- Notice if someone pays undue attention to your child.
- Designate meeting places, in advance, if your child is separated from you at a public place.
- Teach your child that it is not fun to runaway from home. Nothing is so terrible that you can't tell your parents or someone you trust.
- Love and cuddle your children. Many pedophiles will shower a child with affection in an attempt to gain their trust and manipulate sexual activity.
The following links will take you outside of the City of Draper website. The City of Draper is not responsible for, and does not exert editorial control over information on these sites.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children - Good Information.
A Child Is Missing - Register for Alerts!
Utah Kids Registry - Protect your email addresses, cell phone numbers, and more from adult-oriented solicitations. | <urn:uuid:29b69e03-539d-4911-a4ab-30fda76ec358> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://ut-drapercity.civicplus.com/625/Child-Abduction-Prevention | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281069.89/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00271-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.926558 | 1,911 | 2.84375 | 3 |
Professor Yvette Blanchard Receives Fulbright Award
Talk to the faculty at any university and you will hear what an awesome responsibility it is to shape young minds. There are only a handful, however, who can claim to shape some of the youngest minds on the planet.
Professor Yvette Blanchard – Sacred Heart University’s most recent Fulbright Specialist recipient – can make those claims. Specializing in neurobehavioural assessment, Blanchard, who teaches in the physical therapy program at SHU, is quite literally a mind reader – working with premature and high-risk infants.
Through modern medicine, a child born prematurely has a reasonable chance of survival – even arriving as much as four months early. One challenge that comes with this, however, is that their brains don’t develop in the peaceful cocoon of the mother’s womb, but rather amid the over-stimulated environment of a hospital unit with bright lights and whirring machines working to keep the infant alive.
When she started her work 25 years ago, Blanchard explains, “premature babies were pinned down to the mattress with diaper safety pins, staring at bright fluorescent lights 24 hours a day. I knew there had to be a better way.” Through her expertise in neurobehavioural assessment – researching how infants communicate their needs through behavior – Blanchard works to educate doctors and clinical staff to recognize those needs and respond to them.
Her impact does not end there, however. The next challenge comes as the infant’s parents, who have felt sidelined while the medical needs of the child were attended to, begin to assume responsibility of care. “It can be terribly stressful for new parents going home with a baby they feel they barely know and whose needs they feel they barely understand,” Blanchard says. Using her relationship-based approach to therapy, she teaches the clinical staff how to bring the parents into the fold to foster that parent-child relationship.
In addition to ‘preemies’, Blanchard works with the medical staff and families of infants who have genetic conditions or disorders, as well as children with cardiac defects, typically zero-to-three years of age with a focus on the first three months of life.
Known internationally for her work in the field, Blanchard’s Fulbright Specialist Award will allow her to travel to Norway twice over the next academic year to the University of Tromsø, where she will present lectures to undergraduates and medical students. Additionally, she will serve as a mentor to their faculty and help to develop academic curricula and educational materials.
Blanchard also serves on the faculty at the Brazelton Institute, Children’s Hospital, Boston. Four times a week she commutes to Sacred Heart’s campus in Fairfield, citing a love of problem-based learning and an appreciation of the University’s respect for its faculty’s ‘real world’ responsibilities that gives students opportunities to work not only with academics, but practitioners.
Blanchard is one of only nine physical therapists to be awarded a Fulbright. Hers is the fifth Fulbright awarded at the University in the past seven years and the second awarded in this year alone. | <urn:uuid:1bcd3166-f9db-4add-8108-71c4f50d87a6> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.sacredheart.edu/aboutshu/news/newsstories/2013/june/professor-yvette-blanchard-receives-fulbright-award.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279368.44/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00329-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967992 | 670 | 2.1875 | 2 |
Surplus military equipment OK for cops
It makes sense for police departments to take advantage of surplus military vehicles, supplies and weapons.
First of all, this equipment is nearly brand new and would be destroyed if police departments did not acquire them. We are talking tens of billions of tax dollars and decades worth of high-end technology that would otherwise go directly in the incinerator.
What’s more, starting with the equipment: Helicopters, infrared and night vision scopes and tools are all assets that police departments can train their officers to use. Police work day and night; to be able to have the tools to train in, and actually operate in, nighttime scenarios with the advantage of sight would indisputably result in higher apprehension rates.
Further, providing a department with a helicopter not only creates another job if they don’t already have a pilot, it also cuts the time of a search and rescue mission. Also, it lessens the danger to the motoring public if used in pursuits, it’s much easier to watch from above and much less threatening to the offender.
Regarding rifles, handguns, semi-automatic and fully automatic guns: The police should have access to a host of weapons, minimally, an arsenal comparable to that of the criminals they face. A cop should never have to die in the line of duty because he was outgunned.
Regarding mine resistant ambush protected (MRAP) vehicles, and other armored and non-armored military vehicles: While it’s true some of these vehicles may not be necessary for everyday patrols, and they may sit unmoved 364 days out of the year, that one day they have to use it, I will sure be glad it’s there. This theory is similar to car insurance or having a concealed weapon; one has those things in hopes never to use them, but sleeps good at night knowing they are there.
We are in a very volatile society. Many things can make these very items a necessity – natural disaster, fire, police pursuit, rioting, a hostage situation, an active shooter situation, etc.
I don’t want to be that community where after something happens, everybody looks back naively and says what could we have done differently.
Safety is absolutely proactive. Anticipate and prepare, then the police, the individual and the community can properly react. | <urn:uuid:27af4c17-e4c7-493c-b7d7-8d81b5478bb6> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://content.leaderherald.com/?p=570064/Surplus-military-equipment-OK-for-cops.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282202.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00555-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951063 | 486 | 1.5 | 2 |
|Recombinant Human IL-33 protein (Catalog#10368-HNAE)|
|0.2 μm filtered solution in PBS with 5% trehalose|
|Produced in rabbits immunized with purified, recombinant Human IL-33 (rh IL-33; Catalog#10368-HNAE; Ser 112-Thr 270; NP_254274.1). IL-33 specific IgG was purified by human IL-33 affinity chromatography.|
|Human IL-33 / NF-HEV|
WB: 5-15 μg/mL
ELISA: 0.1-0.2 μg/mL
This antibody can be used at 0.1-0.2 μg/mL with the appropriate secondary reagents to detect Human IL-33. The detection limit for Human IL-33 is 0.00245 ng/well.
|This antibody can be stored at 2℃-8℃ for one month without detectable loss of activity. Antibody products are stable for twelve months from date of receipt when stored at -20℃ to -80℃. Preservative-Free.|
Sodium azide is recommended to avoid contamination (final concentration 0.05%-0.1%). It is toxic to cells and should be disposed of properly. Avoid repeated freeze-thaw cycles.
Interleukin 33 (IL-33), also known as DVS27 or NF-HEV (Nuclear Factor from High Endothelial enules), is a proinflammatory protein and a chromatin-associated cytokine of the IL-1 family with high sequence and structural similarity to IL-1 and IL-18. IL-33 protein is expressed highly and rather selectively by high endothelial venule endothelial cells (HEVECs) in human tonsils, Peyers's patches, and lymph nodes. IL-33 protein has transcriptional regulatory properties, and the researches suggested that IL-33 is a dual-function protein that might act both as a cytokine and as an intracellular nuclear factor. As a type 2 cytokines, IL-33 protein also play a pivotal role in helminthic infection and allergic disorders. | <urn:uuid:6ff340ea-40ac-4b19-b2f1-d6ecb851bc4c> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.sinobiological.com/IL-33-Antibody-g-3184.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280266.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00501-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.877251 | 459 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Last April 5th, Somali pirates captured the German cargo ship, the Hansa Stavanger, off the Somali coast. This triggered an unexpected reaction in Germany, and a government decision to send 200 GSG-9 police commandos and support personnel to rescue the ship and its crew (which included five Germans). GSG-9 received U.S. permission to stage their operation from the American amphibious ship USS Boxer. It took several weeks to get everything in position. But then some German and American officials (political, not military), got cold feet and called it all off.
What got the mission going in the first place was the growing German public unhappiness about paying large ransoms. Not just ships captured by Somali pirates, but also in some high profile kidnappings in Africa, Iraq and Afghanistan over the last few years. Noting the American and French use of commandos to deal with the Somali pirates, many German political leaders believed that having the GSG-9 hostage rescue unit do their thing would be a good move. But when U.S. presidential advisors had misgivings, the Germans backed off. Both American and German critics pointed out that the hostages appeared well defended, and that a rescue attempt might lead to high casualties. This was considered more of a problem than paying ransom to pirates. | <urn:uuid:a2268048-a644-4ee4-b4a4-4d60111855de> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.strategypage.com/htmw/htsf/articles/20090510.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570879.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808213349-20220809003349-00469.warc.gz | en | 0.977939 | 269 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Regional Trade Agreements - goods (GATT) provisions. GATT: Article XXIV back to top Territorial Application — Frontier Traffic — Customs Unions and Free-trade Areas 1.
The provisions of this Agreement shall apply to the metropolitan customs territories of the contracting parties and to any other customs territories in respect of which this Agreement has been accepted under Article XXVI or is being applied under Article XXXIII or pursuant to the Protocol of Provisional Application. Each such customs territory shall, exclusively for the purposes of the territorial application of this Agreement, be treated as though it were a contracting party; Provided that the provisions of this paragraph shall not be construed to create any rights or obligations as between two or more customs territories in respect of which this Agreement has been accepted under Article XXVI or is being applied under Article XXXIII or pursuant to the Protocol of Provisional Application by a single contracting party. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
Paragraph 9 Paragraph 11. Stabex. The Stabex (from French Système de Stabilisation des Recettes d'Exportation) is the acronym for a European Commission compensatory finance scheme to stabilise export earnings of the ACP countries.
It was first introduced in the second Lomé Convention (1979) with the purpose of remedying the harmful effects of the instability of export revenue from agricultural products. Stabex (along with similar mechanism for the mineral products– Sysmin that was provided for in the third Lomé Convention (1984)) was abolished by Cotonou Agreement in 2000. Yaoundé Convention. The Yaoundé Convention was a convention signed in the city of Yaoundé, Cameroon between the EC and ASMM (African States, Madagascar and Mauritius).
The First Convention (1964-1969) The first association agreement between the EC and the 18 African ex-colonies that had recently gained independence, was signed in Yaoundé on 20 July 1963 and entered into force on 1 June 1964. It was mainly based on the previous treaty between the EC and its overseas territories and had a validity period of 5 years. The Second Convention (1971-1975) After the first treaty expired, a new one was signed on 29 July 1969. External links MEMBER STATES. ACP–EU development cooperation. ACP States Development cooperation between the European Union (EU) and the countries of the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2007.
Although bilateral relations have always been and still remain one of the main features of modern development cooperation, it was the Treaty of Rome in 1957 which first established a collective European development policy. The Treaty of Rome granted associated status to 31 overseas collectivities and territories (OCTs) and provided for the creation of a European Development Fund (EDF) intended to grant technical and financial assistance to the countries which were still under European rule at the time.
More significantly, however, by means of the Treaty of Rome the six member states of the European Economic Community were expressing solidarity with the colonies and OCTs and committed themselves to contribute to their prosperity. Main actors Cotonou Agreement. ACP States Caribbean group East and South Africa group.
African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States. ACP States Caribbean group East and South Africa group Pacific group West African group Southern African group Central African group East Africa group The African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) is a group of countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that was created by the Georgetown Agreement in 1975.
The Cotonou Agreement (signed in Cotonou, Benin in June 2000) is the successor to the Lomé Conventions. Many small island developing states are ACP states; the fourth Lomé Convention was revised in 1995 in Mauritius and gives special attention to island countries in this agreement. Commissaire européen au Commerce. Un article de Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre.
Le Commissaire européen pour le commerce extérieur est le membre de la Commission européenne responsable de la politique commerciale extérieure. Le commissaire est notamment la voix de l'Union européenne au sein d'organisations comme l'OMC. Liste des commissaires[modifier | modifier le code] Traité de Lisbonne. Un article de Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre.
Traité sur le fonctionnement de l'Union européenne. Un article de Wikipédia, l'encyclopédie libre.
Traité de Rome Voir le traité sur Wikisource Le même jour, les mêmes pays ont signé le traité Euratom. Toutes les ratifications ayant été acquises à la fin de l'année 1957, le traité a pu entrer en vigueur dès le . Il a institué le marché commun européen et a défini les bases de la politique agricole commune mise en œuvre en 1962. Contenu du traité[modifier | modifier le code] Le traité sur le fonctionnement de l'Union comprend sept parties, suivies de trente-sept protocoles et deux annexes. Les principes[modifier | modifier le code] La première partie contient : la définition du traité et son lien avec le traité sur l'Union européenne (article premier) ;la définition des compétences de l'Union : compétence exclusive, compétence partagée (articles 2 à 6) ;certains principes généraux de l'action de l'Union (article 7 à 17). LexUriServ. | <urn:uuid:66f86adb-66e5-420e-9433-eacb9d148c5a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.pearltrees.com/nicolas.vezeau/jacques-conseiller-comptes/id4189656 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280221.47/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00229-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.743822 | 1,249 | 1.757813 | 2 |
?Elvis left no one indifferent to rock and roll??so begins award-winning author Wilborn Hampton?s thoughtful account of the beloved and controversial Elvis Presley. When Elvis shook his hips and sang his soulful songs, teenagers screamed and parents fretted. Fans, record executives, movie producers, and even the army wanted a piece of this enigmatic performer and shy boy from Tupelo, Mississippi. What Elvis gave them changed music forever.
This latest addition to Viking?s ongoing biography series, Up Close, includes gorgeous black-and-white photographs and introduces readers to the complicated life of the king of rock and roll.
Get the news you want from Penguin Random House
About Wilborn Hampton
Wilborn Hampton has been an editor and book and theater critic for the New York Times. He is also the award-winning author of Up Close: Elvis Presley (Viking) and Kennedy Assassinated!. He lives in New York City.
Published by Puffin Books Jul 03, 2008| 208 Pages| Young Adult| ISBN 9781440639128 | <urn:uuid:78d6a442-ebb7-482b-8e14-4f23442ba4af> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/298071/elvis-presley-by-wilborn-hampton/9781440639128?Elvis_Presley_Wilborn_Hampton | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718866.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00003-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.903526 | 216 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The Barbarian Group is handling “branding and identity work, design and development of the website and ongoing social media efforts” for “Project Hello World” an initiative by Projects For All “that provides internet access and digital education to underprivileged African communities” via solar-powered computer stations.
You can view some inspiring video footage of Project Hello World’s rollout in Suleja, Niger State above. The first of the project’s stations is expected to reach over 2,000 people. Children of Suleja are thrilled with the new technology and “can regularly be found playing the Hub’s pre-programed math and science games.”
Project Hello World was developed as an innovative approach to combat the over 134 million children in Sub-Saharan Africa who have never attended shcool, allowing access to technology and education to those who would otherwise never have it. “Our aim is to empower at both the individual and community level,” explains founder & CEO of Projects For All, Katrin Macmillan. “The hubs link children with e-mentors in London via Skype, provide teachers with digital support, and create sustainable programs that arm adults with new skill sets and enable community self-sufficiency.”
Project Hello World will continue expanding, adding hubs across Africa as it attempts to fulfill its mission of “reaching more than 2 million people over the next 5 years.” We wish them the best of luck in their admirable endeavor. You can learn more about the project here, and why not check out some of Projects For All’s other amazing projects on their website as well? | <urn:uuid:c889e36d-4593-4557-be71-44417bd5b049> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.adweek.com/agencyspy/barbarian-group-works-with-projects-for-all-to-help-developing-communities/62638?red=as | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718285.69/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00107-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948711 | 341 | 2.203125 | 2 |
Learn how to help protect and improve water quality in northern Indiana at Celebrate Water Quality Day at Potato Creek State Park, July 13.
From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., park naturalists and staff from local environmental consulting firm Cardno JFNew will lead activities that include a guided hike through wetlands and expert talks on mussels, fish and other aquatic organisms that live in Potato and Pine creeks.
Participants also can learn about threats to water quality and learn how to collect water samples and test water quality.
The tentative schedule is (all times are EDT):
— 10-11 a.m., Wetland Walk: Hike with a naturalist to learn how important wetlands are. Meet at the Friends Trail parking lot.
— 1–1:30 p.m., Mussels and Fish: Learn the different mussels and fish found in the Pine Creek Watershed — at the nature center
— 1:30–2 p.m., Problems in Our Watershed: Learn how invasive aquatic plants diminish water quality — at the nature center
— 3–4 p.m., Creek Peek: Get your feet wet and learn about sampling methods used in the Pine Creek Watershed. Meet at the campground gate
— 10 a.m.–4 p.m., Zoom Into the Pine Creek Watershed: Stop by the Nature Center Auditorium any time to see aquatic critters that live in our watershed. Microscopes and educational information will be available.
This program is part of a year-long study to evaluate water quality in the Pine Creek watershed, which includes Potato and Pine creeks and Worster Lake. The study receives funding from the Indiana DNR’s Lake and River Enhancement (LARE) grant program.
Potato Creek State Park (stateparks.IN.gov/2972.htm) is at 25601 State Road 4, North Liberty, 46554. | <urn:uuid:6c9687cc-0e76-4bfb-adcf-06663f6f513d> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.in.gov/activecalendar_dnr/EventList.aspx?fromdate=7/1/2013&todate=7/31/2013&display=Month&type=public&eventidn=6366&view=EventDetails&information_id=12814 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718296.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00540-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.911321 | 397 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Perur is a panchayat town in Coimbatore District in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Males constitute 50% of the population and females 50%.
Perur has an average literacy rate of 69%, higher than the national average of 59.5% : male literacy is 76%, and female literacy is 61%.
In Perur, 10% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Perur assembly constituency is part of Coimbatore.
Perur enshrines Patteeswarar and Maragathaambikai and is one of the Temples associated closely with the legend of the cosmic dance of Shiva and hence it bears an impressive Kanakasabha or the golden hall of dance in an ornate hall decked with exquisite sculpture.
Patteeswaram is also Home to the annual Natyanjali festival occurring in the month of September where homage is paid to the deity and to the art form of dance, through impressive dance recitals.
Displayed above is an image from the dance production ‘Aadavallaanin Aindu Sabhaigal’, written and scored by the author and choreographed by Kalaimaamani Saraswathi – performed at the Patteeswarar temple in September 1998. | <urn:uuid:7d51d165-72cd-446b-a085-7e25ef1dd377> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.coimbatoreplaza.com/cbe_areas/Perur.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280718.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00410-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939516 | 265 | 1.898438 | 2 |
Stock pickers are generally looking for stocks that will outperform the broader market. And while active stock picking involves risks (and requires diversification) it can also provide excess returns. To wit, the Diageo share price has climbed 80% in five years, easily topping the market return of 13% (ignoring dividends). However, more recent returns haven't been as impressive as that, with the stock returning just 17% in the last year , including dividends .
While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time.
During five years of share price growth, Diageo achieved compound earnings per share (EPS) growth of 7.0% per year. This EPS growth is slower than the share price growth of 12% per year, over the same period. This suggests that market participants hold the company in higher regard, these days. And that's hardly shocking given the track record of growth.
You can see how EPS has changed over time in the image below (click on the chart to see the exact values).
We like that insiders have been buying shares in the last twelve months. Having said that, most people consider earnings and revenue growth trends to be a more meaningful guide to the business. Dive deeper into the earnings by checking this interactive graph of Diageo's earnings, revenue and cash flow.
What About Dividends?
As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. It's fair to say that the TSR gives a more complete picture for stocks that pay a dividend. As it happens, Diageo's TSR for the last 5 years was 105%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!
A Different Perspective
Diageo shareholders gained a total return of 17% during the year. But that return falls short of the market. On the bright side, that's still a gain, and it's actually better than the average return of 15% over half a decade This suggests the company might be improving over time. Investors who like to make money usually check up on insider purchases, such as the price paid, and total amount bought. You can find out about the insider purchases of Diageo by clicking this link.
Diageo is not the only stock insiders are buying. So take a peek at this free list of growing companies with insider buying.
Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on GB exchanges.
If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at email@example.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.
We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.
Discounted cash flow calculation for every stock
Simply Wall St does a detailed discounted cash flow calculation every 6 hours for every stock on the market, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any company just search here. It’s FREE. | <urn:uuid:2cd411d5-022b-44f2-9cd6-46639bd1b2d3> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://simplywall.st/stocks/gb/food-beverage-tobacco/lse-dge/diageo-shares/news/if-you-had-bought-diageo-londge-stock-five-years-ago-you-could-pocket-a-80-gain-today | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573744.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20220819161440-20220819191440-00476.warc.gz | en | 0.943986 | 769 | 1.5625 | 2 |
As social entities, we spend a lot of time and effort in communication with others. Mastering the art of communication increases our chances of success in both professional and personal lives. Any performance improvement here will directly lead to benefits for your team, your job and your personal life. Communication skills can be learned and mastered through persistent practice.
The Communication Skills Training Materials offered by BMC on core concepts vital to successful communication such as Styles of Communication, Effective Listening and Questioning Skills, Assertiveness, Empathy and more. To master communication skills, extensive interactive and hands-on exercises are provided during the training course which encourage learning and increase the delegates’ confidence.
