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The last thing that goes is the grain elevator. Shortly before that, the post office. Preceding those, more or less in order, go the hardware store, lumberyard, gas station, grocery, pharmacy, bank and then, most dishearteningly, the schools. Those precious schools. After the kids are gone, it's just a matter of time before Main Street--and what remains of the once cheery little houses rimming it--gets boarded up for good.
Abandoned homes? Usable yet worthless real estate? It sounds crazy at a time when house prices in most parts of the country are soaring and the Internet has allowed millions to set up virtual offices and Web-based businesses anywhere they like. But for vast stretches of rural America, this is cold reality. The kids moved away for college or work and never came back, and now the World War II generation that stabilizes so many small towns is fast reaching the limits of mortality. As town elders die, even their money flees, inherited by offspring who long ago headed for the city--quickening the community's descent into dust. Yes, back home in Kansas they're minting ghost towns by the dozen.
But here's where things get wild. Hoping to reverse the decline, enterprising small towns across the Great Plains have begun offering land at little or no cost to anyone who will build a house and move in. The programs have taken wing in the Kansas towns of Marquette, Ellsworth and Minneapolis. "So far, I like what I see," says Jim Wymore, 40, as he is shown around Ellsworth on a gusty May afternoon. He's in town with his brother Shawn, 39, to check out the land deal. Both are from Chicago, and would be prize catches for any population-challenged community. They have five kids between them--which would bring the school district thousands of dollars in state aid--and jobs that keep them on the road, letting them live anywhere. They're looking for a place where they can get more for their money and raise their kids in a wholesome environment. "My daughter is growing up. She's in middle school," says Jim. "She's getting a little too ghetto, a little too urban. We want to be someplace with family values."
This scene is being replayed often throughout the Plains as a fast-growing band of land-granting imitators has taken root from La Villa, Texas, to Chugwater, Wyo., to New Richland, Minn. Dozens of towns have some version of a land giveaway, and dozens more are considering it. "The giveaways worked once, after the Civil War," says David Darling, an expert in rural affairs at Kansas State University. "They have potential to work again."
This modern-day Homestead Act is a pale version of the one authorized by Abraham Lincoln in 1862, when settlers were given 160-acre tracts to encourage building out the frontier with farms and ranches. Today there is no central authority; the programs are initiated and run locally. Yet Washington has taken note. In March, Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Democratic Senator Byron Dorgan of North Dakota reintroduced a bill that would forgive college debts, grant tax credits for a home purchase and fund small-business start-ups in counties that have lost at least 10% of their residents over the past 20 years. In Hagel's home state, 56 of 93 counties qualify. | <urn:uuid:655d36c3-6652-4569-9fdc-693b97be8ff7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1079474,00.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970545 | 709 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Streets remain flooded in Pasco's Thousand Oaks neighborhood, weeks after Tropical Storm Debby dumped inches of rain.
Pasco County, Florida - Jason Richko plunks down heavy sandbags and just like the bags, the thought of more rain weighs him down.
"We're concerned any type of rain that comes -- we're in trouble," says Richko, who lives in the Thousand Oaks neighborhood. "So we went and picked up some sandbags today."
Tropical Storm Debby flooded Richko's house and he's now in the process of replacing floors. But last week, a rainstorm once again flooded neighborhood streets and threatened homes, so residents are beyond the point of frustration and they're looking to the county for help.
"They have to fix what the problem is," says Richko. "Everyone in the community cannot go on with their daily lives wondering if they're going to be flooded."
"Somebody needs to do something," Richko's neighbor Tim Whipple agrees. "I mean, a lot of homes were damaged in this area."
But county officials say quick fixes are hard to come by. With retention ponds and ditches already full from Debby, officials say if they pump from one spot, they'll just flood another.
"Once it's (the water) there, there's nowhere for it to go and it stays for an extended period of time," says Pasco Public Works Director Mike Garrett.
But flooding has been a problem here before. Both residents and county officials say the Southwest Water Management District (SWIFTMUD) permitted construction too near the water table.
A SWIFTMUD spokesperson denies permitting mistakes were made, but Robyn Felix says the agency is now looking for some drainage fixes.
"Yes, there definitely is a problem with the system," says Felix. "And we're working with the county to try and address it for the future."
One of the possible solutions being talked about is the dredging of wetlands in the area, so they'd hold more water, but that would take additional permitting and time. In the meantime, neighborhood residents say they'll attend Tuesday's county commission meeting, to try and make sure their drainage problems are put on the front burner. | <urn:uuid:e5bba0da-5da0-4c9c-8f43-e14ba52fc671> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://origin.tampabays10.com/news/topstories/article/265127/250/More-rain-showers-Pasco-with-worries | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975781 | 460 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Winter sport? Summer sport? Clara Hughes is an athlete for all seasons. She’s one of the biggest stories to emerge in Canadian sports, and she’s not finished yet. A six-time Olympic medalist in cycling and speed skating; she’s the only athlete in history to win multiple medals in both Summer and Winter Games. She’s back on the bike with her eyes firmly set on London 2012. But there’s far more to Clara than athletic achievements.
For Clara, success means more than earning medals. It means having a voice and using the opportunity to reach out and help others. When she uses this voice, it’s loud and clear.
After winning gold in 2006, Clara donated $10,000 of her personal savings to the Right to Play programs. This donation challenged Canadians to support the cause, raising over half a million dollars for the international humanitarian organization that uses sport for development. In 2010, she donated her $10,000 medal bonus to the Vancouver inner city school program, ‘Take a Hike’, which uses adventure based learning to give youth at risk a better direction in life.
She is the National Spokesperson for Bell Canada’s Mental Health initiative and the ‘Let’s Talk’ campaign. By sharing past struggles with depression, Clara has helped break down the stigma associated with mental illness.
She is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Member of the Order of Manitoba, holds honorary doctorates from various Canadian Universities and has been awarded the International Olympic Committee’s prestigious ‘Sport and the Community’ award for her commitment to promoting the values of sport and play around the world. Clara also has a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame.
Clara was given the great honor of being the Canadian Flag Bearer for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games, proudly leading the home team to its historic medal winning performance.
She’s an avid adventurer and enjoys bike touring, distance hiking and exploring with her husband Peter.
By giving back and connecting to her community and the world at large, Clara shows how it is possible to achieve your very best on and off the playing field.
Since the beginning of her athletic career, Clara has held a special vision of what sport could be. Her pursuit of excellence has carried her to the top of her field in both cycling and speed skating. Her determination, dignity and integrity are forces which have driven her to go beyond what most people consider reasonable limits.
She has pursued her dreams through the world of sport, yet her ultimate goal has always been to motivate youth and inspire hope in others through her actions.
By setting an example of sportsmanship and creating a supportive environment in every team she has been a part of, Clara has supported and aided in the growth and development of many young athletes. She has never lost the connection of what it was like to be inspired for the first time in her life. This inspiration came when she was sixteen years old, and it came from sport.
Clara has always believed that knowledge becomes wisdom when it is shared with others. By remaining open to learning, open to growing, and most importantly, open to being inspired, she has shown what it’s like to live one’s dreams for over twenty years in sport. | <urn:uuid:318a52cb-ef1e-4ef3-a1d7-890fa40f2597> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://clara-hughes.com/about-clara/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964721 | 682 | 1.539063 | 2 |
DES MOINES - Some of the hundreds of bills introduced in the Iowa Legislature will die this week as lawmakers run up against a self-imposed deadline.
Most high-profile measures dealing with such issues as property tax changes and education reform are moving through the process. But others dealing with gay marriage, abortion and gun control won't survive the Friday deadline.
Lawmakers have finished up work for the week and won't return to the Capitol until Monday.
Under the Legislature's rules, referred to as "funnel week," bills die if they haven't been approved by a committee by Friday, though they can be eligible the following year and lawmakers occasionally use maneuvers to revive a bill toward the end of the session.
The Legislative Services Agency says 478 bills were introduced in the House this year and 354 in the Senate. Last year, 640 House and 478 Senate bills were introduced.
Legislative leaders said they are pleased priority bills survived the deadline.
Republicans expressed frustration that measures they have long pushed, such as abortion restrictions and seeking a public vote on gay marriage, have again failed, but they said they weren't surprised.
"Those issues are extremely important to House Republicans ... but Senate Democrats are going to block those initiatives," said House Speaker Kevin Paulsen, R-Hiawatha.
Bills that would have reinstated the death penalty and allowed people to carry guns on school grounds also failed to meet the deadline.
Senate Minority Leader Bill Dix, R-Shell Rock, said he was disappointed that legislation that would have sent part of this year's budget surplus back to taxpayers never saw committee discussion and failed. Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, D-Council Bluffs, said all of the Senate Democrats' key priorities have survived the deadline.
"Our key issues about education reform, the skill shortage in Iowa, tax breaks for working families and small businesses, investing in Iowa's economy ... all of our key priorities came through," he said. | <urn:uuid:bb64790a-1ca1-413d-8615-b6246ca127d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.timesrepublican.com/page/content.detail/id/558037/Bills-die-as-Iowa-Legislature-faces-deadline.html?nav=5005 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975911 | 400 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Juvenile Law Center, in collaboration with the Defender Association of Philadelphia and faculty members at Temple University Beasley School of Law, Boston University School of Law, and the University of San Francisco School of Law, filed an amicus brief on behalf of Qu’eed Batts, who was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) for a homicide he committed at the age of 14. In Pennsylvania, LWOP is a mandatory sentence for anyone convicted of first or second degree murder.
The brief argued that the life without parole sentence violates the United States and Pennsylvania Constitutions as well as international law. In Graham v. Florida, the United States Supreme Court held that a sentence of life without parole imposed on a juvenile convicted of a non-homicide offense was unconstitutional, grounding its decision in developmental and scientific research demonstrating that juveniles possess a greater capacity for rehabilitation, change, and growth than adults, and reasoning that the sentence therefore served no legitimate penological purpose when applied to juveniles. Juvenile Law Center’s brief argued that Graham applied in this case as well, since the reasoning about the differences between juveniles and adults apply regardless of the type of crime at issue.
The brief also argued that the sentence is not in conformity with national and international sentencing trends, as only three other states mandate LWOP sentences for juveniles under the age of fourteen convicted of homicide and the United States is alone in the world in imposing life without parole sentences on juveniles.
Juvenile Law Center argued the case before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court December 1, 2010.
On December 6, 2011, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered a hold placed on the case pending disposition by the U.S. Supreme Court of Miller v. Alabama. Upon review of the Miller decision, which banned mandatory life without parole sentences for juveniles, the Court found that supplemental briefing was warranted to resolve the issues upon which it granted allowance of appeal. Accordingly, Juvenile Law Center and the other parties were ordered to submit supplemental briefing on the following issues:
The brief argued that, based on Miller, Pennsylvania's statutory scheme of sentencing any juvenile convicted of first or second degree murder to life without parole is now unconstitutional, and that Batts' sentence must be vacated and a new constitutional sentence imposed. The brief argued that the only constitutional statutory sentence available is the sentence for lesser included offenses, and that the Court should hold that the appropriate remedy for juveniles convicted of first degree murder is to impose the current statutory sentence for the lesser included offense of third degree murder.
Deputy Director Marsha Levick argued before the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on behalf of Batts on September 12, 2012. View a video of her argument here (scroll to 31:00).
On March 26, 2013, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that Batts was entitled to a resentencing hearing. At that resentencing, Batts can receive a sentence of life with parole or life without parole. The Court gave the trial court the discretion to determine Batts' minimum sentence (or parole eligibility), emphasizing that trial courts must consider "appropriate-age related factors." The Court relied in part on the United States Supreme Court's decision in Miller.
"Easton teen killer's fate to be decided by Northampton County Judge Koury," Riley Yates, Allentown Morning Call, 4/2/13
"Supreme Court: Juvenile killer to get new sentencing," Riley Yates, Allentown Morning Call, 3/26/13
"14-year-old convicted of Easton murder should only face 40 years in prison, attorneys argue," Tom Shortell, The Express-Times, 7/27/12
"Easton teen's life sentence for gang killing to be argued," JD Malone, Allentown Morning Call, 7/10/12
"Northampton County prosecutors seeking life sentence for Qu'eed Batts, despite high court ruling," Andrew George, The Express-Times, 7/10/12 | <urn:uuid:cffd8580-e0d3-4929-84e5-6f361ab50946> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jlc.org/legal-docket/commonwealth-pennsylvania-v-batts | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941597 | 802 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Archive for the ‘Walthers’ tag
The tiny motorists on the streets of your HO-gauge train layout have nothing to fear when foul weather strikes as long as this B-model Mack is on the job
People who collect full-size antique trucks will readily tell you that the worst part of their hobby is finding a place to store their prizes. If you want to keep your 1949 Kenworth on your 20-acre spread in southern Indiana, no problem. If you try to keep it next to your condo in Clearwater Beach, or your ski lodge at Okemo, Vermont; or at the curb in front of your brownstone in Manhattan’s Sutton Place, your neighbors will most likely want to speak to you. Angrily. About your truck. As in, “Get that thing out of here or I’m calling the cops.”
There’s a far easier way for people in cramped quarters to enjoy old trucks without igniting a latter-day Hatfield-McCoy feud. As you’ve probably guessed, it’s by collecting scale models, and most specifically, trucks replicated in HO scale, or 1/87th of full size. The first such models were frequently crude and intended exclusively as scenery items on HO scale model railroads, but more recently, they’ve become a hobby in their own right, with a huge variety of detailed replicas available, and even an online association dedicated to these little trucks.
Just a few of the companies that produce these models are Athearn, known for decades for its reliable HO diesel locomotives; Boley, Herpa and Walthers, the latter being the world’s biggest producer and wholesaler of North American-prototype HO rail equipment. However, the hobby has also spawned a host of so-called cottage industries, which make highly specialized truck models in relatively small quantities. One of them is Sheepscot Scale Products of Cumberland, Maine.
These kits, like most other HO trucks, are primarily intended for use on model railroads; in Sheepscot’s case, models of heavy American rigs used from the late 1930s through the late 1960s. They’re available as either tractors or chassis-cab units, and with a broad variety of truck bodies, along with cargo, tank and heavy-equipment trailers. Prototypes modeled include Autocar, Mack, International, Oshkosh and Sterling. For the heavy-equipment trailer, the firm also produces a Bucyrus-Erie 15B truck crane.
Most of the truck kits consist of a metal frame, urethane cab, and small detail parts, some in photoetched brass, including authentic wheels, side mirrors and exhaust systems. They generally run $20 to $25. Sheepscot also makes accessories, including a spectacular snowplow attachment for its dump trucks, with an external cab frame and huge wing plows, just like the ones that keep our highways clear here in Vermont. The kit would look great mated to the four-wheel-drive Oshkosh.
You can contact Sheepscot at 207-829-5134 or online at www.sheepscotscale.com. While you’re at it, check out the neat site of the 1/87 Vehicle Club at www.1-87vehicles.org. Tell ‘em Hemmings sent you.
(This post originally appeared in the February 9, 2006, issue of the Hemmings eWeekly Newsletter.) | <urn:uuid:24982d40-84c9-49d6-9297-3ce525e62bf8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.hemmings.com/index.php/tag/walthers/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948788 | 736 | 1.804688 | 2 |
7 steps to spring clean your credit report
Watch out for phantom money
Lohrenz says consumers with a history of collections in their past can have their outstanding balances appear larger than they actually are because of the booming secondary market for collections. Here's how it happens: If a consumer has a credit card balance that becomes delinquent, the issuer will attempt to collect for a while, then give up and sell the account to a collection agency.
The card balance should then drop to zero, and a new account, this time with the collection agency, will appear on the report. Sometimes, though, the issuer won't strike that balance from their records, so it will appear as if the consumer has two outstanding debts. If the debt is bought and sold numerous times, which is common, the problem can multiply.
Another instance of "phantom money" can occur when a consumer has a closed bank account that has an overdraft protection line of credit tied to it. In some instances, that line of credit will remain on a person's report even after the account is shuttered, says Bucci. | <urn:uuid:426efde9-8161-4ca8-b4a1-81942da9ec91> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bankrate.com/finance/credit-cards/7-steps-to-spring-clean-your-credit-report-5.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966634 | 223 | 1.539063 | 2 |
A Separate Peace
By John Knowles
(Scribner, Paperback, 9780743253970, 208pp.)
Publication Date: October 7, 2003
Set at a boys’ boarding school in New England during the early years of World War II, A Separate Peace is a harrowing and luminous parable of the dark side of adolescence. Gene is a lonely, introverted intellectual. Phineas is a handsome, taunting, daredevil athlete. What happens between the two friends one summer, like the war itself, banishes the innocence of these boys and their world.
A bestseller for more than thirty years, A Separate Peace is John Knowles’s crowning achievement and an undisputed American classic.
John Knowles, who died in 2001, was a graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy and Yale University, as well as a recipient of the William Faulkner Award and the Rosenthal Award of the National Institute of Arts and Letters.
Aubrey Menen I think it is the best-written, best-designed, and most moving novel I have read in many years. Beginning with a tiny incident among ordinary boys, it ends by being as deep and as big as evil itself.
National Review A masterpiece.
The Observer A model of restraint, deeply felt and beautifully written.
Warren Miller Mr. Knowles has something to say about youth and war that few contemporary novelists have attempted to say and none has said better.
This book is on these lists:My Book List by beatriz.mendoza
Elora's List of Books That Demand to be Read by EloraG
accumulated wishlist by alizahb
Erin' List by dbartolai
Back to Mine by leighgreen
Food For Freethought- Banned and Challenged Classics by Food4Freethought
Berrybook's Wish List by berrybook
Electriclaugh's Wish List by electriclaugh
BBC list by landreu
Books I Wish I Hadn't Yet Read by Kathy
All lists >> | <urn:uuid:b9deda36-6f3c-4fb3-a5f6-4649b8684a49> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.indiebound.org/book/9780743253970?aff=annaeccentric | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948054 | 430 | 1.625 | 2 |
The purpose of this blog is to communicate the times and happenings at New Hampton Elementary with students, staff, parents, and patrons of our program.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
A Clever Bucket-Filling Idea
Recently, Linda Schwickerath, the secretary for NHE, made several batches of Bucket Filler treats on a special occasion for a member of the staff. The treats filled everyone's buckets as well and also pleased their sweet tooth. The treats definitely looked like happy, filled buckets.
This time of year, treats in the teacher's workroom help lighten the load and sweeten the spirit. Thank you, Linda! | <urn:uuid:f34a165d-0613-41d3-9ff3-f9a1af204611> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nhetimes.blogspot.com/2012/03/clever-bucket-filling-idea.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953628 | 132 | 1.796875 | 2 |
By Eric Stam & Gretchen Knowlton
These are uncertain times. Our country’s economic future is uncertain. The future of the CSBG is under harsh scrutiny and at risk of falling victim to deficit reduction. Policymakers and the American public want to know how to get the biggest bang for their federal dollars. In an effort to make a stronger case for the impact of the CSBG Network, NASCSP is launching a significant review of current research on anti-poverty interventions and what works. This includes an assessment of how best to explain the CSBG National Performance Indicators (NPIs). NASCSP hopes this important project will continue building on the collective knowledge of effective interventions for moving people and communities towards economic security as well as an understanding of tools that could help evaluate the impact of CSBG. The project will be led by Progress Resources Incorporated in conjunction with Temple University and Economic Opportunity Studies.
This is a two-phase project. Phase one is a review of the literature on anti-poverty interventions. The project will develop a rating system that can be used to categorize findings by scientific quality and level of scholarship as well as by level of impact on poverty.
The results of the literature review will inform phase two, which includes an evaluation of the NPIs and the types of information needed to truly understand the impact and effectiveness of CSBG. This review will also help the CSBG Network focus its efforts and resources on the highest impact interventions and policies.
The federal government’s commitment to evidence-based research and practice makes this type of research and evaluation critical for our network. While the CSBG Network has a robust and cutting-edge reporting and measurement system in Results Oriented Management and Accountability (ROMA), this system is a management tool and not an empirical research model. The Network needs to communicate its accomplishments and impact, with increasing urgency. ROMA data forms the foundation for this effort to more fully understand existing research models for anti-poverty work. The findings will further strengthen the CSBG Network’s ability to tell its story. This review will not only identify promising practices and research, but will also provide a structure to support ROMA in the process.
Targeted, meaningful, and evidence-based investments in economic security are much easier to identify and implement when the right information is available. The results of this project and recommendations for application for the CSBG Network will help create a path to prosperity – for the nation and for those most often left behind – low-income Americans. This research will refine and target our efforts so that communities and the nation get the most bang for their CSBG buck. | <urn:uuid:78f9e386-b9b4-4942-b9a8-7163ce86d9ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thestateofpoverty.org/2012/01/07/are-you-getting-the-biggest-bang-for-your-csbg-buck/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949632 | 537 | 1.5 | 2 |
John Kerry: Copenhagen needs to jolt Senate
- Sen. John Kerry delivers his speech during a side event at the U.N. Climate Summit in Copenhagen on Wednesday. AP Photo
COPENHAGEN — Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) is tired of the world telling the Senate what to do — so he spent his brief stopover Wednesday at the U.N. climate conference telling the world what it can do for the Senate.
In a speech that was part climate-change pep rally, part lecture on America’s legislative political dynamics, Kerry argued that he needs a strong political settlement at COP-15 to jolt the Senate into action on its moribund cap-and-trade bill.
“Some of my colleagues in Washington … remain reluctant to grapple with a climate crisis mostly measured in future dangers, when they’re confronted every day with the present pain of hardworking people in a tough economic time,” the Foreign Relations Committee chairman said, referring to coal- and factory-state Democrats who view carbon caps as job-killers.
“To pass a bill, we must be able to assure a senator from Ohio that steelworkers in his state won’t lose their jobs to India and China because those countries are not participating in a way that is measurable, reportable and verifiable,” he added.
“Every American — indeed, I think all citizens — need to know that no country will claim an unfair advantage.”
Despite the challenges, the veteran climate change advocate is still sticking with a relatively optimistic timeline, saying he thinks the Senate can pass a bill next year similar to the one rammed through the House —possibly as early as June, a month or two after the deadline former Vice President Al Gore proposed in Copenhagen earlier in the week.
Kerry’s desire to drive a hard bargain with China and India is in line with the stance of the U.S. delegation and its lead negotiator, Todd Stern.
While developing nations focus on President Barack Obama’s relatively modest emissions-cut pledge, Stern’s team has pushed for greater international verification of greenhouse gas output in China and India — two of America’s largest commercial and industrial competitors.
India’s environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, who sat through Kerry’s speech at the Bella Center, told POLITICO his country had already begun implementing a stringent self-monitoring program.
“We have been working on a system that would be just as transparent” as the one requested by the U.S., Ramesh said.
“Obama should put $100 billion on the table when he comes here — that would change the environment, climate of the conference,” he added, referring to a multinational fund that financier George Soros has proposed for dealing with the impact of global warming on poor countries.
Ramesh also attended Monday’s unveiling of a U.S.-sponsored initiative to spend $350 million on electric hurricane lamps and other green energy technologies for developing nations. At the time, he praised the effort, but on Wednesday he dismissed it as an inadequate downpayment.
“Come on … That was $350 million — over a five year period!” he said.
A small group of protesters gathered outside the ballroom where Kerry spoke, urging him to push for more aggressive greenhouse targets.
Kerry, the unsuccessful 2004 Democratic presidential nominee, saved his own criticism for a different target.
“If Dick Cheney can argue that even a 1 percent chance of a terrorist attack is 100 percent justification for pre-emptive action — then surely, when scientists tell us that climate change is nearly a 100 percent certainty, we ought to be able to stand together, all of us, and join in an all-out effort to combat a mortal threat to the life of this planet,” he said. | <urn:uuid:6381a0fd-f906-4548-98d4-b5072c7a8146> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30668.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95253 | 808 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Book online for ticketed events
See inside Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery on a virtual tour.
A comprehensive guide to what's happening at Birmingham's museums.
Location: Birmingham Museum
25th May 2013 - 25th May 2013
Join artist/illustrator Ruth Radcliffe at our Saturday morning Arts Club for children aged 7-11. This session looks at portraits and how to do one! 10.30 - 12.30. Tickets are £3 per child and will be available on the day at the Vestibule Reception desk. Please note that we may introduce advance booking for Arts Club - keep an eye on the website for details.
Our Saturday morning Arts Club for children aged 7-11 (and their parents and carers) offers participants an opportunity to work with real artists and creative practitioners as they explore different art forms. We provide a wide variety of materials and the children will be able to take what they have made home with them after each session. The first few sessions are being led by artists Ruth or Benny and they will provide gentle guidance to the participants, helping them to develop their artistic skills but also making sure they have lots of fun!
You can attend just one session or come to them all. There is currently no advance booking and you can just turn up on the day. We are offering these sessions at the introductory price of £3 per child, adults are free and may stay throughout the session if they wish. Most sessions will take place in the Activity Zone or the Learning Zone and payment should be made at the Reception Desk in the Vestibule. Sessions will usually include some time on the gallery for inspiration!
We do expect participants to stay for most of the session.
We will be offering participants the opportunity to work towards the Explore or Discover Arts Award if they wish - more info on that soon.
For more information about our Saturday Arts Club please contact Julia Kirby, Learning Manager on 0121 303 2836 or email here | <urn:uuid:b994b261-1a29-42b3-b036-8f57b3d152e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bmag.org.uk/events?id=2425&start=3 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936664 | 399 | 1.625 | 2 |
SEOUL, South Korea (Bloomberg) — The world’s tallest hotel will open next year in the North Korean capital of Pyongyang as the impoverished totalitarian regime burdened by international sanctions seeks foreign currency through a boost in tourism.
The 105-story, pyramid-shaped Ryugyong Hotel, whose foundations were poured almost three decades ago, will open partially in July or August, German luxury-hotel operator Kempinski Chief Executive Officer Reto Wittwer said Thursday at a forum in Seoul. Kempinski will be the first western hospitality service to operate in North Korea, he said.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is courting overseas visitors as one of the main means to earn much-needed foreign currency.
China is North Korea’s largest trading partner and biggest source of tourism as U.S., European and South Korean nationals are barred from traveling to the North.
“This pyramid monster hotel will monopolize all the business in the city,” Wittwer said. “I said to myself, we have to get this hotel if there is ever a chance, because this will become a money-printing machine if North Korea opens up.”
Kempinski, based in Munich, is handling management while Egypt’s Orascom Telecom Media & Technology Holding funds the hotel as part of a $400 million mobile phone license it won from the North Korean government in 2008, he said. Cairo-based Orascom has already spent $180 million on completing the hotel’s facade.
“Orascom’s investment is compensated by very unique modules,” Wittwer said. “In North Korea, they compensate with mining rights, raw material, commodity and commodity exchange because they don’t have cash.”
Wittwer, the 64-year-old Swiss hotelier, said he was approached over a decade ago in Geneva by Ri Chol, who at the time served as ambassador to the United Nations and mentor to Kim, who came to power in December after the death of his father. Ri was looking for new investors for the hotel since construction stopped in 1993 because of insufficient funds and economic mismanagement, Wittwer said.
Kim’s time at a Swiss boarding school may have made him more willing to consider to the idea of opening up his country, he added.
The top floors of the hotel will house guests in 150 of the originally planned 1,500 rooms, which “will be developed over time” to resize the insufficiently designed spaces, Wittwer said. Shops, restaurants, a ballroom and Orascom’s offices on the ground and mezzanine floors will also open next year.
Kempinski’s five-star Hotel Adlon Kempinski, which overlooks Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate and is frequented by dignitaries and pop stars, including the late Michael Jackson.
Ryugyong, which means “capital of willows” in Korean, will be the tallest hotel in the world at 330.02 meters (1,082.8 feet), according to Emporis, which collects data on buildings of high public and economic value.
Orascom owns a 75 percent stake in Koryolink, North Korea’s sole mobile network operator, through the 25-year mobile phone license it obtained in 2008.
Naguib Sawiris, founder and executive chairman of Orascom, visited North Korea Oct. 4-6, during which he toured a beverage factory and a dolphinarium, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. | <urn:uuid:d2106552-194d-4934-8e67-cde5fab188df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lakewalesnews.com/sunnews/lakewales/4487599-481/sunnewspaperskempinskitorunworldstallesthotelinnorth.html.csp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953431 | 744 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Britain is becoming a more Eurosceptic country, with a majority saying that they would vote to leave the EU.
A poll has revealed that 51 percent of Britons want to get out of Europe, as compared to just 40 percent who want to stay in.
The survey represents a massive turnaround on a decade ago, when a similar poll found Brits wanted to stay in Europe by a margin of 68 percent to 19 percent.
According to the Daily Mail, the revelation follows months of crisis in the eurozone, including fears over the collapse of the single currency. The ICM poll for The Guardian showed opponents of the European ideal are particularly determined to leave.
Some 36 percent said they would definitely vote to pull Britain out, against just 22 percent who want to stay in. When split along party lines, there is a clear majority among Tory voters in favour of pulling out.
The poll showed that 57 percent of Conservatives want to leave the EU, compared with 44 percent of Labour voters, the report said. According to the report, men are more likely to be anti-Europe with 40 percent definitely wanting to leave, while only 32 per cent of women take the same view. | <urn:uuid:ef7c9a45-a26a-4ed0-957b-6dcf3063737c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.setyoufreenews.com/2012/12/27/more-than-half-of-britons-want-country-to-pull-out-of-eu/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967425 | 237 | 1.523438 | 2 |
William Hooker Trio: Yearn for Certainty (2010)
Drummer William Hooker can tell stories in many more ways than one. On Yearn for Certainty, he works his majestic tenor vocal chords as he recites a poem that accompanies the initial track, "Ingratiated BeamLeroy." One track later, on the superbly crafted, rhapsodic melody of "Century's Soles," Hooker manipulates his ensemble of drums to tell a wholly different story, reaching deep into the African-ness of the origin of all civilization, as he follows footprints in the proverbial sands of time. These are the highlights of this album and also present the two sides of Hooker's artistry.
As he recites, there is a quirky breakup of the linesobviously following the poem as it is writtenbut developing a swaggering rhythm that mimics his own approach to drumming. Hooker then returns, on the following track, to his traditional role as drummer, with anything but a traditional exposition of his skills. Both tracks deal with the irony of progress, as the artist walks along the path that brings civilization to that point in time when it is time to take a hard look at what really has been achieved. If this sounds heavy and ponderous, it isat least in "Ingratiated BeamLeroy," the one saving grace being that which is mostly ignored through the agesart. The power in "Century's Soles" lies in the drumming that is constantly broken up by the bombs that Hooker delivers on the bass drum, and the counterpoint provided by Sabir Mateen's saxophone and guitarist David Soldier, who returns here with a bluegrass-like banjo.
Why spend so much space on a miniature dissertation about just these two tracks? Because they both set up the epic music of "Majistrait," a devastating indictment of the new colonial thing called capitalism, and the other epic track, "Yearn for Certainty," a moving piece that sets up the ensemble for a veritable journey to the centre of the current human conditionbereft of anything that it might have to find a semblance of steadiness. On "Majistrait," there is a superb interaction between the musicians, with Hooker's percussion and Soldierwho employs every stringed instrument at his commandsnaking in and around each other's musical space, as both of them weave intricate tapestries with Mateen's filigreed clarinet. Hooker's thunderous percussion here is only interrupted by his primordial cries, mirrored by Soldier's wailing violin.
"Yearn for Certainty" presents sweeping vistas at the opposite end of the worldin America, where the ensemble discovers that sense of longing for what is tangible and true. Reeds and woodwinds, and strings play the part of the yearning, while Hooker's masterful drumming conjures up images of disconnect between certainty and the dislocation, spinning from the two ends playing off against the middle. Then Hooker bursts in, as he comments on the degeneration of all music, into a morass that is unrecognizable as art, before he explodes again on his drums to set things right.
The energy of the music is as significant as the medium and the message. Hooker, Soldier and Mateen break every barriermusical or otherwiseto embed their music in the mind, where it rightfully belongs.
Track Listing: Ingratiated Beam--Leroy; Century's Soles; Commonplace Travel; Majistrait; Yearn for Certainty.
Personnel: William Hooker: drums, spoken word; David Soldier: classical guitar, mandolin, banjo, violin; Sabir Mateen: alto saxophone, flute, clarinet. | <urn:uuid:7d12f6d0-8be4-4828-ac88-3e3742cc3aa0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www2.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=37187 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960916 | 783 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Delaying maintenance may not save money
Wednesday, October 27, 2010
Winter is near, and with cold, rain, ice, snow and more in store for the mid-Missouri area, it is only good sense to ready your vehicle for whatever comes.
Considering some of the extreme weather conditions in the area over the last several winters, it may be advisable to have your car or truck checked out for winterization early this year.
According to Gene Leeper, Leeper Auto Service, some auto owners may be delaying some regular maintenance, such as oil changes, because of the need to pinch pennies. However a little penny pinching now may mean turning loose of dollars later.
For those who have already been delaying maintenance of cars and trucks, it may be even more vital to prepare them for the winter season. The standard for changing oil on the past was every 3,000 miles or every three months, whichever occurs first. With the improvements in both vehicles and lubricants, the owner’s manuals for some newer cars and trucks recommend more miles and longer times. The manuals for the newer vehicles recommend oil and filter be changed every 5,000 miles, although many admit to being “more comfortable” with the 3,000 mile interval.
Some auto maintenance can be delayed with no real problems down the road. For example, windshield wiper blades may be bad for a long time before it becomes a real issue. Even if a rainstorm hits, bad wiper blades usually do not disable a car. Even a bad battery can be jumped for a while to keep a vehicle on the road. Then when either wiper blades or battery are replaced, the car will likely go on as if there were never a problem.
On the other hand, delay of oil changes and cooling system checks can lead to a serious breakdown—one which could easily require a new engine.
According to Gene Leeper, Leeper Auto Repair, changing oil and filter before winter sets in is the most important thing to do. Over summer, the oil often builds up all sorts of particulate matter that can inhibit engine lubrication in the winter, especially when first starting a cold engine. When planning the time and miles between oil changes, keep in mind that short trips are much harder on engine oil than longer ones.
One thing to remember is to not only check the battery, especially if it is getting near the end of its life, but also the battery cables and battery posts for corrosion or other problems.
If the vehicle happens to be a diesel with a 24-volt system, remember to have both batteries checked. Leeper also recommends making certain each battery is checked while not connected to electrical system. A bad battery may check out good because the other battery is good and masks a problem battery.
Follow the dealers manual and the advice of the mechanic on the coolant in the engine cooling system. And make certain the engine coolant is the proper coolant for the system, since there are several different coolants on the market.
Take note of hose condition. If a leak is found, get it repaired before a hose fails completely and your vehicle is disabled on the road.
Fuel and air filters are important, as are tires. Brakes are also important. In good weather, brakes should stop the car evenly, but on wet or slick pavement this is even more important for safe driving. Check the brake fluid level. Power steering is also an important item to remember. Make certain the power steering fluid is checked. In some vehicles, changing the power steering fluid is recommended. Check the owner’s manual for recommended intervals.
The weather will change soon. Don’t wait until the first snowstorm to decide the car or truck should have been winterized a few weeks before. | <urn:uuid:82ff1533-38e4-49c3-aa09-af3cd10ecc77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.californiademocrat.com/news/2010/oct/27/delaying-maintenance-may-not-save-money/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953901 | 771 | 1.554688 | 2 |
The Perfect Skills
We often hear of master artisans who produce amazing results. When you take drawing for example, drawing a perfectly straight line free handed is virtually impossible for most of us. Yet, these master artisans are able to freely draw perfect lines and shapes as they wish. When it comes to machining or cutting materials for industrial / commercial projects, such perfection is often a requirement. When a client requires a perfectly circular piece of metal, it must be perfectly circular. It cannot be oval or even a slightly imperfect circle. But how can anyone free-handedly move an entire plasma torch to cut a piece of metal so perfectly when even drawing a circle on a paper is so difficult?
Collaboration of Machine & Men
What allows for such perfection during plasma cutting production is the hard work of qualified technicians along with computer assistance. CNC plasma cutting
(Computer Numeric Control Plasma Cutting) allows technicians to produce flawless results every single time by allowing the computer to precisely and accurately guide the plasma cutter.
Technicians are trained and certified with regards to these machinery and the very cycle of plasma cutting process so that they can foresee different variables and adjust the computers as necessary. Every type of material will behave differently under a plasma torch. Even if you deal with the same type of materials, they may behave differently depending on their size. Length, width and thickness will all affect the materials differently, especially if the project is industrial scale. When you're talking about metric tonnes of materials, their mass alone will easily impact the plasma cutting process. Since CNC plasma machines are incapable of considering such variables, it is up to the experienced technicians to adjust the process as necessary.
The Perfect Profiling Solution
When industry standard equipments and skill sets come in unison, they produce reliable fabrication companies such as Advanced Profiles LTD. Advanced Profiles LTD
. is at the heart of Canadian metal industry, providing invaluable services to both industrial and commercial spheres. As you can see from their website at http://www.advancedprofiles.com/
, their equipments are top of the line and their staff members are fully trained and qualified to operate the CNC plasma machinery at their full capacity.
Trust the People, Trust the Machine
It is a common mistake to assume that a proper facility alone is enough to produce the expected results. Even in our modern computerized world, people's skills are always needed to produce the right results. Advanced Profiles LTD. has proven their ability time after time and are even working hard as we speak to increase their skill sets in hopes of providing even better service for their clients. All you'll have to do is talk to Advanced Profiles LTD. to understand just how professional they are. You'll be able to find their full contact information at http://www.advancedprofiles.com/
or you can simply call them at 1-905-695-1245. They are always awaiting for your call, so don't delay! | <urn:uuid:cab78bd8-14ef-447e-9e17-4e925433c856> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cncplasma.org/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951384 | 602 | 1.695313 | 2 |
US diplomatic recognition symbolizes a walker for united Somalia
January 17, 2013 is a memorable day for the entire people of Somalia. It will be marked as a day for jubilation. It is the day the US government abandoned its misguided policy towards Somalia and formally recognized the central government of Somalia after 22 years of avoidance, indifference or miscalculation. US diplomatic recognition symbolizes a walker or underarm crutch for united Somalia. To move fast forward, two challenges that need quick actions are the mobilization of international aid package and the overcoming of internal divisions based on clan loyalty, past injustices, collective mistakes, fear of the future or political self interest.
The people and government of Somalia are now delighted and grateful for the surprise decision of President Barak Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton not only to liberate Somalia from Al Shabab, pirates but also from foreign subjugation and manipulations as well as from self destructive Hobbesian mind-set. This historical move must be a vindication come late for the former US State Department Political Officer for Somalia Michael Zorick who was removed in 2006 from his position after he dissented from the G. W. Bush Administration’s counter-terrorism policy towards Somalia and late congressman Donald Payne who challenged Ethiopia’s involvement in Somalia. The announcement is also a triumph for ProfessorMichael A. Weinstein of Perdue University who consistently spoke for the best interests of the powerless and voiceless Somalia, for John Prendergast who wrote in 2006 the article Our failure in Somalia, for the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars for its report Pathways to peace in the Horn of Africa: What Role for the US?, the Human Rigths Watch, and for Somalis who sacrificed their lives, resources and time for the dignity, freedom, unity and respect of Somalia.
Indeed, many were disappointed, skeptical or critical about the US policy focused on war on terror and foreign intervention without commitment to the restoration of the Somali State. Now, with its diplomatic recognition, the US government joined the forces for peacebuilding and statebuilding strategy in the fragile states through the New Deal Framework in opposition to the forces for trusteeship administrations, mediated models of governance, clan based building blocks or fragmented community governance. In response to a question from Falastin Ahmed Iman of VOA on the now abandoned deleterious dual track policy, the Secretary of State Clinton said categorically, “But our position now is the work that we did to help establish a transitional government, to support to fight against Al Shabab, to provide humanitarian assistance, now is moving into a new era, as the president said. I believe that our job now is to listen to the government and people of Somalia, who are now in position to tell us, as well as to other partners around the world, what their plans are, how they hope to achieve them.” I truly hope that the substance of this message is clear to all leaders of the Republic of Somalia.
The people of Somalia find themselves in the miserable life of fear, distrust, selfishness and aggressiveness harrowingly described by the English philosopher Thomas Hobbes. The interest of the Somali people, of the United States and the international community at large lies in the establishment of an absolute but democratic, accountable sovereign central authority in Somalia. Here again, in her remarks, the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton emphatically declared that the establishment of new government through democratic process was a personal priority for her during her time as a Secretary of State and that the US government finds admirable the level of commitment shown by the newly elected leaders of Somalia for carrying out their hard work mission of nation building.
The US diplomatic recognition of January 17 gives hope to millions of Somalis languishing in refugees camps in the neighboring countries or in internally displaced people camps. Surely, huge challenges and responsibilities are coming with the bold action of Obama Administration. It is up to the people of Somalia to step up and make responsible decision on their future. According to words of the Secretary State, the US Government has promised nation to nation relation, a steadfast partner to Somalia as Somalia makes the decisions on its own future.
Between 2009 and 2012 the US government spent close to 1.4 billion dollars on Somalia’s problems. The human and material costs inflicted on defenseless Somali civilians are immense. The Obama administration took long time to change the shortsighted US policy inherited from the G. W. Bush Administration. The path followed to arrive to today’s turning point was tortuous, troublesome and tarnished. For example, the constitution making process and resultant provisional constitution have sowed political and constitutional confusions that could undermine the huge benefits expected out of the US diplomatic recognition. Nevertheless, the future role of the US Administration as described by the Secretary of State Hillary Clinton could mitigate those flaws:
The president had a chance to meet President Obama earlier today at the white house, and that was a very strong signal to the people of Somalia of our continuing support and commitment. So as you, Mr. president and your leaders work to build democratic institutions, protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, respond to humanitarian needs, build the economy, please know that the united states will be a steadfast partner with you every step of the way.
For the first time in the world history, a formally recognized functioning government of Somalia which got independence on July 1, 1960 completely disappeared on January 26, 1991 when national and local institutions imploded and late President Gen Mohamed Siad Barre and his cabinet fled the country. No central or local authority replaced the government overthrown by the people. Thus, Somalia became a stateless (failed state), an unprecedented situation that has threatened the international peace and security because all malevolent forces have been thriving under it, e. g., warlordism, radicalism, piracy, human and drug trafficking, violence and illegal waste dumping. As failed state, Somalia ceased to provide state functions to its people and started feeding national despair, distress and survival of the fittest.
Somalia is now a bankrupt country, which owes billions of dollars to international creditors while it urgently needs billions of dollars in grant in the next 10 years for rehabilitation and recovery. The federal government lacks political and institutional capacity necessary to navigate through the complex conditionality procedures regulating countries in arrears or debt default with the international lenders like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank or get access to international financial markets. Therefore, Somalia needs the power and voice of the US government for solution. The Secretary of State offered hopeful commitment on this issue by saying,
So today is milestone. It’s not the end of the journey but it’s an important milestone to that end. We respect the sovereignty of Somalia, and as two sovereign nations we will continue to have an open, transparent dialogue about what more we can do to help the people of Somalia realize their own dreams.
It’s not secret that Somalia is not yet a solidly cohesive society. However, without immediate collective action, the new momentum could be lost and consequence could be disaster for all Somalis. Genuine, practical, respectful, and responsible dialogue among Somali stakeholders and elite is the path for win-win outcomes. | <urn:uuid:0fbcc257-7fa0-4dd4-a5f4-e661568384af> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://rajonews.com/2013/01/22/us-diplomatic-recognition-symbolizes-a-walker-for-united-somalia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948772 | 1,461 | 1.789063 | 2 |
Fidock Handcrafted Drums look just how they sound — warm, natural, and first-rate. Behind their Blackwood grain is Stephan Fidock’s passion for superior drums.
In the ’80s, Fidock [first syllable rhymes with eye] was the drummer for big time Australian band The Reels. He was happy with the drums available, until later in his career, “when music started to get really soft in pubs and clubs where I was playing. The drums that I was using just wouldn’t deliver at very low volumes.” So he decided to make one that would, and started researching online.
Fidock was after a big, open, woody sound. “I just want something that sits well with a good acoustic piano, or a good double bass. I want something that has a lot of warmth.”
To get that sound, Fidock Handmade Drums are all about the wood. Fidock is devoted to Blackwood, a timber which has a lot of character at any volume. To compliment the shell, he offers wood hoops made of solid Blackwood, usually made from the same length of wood as the drum.
Each drum is made using stave construction. This means small blocks of wood are glued together to make a shell, like a barrel. This process requires much less glue than ply shells, and allows the wood grain to run vertically, which improves the vibration and sound. Each drum is lathed down to a thin shell, with reinforcement rings carved out at the top and bottom for support and to focus the sound.
Fidock’s really pleased with his Fatboy snares. “Making a drum 13" by 9", it made sense when I thought about it, to use those dimensions. It’s a snare that I’m really happy with. It’s funny. Even with such a deep shell, it’s actually more responsive than a 5" or a 6.5" drum.”
Fidock also makes drum sets. Coming this year, he’s making some same tree kits, which he describes as “a different animal completely. The drums have a deep compatibility of tone.”
At the current exchange rate, snares are RRP $1,260 with wood hoops, $999 without. Drum sets start at $4,290. | <urn:uuid:68fb62d9-b665-4c1f-8b48-c0cec2ea69b4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.drummagazine.com/gear/post/meet-your-maker-fidock-handmade-drums/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97646 | 505 | 1.5 | 2 |
I don’t read every IETF RFC but I try look over a lot of them in my RSS reader as they are published. The IETF RFCs are all paginated like this, which is annoying.
Borman Informational [Page 4]
RFC 6691 TCP Options and MSS July 2012
While this might have a been a good idea twenty years ago, I feel confident that most people do not print RFCs.
And when they do, I’ll bet a lot of people are using ISO Standard A4 which makes printing even less likely. The RFCs are formatted for “US Letter” using plain text so you can’t print them even if you wanted to.
I imagine its simply that no has taken the time to fix it but it’s also one of the little things that annoys the international community that the American perspectives dominate Internet standards. Being more inclusive and respectful of others would help to solve some of this problem. | <urn:uuid:151c0d71-4894-4600-9ec4-60c7905da632> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://etherealmind.com/ietf-rfcs-and-pagination-still-necessary/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958022 | 202 | 1.59375 | 2 |
1000 New Jobs Using Federal Stimulus Resources
MAYOR NEWSOM CREATES 1,000 JOBS FOR UNEMPLOYED SAN FRANCISCANS USING FEDERAL STIMULUS RESOURCES
SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Today Mayor Newsom announced a new initiative, JOBS NOW, to put 1,000 San Franciscans back to work using $25 million in federal stimulus funding. The program began a pilot phase in May and has already placed almost 200 workers.
“Times are tough, so we need to get creative and innovative about how we find people jobs and get them working again,” said Mayor Newsom. “These resources come directly from President Obama’s stimulus plan and the people that find jobs through this program are the living, breathing proof that stimulus dollars are reaching the people who need the most help.”
The American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) includes $5 billion nationwide to create the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families Emergency Contingency Fund (TANF-ECF), which provides federal funds to pay for 80 percent of the costs of subsidized employment programs. California will receive $1.8 billion in federal funds to pass through to counties for this program.
San Francisco will use almost $25 million of this federal stimulus funding to significantly expand subsidized employment opportunities for those looking for work, with a goal of placing 1,000 participants in jobs between May 2009 and September 2010.
Specifically, individuals who have a child and an income of less than 200% of the federal poverty level are eligible for the program. The 200% of poverty income limit represents a monthly income of about $3,000 for a family of three (annual income of about $36,000). In short, if you are a person who has a child (whether living with you or not) and are unemployed and looking for work, you will be eligible for a job through the JOBS NOW program.
The JOBS NOW program also benefits local employers by providing a pool of qualified workers and by subsidizing 100% of their wages until September 30, 2010 (when the federal funding expires).
JOBS NOW builds upon several successful transitional jobs programs already in place at San Francisco’s Human Services Agency (HSA), which are designed to help unemployed individuals address barriers to employment, develop skills, gain work experience and progress toward self-sufficiency. After leaving JOBS NOW, participants will exit the program with a stable employment history, leaving them better positioned to obtain an unsubsidized job when the stimulus period ends.
Participants will be recruited through the Human Services Agency, One Stop Career Centers, community-based organizations and by employers themselves. All potential participants will be referred to HSA and will be screened for eligibility. Interested participants can apply to enroll in JOBS NOW by calling 1-877-JOB1NOW or 311 or by visiting the HSA website at www.sfhsa.org. | <urn:uuid:12a49da8-0534-4ce7-a5b9-6bf864c1fb7f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.oewd.org/Print.aspx?task=view&option=content&id=340 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939222 | 612 | 1.695313 | 2 |
A double boiler is a tool that can really come in handy in the kitchen. It allows you to cook sauces or melt things at a very gentle heat, so that even the most delicate custard can be cooked without scorching or curdling. You can make a double boiler yourself out of existing pots and bowls that you already have, and this method works very well when you only need a double boiler every once in a while. If you find that you use one a lot to make sauces, clarify butter, melt chocolate, etc. you may find that you need something a little better.
The Nordic Ware Universal Double Boiler is an insert that does the job of a double boiler very well without requiring you to get a whole new piece of equipment for your kitchen. The insert is made of heavy duty aluminum and it has a nonstick finish inside. The base of the double boiler is rounded, making for easy stirring and quick mixing, while the sides are graduated with “steps” that allow it to fit over pots of various sizes. The insert is designed to work with pots that range in size from 2 to 4 quarts. The “steps” also prevent the bowl from tipping, turning or sliding around while you mix – a common problem with home-made double boilers – so you have a more stable setup to work with. | <urn:uuid:cf18b103-ad76-4ef2-a163-71271eb23f68> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bakingbites.com/2012/07/nordic-ware-universal-double-boiler/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951712 | 273 | 1.78125 | 2 |
New Delhi: Even as half of India was plunged into darkness after three of its power grids failed on Tuesday afternoon, the government notified the elevation of Sushil Kumar Shinde from Power Ministry to Home Ministry.
The move shocked many with the Opposition calling it a "reward for his loyalty to the Gandhi family".
BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said that instead of being hauled up for the what was the country's worst power failure, the minister who was in charge of the department was being rewarded with promotion.
In fact, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is said to have written a letter to Shinde last year saying that he was not doing enough to improve the country's power situation.
Shinde is also seen by many as a weak political candidate. In fact, in 2004, despite winning electoral battles, he was replaced by Vilasrao Deshmukh as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra as many within the Congress considered him politically ineffective.
The power failure on Tuesday was India's worst ever. Three electricity grids connecting more than 20 states and the national capital collapsed on Tuesday, triggering a major power crisis across the country. The power crisis was the second in two days.
The blackout in 20 states across north, eastern and north-eastern India affected more than 60 crore people and severely impacted train services in six railway zones, bringing 300 trains to halt. | <urn:uuid:086c6095-a28f-4510-a8f7-4ee9859d0390> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ibnlive.in.com/news/shinde-elevated-for-loyalty-to-gandhi-family/276946-37-64.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986281 | 286 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Quincy (Kwin' zee), Massachusetts, City of Presidents and Birthplace of the American Dream
i think the owners take great pride in their home as well they should. thank you for giving us a glimpse of it.
I remember this house from my childhood.This house wasn't a "colonial' but rather, a "modern" house.
Interesting comment, Sarah, because I also viewed that house as a "modern" style house when I was growing up. The "Vision Appraisal" listing has tagged it as the catch-all "colonial".
I think that these days realtors call anything with a sloped roof a colonial. The elongated windows, the orange doors and large scale handles all scream modern.. What it looked like to me was sort of a souped up ranch with an eye towards design.. It had something of a 60's ski resort look. Some of the 60's resort hotels in the Catskills have this look..."Brady Bunch on Adams Street" is probably more on the mark than colonial. Quincy has tons of colonial houses...this isn't one of them.
Post a Comment | <urn:uuid:289f7c6a-b0fd-4b7e-95f4-e884541fde6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://quincydailyphoto.blogspot.com/2012/07/thursday-is-this-old-house-day_12.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969813 | 236 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Every once in a while, you have one of those moments where you realize that an idea was so directly in front of your face all the time, that you can't believe you didn't have it yourself. That happened to me today as I roamed the show floor at GDC and encountered Clones. Clones is, as described by developer Tomkorp's CEO, Ryan Tomko, "a multiplayer version of Lemmings."
Of course! It was so simple! Adding a multiplayer component to action/puzzle games seems like a great idea in and of itself, but to do it with Lemmings? I'm an idiot for having never considered it before.
How well does it work, though? Well, hit the jump and I'll tell you all about it.
In Clones, players play as a "CloneMaster," a race which shares their planet with the simple-minded but versatile Clones. The bodies of Clones are made up of a "flexible quantum goo" which allows them to morph their bodies and gain all manner of abilities. As a CloneMaster, you exist in a symbiotic relationship with the clones, who would just run off of cliffs and die were it not for your wisdom and guidance.
Clones have ten different abilities they can use to traverse the landscape and reach their objectives. They can cut through terrain horizontally, vertically and at a slight angle. Puffing them up allows them to float safely from any height, while a propeller gives them the ability to fly upwards until they hit their head. Clones can also stop other clones from walking past them and, yes, they can be told to explode.
So, yeah, it's Lemmings all over again with a bit of a science-fiction twist. From the goofy look of the Clones and the bizarre environments that they frequently find themselves in to the very abilities they take advantage of, this is a carbon copy of the classic puzzle game. Some special types of Clones do exist and add a bit more of a difference between the two games but they really are the same in essence.
The real draw, however, is in the multiplayer aspect and that was the focus of Tomkorp's demonstration at GDC. Two players compete to gather as many of the Clones as possible into transporters and away to safety. Players can capture either their own Clones or those controlled by their opponents by directing them using the various abilities.
What this ultimately turns into is a fast-paced and challenging competitive experience. While you are working to get a path cleared, your opponent can be trying to sabotage your efforts by redirecting Clones, blocking paths off and destroying bridges. It's frantic enough trying to keep a handle on where your Clones are travelling without having to worry about the efforts of another person. Adding in the second influence brings a sublime level of excitement to the whole process.
There are a number of other interesting game modes besides straight capturing of Clones. A couple of the modes are essentially races, either getting clones to reach your designated teleporter first or being the first to collect a special item somewhere on the game's map. Another mode features caged Clones around the map which must be rescued and then taken to safety in a teleporter, but the rescued clone cannot be given direct commands, lending itself to a more strategic planning session (and opening things up for wicked sabotage).
In addition to the gameplay, Clones comes bundled with a very robust level editor. The vast majority of objects used in the game can be tweaked with various properties and the system looks to be very simple and intuitive to use.
The game was originally scheduled for release in late 2008, but has been delayed and should be available for purchase soon. No word yet on which digital distribution platforms it will be available on, if any. In the meantime, Tomkorp has an extensive website for the game with a ton of information on mechanics and game modes available.
I'm keeping my eye on Clones because it's so damn fun to play. It may not be the most innovative game ever, but the addition of multiplayer to a tried and true formula is enough to make me want to give it a go. What about you, Destructoid? Sound like a game you might be interested in trying out?
If your game only really cost $30 to make in GameMaker, then yeah, you're gonna recoup the development budget pretty quick. Former PC Gamer writer Tom Francis hoped his debut title Gunpoint might do well enough to allow him t...more
The 'Really Big Bundle' was selected in a community vote to be re-released by Indie Royale, and it's out now and renamed to "The Chosen 2 Bundle." This bundle includes Really Big Sky, Runespell Overture, Eufloria, Cthulhu Sav...more
While the unique puzzles and platforming featured in the original Escape Goat made me a fan, the new map system being introduced in Escape Goat 2 immediately had me thinking of the 2D handheld Castlevania games. Rooms are now...more | <urn:uuid:e3024190-4ccb-4217-815b-f07f1e4ac9cc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.destructoid.com/preview-clones-126300.phtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966883 | 1,037 | 1.773438 | 2 |
And I will lay it waste
Or "desolate", as it was by the Romans: the whole land of Judea, as well as the city and temple ( Matthew 23:38 ) , it shall not be pruned nor digged;
as vineyards are, to make them more fruitful; but no care shall be taken of it, no means made use of to cultivate it, all being ineffectual: but there shall come up briers and thorns;
sons of Belial, wicked and ungodly men; immoralities, errors, heresies, contentions, quarrels, &c. which abounded about the time of Jerusalem's destruction, and before: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon them;
by "the clouds" are meant the apostles of Christ, who were full of the doctrines of grace, from whom they dropped as rain upon the mown grass; these, when the Jews contradicted and blasphemed the Gospel, and judged themselves unworthy of it, were commanded by Christ to turn from them, and go to the Gentiles, ( Acts 13:45-47 ) ( Zechariah 14:17 Zechariah 14:18 ) ( Revelation 11:6 ) agreeably to this sense is the Targum,
``and I will command the prophets, that they do not prophesy upon them prophecy.'' | <urn:uuid:dd0b3c37-a9b1-4747-a2c5-b3297c176831> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/gills-exposition-of-the-bible/isaiah-5-6.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959717 | 286 | 1.59375 | 2 |
By Jim Schutze
By Rachel Watts
By Lauren Drewes Daniels
By Anna Merlan
By Lee Escobedo
By Eric Nicholson
What the two men have in common, of course, is that each--after years in prison and torturous legal appeals--managed to escape the best efforts of the state of Texas to kill them for crimes they did not commit.