This course has been designed to accommodate two types of delegates with different communication needs; one group are co-workers who already know each other and want to improve their intercommunication skills and the other group are those delegates who don’t know each other or have not worked in the same team before. This group could include anyone from newly employed floor worker to managers, executives and team leaders. The course contains various optional content that you can use to tailor the course based on your delegates’ needs. | <urn:uuid:69d064f4-a1c4-412c-b519-c30fb3eb6b0f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | http://bashirmraish.com/index.php/communications-strategies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570765.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808031623-20220808061623-00269.warc.gz | en | 0.961034 | 235 | 2.078125 | 2 |
Think immigration and a handful of American cities spring to mind — Los Angeles. New York. Chicago. And Miami. In any of those places, the story of immigration reform likely would be one of shared beliefs, simmering anger, and a mobilized community — right? But the latest round of immigration proposals, debated in hearings from Washington to Miami, has illuminated some key distinctions that set the South Florida city apart: splintered demographics, diverging goals among ethnic groups, and a division between those who came legally and those who did not.
When it comes to immigration, Miami doesn’t speak in one voice, but in many. The region is built on ethnic groups and subgroups, each with its own set of passionately held ideals, each vying for space in the newspaper or exposure on TV. Politics change by neighborhood, from Little Havana to Little Haiti to Weston-zuela (the new Broward County suburb of Weston nicknamed for its heavy population of Venezuelans.)
Even though Florida has an estimated one million undocumented workers, many immigrant communities don’t see this current struggle as their own: Cubans have their wet-foot/dry-foot policy. (Make it to land and a Cuban migrant can pursue residency a year later; if found at sea, that same Cuban is sent home or to a third country.) Many Hondurans, Nicaraguans and Salvadorans have their own special exception — with “temporary” status as refugees from natural disasters. Haitians see their fight in terms of securing temporary residence and work permits. Each group follows its own agenda. And with the exception of many Cubans, who still hope to topple Fidel Castro, each sees its struggle for a place in the United States as the primary mission, critical to survival.
The Fragmented Story
While this single-mindedness might work well in pursuit of narrow policy changes, the fragmentation of viewpoints tends to diffuse reaction — and media coverage — in this debate. The numbers tell the story: In March, more than a half-million demonstrators were said to have shown up in Los Angeles to support immigration reform. In Chicago, as many as 300,000 people reportedly turned out. And in Miami? The most generous estimates of that city’s May 1st demonstration put the number at 10,000. Even though reporters, TV crews, and radio commentators here had geared up for a possible last-minute surge in participation, predictions of a relatively low turnout came true.
And so the story about immigration on that day — and on others — was a different one. Instead of one viewpoint, there were many. Instead of a single group — Mexicans — driving the news, multiple groups demanded a presence on the pages of the newspapers and on television. South Florida reporters had to tease out niche stories in an effort to represent the nuanced viewpoints of Colombians or Haitians or Guatemalans. Another illustration: On the day of these demonstrations, about 5,000 people gathered in the Orange Bowl, a mixed crowd of mostly Guatemalans, Hondurans and Nicaraguans, with a few Cubans as well. When Cuban music blared over the loudspeakers — the song was Guantanamera — a Peruvian man in attendance grumbled that the song was a bad choice because “the Cubans don’t support us.”
Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center Executive Director Cheryl Little, with more than two decades of work in the field, says the fragmentation of viewpoints is directly proportional to the region’s diversity: “This is South Florida — there are a dozen immigration issues coming up every day. And they’re all different.”
In other places, Spanish-language radio stations and talk-show hosts played key roles in promoting demonstrations. In South Florida, no such push materialized. Most popular Spanish stations in the area hold conservative views, and though many agreed with the general principles of immigrationreform, they didn’t overtly embrace the cause. And the date — May 1 — didn’t help, either. Many Cubans associate that day with Castro’s Communist regime. As reporters covering the story noted, some potential demonstrators were fearful of being cast in a Communist light; during the cold war era, the Soviet Union and its allies forced workers to attend May 1 rallies. To further water down the South Florida reaction, most local and state officials support immigration reform but were tepid in their response to the boycott. Florida Senator Mel Martinez, a Cuban-born Republican, has been a driving force behind legalization efforts, but he still decried the May 1 demonstrations as “counterproductive.”
Mexicans are the majority of undocumented workers in the United States. But in Miami-Dade County, people who come from Mexico make up only four percent of Hispanics, according to the annual census update in 2004. Cubans are still the largest Hispanic group in Miami-Dade, and they see the immigration fight through their own lens, focusing most of their attention on the Cuban Adjustment Act that enables them to apply for a green card after more than a year in the country. That rankles many Haitians who feel that they, like Cubans, are fleeing a repressive regime, yet they are turned away if they try to enter the United States without papers. Bumper stickers on some cars in Miami read: Equal treatment for Haitians. And even though at least two Haitian groups supported the national job strike (when immigrants would stay home from work for a day), the fear of job loss led some to keep their support private.
All of this adds up to Miami being a place where people generally support the idea of immigration reform — there has been no organized opposition — but they aren’t moved enough by the issues to march in the streets.
For reporters, this means that covering the local angles of the immigration reform debate continues to translate into a lot of hard work. If the people aren’t demonstrating at the Orange Bowl, reporters need to find them by going to their homes and businesses, asking their opinions to understand their views. And when they are not pulling their children out of school to protest against stronger border control and possible deportations or rallying in front of the immigration building, reporters have to find out why.
Told in bits and pieces, from one side and then the other and then yet another, the story unfolding in South Florida does not usually warrant front-page, banner headlines. Though these many stories might not be as eye-catching as thousands of people chanting “si, se puede” — “yes, we can” — for the television cameras, in some ways they are even more valuable. After all, one of the most basic responsibilities of journalists is to reflect the community around us in all its confusion and complexity, even when it doesn’t conform neatly to our expectations.
“I always say covering immigration in Miami is like peeling an onion,” said Myriam Marquez, assistant city editor for immigration at The Miami Herald. “The deeper you go, the more layers you find.”
Amy Driscoll, a 2003 Nieman Fellow, is a reporter with The Miami Herald. | <urn:uuid:67b17d9a-6f0c-4c21-a9d0-85dddab441e4> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://niemanreports.org/articles/diffused-voices-demand-different-coverage/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718866.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00003-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963273 | 1,476 | 2.125 | 2 |
Some 30 years ago, the Hebrew slogan was coined: "Medinat halakha - halkha hamedina," which means more or less that if Israel becomes a state governed by Jewish law, that will be the end of the state. Is the end near? It is coming.
Something like this has never happened before, even though it seems as if everything possible has already happened - two rabbis being summoned to a police investigation, and announcing that they will not go. Even settlers are kind enough to turn up. True, they are instructed to remain silent, to lead the police astray, but they show up. Rabbis, on the other hand, are even more important people, and if a rabbi is also a settler, there is no one with greater airs than he. Even after the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, the authorities dealt with the killer but left alone those who had killed wisdom.
Only rabbis permit themselves, with the authority of the Torah, to pass their sacred water in public without fear, and the police keep quiet about this, as do the attorney general and the head of the prosecution, and the legislators and law enforcers.
Not only have they not reported to the police, they are assembling communities of supporters - 250 of their species gathered last week to lend support to their colleagues, Dov Lior and Yaakov Yosef, who have approved the book of abomination, "Torat Hamelech" (The King's Torah ) written by one Yitzhak Shapira from the Od Yosef Hai yeshiva in Yitzhar.
This theological treatise is a kind of guide to the perplexed - when it is permitted to kill Gentiles in general and babies in particular, and all of this according to Jewish law. Even the Ashkenazi chief rabbi, Yona Metzger, who does not particularly like police investigations, has declared the rabbis who did not report to the police as being in the right.
At the conclusion of the gathering, rabbis from among the religious Zionists who, as civil servants, get their salaries from the taxpayer, had the following to say: "The moral values of the Torah have to be the moral code for the Israel Defense Forces ... Our holy Torah is not a subject for investigation or trial by flesh and blood." Even their colleagues from the holy city of Qom would have been hard pressed to produce a more enduring manifesto.
With this in mind, let us reexamine the meaning of certain terms:
"Rabbis" - Judaism has never been blessed with so many rabbis; how happy is this generation to have so many. No other country has such a rare and generous ratio of clergymen per capita.
"Find yourself a rabbi" [as the Mishna says] - so they find one, why not? Just so there should be someone. Any good-for-nothing can be a teacher for them and any charlatan who gets a number of students together is called a rabbi. It is not clear who has ordained him, and it is not clear whether the one doing the ordination is ordained to ordain, and according to which principles. It is easier to be a rabbi than a professor, and even that is not very difficult.
"Halakha" - If the Torah has 70 faces then halakha (Jewish religious law ) has 700. The sages said that everything can be understood on different levels and in different ways, and everything is included, and if one person has given an interpretation, another can come and overturn it. After all, there is no religious authority that is recognized and accepted by all in these times, to whom people listen and according to whom people act. The halakha says that any bastard can be a rabbi, and he can even give his own kashrut certificates in return for money. And the Chief Rabbinate in Israel is nothing but a depleted organ in a body that is bruised all over.
These masters of Jewish law act as if they have not heard of Shmaya, and contrary to his recommendations in the Mishna tractate "Avot" (Ethics of our Fathers ), they actually very much like the rabbinate. Their halakha looks the kingdom straight in the eye, and the kingdom is humiliated.
Want to enjoy 'Zen' reading - with no ads and just the article? Subscribe todaySubscribe now | <urn:uuid:c98940d5-5d26-46fc-b6da-115fd64f02d7> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.haaretz.com/any-bastard-can-be-a-rabbi-1.310463 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280763.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00514-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973405 | 905 | 1.546875 | 2 |
The Sun Lizard Solar Heat Extractor -- How Does It Work?
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angle for maximum solar gain. | <urn:uuid:dc8716fa-d13b-4d42-b57e-72243e922dda> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.sunlizard.com.au/content/solarheatextractor-howdoesitwork.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281450.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00172-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.860338 | 380 | 2.125 | 2 |
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Cutting the Pain Away (Psy) (Encyclopedia of Psychological Disorders)
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Native American Authors
Nas'Naga , 1941-
Online resources by or about Nas'Naga:Nas'Naga
Description: Official web site of Nas'Naga. Includes biographical information, information about his books, and excerpts from his poetry.
Books by Nas'Naga:Nas'Naga. The Darker Side of Glory
Athens, GA : GMP/Iberian Publishing Company.
Nas'Naga. Faces beneath the grass
Dayton, Ohio : Nas'Naga, 1979.
Nas'Naga. Indians' summer
New York : Harper & Row, 1975.
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Byzantion nea hellás
versión On-line ISSN 0718-8471
CASTILLO DIDIER, Miguel. Kazantzakis' Odyssey. Ithaca, point of arrival and departure. Byzantion nea hellás [online]. 2010, n.29, pp.191-208. ISSN 0718-8471. http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0718-84712010000100011.
Odysseus reaches Ithaca in the Homeric text and also in the modern Odyssey. He had really reached there when the new poem begins. Ithaca preserves the symbology which had in the Homeric text, but it acquires a new role. In the island, Odysseus reaffirms his identity: he is the same hero who participated in theTrojan war, fought against adversities and temptation for ten years, without losing the will to return to his land and home. He recognizes his territory, buries his father and accompanies his son in the latter s wedding. Now it is also the point of departure: Odysseus sails from it in a new voyage, perhaps longer than the previous one and with no return. The beloved island remains as such. Loving it, the hero abandons it. In his very long voyage to death on he Antarctic ices he often remembers it.
Palabras clave : Odyssey; Odysseus; Ithaca; return; departure. | <urn:uuid:6007292d-e195-4651-aaff-bece70ebeb95> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.scielo.cl/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S0718-84712010000100011&lng=es&nrm=iso&tlng=en | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988721555.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183841-00178-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944179 | 313 | 2.125 | 2 |
BANGUI, CAR —
The Central African Republic has a new interim president, Catherine Samba-Panza, elected Monday by members of the country’s transitional parliament. She represents a break with the past in more ways than one.
On Sunday, the election bureau of the parliament whittled down a list of 24 would-be candidates to just eight, and on Monday the lawmakers held a very public election attended by media and numerous other observers.
Bangui Mayor Samba-Panza is a relative newcomer to politics, and now the country’s first female president.
In her election address she used a pun on her title of "mayor" to full effect - mayor meaning both the elected head of a municipality and mother, in French, the Central African Republic’s official language.
She told parliamentarians, “I have been the mayor [or mother] who is close to the population, and if you think I can be the mother who can bring people together, the mother who can relieve the sufferings of this country’s children and the mother who will fight to bring the CAR out of chaos, then brother and sisters vote for me."
Her main opponent Desire Kolingba, the son of former president Andre Kolingba, offered to give his election address in the local language Sango, perhaps to emphasize his 100 percent Central African origins, although nationality does not appear to have been an issue for candidates in this election.
He gave a subdued speech calling for unity.
The final election result was drowned out by cheering. That was 75 votes for Samba- Panza and 53 for Desire Kolingba.
The International Crisis Group’s Central Africa analyst, Thierry Vircoulon, said that Samba-Panza has spent most of her career in the private sector, but has impressed observers with her seriousness as mayor since her appointment last year. He suggested that her election as interim president will be widely popular.
"Basically, this is maybe what the people of Bangui wanted, but above all it is what the international community wanted - a new face as president," said Vircoulon.
Samba-Panza is due to serve until national elections can be organized. The U.S. government has called for elections to be held by February of next year.
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|Scientific Name:||Melogale personata|
|Species Authority:||I. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1831|
|Taxonomic Notes:||Melogale personata is sometimes considered to include the disjunct populations orientalis of Java and everetti of Borneo, both here considered as separate species; M. personata does not otherwise occur on these islands. The external morphological similarities shared by all Melogale species bedevil identification of individuals to species. There has been no modern thorough taxonomic study of this genus; such an investigation is warranted (Long 1992).|
|Red List Category & Criteria:||Least Concern ver 3.1|
|Assessor(s):||Duckworth, J.W., Long, B., Willcox, D.H.A., Coudrat, C.N.Z., Timmins, R.J., Abramov, A.V., Chan, B. & Chutipong, W.|
|Contributor(s):||Rasphone, A., Ghimirey, Y., Baral, H., Yonzon, P., Roberton, S., Chetri, M., Datta, A., Choudhury, A., Kakati, K. & Holden, J.|
Large-toothed Ferret Badger is difficult to categorise because its gross external similarity to Small-toothed Ferret Badger Melogale moschata means that most non-specimen records generated in the last 20-30 years cannot be identified to species. Despite the paucity of reliable recent records from across its range, it is listed as Least Concern based on a number of assumptions. If any of these are shown not to be valid, its categorisation would require review. First, it was clearly formerly common in at least some parts of its range, as shown by the number of historical specimens, Second, there are no records of Small-toothed Ferret Badger from the parts of South-east Asia with a harsh dry season and forests which are extensively deciduous, so all modern records of the genus from such areas - which, including degraded habitats, in total cover a vast area of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Myanmar - are assumed here to be Large-toothed Ferret Badger. Third, there are few records in these areas relative to many other small carnivore species readily found by modern survey methods, notably camera-trapping; this paucity seems more likely to reflect low spatial overlap between typical survey priorities (little-degraded forest) and this species's habitat use than to an all-round scarcity of this species (this is corroborated by the number of certain Large-toothed Ferret Badger records from highly degraded areas, and many more from them of the genus unidentified to species). The species is thereby inferred to be resilient to the general current levels of hunting and habitat change over most of its range. Thus it is further inferred not to be declining at anything like the rate needed for listing as Near Threatened, and its range and population size (on any plausible population density) are far in excess of values warranting listing as anything other than Least Concern.
|Previously published Red List assessments:|
|Range Description:||Large-toothed Ferret Badger is found in North-east India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Viet Nam, and southern Yunnan province (China) (Pocock 1941, Duckworth et al. 1999, Wang 2003, Roberton 2007, Dang et al. 2008, Islam et al. 2008, Than Zaw et al. 2008, Schank et al. 2009, Robichaud 2010, Choudhury 2013, Coudrat and Nanthavong 2013, Chutipong et al. 2014, Kakati et al. 2014). There is also an old record from western Guangdong province (China), disjunct from its known occurrence in Yunnan province (Wang 2003). It presumably occurs in Bhutan (the genus certainly does; Tempa et al. 2013) although no verifiable evidence was traced for this review. Historical records from 'Nepal' were accepted as of valid location by Hinton and Fry (1923) and Pocock (1941), authors who both doubted a number of other species conventionally listed for the country. Thapa (2014) by contrast called for confirmation of occurrence in Nepal. A recent photographic record unidentified to species (M. Chetri pers. comm. 2014) proves that the genus occurs in the country. |
The range is still incompletely known, with the first records of the genus being published recently for Bangladesh and Cambodia (Islam et al. 2008, Schank et al. 2009). Small-toothed Ferret Badger Melogale moschata and M. personata are very similar in external morphology. Although many sources suggest they can be separated by pattern of dorsal pelage and perhaps of face markings, examination of skins with associated skulls (so species identity is known) indicates that the purported characters are population-level tendencies that are not, on present knowledge, suitable for use to identify individual animals to species (J.W. Duckworth pers. comm. 2014, A.V. Abramov pers. comm. 2014, A.U. Choudhury pers. comm. 2014) and field records, including skin specimens lacking an associated skull or baculum, need to be considered as identifiable only to genus. Overconfident identification is an acute problem in areas like Thailand, where M. personata is the only species of the genus confirmed to occur, so records of the genus are routinely assumed to relate to this species without critical examination. A recent southward extension of known range, by several hundred kilometers, for M. moschata in Viet Nam through territory were otherwise only M. personata is known (Abramov and Rozhnov 2014), emphasises that identification should not be made through geographic presumption.
Most past statements about its altitudinal range are or may be based on identifications from pelage pattern, and thus potentially include some records of Small-toothed Ferret Badger. Large-toothed Ferret Badger has been recorded from the lowlands (e.g. 15 m a.s.l.; Schank et al. 2009) up to at least 1,520 m (Pocock 1941); further records with specific altitude would help understand if altitudinal use varies across its range; for example, Van Peenen et al. (1971) wrote that it was "trapped in all habitats below 550 m", but (by implication) not above, on Mount Son Tra, Viet Nam.