Adams and Brandley are only the most famous of seven men who have been sent to Texas Death Row but released when it became clear that they almost certainly did not commit the crimes of which they were convicted.
Zealous prosecutors, suppressed evidence, perjured testimony, or shoddy police work conspired in various ways to bring the men within days, and in some cases hours, of execution.
Their unjust convictions loom large as both the Texas Legis-lature and the U.S. Congress consider new laws intended to speed up executions by limiting the appeals that Death Row inmates can file.
The federal legislation, called the "Effective Death Penalty Act of 1995," has already cleared the House as part of the Republican crime package. The Texas legislation, known more benignly as House Bill 3, is pending in the Texas Legislature.
The bills would limit, on both the federal and state levels, how much time convicted inmates have to file appeals after they are convicted. They would also change procedural rules, making it harder for defendants to win a court's permission to pursue their claims.
Death penalty supporters, long outraged that more than a decade can easily pass before a convicted capital murderer is actually executed, want the process to go faster.
Men and women guilty of heinous murders, they say, are buying years of time pursuing every appeal available to them under existing state and federal laws. Execution must be swift, they argue, if the spectre of ultimate punishment is to deter other would-be killers.
"The five- and 10-year delays undermine a lot of the value of the death penalty," says David Price, an attorney for the Washington Legal Foundation, a D.C. think tank that supports legislation to speed up executions.
But without the lengthy appeals process, death penalty foes point out, people like Brandley and Adams might now be dead, executed before they were cleared of their alleged crimes.
Those howling for swifter executions, they say, are ignoring the dozens of documented cases in which state courts have sent innocent men to Death Row.
"I think we will see many more people facing death who are actually innocent, and Texas has a horrible track record," says Diann Rust-Tiernay, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Death Penalty Project. "In the end, innocent people will be executed."
Sentencing innocent people to death is not uncommon. A 1993 report prepared by the staff of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Civil and Constitutional Rights found 48 cases across the nation of capital murder defendants who were ultimately released from Death Row "with significant evidence of their innocence."
The men--including five in Texas--were "living proof that innocent people are sentenced to death," the report concluded.
In many of the cases, more than 10 years of appeals and remarkable legal assistance not available to most Death Row inmates were required to free the men.
Since that report, two other Texas cases have surfaced in which substantial evidence of innocence helped free convicted men.
Choking off death penalty appeals, foes say, will only increase the likelihood that some of those innocent people will be executed. That risk is especially high in Texas, with its established penchant for sending men and women to Death Row.
Texas continues to hold its lead as the nation's most prolific death penalty state. As of last Friday, Death Row held 398 inmates, the most in the country.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court began allowing states to reimpose the death penalty in the late 1970s, Texas has executed 92 people, also the most in the country.
Republican protestations aside, death penalty opponents say, the deck is already handily stacked against people charged with capital crimes.
Virtually all death penalty defendants are poor and get court-appointed attorneys, many of whom are no match for the more experienced prosecutors they face, says Steve Hall of the Texas Re-source Center, a federally funded legal rights group that assists the condemned with their appeals.
The center's attorneys, Hall notes, receive cases after the defendants have already been convicted and sentenced to die.
In many cases, he says, a review of the case file shows that the original court-appointed attorney did not have the time, money or resources to mount a vigorous defense.
Hall's assessment may seem self serving, but it is the same conclusion reached by an outside consultant hired by the Texas Bar Association in 1993 to look at what kind of legal help accused capital murderers receive.
"We believe, in the strongest terms possible, that Texas has already reached the crisis stage in capital representation and that the problem is substantially worse than that faced by any other state with the death penalty," concluded the report by the Spangen-berg Group of Massachusetts.
Find everything you're looking for in your city
Find the best happy hour deals in your city
Get today's exclusive deals at savings of anywhere from 50-90%
Check out the hottest list of places and things to do around your city | <urn:uuid:76b63beb-6edd-4ad3-bbcf-3be8784eaa25> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dallasobserver.com/1995-03-09/news/lambs-to-the-slaughter/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965452 | 1,095 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Mobile game Draw Something has been downloaded 50 million times in just 50 days, the game’s owner has said. Zynga, which bought the game’s developer OMGPOP last month, said they believed the figures made it the “fastest growing” mobile game of all time. The simple game involves players drawing pictures in order to guess words, much like board game Pictionary. At peak times, Draw Something players create over 3,000 drawings per second. Apple said that it did not disclose download figures for specific titles, and therefore could not verify Zynga’s claim. However, Draw Something’s success has seen it top the iPhone app charts, beating the highly-anticipated sequel to Angry Birds, Angry Birds Space. In a statement, Zynga said: “We believe it’s not only the fastest growing original mobile game of all time - 50 days to hit 50 million downloads - but one of the fastest growing web sensations that we’ve seen.”
If the friend guesses correctly, coins are earned to purchase additional items, such as more colours, within the game.
Security experts have warned that scammers are trying to capitalise on the game’s popularity by offering fake prizes via social networks like Twitter. –BBC | <urn:uuid:a65c77e8-0259-495f-8207-074559617867> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/entertainment/06-Apr-2012/draw-something-fastest-growing-mobile-game | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950656 | 266 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Just a year ago, Washington policy-makers looked to managed care as one of the best solutions to the rising costs of Medicare.
Even as it reduced Medicare spending by $115 billion over the next five years, the Balanced Budget Act of 1997 envisioned that the number of beneficiaries enrolled in managed care would nearly double during the same period, to around 27 percent of all seniors.
Today, there are signs that the government's goal of quickly increasing the number of health plans available to seniors was overly ambitious.
In fact, the managed care industry appears to be having serious doubts about its capacity to care for Medicare beneficiaries without going broke, and more and more companies are withdrawing from the program. In Maryland, Aetna, Prudential and Rockville-based Mid Atlantic Medical Services (MAMSI) plan to close their Medicare health plans by the end of the year.
Nationally, Medicare managed care plans offered by PacifiCare, Oxford Health, Kaiser Permanente, Anthem and other large companies have pulled out of 371 counties across 29 states and the District of Columbia, affecting more than 400,000 beneficiaries.
Why are we seeing such turmoil in a program that successfully cares for the vast majority of Medicare's 39 million beneficiaries?
The answer, in part, lies in the care needs of the small number of very aged or very ill Medicare patients who generate extraordinary costs. In fact, about 10 percent of beneficiaries cost Medicare an average of $37,000 per person per year, and they account for nearly 70 percent of the program's total expenditures.
In the past, many managed care plans avoided these high-cost patients like the plague, carefully tailoring their marketing and "extra" benefit incentives to attract younger and healthier Medicare subscribers. And, realistically, who could blame them? With the government planning to pay from about $6,000 to just about $8,000 next year for all the health needs of an aged or disabled beneficiary in a Medicare managed care plan in Baltimore City or County, it is apparent that caring for even a relatively small number of enrollees with chronic or multiple or terminal illnesses could quickly explode a health plan's budget.
Addressing the problem
So, how can this problem be addressed? When a Medicare beneficiary has cancer and diabetes, or congestive heart failure and Alzheimer's, or a broken hip and a chronic lung disorder, how can we ensure that all of the patient's care needs are met, and do so without bankrupting Medicare?
The solution is not in the traditional cost management strategies of managed care. All too often the use of "gatekeepers" and pre-certification and telephonic utilization review and limited provider panels succeeds only in making the patient with complicated and serious health problems feel driven from pillar to post, and left not only ill-served but confused, frustrated and angry.
Part of the answer is to focus on what Medicare patients with serious (and expensive) illneses really want. To put the patient - not the health plan - at the center of the care system. And then, as the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging recently heard from former first lady Rosalyn Carter and others, to help these elderly patients and their families to make thoughtful, well-informed decisions about which treatment options and which available services and supports are best for them.
Research is beginning to suggest that when provided good information by a care coordinator or consultant who has no incentive to deny care, patients facing serious and complicated illnesses may make quite different decisions than the managed care reviewer who sees the situation as forcing the health plan to decide between, or ration, various high-tech, high-cost interventions.
For instance, a study from Dartmouth reports that men who were given assistance to review for themselves the scientific evidence concerning various treatments for prostate cancer were more likely to choose "watchful waiting" than surgery. Similarly, advanced cancer patients given individualized education and face-to-face support by a nurse case manager in a voluntary program were more likely to choose radiation therapy to relieve pain instead of a course of chemotherapy intended to "cure" the disease, when compared with managed care plan patients who did not receive such additional assistance, according to a study from Franklin Health, a care management company that works with insurers and health plans nationwide.
When enlisted as responsible partners in medical decision making, Medicare patients with serious illnesses are likely to choose care that appropriately matches their concerns: that focuses on managing pain and other symptoms, that maintains independence and quality of life, that aims to prevent dying alone and in a hospital. | <urn:uuid:297dae5b-905b-481b-ac23-8ef6a4266de2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1998-11-01/news/1998305011_1_medicare-managed-managed-care-plans-care-for-medicare | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963071 | 922 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Posted by Susan Doll on June 21, 2010
The Bat Whispers, Roland West’s sound version of his silent classic The Bat, is scheduled to air this Wednesday, June 23, on TCM. Despite the 2:30am airtime, those interested in visually stylish films, the influence of German Expressionism on Hollywood, or the connection between comic books and the movies will want to catch this old-school thriller.
I became a fan of Roland West’s films when I watched The Bat last year at the Silent Film Society’s annual Summer Film Festival in Chicago. The Bat is an old dark house tale about a murderous cat burglar who dresses in a bat costume. The old dark house storyline was enormously popular during the Jazz Age. The script for The Bat was adapted from a play by Mary Roberts Rinehart and Avery Hopwood, which opened on Broadway in August 1920 and ran for 867 performances. The play was a reworking of Rinehart’s popular novel The Circular Staircase from 1907 combined with a bit of her short story “The Borrowed House.” What made The Bat stand out among the dozens of other old dark house tales was the Expressionist mise-en-scene adopted by West and his team. The thriller’s stark, high-contrast lighting, with little or no gray scale, and stunning set design elevated the material above the formulaic storyline, much like Paul Leni’s The Cat and the Canary. Arthur Edeson, one of Hollywood’s most influential cinematographers and a cofounder of the American Society of Cinematographers, worked out the lighting schemes and camera angles with West for The Bat, while William Cameron Menzies, who later served as art director on Gone With the Wind, did the set design.
Despite its 1926 release date—84 years ago—The Bat does have a connection to contemporary films, albeit an indirect one. Bob Kane, the originator of Batman, likely saw The Bat and/or The Bat Whispers, or perhaps a version of Rinehart and Hopwood’s play. Debate exists over which version of the material actually inspired Kane, but I lean toward the silent version because there is more bat imagery, including the silhouette of the Bat against a spotlight that looks very much the Batman signal. In addition, the Bat’s costume includes pointed ears, reminiscent of the pointed cowl that is an essential ingredient to Batman’s look. However, both The Bat and The Bat Whispers use a stark, graphic Expressionist style later associated with comic books. Those contemporary graphic novelists and filmmakers influenced by Bob Kane and comic book art owe a nod to West’s thrillers, which in turn were influenced by German Expressionist films and the work of French filmmaker Louis Feuillade and his 10-part serial called Les Vampires about a group of master criminals who call themselves the Vampires. (For more on the origins and influence of The Bat, click here for my earlier post.)
The Bat Whispers closely follows the plot of The Bat until the ending, which was altered considerably from the silent version. After an opening sequence in which the Bat steals a famous necklace from a local millionaire, which proves his prowess as a cat burglar, the masked criminal watches as a local bank is robbed by a mysterious character. The thief and his loot are followed by the Bat to the mansion of Mrs. Cornelia Van Gorder, a rich matron who lives with a rogue’s gallery of eccentric characters, including her greedy niece, a spinster maid prone to hysteria, a butler, and a caretaker. The thief hides the money in the mansion, while the Bat literally shadows him around the long, dark corridors and secret passageways. As the cliché goes, the plot thickens, because numerous detectives, cops, and even the doctor from the nearby sanitarium show up to skulk around the house for reasons that serve only to complicate the storyline. The surprise ending reveals the identity of the Bat, a conclusion that is completely different from the silent version. After the final fade-out, the screen dissolves to a pair of theatrical curtains closing—as though we had just finished watching the film at a grand movie palace during the Golden Age. Star Chester Morris, who plays Detective Anderson, steps out from behind the curtains to address the movie audience and plead with them not to divulge the surprise ending to those who haven’t seen The Bat Whispers. In exchange for the audience’s silence, a bemused Morris promises that the Bat will not rob their homes. It’s a touch sure to charm movie buffs and make us nostalgic for the innocence of a Hollywood from another era.
Despite the changed conclusion, the plot of The Bat Whispers is no more engaging than it was in The Bat. The plot is not what makes either film interesting or entertaining. West reshot the story because he wanted to take advantage of two new technologies that he was excited about—sync sound and Magnifilm, which was an experimental 65mm widescreen process that was two decades ahead of CinemaScope. Very few films were produced in this non-anamorphic widescreen process, which was also called Grandeur. [In addition to The Bat Whispers, The Big Trail (1930), which featured John Wayne in his first major role, was shot in Magnifilm.] The process was short lived because few theater owners were willing to invest in the equipment necessary to project 65mm. Theater owners had just been strong-armed into wiring their theaters and changing their projection equipment to accommodate sync sound while they were still struggling with the impact of the Depression. It’s understandable that they refused to make additional expensive changes in order to exhibit Magnifilm. The Production Code Administration, which administered the Hays Code among other duties, sided with the theaters and actually issued a ruling in 1930 that forbade the studios from investing in new technologies for at least two years to give exhibiters a break.
Because so few theaters could accommodate the 65mm print, West and his crew simultaneously shot a 35mm version in standard Academy format. I am not sure which version TCM is showing, but if you rent the film, both are available on the DVD release. The 65mm format resulted in West’s increased use of long and medium-long shots, particularly for dialogue scenes inside the mansion. There were very few, if any, close-ups of characters speaking in the 65mm version, and West did not use shot/reverse shots in the dialogue scenes to facilitate conversation. More details of the set design of the mansion are viewable in these longer shots, but these shots are also reminiscent of a play so that the viewer is physically and psychologically distanced from the characters. The 35mm uses more close-ups, which allow the viewer more intimacy with the characters but sacrifice the details of the set design in the process.
The Bat Whispers was released in November 1930, three years after the success of The Jazz Singer made silent film passé. While West may have been excited about the possibilities of sound, the thriller suffers from some of the problems associated with the sync sound equipment. The non-directional, stationary microphones of the era were weak and tended to pick up unwanted sounds. The mikes were placed in objects on the set, and actors were blocked around the object so their dialogue could be recorded clearly. Actors placed farthest from the mike sounded weaker, making the dialogue among a group of characters uneven. In a scene in which Mrs. Van Gorder interviews the man who wants to be her new gardener, four characters linger around a huge flower arrangement directly behind the matron’s head. Obviously, this was where the microphone was placed. In another scene, Detective Anderson interviews a couple of characters while he stands near a table where his hat rests prominently in the foreground. My guess is that the microphone was under the hat.
Because of the difficulties in capturing sync sound dialogue, the scenes involving interrogations, explanations, and conversations consist of dully composed, bland-looking shots, which sometimes slow down the pace of the film. They are rendered in a more naturalistic style than the scenes of action that were shot silently or with non-sync sound effects. The camera angles are straightforward, the lighting in a higher key, and the actors are blocked together in the center or to one side. The scenes are too long and talky.
However, West tries hard to take advantage of the eerie ambience that sound can add to a mystery thriller. Thunder rolls and claps throughout the film to add atmosphere to the non-sync sound scenes in which the characters skulk around the long dark hallways and secret rooms in pursuit of the stolen money. In addition, doors squeak and walls thump. In the narrative, the function of Lizzie the maid is for comic relief, but I found the exaggerated character more effective in the silent version. There is something about the naturalism of sync sound that renders larger-than-life, buffoonish characters more difficult to pull off. However, Lizzy does have the occasional exchange of funny dialogue—which draws viewers closer to her, at least for those scenes. At one point, she informs Mrs. Van Gorder that she has a right to speak her mind, to which Mrs. VG replies, “You haven’t got a mind.” Without missing a beat, Lizzie retorts, “If I had one, you wouldn’t let me use it.”
And, the creepiest scene in the film, which forms the basis of the title, is effective precisely because of sync-sound dialogue. When viewers finally see the Bat up close, he speaks in a raspy whisper that is downright unearthly. Mrs. VG’s niece, Dale, is trapped in the secret room with the villain who emerges out of the shadows as a dark, misshapen form. He lumbers toward her in a staggering stride, seeming to grow larger and quicker as he moves closer toward her. She runs in circles around the room to get away, but the Bat closes in behind her, rasping in a monotone, “I’m gonna getcha, I’m gonna getcha.” For viewers in 1930, who were still unaccustomed to diegetic sound, the scene must have been doubly effective.
For all of West’s excitement about the “advanced” technology of sync sound and widescreen, I am still more impressed with his use of visual techniques such as lighting, camera, angles, and tracking shots. Because of the cumbersome nature of sound equipment, these visual techniques are exploited to their best advantage in the scenes shot MOS (without sound) or with non-sync sound effects. These scenes echo the abstract visual quality of the original The Bat and are much richer than the naturalistic-looking dialogue scenes. The extreme high-contrast lighting heightens the mystery and increases the tension in the action scenes, particularly when the Bat is silhouetted as a shadow against the window. For most of the film, the Bat appears as a mere silhouette, taking advantage of the idea that what you don’t see can be more frightening than what you do. In one striking shot, his silhouette reveals that he is suspended upside down like his totem animal from the top-floor window of a skyscraper. When the millionaire who holds the jewel that the Bat covets cautiously moves to the window to fix the flapping shade, we see the silhouette of the Bat take the necklace and dispatch the millionaire.
I won’t completely give away the movie’s secrets, but observant viewers will want to take note of the way Detective Anderson is lit from below in several close-ups, making the determined detective look frantic or crazed. As a matter of fact, the detective gets the most dynamic-looking close-ups in the film. In recent reviews and articles by Internet scribes and amateur historians, a few complained about the lighting, perplexed as to why Anderson, who is positioned as the hero, was lit with horror-film lighting. But, the lighting is more important than the dialogue in telegraphing what is to come—much like the lighting clues in Martin Scorsese’s recent Shutter Island reveal much about the protagonist.
Some sequences in The Bat Whispers use models of the city, its rooftops, and its streets in order to employ exhilarating tracking shots in which the camera races toward or away from its subject. The film opens with the title character in shadow on the city’s rooftops, and then the camera dives straight down the side of a building stopping at street level—suggesting the swooping of bat. Conversely, in the next scene, the camera flies up the side of the millionaire’s high rise and into the window that will soon be the location of the rich man’s demise. The transition from models to life-size sets is noticeable but smooth enough not to ruin the effect. West and his crew shot mostly at night to keep producer Joseph Schenck out of their hair, and he and his crew became extremely creative with their camera rigging. They suspended a camera by cables from the ceiling—a trick the Expressionists employed at UFA studios in Germany—so that it could swoop vertically at steep angles. They also rigged a camera high on a dolly so that it could crane down and then move quickly across a 300-foot track in a scene in which the camera catches up with a car and then chases after it down the road. I read several Internet reviews of The Bat Whispers, and most of the reviewers harped about the creaky plot. And, some actually claimed that the camerawork was neither innovative nor special. Frankly, they are wrong, because they didn’t consider the camerawork in its historical context, and they probably watched the film on the small screen, where the effect of these shots would be greatly diminished. While the Germans were experimenting with camera movement throughout the 1920s, and their work cannot be overlooked, the speed and angles of the camera as it moves in The Bat Whispers are indeed exciting and special—especially compared to other early sound films in Hollywood. According to the press book released as promotion for the film: “There were cameras on wheels, on elevator rigs, on catapults, cables, rails, trucks, and perambulators. One of the cameras rode a huge tricycle, electrically controlled…designed by Robert Planck.”
West directed one more film after The Bat Whispers called Corsair. I hope that TCM resurrects it some evening to show in a tribute to Roland West that would also include both versions of The Bat. West’s directorial career ended when he became emotionally entangled with the star of Corsair, Thelma Todd. The director was implicated in her mysterious death in 1936, and while it is unlikely that he was directly involved, he blamed himself for her tragic end and never made another film. [For more information on West, click here for my previous post on his tragic life and short career.] Given his strong visual style and innovative approach to filmmaking techniques, I am positive he would have had much more to offer.
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During the build-up to the Olympics, I was intrigued to read various guides intended for people visiting the UK during the games, about London and the British. Typically, all of them included the usual stereotypes about British politeness and etiquette, particularly with regard to our propensity to queue and apologise profusely for no reason.
As I pondered the reality of these stereotypes I also started think about how my daily interactions with strangers in São Paulo compare with those in the UK. Are the British really as polite as we’re made out to be? And how do Paulistanos compare? Well, let’s have a look…
London / UK
The British tendency to apologise is indeed an in-built coping mechanism for almost all of our daily social interactions. Believe me, it’s a hard habit to kick and so I often find myself slipping in “desculpe” during most conversations I have with Brazilians in Portuguese.
However, in Britain saying “sorry” is not just about apologising for a personal mea culpa, as we’re also just as likely (and illogically) to do so when others commit them AGAINST us. Thus, if someone bumps into a Brit in the street (or causes some other such heinous crime) it’s quite likely that the victim will apologise just as profusely, if not more so, than the culprit themselves.
The ultimate in politeness you might think?
But, wait, because a British “sorry” can also have a number of other intended meanings, from indicating that you’ve misheard or misunderstood someone to expressing shock or, in a more sinisterly subtle way, to suggest that whilst you’ve understood very clearly what someone has said you actually think they’re an idiot.
As for queuing, it’s certainly up there as being one of the main points in our ethical code for acceptable behaviour in public, a code which also stipulates that you stand on the right-hand side of an escalator so that people can walk past you on the left. Similarly, it’s an unwritten rule that you should allow passengers to get off a train or the Tube before entering yourself.
However, whether or not this is because of an inherent British tendency for politeness is debatable, because: 1) Not everyone follows them (especially after spot of binge-drinking), and; 2) For those that do, failing to adhere to them is effectively tantamount to committing an offence that should be punishable by death – thou shalt feel their wrath.
If you’re one of those people (unknowing tourists aren’t spared) who stand on the left-hand side of an escalator then you can expect to hear a chorus of disapproving tuts (it’s our British way of moaning but without confronting you directly), and if you’re that person who tries to get on a train or Tube before everyone else has departed then don’t be surprised if someone getting off lowers their shoulder into you so that you’re put back in your place – both literally and metaphorically.
So, are us Brits really polite? Or are we just a nation of sarcastic, passive-aggressive, public transport fascists?
São Paulo / Brasil
In São Paulo my experience of public etiquette has mainly been restricted to two types of person: those who take the bus and those who catch the Metro or train. It’s likely of course that most Paulistanos use both forms of transport on a daily basis, but this is strange because the etiquette I’ve witnessed on both couldn’t be further removed from one another.
For example, on a crowded bus journey it is not uncommon for someone who is seated to kindly offer to hold the bag of someone who is standing up. This would never happen in London, where talking to strangers – let alone handing them your bag – on any form of public transport is almost as unthinkable as standing on the left-hand side of an escalator.
Secondly, when someone sits down on a vacant seat next to another passenger you’ll almost certainly hear the former say “com licença” (excuse me). This strikes me as being a little unnecessary, especially when it’s the aisle seat, but it’s probably an idiosyncracy linked to the fact that if both seats on a bus are free then most people will choose to sit on the aisle one (a little annoyingly in my opinion), and so the polite latecomer has to clamber over them to get to the window.
Thirdly, Brazilian queues range from the militaristic (at Barra Funda there’ll often be two queues – one to get on a bus and another behind it with people who would rather wait for a seat on the next one) to the non-existent (usually in the street), though in the case of the latter things usually tend to resolve themselves because the elderly, pregnant and children are generally always allowed to get on first by other passengers.
Fourthly, despite being a bit rubbish, buses in São Pauo are generally very clean – to be fair, the same can also be said for the Metro and trains. Thus, despite the limitations of the public transport system no-one litters it like they do in London. Paulistanos, on public transport at least, show a far greater deal of respect for their surrounding environment than Londoners, who often leave their discarded lunch or takeaways on their seats or the floor.
Yet, such good bus etiquette seems odd when compared to what happens on the Metro or train, because every rule in the London guide to Tube and train etiquette is torn up into nice 10cm x 10cm pieces and then pooed upon (before being put in a bin – NOT flushed).
Firstly, when a train arrives many people will push on to the carriage as soon as the doors open, and as a result I’ve seen a heavily pregnant woman and a man with a broken arm (with pins in it) knocked off their feet. Some people will literally run on to a train (especially if there are still seats available) and it doesn’t matter who they knock into or how they beat them to get there, just as long as they can get to that seat first.
The worst thing is that if you are getting off and knock into one of these arseholes they’ll give YOU the look of death, as if it’s a total inconvenience that you’ve got the temerity to want to get off the train. How dare thee!
My worst experience was during one rush hour when as my station approached I finally managed to make my way to the door. As I did so two guys asked me if I wanted to get off and when I replied that I did they laughed and kindly held the doors shut so that I couldn’t get off and no-one else could get on – I had to wait to get off at the next station when the doors finally opened and other people wanted to get off too.
The process of getting on a train can also be complicated, as there are those who’d rather wait (a bit like our militaristic bus stoppers) on a crowded platform than get on a crowded train and get to their destination quicker (in the hope there might be a seat on the next train). This is a rationale I’ve yet to understand, especially as it causes chaos when people from behind try to get past them.
Finally, on the Metro it almost goes without saying that the left-hand side of any escalator is rarely, if ever, left free despite signs on the new Linha Amarela (Yellow Line) encouraging people to do so. Alas, if you’re on an escalator and hear your train approaching then don’t expect to make it in time.
Are the stereotypes about British being politer than other people really true? Are Paulistanos better or worse?
Firstly, it’s important to remember that etiquette or good manners are a cultural and social phenomenon – a good example of this being the difference between a Paulistano who will offer to hold your bag on the bus whilst a Londoner will at all costs avoid even making eye contact.
Secondly, we need to make an important distinction between manners and being nice. As Debretts, the British ‘modern authority on all matters etiquette, taste and achievement’, notes:
“It is an incontrovertible fact that you can be impeccably punctilious about all the trappings of manners – opening doors, pulling out chairs, walking on the roadside edge of pavements etc. – but still be appallingly rude.”
In other words, blindly following social norms doesn’t necessarily make you polite or, more importantly, a nice person.
Thus, whilst Brits may appear polite, because we have an unwritten code of public transport ethics, our enforcement of them doesn’t mean that we are inherently any politer. And in São Paulo, a person who will politely ask to sit next to you on a bus may also be the same person who pushes into you as you get off the train – just because everyone else does.
I guess my point is that being polite should be something you do with the best of intentions, because you think being courteous is the right thing to do as opposed to it being something you think you ought to do.
In that sense, asking whether Londoners or Paulistanos are politer is rather obsolete because I’ve seen plenty of good and bad examples from both. If everyone was just a little more consistent about it then we’d all be much happier wouldn’t we? | <urn:uuid:e9df15e3-bba2-4764-b702-b2d417bdc22d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thebookisonthetable.me/2012/11/16/how-to-make-friends-and-influence-people/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960577 | 2,037 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton boasted last month about the decision to start giving non-lethal aid to the Libyan rebel army. Yesterday, the rebels got their first delivery: 10,000 packets of pre-packaged food, what the military calls Meals Ready to Eat (MREs).
"This shipment, authorized under the President's April 26th drawdown, consisted of more than 10,000 halal meals ready to eat, so-called MREs, that were transferred from Department of Defense stocks in support of the [Transitional National Council]'s efforts to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under the threat of attack," State Department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters at Tuesday's briefing.
The meals are part of the $25 million in non-lethal aid to the Libyan rebels the White House approved on April 26. That approval came 11 days after the State Department notified Congress that it wanted to spend the funds to help the Libyan rebel army fight off the forces of Col. Muammar al-Qaddafi.
"One of the reasons why I announced $25 million in non-lethal aid yesterday, why many of our partners both in NATO and in the broader Contact Group are providing assistance to the opposition, is to enable them to defend themselves and to repulse the attacks by Qaddafi forces," Clinton said April 21.