Native:Bangladesh; Cambodia; China; India; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Myanmar; Nepal; Thailand; Viet Nam
|Range Map:||Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.|
|Population:||Large-toothed Ferret Badger's population size and trend is not well known, in large part because of the small number of recent records across its range that are reliably identified to species (i.e. the externally very similar Small-toothed Ferret Badger has been justifiably and explicitly excluded). Looking at patterns of overall ferret badger occurrence across this species's specimen-validated range (see 'Habitats and ecology'), it is impossible to assess directly the present population status of this species in areas where Small-toothed Ferret Badger is also known to occur, such as Yunnan province (China), Viet Nam and North-east India. However, there seem presently to be no known records of Small-toothed Ferret Badger from the large area of mainland South-east Asia experiencing a harsh dry season and with forest largely or wholly deciduous. This area includes most of the lowlands and lower hills of each of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand, Myanmar and Bangladesh. In these countries, Small-toothed Ferret Badger is either unrecorded or known only from evergreen habitats (both forest and degraded areas), mostly in the highlands. (This assessment is not applicable throughout Small-toothed Ferret Badger's range; further north [and well north of any Large-toothed Ferret Badger record], in China, where Small-toothed Ferret Badger occurs in deciduous forest, the climate differs greatly from that in monsoonal South-east Asia, having for instance a much colder dry season.) Assuming that all the mainland South-east Asian records of ferret badgers in lowlands with harsh dry season to relate to Large-toothed Ferret Badger, this latter species clearly remains widespread but is typically recorded only rather rarely (Than Zaw et al. 2008, Robichaud 2010, Gray et al. 2014a, Chutipong et al. 2014). While this might indicate genuine rarity, a number of specimen-validated records come from highly degraded areas of South-east Asia (Van Peenen et al. 1971, Schank et al. 2009, Chutipong et al. 2014) or adjacent north-east India (Kakati et al. 2014), raising the possibility that it might be associated with edge and degraded areas (consistent with the general assessment of habitat use by Lekagul and McNeely (1977), and is simply much overlooked by the focus of most wildlife survey in South-east Asia on little-degraded forest. General mammal hunting is generally very heavy in Lao PDR and Viet Nam and uses mostly unselective techniques: thus, Large-toothed Ferret Badger populations in these countries might well be depleted, in both degraded and forest areas (see Duckworth et al. 2010, Coudrat et al. 2014). Hunting levels are typically much lower in Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar (Than Zaw et al. 2008, Gray et al. 2014a, Chutipong et al. 2014). Too little information is available from India and China (specifically, the precise locations of multiple records of both species relative to patterns of dry-season harshness and of relevant survey effort) to speculate on Large-toothed Ferret Badger population status in these countries.|
|Current Population Trend:||Unknown|
|Habitat and Ecology:||Determining the habitat use of Large-toothed Ferret Badger is hindered by the low proportion of recent records across its range that are reliably identified to species (i.e., the externally very similar Small-toothed Ferret Badger has been clearly excluded). Looking at patterns of overall ferret badger occurrence across this species's specimen-validated range, there is a startling difference in encounter rates and inferred abundance between Viet Nam and southern China on the one hand, and Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar on the other. In the former, ferret badgers are widely and commonly recorded (Roberton 2007, Lau et al. 2010, Willcox et al. 2014: Table SOM3). In the latter countries, records are only sporadic, and in total, relatively few in number (Than Zaw et al. 2008, Gray et al. 2014a, Chutipong et al. 2014). Lao PDR shows a mixed pattern: over most of the country, the genus is rarely recorded (as in Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia) but in some parts of the country's east, it is found commonly (Robichaud 2010, Coudrat et al. 2014, Gray et al. 2014b). The parts of Lao PDR where the genus has been commonly recorded are close to the Viet Namese border and are similar to Viet Nam in terms of climate (relatively benign dry season), habitat (wet evergreen forest) and associated habitat-indicator species (such as Annamite Striped Rabbit Nesolagus timminsi, Saola Pseudoryx nghetinhensis and Owston's Civet Chrotogale owstoni). The strong geographic basis to this pattern in Lao PDR suggests, firstly, that the widespread low detection rates in camera-trap surveys in countries such as Thailand and Myanmar do not reflect any inherent unsuitability of the methodology for finding ferret badgers, and, secondly, that many, perhaps most, of the camera-trap records in Viet Nam and southern China are of a species which does not occur in the parts of South-east Asia with a harsh dry season: based on the overall pattern of specimen-validated records, this would be Small-toothed Ferret Badger. The ferret badgers recorded in the large proportion of South-east Asia with a hot, almost arid dry season are thus hypothesised to be all Large-toothed Ferret Badgers, in keeping with all certainly identified specimens from such habitats. However, this latter species also occurs in syntopy with Small-toothed Ferret Badger in evergreen forests with a benign dry season (e.g., Robichaud 2010, Coudrat and Nanathavong 2013). Too little information is available from India and China (specifically, the precise locations of multiple records of both species relative to patterns of dry-season harshness and of relevant survey effort) to speculate on relative habitat use of the two ferret badger species in these countries.|
Based on the above proposition, which remains to be confirmed, a number of preliminary deductions can be made about Large-toothed Ferret Badger in South-east Asia. Other than that it certainly occurs in evergreen forest, little can be said about its abundance, altitudinal use or microhabitat associations in that habitat: there are far too few evergreen forest records certainly of this species with precise habitat details to make strong inferences. However, the rarity of ferret badgers in camera-trap surveys of evergreen forest blocks long-isolated and distant from the main Annamite range (and from certain records of Small-toothed Ferret Badger), such as Khao Yai and Phu Khieo, Thailand (Chutipong et al. 2014), which have had multiple intensive surveys of the evergreen forest interior, suggests that Large-toothed Ferret Badger is not common in unbroken old-growth evergreen forest. A number of specimen-validated records of Large-toothed Ferret Badger come from highly degraded areas of South-east Asia (Van Peenen et al. 1971, Schank et al.2009, Chutipong et al. 2014) and adjacent North-east India (Kakati et al. 2014), together with many records of ferret badgers not identified to species (e.g., Than Zaw et al. 2008, Chutipong et al. 2014, Kakati et al. 2014). This suggests that Large-toothed Ferret Badger might be common in, perhaps even associated with, edge and degraded areas (consistent with the general assessment of habitat use by Lekagul and McNeely 1977). Indeed, Van Peenen et al. (1971) stated that the species was "trapped in all habitats below 550 m, including near dwellings...did not range far into rain forest, apparently preferring areas of thicker undergrowth, either grass, brush, or small trees". As with Javan Mongoose Herpestes javanicus and Small Indian Civet Viverricula indica, Large-toothed Ferret Badger would thus be much overlooked in South-east Asia because of the focus of most wildlife survey there on old-growth, predominantly evergreen, forests (Than Zaw et al. 2008, Duckworth et al. 2010, Chutipong et al. 2014).
Camera-trap records (assigned to this species as above) suggest that it is largely nocturnal.
|Continuing decline in area, extent and/or quality of habitat:||Unknown|
|Generation Length (years):||4.1|
|Movement patterns:||Not a Migrant|
|Use and Trade:||In areas where ground-dwelling mammals of this size-class are caught by unselective methods such as snares, this species is presumably eaten widely. There is no particular suggestion that it is specifically sought anywhere in its range, but inadequate information to say that it is not.|
|Major Threat(s):||General mammal hunting with non-selective methods is very high in parts of this species's range, notably Lao PDR and Viet Nam. Ferret badgers are often caught in snares and indeed various recent records identified to species come from salvage from snare lines (e.g., Abramov and Rozhnov 2014). It is quite plausible that such hunting keeps populations artificially low in these areas. The species is also probably taken for food frequently in all other parts of its range where wild mammals are widely eaten, such as North-east India (A.U. Choudhury pers. comm. 2006) and Cambodia (Schank et al. 2014). The relatively high number of Large-toothed Ferret Badger records from highly degraded, even largely anthropogenic, areas (Van Peenen et al. 1971, Than Zaw et al. 2008, Schank et al.2009, Chutipong et al. 2014, Kakati et al. 2014) suggests that the widespread habitat conversion, fragmentation and degradation across it range is not particularly detrimental. There are too few records certainly identified to species with detailed habitat information to be sure that this species is not threatened, but there is no evidence that it is.|
|Conservation Actions:||In India, Large-toothed Ferret Badger is protected in Schedule 2, Part 1. The genus has been recorded in various protected areas in Myanmar, Thailand, Lao PDR and Cambodia (Than Zaw et al. 2008; Chutipong et al. 2014; Gray et al. 2014a,b) in areas speculated to be climatically suitable for this species but not for the similar-looking Small-toothed Ferret Badger (see 'Habitats and ecology'). With no identified threats across most of its range, no near-term interventions are apparent. The conservation need related to the species is for a far better understanding of it distribution and natural history. Achieving this would be assisted by greater awareness among all those likely to encounter and report ferret badgers, particularly as road-kills or in traps (and thus where identification can be confirmed to species) of the importance of a careful identification to species (and acceptance that on present knowledge this in unlikely to be possible unless the animal is in the hand, or tested genetically) and for publication of such records.|
Abramov, A.V. and Rozhnov, V.V. 2014. The southernmost record of Small-toothed Ferret Badger Melogale moschata – further evidence of syntopy by two ferret badger species. Small Carnivore Conservation 51: 68–70.
Choudhury, A. 2013. The mammals of North east India. Gibbon Books and the Rhino Foundation for Nature in NE India, Guwahati, Assam, India.
Chutipong, W., Tantipisanuh, N., Ngoprasert, D., Lynam, A.J., Steinmetz, R., Jenks, K.E., Grassman Jr., L.I., Tewes, M., Kitamura, S., Baker, M.C., McShea, W., Bhumpakphan, N., Sukmasuang, R., Gale, G.A., Harich, F.K., Treydte, A.C., Cutter, P., Cutter, P.B., Suwanrat, S., Siripattaranukul, K., Hala-Bala Wildlife Research Station, Wildlife Research Division and Duckworth, J.W. 2014. Current distribution and conservation status of small carnivores in Thailand: a baseline review. Small Carnivore Conservation 51: 96–136.
Coudrat, C.N.Z. and Nanthavong, C. 2013. A confirmed record of Large-toothed Ferret Badger Melogale personata from central Laos suggesting syntopy with Small-toothed Ferret Badger M. moschata. Small Carnivore Conservation 49: 48–50.
Coudrat, C.N.Z., Nanthavong, C., Sayavong, S., Johnson, A., Johnston, J.B. and Robichaud, W.G. 2014. Conservation importance of Nakai-Nam Theun National Protected Area, Laos, for small carnivores based on camera trap data. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 62: 31–49.
Dang N.C., Endo, H., Nguyen T.S., Oshida, T., Le X.C., Dang H.P., Lunde, D.P., Kawada, S.-I., Sasaki, M. and Hayashida, A. 2008. [Checklist of wild mammal species of Vietnam]. Shoukadoh, Kamigyo, Kyoto, Japan. (In Vietnamese.).
Datta, A. 1999. Small carnivores in two protected areas of Arunachal Pradesh. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 96: 399-404.
Duckworth, J.W., Salter, R.E. and Khounboline, K. 1999. Wildlife in Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report. IUCN, Vientiane, Laos.
Duckworth, J.W., Timmins, R.J. and Tizard, T. 2010. Conservation status of Small Asian Mongoose Herpestes javanicus (É. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, 1818) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Herpestidae) in Lao PDR. Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 58: 403–410.
Gray, T.N.E., Pin C., Phan C., Crouthers, R., Kamler, J.F. and Prum S. 2014a. Camera-trap records of small carnivores from eastern Cambodia, 1999–2013. Small Carnivore Conservation 50: 20–24.
Gray, T.N.E., Thongsamouth, K. and Tilker, A. 2014b. Recent camera-trap records of Owston’s Civet Chrotogale owstoni and other small carnivores from Xe Sap National Protected Area, southern Lao PDR. Small Carnivore Conservation 51: 29–33.
Hinton, M.A.C. and Fry, T.B. 1923. Bombay Natural History Society’s mammal survey of India, Burma and Ceylon. Report no. 37: Nepal. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 29: 299-428.
Islam, M.A., Chowdhury, G.W. and Belant, J.L. 2008. First record of Large-toothed Ferret Badger Melogale personata in Bangladesh. Small Carnivore Conservation 39: 41–42.
IUCN. 2016. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2016-1. Available at: www.iucnredlist.org. (Accessed: 30 June 2016).
Kakati, K., Srikant, S., Momin, H.G., Magne, F., Sangma, P., Sondhi, S., Naniwadekar, N., Borah, J. and Smith, D. 2014. Records of ferret badgers Melogale from the states of Meghalaya and Arunachal Pradesh, India. Small Carnivore Conservation 51: 4–10.
Lau, M.W.N., Fellowes, J.R. and Chan, B.P.L. 2010. Carnivores (Mammalia: Carnivora) in South China: a status review with notes on the commercial trade. Mammal Review 42: 247–292.
Lekagul, B. and McNeely, J.A. 1977. Mammals of Thailand. Association for the Conservation of Wildlife, Bangkok, Thailand.
Long, C.A. 1992. Is the Javan ferret-badger a subspecies or a species? Small Carnivore Conservation 6: 17.
Osgood, W.H. 1932. Mammals of the Kelley-Roosevelts and Delacour Asiatic expeditions. Field Museum of Natural History, Zoology Series 18(10): 193-339.
Pocock, R.I. 1941. The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma. Taylor & Francis, Ltd., London, UK.
Roberton, S.I. 2007. Status and conservation of small carnivores in Vietnam. University of East Anglia, Norwich, U.K. (Ph.D. thesis).
Robichaud, W.G. 2010. A field record of Small-toothed Ferret Badger Melogale moschata in Central Laos, and other recent records of ferret badgers from the country. Small Carnivore Conservation 42: 32–34.
Schank, C., Pollard, E.H.B., Sechrest, W., Timmins, R., Holden, J. and Walston, J. 2009. First confirmed records of Large-toothed Ferret Badger Melogale personata in Cambodia, with notes on country records of Melogale. Small Carnivore Conservation 40: 11–15.
Storz, J. F. and Wozencraft, W. C. 1999. Melogale moschata. Mammalian Species 631: 1-4.
Tempa, T., Hebblewhite, M., Mills, L.S., Wangchuk, T.R., Norbu, N., Wangchuk, T., Nidup, T., Dendup, P., Wangchuk, D., Wangdi, Y. and Dorji, T. 2013. Royal Manas National Park, Bhutan: a hot spot for wild felids. Oryx 47: 207–210.
Than Zaw, Saw Htun, Saw Htoo Tha Po, Myint Maung, Lynam, A.J., Kyaw Thinn Latt and Duckworth, J.W. 2008. Status and distribution of small carnivores in Myanmar. Small Carnivore Conservation 38: 2–28.
Thapa, S. 2014. A checklist of mammals of Nepal. Journal of Threatened Taxa 6: 6061–6072.46.
Van Peenen, P.F.D., Light, R.H. and Duncan, J.F. 1971. Observations on mammals on Mt. Son Tra, South Vietnam. Mammalia 35: 126–143.
Wang, Y.X. 2003. A Complete Checklist of Mammal Species and Subspecies in China (A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference). China Forestry Publishing House, Beijing, China.
Willcox, D.H.A., Tran Q.P., Hoang M.D. and Nguyen T.T.A. 2014. The decline of non-Panthera cat species in Vietnam. Cat News Special Issue 8: 53–61.
|Citation:||Duckworth, J.W., Long, B., Willcox, D.H.A., Coudrat, C.N.Z., Timmins, R.J., Abramov, A.V., Chan, B. & Chutipong, W. 2016. Melogale personata. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T41627A45209826.Downloaded on 17 January 2017.|
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Washington D.C., Mar 17, 2017 / 02:18 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Last year, in a nearly unprecedented event, the United States declared that Christians, Yezidis, Shi’a Muslims, and other religious and ethnic minorities are victims of ISIS genocide.
It was only the second time the State Department has used the label to describe ongoing atrocities committed by a state or non-state actor. Genocide is the “crime of crimes,” according to the United Nations, because it involves the intentional destruction, “in whole or in part,” of an entire people.
Marking the one-year anniversary of that declaration, the Knights of Columbus are continuing their work to assist persecuted Christians in the region by contributing nearly $2 million in new assistance.
In a statement announcing the new aid, the fraternal organization’s CEO Carl Anderson said that “words are not enough” to protect Christians and other targeted populations.
“Those targeted for genocide continue to need our assistance, especially since many have received no funding from the U.S. government or from the United Nations. The new administration should rectify the policies it found in place, and stop the de facto discrimination that is continuing to endanger these communities targeted by ISIS for genocide.”
Many others have also called on the Trump administration to do more to help Christians and other minorities in the Middle East on the anniversary of the declaration. This week, Professor Robert Destro of the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America announced a joint statement of “recommended actions” for the administration to take to protect genocide survivors.
The document was a call “to stand up constantly” for minorities “who are being targeted today by ISIS and all of its affiliates around the world” and was signed by numerous political and religious leaders.
The Knights of Columbus played a key role in lobbying for the declaration of the Christian genocide last year, as they compiled and presented a 278-page report to the State Department, documenting evidence of Christian genocide at the hands of ISIS.
Since 2014, they have donated more than $12 million to aid Christians in the Middle East, which has gone to medical clinics in Iraq, Easter food baskets for displaced Christians under the care of the Archdiocese of Erbil, general relief for the Christians of Aleppo, Syria, via the city’s Melkite Archdiocese, and support for the Christian refugee relief programs of the Syriac Catholic patriarch.
Anderson said 2017 may be “the decisive year in determining whether many Christian communities throughout the Middle East will continue to exist,” and has called for aid from the U.S. government and the international community.
The Knights of Columbus are also leading a Novena (nine days of prayer) from March 12 to 20 for grace and solidarity with Christians in the Middle East. Donations to support Christian refugees and other religious minorities can be made at www.christiansatrisk.org
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This excellent CD from the relatively new Piano Classics label is almost as much a celebration of the doyen of contemporary music pianists, Ursula Oppens, as it is of the brilliant and trenchant music of the modern American composer Frederic Rzewski (born 1938). Although Rzewski's compositional style is not strictly avant-garde, it's completely in accord with Oppens' sensibilities. This makes a pleasing recording – the only one in the current catalog; and one which can be recommended.
Rzewski's piece consists of 36 variations on the theme, El pueblo unido jamás será vencido, ("The people united will never be defeated"), which originated in the Nueva Cancion Chilena (New Chilean Song) movement. Although it's plebeian in sentiment and intent, the music of the song was actually composed by Sergio Ortega to text written by Chilean folk group Quilapayún. The opening track, the theme, of Rzewski's variations is 36 bars long. The repetition of motifs, the harmonies, rhythms and modulations of the theme sustained over those three dozen more could be trying… it's a relatively simple theme. But they're not. Far from it. There is surprise, true variety and a range of moods and approaches to the basic idea.
The song, of course, celebrates the optimism of those oppressed in Chile by earlier regimes when Allende came to power in 1969. Rzewski's work is a conscious tribute to that sense of new hope. This work of his is a positive and concrete public gesture of solidarity with those who continued the struggle against all odds. Written in 1975 (and dedicated to Oppens) it came after the Fascist coup two years earlier that toppled Allende and so stands unequivocally with the song's status as emblematic of its status as an unofficial anthem of the Chilean resistance and the irrepressibility for which that movement stood, and in some ways still has to stand.
In style and sentiment The People United Will Never Be Defeated represents a parallel change in direction with that made by composers like Cornelius Cardew in the 1970s away from a more adventurous and avant-garde idiom to music designed to be more accessible. Influences of jazz and the popular songs of the Italian left (Rzewski had lived in Rome on and off for more than ten years) also contributed to this shift.
But there's nothing trite or self-conscious about the music on this CD. It's as much or more music as it is political and social "message". Nor is that musical strength insipid. There are outer registers, unusual sonorities, extended repeated notes, hints at improvisatory techniques, as well as Cagean intervention by the pianist… whistling, vocalizing, slamming the piano lid and so on. Oppens makes this her own in such a way as to commend to listeners who come to the music with a variety of expectations the notion that such dedication and security in technique and musical purpose themselves serve the cause of the oppressed by illustrating it as complex, worthwhile, of high quality and as finely nuanced and as full of depth and life as of force.
For instance, The People United Will Never Be Defeated, although a set of variations, is shot through with a structure that bespeaks logic, focus, rationale and even discipline. If social justice is to be wrested from the oppressor, all work for it had better be well organized. Yet Oppens' playing is never dry or automatic, never dull or mechanical. She infuses as much life into Rzewski's writing as surely he intended. By the same token, the rigor of the music is vital to its enjoyment and understanding (it's grouped into six sections of six, where the sixth of each set is itself in six parts "summarizing" the development of the previous five and a final transitional piece). Although it might be fanciful to see a gesture to five fingers then a fist, the extra-musical significance is there. But never overplayed or treated coyly by Oppens. Nor does she draw undue attention to the bar counts that also underpin the music.
Instead, her playing concentrates on the resulting intensity with which Rzewski infuses The People United Will Never Be Defeated. Or rather, which is soon seen to emerge very naturally from the very essence of the music. Her balance of spontaneity and unforced attention to detail is exemplary; it's what makes this set as good as it is.
The acoustic is close and appropriate. Originally recorded in 1978 and released on Vanguard, it's still fresh and immediate. The booklet is informative and contains a listing of the variations, over half of them having such descriptions as "Relentless, uncompromising" and "L.H. strictly; R.H. freely, roughly in space". Piano music that advances a good external cause isn't plentiful. Here's an example, extremely imaginatively-played, that is much more full of interest than it at first may seem; and well worth investigating.
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Earlier today, my attention was directed to a thread on an Internet discussion forum that lamented how much America had changed over the years. I don’t know exactly why, but the posts on that thread really touched me. Those of us that are old enough to remember what America was like before the Internet grew up in a much simpler time. Yes, we didn’t have all of the luxuries that we take for granted in 2019, but we found joy in the simple things and people were generally much happier. Today, we seemingly have so much going for us, and yet people are lonelier, more disconnected and more depressed than ever before. The suicide rate in the United States is up 34 percent since the year 2000, approximately 40 million American adults have an anxiety disorder, and overdosing on drugs is now the leading cause of death for Americans under the age of 50. Clearly our society is not heading in the right direction.
So that probably explains why a thread entitled “I Cry When I Think Back How Things Used To Be” got my attention so much. This is what the author of the thread posted…
I can never go back to my early days growing up on the farm. Had time to enjoy each day, the warm sun the hay in the barn. Even with all the work there was to be done. Eating an apple off the tree, taking a long drink from the cool spring. Working the garden…..What the hell happened.
In just five sentences, this individual captured what so many of us have been feeling.
Will the 2nd Amendment Be Destroyed By the Biden Admin?
Of course most of us didn’t grow up on a farm. I certainly didn’t. But without a doubt there are lots of people out there that are saddened by the contrast between what America used to be and what America is today.
Another person that grew up near Boston also shared memories of simpler days…
only it was just suburbs Boston.
actually, just sitting and talking with neighbors, drinking lemonade in summer as Boston is insanely humid then..
or even more recently, in Wisconsin.. listening to thunderstorms roll in.. the state is so flat you can see these beautiful storms for miles…
Once upon a time in America, people actually sat on their porches and talked with their neighbors. I know that may sound quite strange to many of you, but it is true.
Sadly, most houses that are being built today don’t even have real front porches because they are considered to be a waste of space.
So what has caused such a dramatic shift in our country?
Well, the truth is that there are a lot of factors, but one that kept coming up over and over in the thread was social media. Here is what one astute poster had to say…
Social media made people cold, uncaring and combative.
People have lost their connection to one another. They’ve lost the drive to socialize and have friends and form solid connections. Instead they opt to argue, fight and divide themselves.
This has made society negative, bitter, and have no hope or joy for the future.
You arent sad because you look back into the past, you are sad because you are looking into the present and future and you realize the path humanity is currently on is a very bad one. A path that is very different than the path humanity was on not that long ago.
You don’t have to spend much time on social media to realize that a lot of people are downright nasty, mean and cruel.
It isn’t healthy to spend much time mentally immersed in that type of environment, but many of our young people are online almost constantly, and as a result they are developing all sorts of problems…
Teens and young adults are in the midst of a unique mental health crisis, suggests a new study out Thursday. It found that rates of depressive episodes and serious psychological distress have dramatically risen among these age groups in recent years, while hardly budging or even declining for older age groups.
Lead author Jean Twenge, a 47-year-old professor of psychology at San Diego State University, has spent much of her career studying the attitudes and beliefs of younger generations. Most recently, in 2017, Twenge published a pop-science book laying out her central argument that teens and young adults coming of age are especially lonely and disconnected, thanks in part to the growing abundance of social media and devices like smartphones. Her book is titled iGen: Why Today’s Super-Connected Kids Are Growing Up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy—and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood.
And one shocking study that was conducted not too long ago found a direct link between social media use and levels of depression and loneliness…
A new study concludes that there is in fact a causal link between the use of social media and negative effects on well-being, primarily depression and loneliness. The study was published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology.
“What we found overall is that if you use less social media, you are actually less depressed and less lonely, meaning that the decreased social media use is what causes that qualitative shift in your well-being,” said Jordyn Young, a co-author of the paper and a senior at the University of Pennsylvania.
The implications of this are staggering. As Americans become more and more immersed in the online world, we are likely to become increasingly unhappy.
So is there anything that can be done?
Well, some are suggesting that the social media giants should change their algorithms…
The solution is obvious: change the algorithms. Which is to say: make less money. Ha.They could even remove the algorithms entirely, switch back to Strict Chronological, and still make money — Twitter was profitable before stock options before it switched to an algorithmic feed, and its ad offerings were way less sophisticated back then — but it’s not about making money, it’s about making the most money possible, and that means algorithmically curated, engagement-driven, misery-inducing feeds.
Of course that isn’t likely to happen, and it would probably only have a marginal impact anyway.
In the end, the reality of the matter is that technology is always going to be a part of our lives, but we need to strive to find proper balance.
Because those that spend too much time on the hate-filled Internet are in danger of turning out like this crazed woman…
A crazed leftist with a mohawk attacked an elderly gentleman minding his own business inside of a Starbucks in Palo Alto, CA because he was wearing a red MAGA hat.
A ‘woman’ who goes by the name Parker Mankey, posted photos of the elderly Trump supporter to her Facebook page Monday and called on her Facebook friends to find out who the “freak” is and “confront him.”
Parker Mankey, who declared her support for Bernie Sanders, says screaming at him, stalking him and doxxing him is a way to fight back against Fascism.
Do you think that this woman would have turned out this way if she had been raised on a farm with no access to the Internet, television or the mainstream media?
Of course not.
What we regularly feed our minds determines what we will become.
The Internet can be used for great good, but there is also much online that is highly toxic. And the more toxic the Internet becomes, the more toxic our nation as a whole will become.
Courtesy of End of the American Dream
About the author: Michael Snyder is a nationally-syndicated writer, media personality and political activist. He is the author of four books including Get Prepared Now, The Beginning Of The End and Living A Life That Really Matters. His articles are originally published on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dreamand The Most Important News. From there, his articles are republished on dozens of other prominent websites. If you would like to republish his articles, please feel free to do so. The more people that see this information the better, and we need to wake more people up while there is still time.
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Get the news Google and Facebook don't want you to see: Sign up for DC Dirty Laundry's daily briefing and do your own thinking! | <urn:uuid:e71ac7b2-a2e8-4797-88d3-0826db990a1f> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://dcdirtylaundry.com/i-cry-when-i-think-back-how-things-used-to-be-what-in-the-world-has-happened-to-the-america-we-grew-up-in/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571246.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20220811073058-20220811103058-00269.warc.gz | en | 0.966891 | 1,755 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Whether it works, he says, depends upon the product: "As long as people desire to be attractive to others, and as long as people desire romance, intimacy, and love, and all the wonderful feelings they involve, advertisers can show how their products help meet those needs and desires. Whether we like it or not, products play a role in society’s intimacy equation."
PETA's ads are so offensive, major news networks even turn their backs against the organization.
For example, in 2009, PETA wanted to run a pro-vegetarian ad campaign during the Superbowl that showed models licking eggplants and pumpkins, among other things.
NBC wouldn't hop on board though, saying the ad "depicts a level of sexuality exceeding our standards."
An article posted on Eve Online, an ecofeminist blog, calls the ads "disturbing and problematic," and likens them to "soft core pornography."
The animal-rights group pushed the envelope even further in August 2011, announcing it would roll out a softcore porn website, with spokeswoman Ashley Byrne telling the Herald Sun, “Our racier actions are sometimes a way to get people to sit up and pay attention to the plight of animals."
Axe has built an empire around teaching dorky guys how to be sexy
AXE began its quest to help men score women in 2003. But not everyone appreciated this initiative.
The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood claimed Axe "epitomizes the sexist and degrading marketing that can undermine girls' healthy development."
The Atlantic even questions the strategy — but for a different reason. "The problem was, the ads had worked too well in persuading the Insecure Novices and Enthusiastic Novices to buy the product," The Atlantic writes. "Geeks and dorks everywhere were no buying Axe by the caseload, and it was hurting the brand's image."
Sketchers got lucky when it landed Kim Kardashian as a spokesperson
Kim Kardashian famously helped Skechers sell Shapeups. The commercial, which aired during the Superbowl in 2011, has caught some flak.
"The moral of the spot? Apparently, Skechers ShapeUps will make you ditch your (smoking hot) trainer, because as Kim put it, it'll be 'bye-bye trainer, hello Shape-Ups," says Celebuzz.
Reebok's Easytone promote sex for sales as well. The ads span a woman's body, claiming the shoes can tighten up any flab.
"The camera constantly focuses in on the butt of the actresses, and two out of three times you don't even see a face. And in the commercial where a face is shown, the actress playfully teases with the cameraman that he must like what he sees since he's zooming in so much."
Carl's Junior has a habit of using scantily-dressed spokesmodels to promote its alternative to McDonald's
The fast-food chain turned in 2011 to Hamblor, a half-naked god who assembles his burger from the heavens.
AdWeek calls the campaign a "ridiculous new David & Goliath spot." The advertising site also ridicules Hamblor's "concubine of tasting goddesses doing their best food-porny Padma Lakshmi impressions."
Dentyne Ice wants you to "practice safe breath"
The gum manufacturers launched their "Practice Safe Breath" campaign with a series of racy commercials featuring everyone from couples to sexy nurses.
Some believe the ad campaign is a play off contraceptive commercials promoting safe sex, saying the company deals with "highly taboo and a tad raunchy connotations," and isn't "afraid to step outside the normal boundaries of ad campaigns."
"Just when we thought the burlesque beauty could out-sex herself no further, Dita manages to turn up the raunchy even more in a sexy new viral advertising campaign for Perrier," the Daily Mail said of the ad.
Brandchannel.com called the ad "a tad risque," and cautioned potential viewers the scenes aren't suitable for work.
Tom Ford's name is synonymous with controversy — his clothing advertisements are considered "hypersexual"
Designer Tom Ford's ads for his mens' line ooze sex. One ad, which Fourninetyone.com says exudes "hypersexuality," shows a naked woman holding a bottle of cologne between her thighs. Another shows a naked woman combing a stylish man's hair.
Jungle 8, a self-proclaimed socially-conscious branding site, says "sexist ads such as this one do as much harm to men as they do to women." The blog went on to say, "Men who are put off or intimidated by the overt displays of impersonal sexuality glaring out at them from magazines are made to feel like they aren’t real men–and spend years constructing personas that mask their deep fear that their masculinity just isn’t masculine enough."
Ford's ads caused a splash in 2008 as well, showing a naked man holding a blindfolded naked woman while a nicely suited man stares on. The ads also show a completely naked man walking next to besuited gentlemen.
Armani gets pro athletes to strip down for its underwear ads
Tennis pro Rafael Nadal takes it off for the Spring 2011 Armani underwear ads. The commercial shows the tennis stud posing in various gray and white scenes, all featuring the sexy briefs.
Armani has a history of using hunky men to show off its underwear.
The commercials and billboards from 2009 feature soccer star David Beckham and his wife Victoria Beckham in a variety of compromising poses, all featuring the luxury brand's underwear.
The Daily Mail called the advertisements "too slick" and questioned whether the billboards were "a tad too far even for him."
The brand has also featured Megan Fox and Cristiano Ronaldo in its steamy ads.
Nissan takes from the old playbook and features bikini-clad women in its ads
Nissan made headlines in early 2011 when commercials showed a side-by-side comparison of a Nissan Juke and a model in a bikini.
The model, "Amber," was shown performing comparison tests against the car, all while in her swimsuit.
Some viewers weren't amused, saying the ad "cuts a fine line between sexy and sexist, Ok, and disappointing."
Luxury car maker BMW also has a habit of using beautiful women to hawk its cars. The company ran an ad showing a seductively-posed woman telling consumers they aren't the first but questioning whether they really care.
The Old Spice guy is one of our country's most popular mascots | <urn:uuid:e847bbf2-0164-48ef-9bdb-ce3500c9fbd9> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://www.businessinsider.com/notoriously-sexy-brands-2011-11?op=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719908.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00159-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960057 | 1,391 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The direct functionalization of C-H bonds is an important and long standing goal in organic chemistry. Such transformations can be very powerful in order to streamline synthesis by saving steps, time and material compared to conventional methods that require the introduction and removal of activating or directing groups. Therefore, the functionalization of C-H bonds is also attractive for green chemistry. Under oxidative conditions, two C-H bonds or one C-H and one heteroatom-H bond can be transformed to C-C and C-heteroatom bonds, respectively. Often these oxidative coupling reactions require synthetic oxidants, expensive catalysts or high temperatures. Here, we describe a two-step procedure to functionalize indole derivatives, more specifically tetrahydrocarbazoles, by C-H amination using only elemental oxygen as oxidant. The reaction uses the principle of C-H functionalization via Intermediate PeroxideS (CHIPS). In the first step, a hydroperoxide is generated oxidatively using visible light, a photosensitizer and elemental oxygen. In the second step, the N-nucleophile, an aniline, is introduced by Brønsted-acid catalyzed activation of the hydroperoxide leaving group. The products of the first and second step often precipitate and can be conveniently filtered off. The synthesis of a biologically active compound is shown.
23 Related JoVE Articles!
Visualization and Analysis of Blood Flow and Oxygen Consumption in Hepatic Microcirculation: Application to an Acute Hepatitis Model
Institutions: Keio University, Keio University, Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).
There is a considerable discrepancy between oxygen supply and demand in the liver because hepatic oxygen consumption is relatively high but about 70% of the hepatic blood supply is poorly oxygenated portal vein blood derived from the gastrointestinal tract and spleen. Oxygen is delivered to hepatocytes by blood flowing from a terminal branch of the portal vein to a central venule via sinusoids, and this makes an oxygen gradient in hepatic lobules. The oxygen gradient is an important physical parameter that involves the expression of enzymes upstream and downstream in hepatic microcirculation, but the lack of techniques for measuring oxygen consumption in the hepatic microcirculation has delayed the elucidation of mechanisms relating to oxygen metabolism in liver. We therefore used FITC-labeled erythrocytes to visualize the hepatic microcirculation and used laser-assisted phosphorimetry to measure the partial pressure of oxygen in the microvessels there. Noncontact and continuous optical measurement can quantify blood flow velocities, vessel diameters, and oxygen gradients related to oxygen consumption in the liver. In an acute hepatitis model we made by administering acetaminophen to mice we observed increased oxygen pressure in both portal and central venules but a decreased oxygen gradient in the sinusoids, indicating that hepatocyte necrosis in the pericentral zone could shift the oxygen pressure up and affect enzyme expression in the periportal zone. In conclusion, our optical methods for measuring hepatic hemodynamics and oxygen consumption can reveal mechanisms related to hepatic disease.
Medicine, Issue 66, Physics, Biochemistry, Immunology, Physiology, microcirculation, liver, blood flow, oxygen consumption, phosphorescence, hepatitis
Synthesis and Calibration of Phosphorescent Nanoprobes for Oxygen Imaging in Biological Systems
Institutions: University of Pennsylvania .
Oxygen measurement by phosphorescence quenching [1, 2] consists of the following steps: 1) the probe is delivered into the medium of interest (e.g. blood or interstitial fluid); 2) the object is illuminated with light of appropriate wavelength in order to excite the probe into its triplet state; 3) the emitted phosphorescence is collected, and its time course is analyzed to yield the phosphorescence lifetime, which is converted into the oxygen concentration (or partial pressure, pO2
). The probe must not interact with the biological environment and in some cases to be 4) excreted from the medium upon the measurement completion. Each of these steps imposes requirements on the molecular design of the phosphorescent probes, which constitute the only invasive component of the measurement protocol. Here we review the design of dendritic phosphorescent nanosensors for oxygen measurements in biological systems. The probes consist of Pt or Pd porphyrin-based polyarylglycine (AG) dendrimers, modified peripherally with polyethylene glycol (PEG's) residues. For effective two-photon excitation, termini of the dendrimers may be modified with two-photon antenna chromophores, which capture the excitation energy and channel it to the triplet cores of the probes via intramolecular FRET (Förster Resonance Energy Transfer). We describe the key photophysical properties of the probes and present detailed calibration protocols.
Cellular Biology, Issue 37, oxygen, phosphorescence, porphyrin, dendrimer, imaging, nanosensor, two-photon
Detection of Nitric Oxide and Superoxide Radical Anion by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy from Cells using Spin Traps
Institutions: The Ohio State University, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University.
Reactive nitrogen/oxygen species (ROS/RNS) at low concentrations play an important role in regulating cell function, signaling, and immune response but in unregulated concentrations are detrimental to cell viability1, 2
. While living systems have evolved with endogenous and dietary antioxidant defense mechanisms to regulate ROS generation, ROS are produced continuously as natural by-products of normal metabolism of oxygen and can cause oxidative damage to biomolecules resulting in loss of protein function, DNA cleavage, or lipid peroxidation3
, and ultimately to oxidative stress leading to cell injury or death4
Superoxide radical anion (O2
•-) is the major precursor of some of the most highly oxidizing species known to exist in biological systems such as peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radical. The generation of O2
•- signals the first sign of oxidative burst, and therefore, its detection and/or sequestration in biological systems is important. In this demonstration, O2
•- was generated from polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs). Through chemotactic stimulation with phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), PMN generates O2
•- via activation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase5
Nitric oxide (NO) synthase which comes in three isoforms, as inducible-, neuronal- and endothelial-NOS, or iNOS, nNOS or eNOS, respectively, catalyzes the conversion of L- arginine to L-citrulline, using NADPH to produce NO6
. Here, we generated NO from endothelial cells. Under oxidative stress conditions, eNOS for example can switch from producing NO to O2
•- in a process called uncoupling, which is believed to be caused by oxidation of heme7
or the co-factor, tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4
There are only few reliable methods for the detection of free radicals in biological systems but are limited by specificity and sensitivity. Spin trapping is commonly used for the identification of free radicals and involves the addition reaction of a radical to a spin trap forming a persistent spin adduct which can be detected by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The various radical adducts exhibit distinctive spectrum which can be used to identify the radicals being generated and can provide a wealth of information about the nature and kinetics of radical production9
The cyclic nitrones, 5,5-dimethyl-pyrroline-N
, the phosphoryl-substituted DEPMPO11
, and the ester-substituted, EMPO12
, have been widely employed as spin traps--the latter spin traps exhibiting longer half-lives for O2
•- adduct. Iron (II)-N-methyl-D-glucamine dithiocarbamate, Fe(MGD)2
is commonly used to trap NO due to high rate of adduct formation and the high stability of the spin adduct14
Molecular Biology, Issue 66, Cellular Biology, Physics, Biophysics, spin trap, eNOS, ROS, superoxide, NO, EPR
Direct Detection of the Acetate-forming Activity of the Enzyme Acetate Kinase
Institutions: Clemson University.
Acetate kinase, a member of the acetate and sugar kinase-Hsp70-actin (ASKHA) enzyme superfamily1-5
, is responsible for the reversible phosphorylation of acetate to acetyl phosphate utilizing ATP as a substrate. Acetate kinases are ubiquitous in the Bacteria
, found in one genus of Archaea
, and are also present in microbes of the Eukarya6
. The most well characterized acetate kinase is that from the methane-producing archaeon Methanosarcina thermophila7-14
. An acetate kinase which can only utilize PPi
but not ATP in the acetyl phosphate-forming direction has been isolated from Entamoeba histolytica
, the causative agent of amoebic dysentery, and has thus far only been found in this genus15,16
In the direction of acetyl phosphate formation, acetate kinase activity is typically measured using the hydroxamate assay, first described by Lipmann17-20
, a coupled assay in which conversion of ATP to ADP is coupled to oxidation of NADH to NAD+
by the enzymes pyruvate kinase and lactate dehydrogenase21,22
, or an assay measuring release of inorganic phosphate after reaction of the acetyl phosphate product with hydroxylamine23
. Activity in the opposite, acetate-forming direction is measured by coupling ATP formation from ADP to the reduction of NADP+
to NADPH by the enzymes hexokinase and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase24
Here we describe a method for the detection of acetate kinase activity in the direction of acetate formation that does not require coupling enzymes, but is instead based on direct determination of acetyl phosphate consumption. After the enzymatic reaction, remaining acetyl phosphate is converted to a ferric hydroxamate complex that can be measured spectrophotometrically, as for the hydroxamate assay. Thus, unlike the standard coupled assay for this direction that is dependent on the production of ATP from ADP, this direct assay can be used for acetate kinases that produce ATP or PPi
Molecular Biology, Issue 58, Acetate kinase, acetate, acetyl phosphate, pyrophosphate, PPi, ATP
The Importance of Correct Protein Concentration for Kinetics and Affinity Determination in Structure-function Analysis
Institutions: GE Healthcare Bio-Sciences AB.
In this study, we explore the interaction between the bovine cysteine protease inhibitor cystatin B and a catalytically inactive form of papain (Fig. 1), a plant cysteine protease, by real-time label-free analysis using Biacore X100. Several cystatin B variants with point mutations in areas of interaction with papain, are produced. For each cystatin B variant we determine its specific binding concentration using calibration-free concentration analysis (CFCA) and compare the values obtained with total protein concentration as determined by A280
. After that, the kinetics of each cystatin B variant binding to papain is measured using single-cycle kinetics (SCK). We show that one of the four cystatin B variants we examine is only partially active for binding. This partial activity, revealed by CFCA, translates to a significant difference in the association rate constant (ka
) and affinity (KD
), compared to the values calculated using total protein concentration. Using CFCA in combination with kinetic analysis in a structure-function study contributes to obtaining reliable results, and helps to make the right interpretation of the interaction mechanism.
Cellular Biology, Issue 37, Protein interaction, Surface Plasmon Resonance, Biacore X100, CFCA, Cystatin B, Papain
Multi-step Preparation Technique to Recover Multiple Metabolite Compound Classes for In-depth and Informative Metabolomic Analysis
Institutions: National Jewish Health, University of Colorado Denver.
Metabolomics is an emerging field which enables profiling of samples from living organisms in order to obtain insight into biological processes. A vital aspect of metabolomics is sample preparation whereby inconsistent techniques generate unreliable results. This technique encompasses protein precipitation, liquid-liquid extraction, and solid-phase extraction as a means of fractionating metabolites into four distinct classes. Improved enrichment of low abundance molecules with a resulting increase in sensitivity is obtained, and ultimately results in more confident identification of molecules. This technique has been applied to plasma, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and cerebrospinal fluid samples with volumes as low as 50 µl. Samples can be used for multiple downstream applications; for example, the pellet resulting from protein precipitation can be stored for later analysis. The supernatant from that step undergoes liquid-liquid extraction using water and strong organic solvent to separate the hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds. Once fractionated, the hydrophilic layer can be processed for later analysis or discarded if not needed. The hydrophobic fraction is further treated with a series of solvents during three solid-phase extraction steps to separate it into fatty acids, neutral lipids, and phospholipids. This allows the technician the flexibility to choose which class of compounds is preferred for analysis. It also aids in more reliable metabolite identification since some knowledge of chemical class exists.
Bioengineering, Issue 89, plasma, chemistry techniques, analytical, solid phase extraction, mass spectrometry, metabolomics, fluids and secretions, profiling, small molecules, lipids, liquid chromatography, liquid-liquid extraction, cerebrospinal fluid, bronchoalveolar lavage fluid
Examination of Thymic Positive and Negative Selection by Flow Cytometry
Institutions: University of Alberta.