But while the State Department's notification said the money would go to things like "vehicles, fuel trucks and fuel bladders, ambulances, medical equipment, protective vests, binoculars, and non-secure radios" -- all items identified by the Libyan opposition's Transitional National Council (TNC) as urgently needed -- now the list is much more weighted to humanitarian goods.
Toner said Tuesday that the shipments were meant to be in "support of the TNC's efforts to protect civilians and civilian-populated areas under the threat of attack." More items are en route to Benghazi, including medical supplies, uniforms, boots, tents, and personal protective gear, he said.
"We continue to work with the TNC to determine what additional assistance requirements we might be able to support in the coming weeks," said Toner.
Tomorrow will be a great chance to do that, as TNC Prime Minister Mahmoud Jibril arrives in Washington.
John Hudson reports on national security and foreign policy from the Pentagon to Foggy Bottom, the White House to Embassy Row, for The Cable. | <urn:uuid:abcc2e20-5669-4b45-acc1-19a83a6ee713> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/05/11/libyan_rebels_get_first_tranche_of_us_aid_10000_mres | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958549 | 497 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Cricket and Archery have a connection going back hundreds of years to the height of the Reformation in 1536 when Henry VIII actually criminalised the game of cricket in order that the youth of the realm practice archery instead of “frivolous” activities “such as cricket-a-wicket”.
Even so, it seems likely that the start yesterday of Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif’s spot-fixing trial at Southwark Crown Court on exactly the same day that the world’s leading archers were firing their arrows at Lord’s in the London 2012 test event was entirely coincidental.
According to a wonderful piece by Michael Atherton in today’s Times, a handful of MCC members turned up to see what all the fuss was about and weren’t overly impressed with what they witnessed – “like watching paint dry” grumbled one without the merest hint of irony.
However, this did get The Reverse Sweep thinking (well it was an ungodly hour on the 06.00 train from Surrey), that having seen how to handle a bow, the MCC members that were present could be employed to hand out some Henry VIII style justice to Butt and Asif should the jury find them guilty.
Now that really would be shooting for gold and in turn would make the MCC members more popular than they have ever been with other cricket followers.
Cricket Zeroes: Salman Butt
If you like this, follow us on Twitter @thereversesweep | <urn:uuid:5ba6259a-1885-4ba4-b1d8-590bfb4283a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thereversesweep.typepad.com/blog/mcc/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967813 | 321 | 1.664063 | 2 |
The Rochester region is dotted with contaminated properties, testament to the area’s industrial past and New York’s present-day emphasis on addressing these old blights. Many have already been cleaned up, but many more remain works in progress. This blog entry, in conjunction with an annotated map at Democrat and Chronicle’s RocDocs site, is part of an effort to track work at these sites. Let us know of other sites you’d like included.
The owner of a small Brownfield Cleanup Program site in the St. Paul Quarter of downtown Rochester has proposed a plan to clean up petroleum contamination from a long-closed service station.
Soil under the site, now a parking lot owned by 234-250 Andrews St LLC, would be removed and replaced with clean fill. Contaminated groundwater would be pumped to the surface and either treated on site or discharged to the sewer system, according to a Department of Environmental Conservation fact sheet.
The site, at 37 Bittner Street, is behind the Kirstein Building, a lovely triangular structure, roughly a century old, that’s being converted to residential use. The owners of 234-250 Andrews St LLC (listed on public documents as Pawel Efraimov and Nataliya Dyakovskaya of New York City) qualified for $1 million New York state grant to help restore the historic building.
The DEC recently gat hered public comments on the proposed cleanup plan. When the agency approves a final plan, it should take 6 to 8 weeks to accomplish the work. | <urn:uuid:50e7ebe0-cec9-4947-8c01-1a3c492f4e91> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.democratandchronicle.com/520/?p=577 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940955 | 322 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Gay rights advocates try to win the same-sex marriage debate by silencing their opponents.
From the New York Post:
Perhaps the only idea that competes with these two [climate change and race] for their sacredness at universities today is the notion that gender is a social construct and its corollary that children of gay parents have the same (if not better) outcomes than children of heterosexual parents.
Mark Regnerus, a professor at the University of Texas, Austin, recently challenged this idea with an article in Social Science Research, in which he suggested that children of gay parents tend to have lower levels of economic success and more problems with mental health.
Some scholars have reasonably disagreed with Regnerus’ methodology, but interest groups and the guardians of sociology’s orthodoxy have demanded his head. As a result, UT has launched an investigation into accusations of scientific misconduct.
Though the article was peer-reviewed and published by a respected academic journal, one columnist wrote that Regnerus’ study was “designed so as to be guaranteed to make gay people look bad, through means plainly fraudulent and defamatory."
Reasonable people may disagree about Regnerus’ conclusions, Wood’s views of climate science or my opinions on black studies, but on these topics, there is no room for discussion in the Ivory Tower.
And the enforcers of this orthodoxy are shameless. A study out next month in Perspectives on Psychological Science finds: “In decisions ranging from paper reviews to hiring, many social and personality psychologists admit that they would discriminate against openly conservative colleagues. The more liberal respondents are, the more willing they are to discriminate.” | <urn:uuid:3c826a66-0e54-4034-86ee-297824d48290> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.homegriddle.com/2012/08/the-more-liberal-respondents-are-more.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961461 | 344 | 1.710938 | 2 |
August 30, 2004
Every time I read another angst-ridden column about the joy that the rest of the world has been taking in our Olympic failures, I can't help but wonder if anyone is old enough to remember anything that happened before the first day of the Iraq war. Spanish fans cheering the loss of the U.S. basketball team to Argentina? Greek radicals protesting the visit of Colin Powell to Athens? General anti-Americanism in Europe? Resentment of the United States in the major non-English-speaking countries in Europe dates to the 1950s, soon after America saved the continent from Adolf Hitler.
February 19, 2004
AT FIRST GLANCE, computer scientists and plant researchers don't have much in common, but these days, they're both talking about the dangers of a monoculture. The term comes from the world of biology, where it refers a single species of vegetation that covers a large area. A pine forest is a monoculture; so is the "perfect" lawn, or a county planted with one type of cotton. When everything goes right, monocultures can be efficient. A farmer who grows only one crop has to buy one type of seed and fertilizer, one type of pesticide.
June 3, 2003
WASHINGTON - As President Bush meets other world leaders this week and tries to patch things up between America and the rest of the planet, I find myself looking back and asking: What's been going on here? After 9/11, people wondered "Why do they hate us?" speaking of the Muslim world. After the Iraq war debate, the question has grown into "Why does everybody else hate us?" I've sketched out my own answer, which I modestly call "A Brief Theory of Everything." I offer it here, even more briefly, in hopes that people will write in with comments or catcalls so I can continue to refine it, turn it into a quick book and pay my daughter's college tuition.
March 18, 2003
WHAT DOES George W. Bush want to do? What is his plan for us all? His address to the American people last night notwithstanding, the question in its broader sense remains unanswered, ripe for speculation. The president's immediate aim is to destroy the government of Iraq, removing or killing Saddam Hussein. This will be Mr. Bush's second war against another sovereign state since the attack by mostly Saudi terrorists on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. It is justified as a part of a continuing campaign against terrorism, for which reason it is now appropriate to ask, Who will be next?
March 1, 2001
IN THE ANCIENT land of Muscovy, two mileposts were recorded this week: former President Mikhail S. Gorbachev, who presided over the Soviet Union's dissolution, celebrated his 70th birthday and the former Soviet republic of Moldova returned Communists to power. Tiny Moldova exists today largely as a legacy of Hitler's and Stalin's World War II treachery. Much of its territory was snatched from adjoining Romania. In fact, more than 64 percent of Moldovans are ethnically and linguistically Romanian.
March 21, 1999
SOME MONTHS AGO, I expressed to a local educator the thoughtless wish that schools would return to diagraming sentences. I am, I realize, out of touch with the way things are done nowadays, and am innocent in particular of educationist theory. What is taught in the schools of education is deeper water than my small brain is designed to navigate. I hug the shore, alert for wind shifts that might carry me dangerously far from port. Still, I would not have thought teaching students the sturdy backbone of an English sentence -- the noun, the verb, the predicate -- an unreasonable expectation. | <urn:uuid:d18dc6e4-e690-4490-a298-3dab3cac6492> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.baltimoresun.com/keyword/hegemony | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96007 | 762 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Thirty years ago today, the world said good night to Hawkeye Pierce, Hotlips Houlihan, B.J. Hunnicut, Col. Potter, Winchester and Clinger for the last time.
Inspired by the 1970 Robert Altman film of the same name, M*A*S*H premiered Sept. 17, 1972, and followed the staff of a hospital in South Korea during the Korean War. Its stars included Alan Alda, Loretta Swit, McLean Stevenson, Jamie Farr, Wayne Rogers and Harry Morgan.
M*A*S*H struggled in the ratings during its first season and was nearly cancelled. But the show went on to win eight Golden Globes, six People's Choice Awards and 14 Emmys.
When it signed off, on Feb. 28, 1983, it set a record for the most-watched show in TV history. The series finale was seen by 105.97 million viewers, a record that stood until the 2010 Super Bowl telecast. | <urn:uuid:59e45a0e-3f19-476c-8358-c5a9ee15f7ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.whas11.com/news/slideshows/Where-are-they-now-The-cast-of-MASH-193857881.html?gallery=y&c=y&ref=%2Fnews%2Fslideshows | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944587 | 209 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Afghanistan's Competitive Pilgrims
|Publisher||Institute for War and Peace Reporting|
|Publication Date||4 December 2012|
|Citation / Document Symbol||ARR Issue 444|
|Cite as||Institute for War and Peace Reporting, Afghanistan's Competitive Pilgrims, 4 December 2012, ARR Issue 444, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/50c1b82a2.html [accessed 25 May 2013]|
|Disclaimer||This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States.|
In Afghanistan, as in other Muslim countries, pilgrims returning from the annual Hajj are greeted with open arms – but here they are expected to reciprocate with lavish entertainment that some view as inappropriate.
In recent weeks, Afghans have been arriving home after joining the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, which this year took place in October.
Performing the Hajj is one of five central duties for Muslims who are able and can afford to go. About 30,000 Afghans make the trip in the course of a year, and for many the expense makes it a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
On their return, the pilgrims or "hajjis" are met by friends and relatives, but custom dictates that they spend the next few weeks receiving guests, hosting feasts and handing out gifts.
Some people regret that instead of marking an act of piety, the celebrations have become a form of ostentation.
Hajji Mohammad Yaqub, 60, says that since returning to his home in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan, he has spent 6,000 US dollars on entertaining.
"I had to do it," he said. "I would have spent the money whether I liked it or not, because it's a matter of your cousins and the village. People would laugh at you if you didn't bring them presents, arrange free lunches, and play host to people for a month. It's tradition.
Yaqub acknowledged that the costs of putting on a good show mounted up.
"The cost of the Hajj plus the gifts, lunches, and hospitality can add up to 12,000 or 13,000 dollars, and it's very hard for poor people like us to earn that amount of money," he said. "But what else can we do? We have to find it."
Zainaba, a pupil at Bibi Hawa High School in the provincial centre Jalalabad, recalled what happened when a hajji returned to her neighbourhood.
"Dishes of food were cooked in the alley for several days, and people would come for lunch. It created problems for all the neighbours – women and children weren't able to get through," she said. "Going on the Hajj is an obligation, but people have turned tradition into an obligation that they place on themselves."
Families try to outdo one another when they go to meet the returning pilgrims, with as large a convoy of highly-decorated cars as they can get hold of.
Lal Mir, a resident of Nangarhar's Batikot district, has lined up eight cars to welcome his father back, twice as many as were there for his cousin last year.
As he decked out his Toyota Corolla with plastic flowers, he said the convoy was a matter of pride.
"It's a great source of happiness," he explained. "This is what people earn money for. This is what people work for, so that they can walk tall among cousins and friends."
On their way back with the hajji, the cars often race each other, and accidents are not uncommon.
Shawali, a student of law and political science at Jalalabad's Ariana University, recalled a trip he took in one of these convoys.
"There were seven or eight cars, and they kept overtaking each other along the way. Suddenly there was a car in front of us – our driver tried to swerve but he had an accident and the car crashed. My head and leg were injured. There were five passengers in our car and all of us were as good as dead," he said.
There are other risks too, given Afghanistan's dangerous security environment. On November 29, a roadside bomb killed ten civilians, including a woman and five children, in Uruzgan province. The party was travelling to visit recently-returned Hajjis.
The head of the Shariah law faculty at Nangarhar University, Sayed Ahmad Fatemi said the competitive show of wealth was contrary to the spirit of Islam.
"In the next world, people will be asked about how they earned their money and how they spent it. Man is not free to make and spend money [at will] – people should spend neither so little nor so much that it harms themselves and society," he said.
Nabi Basirat, who lectures in law and political science at Nangarhar university, said it was certainly permissible to bring back gifts for friends, but other customs like the feasts and convoys of decorated cars were not in keeping with Islam, as well as being bad for Afghan society given the state of the economy.
Abdul Qayum Mashwani, a member of Afghanistan's Academy of Sciences, interviewed while attending a lunch laid on by a hajji, said, "These negative traditions place an economic burden on people, and prevent them from performing the central obligation [Hajj]. I know many people who have failed to perform the Hajj because of these customs."
Mashwani said that if he went on the Hajj himself, he would not say anything, and would just tell friends he was going on a trip.
Nangarhar resident Fatema agreed that the post-Hajj festivities were not grounded in religion.
"A friend of mine returned from Hajj a few days ago, but I haven't been to see her yet – it would take up her time and be a bother for me," she said.
People who are in a position to get the money together for the Hajj journey are often put off by the thought of the costs they would have to bear afterwards.
Moalem Mohammad Ghani, a shopkeeper in Mehtarlam, a town in Laghman province just north of Nangarhar, is among them.
"I can afford to carry out the Hajj obligation, but I can't afford the other things that people have made into obligations, like bringing back gifts, prayer cloths and clothing, and hosting lunches," he said. "More money is spent on these things than on the Hajj itself. And if you don't do them, people will speak ill of you." | <urn:uuid:0f54cad2-faed-4367-b048-4b18b3496b67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.refworld.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/rwmain?page=country&category=&publisher=&type=&coi=AFG&rid=4562d8cf2&docid=50c1b82a2&skip=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983301 | 1,448 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Hang a galaxy from your ceiling, invite some aliens to do a flyby, serve up the moon on a plate -- and throw the coolest birthday party in the universe. You don't have to be a rocket scientist, and you won't need to spend a stratospheric sum to make sure your birthday boy or girl has a blast. Simply read on to see how down-to-earth items such as paper plates, plastic wrap, and Ping-Pong balls turn an ordinary gathering into an out-of-this-world bash.
These creatures come in peace! As party guests arrive, let them launch right into action with a mask-making project. We created ours with glow-in-the-dark craft foam and stickers so we could dim the lights and set an otherworldly mood (you could also use fluorescent materials, then switch on a black light). For instructions on these cool do-it-yourself disguises, click here.
Hang some planets and strings of twinkling stars before the party's launch, and you'll transform your home into a glowing space-scape. For instructions on how to do it, click here.
The best thing about these UFO souped-up saucers: they fly amazingly well. Each of your intergalactic explorers can make his or her own custom-decorated spacecraft in a few easy steps. When the saucers are ready for liftoff, dim the lights and hold a contest to see who can throw his creation, Frisbee style, the farthest. Find out how to make them here.
Young space invaders will want to try their hands at this cosmic (and child-friendly) update of old-fashioned darts. For tips on the game and instructions for making the comets and the board, click here.
This moon is definitely not made of green cheese! In fact, it's a very kid-friendly baking project. Your little assistant will love crushing the cookies, mixing them into the frosting, and helping to create the moon's surface (which needn't be smooth or neat). If you use chocolate cake, any crumbs that end up in the frosting will blend right in. For instructions on making this spectacular treat, click here.
Snap a portrait of each guest peeking through the window of this spiffy rocket. After the party, send the kids' copies of their photos as thank-you notes and fun mementos of their voyage into space. Check out instructions for how to make this here. | <urn:uuid:32673cb4-1ac9-40d6-97f1-faef510318f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://spoonful.com/parties/space-party | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936333 | 517 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Language on Independent Agency Issue from
1935 Social Security Act
Title VII of the Social Security Act of 1935 concerned the creation and duties of the independent Social Security Board.
TITLE VII-SOCIAL SECURITY BOARD
Duties of the Social Security Board
Expenses of the Board
SECTION 701. There is hereby established a Social Security Board (in
this Act referred to as the Board ) to be composed of three members to
be appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the
Senate. During his term of membership on the Board , no member shall engage
in any other business, vocation, or employment. Not more than two of the
members of the Board shall be members of the same political party. Each
member shall receive a salary at the rate of $10,000 a year and shall
hold office for a term of six years, except that
(1) any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed, shall be appointed for the remainder of such term; and
(2) the terms of office of the members first taking office after the date of the enactment of this Act shall expire, as designated by the President at the time of appointment, one at the end of two years, one at the end of four years, and one at the end of six years, after the date of the enactment of this Act. The President shall designate one of the members as the chairman of the Board.
DUTIES OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY BOARD
SEC. 702. The Board shall perform the duties imposed upon it by this Act and shall also have the duty of studying and making recommendations as to the most effective methods of providing economic security through social insurance, and as to legislation and matters of administrative policy concerning old-age pensions, unemployment compensation, accident compensation, and related subjects.
EXPENSES OF THE BOARD
SEC. 703. The Board is authorized to appoint and fix the compensation of such officers and employees, and to make such expenditures, as may be necessary for carrying out its functions under this Act. Appointments of attorneys and experts may be made without regard to the civil-service laws.
SEC. 704. The Board shall make a full report to Congress, at the beginning of each regular session, of the administration of the functions with which it is charged. | <urn:uuid:7b350e4f-15ca-4d91-8af1-7de2f2d4f642> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://stuartashcraft@ssa.gov/history/reports/35indepen.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964814 | 495 | 1.820313 | 2 |
OSIEA plays an active role in encouraging open, informed dialogue on issues of importance in Eastern Africa. Through a combination of grant making, advocacy and convening power, OSIEA is able to support and amplify the voices of pro-democracy organizations and individuals in the region and to strengthen their capacity to hold their governments accountable. This includes efforts to defend and support rights activists and pro-democracy advocates who come under attack for their work.
OSIEA occupies a unique niche as a donor organization in Eastern Africa. We are both a donor and implementor working locally and internationally, which gives us an enormous flexibility in terms of reach and impact. We join processes that are consultative and participatory. Our ability to be flexible in our funding criteria allows us to respond quickly to changing situations. We add our own voice to debates and are not shy to take on rights issues that are deemed as politically sensitive or controversial.
We support initiatives with a demonstrated capacity to positively transform society in innovative ways that embrace inclusiveness and diversity.
OSIEA supports projects in the following programmatic areas:
- Media and Access to Information
- Governance and Accountability
- Health and Rights
- Justice and Human Rights
- Regional Programs
Grant seekers should carefully review our program priorities on our webpage to better know what we fund under each of the focus areas.
The Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa does not fund travel to attend conferences, seminars or workshops.
We also do not provide scholarships for individual studies.
Please download and review the attached guidelines carefully before submitting a grant application. | <urn:uuid:dc7d3863-d52b-4787-9901-3a9de1a8ff43> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/grants/open-society-initiative-eastern-africa | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938456 | 319 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Inflation drop makes interest rate hike less likely
Explore This Story
Inflation tumbled to just above one per cent in May, making it less likely the Bank of Canada will be raising interest rates any time soon, according to economists.
Friday, Statistics Canada revealed the annual inflation rate fell to 1.2 per cent in May, largely because of a year-to-year drop in gasoline prices, the first time that’s happened in almost two years.
While there has been speculation for months that the Bank of Canada could be raising its key overnight lending rate from 1 per cent to curb household debt, they’d have a hard time justifying that move now, suggested Jim Stanford, an economist with the Canadian Auto Workers union. Raising rates with the economy just creeping along could prove to be disastrous, Stanford argued.
“This is another nail in the coffin of that idea. By any measure, there’s no reason at all for them to be looking to raise rates,” said Stanford.
With evidence the U.S. economy was starting to stumble, along with continued chaos in Europe, there wasn’t a strong likelihood the Bank of Canada was going to raise rates this year anyway, said Doug Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO.
“At the margins, this report takes some of the pressure off the Bank of Canada. It adds to the mix,” said Porter.
The drop in inflation was in all likelihood a one-time blip, because gasoline prices were being compared to last May, when they suddenly spiked, said Paul Ferley, assistant chief economist at RBC.
“I don’t think the Bank of Canada assumes that 1.2 per cent is where inflation’s going to be in June,” said Ferley. But he doesn’t see much cause for boosting rates, either. That’s partly because of what’s going on with the so-called “core” inflation rate, which the Bank of Canada is a little more rigorous about monitoring.
Even with the usually-volatile gasoline component stripped out, the “core” inflation rate fell to 1.8 per cent, still below the Bank of Canada’s target of 2.0 per cent.
“That’s within their range,” said Ferley.
Earlier this week, Statistics Canada also revealed weaker than expected retail sales for the month of April, pushing the odds of a rate hike back even further, suggested Ferley.
RBC’s official forecast calls for the Bank of Canada to hike the overnight rate by a quarter of a percentage point by the end of the year, but that could change if the economic outlook slips, Ferley added.
In a report Francis Fong of TD Economics agreed.
“Fundamentally, given a modest growth outlook for the Canadian economy, a contained pace of inflation, and elevated financial tensions in Europe, TD Economics feels that it is unlikely that the Bank will move on the overnight rate before the year is out,” Fong wrote.
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Zoocasa to feature property listings, realtor information. | <urn:uuid:696bfe5a-124a-4c6d-8236-e91079141a10> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thestar.com/business/2012/06/22/inflation_drop_makes_interest_rate_hike_less_likely.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945486 | 769 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Frances Briggs wrote:
> I can relate to the scratchboard tool dilemma too. I also have the problem
> of students bending and breaking the blades. We are about to start
> printmaking and I'm afraid the same thing will occur with the printmaking
> tools. Maybe someone has a strategy for ensuring the best care and use of
> these tools.
My 2D class is finishing up lino block printing. There are some
immature and "wiseguy" freshman and sophomore boys in there that I was a
little leery about letting use the carving tools. They impressed me
greatly with their very mature handling of the tools and the great care
they took. I had made it clear to the class that these were tools, not
toys, and were not to be abused. I wonder if the boys were flattered to
be trusted with such dangerous implements.
We use the Speedball lino cutters, with three different blades inside
the handle. The way I ensure I get them all back is to number each
handle, then assign a number to each student, so he uses the same tool
each day. They took very good care of them and were careful about
making sure all the blades were in the handle at the end of each class
(of course, I checked every one of them as well). | <urn:uuid:8a5a2421-c4b2-4e9c-9a25-469b9490d8a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.getty.edu/education/teacherartexchange/archive/Apr03/0784.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979756 | 281 | 1.726563 | 2 |
I was wondering if there is an easy way to find the maximum size that is supported by Linux sockets? (Is this configurable? If so where?)
For example, most of the socket examples found on the web send "Hello Socket" or some such other small string, however if I put the whole of War And Peace into the socket, when does it break?
As everything is a file, is it the maximum file size? How is it coordinated when sockets connect different file systems?
I'm most interested in stream sockets. | <urn:uuid:11fae263-dc79-4ae6-ac44-11ec6ed65939> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://unix.stackexchange.com/questions/38043/size-of-data-that-can-be-written-to-read-from-sockets?answertab=oldest | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933451 | 109 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Monday’s March Milk Production report is bearish but may not necessarily impact cheese prices, according to Downes-O’Neill dairy broker, Dave Kurzawski. Speaking in Wednesday’s broadcast, Kurzawski said there’s been pressure on the cheese market in the past six or seven trading sessions and while, that pressure “may not go away today,” he believes demand will respond to a price that’s now “south of $1.40.”
Pointing to the January and February downward revisions of milk output, Kurzawski said “We’re starting from a little bit lower point of total production than we initially thought but that number is relatively bearish for the market right now.” Weather is also improving and the spring flush is occurring around the country so there’s not much worry of a shortage of milk production right now he acknowledged, but “The caveat here is that Wisconsin, Washington, Michigan, and Idaho (states registering sizable increases) are not the only places that we need to be producing milk.
The world needs milk to make their products so while we have a bearish report here I tend to think that the bubbling of demand from butter, nonfat powders, and the dry whey powder markets will ultimately supersede this milk production report.” Oceania is struggling with low milk production, according to Kurzawski. New Zealand is in a two month draught and didn’t have a great flush a few months back and output is 2 1/2-3 percent below that of a year ago. Australia is down 5-6 percent, he said, “So we have to look at the supply of milk from a worldwide standpoint, not just what’s going on here domestically.” Kurzawski suggests producers lock in a floor price, admitting that “today may not be the day to do that but they should be shopping around for the best possible/worst case scenario price.”
He remains relatively bullish for milk prices for the next 60-90 days and believes futures prices will “give these guys a good opportunity to lock in that floor price to potentially market milk outright and lock in a profitable level to bring to the dairy.” Looking ahead on our week; the Agriculture Department’s monthly Livestock Dairy and Poultry Outlook is issued this morning. the March Cold Storage report is out tomorrow afternoon, and Friday morning USDA issues its monthly Livestock Slaughter report and the May Federal order Class I base milk price is announced. | <urn:uuid:3aa45083-62a1-4948-880a-f601cef64bf0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dairyline.com/wpbackend/?p=2044 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953025 | 536 | 1.523438 | 2 |
I got back into Pennsylvania on Friday afternoon, and in checking my GPS unit I could see that we had moved 2,512 miles from our camp on Devon Island. The GPS indicated that the bearing that I could follow to get back to that camp was 353 degrees, almost due north! What a difference those 2,512 miles makes - from a barren, unexplored corner of a huge uninhabited island, to the well-engineered and comfortable surroundings of home. I'm glad that I have the opportunity to experience both.
Personally, I must say that it is a true privilege to camp, walk, and explore in a place as pristine as Devon Island. Why am I so lucky as to have the opportunity to do so? I guess I made a good career choice. The austere conditions may not be for everyone; the barren landscapes of rock, tundra, ice and water may seem boring; the isolation might sound frightening; but all of those things are rare in today's world and represent a challenge that is easy to embrace and cherish.
Professionally, I know that this kind of exploratory work rewards patience and perseverance. The significance of our discoveries will come with time, thorough our work, or the work of others.
The helicopter descended into our remote camp on Tuesday morning as scheduled. Within two hours the four of us and our gear were standing on a makeshift landing strip of limestone rubble to the south. The helicopter departed for its next destination 200 miles northeast, and the four of us stood in the flat empty landscape waiting for the drone of a Twin Otter plane.
With time on our hands we skipped stones on a shallow pond surrounded by a muddy fringe where the clear tracks of a polar bear made us look around with a bit more care. The Twin Otter arrived and we loaded up and lifted off Devon Island by about 1 p.m. Within an hour we were back at the Polar Shelf research base at Resolute, unaccustomed to the buzz of activity and people. Quite a contrast to the last couple of weeks.
As we departed our field camp we flew over some of the same areas that we had examined in detail during our explorations. Though the view from above was a useful geological perspective, our search for fossils requires that we “get our nose to the rock,” a task that requires a lot of hard work. The sore arms and legs from many miles of rugged walking and splitting rock seems an appropriate sensation, as one of the goals of our research is to understand more about the evolutionary origins of these appendages from evidence in the very rocks we were exploring.
I’m so sore today. Took a long hike, 10-12 miles, over some rock formations that tend to break up into boulders. Up and down, boulder to boulder. Hard work. But we got to see some rock formations we haven’t seen before and we continue to make discoveries.
Our last day is tomorrow. We’ve had a relatively short season compared to our six other Arctic expeditions, but we really worked this area hard. We covered 35 square miles on foot and surveyed additional areas when flying in by helicopter. Logged 13 fossil sites, meaning there are enough fossils at these sites to log them, to take geographical information, and to collect fossils to bring back.
We’re finding an awful lot of the same creatures we found before: armored fish and lobe-finned fish, but nothing in the limbed realm. What’s interesting is these same rock formations further to the east produced large numbers of a fish called Psammosteus, but there are none here. This shows ecological differentiation. Maybe we’re too far out into the delta system, too far away from the prime area where that type of fish seemed to have lived.
The common thing we’ve seen across all the various environments and time periods is Bothriolepis, a small (about 12 inches long) heavily armored placoderm fish. It’s presumed that Bothriolepis spent most of its life in freshwater, but was probably able to enter salt water as well. Some hypothesize that they lived most of their lives in saltwater and returned to freshwater to breed, similar to salmon. It had a long pair of spine-like pectoral fins which may have been used to lift its body clear off the bottom, but its heavy armor (that protected against predators) would have made it sink quickly.