A healthy immune system requires that T cells respond to foreign antigens while remaining tolerant to self-antigens. Random rearrangement of the T cell receptor (TCR) α and β loci generates a T cell repertoire with vast diversity in antigen specificity, both to self and foreign. Selection of the repertoire during development in the thymus is critical for generating safe and useful T cells. Defects in thymic selection contribute to the development of autoimmune and immunodeficiency disorders1-4
T cell progenitors enter the thymus as double negative (DN) thymocytes that do not express CD4 or CD8 co-receptors. Expression of the αβTCR and both co-receptors occurs at the double positive (DP) stage. Interaction of the αβTCR with self-peptide-MHC (pMHC) presented by thymic cells determines the fate of the DP thymocyte. High affinity interactions lead to negative selection and elimination of self-reactive thymocytes. Low affinity interactions result in positive selection and development of CD4 or CD8 single positive (SP) T cells capable of recognizing foreign antigens presented by self-MHC5
Positive selection can be studied in mice with a polyclonal (wildtype) TCR repertoire by observing the generation of mature T cells. However, they are not ideal for the study of negative selection, which involves deletion of small antigen-specific populations. Many model systems have been used to study negative selection but vary in their ability to recapitulate physiological events6
. For example, in vitro
stimulation of thymocytes lacks the thymic environment that is intimately involved in selection, while administration of exogenous antigen can lead to non-specific deletion of thymocytes7-9
. Currently, the best tools for studying in vivo
negative selection are mice that express a transgenic TCR specific for endogenous self-antigen. However, many classical TCR transgenic models are characterized by premature expression of the transgenic TCRα chain at the DN stage, resulting in premature negative selection. Our lab has developed the HYcd4
model, in which the transgenic HY TCRα is conditionally expressed at the DP stage, allowing negative selection to occur during the DP to SP transition as occurs in wildtype mice10
Here, we describe a flow cytometry-based protocol to examine thymic positive and negative selection in the HYcd4
mouse model. While negative selection in HYcd4
mice is highly physiological, these methods can also be applied to other TCR transgenic models. We will also present general strategies for analyzing positive selection in a polyclonal repertoire applicable to any genetically manipulated mice.
Immunology, Issue 68, Medicine, Cellular Biology, Anatomy, Physiology, Thymus, T cell, negative selection, positive selection, autoimmunity, flow cytometry
Microwave-assisted Functionalization of Poly(ethylene glycol) and On-resin Peptides for Use in Chain Polymerizations and Hydrogel Formation
Institutions: University of Rochester, University of Rochester, University of Rochester Medical Center.
One of the main benefits to using poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) macromers in hydrogel formation is synthetic versatility. The ability to draw from a large variety of PEG molecular weights and configurations (arm number, arm length, and branching pattern) affords researchers tight control over resulting hydrogel structures and properties, including Young’s modulus and mesh size. This video will illustrate a rapid, efficient, solvent-free, microwave-assisted method to methacrylate PEG precursors into poly(ethylene glycol) dimethacrylate (PEGDM). This synthetic method provides much-needed starting materials for applications in drug delivery and regenerative medicine. The demonstrated method is superior to traditional methacrylation methods as it is significantly faster and simpler, as well as more economical and environmentally friendly, using smaller amounts of reagents and solvents. We will also demonstrate an adaptation of this technique for on-resin methacrylamide functionalization of peptides. This on-resin method allows the N-terminus of peptides to be functionalized with methacrylamide groups prior to deprotection and cleavage from resin. This allows for selective addition of methacrylamide groups to the N-termini of the peptides while amino acids with reactive side groups (e.g.
primary amine of lysine, primary alcohol of serine, secondary alcohols of threonine, and phenol of tyrosine) remain protected, preventing functionalization at multiple sites. This article will detail common analytical methods (proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy (;
H-NMR) and Matrix Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization Time of Flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF)) to assess the efficiency of the functionalizations. Common pitfalls and suggested troubleshooting methods will be addressed, as will modifications of the technique which can be used to further tune macromer functionality and resulting hydrogel physical and chemical properties. Use of synthesized products for the formation of hydrogels for drug delivery and cell-material interaction studies will be demonstrated, with particular attention paid to modifying hydrogel composition to affect mesh size, controlling hydrogel stiffness and drug release.
Chemistry, Issue 80, Poly(ethylene glycol), peptides, polymerization, polymers, methacrylation, peptide functionalization, 1H-NMR, MALDI-ToF, hydrogels, macromer synthesis
Analysis of Oxidative Stress in Zebrafish Embryos
Institutions: University of Torino, Vesalius Research Center, VIB.
High levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) may cause a change of cellular redox state towards oxidative stress condition. This situation causes oxidation of molecules (lipid, DNA, protein) and leads to cell death. Oxidative stress also impacts the progression of several pathological conditions such as diabetes, retinopathies, neurodegeneration, and cancer. Thus, it is important to define tools to investigate oxidative stress conditions not only at the level of single cells but also in the context of whole organisms. Here, we consider the zebrafish embryo as a useful in vivo
system to perform such studies and present a protocol to measure in vivo
oxidative stress. Taking advantage of fluorescent ROS probes and zebrafish transgenic fluorescent lines, we develop two different methods to measure oxidative stress in vivo
: i) a “whole embryo ROS-detection method” for qualitative measurement of oxidative stress and ii) a “single-cell ROS detection method” for quantitative measurements of oxidative stress. Herein, we demonstrate the efficacy of these procedures by increasing oxidative stress in tissues by oxidant agents and physiological or genetic methods. This protocol is amenable for forward genetic screens and it will help address cause-effect relationships of ROS in animal models of oxidative stress-related pathologies such as neurological disorders and cancer.
Developmental Biology, Issue 89, Danio rerio, zebrafish embryos, endothelial cells, redox state analysis, oxidative stress detection, in vivo ROS measurements, FACS (fluorescence activated cell sorter), molecular probes
Nucleoside Triphosphates - From Synthesis to Biochemical Characterization
Institutions: University of Bern.
The traditional strategy for the introduction of chemical functionalities is the use of solid-phase synthesis by appending suitably modified phosphoramidite precursors to the nascent chain. However, the conditions used during the synthesis and the restriction to rather short sequences hamper the applicability of this methodology. On the other hand, modified nucleoside triphosphates are activated building blocks that have been employed for the mild introduction of numerous functional groups into nucleic acids, a strategy that paves the way for the use of modified nucleic acids in a wide-ranging palette of practical applications such as functional tagging and generation of ribozymes and DNAzymes. One of the major challenges resides in the intricacy of the methodology leading to the isolation and characterization of these nucleoside analogues.
In this video article, we present a detailed protocol for the synthesis of these modified analogues using phosphorous(III)-based reagents. In addition, the procedure for their biochemical characterization is divulged, with a special emphasis on primer extension reactions and TdT tailing polymerization. This detailed protocol will be of use for the crafting of modified dNTPs and their further use in chemical biology.
Chemistry, Issue 86, Nucleic acid analogues, Bioorganic Chemistry, PCR, primer extension reactions, organic synthesis, PAGE, HPLC, nucleoside triphosphates
Setting Limits on Supersymmetry Using Simplified Models
Institutions: University College London, CERN, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratories.
Experimental limits on supersymmetry and similar theories are difficult to set because of the enormous available parameter space and difficult to generalize because of the complexity of single points. Therefore, more phenomenological, simplified models are becoming popular for setting experimental limits, as they have clearer physical interpretations. The use of these simplified model limits to set a real limit on a concrete theory has not, however, been demonstrated. This paper recasts simplified model limits into limits on a specific and complete supersymmetry model, minimal supergravity. Limits obtained under various physical assumptions are comparable to those produced by directed searches. A prescription is provided for calculating conservative and aggressive limits on additional theories. Using acceptance and efficiency tables along with the expected and observed numbers of events in various signal regions, LHC experimental results can be recast in this manner into almost any theoretical framework, including nonsupersymmetric theories with supersymmetry-like signatures.
Physics, Issue 81, high energy physics, particle physics, Supersymmetry, LHC, ATLAS, CMS, New Physics Limits, Simplified Models
Monitoring the Reductive and Oxidative Half-Reactions of a Flavin-Dependent Monooxygenase using Stopped-Flow Spectrophotometry
Institutions: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
siderophore A (SidA) is an FAD-containing monooxygenase that catalyzes the hydroxylation of ornithine in the biosynthesis of hydroxamate siderophores that are essential for virulence (e.g. ferricrocin or N
. The reaction catalyzed by SidA can be divided into reductive and oxidative half-reactions (Scheme 1). In the reductive half-reaction, the oxidized FAD bound to A
f SidA, is reduced by NADPH2,3
. In the oxidative half-reaction, the reduced cofactor reacts with molecular oxygen to form a C4a-hydroperoxyflavin intermediate, which transfers an oxygen atom to ornithine. Here, we describe a procedure to measure the rates and detect the different spectral forms of SidA using a stopped-flow instrument installed in an anaerobic glove box. In the stopped-flow instrument, small volumes of reactants are rapidly mixed, and after the flow is stopped by the stop syringe (Figure 1
), the spectral changes of the solution placed in the observation cell are recorded over time. In the first part of the experiment, we show how we can use the stopped-flow instrument in single mode, where the anaerobic reduction of the flavin in A
f SidA by NADPH is directly measured. We then use double mixing settings where A
f SidA is first anaerobically reduced by NADPH for a designated period of time in an aging loop, and then reacted with molecular oxygen in the observation cell (Figure 1
). In order to perform this experiment, anaerobic buffers are necessary because when only the reductive half-reaction is monitored, any oxygen in the solutions will react with the reduced flavin cofactor and form a C4a-hydroperoxyflavin intermediate that will ultimately decay back into the oxidized flavin. This would not allow the user to accurately measure rates of reduction since there would be complete turnover of the enzyme. When the oxidative half-reaction is being studied the enzyme must be reduced in the absence of oxygen so that just the steps between reduction and oxidation are observed. One of the buffers used in this experiment is oxygen saturated so that we can study the oxidative half-reaction at higher concentrations of oxygen. These are often the procedures carried out when studying either the reductive or oxidative half-reactions with flavin-containing monooxygenases. The time scale of the pre-steady-state experiments performed with the stopped-flow is milliseconds to seconds, which allow the determination of intrinsic rate constants and the detection and identification of intermediates in the reaction4
. The procedures described here can be applied to other flavin-dependent monooxygenases.5,6
Bioengineering, Issue 61, Stopped-flow, kinetic mechanism, SidA, C4a-hydroperoxyflavin, monooxygenase, Aspergillus fumigatus
Steady-state, Pre-steady-state, and Single-turnover Kinetic Measurement for DNA Glycosylase Activity
Institutions: NIEHS, National Institutes of Health.
Human 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase (OGG1) excises the mutagenic oxidative DNA lesion 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine (8-oxoG) from DNA. Kinetic characterization of OGG1 is undertaken to measure the rates of 8-oxoG excision and product release. When the OGG1 concentration is lower than substrate DNA, time courses of product formation are biphasic; a rapid exponential phase (i.e.
burst) of product formation is followed by a linear steady-state phase. The initial burst of product formation corresponds to the concentration of enzyme properly engaged on the substrate, and the burst amplitude depends on the concentration of enzyme. The first-order rate constant of the burst corresponds to the intrinsic rate of 8-oxoG excision and the slower steady-state rate measures the rate of product release (product DNA dissociation rate constant, koff
). Here, we describe steady-state, pre-steady-state, and single-turnover approaches to isolate and measure specific steps during OGG1 catalytic cycling. A fluorescent labeled lesion-containing oligonucleotide and purified OGG1 are used to facilitate precise kinetic measurements. Since low enzyme concentrations are used to make steady-state measurements, manual mixing of reagents and quenching of the reaction can be performed to ascertain the steady-state rate (koff
). Additionally, extrapolation of the steady-state rate to a point on the ordinate at zero time indicates that a burst of product formation occurred during the first turnover (i.e.
y-intercept is positive). The first-order rate constant of the exponential burst phase can be measured using a rapid mixing and quenching technique that examines the amount of product formed at short time intervals (<1 sec) before the steady-state phase and corresponds to the rate of 8-oxoG excision (i.e.
chemistry). The chemical step can also be measured using a single-turnover approach where catalytic cycling is prevented by saturating substrate DNA with enzyme (E>S). These approaches can measure elementary rate constants that influence the efficiency of removal of a DNA lesion.
Chemistry, Issue 78, Biochemistry, Genetics, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, Structural Biology, Chemical Biology, Eukaryota, Amino Acids, Peptides, and Proteins, Nucleic Acids, Nucleotides, and Nucleosides, Enzymes and Coenzymes, Life Sciences (General), enzymology, rapid quench-flow, active site titration, steady-state, pre-steady-state, single-turnover, kinetics, base excision repair, DNA glycosylase, 8-oxo-7,8-dihydroguanine, 8-oxoG, sequencing
In Situ SIMS and IR Spectroscopy of Well-defined Surfaces Prepared by Soft Landing of Mass-selected Ions
Institutions: Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.
Soft landing of mass-selected ions onto surfaces is a powerful approach for the highly-controlled preparation of materials that are inaccessible using conventional synthesis techniques. Coupling soft landing with in situ
characterization using secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) and infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS) enables analysis of well-defined surfaces under clean vacuum conditions. The capabilities of three soft-landing instruments constructed in our laboratory are illustrated for the representative system of surface-bound organometallics prepared by soft landing of mass-selected ruthenium tris(bipyridine) dications, [Ru(bpy)3
(bpy = bipyridine), onto carboxylic acid terminated self-assembled monolayer surfaces on gold (COOH-SAMs). In situ
time-of-flight (TOF)-SIMS provides insight into the reactivity of the soft-landed ions. In addition, the kinetics of charge reduction, neutralization and desorption occurring on the COOH-SAM both during and after ion soft landing are studied using in situ
Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance (FT-ICR)-SIMS measurements. In situ
IRRAS experiments provide insight into how the structure of organic ligands surrounding metal centers is perturbed through immobilization of organometallic ions on COOH-SAM surfaces by soft landing. Collectively, the three instruments provide complementary information about the chemical composition, reactivity and structure of well-defined species supported on surfaces.
Chemistry, Issue 88, soft landing, mass selected ions, electrospray, secondary ion mass spectrometry, infrared spectroscopy, organometallic, catalysis
Integrating a Triplet-triplet Annihilation Up-conversion System to Enhance Dye-sensitized Solar Cell Response to Sub-bandgap Light
Institutions: The University of Wollongong, The University of Sydney, The University of New South Wales.
The poor response of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) to red and infrared light is a significant impediment to the realization of higher photocurrents and hence higher efficiencies. Photon up-conversion by way of triplet-triplet annihilation (TTA-UC) is an attractive technique for using these otherwise wasted low energy photons to produce photocurrent, while not interfering with the photoanodic performance in a deleterious manner. Further to this, TTA-UC has a number of features, distinct from other reported photon up-conversion technologies, which renders it particularly suitable for coupling with DSC technology. In this work, a proven high performance TTA-UC system, comprising a palladium porphyrin sensitizer and rubrene emitter, is combined with a high performance DSC (utilizing the organic dye D149) in an integrated device. The device shows an enhanced response to sub-bandgap light over the absorption range of the TTA-UC sub-unit resulting in the highest figure of merit for up-conversion assisted DSC performance to date.
Physics, Issue 91,
Third generation photovoltaics; upconversion; organic electronics; device architecture; porphyrins; photovoltaic testing
Protease- and Acid-catalyzed Labeling Workflows Employing 18O-enriched Water
Institutions: Boston Biomedical Research Institute.
Stable isotopes are essential tools in biological mass spectrometry. Historically, 18
O-stable isotopes have been extensively used to study the catalytic mechanisms of proteolytic enzymes1-3
. With the advent of mass spectrometry-based proteomics, the enzymatically-catalyzed incorporation of 18
O-atoms from stable isotopically enriched water has become a popular method to quantitatively compare protein expression levels (
reviewed by Fenselau and Yao4
, Miyagi and Rao5
and Ye et al.6)
O-labeling constitutes a simple and low-cost alternative to chemical (e.g.
iTRAQ, ICAT) and metabolic (e.g.
SILAC) labeling techniques7
. Depending on the protease utilized, 18
O-labeling can result in the incorporation of up to two 18
O-atoms in the C-terminal carboxyl group of the cleavage product3
. The labeling reaction can be subdivided into two independent processes, the peptide bond cleavage and the carboxyl oxygen exchange reaction8
. In our PALeO (p
-enriched water) adaptation of enzymatic 18
O-labeling, we utilized 50% 18
O-enriched water to yield distinctive isotope signatures. In combination with high-resolution matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight tandem mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF/TOF MS/MS), the characteristic isotope envelopes can be used to identify cleavage products with a high level of specificity. We previously have used the PALeO-methodology to detect and characterize endogenous proteases9
and monitor proteolytic reactions10-11
. Since PALeO encodes the very essence of the proteolytic cleavage reaction, the experimental setup is simple and biochemical enrichment steps of cleavage products can be circumvented. The PALeO-method can easily be extended to (i) time course experiments that monitor the dynamics of proteolytic cleavage reactions and (ii) the analysis of proteolysis in complex biological samples that represent physiological conditions. PALeO-TimeCourse experiments help identifying rate-limiting processing steps and reaction intermediates in complex proteolytic pathway reactions. Furthermore, the PALeO-reaction allows us to identify proteolytic enzymes such as the serine protease trypsin that is capable to rebind its cleavage products and catalyze the incorporation of a second 18
O-atom. Such "double-labeling" enzymes can be used for postdigestion 18
O-labeling, in which peptides are exclusively labeled by the carboxyl oxygen exchange reaction. Our third strategy extends labeling employing 18
O-enriched water beyond enzymes and uses acidic pH conditions to introduce 18
O-stable isotope signatures into peptides.
Biochemistry, Issue 72, Molecular Biology, Proteins, Proteomics, Chemistry, Physics, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, proteomics, proteolysis, quantification, stable isotope labeling, labeling, catalyst, peptides, 18-O enriched water
Proton Transfer and Protein Conformation Dynamics in Photosensitive Proteins by Time-resolved Step-scan Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy
Institutions: Freie Universität Berlin.
Monitoring the dynamics of protonation and protein backbone conformation changes during the function of a protein is an essential step towards understanding its mechanism. Protonation and conformational changes affect the vibration pattern of amino acid side chains and of the peptide bond, respectively, both of which can be probed by infrared (IR) difference spectroscopy. For proteins whose function can be repetitively and reproducibly triggered by light, it is possible to obtain infrared difference spectra with (sub)microsecond resolution over a broad spectral range using the step-scan Fourier transform infrared technique. With ~102
repetitions of the photoreaction, the minimum number to complete a scan at reasonable spectral resolution and bandwidth, the noise level in the absorption difference spectra can be as low as ~10-4
, sufficient to follow the kinetics of protonation changes from a single amino acid. Lower noise levels can be accomplished by more data averaging and/or mathematical processing. The amount of protein required for optimal results is between 5-100 µg, depending on the sampling technique used. Regarding additional requirements, the protein needs to be first concentrated in a low ionic strength buffer and then dried to form a film. The protein film is hydrated prior to the experiment, either with little droplets of water or under controlled atmospheric humidity. The attained hydration level (g of water / g of protein) is gauged from an IR absorption spectrum. To showcase the technique, we studied the photocycle of the light-driven proton-pump bacteriorhodopsin in its native purple membrane environment, and of the light-gated ion channel channelrhodopsin-2 solubilized in detergent.
Biophysics, Issue 88, bacteriorhodopsin, channelrhodopsin, attenuated total reflection, proton transfer, protein dynamics, infrared spectroscopy, time-resolved spectroscopy, step-scan, membrane proteins, singular value decomposition
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
Physical, Chemical and Biological Characterization of Six Biochars Produced for the Remediation of Contaminated Sites
Institutions: Royal Military College of Canada, Queen's University.
The physical and chemical properties of biochar vary based on feedstock sources and production conditions, making it possible to engineer biochars with specific functions (e.g.
carbon sequestration, soil quality improvements, or contaminant sorption). In 2013, the International Biochar Initiative (IBI) made publically available their Standardized Product Definition and Product Testing Guidelines (Version 1.1) which set standards for physical and chemical characteristics for biochar. Six biochars made from three different feedstocks and at two temperatures were analyzed for characteristics related to their use as a soil amendment. The protocol describes analyses of the feedstocks and biochars and includes: cation exchange capacity (CEC), specific surface area (SSA), organic carbon (OC) and moisture percentage, pH, particle size distribution, and proximate and ultimate analysis. Also described in the protocol are the analyses of the feedstocks and biochars for contaminants including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), metals and mercury as well as nutrients (phosphorous, nitrite and nitrate and ammonium as nitrogen). The protocol also includes the biological testing procedures, earthworm avoidance and germination assays. Based on the quality assurance / quality control (QA/QC) results of blanks, duplicates, standards and reference materials, all methods were determined adequate for use with biochar and feedstock materials. All biochars and feedstocks were well within the criterion set by the IBI and there were little differences among biochars, except in the case of the biochar produced from construction waste materials. This biochar (referred to as Old biochar) was determined to have elevated levels of arsenic, chromium, copper, and lead, and failed the earthworm avoidance and germination assays. Based on these results, Old biochar would not be appropriate for use as a soil amendment for carbon sequestration, substrate quality improvements or remediation.
Environmental Sciences, Issue 93, biochar, characterization, carbon sequestration, remediation, International Biochar Initiative (IBI), soil amendment
In Situ Neutron Powder Diffraction Using Custom-made Lithium-ion Batteries
Institutions: University of Sydney, University of Wollongong, Australian Synchrotron, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, University of Wollongong, University of New South Wales.
Li-ion batteries are widely used in portable electronic devices and are considered as promising candidates for higher-energy applications such as electric vehicles.1,2
However, many challenges, such as energy density and battery lifetimes, need to be overcome before this particular battery technology can be widely implemented in such applications.3
This research is challenging, and we outline a method to address these challenges using in situ
NPD to probe the crystal structure of electrodes undergoing electrochemical cycling (charge/discharge) in a battery. NPD data help determine the underlying structural mechanism responsible for a range of electrode properties, and this information can direct the development of better electrodes and batteries.
We briefly review six types of battery designs custom-made for NPD experiments and detail the method to construct the ‘roll-over’ cell that we have successfully used on the high-intensity NPD instrument, WOMBAT, at the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). The design considerations and materials used for cell construction are discussed in conjunction with aspects of the actual in situ
NPD experiment and initial directions are presented on how to analyze such complex in situ
Physics, Issue 93, In operando, structure-property relationships, electrochemical cycling, electrochemical cells, crystallography, battery performance
Nanomanipulation of Single RNA Molecules by Optical Tweezers
Institutions: University at Albany, State University of New York, University at Albany, State University of New York, University at Albany, State University of New York, University at Albany, State University of New York, University at Albany, State University of New York.
A large portion of the human genome is transcribed but not translated. In this post genomic era, regulatory functions of RNA have been shown to be increasingly important. As RNA function often depends on its ability to adopt alternative structures, it is difficult to predict RNA three-dimensional structures directly from sequence. Single-molecule approaches show potentials to solve the problem of RNA structural polymorphism by monitoring molecular structures one molecule at a time. This work presents a method to precisely manipulate the folding and structure of single RNA molecules using optical tweezers. First, methods to synthesize molecules suitable for single-molecule mechanical work are described. Next, various calibration procedures to ensure the proper operations of the optical tweezers are discussed. Next, various experiments are explained. To demonstrate the utility of the technique, results of mechanically unfolding RNA hairpins and a single RNA kissing complex are used as evidence. In these examples, the nanomanipulation technique was used to study folding of each structural domain, including secondary and tertiary, independently. Lastly, the limitations and future applications of the method are discussed.
Bioengineering, Issue 90, RNA folding, single-molecule, optical tweezers, nanomanipulation, RNA secondary structure, RNA tertiary structure
Activating Molecules, Ions, and Solid Particles with Acoustic Cavitation
Institutions: UMR 5257 CEA-CNRS-UM2-ENSCM.
The chemical and physical effects of ultrasound arise not from a direct interaction of molecules with sound waves, but rather from the acoustic cavitation: the nucleation, growth, and implosive collapse of microbubbles in liquids submitted to power ultrasound. The violent implosion of bubbles leads to the formation of chemically reactive species and to the emission of light, named sonoluminescence. In this manuscript, we describe the techniques allowing study of extreme intrabubble conditions and chemical reactivity of acoustic cavitation in solutions. The analysis of sonoluminescence spectra of water sparged with noble gases provides evidence for nonequilibrium plasma formation. The photons and the "hot" particles generated by cavitation bubbles enable to excite the non-volatile species in solutions increasing their chemical reactivity. For example the mechanism of ultrabright sonoluminescence of uranyl ions in acidic solutions varies with uranium concentration: sonophotoluminescence dominates in diluted solutions, and collisional excitation contributes at higher uranium concentration. Secondary sonochemical products may arise from chemically active species that are formed inside the bubble, but then diffuse into the liquid phase and react with solution precursors to form a variety of products. For instance, the sonochemical reduction of Pt(IV) in pure water provides an innovative synthetic route for monodispersed nanoparticles of metallic platinum without any templates or capping agents. Many studies reveal the advantages of ultrasound to activate the divided solids. In general, the mechanical effects of ultrasound strongly contribute in heterogeneous systems in addition to chemical effects. In particular, the sonolysis of PuO2
powder in pure water yields stable colloids of plutonium due to both effects.
Chemistry, Issue 86, Sonochemistry, sonoluminescence, ultrasound, cavitation, nanoparticles, actinides, colloids, nanocolloids
A Protocol for Detecting and Scavenging Gas-phase Free Radicals in Mainstream Cigarette Smoke
Institutions: CDCF-AOX Lab, Cornell University.
Cigarette smoking is associated with human cancers. It has been reported that most of the lung cancer deaths are caused by cigarette smoking 5,6,7,12
. Although tobacco tars and related products in the particle phase of cigarette smoke are major causes of carcinogenic and mutagenic related diseases, cigarette smoke contains significant amounts of free radicals that are also considered as an important group of carcinogens9,10
. Free radicals attack cell constituents by damaging protein structure, lipids and DNA sequences and increase the risks of developing various types of cancers. Inhaled radicals produce adducts that contribute to many of the negative health effects of tobacco smoke in the lung3
. Studies have been conducted to reduce free radicals in cigarette smoke to decrease risks of the smoking-induced damage. It has been reported that haemoglobin and heme-containing compounds could partially scavenge nitric oxide, reactive oxidants and carcinogenic volatile nitrosocompounds of cigarette smoke4
. A 'bio-filter' consisted of haemoglobin and activated carbon was used to scavenge the free radicals and to remove up to 90% of the free radicals from cigarette smoke14
. However, due to the cost-ineffectiveness, it has not been successfully commercialized. Another study showed good scavenging efficiency of shikonin, a component of Chinese herbal medicine8
. In the present study, we report a protocol for introducing common natural antioxidant extracts into the cigarette filter for scavenging gas phase free radicals in cigarette smoke and measurement of the scavenge effect on gas phase free radicals in mainstream cigarette smoke (MCS) using spin-trapping Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) Spectroscopy1,2,14
. We showed high scavenging capacity of lycopene and grape seed extract which could point to their future application in cigarette filters. An important advantage of these prospective scavengers is that they can be obtained in large quantities from byproducts of tomato or wine industry respectively11,13
Bioengineering, Issue 59, Cigarette smoke, free radical, spin-trap, ESR | <urn:uuid:79690d94-7842-4521-a55c-dcbf2473298a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.jove.com/visualize/abstract/22802966/singlet-oxygen-reactions-with-flavonoids-theoretical-experimental | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560282935.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095122-00237-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.89296 | 10,807 | 2.515625 | 3 |
During pregnancy, changes in the hands are common.
Mild swelling of your
hands may be caused by the normal buildup of fluid during pregnancy.
Red, itchy palms and soles of the feet are
caused by changing hormone levels. The symptoms go away after delivery.
Moisturizers may give some relief.
An occasional pins-and-needles sensation may occur in the hands for no
obvious reason. It is not known why this occurs in pregnant women, but it
usually is not a cause for concern. Sometimes changing position helps relieve
Numbness and pain that occur in
your thumb, index finger, middle finger, or half of your ring finger may be
carpal tunnel syndrome. This condition is more common
during pregnancy because the normal buildup of fluid puts pressure on nerves in
your wrist. Symptoms usually go away after pregnancy.
Swelling also can be a more serious sign of preeclampsia, a
problem related to pregnancy. For more information, see the topic
Pregnancy-Related Problems. Swelling of your hands during pregnancy may be more
serious when you have other symptoms, such as:
Swelling or puffiness in your
Weight gain of
2 lb (0.9 kg) or more over a
An elevated blood pressure.
your urine (a lab test is required to check for protein).
ByHealthwise Staff Primary Medical ReviewerWilliam H. Blahd, Jr., MD, FACEP - Emergency Medicine Adam Husney, MD - Family Medicine Specialist Medical ReviewerKirtly Jones, MD - Obstetrics and Gynecology
PeaceHealth endeavors to provide comprehensive health care information, however some topics in this database describe services and procedures not offered by our providers or within our facilities because they do not comply with, nor are they condoned by, the ethics policies of our organization. | <urn:uuid:ba059c8f-b84a-4663-a1bc-bea554907153> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://www.peacehealth.org/medical-topics/content/special/aa2947.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285289.45/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00146-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.900223 | 388 | 2 | 2 |
War on Libya, Surge in the Price of Crude Oil
Friday, March 18, 2011
The establishment of a no fly zone is on the drawing board of the Pentagon. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, supported by the Arab League and* the Organization for African Unity (OUA) have labelled Libya as “An Unfriendly Nation”.
The scenario envisaged by Washington is to involve Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states in aerial attacks directed against Libya.
They have also called on Saudi Arabia to supply opposition forces with weapons.
Reports confirm that NATO special forces and military advisers to the rebellion are on the ground in Eastern Libya.
The geopolitical and economic implications of a US-NATO led military intervention directed against Libya are far-reaching.
Libya is among the World’s largest oil economies with approximately 3.5% of global oil reserves, more than twice those of the US.
A war on Libya would have an immediate impact on the price of crude oil. The latter has risen by 18 percent since the beginning of the insurrection in Libya.
It currently stands at $104.42* a barrel for April delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest level since the financial crash of September 2008. Since August 2010, the price of crude oil has risen from 75.93 a barrel to 104.42 (March 2011), a hefty increase of* 37.5 percent. (See Table below)
Crude Oil (petroleum) – Monthly Price – Commodity PricesMonthValueAug-1075.93Sep-1076.14Oct-1081.72Nov-1084.56Dec-1090.1Jan-1192.66March 2011 Price for April Delivery 104. 42
Source indexmundi.com. Crude Oil (petroleum) – Monthly Price – Commodity Prices
A war directed against Libya would push the price of crude oil up to abysmally high levels, potentially triggering a global inflationary spiral, which would result in the impoverishment of large sectors of the World population.
A sizeable increase in the price of oil over a prolonged period would wreck economic havoc: production and transportation costs would increase dramatically. Hikes in the costs of fuel and energy would trigger a renewed string of bankruptcies in major sectors of economic activity. They would also contribute to a sizeable increase in the external debt of developing countries.
These price hikes, which are already ongoing, would occur despite the abysmally low costs of* Middle East oil.
What this means is that powerful institutional speculators on Wall Street with links to the US military and intelligence establishment will cash in on billions of dollars in speculative gains not only in the oil market but also in the commodity and foreign exchange markets.
This money is appropriated from households which must now pay a higher price for fuel.
A “humanitarian war” would be “good for business”. It serves the interests of the institutional speculators, it contributes to a further process of appropriation of money wealth.
Financial institutions which had prior knowledge or intelligence of events in Egypt and Libya have already made billions of dollars in speculative gains in the futures and options markets for crude oil.
These global financial and banking institutions, which “placed their bets” several months ago, have “a vested interest in war”.* The greater the turmoil and disruption of the crude oil market, the greater the speculative gains. Short term speculative gains due to market volatility are also part of this process. Foreknowledge of the sequence of political or military events and how they affect markets as well as control and/or manipulation of financial news pertaining to these events are an essential part of the betting process.
In this regard we are dealing the with workings of the World’s commodity exchanges, the most important of which is the powerful CME Group created following the merger of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX).
Political Rumors and Fake Information
The spreading of rumors and fake information is also a profitable undertaking particularly in relation to short-term movements of commodity markets:
Read Chossudovsky’s analysis*on War and the Economic Crisis*
…a rumor that Libya’s long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi had been shot tore across the commodities market, sending U.S. crude oil futures down more than two percent. Other rumors have had similar immediate and sweeping effects, even without real changes in actual oil production or reserves. The cause is oil speculators, such as hedge funds, who buy and sell commodities, profiting by betting on short-term price changes.
These traders are making money on quick movement, wagering on rumors and market blips. They are buying and quickly re-selling commodities they have no intention of actually holding or using. Their opportunism is once again hitting working-class families across the country, increasing the burden on small business owners and farmers,…. (Rep. Joe Courtney: Market Speculators and the Real Cost of Oil
, Huffington Post, March 16, 2011)
Economic sanctions have been imposed by the US on Libya thereby creating havoc in the supply of Libyan oil to the European Union. These sanctions are indirectly targeted at the European Union. They contribute to weakening Italy and France, which are heavily dependent on Libyan oil.
Libyan oil trade has virtually been paralysed Economic Impacts of a US-NATO Military Operation
as banks decline to clear payments in dollars due to U.S. sanctions (Reuters, February 8, 2011) “The move follows a decision by major U.S. oil firms to halt trade with Libya and makes it almost impossible for European firms to buy Libyan oil and supply refineries in countries such as France and Italy.
Banks have been instructed [by Wall Street and Washington] to freeze financial transactions: “Banks don’t want to finance the system in Libya, so for the moment no one is getting money for oil. There are big problems for payments,” said a senior trader with a European oil company.
“It’s not a matter of choice, there is an embargo on U.S. dollars coming in and out of Libya,”
said a trader with one of the firms, referring to banks’ resistance to clear payments in the U.S. currency.
“All U.S. dollar transactions are being blocked,” the trader said, adding it was not clear at this stage if payments were possible in other currencies and whether any Swiss or European banks were willing to conclude transactions. (Libyan oil trade paralysed, deals in dollars blocked | Energy & Oil | Reuters
, 8 February 2011)
If this military operation is carried out, oil prices will spiral, contributing to further exacerbating the economic crisis with devastating social consequences, particularly in the Europe Union, which is heavily dependent on Libyan oil.
The hikes in oil prices contribute to increased poverty, they also contribute to a concurrent increase in global food prices (which are also the object of speculative activity on the commodity exchanges) and more generally in the cost of living Worldwide. i.e the consumer price index.
Wheat – Monthly Price – Commodity PricesMonthValueAug-10246.25Sep-10271.69Oct-10270.29Nov-10274.37Dec-10306.99Jan-11326.54
US$ per metric ton
Maize (corn) – Monthly Price – Commodity PricesMonthValueAug-10175.6Sep-10205.84Oct-10235.7Nov-10236.44Dec-10251.02Jan-11265.29
US$ per metric ton
Maize (corn), U.S. No. 2 Yellow, FOB Gulf of Mexico, U.S. price, US$ per metric ton
Wheat, No.1 Hard Red Winter, ordinary protein, FOB Gulf of Mexico, US$ per metric ton
Maize (corn) – Monthly Price – Commodity Prices
Wheat – Monthly Price – Commodity Prices
The fuel price hikes will in turn have a significant impact on the costs of transportation, international freight and air travel. At the height of a global economic crisis, it will further undermine both domestic and international trade.
All this is known and understood by the major economic actors including the politicians and the speculators. The politicians follow the guidelines set by Wall Street, which largely call the shots on government financial policy.
Regulation of* the price of food staples or the retail price of* gasoline is considered to be an encroachment on the workings of the “free market”.
What we are dealing with is a corrupt economic system which feeds on war and destruction.
The average price of gasoline at the pump in the US is of the order of 3.80 a gallon, in excess of $4 a gallon in California.
The speculators applaud! The media casually blames the price hikes on Gaddafi…** “Households are cutting back on travel, cinema visits and groceries in the UK, where prices jumped to 130.68 pence a liter ($8.06 a gallon) on March 3, … Prices set records in the Netherlands and Italy.*( Record Gas Prices: $8 In Europe, $4 In California; Trichet Could Raise Interest Rates To Halt Inflation | Markets | Minyanville.com, March 4, 2011)
Average Gasoline Prices in the US* (US$ per Gallon)
Source Daily Fuel Gauge Report–national, state and local average prices for gasoline, diesel and E-85. (American Automobile Association, AAA )
Michel Chossudovsky is an award-winning author, Professor of Economics (Emeritus) at the University of Ottawa and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG), Montreal. He is the author of The Globalization of Poverty and The New World Order (2003) and America’s “War on Terrorism” (2005). He is also a contributor to the Encyclopaedia Britannica. His writings have been published in more than twenty languages. | <urn:uuid:b8b4910a-dcbd-42a6-acef-589d708ac5a1> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://unhypnotize.com/economy-currency/53466-humanitarian-wars-good-business-speculators-applaud.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719646.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00126-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939572 | 2,111 | 2 | 2 |
This report describes the number and demographics, such as age, sex, and most serious offense, of people held in Indian country jails. It provides the number of COVID-19 tests administered to persons held in Indian country jails and the percentage of tests that were positive. It includes statistics on the number of people released early due to the pandemic and how those releases impacted the occupancy rate of Indian country jails. The report also presents data on the number of staff employed in Indian country jails, their job functions, and their COVID-19 positivity rates.
- A total of 2,020 inmates were held in 82 jails in Indian country at midyear 2020, a 30% decrease from the 2,890 inmates held in 83 facilities at midyear 2019.
- Admissions to Indian country jails decreased 45% from June 2019 to June 2020, from 9,620 persons to 5,330.
- The number of inmates held for a violent offense increased 8% and the number held for a nonviolent offense dropped 44% from midyear 2019 to midyear 2020.
- From March to June of 2020, about 2,130 COVID-19 tests were conducted on inmates held in Indian county jails. About 9% of these tests were positive.
- Of the 21,190 persons admitted to Indian country jails from March to June of 2020, about 7% (1,510) received expedited release in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- From March to June of 2020, about 5% (85) of the 1,710 staff employed in Indian country jails tested positive for COVID-19.
Part of the BJS Jails in Indian Country publication series. | <urn:uuid:bdc72d8c-bf84-4ae8-bb89-f1e1b12a0e19> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.ojp.gov/ncjrs/virtual-library/abstracts/jails-indian-country-2019-2020-and-impact-covid-19-tribal-jail | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882573399.40/warc/CC-MAIN-20220818185216-20220818215216-00068.warc.gz | en | 0.973808 | 350 | 2.078125 | 2 |
On December 8th, a group of four Summit Hut volunteers joined two community volunteers and two Park Services employees on a Saguaro Census. We met at the Saguaro East visitors center and made our way to the Mica View Picnic Area. Our fearless leader, Irene, gave a brief overview of the history of Saguaros in the park, and of Section 17, a section within the park that was first inventoried back in 1941. Just after the establishment of Saguaro National Monument, there was a tremendous decline in Saguaro population that could not be explained. There were many theories and attempted remedies but none proved successful. Because Section 17 was well established and has been counted previously, it makes for a great study in the current population and how it compared to that of 1941. To learn more about the plot’s history check out Irene’s webpage.
After the history lesson, we made our way to the plot we would be measuring, Plot D5. We were given a quick clinometer lesson and paired up with a Saguaro measuring veteran.
Summit Hut Assistant Manager, Meaghan, setting up the clinometer.
We split into two groups that would work along the plot side by side. Once we reached the end of the plot, we swapped sides and double checked the other group's inventory to ensure no Saguaro went unmeasured. We then swept back a third time retrieving the flags marking which saguaros had been measured.
The largest saguaro our team measured.
We worked for about four hours and measured a total of 139 saguaros ranging in size from .4 meters up to 9.4 meters! The largest saguaro we measured also had 24 arms!
Summit Hut Merchandiser, Carolyn, measuring a saguaro.
The next day, a group of 8th graders from Paulo Freire Freedom School completed the second half of plot D5. The results of our inventory can be seen here.
The general trend is the number of tall saguaros has diminished tremendously but there are far more small saguaros than there were during the 1941 census. Irene explained that much of this is due to the fact that there are far more trees in the park than there were in 1941 which provide shelter and protection to the young saguaros.
This census is an ongoing project and just about anyone can volunteer simply by emailing Irene. We had a great time and truly felt that we were participating in historic research. Who knows, maybe 70 years from now a group of volunteers will be counting the same plot and comparing their results to ours! | <urn:uuid:29063f1a-fca0-4198-941e-fb78d3694bd9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://blog.summithut.com/post/2011/12/19/Section-17-Saguaro-Census.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281746.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00287-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970893 | 546 | 2.359375 | 2 |
Of all the spacecraft humans have launched, there have been some impressively fast movers. But which holds the record? Apart from the wow factor, it's an interesting yardstick for gauging our capacity to explore the cosmos, from familiar planets to the icy depths of space. But it's not always an easy quantity to evaluate. For one thing, launch velocities differ from eventual cruise velocities. They also depend on what you measure velocity relative to. Far away from Earth, it makes more sense to work with heliocentric (sun-relative) measurements.
The record holder for launch velocity is the New Horizons probe to Pluto and the Kuiper belt. Launched by NASA in 2006, it shot directly to a solar system escape velocity, which consisted of an Earth-relative launch of 36,000 miles per hour, plus a velocity component from Earth's orbital motion. Altogether these factors set New Horizons barreling off into the solar system with an impressive heliocentric speed of about 100,000 mph.
In terms of pure heliocentric velocity, the current champions are two probes called Helios I and II that were launched in 1974 and 1976. They entered orbits that took them closer to the sun than the planet Mercury. The nearer you orbit to a huge mass like the sun, the faster you have to move, and both Helios crafts hit orbital velocities in excess of 150,000 mph.
They are not going to hold on to pole position for much longer, however. First, NASA's Juno probe to Jupiter will be arriving in the Jovian system in 2016 and will enter a polar orbit around the gas giant. But Jupiter weighs in at 317 times the mass of Earth. Falling deep into its gravity well will accelerate Juno to a velocity of about 160,000 mph relative to the planet before it can swing by, drop speed and get into its mission orbit.
In 2018 a new NASA mission—Solar Probe Plus—will be launched. Designed to come within 3.7 million miles of the sun, it will hit orbital velocities as high as 450,000 mph. To put that incredible figure into perspective, going this fast would get you from Earth to the moon in about half an hour. It is also about 0.067 percent the speed of light.