So we need to look at that common animal and see if there are patterns, where they are found, the great diversity of them. What does that tell us? This is all part of what we’ve been doing this trip: putting the final touches on the bigger project. Over our seven trips to the Arctic, we’ve systematically surveyed many rock formations through the Late Devonian Period and across a geographic transept.
Everything we find is new because no one has ever reported any of these fish from any of these locations. Some things are expected some are unexpected. The big picture has to wait a little. I’ll be thinking of some preliminary conclusions.
The weather has deteriorated to normal Arctic conditions. Winds are gusty at 15 to 20 mph and it’s cold. I’m wearing a wool hat and gloves. Sleet is hitting my tent. We got pretty spoiled with the milder weather earlier.
The rocks here really augment the rocks we have in Pennsylvania. Between the Pennsylvania research and the research here we are getting a good picture of the different animals that lived in the Late Devonian period. The types of environments they lived in.
This place is full of a lot of small discoveries and only a few big discoveries. We’ve had a lot of big discoveries both in Pennsylvania and the Arctic and have lots of continuing work to do.
This year so far is characterized by discoveries that are helping us answer questions about the variety of life, the biodiversity of life, the environments where life was diversifying and flourishing. The most interesting aspect of what we’re looking at is the transformation from finned to limbed animals. But we want to place that transition into the environmental context. That’s why we are collecting so much data.
We working one rock formation called the Nordstrand Point formation. That is from a slice of time which is more recent than where we found Tiktaalik. It’s not as recent as the work in Pennsylvania. It’s a slice of time we would really like to know what was going on, the stream systems, deltas, swamp habitats. We’re finding plant material, nature of the rocks and fossils, a variety of fish. Some are just like things we’ve seen elsewhere.
The most common fossils we’re finding are placoderms, plural for a group of armored fishes. Every day we see them at every site. We’re also finding other groups of animals, but we won’t know what we have until we get back to Philadelphia and do the fossil prep work in the lab. The library work to identify what we have. The payoff comes months after the actual field work itself.
The team is doing great. It's just the four of us -- Neil Shubin from the University of Chicago, Marcus Davis, a professor in Georgia, and Mark Webster, a professor at the University of Chicago who studies trilobites -- and we’re getting along well, which is important.
Every day we make a plan and go out and do what we need to do. We keep a regular schedule. We get up at 6 or 6:30 a.m. We need to check in by radio with the research base at 7:30 a.m. every day. Then we start to work at 8 a.m. We come back to our base camp at 5 or 5:30 p.m., prepare dinner and eat it around 7 or 7:30 p.m., then we’re in bed by 9 or so. There’s not a lot of entertainment up here. We read books. Neil brought a Kindle.
Tonight we’re going to have pasta with red sauce. We make some really good food. We do pay a lot of attention to food and to preparing the food. Usually we have pasta or a chili dish. Big one-pot foods, comfort foods. We eat lots of chocolate, energy bars and coffee. For breakfast we have coffee and granola.
It’s terrific weather here, startlingly warm -- in the 50- to 60-degree range. More importantly, it’s clear and sunny. Hard to sleep because the sun is shining all night long, even though we have blinders to put on. I’m a little tired. The sun hasn’t gone down since I’ve been here, and it won’t go down the whole time I’m here.
I did some calculations with the GPS, and we’re 700 miles above the Arctic Circle and 900 miles from the North Pole, so we’re about halfway between the circle and the pole. We’re so far north that the sun doesn’t go down for months.
The landscape is rocky, and when I get up high I get great views of the sea. There is pack ice in some places and open water in others. That is appropriate for July. People back home ask about global warming, but we cannot be the judge of that. When we come to the Arctic from year to year, we do not go to the same place. We go to different locations, so we can’t compare the amount of ice and water from year to year.
It’s been a very good couple of days so far in this remarkably remote and rugged terrain. We’ve had exceptionally good weather, in the 40- to-50 degree range, but no rain and no strong wind. And lots of sun. You wake up in the middle of the night, and it’s sunny. At this time of year the sun shines all the time. Maybe it will help me get over the cold I caught before I got here.
Even though it’s only been two days into the trip, I’ve already collected a few very interesting fossils. The plan is to go back to the same site tomorrow or the next day and spend the whole day breaking rock and excavating and seeing what else I might find.
These fossils won’t make front-page news, but they are scientifically very interesting in filling in the story of animals that lived in the Late Devonian Period. That is the window of time we are working with here. Tiktaalik roseae, which I found on an earlier expedition, was one side of that.
We’re not trying to find more Tiktaalik. We’re expanding into the rock formations above and below where Tiktaalik came from and looking for almost anything. But of course the real prize would be something evolutionarily related to Tiktaalik, something showing us another step in that transition of fish to an animal with limbs. But we really can’t come up here expecting to find that.
I’m sitting in my tent in the middle of nowhere. You can’t believe what I’m looking at right now. I’m on Devon Island, the largest uninhabited island on earth. This is an amazing place. The terrain is almost like Mars. It’s just rocks and cliffs.
Devon Island is located in Baffin Bay in Nunavut. The island has northern piece called Grinnell Peninsula. We are on the eastern edge of Grinnell Peninsula, about 5 miles south of Tucker River. We’re camped at a river in a valley, but the river and valley don’t have a name. There is so much land up here and no one has given it names. It’s likely no one has ever been in the valley we are exploring. The Tucker River has been explored a little by geologists. But where I am is untouched by any scientist.
Everything went smoothly earlier this week getting from the research base at Resolute Bay to our remote destination. The people who do logistics for the base were able to organize and orchestrate the process of inserting us into the research site that we had carefully mapped out ahead of time.
For the trip directly north of the base, my colleagues and I squeezed into a small Twin Otter plane along with all our gear. It’s a rickety old plane and a rugged ride, but the plane is efficient up here in this situation. We flew an hour directly north from the research base and landed on a remote strip of Devon Island.
The base crew also had sent up a helicopter, which landed shortly after our plane landed. We then transferred everything to the helicopter and in two trips the helicopter took us to the vicinity of where we wanted to start our field work.
Left Pennsylvania 36 hours ago, now 500 miles above the Arctic Circle. Each step has gone like clockwork, still one step to go, so I hope I haven't jinxed it.
First step was an eight hour drive to Ottawa where we got a few last provisions and ate the last fresh food for a while. This morning we started with a 3-hour flight to Iqualuit, the capital of the Nunavut Territory.
As we moved north at 31,000 feet of altitude and 450 miles an hour, the immense size and emptiness of northern Canada became obvious. By the time we crossed over the entrance to Hudson Bay and began to cross Baffin Island, we were well above tree line. Iqualuit (formerly called Frobisher) has a bustling frontier-town feel and we all commented on the growth since the last time we were there a few years ago. Nunavut seems to be booming as resource extraction is receiving more investment, and perhaps access becomes easier with longer summers without pack ice.
Food is a big part of the quality of life during our field season in Nunavut. The landscape is austere, the temperature is low (35-45 degrees), the days are long (actually, July it is one long day), and camp life is fairly monotonous. Food is sustenance and calories, but it is also entertainment and comfort.
We go to considerable effort to bring quality foodstuffs, most acquired from Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Sam’s Club, Starbucks, and the Chestnut Hill Cheese Shop. Our buying trips in May usually elicit questions from the stores’ staff as we load our baskets with pounds of chocolate, coffee, granola, and other commodities.
After our shopping forays we spread out our harvest in a research area at the Academy of Natural Sciences and un-package, vacuum seal, consolidate, count, inventory, and pack the food for its northbound journey. We provision our food carefully to avoid excess weight and packaging. Cans, for example, are heavy and create trash – we don’t bring any canned food.
Key elements of our breakfast and lunch are good coffee, granola, fine salami and cheese, hearty crackers, candy bars, and energy bars (usually Clif, but we’re trying some more varieties this year). Cooking dinner is part of our limited entertainment options. We often start with dried beans and dehydrated elements (meat and vegetables) that are brought back to life in a pressure cooker. | <urn:uuid:e538b9fb-338c-4385-b3af-55cf20849775> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/science/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959936 | 3,222 | 1.820313 | 2 |
About 17 years ago, I went to see a chiropractor who came highly recommended to help alleviate back pain I’d been experiencing. I was surprised when the chiropractor chose to use “applied kinesiology” with me rather than traditional spinal manipulation. I had never heard of applied kinesiology and was open to anything that might help me, but when this chiropractor had me raise my arm and resist the pressure he applied to it to “test” various things, and then told me what foods I should and shouldn’t eat and what people I should and shouldn’t avoid based on whether my arm went down or stayed rigid upon his application of pressure, I was stunned that he was serious. I never went back to this chiropractor and marveled that someone had really charged me $80 to do something so ridiculous.
About ten years passed and suddenly this “applied kinesiology” was everywhere and friends of mine swore by it. I’ve learned not to be surprised by such things any more. We people believe all sorts of unsubstantiated things, constantly suspending our critical thinking. Much of the time there is no real harm done, and because our minds and bodies are so intertwined, believing that a practitioner will help us increases the likelihood that we’ll be helped measurably. But I worry about a populace that so readily believes nonsense and passes it off as fact, and I feel strongly that educators must be among the best critical thinkers because, more than anyone, teachers shape the future.
There is a desperate need for good critical thinking among the generation poised to solve – or not solve – the complex challenges before us. So this is my plea to teachers: teach your students to be critical and creative thinkers above all else, and refuse to let yourself be duped. Model the critical thinking your students need to possess themselves.
(For those who want to see a demonstration that debunks applied kinesiology, take a look at this YouTube video.)
For a thinking populace,
Zoe Weil, President, Institute for Humane Education
Author of The Power and Promise of Humane Education and Most Good, Least Harm | <urn:uuid:8423ed93-a2be-414b-be00-ca750eb036b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://coopcatalyst.wordpress.com/2010/12/27/to-all-people-but-especially-educators-please-think-critically/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=b19f116cf4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969656 | 447 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Final Cut Pro Training at London Academy offers the student to study Final Cut editing during the day, evening or weekend. Learn FCP editing techniques during a Final Cut Pro training course taught by professional final Cut editors. FCP courses provide professional final Cut lessons and FCP tutorials allowing students to understand the most important aspects of editing with Final Cut pro.
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Originally published in The Smalltalk Report, October/November 1996.
by Barbara Yates
Does anyone else out there think the word mentor is
overused and abused in our industry? We are often dismayed at the ads
we see from companies trying to recruit Smalltalk "mentors." It seems
that anyone with a year or more of Smalltalk experience is deemed
capable of mentoring, judging by some of the ads. We want to tell you
it just ain't so!
What a Mentor Does
A dictionary definition of a mentor is "a wise counsellor (one who
advises and warns)."1 A good mentor gets great
personal satisfaction from helping others to learn and grow. They can
be compared to a good teacher. They are not a Smalltalk guru who
takes over your keyboard and writes your code for you. A mentor needs
patience and excellent communication skills, in addition to knowing
the technical content of the subject in which they are mentoring.
Mentoring is a one-on-one activity, so it is important that there be
a "personality click" for the mentoring to be successful.
When a manager wants to recruit one or more mentors for their
team, it's important that they check references. When talking to a
manager of a team the mentor has worked with, it would be useful to
ask to speak with some of the team members about their experiences.
Given the time crunch most managers are in, there might be little
time for checking references. At a minimum, here are some questions
the candidate-mentor should be asked:
- How would you handle a team member who doesn't want to ask for
- How would you deal with a team member who asks very low-level
questions most of the time?
- What aspect of mentoring do you like most?
- What percentage of your time would you expect to spend
programming in Smalltalk vs. mentoring?
- What is the hardest problem you've had to deal with as a
mentor and how did you solve it?
Mentoring is a lot more difficult (and sometimes a lot less fun,
to be honest) than programming in Smalltalk. Every mentor can
probably tell a few horror stories about their experiences. We'll
briefly share a couple with you.
We were called upon to mentor a small team of novice Smalltalkers.
We were not supposed to be mentoring full-time, but also had major
architecture and development responsibilities. We find that the
proportion of mentoring to other tasks will vary in different stages
of the project, so that when people are deeply into coding, our
mentoring will only be about 30% of our work load. More mentoring
happens at the early stages, and then it gradually tapers off, as it
This project had one team member who was a very
This person would ask for help with a given problem and a few hours
later we would find ourselves sitting at the keyboard writing their
code! This keyboard switchover took place without our intention.
Regardless of the mentoree's hypnotic abilities, it was our
responsibility to help them to learn, not to do the coding
This is where the patience comes in. Of course the mentor can do
it faster (maybe 10 or 20 times faster!), but that's not why the
project needs a mentor. If the project had wanted you to just crank
out code they wouldn't have given you a mentoring role.
The second horror story points out the importance of communication
skills and being able to read people. In the course of a six-week
iterative cycle on another project, one of us was working with a
subset of the whole team on a special prototype. One member of the
prototyping group didn't seem to be able to deal with abstraction at
all. They repeatedly asked extremely low-level questions that had the
mentor stumped about why they were diving so deep. The prototyping
group had a tight schedule and a lot to accomplish. The low-level
questions didn't need immediate and exhaustive answers because, well,
this is Smalltalk and we trust that the longstanding
base classes do what they are supposed to do.
The mentor's response to many of these questions was, "Don't worry
about that right now. You don't need to know that level of detail."
It wasn't until several weeks later that the mentor found out the
team member interpreted those answers as condescending, which totally
turned off the team member. Unfortunately, the mentor wasn't told how
they felt, and the mentor had no clue there was now a problem caused
by those answers.
The resolution to this situation happened because a third person
on the team talked to both the mentor and the mentoree about how the
prototyping project had gone, and discovered the communication
impasse. So for the mentors out there (and the mentor wanna-bees!),
be careful about the way you phrase things and pay close attention to
the reactions of your mentorees.
Epilog: that mentor-mentoree relationship was corrected and became
productive again after the mentor was told of the problem.
It is crucial in a project that has mentors that there be a
regular mechanism for mentorees to be told of their progress and for
mentors to be told of their progress. In a previous
column we touched on the subject of
reviews. If the team is doing some reflection about what went
well and what needs improvement at the end of each iteration, then
telling the mentors how they are doing should be incorporated into
this process. If necessary, make this feedback anonymous to encourage
people to be honest in their comments.
Just because a manager has recruited one or more mentors for their
team doesn't mean they will be well-utilized. The old expression that
"you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink" seems to
be applicable to mentoring. No matter who the mentor is and how
terrific they might be in that role, some people just won't drink!
There are probably various reasons for that, and it is not something
the manager can mandate. It might be helpful for managers and
would-be mentors to know that team members typically fall into one of
three categories when it comes to mentoring: eager, neutral, and
(dare we say it) hostile or suspicious.
The mentor eager developer doesn't fear looking "dumb." They don't
hesitate to ask questions. They are concerned about proper OO design
and want to learn how to do things "right." This sort of team member
asks the mentor for reading suggestions, they explore the class
library, and they don't want the mentor to do the work for them. They
want review of decisions about design, algorithms, etc. The
mentor-eager team member requests design and code reviews. Working
with this kind of team member is a pleasure -- it's what gets the
mentor through the tough assignments!
The mentor neutral developer needs to be shown the mentor's value.
If there is a good personality match, the neutral developer might
become eager. If there's a personality clash, they can become mentor
hostile. If personalities are not an issue, this developer might
still not make much use of the mentor.
A "neutral" might simply be one of those people who always prefer
to figure out things for themselves. Regardless of how good the
mentor is, a "leave me alone" developer will not make use of them.
There's no point in the manager or mentor forcing the issue.
If a neutral feels comfortable "picking the mentor's brain" on
their own terms, then short periods (a couple of hours) of
"two-on-a-tube" might be the best way to work with them. This was a
technique used by our Smalltalk team at Tektronix in the 1980's. The
mentor sits with the mentoree and the mentoree is in control of the
keyboard and mouse. They work through a specific problem, making use
of the white board and exploring in the image. This short-term,
focused activity, aimed at solving a specific problem, is very
effective in demonstrating the mentor's value to a neutral.
Some people really enjoy working together closely, and
two-on-a-tube periods can sometimes be over a week in duration,
depending on the problem to be solved. We recently used this
technique for several days in a Smalltalk boot camp we ran, and some
people enjoyed it so much they did it for almost the entire two
A senior person in non-OO areas who lands back at the beginning of
the learning curve with Smalltalk will sometimes reject any attempts
at mentoring them. We've found that sometimes they feel so threatened
or insecure that they are downright hostile. They are used to
being the mentor, not learning from a
In other cases, team members pay lip service to the value of
mentoring, but are in fact disguising the desire to prove they can do
it without help. They express this desire as needing "the freedom to
make my own mistakes." A sure indication of the mentor-hostile
developer is one who challenges all suggestions the mentor makes, and
delights in finding and pointing out bugs in the mentor's code (hey,
no one is perfect).
As we already said, there is no point in trying to force this
developer to accept mentoring. The manager needs to determine whether
their insistence on making their own mistakes is hurting the project.
If it is, perhaps the person belongs back in a role that makes use of
their existing expertise.
Not Getting OO
Organizations that adopt object technology -- Smalltalk in
particular -- must realize that their whole team might not learn and
progress at the same rate. Some people may never really "get OO."
After a reasonable time period (perhaps as long as nine months), the
people who still haven't gotten it need to be given alternatives. The
mentor cannot be blamed and the developer cannot be blamed. Not all
people are able to think abstractly, and they need to be given the
chance to contribute to the organization in a job for which they are
"Smalltalk guru" is not equivalent to Smalltalk mentor. Not all
team members will accept mentoring. Not all team members will get OO.
Do the best you can as a mentor and as a developer, and try to keep
egos out of the equation. If personality clashes are a problem, maybe
the mentor has to go. This is a tough call that the manager will have
to make. Good luck and happy mentoring!
1. The Wordsworth Concise English
Dictionary . Hertfordshire: Wordsworth Editions Ltd., 1994.
2. Secrets to Building Successful
Smalltalk Teams (Tutorial), Bytesmiths at Smalltalk
Solutions, March 1996 , New York, NY (CD-ROM soon to be
released by SIGS Publications).
Members , Jan Steinman and Barbara Yates, The
Smalltalk Report , V5N6, February 1996, pp. 15-17, 28.
Go to the previous
column in the series, or the
next column in the | <urn:uuid:d659bdf1-fb89-4e3a-9ea4-8747cf46a4fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bytesmiths.com/Publications/9610Mentoring.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953299 | 2,758 | 1.523438 | 2 |
‘Wait and see’ for biofuel plans
CONTROVERSIAL plans to build a biofuel energy plant have been delayed after a parish poll was heeded.
Feltwell residents went to the polls on April 12 to return a resounding ‘no’ to the question: Should the parish lease land to RegBio for the building of a bio-power plant?
Now Feltwell Parish Council has agreed to put off making a decision on whether to lease the land off Old Brandon Road until a similar plant is built in Lakenheath.
Jane Batten, council chairman, said: “We’ve postponed making a decision as we are waiting to see the Lakenheath plant and if there are any problems with it.”
Vanessa Cock, a campaigner against the plans, said the delay was a step forward and proved that the parish poll had an influence.
“It would have been nice to have ruled it out completely but it’s probably the best outcome we could have hoped for,” she said.
“It’s a sensible way to do it but there were still councillors who wanted to see it go through.”
The poll saw 75 per cent of voters go against the plans, with 512 electors turning out.
It was called for after 650 people signed a petition against the plans.
The poll cost the council around £2,000.
A planning application for the land has since been withdrawn.
Plans for the Lakenheath site have been granted permission by Forest Heath District Council but there is no timeline for construction, according to Reg Biopower.
- Vision reveals fresh detail on plans to develop town
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Saturday 18 May 2013
Temperature: 7 C to 14 C
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Wind direction: North east | <urn:uuid:78447b83-87b4-40a8-bf63-faa0903ee801> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/latest-news/wait-and-see-for-biofuel-plans-1-3905703 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96416 | 494 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Everyone sees something different when they look at Stretch Out - Home Wear, a portable indoor tent system designed by Jolien Hanemaaijer. That’s totally normal, explains the 24-year-old Dutch designer. “It deals with a subject that’s close to most people’s heart--the home--so people respond very intuitively to it,” she says. Her Pilates teacher uses it as an outdoor exercise shelter. My first instinct was to build the world’s largest modular fort.
Since she graduated from the Royal Academy of Art, Hanemaaijer, like so many other recent graduates, has spent a lot of time hopping from city to city. She became fascinated with the way travel and instability affects our personal routines. “Sometimes I felt at home right away, while at other times it felt like there was no place for me,” she says. “I started to notice that a lot of the buildings and houses we inhabit have a very distinctive structure, which leaves little room for our own personal habits.” The idea for Stretch Out grew directly from the alienation and loneliness of travel. “I wanted to create an independent and flexible space,” she writes--a home away from home.
As demonstrated by the mustachioed Dutchmen in the video above, the shelter is fairly easy to assemble. Unbuckle the carrying strap, and piece together its beachwood poles as you would an old-school tent. Stabilize the structure with a rope, and switch on the hanging globe lamp. Textiles--a bark-printed blanket and an teal ombre screen--offer warmth and a bit of privacy.
Hanemaaijer calls Stretch Out a “micro-shelter” for guerilla campers. What that means is up to you, whether it’s aggregating the tents in an epic, Community-style blanket fort, or slinging one over your shoulder for a survival adventure, à la Bear Grylls. Those poles could work as fishing rods, right? | <urn:uuid:f5ffa761-4e06-4d9d-a0cf-48626199169c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fastcodesign.com/1670283/why-not-an-indoor-tent-for-guerilla-campers | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947106 | 429 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Thursday, February 14, 2013
SAN DIEGO George Lakoff is a professor of linguistics at UC Berkeley who has used his skills to help the Democratic Party frame issues to their advantage. I got him on the phone in my attempt to solve one of the day’s great linguistic conundrums.
Left-of-center politicos lean toward “progressive” label to cast off liberal baggage.
"Now, you're a liberal, right?” I asked him.
“I'm a progressive," he corrected me.
Political labels are blunt instruments. But we all use them. And there’s been a lot of disagreement about what to call people who are left of center. Are they liberals or progressives?
People who work in journalism shy away from using the labels that politicians and advocates use to describe themselves. The problem is they typically choose words that lend them a righteous glow but are also partly or wholly inaccurate. “Progressive” seems to lend political views a too-positive spin. After all isn’t everyone, including Rush Limbaugh, in favor of progress?
First lets deal with “liberal.”
One problem with the word is what many describe as a successful campaign by conservatives to sully it. Lakoff said the conservative attack on the word goes back to the Nixon campaign for president in 1967, when they coined the phrase "liberal elite."
"And the 'liberal elite' was the idea that the tax-and-spend liberals would take your hard-earned money and waste it on people who didn't deserve it,” he said. “They looked down on working people. They were the sushi-eating liberals."
Lakoff said a progressive, to him, is someone who believes that people should care for each other, and government services should be an expression of that care. Asked whether journalists should avoid use of the word, he said no, because there are no words that can objectively describe political tendencies.
"It's not the case that there's a neutral notion of progress, nor is there a neutral notion of old values. The ordinary non-political words of conserving and progress don't apply," said Lakoff.
But I didn't have to take his word for it.
"If you want to know the history of these things, the best person to ask is right there in San Diego. My brother!"
Sandy Lakoff is professor emeritus of political science at UC San Diego. He said the word progressive, viewed over a hundred-year history, refers to a reform movement embodied by Teddy Roosevelt and the women's suffrage movement.
Liberalism, meanwhile, was not left wing. Far from it. Historically, it's the notion that people should be free from government interference… more like modern libertarianism. But Lakoff said during the 20th century the term evolved to mean that liberals were fans, not of Teddy, but of Franklin D. Roosevelt.
"In this country it meant New-Deal liberalism, if I can put it that way, or the extension of progressivism to include a major role for the state,” said Sandy Lakoff.
Like his brother, Sandy is a Democrat. The same is not true of columnist George Will. Before I spoke to Will, I expected him to dislike the term progressive as it applies to those left of center.
"Well, I'm certainly not favorable to the progressive viewpoint,” said Will, “but I do think progressive is the preferred label because it's more accurate."
Will does not see "liberal" as a word that was demonized by conservatives. He said so-called liberals themselves undermined it with their wrongheaded policies. Meanwhile, he said "progressive" accurately describes an enduring political movement that binds Woodrow Wilson to Barack Obama.
"The point of progressivism was that we were to make progress up from and away from the founders. That's what they defined progress as… getting over the limited government doctrines of the natural rights philosophy of the first two paragraphs of the declaration of independence," said Will.
But doesn't "progressive" make the people on the left sound too good?
"If they really think that because everyone like progress and therefore using the word…,” Will said, trailing off. “I mean that's the sort of thing the George Lakoff considers clever but I don't think it's a very durable advantage!"
Sandy Lakoff adds that the word liberal, despite its baggage, won't be banished from the American language. We may be ambivalent in our understanding of it, but he said our love of liberty should make all Americans liberals. | <urn:uuid:e515e4bd-583a-4c9f-b783-c8a344041063> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kpbs.org/news/2013/feb/14/liberal-label-gives-way-progressive/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975947 | 964 | 1.5 | 2 |
James Madison Preparatory School is an Arizona charter school, which means that it is a public school operated by a private organization. As such, the school does not charge tuition for students to attend. In order to operate both its academic and extracurricular programs, it is necessary that the school charge fees, require deposits, and receive gifts in the way of donations to support the work of the school. The school is also a 501c3 tax exempt organization, which means that it is considered a charitable organization. Donations to the school may be considered charitable donations for your state and/or federal income taxes.
This guide seeks to:
- describe the differences between various forms of payment;
- help clarify how these payments benefit the school, the student and his/her family; and
- establish sensible procedures regarding the various forms of payment made to the school, including:
Nothing in this guide is designed to serve as a substitute for professional financial or tax advice regarding your particular family financial or tax situation. For more information contact the Arizona Department of Revenue at www.revenue.state.az.us or 800-352-4090 or 602-255-3381.
A fee is defined as money paid directly to the school to cover costs of academic or student supplies. Fees are non-refundable and may not be claimed as donations for income tax or other purposes because there is a direct benefit, service, or product received by the student for the fee. Fees may or may not be optional. Examples of supplies for which fees are charged include: computer usuage, field trips, student travel, student ID, special school outings, or DVD's or recordings of school events, and yearbooks. The amount of the fee is set by administration. Parents and students are notified of fees in writing in enrollment materials, in the Family Handbook, in the Extracurricular handbook, or in specific handouts provided by a teacher, coach, or administration. The school provides a receipt for all fees.
Activity fees are charged to students by the school for extracurricular activities in fine arts, athletics and clubs. When the school charges these activtiy fees it is to help make activities and programs possible. Activity fees are designed to reflect a reasonable cost to the students' families for specific activities, and are generally due to the school prior to the start of an activity/program. Activity fees for extracurricular activities can be applied to your AZ Tax Credit contribution, but this must be declared at the time the activity fee is paid. A reciept is provided for your contribution.
Click here to make AZ Tax Credit contribution and pay fees for extracurricular activities.
Deposits are defined as money paid directly to the school or outside organization, to be held by the school or outside organization as security for a specific item or activity. Deposits are refundable, and the deposit is returned to the student's family if the items are returned in good condition or if the conditions of the deposit requirements are met. Most deposits required by the school do NOT cover the cost of replacing the items for which the deposit is held in security.
While the school sets the amount of most deposits and holds those deposits as security, there are times when the cost of a given deposit is set by an outside organization and deposits are held by that outside organization. The school is not responsible for deposits required or held by outside organizations.
Deposits provide a benefit to the school and the student by promoting responsible behavior. When the student fulfills the requirements of the deposit, the deposit is returned. If the student does not meet the requirements of the deposit, the school is able to utilize the deposit to help defray the costs of replacement.
The school charges a deposit for books. As long as a student returns his/her books in good condition, the deposit is returned. If some or all of the student's books are returned in poor condition or are not returned, the student's deposit is charged for the replacement value of the missing/damaged item(s), and the student may be billed for the cost of replacement not covered by the deposit.
The school's students are sometimes required to pay a deposit to an outside organization, e.g. student travel. While this deposit may be received by the school, it is turned over to the outside organization and it is the responsibility of that outside organization.
When a deposit is required by the school or an outside organization, the payment for the deposit should be made SEPARATELY from other fees or payments. This may mean a separate check or other separate transaction.
The school provides a receipt for all deposits.
The school receives donations from individuals and organizations throughout the year. Donations made to the school come in three basic forms: financial, material, and in-kind. Because James Madison Preparatory School, Inc., is a 501c3 tax exempt organization, donations may be considered tax-deductible for federal income tax purposes. Please check with your tax advisor for specific details.