Adapted from Life Unbounded at blogs.ScientificAmerican.com/life-unbounded | <urn:uuid:b6febc4c-a37c-4bc0-871c-fd66a755bf77> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/space-race-comparison-speediest-spacecraft/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988719465.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183839-00096-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947206 | 495 | 3.265625 | 3 |
An alert store clerk — and some common sense…
The two combined to help a small business — and you — from falling for the utility scam.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued an alert Thursday. The alert centers around a story. The story centers around a diligent store clerk.
A customer — actually the owner of a small business near the store — approached the clerk to arrange a transaction. The customer explained that his business just got a call from the utility company. He told the clerk that the caller informed him that his business is behind on its utility payments. The utility company was going to cut the power off right now unless the business owner paid the few thousand dollars he “owes” in unpaid utility bills.
Here’s where the clerk realizes the caller from the “utility company” really isn’t from the utility company.
The customer told the clerk that the utility company caller said in order to prevent shutting off the power immediately, he would have to go to a local store and purchase a cash-reload card or gift card, load it with the unpaid balance, then call back to give the PIN to the “utility company” so it could immediately access the funds on the card.
That’s when the clerk explained to the small business owner what Monica Vaca, the FTC’s Associate Director of Consumer Response & Operations, is about to explain to us…
“No legitimate business – and certainly no legitimate power company – will ever demand that you pay with cash reload cards like MoneyPak, Reloadit or Vanilla Reload. Or insist that you pay with a gift card or by wiring money,” Vaca said in the FTC alert.
The caller was a scammer, posing as a utility company representative. The request for payment with a cash-reload card is a way to launder the cash, preventing it from being traced to the scammer.
Vaca offered these tips to remember when it comes to these payment scam phishing phone calls:
- Caller ID can be faked, so the person on the phone is not always who caller ID says it is.
- Never wire money, put money on a cash reload card or gift card and give the PIN code to anyone who asks you to.
- If someone threatens to cut off your power, get off the phone, look up the real power company number, and check with them before you do anything.
That store clerk was a godsend, but the business owner’s common sense should have prevailed here. If it sounds like a scam, it is a scam.
Copyright 2018 Wise Choices TM. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:b58b90ba-d9a8-4293-916e-c917372c6afc> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://www.andywisechoices.com/alert-store-clerk-common-sense/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570977.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809124724-20220809154724-00471.warc.gz | en | 0.95697 | 551 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
aquaplane (plural aquaplanes)
- to ride such a board
- (automotive) For a car or similar vehicle to slide along the road on a thin film of water between the road and the tyres. This occurs when a car has some speed and comes to somewhere with more water on the road than the weight of the car and the grooves in the tyre tread pattern (if any) can push away. The result is almost no traction at all for steering or braking.
to ride an aquaplane
automotive: to slide on a thin film of water
aquaplane f (plural aquaplanes) | <urn:uuid:bcf40442-102b-49b3-84a2-7d57d835caf9> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/aquaplane | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00072-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.861984 | 144 | 2.078125 | 2 |
There are a large number of lists available and being shared by the different online communities that contain Malicious and non-Malicious IP's . These lists are often known as 'black' or 'block' lists. Many of these lists are used to help block spam, malicious attacks, or nuisance users. Some black/block lists are excellent sources of information when the data is used correctly, yet some are so poor that any use of them would be counterproductive.
Shadowserver does not create, maintain, or distribute any blacklists. It does not make such lists available for this purpose in any format. What Shadowserver does is to assemble reports and data sets that provide information on any activity detected on an IP that was involved or referenced in a malicious act. Providing this scope of data pertaining to malicious activity means that absolutely innocent IP's could potentially be reported. This is understood, and must be processed accordingly by the consumers of our reports. There are many different reasons why this can occur. Some of the ways we see this are as follows:
- Spam messages referring to a real URL to help show legitimacy of the message
- URL forwarding to a sinkhole location
- Referenced URL in a communication between malicious actors
Of course, there are many ways that people may believe themselves innocent while being infected. The purposes of our reports are to illuminate a possible problem. The consumers of these reports are the ones that need to decide an appropriate action from those reports. Several of our consumers create black or block lists from our data. Any issues pertaining to this blocking activity needs to be addressed directly with them. We do not suggest any specific action except investigation and possible remediation.
Visit this page and send us the appropriate information requested.
Have a look at these:
- http://www.spamhaus.org/drop - actual list at http://www.spamhaus.org/drop/drop.txt | <urn:uuid:18463225-9e85-4363-bdb5-ca59ecd16319> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.shadowserver.org/wiki/pmwiki.php/Involve/BlacklistsAndBlocking | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280242.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00071-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.904543 | 391 | 2.0625 | 2 |
TWO BIRDS IN A TREE
Timeless Indian Wisdom for Business Leaders
By RAM NIDUMOLU
Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2013 Ram Nidumolu
All rights reserved.
Being in Business
He who sees himself in all beings,
And all beings in his own self,
Loses all fear and embraces the world.
There are two birds, two dear friends, who live in the very same tree." So say the Upanishads, ancient Indian philosophical texts about the nature of reality. "The one lives in sorrow and anxiety and the other looks on in compassionate silence. But when the one sees the other in its power and glory, it is freed from its fears and pain." These two birds are symbolically perched at two different levels in the tree.
The first bird, which lives in constant anxiety, is in the lower branches of the tree. Its view obstructed by the many branches of the surrounding trees, it hops around nervously, pecking at fruit both sweet and sour. So focused on eating fruit, it loses sight of the world around it and gets caught up in satisfying its immediate material desires. It is disconnected, in a way, from its environment and other beings and jumps from branch to branch, from one disappointment to another.
The second bird is perched atop the tree itself on its main trunk. From this highest perch, it has the broadest view of the tree and the lower bird. It can see vast expanses of earth stretching outward for miles and miles. It sees its feet attached to the tree, feels connected, and sees the lower bird moving frantically, following appetite after appetite, as it strips the tree bare of its fruit. The second bird does not eat fruit but simply watches, content to Be in its place at the top of the tree.
Like most images in the Upanishads, this one is an allegory for life. We can also look at it as an allegory for how we lead our lives in business and how business itself works. By business, I mean the modern industrial and services corporations where many of us in in dustrialized societies work. The first bird—the bird moving from appetite to appetite—is the individual ego. This is the self we often are at work: feeling fearful and anxious, acting protectively, viewing our life narrowly, and constantly comparing ourselves with others to create our sense of self. It is the business persona we have come to adopt—it is analytical and impatient and measures its successes largely in material gains with little consideration for how those gains may impact the world.
The second bird, free of fear and confident of the future, is the Being (Brahman) that is the foundational reality of the world. It is described as a golden-hued bird that is also the universal self (Atman), the authentic, unbounded, and everlasting self of all living beings. This fearless presence within us enables us to view our human condition with compassionate understanding and a larger perspective. This perspective is often missing in business.
Although the concept of Being is hard to define precisely, it broadly refers to our essential nature, or quality of existence, which we share with all other living beings, human or not. This shared commonality, or essence, gives living beings their name. Because of it, we call ourselves living beings; we are neither living doings nor living havings.
Today, much like the lower bird in the Upanishads, business seems to have lost its genuine sense of connection to humanity, nature, and its institutional credibility, which is the larger context within which it operates. It has lost its sense of Being. Many business leaders seem to have distanced themselves from the rest of the world, and the impact of business decisions on the world outside the company rarely appears to be a central factor.
Such a sense of separation is one major reason for the great ecological, humanitarian, and institutional crises that threaten our very existence and well-being—the growing threat of climate change, the ongoing destruction of ecosystems and biodiversity, the growing public concern with ethical breaches among many businesses, the spreading inequality between business executives and other people in society, the seeming disregard for societal well-being by financial institutions and other large corporations, and the increasing alienation of employees from their corporations. Business as usual that is based on separation from humanity, nature, institutional credibility, and ultimately Being engenders crises as usual.
How can we respond to these overwhelming crises that seem to be converging in ever-increasing fury? Human beings have a deep and shared connection with other humans, as well as with other living beings in nature and with the world itself. Being-centered leadership is about anchoring in this foundational reality of shared connections. It is about freeing business to renew itself while simultaneously restoring balance to its shared connections to its larger context.
It is about how we can be as leaders to alleviate business's deep schism with humanity, nature, and its credibility with the public. Being-centered leadership is the effort to lead from a place of seeking to realize Being. In terms of our allegory, it is the great quest to realize the higher, golden-hued bird within us while engaging with the world through the lower bird that we embody. The end goal is business that is more holistic and sustainable in the long term because it continually nurtures the larger context in which it is deeply and existentially embedded.
The Axial Age and the Upanishads: Wisdom of the Sages
We can find inspiration for dealing with our multiple crises by considering the period 800–300 BCE, called the Axial Age. The common emphasis of Axial Age philosophies was not so much on what you believed but on rediscovering the fundamental nature of the human being and who you were as a person. When this realization of our core nature occurred, changes in our beliefs, values, and behaviors followed naturally. The Axial Age is relevant for developing a new model of business leadership today in three ways:
First, the changes and uncertainty about the future that we are seeing worldwide today are similar to those of Axial Age civilizations. Wars, migrations, natural calamities, and the disintegration of long-established empires and civilizations caused tremendous turmoil and societal strife. It does not take much of a leap of imagination to see how the present age might be similar.
Second, the business leaders of today exert an influence on society that is similar to that of the high priests of the Axial Age. Since the Industrial Revolution, the market economy has become central to everyday life, just as religion was central to the lives of Axial Age peoples. As a result, business leaders affect societal well-being like the priests did in the past.
For example, business leaders have a major influence on the values and behavior of people, particularly with regard to work, consumption, and social status. In their impact on government policy and the officials who get appointed or elected, business leaders mirror the influence that the priests once had on rulers and royal policy. Through their understanding and control of the mechanisms of capitalism (the new "religion" of modern society), business leaders exert the kind of power that the priests exercised over religious practices.
Third, the loss of trust in business leadership and corporations as institutions of capitalism today bears a remarkable similarity to the loss of public trust in the high priests of traditional religion in the Axial Age. Public skepticism sprung largely from the inability of these religions and their priests to explain the tremendous changes that were taking place and reassure the public about the future.
In the Maitri Upanishad, the story is told of a king who turns to a wandering ascetic, rather than his priests, for counsel on how to cope with the changes. In describing these changes (summarized in exaggerated terms in the quote that begins part 1) and talking of his helplessness, the king laments, "I am like a frog that cannot escape from a waterless well. Only you can help me." Not only were the established religions and priests helpless in reassuring the people, they were themselves considered a chief cause of the disruption. The increasing demands of the priests for patronage imposed a large burden that led to public resentment and distrust.
The ways in which Axial Age civilizations responded to the changes that took place are hopeful signs for our modern-day Axial Age. Transformational ethical principles and practices developed in India, China, the Middle East, and Greece gave rise to the great religions of Judaism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Jainism, and others. Even Christianity and Islam were later influenced by these practices.
While the particulars of each tradition were different, these religions had something of a shared commonality of wisdom—the connectedness of all and the rediscovery of the fundamental nature of Being.
The Principle of Correspondence
Let's begin with the word Upanishad itself. While its conventional meaning is that of sitting near a teacher for instruction, for the teachers and their students who learned an Upanishad, its real meaning was "hidden connection"—such as that between the two birds in the tree. The individual who saw the hidden connections between the universal self and the individual self could also understand the correspondence between all beings in the world.
The Upanishads go even further: the persons who constantly saw this correspondence between themselves and other beings could become them. They could expand their consciousness and sense of self to include other beings they were connected to. In doing so, they developed a profound empathy with all beings in the world and with the world itself. This all-important principle of correspondence is central to the Upanishads. To see a correspondence between two things was to recognize an essential similarity between them.
The principle of correspondence was not scientific and could be abused if it was applied too indiscriminately. However, it provided a metaphorical way of seeing the world that was closely aligned with how our minds function. As modern cognitive science has shown, the mind works primarily through a wide variety of conceptual metaphors—implicit comparisons between two seemingly dissimilar things that nevertheless have something in common—that are the building blocks of our abstract thinking. We use metaphors to point out this commonality, or correspondence.
The Upanishads described this correspondence not just through metaphors (such as the two birds in a tree) but also through similes and other comparisons that made the meaning more vivid and memorable. The integrative vision of the Upanishads was of a world where a deeper structure and unity bound seemingly disparate and changeful things together.
Not only was this supposed to reflect reality, but it also had great pragmatic value. In the midst of uncertainty, one could take comfort in something that was stable and lasting. The value of this worldview is captured in one of my favorite verses in the Isha Upanishad (the most beautiful, simple, and lyrical of all the Upanishads): "He who sees himself in all beings, and all beings in his own self, loses all fear and embraces the world."
The Axial Age in India and elsewhere was indeed a period of tremendous uncertainty and change. Because the priests did not have satisfactory responses to the problems of the time, the Axial Age wisdom that developed in response was successful because it reminded people of their fundamental interconnectedness to one another, to nature, and to the world. Might a similar wisdom help business re connect to the world—to Being—in this Neoaxial Age?
Being in Business
Many of the thousands of books on business leadership deal with issues that are relevant to the lower bird from the Upanishads: How do I work effectively? What qualities do I need to have to be successful? How do I get ahead in the world of business? Business leadership at this level is about doing and having, themes that are indeed important from this narrow viewpoint.
But if business leadership is about being, then an additional set of considerations becomes vitally important. These considerations have to deal with the commonality of existence that undergirds business, business leaders, and all other beings. A corporation, a start-up, a family-owned company, or any other business is then considered an integral part of an interconnected network of beings (whether individual or collective) that share the same foundational reality.
Moreover, the scope of business—such as business purpose and vision, stakeholders, success criteria, and management approaches—now becomes much broader to include these hidden connections (or externalities) of business to humanity, nature, and Being. Business leaders can no longer justify their actions solely in terms of the lower bird of material gain since Being-centered leadership requires a broader sense of collective and individual self that extends outward to humanity, nature, and ultimately Being.
Through the lens of Being-centered leadership, business is not just about the right to pursue material self-interest, such as material profits and growth, but also about recognizing and nurturing its connections to humanity and nature. The responsibilities toward them become an authentic part of such a sense of connection. Doing becomes guided by this broader vision and purpose. After all, if, under our law, corporations are treated as having many of the rights of individuals, can we not expect that they too have responsibilities for nurturing their connections beyond just profit? Shouldn't they be expected to have empathy, just as human beings do? These responsibilities extend even beyond the life of a business since its impacts survive its material existence.
The Upanishads tell us that these expectations are reasonable because of the principle of correspondence between human beings and corporations. All beings, whether individual or collective, are connected inextricably to one another because they are ultimately expressions of the foundational reality of Being. When business leaders realize these hidden connections, they will naturally embody a genuine sense of the responsibilities that arise from these connections. In this way, business becomes more holistic through Being-centered leadership, thereby bridging its great schism with humanity, nature, and institutional credibility.
The story of the late Anita Roddick, founder and former CEO of the Body Shop, is an inspirational example of a Being-centered leader. Her connection to humanity was forged at the age of ten when she came across a book on the Holocaust. What she saw "kick-started [her] into a sense of outrage and a sense of empathy for the human condition."
Years later, Roddick set up a small cosmetics shop in England where she sold skin-care products to survive. She was a big believer in the power of stories, and cosmetics allowed women to tell stories. She said, "[In] every group I have spent time with, women will always corral around a well and tell stories about the body, birth, marriage and death. Men only have conversations or memories about their first shave. But women will always use the body as a canvas, a playground. Even when they were taken to the gallows, women would always want to put some makeup on."
The Body Shop became one of the earliest companies in the world to fight for protecting nature, but Roddick was not just about nature. She campaigned vigorously for tribes and indigenous populations in solving livelihood and human rights problems created by corporations, and she provided a sustainable livelihood for Amazonian Indian tribes by trading in brazil nuts, which produced an oil for moisturizing and conditioning. As she said, "For me, campaigning and good business is also about putting forward solutions, not just opposing destructive practices or human rights abuses."
Excerpted from TWO BIRDS IN A TREE by RAM NIDUMOLU. Copyright © 2013 Ram Nidumolu. Excerpted by permission of Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc..
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site. | <urn:uuid:d213d3c6-5602-4853-93e6-f98f3ba3dba4> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/two-birds-in-a-tree-ram-nidumolu/1114831487?ean=9781609945794&itm=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560285001.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095125-00302-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964554 | 3,252 | 2.125 | 2 |
A senior Italian cardinal said the Catholic church was "200 years behind the times" in a final interview given before he died.
Carlo Maria Martini, once tipped as as successor to Pope John Paul II, died on Friday aged 89.
In the interview with Italian newspaper Corierre Della Serra he criticised the Catholic Church, warning that they needed a change in culture and attitude if they were to attract younger generation
Carlo Maria Martini was a senior figure in the Roman Catholic Church
He told the paper "the church has grown tired.. our prayer rooms have grown empty," reported the BBC.
He called on the institution to adopt more progressive attitudes towards divorce and birth control. As an example he insisted it was not important to argue over whether divorcees should receive holy communion, but to discuss instead how the church could help those with difficult family circumstances.
Martini, who served as archbishop of Milan for over 20 years, was known as one of the Roman Catholic church's most progressive senior figures.
Carlo Maria Martini with Pope Benedict XVI
He expressed his views diplomatically, despite being strikingly liberal at times. He once hinted that he was not opposed to female priests and spoke out in favour of using condoms to prevent aids. In 2006, he argued that condoms were a "lesser evil."
Highly regarded both as a scholar and a cardinal, thousands have gone to pay their respects to Martini who is currently lying in state in Milan cathedral. | <urn:uuid:dd8a8aed-7b1d-4283-89ca-cf1b18f74811> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/09/01/carlo-maria-martini-roman-catholic-church-interview_n_1848943.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280835.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00048-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98455 | 300 | 2.125 | 2 |
Every now and then I like to revisit my old philosophy papers. I'll find almost any excuse to do this. This week my excuse is a conversation that took place in the halls of my church. It's not every day that on the way out of the sanctuary, on the way to pick up your son from the nursery lest his banshee wail disturb the peace of the entire congregation, you hear someone toss around works like ontological and cosmological. I don't normally like to step into the conversations of others, but when they break out words like that, well, screaming child or no screaming child, all bets are off.
It turns out that a new friend of mine was waxing poetic on the various merits and demerits of medieval "proofs" for the existence of God. He didn't like Aquinas' cosmological arguments because they seemed to him too much like weak analogies.
Of course, weak analogies don't seem to bother too many people in the profession of religion, which is perhaps another reason why I recaptured my amateur status. For instance (and I know this is a serious digression, but its my blog, isn't it?) our bishop visited our church this week, and gave an inspiring pep talk, I mean sermon, titled "The Best is Yet to Come." It was firery (in a good way - in the sense that it displayed an inner fire and a passion rather than in the sense that he threatened us with fire) and inspiring. Uplifting, even. But it was also a nearly unending string of fallacies strung together with appeals to emotion rather than reason.
The bishop's favorite fallacy: weak analogy, followed closely by false cause. It was not faith alone, for instance, that caused Rudy to "play" football at Notre Dame, nor was it simple, unwavering belief that landed America on the moon first. And, incidentally, faith in God is not sufficiently like playing football at Notre Dame or taking a trip to the moon.
But the bishop did his job, which is why his job is not my job. He roused a congregation which has been dormant too long, with his (fallacious?) emotional appeals. We're now properly motivated for the work that lies ahead of us.
But, enough picking on the bishop, especially since this is supposed to be a brief introduction to a paper on the ontological argument of Anselm of Canterbury (1033 - 1109 CE). My friend - who pointed out the weak analogies of Thomas Aquinas, but not bishop James King - much preferred Anselm's "proof" for the existence of God. This reminded me that in another life I gave a much celebrated treatment of that argument. So, because my new church buddy reminded me of who I used to be, here's a paper I wrote on the ontological argument (though Paul Tillich argues that it isn't a properly ontological argument, a point which will have to wait for another time or die a slow painful death due to a total lack of reader interest), called Anselm, Gaunilo, and God:
Maintaining a belief in God, or a god, is often quite difficult because God is not the sort if being that can be directly experienced. You can't see God, or directly perceive God with any of your senses. If God sends messages they are not unambiguous. Anyone who, upon committing an act claims that God told them to do it is fishing for an insanity plea. If there is a God - and, of course, I believe that there is - God is a being categorically different than the rest of creation.
This creates problems not just in the realm of belief, faith and religion, but also for philosophers trying to prove the existence of God, or trying to explain any attributes of God. In his Proslogion, just before his famous "proof" for the existence of God, Anselm of Canterbury makes it clear that this is not lost on him. He asks of God, in the first chapter, "Lord, if You are not present here, where... shall I look for You?" and later, "...if You are everywhere why then... do I not see You?" He states clearly, "Never have I seen You, Lord my God. I do not know Your face." Each of these statements and questions admit the possibility of doubt, for Anselm has never directly encountered God. And yet each of these statements and questions are made to the God in whom Anselm clearly believes. Why? Anselm makes, at the end of chapter one, a cryptic statement which might answer this question, when he says "I do not seek to understand so that I may believe; but believe so that I may understand." While Anselm sets out to "prove" the existence of God, his proof is possible only because he already believes in God. Faith, or revelation, informs all of Anselm's reason.