Financial donations are gifts of money made to the school to support the operations and activities of the school. These donations may be given to the school to use as administration sees fit, or the donation(s) may be designated for a specific program or activity. In general, financial donations can be claimed directly on the donor's tax return, but please check with your tax advisor for specific details. Click Here to Donate!
Material donations are items of value or utility given to the school as gifts. Material donations may be used directly by the school or sold for money to benefit the school. In the past, the school has received material donations like vehicles, computers, audio-visual equipment, paper products, tools, etc. When the school uses a material donation on campus, the donor may claim fair market value for the material donation. When the school sells the material donation for money, the donor may claim the donation for only the amount the school received for the item. It is the donor's responsibility to determine fair market value and sold donation value. Please check with your tax advisor for specific details.
In-kind donations are given to the school by individuals or organizations. An in-kind donation is a gift of services rendered or donated volunteer time. In the past, the school received a variety of in-kind donations, including professional services (e.g. legal, financial, or educational), specific trade services (e.g. plumbing, electrical, carpentry, roofing, etc.), and volunteer services (e.g. office help, coaching, chaperoning school field trips). When the school receives an in-kind donation, it is the responsibility of the donor to establish fair market value of the gift of time or services. Please check with your tax advisor for specific details.
General donations must be declared at the time they are given, and the school will provide a receipt or letter of receipt as appropriate. General donations cannot be changed to another form of gift or donation later.
Some employers will match all or some of an individual's donation to Madison Prep. Please check with your employer for details about this opportunity to make your donation work even harder for Madison Prep.
The school provides a receipt for all donations.
Arizona Tax Credit Contribution
The Arizona legislature enacted Arizona Revised Statute 43-1089.01 in order to provide Arizona taxpayers with a tax credit for their contributions to public schools (including charter schools), to be used to support extracurricular activities.
Because Madison Prep cannot use state dollars to pay for extracurricular activities, Tax Credit contributions are essential to help pay for these important enrichment activities. This is the single best way for friends of the school to support extracurricular activities. Arizona Tax Credit contributions must be declared at the time they are given, and other types of donations cannot be changed to AZ Tax Credit contributions later.
In Arizona, an individual taxpayer may donate up to $200 to the school (or schools) of his/her choice as an Arizona Tax Credit contribution. A married couple may donate up to $400 as an AZ Tax Credit contribution. The Tax Credit contribution can then be claimed by the donor on their state income taxes as a credit, and the money is subtracted from the donor's state tax obligation. For example, let’s say you and your spouse have an adjusted gross income (AGI) of $60,000 in 2008. In February, 2009, you sit down to do your taxes. Let’s pretend for the sake of simplicity that the state tax rate is a flat 3%. Your state tax would be $1,800. However, since you donated a $400 tax credit, you immediately reduce that figure to $1,400. That’s the final amount of state tax you owe. To complete the scenario, let’s pretend that your W-2 form shows that you’ve paid all of the $1800 you owe the state of Arizona from your wages during the course of 2008. When you file your taxes, the state of Arizona will issue you a refund of $400! Please see your tax advisor for details.
The State of Arizona Department of Revenue requires that certain taxpayer information be included with all AZ Tax Credit contribution(s), including each donor's social security number. The school is required to report all AZ Tax Credit donor information to the state on an annual basis, and the donor's information must be correctly recorded in order for the donor to take advantage of the AZ Tax Credit on their state taxes. James Madison Preparatory School does not share this personal information with any other entity than the AZ Department of Revenue, and takes all reasonable precautions to maintain the security of this information, including secure storage and destruction of records.
The school provides a receipt for all Tax Credit contributions. Click here to make an Arizona Tax Credit contribution >> | <urn:uuid:f852eb35-d1a6-4fb0-9875-54aaf43e094c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://madisonprep.org/pages/madison_prep_guide_to_giving | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953085 | 2,016 | 1.6875 | 2 |
Tag: organic chemistry
The School of Natural and Computational Sciences congratulates Crystal Garcia for being accepted as one of 28 participants in the UT Southwestern Scholars Program in Organic Chemistry (SPOC). This program begins Tuesday, June 1, 2010 and ends Thursday, August 5, 2010.
The SPOC includes an exciting research component in which students will be randomly assigned to one of two organic chemistry research projects. The experimental course content will include supplemental exercises, and a computer game or written exercises. All the selected students benefit from this program as both groups will receive a strong foundation in organic chemistry. and will participate in a clinical preceptorship.
Crystal is looking forward to the summer, “I hope to get some new insights into the medical profession as well as learning more organic chemistry!”
We wish her well and are hoping to get an email once in a while to let us know how she is getting on!
Today I met with Hyunshun Shin, our Organic Chemist and Molecular Biologist Heidi DiFrancesca to discuss a research proposal the two are putting together. While collaboration among scientists is not unusual, I have to say that this partnership has some unique qualities. In the end, it may mean an exciting breakthrough in cancer research, productive research for the two scientists, and some incredible experiences for their students.
The project centers on a discovery made by Dr. Shin of a chemical that has shown activity against cancer cells. Though it has been proven to be potent, its toxicity has not proven to be useful (efficacious, I believe clinical folks would say). Still, previous work suggests the potential for a derivative of the compound to exhibit the Holy Grail of selective toxicity seems high. She will use part of the second half of the regular Organic Chemistry course she teaches to have her students synthesize derivatives for testing. At the same time, Dr. D’s class will test the toxicity of the derivatives against breast cancer cells and normal tissues. So, this represents students in two normal classes taken by all BIMS majors collaborating across class lines to work together in cancer research. Every BIMS major, then, will have participated in the synthesis and testing of anticancer drugs before their senior year in college. Somehow, my Organic class’s synthesis of isoamyl acetate pales in comparison!
Such use of regular classes as the stage for involving students in research is a strong reason for McMurry’s BIMS program to be recognized as one that represents the future of science education. Is this an approach you’d see at UT or MIT or Stanford? More and more, these cross-class connections will be used to teach our students through participation in science, rather than teaching them about science. We’re committed to science as a verb, rather than science as a noun!
Stay tuned for updates on how the Organic-Molecular Biology partnership is going, and on other collaborations as they develop. | <urn:uuid:2177e8e5-df8c-4a9e-abc9-7604bedf6f9c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mcm.edu/~wyatta/wordpress/?tag=organic-chemistry | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95677 | 601 | 1.671875 | 2 |
As more and more stations begin broadcasting part of their DTV spectrum to mobile devices, and about 70 stations have thus far, the required technology continues to mature and become more efficient. Now comes the hard part: finding a viable business models that will bring a reasonable return on the roughly $130,000 investment broadcasters have to make in order to get their systems up and running.
Looking around the industry, most stations are simulcasting their main DTV channel in an effort to figure out if consumers in their market are interested in a new mobile video service. Some, like WRAL-TV, in Raleigh NC, are getting a bit more creative. The CBS affiliated station there has spent the past year working on a project that integrates its mobile DTV signal with local ad-supported electronic monitors mounted in city buses.
Jimmy Goodmon, vice president of CBC New Media Group, said the partnership between his station WRAL-TV, mobile solutions provider News Over Wireless, equipment vendor Harris Broadcast and the city of Raleigh could be financially beneficial to all involved. The beta phase of the project is now winding down, and Goodmon hopes to have a market-ready system in buses and other places to support a real-world service in early 2011. There's talk of using GPS technology to dynamically change ads as the bus travels through different parts of the city and approaches a sponsor's location. The station's parent company, Capitol Broadcasting Company, is considering other ways to monetize its mobile DTV signal as well.
Others, like WSB-TV, in Atlanta, GA, are using their mobile spectrum for both radio and TV transmissions (on two separate channels).
Since a mobile DTV signal is IP-based (using H.264 encoding), other strategies call for store-and-forward, on-demand viewing whereby a station would send an electronic coupon, full-length movie or other requested content to a consumer’s cell phone or other portable device in the wee hours of the night so it can be viewed the next day. Computer electronic program guides and widgets are also possible to quickly bring users to their requested destination on the Internet as well as for commercial sponsorships.
However, thus far none of these test services have made money, due partly to the fact that there are a limited number of available phones with the required ATSC A/153-compliant receiver chip embedded, and the lack of a reliable back channel that would allow consumers to interact with the service and perhaps order content, which has not yet been clearly established for broadcasters. (Although, SMS messaging is being considered for two-way applications like voting.) The other nascent part is developing a programming lineup beyond what’s on TV that will prompt consumers to buy a new phone (or get a compatible device to add on to existing hardware) and pay a monthly subscription fee.
The latter is being experimented in Washington, D.C., as part of a consumer trial being hosted by the Open Mobile Video Coalition (OMVC), a collection of 32 station groups representing 875 stations. The trial is made up of nine local DTV stations that have pooled their spectrum to offer a total 23 channels between them. This is a model being pursued in other parts of the country for commercial launch in 2011.
After seeding the DC market with hundreds of devices — including Samsung cell phones, Dell netbook computers, LG Electronics portable DVD players and external accessories that accept a mobile DTV signal — the group has released initial results that find consumers are willing to watch local news in “snackable” (two-to-three minute intervals) amounts but also full-length TV episodes.
Anne Schelle, executive director of the OMVC, gave a presentation of the finding during the recent Content & Communications World conference in New York City. She said she expects “many more” stations to be on the air with a mobile DTV signal in 2011. In addition to mobile DTV signal propagation, the Washington, D.C., test (via Rentrak) has also provided some key audience measurement analytics, including GPS capture technology to see where and when participants are using their phones to watch television. The response from participants has been positive, with many saying that they use the service at least once a day, outside their homes. Interestingly, Tuesday was the most popular day in terms of usage minutes, and local news was the most popular content viewed.
“The results that are coming out of the D.C. test are very encouraging in terms of the value that broadcasters bring to this on-the-go service,” Schelle said.
There’s a basic (free) tier of the local stations’ programming and a premium tier for shows from networks like Discovery, MSNBC, Fox News Channel, Comcast Sportsnet, MTV (Viacom) and others. The premium channels can include conditional access technology to protect against piracy.
However, while the trial, which ends at the end of this month, has been somewhat successful in terms of usage, it’s hard to judge objectively since consumers were given devices with the receiver chips installed for free. (Samsung Moment phone owners were asked to bring in their phones so that a free chip could be installed.) Another question is when the OMVC or other mobile DTV coalitions within the industry can negotiate with a national data carrier like AT&T, Sprint or Verizon. Sprint is working with the local stations during the Washington, D.C., tests but has not committed to any type of national service going forward.
Also, perhaps most importantly, would consumers be willing to spend $40 or more per month to access local newscasts and other content wherever they are from broadcasters? Many say yes, but few broadcasters have a clear understanding of what that magic formula is.
“We’re trying to figure out if there’s a business, and we think there is, but it’s complicated,” said Ron Stitt, vice president of digital media and Internet operations for Fox Television Stations. Fox has been involved with the OMVC tests as well as with developing the ATSC A/153 mobile video standard. “It’s not a slam dunk, in terms of revenue generation for mobile TV.”
Stitt said the Washington, D.C., test has shown that consumers are willing to watch more than short clips on their cell phones. “Clearly there’s an audience for long-form programming on mobile devices,” he said. “There is potential for consumer adoption [of mobile DTV], but putting together a business to support that is not easy. There’s a million moving parts that the industry has to grapple with. But consumers appear willing to pay for it, if we identify the right price point.”
Alluding to the recent shutdown of Qualcomm’s national FLO TV service, he added, “It’s also clear that if you don’t have local news as part of your mobile service, you are dead in the water.”
Salil Davi, senior vice president of Mobile Platforms at NBC Universal’s digital distribution division has had a lot of experience with mobile video services during recent Olympics broadcasts as well as other programming, leveraging the AT&T and Verizon platforms. He understands the challenges and feels broadcasters have a real chance for success … once they find a business model that plays to their strengths.
“We’re big believers in the opportunities presented by mobile DTV, but it’s complicated right now, and there are a lot of steps to get from here to there,” Davi said. “As we look at the bigger picture, the world is getting more complicated and there are a lot of ways for media companies like ours to distribute content. Yet, what we believe is unique about mobile DTV is that across this entire landscape, delivering live television is a very difficult technical proposition to execute on. As you scale up, the delivery of mobile TV is very hard to get simultaneous usage on a 3G or 4G network. We think broadcasters have an unparalleled distribution platform for allowing a large of number of people to consumer video content.”
After seeing consumers react positively to the signage displaying local news on a city bus driving in and around Raleigh, Capitol Broadcasting's Goodmon said mobile DTV business models will reveal themselves when broadcasters generate enough consumer demand in their markets to prompt chip makers and wireless carriers to make the chips available in large enough quantities to get local businesses interested in advertising.
“Everyone asks me what we think the business model is for mobile DTV” he said. “There are hundreds of millions of computers, cell phones and other portable devices that right now cannot receive our signals,” Goodmon said. All of these devices, whether they hang on your wall or not, are TVs. “Mobile DTV gives us the ability to significantly increase the number of people who watch our programs and therefore increase the value of our advertising. It's like doubling or tripling the TV households in America. That is a business model. And it's only the beginning.” | <urn:uuid:63224fc6-4602-4589-8ab8-df252c95e6cf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://broadcastengineering.com/news/Mobile-DTV-in-search-of-a-business-model | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960802 | 1,877 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Scrapbooker’s often get into a rut when it comes to specific pictures. They envision this amazing layout, and the inspiration to create it just never comes. My hopes with the Monday challenges are that you get the pictures out of the boxes and onto the pages and not put so much focus on elaborate layouts. Today’s challenge is to create a layout in which you spend no more than 30 minutes on it.
Don’t focus on creating such an incredibly elaborate layout. Just focus on the photographs you have chosen, create the design and then place the photographs. You can embellish, but don’t allow it to go over your 30 minutes.
It will be hard for some of you. I know. Especially if you are used to creating one hour and over layouts. But it is such a waste of time, if your main goal is to get your photographs into albums. Many of you leave your layouts out and come back to them again and again, to add or take away certain elements. I am asking you in this challenge, to avoid that. This layout should take 30 minutes, and should be completed all in one sitting.
Here are a few tips to make this challenge a bit easier.
Organize your photos and scrapbooking elements first. Have photographs ready already that you plan to use, along with papers and anything else you might need. This is a great time to use up some of those page kits.
Journal with a pen. Don’t worry about the computer. The challenge is to complete the page in the half hour time set aside. So you will need to journal in your own handwriting.
Use a Timer. Set a timer, alarm clock or cell phone for 30 minutes.
No Distraction. Eliminate distractions for that half hour. No phone, no kids, no television to distract you.
That’s it. Get to it. I’d love to hear about it or you can add your layout to the gallery if you would like, and then let me know in the comments.
Oh, and here’s mine. It turned out alright, considering I had NO idea what I was going to do. Sorry about the different sizes, hopefully I can fix that next time. | <urn:uuid:a55c4275-8eae-4d66-be6f-ee6903695e0f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.families.com/blog/monday-layout-challenge-30-minute-layout | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947933 | 467 | 1.578125 | 2 |
The Daily Monitor, a newspaper from Uganda’s capital city, Kampala, is reporting that the nation’s Catholic bishops have reversed their decision and now support an anti-homosexual bill, which at one point called for the death penalty for lesbian and gay people. Along with other religious leaders, they are now calling for the criminalization of homosexuality bill to be revived.
The article states:
“Speaking after their recent annual conference organised by the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC), an ecumenical body which brings together the Anglican, Catholic and Orthodox churches, the bishops resolved that the parliamentary committee on Gender should be tasked to engage the House on the Bill which is now at committee level.
“ ‘We also ask the Education committee to engage the Ministry of Education on the issue of incorporating a topic on human sexuality in the curricula of our schools and institutions of learning,’ the resolutions signed by archbishops Henry Luke Orombi [Anglican], Cyprian Kizito Lwanga [Roman Catholic] and Metropolitan Jonah Lwanga [Eastern Orthodox], indicated.
“The clerics also appealed to all the churches in the country ‘to remain steadfast in opposing the phenomena of homosexuality, lesbianism and same-sex union.’ ”
The website Care2.com carries an article which highlights the Catholic reversal on this bill, noting:
“The Catholic Church had previously been the sole major religion in Uganda in opposition to the bill. . . .
“The Vatican came out strongly and publicly against the bill and, Wikileaks revealed, even lobbied against it. Uganda watchers say that the change by the Ugandan Catholic church is ‘very serious’ and that the UJCC resolution was pushed by an Anglican Bishop.”
An earlier version of this posting, based on a report from an African news source, suggested that the bill contained the death penalty as punishment for homosexuality, as it originally had. A later report indicated that the death penalty has been removed from this bill.
Five previous Bondings 2.0 posts have dealt with the situation of lesbian and gay people in Uganda:
December 23, 2011: A Gay Catholic in Uganda Speaks; Cardinal George Should Listen
December 26, 2011: Breaking the Catholic Silence on LGBT Human Rights Violations
January 26, 2012: NEWS NOTES: January 26, 2012
March 4, 2012: When Will the Pope Speak Out, Too?
International outcry, starting with the Vatican, can help to sway Uganda from undertaking this gross human rights violation.
–Francis DeBernardo, New Ways Ministry | <urn:uuid:9fdd2d6e-5dd7-45df-a249-318d1e8d997f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newwaysministryblog.wordpress.com/2012/06/11/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949362 | 541 | 1.5 | 2 |
imiglucerase - injection, Cerezyme
GENERIC NAME: IMIGLUCERASE - INJECTION (im-eh-GLUE-ser-aze)
BRAND NAME(S): Cerezyme
USES: Imiglucerase is used to treat a certain rare genetic problem (Gaucher disease). Imiglucerase replaces a certain natural substance (an enzyme called glucocerebrosidase) that is missing in people with Gaucher disease.This medication improves blood, bone, liver, and spleen problems caused by Gaucher disease. Imiglucerase does not correct the genetic problem, and treatment must be continued for life.
HOW TO USE: This medication is given slowly into a vein over 1 to 2 hours or as directed by your doctor. Your dose and how often it is given depends on your weight, condition, and response to treatment. Your doctor may direct you to receive it as often as 3 times per week or as little as once every 2 weeks. Follow your doctor's directions carefully.If you are giving this medication to yourself at home, learn all preparation and usage instructions from your health care professional. Before using, check this product visually for particles or discoloration. If either is present, do not use the liquid. Learn how to store and discard medical supplies safely.Tell your doctor if your condition persists or worsens. Blood, liver, and spleen problems usually improve in the first year of treatment. It may take 2 to 3 years of treatment to see the full benefit to your bones.
Back to Medications Index
Get the latest health and medical information delivered direct to your inbox FREE! | <urn:uuid:b7adbff8-c28f-4c7a-a5f9-85d15279ab30> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.medicinenet.com/imiglucerase-injection/article.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.932179 | 340 | 1.789063 | 2 |
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Jeremy Lin and New York Knicks Part Ways: Why it Means So Much to Asian Americans
The story is everywhere now -- Jeremy Lin is no longer a Knick.
Blame James Dolan, owner of the New York Knicks. Many have. On the other side, maybe Jeremy Lin shouldn't have re-negotiated his contract offer to make it so expensive for the Knicks to match. However this has played out, and however Linsanity continues, the story will now take place in Houston rather than New York.
Will Jeremy Lin get more shots and a better opportunity to develop outside of the shadow of Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire? Perhaps. Is it stupid for the Knicks and MSG to turn their back on the young phenom when the company has gained $600 million in value since Jeremy Lin became the starter on the Knicks? Signs point to "yes." And were there not a number of possibilities that the Knicks could have figured out to work around paying a luxury tax on Lin if he ultimately did not work out for the team? There were several.
But what's done is done, and frankly, what upsets me the most aren't the basketball reasons. As an Asian-American, Jeremy Lin could have done more for Asian-America being a member of the Knicks than on just about any other team in the NBA. Unfortunately, that's a narrative we'll likely never see again, and America is worse off for it.
It's difficult trying to explain this outside of the scope of Asian-America. Questions about why there hasn't been a romantic leading role for an Asian-American male, or why there isn't a prominent lead actor of Asian-American ethnicity aren't questions that appear a lot in mainstream circles. Stereotypes that Asian males are somehow less masculine aren't things that most people have to deal with. Most people don't see that we're living in a country where only one percent of corporate board members are Asian-American. But I do. And these are questions and concerns that rack my brain enough as an Asian-American that I feel a social obligation to at least say something about it rather than to let them go unnoticed.
Which is one of the reasons Linsanity was so extraordinary.
No matter where one went, it was almost impossible to not notice what was going on with Lin and the Knicks. Jeremy Lin was playing at a high level on one of the biggest market teams in the biggest city in the country. The networks didn't need to change their schedule to accommodate Linsanity; with the Knicks playing in a large market, a third of its games were already being nationally televised, allowing for Linsanity to break out over games that were already planned for national broadcast. Call it East Coast Bias or whatever you may, but two of Lin's biggest games -- his 38 point outburst against the Lakers and his 28 points and 14 assists against the Mavs -- were both nationally televised games. To compare, Houston didn't have a single aired on ESPN, ABC, or TNT in that same two-week span.
It's hard to imagine Linsanity happening anywhere else but New York. It's the largest city in the nation, it's multi-cultural, and it has a level of exposure that few other cities are exposed to not just in this country, but the world. If it can break into the mainstream in NYC, then it's almost inevitable that it will be exposed to the rest of the United States. Even if Jeremy Lin breaks out in Houston next season, the amount of focus and attention from changing a zip code will be enough that his relevance will have lessened. Will dedicated basketball fans notice? Of course. This, however, is about the mainstream.
And that's the point I'm getting at. To break into the mainstream, the level of exposure has to be there. People don't quote "Call Me Maybe" because a couple hipsters talked about it while drinking kombucha at a Whole Foods. People quote it because Justin Bieber tweeted it out to 25 million people, a meme followed, and because it's on every pop radio station in the world.
When the level of exposure was so high during the peak of Jeremy Lin's run with the Knicks, it meant that we as Americans had to talk about it. There he was, on newspapers, television, and radio, and the conversation was not only about his incredible run, but how someone like him could have been overlooked by so many. Along the way, a discussion began about his race and his nationality, but not in a way that was obtrusive. Instead, it was organic, as was the gradual acceptance of his ability to play the game.
Perhaps the most telling moment -- and the one example that really captures this the most -- was the "Chink in the Armor" comment, which was not written with any malcontent, but rather a lack of understanding of context. It's difficult to blame a lack of understanding on any one person because the United States is so diverse and spread apart, but what happened did create a nationwide commentary that was seen and discussed on a level that few issues regarding Asian-Americans and race have in recent years. Awareness that it's even an issue at all doesn't happen unless the conversation begins, and it's questionable whether or not we make it to the conversation outside of the vacuum that created Linsanity.
Does that conversation happen had he stayed a Rocket, or even a Warrior? Probably not, or at the very least, not at the same level.
As a basketball player, it's understandable that Jeremy Lin would want to keep the focus on basketball. He's earned that, and it's unfair to expect him to play the role of ambassador. The beauty of him being in New York is that he wouldn't have to; there is enough in print and press on New York as it is that he or any other person wouldn't have to force the issue. One could make the argument that the impact of those weeks in February may have been enough to raise awareness, and he's already earned plenty of fans as well as detractors to validate that what he this this past season was discussion worthy. It's amazing in and of itself that his move to the Rockets could take attention away from Dwight Howard's free agent drama.
Nonetheless, there will always be a part of me that wonders how the story would have continued, not to mention what the effects on Asian-America might have been, had the Knicks given him the opportunity to stay in New York.
Brandon Tomyoy is a part-time writer and podcaster for The No-Look Pass. You can follow him on Twitter: @dingyu.
Sign up for the OV Daily Newsletter | <urn:uuid:bfa276a5-59ce-45a1-81f0-30948558c285> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.opposingviews.com/i/sports/nba/jeremy-lin-and-new-york-knicks-part-ways-why-it-means-so-much-asian-americans | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982271 | 1,436 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Edmund G. Munson, vice president of Munson Brothers Company of Utica and one of the highly energetic
and successful business men of the city, was born at Utica, August 12, 1876. He is a son of Countil and Florence
A. Munson, both of whom are deceased, and a grandson of Edmund and Sarah (Gardner) Munson. The family has been
well known in central New York for more than half a century and among its members have been some of the most capable
business men of Oneida county. The original American ancestor was Thomas Munson, who settled in this country about
1637 and was a pioneer of Hartford and New Haven. He served as deputy in the general assembly and also held other
offices, being one of the leading men in the colony. His only son, Samuel Munson, was one of the founders of Wallingford,
Connecticut. Ephriam Munson served in the Revolutionary war. Edmund Munson, the grandfather of our subject, was
a son of Samuel Munson, seventh in descent from Thomas Munson. Edmund Munson, his son, was born at Barkhamsted,
Connecticut, May 2, 1805 and in 1835 came to Utica, New York. He engaged in the miffing business with A. C. Hart,
but the firm was later dissolved and in 1869 he associated with his three sons, Edmund, Jr., Alfred H. and Countil,
in the null furnishing business under the style of Munson Brothers. Mr. Munson possessed rare inventive genius
and secured several important patents on milling appliances. He was a good business man and acquired a fortune.
Religiously he was an earnest believer in the Universalist faith and was a liberal supporter of that denomination.
Edmund G. Munson grew up under the favoring conditions of a peaceful home and acquired his preliminary education
in the public schools. From boyhood he was familiar with the mill machinery business and as a young man became
secretary of the firm of which his father was a member, now known as Munson Brothers Company. In 1911 he was elected
vice president of the cornpany, a position for which he is eminently qualified by experience and natural ability.
The company has gained a wide reputation in the manufacture of mill machinery and supplies, the plant being one
of the most complete of the kind in New York state.
A representative of the third generation of the family in Oneida county, Mr. Munson has proven thoroughly efficient
and progressive in a business which has grown to large proportions and gives promise of still further expansion
in the immediate future. His life has been governed by principles of honesty and integrity which he early learned,
and he can claim a host of friends who have been attracted by his genial qualities. Socially he is identified with
the Fort Schuyler, Areanum and Yahnundahsis Golf Clubs; he is also a member of the American Society of Mechanical
Engineers of New York.
History of Oneida County, New York
From 1700 to the present time
of some of its prominent men and pioneers.
By: Henry J. Cookinham
The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company
Oneida County, NY
For all your genealogy needs visit Linkpendium | <urn:uuid:744e8ab6-2a57-4194-ba5f-dd4e1bf9eed5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.onlinebiographies.info/ny/onei/munson-eg.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972607 | 694 | 1.710938 | 2 |
IN DREAMS BEGIN RESPONSIBILITY
W. B. YEATS
MARGOT BOWMAN 2011
SUBJECT : NATHALIE OLAH
PHOTOGRAPHY : ARIANE LEBLANC
If I didn’t view my decision to be an artist as carrying some responsibility I knew I’d soon fall into that bracket of self-professed ‘creative’, forever pursuing half-arsed ventures destined for the bin or worse still, fifteen minutes of fame. The work I’ve produced so far stems from a sense of responsibility that is two-fold. I have an obligation to work as hard as I can on my chosen profession; but the only reason I chose this profession in the first place was because I always felt I had to share the stories that existed in my head.
Ideas have always been associated with weight. The initial excitement of a thought is always followed by that much more daunting problem of how to realise it. I live that anxiety and prioritise it above all else.
The quotation comes from W. B. Yeats whose poetry often takes this dilemma as its subject matter. It was also said by Keats (who died at 26) : ‘O for ten years…so I may do the deed/ That my own soul has to itself decreed.”
Nathalie has writing plays for the last few years one of which received critical acclaim at last years Edinburgh festival. she has just finished her first novel and is working towards and exhibition in October.
Painted Truths is published monthly in Notion Magazine
Margot Bowman is an Artist and Designer living in London. She is the creative director of The Estethetica Review,
a publication focused on ethical fashion published biannually in conjunction with the British Fashion Council. Other ongoing projects include the Painted Truths series, 15Folds and everythingissoamazing.com. Making work to challenge the expected, the strange beautiful and the imagined physical.
Please contact Ella Dror PR
Ella Dror : Ella@elladrorpr.com
Ashley Smith : Ash@elladrorpr.com
89a Shacklewell Lane
All content is copyright © Margot Bowman and is protected by International copyright laws. No image may be used whole or in part, individually, or as part of a derivative work without express permission | <urn:uuid:90f68b2c-dc00-435c-adbc-727b12703d40> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.margotbowman.com/2011/09/28/366/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958046 | 501 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Energy ombudsmen are girding themselves for a flood of complaints as consumers open the first bills bearing the full impact of the latest electricity price rises.