Anselm's famous "proof" begins in chapter two of his Proslogion. First he asks God to give "understanding to faith." He already believes in God, and is now simply asking for certainty. He wants to understand that God exists, and that God exists the way that he believes God exists. So he "wonders" without doubt whether it is possible that God does not exist, using the famous verse, "the Fool has said in his heart, there is no God."
To address this Fool who "says in his heart, there is no God" he gives a description of God as "something-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought," and argues that even the Fool can think of this, because he can hear these words and understand them. And so, since even the Fool can think of "something-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought" this can exist in the mind even if not in reality.
He then says that "it is one thing for an object to exist in the mind, and another to understand that an object actually exists." He argues that it is "greater" for an object to exist in both the mind and reality than just in the mind, and so God must actually exist in reality, by definition. After all, God is "that-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought," and since it is possible to think of God existing both in the mind and in reality, if God did not actually exist in reality then one could think of something greater than "that-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought," which, he argues, is absurd. "Therefore there is absolutely no doubt that something-than-which-a-greater-cannot-be-thought exists both in mind and in reality."
There are a number of ways in which this "proof" can be attacked, some of which were employed by Anselm's contemporary Gaunilo. But before we attack his argument, it must be admitted that this is an argument that has rightly been taken seriously for almost a thousand years, and ought to be around for many more years. It is simple and elegant. But it, like every other argument about God, is vulnerable for a number of reasons.
The first two points of vulnerability in this argument are unsupported assumptions by Anselm. The first is that God is "something-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought." While most descriptions of God may hold this statement to be true, this is not the way in which God is often described. Many people who speak of God might not recognize God by this description, which is certainly not a comprehensive definition of God. But this may be a trivial objection because the statement may be true of God, or concepts of God, anyway. Anselm might argue that even if God is not definitively "something-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought" He is certainly described by that statement.
The second assumption is that it is greater to exist in both reality and the mind than just in the mind. I wish that Anselm included more arguments here. I'm not sure what he means by "greater." But this may also be a trivial objection because he is not arguing that it is greater to exist in reality than in the mind, but that it is greater to exist in both rather than just one. Generally we will grant that two is by definition "greater" than one.
Anselm's contemporary Gaunilo outlines other points of vulnerability in his famous objection to Anselm's "proof," A Reply to the Foregoing by a Certain Writer on Behalf of the Fool. Gaunilo points out that Anselm, in chapter four of his Proslogion distinguishes between two ways in which someone may think of a phrase: to understand the words themselves and to understand that which the words signify. He says that the Fool could hear and understand the words used to describe God without also understanding what those words signify. So the Fool would have the words "something-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought" in mind without actually having "something-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought" itself in mind, and so only the words, and not that which the words signify, would, to the Fool, exist in mind. And if "something-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought" must exist in mind for it to be manifest that it exists in reality, then it is not demonstrated that it exists in reality.
But the most famous of Gaunilo's objections is the one commonly called the "Lost Island," in which Gaunilo attacks the way in which Anselm went from God existing in mind to God existing in both mind and reality. He says that someone can describe an island which is difficult if not impossible to find, on which there are "all manner of priceless riches and delights." It is, in fact, "superior everywhere in abundance of riches to all those other lands that men inhabit." So this lost island is the greatest island.
Now, having heard this lost island described, Gaunilo says that he can understand these words, and also that which the words signify. He says then that this lost island exists in his mind. And yet it is not demonstrated from this that the island exists also in reality, even though it is thought to be the greatest island, and even though "it is more excellent to exist not only in mind alone but also in reality." He says that if anyone tried to pursued him by these means that this island existed beyond all reality, "I should either think that he was joking, or I should find it hard to decide which of us I ought to judge the bigger fool - I, if I agreed with him, or he, if he thought that he had proved the existence of this island with any certainty."
I, though, am not sure that this analogy of Gaunilo's is as good one. After all, an island is a specific form of being, that is; island. But Anselm in his proof did not mention any specific form of being. He did not mention the greatest this or the greatest that, such as Gaunilo's greatest island, but rather, he mentioned "that-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought," the greatest unspecified thing. And so while it is not manifest from definition that Gaunilo's lost island exists in reality, it still may be for Anselm's God.
It is not necessary for the greatest ideal island to exist in reality, though it is necessary for the greatest actual island to exist in reality. An island may be thought to be the greatest island and yet still not exist. It would then not be the greatest island. This, though, does not carry over to Anselm's "that-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought." His definition is much tighter than Gaunilo's definition of the lost island. It is still true from his definition that if "that-than-which-nothing-greater-could-be-thought" did not exist, and yet could be thought to exist; there would be an absurd contradiction because you could think of something greater than "that-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought." Gaunilo has employed a weak, but very interesting analogy.
Still, Gaunilo, in forcing us to look more closely at Anselm's argument, has pointed out a few more potential problems. To defend Anselm from Gaunilo's analogy we had to say that his concept of God is as an "unspecified" greatest thing, distinct from Gaunilo's greatest island, a specified thing. That Anselm's God is unspecified means in part that it is impossible to give this God any attributes. Sure we can from Anselm's "proof" know that something exists than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought, a "greatest" thing, but what else can we know of this greatest thing? On what grounds can we call this greatest thing "God"? And, even if we can call this thing "God," what else can we know about this God? Has Anselm's proof really helped us to know that there is a God? Has it really helped us know anything about God, if there really is such a being?
These are questions Anselm must address in his reply to Gaunilo, A Reply to the Foregoing by the Author of the Book in Question. But before he address ways in which to ascribe attributes to God, he must deal with some of Gaunilo's objections to the way in which he attempted to "prove" the existence of God. First he claims that he is not replying to the Fool, but to "one who, while speaking on the Fool's behalf, is an orthodox Christian." While this at first seems to be just a witty stab, it turns out to be crucial to his argument. Gaunilo claimed that it was possible that, for the Fool, God does not even exist in mind. While Anselm will not necessarily grant him this he does not belabor the point, because he knows that, in responding to a Christian, he is responding to one for whom God does in fact exist in mind. And so, even if God does not exist in the mind of the Fool, that God exists in the mind of anyone is sufficient, Anselm thinks, to prove the existence of God. He then employs the same proof by definition of God as that-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought.
He also claims, revisiting another argument from his Proslogion, that God's existence, by this definition, is so certain that God cannot even be properly thought not to exist. He says that when someone tries to think of God as not existing, "either he thinks of something than which a greater cannot be thought, or he does not think of it." If the doubter does not think of "something than which a greater cannot be thought," that person does not think of God, and so, in not thinking of God, cannot "think that what he does not think of (God) does not exist." But if the doubter thinks of "something than which a greater cannot be thought," then that person can also think of Anselm's argument. Then they would know that God, by that definition, must exist, or else "something than which a greater cannot be thought" would not be "something than which a greater cannot be thought." So it is impossible to think of "something than which a greater cannot be thought" as not existing, because if it did not exist it would not be "something than which a greater cannot be thought," and so in thinking that it could not exist you would not be thinking of it.
This may seem like hair-splitting, but it is essential to Anselm's argument that attributes can, from this definition of God, be ascribed to God. And some other attributes must be ascribed to God in order for this definition of God to be recognizable as God. From this argument, that God cannot be thought of as not existing, he argues that God is present in all times and all places. If God could be thought of as not existing in a certain place then God could be thought of as not existing, even if only in that place, which, by his definition of God, would be impossible. Likewise, if God could be thought of as not existing in a particular time then God could be thought of as not existing, even if only in that time, which, by his definition of God, would be impossible.
He then introduces a mechanism by which other attributes of God might also be smuggled in. He says that "since everything that is less good is similar in so far as it is good to that which is more good, it is evident to every rational mind that, mounting from the less good to the more good we can from those things than which something greater can be thought conjecture a great deal about that-than-which-a-greater-cannot-be-thought." So, by understanding what is good on the earth, though it is "less good," we can, in so far as that which is "less good" participates in the goodness of the God who is "most good," understand at least a little of the goodness of God.
I'm not sure, though, how far this kind of argument will take us in discovering attributes of God. Many theologians after Anselm are prone to point out that while God is good; the goodness of God seems categorically different than the goodness of man, or any other object creation. This is, of course, because God is categorically different than any other object in creation. Thomas Aquinas, after all, makes God a species to Himself. So while it may be possible to conjecture about "more good" from "less good" in that both are "good," I don't know that from this it is possible to know anything for sure about what is "most good," since the goodness of the "most good" is categorically different than the goodness of lesser goods.
So what are we to make of Anselm's famous "proof"? Does it work? Does he demonstrate the existence of a God who is recognizable as God? I'm not sure that he does. There are still some interesting issues that need to be worked out, the inability to ascribe attributes to God by his definition notwithstanding.
The first issue is his notion of God existing in mind. It is an interesting statement, to say that that which is thought of exists in the mind. Yet this is essential to his proof. He argues that "just as what is thought is thought by means of thought, and what is thought by a thought is thus, as thought, in thought, so also, what is understood by the mind is thus, as understood, in the mind." Yet a literal reading of this argument would have to say that to understand a brick, or a rock, or an elephant, that would somehow mean that I have a brick, or a rock, or an elephant in my mind, which is a truly odd thing to claim. This raises questions of what exactly is mind, and what does it mean to have something in mind, which Anselm does not address. Without clear concepts of mind, and of what it means for something to exist in mind, it is difficult to claim that God does in fact exist in mind, even though God can be thought of. Surely to claim that God exists in mind is not to claim that the substance of God is literally in my mind any more than to think of a brick means that the substance of that brick is in my mind. This is an issue that I wish Anselm would have clarified.
Another important issue with Anselm's argument is raised in this question: if Anselm shows that something than which a greater cannot be thought (God) exists in mind, and therefore, by definition, in reality, does he show that there needs to be only one such being? While Anselm believes in a monotheistic God, does he, by his proof of God, prove that the God of his proof is monotheistic? In the specific language of his proof, unfortunately, no, he does not. God as that-than-which-nothing-greater-can-be-thought is not that-than-which-nothing-equal-can-be-thought, and while that may on the surface seem to be a trivial claim, it might actually be crucial. For God's existence to be proven by Anselm's argument, God must be recognizable by Anselm's definition. Anselm's argument is solid enough - except for the bit about in mind, which may be trivial - to prove whatever is described by his famous phrase. But is God described by that phrase? A monotheistic God is not, because there is room, in his phrase, for more than one such God. A Christian God may not be either, because, as seen earlier, it is difficult, if not impossible, to ascribe any specific attributes to God as described by Anselm's phrase.
Is it possible to clean up this definition of God so that God may be recognizable by this definition? Yes, I suppose it could be possible, but to do so will take a greater mind than me.
Addendum (added Feb 7, 2006, at 9:45am): In my paper I argued that Anselm's argument was, with a few conditions added, "strong enough" to prove that there is a greatest existing thing. I no longer can stand by that statement, as it - along with Anselm's argument - assumes that creation can be divided into a kind of hierarchy of goods. That mode of thinking has led to a great deal of harm, as that which, by its own nature, has been deemed "less good" within the natural environment has been subject to destruction by the "more good" humans.
There is no reason other than moral arrogance to assume that something are by nature "more good" than others. This kind of claim is also incompatible with Darwinian evolution, which turns the medieval notion of a created gradation of goodness on its head. Evolutionarily speaking, if one can say that one form of existence is "greater" than another, it is quit possible that the "least" by human standards (insects) are by evolutionary (and therefore divine, if in fact evolution by natural selection is the means by which the universe has been brought into its present transitory state of being) standards are actually the "greatest." This is because, in terms both of raw numbers and variety insects are the most numerous (by far) form of life on our planet.
The old adage that if we destroy our planet in a nuclear holocaust the only thing that will survive are the cockroaches speaks to the relative "greatness" of insects.
As such it is absurd to think that we can divide the natural realm into grades or degrees of relative greatness, and then make assumptions about the nature of God based on those artificial distinctions.
Suns and Warriors Put On a Show (And Demonstrate Why Pace Matters) - Last night the Phoenix Suns and the Golden State Warriors, two of the fastest paced teams in the NBA, were matched up against each other on national televi...
7 years ago | <urn:uuid:25ae7140-712a-49e6-a9c9-8e57b16fc158> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://sandalstraps.blogspot.com/2006/02/anselm-gaunilo-and-god-after-listening.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280310.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00180-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9768 | 4,889 | 1.507813 | 2 |
As the mother of a preschooler with a newly discovered sesame allergy, I am somewhat unfamiliar to the world of epi-pens and the importance of teaching a young child to speak up for themselves in a potentially lethal—but seemingly innocent—situation. It’s scary to be told your child has a serious allergy, and that the next seed to cross her lips could cause her throat to close up. While nut allergies are a known condition that can trigger anaphylaxis with tongue swelling and the inability to breathe, sesame allergies are a somewhat new, albeit growing phenomenon. As a parent, it’s my job to keep my children safe, and to make sure that no matter where my daughter is or whose care she is in, she will not be in danger.
My daughter’s pediatrician recently stressed to me the importance of teaching Lena to always ask whether there is sesame in any food she is given, and to always ask a parent or teacher if it’s okay for her to eat. However, she is 4 years old, and new to this allergy herself. She does not understand the potential consequences of eating sesame, and it is extremely difficult for her to remember and be held responsible for something so serious.
This is why I was so enthusiastic when I was contacted by AllerMates, and introduced to the company’s expanding line of products for kids with food allergies. The company launched in spring of 2012 with wristbands, dog tags, and insulated lunch bags, and has expanded its offerings to include its Health Alert Charms, Reusable Snack Bags, Allergy Medicine Cases, Asthma Inhaler Cases, and more. I can now send Lena to school and on play dates more confidently (though I always warn the adult in charge beforehand!). The Allergy Alert Wristband has an identification strip that can be permanently customized with a child’s contact info and allergy info (Lena is allergic to sesame and carries an epi pen, for example).
Until she is older and more confident in speaking up for herself (and when I’m confident she will remember to ask if it’s okay before eating), AllerMates’ line gives me a cute way to remind caregivers about her allergy and make it easier for her to carry her inhaler and epi pen wherever she goes.
Visit www.allermates.com for resources and tools, and to join the AllerMates community.
Check back regularly for more commentaries from Jackie. Views expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Toy Book as a whole. We hope that you will share your comments and feedback below. Until next time! | <urn:uuid:1f966aff-2413-43e9-ad2c-38260f147e7a> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://toybook.com/commentary-allermates-help-keep-kids-with-allergies-safe/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281574.78/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00019-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955105 | 565 | 1.78125 | 2 |
London is a global theatre capital
Above: the cast of Sunny Afternoon, the musical based on celebrated band, the Kinks.
London's theatre economy generated £618.5m at the box office, according to a report that indicates the city is the leading theatre capital in the world.
The London Theatre Report estimates that the sector employs 6,500 full-time non-performing staff and more than 3,000 performers at any one time. There are a further 5,000-plus part-time and more than 5,000 freelancers.
The authors estimate that attendances in 2012/3 at London theatres, which includes a mixture of commercial and non-profit venues across inner and outer London, outstrip those at Broadway theatres in New York by about 20 per cent.
With 241 venues and total seat capacity of more than 110,000, the London theatre is the "most significant theathre capital in the world" according to the Socitety of London Theatre, which commissioned the report along with the National Theatre.
London theatre box office revenues have been increasing year by year, though the average London theatre ticket price - £27.76 - was down in 2012/3, compared to the previous year.
The report also highlights potential future issues for London theatre including cuts to public funding, challenges to profitability and the need to maintain the city's many historic theatre buildings in a good state of repair.
For more information, visit http://www.solt.co.uk/. | <urn:uuid:1eec2ed9-6a92-467c-9e15-67cf6a710a98> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://thecreativeindustries.co.uk/uk-creative-overview/news-and-views/news-london-is-global-theatre-capital | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560280410.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095120-00454-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944539 | 308 | 1.523438 | 2 |
“Pachakam” means cooking in kerala and Pachakam.Com welcomes you to the magnificent world of easy and healthy Indian cooking with a probe into the fascinating Indian cooking recipes. Cooking is not just about making food but is an art of presenting your culinary skills to those who love food with a different flavor and Indian cooking, by no means is an exception.
it can be taken as breakfast or as a snack
Published On: 09 Jul 2015
cook the potato and carrot in pressure cooker with onion green chilly ginger curry leaves and garlic.
heat a pan add oil in it and pour mustard in it when it splutters pour this to the potato masala.
stir it well.
take gram flour red chilly powder salt and green chilly and little coriander leaves.
pour some water and make a batter.
make the potato and carrot masala in to ball shape and mix with gram flour
and deep fry it using oil.
Kerala Vegetarian Side dish
Chakka Appam is an authentic snack of Kerala. Chakka Appam i...
Spiral cutting in potatoes is a surprisingly simple alternat...
Kofta, a fried veggie ball which is served with gravy for ro...
Tapioca Manchurian is an Indian Chinese fried Tapioca food i...
Nizana Shammas is a hosewife who has lots of interest n cooking. She is an expert in providing various traditional recipes.
Renukadevi Kumanan is a well versed person in providing varities of South Indian recipes and also some modern recipes. She used to try varities of recipes from different cuisines.
Sign up to receive email updates for New Recipes/Special Announcements | <urn:uuid:a2479bad-500e-4c29-80fb-46590bdb7cc8> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://pachakam.com/Recipes/potato-bonda-11334 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560279650.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095119-00433-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.897991 | 359 | 1.757813 | 2 |
CONCORD, N.H. - Gov. John Lynch said Thursday he will sign a bill to make his state the sixth to legalize gay marriage as soon as the Legislature makes some changes, which legislative leaders immediately said they would back.
Lynch asked that the already-approved legislation be revised to better protect churches and their employees against lawsuits if their beliefs preclude them from marrying gays. Gay marriage supporters said they do not object.
"Throughout history, our society's views of civil rights have constantly evolved and expanded," Lynch told reporters. "New Hampshire's great tradition has always been to come down on the side of individual liberties and protections."
Lynch said he personally opposes gay marriage, but decided to view the issue "through a broader lens."
A gay marriage bill and companion legislation were adopted last week, but had yet to make it the governor's desk. Now, they will be held until the changes proposed by Lynch are approved, said Senate President Sylvia Larsen.
Larsen and House Speaker Terie Norelli predicted the Legislature would act quickly to adopt the changes, perhaps as early as next week.
"I want to thank the governor for his leadership in finding a way that our state can move forward to enact marriage equality and, at the same time, respect religious tolerance," said Norelli, D-Portsmouth.
The bill's main sponsor, state Rep. Jim Splaine, said the bottom line is that Lynch supports marriage equality for gays.
Mo Baxley, executive director of New Hampshire Freedom to Marry Coalition, a group supporting gay marriage, approved of Lynch' proposed changes.
"This is language we can support," she said.
Four other New England states _ Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and Vermont _ recognize same-sex marriage. Iowa is the other state to legalize gay marriage.
Lynch said he wanted the law modeled on Connecticut's, which he said contains better protections than the proposal adopted by the New Hampshire Legislature. For example, Lynch wants to be sure an organist employed by a church opposed to gay marriage could legally refuse to perform at a gay wedding.
New Hampshire Republican Party Chairman John H. Sununu criticized Lynch, a Democrat, for wiggling out of his commitment to traditional marriage.
"Once again, Gov. Lynch has discovered a way to be against something and for it at the same time," Sununu said.
Kevin Smith, executive director of gay marriage opponent Cornerstone Policy Research, said Lynch's proposed changes are a disingenuous attempt to obscure the fact Lynch misled the public into believing he opposed same-sex marriage.
I wrote Governor Lynch a letter after the House and Senate passed it. He's been under a lot of pressure to veto and I am so glad he is not caving in to it. A friend of mine had brunch with him last week (she won some contest or something) and I told her ahead of time - tell him not to veto! She was totally excited to get into it with him.
I am finally proud of something my state is doing! (I've lived her for 7 years now...)
by rosepetal209May 14, 2009 at 6:07 PM
"Lynch asked that the already-approved legislation be revised to better protect churches and their employees against lawsuits if their beliefs preclude them from marrying gays. "
I think the above is the best thing that can be added to any state that approves gay marriage. I don't agree with gay marriage but it doesn't appear that there will be any way to stop it from becoming legal so at least there should be provisions that keep churches who believe its wrong from having to preform these weddings. I'm in California where we voted NO on gay marriage but they simply went over the voters heads and got their way anyway. I'm all for protecting a churches right to NOT preform any ceremony that it believes and teaches is wrong.
May 14, 2009 at 6:20 PM
Good for them!
by sweetie00May 14, 2009 at 6:48 PM
When I read articles like this, it just makes me feel like I'm living in a backward, anti-progress state. Oh, wait - I am...I live in Florida. Our elected officials want to drill off shore, build more houses (which aren't selling), pave over more wetlands and totally destroy what's left of the Everglades. Congratulations to the residents of New Hampshire - your government gets it.
by aidans_mamaMay 14, 2009 at 7:20 PM
holy hotcakes!!! seems as though we are on a roll. | <urn:uuid:49622667-94b0-46e2-8060-376bf49f0d5d> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | http://mobile.cafemom.com/group/99198/forums/read/8873493/Another_state_to_legalize_gay_marriage?use_mobile=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281353.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00072-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975685 | 943 | 1.90625 | 2 |
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