In NSW, the energy and water Ombudsman, Clare Petre, is predicting a 30 per cent rise in complaints in the next 12 months as people go into bill shock, while her Victorian counterpart, Cynthia Gebert, thinks the load may increase by 20 per cent to 25 per cent.
This is after approved price rises averaging 18 per cent in NSW and ranging up to 14 per cent in Victoria, where retail prices are not regulated. This comes on top of rises of a similar scale last year.
''There's an enormous amount of anxiety in the community and people are querying their bills more,'' Petre says. That focus will lead to an increase in disputed bills and, even when bills are correct, to elevated complaints about customer service.
Complaints are also bound to flow from the increased marketing to consumers that's evident at the moment and, later, from customers disappointed that a deal was not quite what they thought it would be, she says.
On the plus side, it is a great time to negotiate with energy suppliers - potentially playing one against the other as the offers flow.
''It's a very competitive market in NSW,'' Petre says. ''Retailers are very keen to hold on to customers and others are very keen to get them.''
With retailers changing prices more independently in Victoria, Gebert says there is also good reason to shop around there.
The chief executive of the independent research group the Climate Institute, John Connor, says taking control of your power use and investing in energy efficiency are other ways to offset the price increases.
Connor offers the reality check that electricity accounts for just 2 per cent of the average household's budget, according to Bureau of Statistics data.
That means one further option is to offset your higher electricity bill with savings in other categories of spending, he says.
TRICKS OF THE TRADE
Electricity consumers have the choice of buying their power on a regulated contract or on a market contract.
The price rises that have been making headlines refer to the regulated price, and it may be possible to cut your bill by changing to a market contract. If you are already on a market contract, you may be able to find a provider with a better offer - the key word being ''better''.
Petre and Gebert say they get complaints from people disappointed that an offer did not turn out to be what they thought.
''What consumers think they're getting and what they get when they do receive that first bill can vary quite a bit,'' Gebert says.
That can be because the fine print makes the contract less generous than it might seem at first glance.
For instance, the discount offered may not apply to your total bill but only to your actual usage, rather than service fees and other charges.
Depending on your pattern of usage, you might be better off switching to a provider with less onerous fees, even if they are offering a smaller discount on usage, or to a provider who has a lower base rate anyway.
Under some contracts you may lose some or all of your discount if you don't pay your bill on time (also incurring a late payment fee). There may be a fee for paying by credit card.
The highly publicised One Big Switch campaign, for instance, has been criticised for trumpeting discounts of 16 per cent to 18 per cent when, according to one analysis of the scenario for customers in western Sydney, that discount is calculated off a rate that is higher than the regulated tariff to start with. Also, some of the fixed charges are comparatively high and the discount slumps to 3 per cent if payment is late.
''I'd encourage consumers to understand their bill as much as they can,'' Gebert says of the need to study any contract closely.
''How much of their bill is usage - therefore, how much can they control - versus fixed charges?''
Petre says complaints also arise about energy contracts when people discover discounts do not necessarily apply to future price increases.
''People get upset when they think they've signed up for a fixed contract … but it actually says network price increases are excluded and will be passed on,'' Petre says.
Termination fees are another tripwire.
The ombudsmen say that before signing a new contract you should check whether your previous contract has run its course and, if not, the extent of any termination fees. Those fees could more than wipe out the gain from a new deal.
Petre is also concerned about problems with the automatic renewal of contracts - something that was intended to protect consumers from defaulting to a more expensive regulated rate but which is having some unintended consequences.
''The retailer may write to you and say, 'Your contract's coming up for conclusion. You can renew or you can go elsewhere, but if we don't hear from you we will roll over your contract.' Many customers contact us to say they didn't get that letter, they didn't know the contract had been rolled over, they switched and then they got a letter saying, 'Please pay this termination fee'.''
Working all this out when a marketer comes knocking on your door can be a big ask, but that is the approach some energy providers take.
''Standing on your front doorstep and trying to understand the complexities of the electricity industry is challenging for anyone, I'd suggest,'' Gebert says.
''We'd encourage consumers not to sign anything until they're completely comfortable.'' That applies even if the sales patter is that this is a ''once-only'' limited offer. Take time out to read the contract closely and do your own sums, using your past bills, to ensure you get a true comparison.
If you do sign up during one these visits, be aware that a cooling-off period of 10 business days applies to door-to-door sales and you should be given the paperwork for this during the visit.
The industry, in light of growing complaints, has a new code of practice aimed at improving door-to-door marketing standards. This provides for the deregistering of individual door-to-door marketers if they breach the code - for instance, by making misleading statements. The code is available at energyassured.com.au.
The chief executive of the Handle My Complaint service, Jo Ucukalo, says it pays to keep a copy of everything a marketer gives you.
If you decide to opt out of a contract within the cooling-off period, also keep a copy of the form you submit to rescind your decision.
Whenever a salesperson makes an assertion, get it in writing, Ucukalo says. On the phone, ask for the representative's name and employee number, and keep your own record of what was agreed. And if they tell you the information is ''in the system'', insist on written confirmation.
The ombudsman services have also been receiving complaints about ''comparison'' services (although they refer such complaints to fair trading or financial services authorities).
''Our main concern is the lack of comprehensive information and independence,'' Petre says.
''We know that they don't represent all retailers in the market.''
The Federal Court last month ordered Energy Watch (now in liquidation) to pay $1.95 million for falsely representing that its service compared the rates of all or many of the energy providers in a consumer's area, when in fact it only compared rates from retailers with which it had commercial agreements.
In NSW, Petre points people to the impartial comparison service provided by the Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal (IPART) at myenergyoffers.nsw.gov.au. And in Victoria, the Essential Services Commission has a similarly independent and full comparison tool at yourchoice.vic.gov.au.
As for cutting your usage, Connor says that may be about ''having a fresh look at what comfort means'' and turning the clock back to the days when people wore another layer rather than turning on the heater.
Shift energy use to cheaper times of the day if you have access to off-peak tariffs, Connor says.
This could be as simple as putting the washing machine on before you go to bed (using the cold-water cycle). Invest in energy efficiency in the form of products such as energy-saving power boards and high-efficiency downlights, he says. Get rid of the second fridge and turn appliances off at the wall so you are not using standby power.
According to IPART, the biggest users of energy are hot water (31 per cent), refrigeration (14 per cent) heating (12 per cent), TV and entertainment (10 per cent) and lighting (7 per cent).
Swimming pools, hot water systems, second fridges and spas use a lot of energy, it says, along with airconditioners, clothes dryers and even dishwashers.
Energy companies provide power-saving ideas on their websites, or you can get specific advice by arranging an energy audit of your home or conducting one yourself using a template such as the one at aglsmarterliving.com.au/home-energy-audit/do-it-yourself.
Back to basics - everything old is new again
Lee Stewart estimates that he has cut his power use by about 20 per cent, even as a tenant who can't make big changes to his home.
Stewart lives in rented accommodation in north Sydney with his wife and young children and has relied on simple, low-cost and non-invasive steps - such as draught-proofing, insulating the hot-water cylinder, using the sun to dry clothes, installing energy-efficient light bulbs and turning off appliances at the wall - to save standby power.
He has removed two of the four bulbs from the ceiling heat lamp in the bathroom without affecting his family's comfort.
Part of his approach is about returning to the practices of his parents, Stewart says, such as turning off the light when leaving a room and heating only one room in winter.
"I guess I was frustrated at not owning a home and therefore not being able to take advantage of these solar schemes, etc, so I decided to get stuck in," says Stewart, who last year trained with American climate-change campaigner Al Gore to be a volunteer "climate leader".
Big savings from extra insulation
Danielle King says she's halved her energy use by retrofitting the family room, saving nearly $2000 on power bills in the two years since her renovations.
King installed double glazing and insulation, draught-proofed the room, installed more energy-efficient lighting and reinstated a door to the hallway. "The house was very cold and draughty," King says.
Now she can close the door and keep the family room warm. "Open plan is lovely - you get that sense of space and freedom - but from a thermal point of view, it's a nightmare," King, who works as a sustainability adviser, says.
"You can't keep a house warm when it's open plan."
She says the family room is now about eight degrees warmer than the rest of the house in winter. Adjustable shading means airconditioning is not required in summer. | <urn:uuid:852379c1-9a09-4e52-92bd-8c049dc3154e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/237088/lighten-the-load/?cs=29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960443 | 2,321 | 1.8125 | 2 |
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Mr. Chairman, the bill includes authorization for $300 million to the Energy Department for programs that will establish demonstration grants for solar technology projects. What my amendment does is include a requirement that the Department use some of this money to evaluate the potential benefits of very large solar projects.
The amendment is prompted by a January 2008 article that appeared in Scientific American, part of their Big Ideas series. Folks out there who want to read the article, I think you could probably just Google ``Solar Grand Plan,'' Scientific American, January 2008, and you would see an excellent discussion by three scientists of the possibility that we could create in the Southwest a 3,000-gigawatt facility that delivers solar power to the Nation. It would produce enough solar power by 2050, according to these scientists, to meet 69 percent of our electricity needs and 35 percent of our overall energy needs.
The idea is that some 30,000 acres, or square miles, I am not sure which, but a large hunk of land in the Southwest would be covered by solar facilities. The energy would be collected during the day, distributed nationwide on an improved grid, a lot of that grid would probably be direct current, stored during the day underground in high pressure underground caverns, with the pressure released overnight in order to provide the power overnight.
One of the beauties of the suggestion is that it feeds back into the existing distribution facilities that we have, so we would not have to change, if we were using DC transmission, to DC power, but instead would continue using AC power in our existing facilities.
I don't know whether something like this will work, but if these scientists are right, the costs seem quite reasonable for the reward that we would realize. The energy is completely clean, it essentially frees us from dependence upon foreign sources of energy, and consequently meets both the security need and environmental need at the exact same time.
Big ideas like this require study and evaluation before they are put together in some sort of implementation project, and consequently we only contemplate in the amendment that there will be an evaluation of this kind of concept as opposed to actual demonstration projects.
The $300 million that has been given to the Energy Department for these demonstration projects, no doubt they are going to be smaller projects, much smaller projects, than something as large as this. What we contemplate is that there be an evaluation of whether or not a 100-gigawatt solar facility makes sense and should be supported somehow by the Federal Government.
The authors of this Scientific American article printed in January of 2008 estimated that the Federal investment to accomplish what in essence would free us altogether from foreign sources of energy, the estimate of the Federal investment over a 20-year period of time, would be $450 billion. Spread over a 20-year period of time, a $450 billion investment that would actually give us energy independence and an awful lot of clean energy seems to me to be something that we ought to be evaluating, and that is why I suggested the amendment.
With that, I request the adoption of my amendment.
I reserve the balance of my time.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT | <urn:uuid:86b8ccd7-6891-4075-ba9b-b8db80b57b5e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://votesmart.org/public-statement/463963/solar-technology-roadmap-act | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969683 | 647 | 1.78125 | 2 |
We’ve all heard about the dangers of data loss, the importance of data backup and, in particular, ensuring that your key small business data is adequately protected. This is why most small and mid-sized businesses, and even SOHOs these days, make use of NAS appliances with at least RAID 1 configured for data mirroring protection.
While the most critical data is typically adequately protected, associated information such as source code, business documents and yes, even email messages are very often left out of regular backups due to cost considerations. In addition, proper backup procedures mandate that a separate copy of all pertinent data should be made, and preferably stored at a different location -- stringent requirements that may not be adhered to in the first place.
Today, we take a look at three types of problems that can arise in the absence of proper data backups and disaster recovery planning.
The disgruntled IT worker is hardly a new phenomenon. Indeed, the past year alone has seen some prominent cases where former employees took it upon themselves to erase entire banks of virtualized servers, or even wipe out all the corporate mailboxes in the company. Clearly, the use of a NAS (or SAN) would have offered no defense against such shenanigans by insiders. Only a comprehensive disaster recovery strategy where everything is backed up on a regular basis may have a chance of returning things to normalcy within an acceptable period of time.
Damage to Storage Medium
Many workers make the erroneous assumption that storing data on a portable hard disk drive (HDD) or USB flash drive constitutes a backup. This is certainly not the case, and such portable devices are in fact more susceptible to being misplaced, stolen, or damaged. In addition, it is important to remember that not all storage devices are designed for longevity in mind, or even for robust data preservation.
Do note that some mediums are particularly prone to damage, such as rewritable optical discs made with inferior dyes. Also, don’t be surprised if that suspiciously cheap USB flash drive you bought at the flea market abruptly stops working after a year or two.
I had an experience with this exact scenario just this weekend. When transferring thousands of email messages between two email servers, I carelessly opted to initiate the transfer moving key folders directly between the two locations. It was a bad decision because not all the data made it to the destination server before Outlook decided to call it quits (by crashing), even though the deletion from the origin took place immediately.
The loss of these emails was distressing because while I don’t make money from writing emails, they play an enormously important role by helping me connect with my editors, PR folks, and various expert sources. Thankfully, some tips from an Exchange expert allowed me to restore the more than 35,000 emails.
So what is my point here? Accidents can happen to anyone, even a seasoned computer user. The only real remedy would be to have separate copies of your data handy when mistakes happen.
Have you ever experienced losing important data? Feel free to share in the comments section below.
Paul Mah covers technology for SMBs for Small Business Computing and for IT Business Edge. He also shares his passion for and knowledge of everything from networking to operating systems as an instructor at Republic Polytechnic in Singapore, and is a contributor to a number of tech sites, including Ars Technica and TechRepublic.
|Do you have a comment or question about this article or other small business topics in general? Speak out in the SmallBusinessComputing.com Forums. Join the discussion today!| | <urn:uuid:811d1677-b349-4300-96f1-c8b0d1e02856> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/news/3-reasons-proper-data-backup-matters.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951036 | 728 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Dexter Palmer on writing The Dream of Perpetual Motion
I began writing the work that eventually became The Dream of Perpetual Motion in
1996. Basically, it was a means of procrastination, since it allowed me to write something
instead of the papers for the courses I was taking in graduate school. Fittingly, the book
that inspired it was one that was sitting in the library stacks next to some other forgotten
book that I should have been reading as research for a paper (which was to have been on
H. G. Wells novel Tono-Bungay). That book was called Futuredays, and it contained a
reproduction of illustrations for a series of cigarette cards drawn by the artist Jean-Marc
Côtéin 1900 that purported to show what life would be like in the year 2000.
What was interesting to me from my perspective, just on the edge of the millennium
that these images claimed to predict with tongue in cheek, wasnt so much the renderings
of alternate forms of transportation that took up most of the collection, but the manner in
which some things that apparently seemed fantastic to Côté came off as mundane to me,
such as the idea of receiving the news through an audio recording. (On the other hand,
there were other instances where Côté wildly missed the mark, even if he was making a
jokefor example, an image that depicts a group of people warming themselves at a
fireplace that holds not a pile of burning logs, but what appears to be a large chunk of
Côtés reverent portrayal of now-mundane communication methods seemed to me to
relate to some of the academic work I was interested in, work that concerned the place
where meaning sits between a text and its reader--that is, whether an author imbues a text
with a meaning during the composition process that it is the readers job to unearth, or
whether a text created by an author is essentially inert and only acquires meaning when a
reader looks upon it, or whether the truth is something in the middle. Moreover, I was
interested in whether the answer to that question changed depending on whether the text
was mechanically reproduced (a printed pamphlet instead of a handwritten letter, for
example) or, as is increasingly the case in our world, the text was initially authored by a
computer (as every list of Google search results arguably is).
Writing this novel allowed me the pleasure of storytelling while also letting
me figure out what these ideas had to do with each other. Initially Id intended
its setting to be that of the fanciful world predicted by these cards, but as
the novel progressed I was influenced by other workssilent science-fiction films
such as Metropolis and Woman in the Moon; psychiatric manuals from
the 1850s; black-and-white Disney cartoons; music videos directed by Mark Romanek.
Eventually, the book also began to involve other related concepts that my mind
was on, until it began to coalesce into a coherent whole through the process of
revision and deletion. Two full top-to-bottom rewrites (the first draft was entirely
handwritten) got it into a shape that was good enough for me to be willing to
show it to someone else; then began the process of submission to agents and editors
that eventually led to its publication.
Most of the initial composition of this novel happened before steampunk became
the trend it is now. When I first came across the concept of steampunk, it was
as an oddball outgrowth of what was then the far more popular genre of cyberpunk,
and its definition was very narrowI think Ive read exactly one novel that fits
that original earlier definition, The Difference Engine by William Gibson
and Bruce Sterling. But in the meantime the term has come to encompass not just
science-fiction stories set in a meticulously re-imagined Victorian eraretro-futuristic
works that arent remotely Victorian (such as the film Brazil) are now
considered steampunk, while works of science fiction that were actually written
during the Victorian period (such as the novels of Jules Verne) have also been
retroactively grandfathered in.
And so though this work wouldnt have been considered steampunk back when I
was writing it, it seems to be steampunk now. To me, this speaks less to the dilution of
what steampunk is defined asafter all, the newest words are the ones most apt to
change their meanings over timethan to the continuing blurring of the boundaries
between all genres and categories of literature. My favorite books tend to be those that
pull from a number of different genres, or that arent interested in ultimately meaningless
distinctions between high and low culture. So, in short, Ive written the kind of novel I
like to read, in the hope that others will enjoy it as well.
Unless otherwise stated, this interview was conducted at the time the book was first published, and is reproduced with permission of the publisher.
This interview may not be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the copyright holder.
Judge rules unused Borders gift cards to be worthless(May 23 2013) Borders owes nothing to holders of roughly $210.5 million of gift cards that had not been used by the time the bookstore chain shut down, a Manhattan federal... | <urn:uuid:951280bb-bf7e-498a-b70d-c9258a2be7cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookbrowse.com/author_interviews/full/index.cfm/author_number/1845/dexter-palmer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972446 | 1,126 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Joining a Community
When you rent housing, you are entering into a contract with more people than just your landlord; you are entering into a social contract with your neighbors. Antagonism with those living nearby can be time-consuming and a source of aggravation for all concerned. Considerate and courteous behavior can lead you into neighborhood friendships that will expand your sphere of experience and enrich your stay in Ithaca.
Make an effort to meet your neighbors, especially if they are not students. Establishing a pleasant relationship early will help to avoid friction in the future. There's now more secure feeling than knowing you have a neighbor to help you if you've got a problem. Most neighbors are glad to help and even need help sometimes themselves. Living in the neighborhoods surrounding Ithaca College is an experience that you will remember your entire life. Remember to be a good neighbor and your stay in the community will be an enriching one. | <urn:uuid:fa78323b-1fd9-4707-bfc0-3b45e9a3ddbb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ithaca.edu/reslife/off_campus/community/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965668 | 192 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Did you notice that e-books became a little more expensive after Apple entered the game with iBooks? So did the U.S. Department of Justice, which may be threatening to sue Apple and e-book publishers for allegedly colluding to raise prices.
The Wall Street Journal reports that along with Apple, five publishers are facing a potential government lawsuit: Simon & Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Penguin Group, Macmillan and HarperCollins. Some publishers are trying to settle before the Justice Department takes legal action, but not every publisher is involved in negotiations, the Journal reports.
At issue is a change in e-book business models that took hold when Apple opened its iBookstore in 2010. Before then, most major publishers were working with a “wholesale” model, in which an e-book seller such as Amazon pays roughly half the recommended cover price, and then sets its own pricing. If Amazon wanted to establish Kindle as the leading e-book seller, it could sell its books for cut-rate prices, or even at a loss.
When Apple entered the market, it offered a different model. Publishers could set their own selling prices and take 70 percent of the revenue. This so-called “agency” model is also how Apple’s App Store works, and publishers liked it because they could prevent a race to the bottom in e-book pricing. As the Journal notes, the agency model also allowed other e-book sellers to stay competitive with Amazon, preventing an iTunes-like situation where one retailer would dominate the competition.
So naturally, the agency model became a lot more popular after Apple entered the business. Apple also reportedly stipulated that publishers who used the agency model couldn’t sell their books for cheaper elsewhere.
Although the average price of e-books has fallen since 2009, that’s largely due to bargain pricing on certain books. For bestsellers, Amazon’s old practice of selling them for $10 apiece has largely gone away. Most New York Times Best Sellers now cost between $12 and $15 in Kindle format. In some cases, publishers have charged more for the e-book version than its print counterpart.
Still, there’s no easy answer on whether agency pricing has been good or bad for consumers. No one likes higher prices, but the level playing field means companies like Barnes & Noble, Apple and Kobo must compete on hardware and software features instead of e-book prices. In other words, consumers may be paying more, but getting a better reading experience.
The DOJ isn’t the only entity looking to ding Apple and publishers over e-book prices. They also face a class-action lawsuit and investigations by the European Union. By the time this is all over, chances are the e-book industry’s business model will change yet again.
(MORE: E-Books Are Saving the Classics) | <urn:uuid:35048491-399b-4eb8-b1c1-a02dbed4dab2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://techland.time.com/2012/03/08/justice-department-threatens-apple-publishers-over-e-book-pricing/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955713 | 602 | 1.703125 | 2 |
This is some interesting speculation: The Once And Future Republic. A cogent excerpt:
The fact is that the remnant Lilliputian West has long depended on the Brobdingnagian stature and power of the United States to ensure its solvency, security, and ultimate survival. Absent the United States, what we like to call Western civilization would long ago have become a diorama in the vast Museum of History to pique the interest, perhaps, of Chinese high school excursions. And this is why, naturally, everybody loves to hate Americans, those “ignorant cowboys” and “loud vulgarians” whom Europeans affected to look down upon, those “rude mechanicals” that a vanishing breed of Brit, remembering Shakespeare, might have thought, those presumably aggressive conquistadors that so many Canadians, especially under the tutelage of former Liberal Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, smugly enjoyed dismissing as irredeemable barbarians and moral inferiors.
Envy and resentment of this sprawling and robust — and necessary — giant among the nations were the motivating factors. For without the brawny presence of the United States in the Hobbesian jungle of world politics, neither Europe, Britain, nor the former Commonwealth dominions, as I have argued, could have defended their Enlightenment heritage or relied upon their own feeble military resources to guarantee their longevity. Gratitude, however, does not come easily. Contempt and self-infatuation are far more attractive emotional reactions for the parochial accessories of the grand historical drama. All those in the West who picket American embassies, deplore American ambition, write anti-American articles, columns, editorials and books, and cry “Down with America” are precisely the sycophantic beneficiaries of American strength and munificence.
Be careful what you wish for, as the old adage has it. Europe, for example, responded with unadulterated joy to the election of a statist, far left American president who apologized for American exceptionalism, adopted the socialist model of governance, pledged to reduce military expenditures, and brought his country to the brink of bankruptcy. Europeans did not realize — or did not want to acknowledge — that their “advanced” socialist experiment in welfare governance depended in large part upon American military spending for the continent’s defense, which permitted a liberated fiscal surplus to be invested in social programs, early retirement benefits, and a cradle-to-grave security network.
It’s beyond doubt that America has some serious issues to deal with. Fiscal insolvency, a devalued currency, a weakened military, a tax policy that is discouraging businessinvestment and growth, a failed education system – but we have a lot of strengths as well. We still have vast natural and human resources, we still have a vibrant private sector, even taking into account the downturn of the past 24-30 months, during which time our economy has been lurching along like a 1939 Ford with a blown head gasket.
I’m an optimist. We have time to turn things around. But that time is not unlimited – we’d best get cracking. | <urn:uuid:29706b9f-f790-4807-a37d-c478304e6582> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.frombearcreek.com/wordpress/?p=621 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951731 | 662 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Construction of a new footbridge, trail improvement work and replacement of a storm-damaged culvert will get underway Tuesday, August 7, at the Little Darby Nature Trail, five miles east of Willits off Canyon Road. The area will be closed until the construction project is finished, which is targeted for Aug. 31.
The U. S. Bureau of Land Management's Arcata Field Office said the temporary closure is needed for public safety because heavy equipment will be used.
The project will improve water quality by reducing sediment flow into Little Creek which resulted from winter storm damage.
Looping a mile through streamside, forest and chaparral habitats, the Little Darby Trail provides hiking, picnicking, dog walking and bird watching opportunities. It also offers great views from the higher elevations.
The trail is used by Willits Charter School students as an outdoor classroom and is the focus of a Humboldt State University student project to develop new interpretive wayside exhibits.
More information and project updates are available at www.blm.gov/ca/st/en/fo/arcata/little_darby.html. | <urn:uuid:2f948d9c-0424-45f3-adb3-4bbf708fdc47> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.willitsnews.com/community/ci_21228136/little-darby-nature-trail-close-tuesday-construction-upgrade | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931345 | 236 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Duane Dudek | On Film
A diverse, global group of nominees seizes spotlight
Every year at Oscar time, Hollywood paints its carpet red, in a high-couture, jewel-encrusted tribute to celebrity.
But this year, there's a disconnect between the image being promoted and the serious art and often obscure artists being honored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, in ceremonies to be telecast Sunday on ABC.
The Oscars ceremony can seem as inert a spectacle as the movies Hollywood churns out on its assembly line. But when the movies change, so do the nominees. So if this year's Academy Awards broadcast turns into a reality show, it could be because the movies are closer to real.
Last year's top-grossing film, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," received four technical nominations and paid the bills, but the fractured family dynamic of "Little Miss Sunshine" warmed the heart, and the interconnected strands of "Babel" touched the soul. »Read Full Article | <urn:uuid:f956106e-f88c-4557-b086-1ad3276d7a7d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jsonline.com/entertainment/movies/29333009.html?page=1&_escaped_fragment_=page=1%26viewAll=0%26sort=oldestfirst%26pageSize=50 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935446 | 213 | 1.554688 | 2 |
BYOD: Focus on the User Experience Not the Device
Click here to download now
Overview: The evolution of devices, integration of technology into personal lives, availability of cloud-based services and wireless evolution has moved bring-your-own-device (BYOD) from vision to reality. With demand for BYOD as high as it is, it's possible that staying with the status quo and not moving to BYOD is a bigger risk than implementing it.
This ZK Research report examines these risks, the benefits of BYOD, key IT issues when it comes to implementing BYOD and the most important criteria to consider when evaluating a solution provider. | <urn:uuid:05eaa720-2ab0-459b-b3d5-32e4d1408e47> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.informationweek.com/whitepaper/Mobility/Mobile-Business/byod-focus-on-the-user-experience-not-the-device-wp1359751757?articleID=191707458&cid=SBX_byte_fture_wp_Wireless_security_malware_writers_prefer_android&itc=SBX_byte_fture_wp_Wireless_security_malware_writers_prefer_android | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939243 | 132 | 1.5 | 2 |
Anyone here, please listen and give me any advices if you can.
Or if it is about implementing something new into OpenGL to make it possible to do what I want - let it be here...
So I want to make a program which can automatically convert text into movie or game.
I made something here - http://sourceforge.net/projects/vedaviz/
In this program I open text file (rtf), and select words (and automatically also),
add to them different images (2d, raster - jpg etc), and place them on a screen.
So, any OpenGL editor seem to be something like this, especially if that is some 3d-editor, like 3dsmax, game editor etc. The only thing is that one who makes games - he has to have a scenario in his mind, then click necessary text menus, icons, buttons, select 3d objects or create them manually using some 3dsmax etc, then animate objects according to scenario of game etc... But problem here is that it takes a lot of time for a neophite to create some nice game or 3d model for some simple text/scenario (I say scenario in meaning "movie scenario", not in sense "scenario" in computer progamming).
So this is actually a problem which I am facing.
I know some Visual Basic, C (.net express 2010), now installed xcode for macos, I learned some assembler for windows (masm32), but trying hard to let it possible to make all these programming languages work well with opengl (or opengles on xcode for mac-os - that is development for ipad, iphone). So I can only make a simple program to place 2d images on a screen and do simple "animation", which is very slow - because .NET uses slow GDI(+). I wanted to try DirectX but it seems to be available only for Windows, and convert from it to Opengl can be hard. So I also tried to use some editors which can open 3d objects for 3dsmax or for some games, and convert them into .c code for opengl (or directx), but this seem to be not working well... I have problem that I see there are so many different companies and technologies, software and hardware products, that I can't make a choice and concentrate on something and just learn it - say - what should I learn - Opengl for win or for mac-so, or opengl-es for ipad/iphone, and there is also android. I want my program to be available on every platform, to survive in time, that I don't have to throw away my knowledge if I will learn deep something of opengl/es etc for this or that hardware/software technologies.
So, problem is that I need some advice from OpenGL - probably even developers - which programming language is best for my case, which platform is better? I understand that this is not a very big difference, and I think that Mac-OS is better, but then how can I develop there with OpenGL - and for Windows? I don't even know how to develop in Mac-OS-X for this same platform - it seems to have patterns only for iphone/ipad opengles. so why not opengl - without ES simplification? well, it is another question for mac-os xcode/apple developers. But I want to ask you that you suggest what YOU consider is the best programming language - fastest, easiest to learn, most convenient, which has best philosophy? is it C? C++? or C#? Or some Lua? or some assembler - I think that you develop on low hardware level for video-cards, so you deal with all this...
So actually I wonder, if opengl is just about drawing triangles, and objects which consist of them - then why this technology is so "sacred" that I can't easily install it to use it?
I know of some GLut and similar libraries which simplify development, but that also seem not to work very well from first try. Why do you not have OpenGL SDK? Or you do have?
Can you make something like OpenGL SDK for Mac-OS, for Android, for Windows? or you do have it, but then why I can't easily install it and find it? And I mean - it should be updated often, so that I can use latest versions of all technologies, and don't read outdated text, outdated manuals for opengl etc...
Do you have some OpenGL file format similar to .x for directx? What I really need is that I can simply get some free 3d objects from internet, then convert them into opengl 3d object, and then just a code to use that file in my program, and animate that object according to "scenario" which I mentioned above.
program like http://drupal.widgit-online.com/node/add/pagesymbolbody can do what I say - but I want to make something like opengl animation for text, I mean that text can be converted not just into pictures, but into animated 3ds objects. I find that opengl is one of best technologies for that (crossplatform - the only one like this?) so that is why I write to you.
So just more practical question: just advice me some good programs which can work with opengl for mac-os, windows and android, so that I can install that (I want free software only, it is non-profit project now), and best if you give links to download those .exe, .dmg (macos), android packages. And also I'ld like that you advice some free manuals for opengl for all these three platforms. Then I will judge myself what I can do for this idea, and what I can't do using opengl... In short my idea is this because people make computer games, but 3d technologies like opengl can be used for something beneficial like text-to-movie conversion. People watch movies - they spend much money to make movies, but 3d graphics can simplify the process of visualization of scenarios of the movie - instead of alive actor (human), he can be replaced with some 3d opengl object. And there must be some programs to make it possible. Maybe you can advice opengl-based engines? I just don't where else to ask, but directly from opengl...
thank you, please give me some directions. I spend much time searching on internet, reading a lot of opengl-related information, but I think I need authentic information from official site/forum...
thank you in advance | <urn:uuid:b3392733-cb67-4d18-ac9b-1c24192fceea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.opengl.org/discussion_boards/showthread.php/177997-Something-for-my-(semi)automatic-text-to-3d-graphics-animation-game-movie-conversion?p=1239067&viewfull=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94311 | 1,384 | 1.75 | 2 |
Posted at: 11/08/2012 5:46 PM
| Updated at: 11/09/2012 4:47 PM
By: Benita Zahn
There's been an explosion in the tattoo business. No longer the domain of soldiers and tough guys, body art has gone mainstream with women leading the way.
"I would probably say that's probably 75 percent of my business," said Albany tattoo artist Tom Spaulding.
As the ranks of body art devotees swells, in New York there's a reverse effect on available blood donors.
"I was disappointed I couldn't give blood because it had been a while and I wanted to," said Jessica Froelich.
Six months after Froelich got a tattoo, she was turned away from donating blood because of a rule she wasn't aware of. In New York you have to wait a year before donating blood after getting a tattoo. That's because, unlike 31 other states -- including Vermont, New York does not regulate tattoo salons.
Red Cross spokesperson Maureen Wellman says FDA rules forbid them from accepting donated blood from folks recently tattooed in unregulated states, despite all the testing the Red Cross does on blood.
The regulations are clear.
"What that means that those tattoo parlors are inspected on a yearly basis and they have to use 'single use' sterile needles," Wellman explained.
Spaulding has been in business as a tattoo artist for 34 years. He's as meticulous with cleanliness as he is with his artwork.
"You want best for everybody," he said.
So he's taken a course in blood safety. He has an autoclave that heat-sterilizes his equipment. He wears gloves. The needles are single use. Also, since he's in Albany County, which does regulate tattoo parlors, he's inspected twice a year.
Like many tattoo artists, Spaulding welcomes statewide regulations because right now it's a county-by-county proposition and some counties have no regulations.
"There's not enough of the Health Department to go around," Spaulding said. "And the other side of the issue is people can go anywhere and buy tattooing equipment."
But that's about to change. After more than a decade of tinkering with regulations, the state Health Department appears ready to ink the deal -- in part because we've been asking questions.
"Enforcement was, I think, the biggest issue that had to be overcome because if it's not well enforced it's not going be an effective regulation," state Health Department spokesman Peter Constantatkes said.
Constantatkes says each county will be responsible for that enforcement and permit fees will cover the costs. He says details are still being worked out. Public hearings should take place in the spring.
It can't come soon enough for the Red Cross, continually struggling with blood shortages.
'"Particularly on high school and on college campuses, which are about 18 percent of our blood donations, it does make a difference" Wellman said. | <urn:uuid:e59fac4d-1882-4bef-a55f-db2717fb2e07> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wnyt.com/article/stories/s2828183.shtml?cat=708 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975017 | 626 | 1.78125 | 2 |
MUSKEGON COUNTY — The blades on the snowplow trucks are still sharp. The salt piles remain tall. The overtime checks are not being written.
The unusually mild winter in West Michigan — up to this point — is producing financial savings and allowing staff to catch up on other projects at the Muskegon County Road Commission and the public works departments of local cities. If the lack of snow and unseasonably warm temperatures continue, more road maintenance and reconstruction projects could be in the area's future, since unexpected money is available.
Local road officials caution, however, that the Michigan winter is far from over and snow could pile up and temperatures could plummet any day now. Muskegon County Road Commission Managing Director Ken Hulka, for one, recalls a late-arriving winter a few years ago that easily erased his preliminary plans for additional road work that following summer.
“I don't want to prematurely count our chickens, because this is Michigan and we still have three more months ahead of us,” Hulka said.
“So far, so good. I can't complain about it,” Mohammed Al-Shatel, the city of Muskegon's director of public works, said of the winter weather. “However, we still have a couple more months to go.”
Perhaps on cue, weather forecasters are predicting significant snowfall for Thursday and Friday in Muskegon County. MLive.com's weather service, Accuweather.com, is predicting more than 8 inches of snow for Muskegon over the two-day period.
If that snowstorm hits the area, it would represent the first measurable snowfall since the first two days of January and, surprisingly, a rarity in an unusual West Michigan winter featuring very little snow and higher-than-normal temperatures. The National Weather Service reported that last month was the third-warmest and fifth-lowest amount of snow for December ever recorded at the Muskegon County Airport.
For local road agencies, the mild winter is saving money for their tightening budgets. Unless the remaining winter months require lots of plowing and salting, officials should have additional money for summertime road projects.
Hulka and Al-Shatel pointed out that the financial savings from the first part of the winter season come from lack of overtime, less salt and a reduction in wear and tear on equipment.
Al-Shatel estimated that his department has saved a few tens of thousands of dollars so far. Hulka said specific financial data for the savings is being calculated for next week, when the monthly board meeting is scheduled.
“It's a little too early to say yet,” Hulka said of the expected savings for the road commission's winter budget. “We're obviously saving on the salt and the overtime.”
Local road officials said the late start to winter road clearing has allowed staff to work on other projects and maintenance.
Hulka said Muskegon County Road Commission crews are clearing ditches and trimming canopies of trees that overshadow the roadway, prevent them from drying and, therefore, shorten the roads' life span. He said they are projects that “we've wanted to do forever and just never had the time.”
He said they also have been patching roads.
“We're staying pretty busy,” Hulka said.
Al-Shatel said city public works staff have used the time to catch up on maintenance and continue to patch potholes.
Local road officials know that the snow and temperatures could begin falling at any time, causing the crews to shift to more traditional winter work and clear the area's roadways.
March always has the potential for snow and ice, so “you just never know,” Hulka said. He pointed out that the area has had snow on Easter before, so plenty of time remains for winter to make up for its relatively slow start. | <urn:uuid:4d2b561e-8873-48dd-8040-ff0baf35fb7e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2012/01/no_snow_no_problem_muskegons_m.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00041-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959819 | 821 | 1.546875 | 2 |
What is this all about?
The Primary Industries Ministers Council met recently and set the deadline of December 1, 2020 to sign the Emergency Cost Sharing Agreement (EADRA) This directive was imposed as the horse industry & community had not yet reached agreement after several years. Failure to sign will see legal impediments removed for the introduction of voluntary EI vaccinations and will also see no further funding spent on any exotic disease incursion affecting horses ever again. See bottom of page 2 of the communiqué
What is the Emergency Animal Cost Sharing Agreement (EADRA)?
The EAD Response Agreement details how Australia’s governments and industry groups are working together to reduce the risk of disease incursions and manage a response if an outbreak occurs
Is a copy of the Agreement available to read?
Yes. A copy of the agreement can be found here
Where can I find out more info?
Animal Health Australia has set up a page for horse owners This page will provide information about the national public consultation, due to commence during July.
A number of organisations have now publically indicated they are ready to become signatories or to support signing of EADRA through other lead organisations.
Currently the following four horse organisations are members of Animal Health Australia, who are the “caretakers” of the agreement accross all relevent livestock groups.
Pony Club Australia has placed a notice to members on their website | <urn:uuid:2e5cfc68-e87a-42e6-a1b5-ccf1bcc9aee4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.horsesa.asn.au/?page_id=11 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952682 | 286 | 1.609375 | 2 |
We’ve been working on a way to help pilots fly more, help flight schools and FBOs that rent aircraft book more revenue, and get more great rental customers. OpenAirplane will make it easy to find, book, fly, and pay for aircraft rental online or with a mobile device. Last week we started giving the world a peek at what our team has been quietly working on for eight months.
The team behind OpenAirplane started with the hypothesis that if together we reduced the hassle in renting airplanes, all our pilot certificates would become much more valuable. We imagined flying on the airlines from Chicago to Miami, easily booking the same make / model we fly at home, learning about local procedures on our own time, and then showing up to be handed the keys and clipboard to fly down to The Keys for lunch. We imagined renting an airplane like we rent cars. We imagined doing a checkout locally, then using that credential around the country without having to invest half a day and hundreds of dollars in checking out, yet again, every time.
Ninety-six percent of pilots we surveyed told us they would fly more when away from home, if the process was simpler. Fifty-one percent said it was the complicated checkout that kept them away. Twenty-eight percent said it was just too hard to find an airplane. How often would we rent cars if we were required to take the kid from behind the car rental counter around the parking lot three times before we got the keys? We see the hassle in renting airplanes today eroding everybody’s business. | <urn:uuid:92f5f5ce-7ac6-4bae-8e8a-979f118d0147> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.aopa.org/fsb/?tag=flight | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.968078 | 342 | 1.5 | 2 |
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Infallible vs. Always-Fallible Parents
All parents struggle with HOW to be good parents. As I am sure you have heard many say repeatedly, children don’t come with instruction manuals. But single parents have a larger challenge in that they have to be the only parent for their child. This pressure often leads to single parents believing they must be a super-hero in order to do the job correctly. This line of thinking can lead to single parents who believe they must be infallible parents or single parents who believe that they are always fallible in their parenting.
Infallible parents believe that they must always be right. This does not necessarily mean that they believe that they ARE always right, just that they have the expectation of themselves that they should always be right. With that belief in mind, when they realize that they are not right in any particular situation, the stress is doubled. Often the idea that they must be infallible comes from exceptionally high expectations that were set for them by their own parents. Sometimes this drive to be infallible comes from their own personality as a perfectionist. Often the need to be infallible comes from the misplaced idea that they must be perfect in order to be loved. For many, they have been rejected at some time in their lives under the guise of some type of flaw within themselves. It is often hard for these parents to admit when they are wrong, thus they rarely apologize. They keep relationships – even those with their children – at arm’s length because it is easier to promote an infallible façade if you don’t allow anyone to get too close. How does this affect their children? Children of parents who believe they must be infallible often feel that they, too, must be infallible. The pressure to succeed and to excel is intense. Every mistake becomes a monumental downfall. It is well-known that children learn best when they learn by example. A parent who doesn’t appear to be human - one that doesn’t admit their faults or apologize - is a tough example to emulate. We all know that apologies go a long way in mending fences; one that cannot apologize often creates rifts that are never repaired. Kept at a distance from their parents, critical communication skills in children of infallible parents go undeveloped. Perhaps most importantly, children raised by infallible parents sometimes lean toward one extreme or the other when it comes to relationships. They often either create their own barriers to hold people at a distance or they will go to the extreme in allowing closeness of relationships.
At the other end of the spectrum are parents who believe they are always-fallible. These parents do everything wrong – at least they believe they do. Just as no one can always be right, nor can one always be wrong. These parents are often depressed – and rightfully so – because they believe they are forever trapped in a failing status in life. They are sure that their children would have been better off in any home except theirs. They may also be very hard on their children, pushing unrealistic expectations to keep their children from becoming like themselves. However, they may also be over-accommodating to their children in an effort to make up for their own inadequacies as their parent. Their negative outlook spills over into the home and creates a hostile environment for young children and teens, alike. This type of hostility does not usually show itself in the form of physical abuse, but sometimes verbal abuse is an issue, when the parent has a fear that they must spur their children not to become the failure that they see within themselves. How does all this affect their children? Children of always-fallible parents will sometimes be caught in the trap of trying to make their parents feel better. Children grow up with the notion that their parents are the greatest. It is only over time and with experience that this concept with strengthen or change. Young children will often try to “cheer up” their parents when they are depressed and will sometimes even point out to their parents all the positive qualities they see – or hope to see – in them. It is not the job of the child to parent the parent, but this sometimes happens with the always-fallible parent. Depression is a heavy burden for the one who suffers with it and often a heavier burden for their loved ones. Young children and even teens do not realize that there is nothing they can do to aid their parent with this personal issue. They often believe that if they behave better, get better grades, help out more around the house, etc., then their parent will feel better. This simply is not the case. Even worse is when the depressed state leads to the depression of the child(ren). Additionally, if the child hears negative concepts from the parent on a repeated basis, they will soon come to believe that those same negative traits lie within themselves.
How can we avoid being infallible or always-fallible parents? What are some tips for those parents who already struggle with one of these concepts? How can we reverse the “damage” already done to our children by such mindsets and help them find a healthier view of themselves? Over the next two weeks I will be post an article for each of these types of parents, along with tips to reverse the trends for those of us who see ourselves as one of these types, as well as, ideas for helping your children not develop the same views of themselves. I hope that this exploration will help some of you find a better way to parent.
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Content copyright © 2013 by Cynthia Parker. All rights reserved.
This content was written by Cynthia Parker. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Cynthia Parker for details.
Website copyright © 2013 Minerva WebWorks LLC. All rights reserved. | <urn:uuid:7fa7ef0d-a5b4-43aa-9aa2-044737d47ebc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art55183.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967655 | 1,241 | 1.515625 | 2 |
This documentary concerns Harry M. Hoxsey, the former coal miner whose family’s herbal recipe has brought about claims of a cancer cure. Starting in 1924 with his first clinic, he expanded to 17 states by the mid 1950s, along the way constantly battling organized medicine that labeled him a charlatan.
Hoxsey’s supporters point out he was the victim of arrests, or “quackdowns” spearheaded by the proponents of established medical practices. Interviews of patients satisfied with the results of the controversial treatment are balanced with physicians from the FDA and the AMA.
A clinic in Tijuana, Mexico claims an 80% success rate, while opponents are naturally skeptical. What is apparent is that cancer continues to be one of humankind’s more dreaded diseases, and that political and economic forces dominate research and development. | <urn:uuid:47967dd8-874a-4dfb-92cc-c7ed908fb885> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://documentaryheaven.com/hoxsey-how-healing-becomes-a-crime/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96034 | 172 | 1.820313 | 2 |
VIDEO: US Says China is Pivotal in Restraining North Korea
November 24, 2010WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration is pressuring China to restrain North Korea from further provocative acts against the South following what the U.S. called a "premeditated" violation of the truce that ended the Korean War.
The Skanner News Video here
State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley on Wednesday called China "pivotal" to changing North Korea's behavior and said Beijing has a responsibility to make it clear to Pyongyang that deliberate attempts to inflame tensions with Seoul are not acceptable.
Crowley said U.S. diplomats had delivered that message to Chinese officials in Washington and Beijing.
The statement came after Tuesday's North Korean artillery attack on a South Korean island that killed two South Korean troops and two civilians and sparked a dramatic escalation of tensions between the rival Koreas. | <urn:uuid:7576904b-b81a-4e55-8f22-3522d61b1908> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theskanner.com/article/VIDEO-US-Says-China-is-Pivotal-in-Restraining-North-Korea-2010-11-24 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942111 | 182 | 1.820313 | 2 |
Finally our enemies are where we want them. Why aren’t we happy?
Articles in the NYTimes and on CNN’s web site tell us that our mortal enemies, the Taliban and Al Qaeda, are concentrating in the wild, tribal areas along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border. We learn that foreign fighters, mostly Sunni extremists from the Middle East, North Africa and Central Asia are traveling to these remote parts of our world to join up with Al Qaeda and Taliban militants already there.
This a major threat to our way of life? That’s how the media seems to be taking it. But shouldn’t this be a cause for celebration? Our enemies are more and more becoming restricted to isolated pockets in impoverished, undeveloped, and unreachable mountain regions along the border of Pakistan.Yipee!
Wouldn’t you think that this would mean that we no longer needed to be using our precious resources to prepare for a major war with a real enemy, such as Russia or China, that we could stop manufacturing nuclear submarines, stealth bombers, and the like, and that instead we could comfortably rely on a mercenary force, similar to the French Foreign Legion, for own protection?Explore posts in the same categories: Thoughts | <urn:uuid:7ca5286d-b16a-4988-a027-31dda93514b2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://paristampablog.com/2008/07/10/finally-our-enemies-are-where-we-want-them-why-arent-we-happy/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935554 | 257 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Monday, January 24, 2011
38 Years After Roe vs. Wade: Abortion Still Flunks Morality 101
Last Saturday marked the 38th anniversary of the infamous Roe vs. Wade decision, which legalized abortion in the United States. Since that ruling, an astounding 52 million children have been killed and there seems to be little on the horizon to suggest even a small reduction in the ever-growing number. The arguments about abortion are admittedly tired and there seems to be little that one can say that has not been said. Nevertheless, in the face of such great evil, it is necessary to review once more why abortion violates basic morality and human rights.
The proponents of abortion, when they are not making exaggerated claims about women’s health and the need to rid the world of disabled persons, have consistently made one simple assertion—that women have a right to control their bodies and that they should not be forced to use their bodies in ways that they would rather not. There is an undeniable logic in this argument; as a lover of liberty, I am persuaded that each individual is the sole owner of her body and that a law that infringes upon that ownership by restricting how a person uses her body violates a basic tenet of justice.
But nature makes the bodily ownership of a woman complicated because there are times in which a woman’s body is the necessary sanctuary for another human being and she cannot exercise unfettered use of her body without doing harm to another and if she does not wish to be a host for that life, she must kill.
Abortion rights advocates have tried to wiggle around this ugly reality of killing by setting arbitrary dates for when an unborn person can rightfully be deemed a person. The most radical pro-choicers have set birth as the moment when a fetus makes the magical transition into personhood. This is absurd. Is there anything substantially different between the being which was previously within the woman’s body and now, outside of it? What is this metaphysical transformation that now renders what was previously a non-person a person with human rights?
Recognizing that this is nonsense, some abortion rights advocates have set viability as the reasonable cut off point for when a fetus become a human person. They argue that prior to viability, the fetus is a non-person because the fetus depends wholly on the woman for survival. But this logic makes independence, the standard upon which human rights depend. This is a dangerous position for human beings who are often partially if not wholly dependent at various points of their existences, most especially at the beginning and the end of life.
Human babies are dependent on their mothers long after birth. No human infant can survive without the constant care and nourishment that their mothers provide. In fact, once a child is born, the infant’s incessant demands on the mother are even more taxing. New mothers find they are actually more restricted by the care required by their new infants than when they were pregnant. Babies require both material resources like clothing and shelter and bodily resources such as breast milk and being held. The new infant’s dependency is so extensive that if the pro-abortionist were actually consistent in his position, he would have to concede that a mother must also have a right to infanticide. Some ethicists, like Peter Singer, are at least intellectually consistent enough to admit this.
For those who are honest enough to admit that abortion is indeed killing a unique human person no different than an infant, some still maintain that the rights of women to control their body trump the need of the infant to receive sustenance from the mother. Where the needs of the child conflict the right of the mother, they claim that it is the mother’s rights that ought to prevail. In short, that child has no rights.
The primary flaw in this argument is failure to realize that rights are often relational. A person can make claims upon another based on the relationship that that person has with the other. The relationship between mother and child makes these otherwise unreasonable demands, just obligations. There is a natural contract between the child and mother—a contract imposed by nature—that women are morally bound to recognize. Claims can be imposed upon a woman by her child which she is obligated to respond to by virtue of the fact that the child is her offspring. The sound of a crying baby might naturally move all of us to compassion or at the very least curiosity, but that very same sound to the ear of a mother constitutes a command.
Children do not ask to be placed into the world and sometimes, women do not even ask that they be placed in their wombs, but nevertheless, here they are, making their claims. The perpetuation of the human race depends upon this natural process in which claims are made upon the bodies of women by other human beings. The only way to silence their demanding voices is to kill them.
And surely, it is wrong to kill another human being who has not used violent aggression against you. There is nothing religious about this claim. One does need to be a Catholic to acknowledge this basic fact of life. All cultures have recognized that it is wrong to kill another human being. The only way to grant a woman unlimited autonomy in her body is to grant her a license to kill. In other words, the woman must be granted the right to transgress against the most basic right of another human being. She must become herself an aggressor.
Only women are asked to offer up their bodies so that another might live; only in a woman’s body does a soul become flesh. Some feminists have described the fetus as a parasite, a leech. So be it. Leeches we all once were. On what grounds do we look down our noses upon a new generation of leeches? Since it is through this parasitic system that human life depends, then let us stand in awe of it. For although our bodies are indeed our own, they are undeserved gifts and how rarely are we granted the opportunity to offer gratitude for this unmerited favor. | <urn:uuid:3dcf6aa3-f76c-44aa-b6a7-8d5220f0b388> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://carolynhyppolite.blogspot.com/2011/01/38-years-after-roe-abortion-still.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973793 | 1,226 | 1.84375 | 2 |
On Sunday, October 9, the universal language of music takes center stage during the 13th annual World Festival at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. "The World Festival celebrates the wonderful cultures in our community," says Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Vice President of Planning and External Affairs Dr. Jacklyn Chisholm. "We get to enjoy music from around the world in a world-renowned Museum. What could be better!"
The celebration of culture will fill the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum's main lobby from noon to 4 pm, as the greater Cleveland area's diverse ethnic communities come together to share traditions and musical legacies. The region's rich cultural mosaic will be complemented by musicians that include African Soul International, R&B vocal group Artistree, Brazilian jazz artist Moises Borges (pictured below), the Puerto Rican tropical band stylings of Nano Cabrera, Native American rockers Native Reign, lively Ancient South Indian dance by Mahima Venkatesh, traditional Greek dance by Sts. Constantine and Helenic Senior Hellenic Dancers, Middle Eastern dance by Wind and Sand Dance Company, and the sounds of Cleveland-based The Vernon Jones Blues Cartel. The 2011 World Festival will be hosted by Washington Party, Neo Encendio and Martin Leija of 89.1 FM Maxima. A variety of arts and crafts vendors will showcase their designs at the festival, including Puerto Rican artist Wanda Cordero and Matthew Richards, who creates Asian-inspired pottery and abstracts at his Ryu No Sakebi studio in Cleveland.
"We're excited to again host the World Festival, as it celebrates the cultures and traditions that help give Northeast Ohio its unique character," says Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum President and CEO Terry Stewart. "Bringing diverse groups of people together through song and dance is exactly what our museum is about. World music has been echoed in popular music through the ages, with legacies and roots that continue to shape and define genres, including rock and roll."
The World Festival is part of an ongoing community festival series at the Rock Hall that offers the opportunity for Cleveland’s diverse communities to learn more about the variety of music genres and cultures the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum celebrates. The series also includes the Martin Luther King Jr. festival in January, Rock Your World Festival in partnership with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in May, Rock and Soul Festival in June and Latino Heritage Festival in August. This year’s World Festival is also part of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl’s World Music Days, which uses the power of music to reaffirm commitment to peace around the globe. "We wanted to celebrate this wonderful melting pot of ethnicities in Cleveland," says Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum Director of Community Programs Ruthie Brown. "We wanted everyone to take ownership of the Museum."
The World Festival is a free event, however paid admission is necessary to tour the Rock Hall's exhibits. The community festivals series is proudly sponsored by Amtrak, KeyBank and Ohio Natural Gas. For more information, click here. | <urn:uuid:b9a72278-ab5a-4d60-b796-96832dad621f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.rockhall.com/blog/post/6634_2011-world-festival-rock-hall/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00035-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940987 | 634 | 1.585938 | 2 |
San Francisco Chronicle on July 17, 2012 released the following:
“DAVE KOLPACK, Associated Press
FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Top federal prosecutors from North and South Dakota have added human trafficking to their list of crimes affecting Native Americans at an increased rate in the two states.
U.S. attorneys Brendan Johnson of South Dakota and Timothy Purdon of North Dakota said during a conference on family violence Tuesday that both states are seeing more cases of girls and young women being recruited for prostitution and drug rings.
Three new indictments for human trafficking have been handed down in South Dakota in the last three months, Johnson said.
“You have people who treat their victims like they’re not humans,” Johnson said after talking to a group that included police, social workers, prosecutors, counselors and community leaders.
The operations are formed mainly in populated areas, but American Indian girls are particularly at risk, the prosecutors said. Some of them were recruited by a Sioux Falls-area man who was convicted last year of sex trafficking of a child.
“These young girls were brutalized. They were humiliated,” Johnson said.
Brandon Thompson, 28, of Tea, S.D., was sentenced to life in prison on the sex trafficking charge.
“This is one area where the federal government has gotten it right,” Johnson said of the penalty.
A recent sex trafficking case in North Dakota involved several victims from the Fort Berthold Reservation. Dustin Morsette, 22, of New Town, was convicted of sex trafficking, sexual abuse, drug trafficking and witness tampering. He is awaiting sentencing.
Authorities said Morsette recruited minors and young adults to be part of a gang he described as the Black Disciples. He allegedly forced gang members to distribute marijuana for him and engage in sex acts with him.
One of the investigators in that case, Bureau of Indian Affairs agent Mike White, said the increase in oil workers has added to worries about sex trafficking. But he said recent convictions on human trafficking and other violent crime has made victims and others more willing to help law enforcement.
“I have hope. I’ve seen it already,” White said in an interview Tuesday. “Once they know people are being prosecuted, they are coming forward.”
Purdon, the U.S. attorney from North Dakota, said the campaign against violent crime on the reservation is a long process. He noted that an American Indian woman born in the United States has a 1-in-3 chance of being sexually assaulted in her lifetime.
“Improving public safety in Indian country is not something you are going to knock out in two years,” he said. “If we can sustain this for a period of years, I am hopeful, I am confident, we can impact some of these statistics we find to be unacceptable.”"
Douglas McNabb – McNabb Associates, P.C.’s
Federal Criminal Defense Attorneys Videos:
To find additional federal criminal news, please read Federal Criminal Defense Daily.
Douglas McNabb and other members of the U.S. law firm practice and write and/or report extensively on matters involving Federal Criminal Defense, INTERPOL Red Notice Removal, International Extradition Defense, OFAC SDN Sanctions Removal, International Criminal Court Defense, and US Seizure of Non-Resident, Foreign-Owned Assets. Because we have experience dealing with INTERPOL, our firm understands the inter-relationship that INTERPOL’s “Red Notice” brings to this equation.
The author of this blog is Douglas C. McNabb. Please feel free to contact him directly at firstname.lastname@example.org or at one of the offices listed above. | <urn:uuid:3bb280da-d369-4cdf-911c-08f67d8163f4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://federalcrimesblog.com/tag/witness-tampering/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958831 | 795 | 1.507813 | 2 |
- November 6, 2007
- 2 Comments
Aaron Brazell, Director of Technology at b5media has lined up a handful of well-respected voices on both sides of the PR game to host a “roundtable” discussion on Social Media. It’s a five part series with the second post running today at Technosailor.
Question #2 - What does the concept of “brand” mean to you and how do you see the concept of brand protection (or the concept of “open source brand”, so to speak) being transformed in the internet age?
Read the full set of responses here. Click here to read about the participants.
Brian Solis: The brand is something altogether different today than it was BSM (before social media). The brand used to be something dictated by corporations and reinforced by marketers and ultimately evangelists.
However, these days, many marketing and business executives foolishly think that they can still solely control the brand and the corporate messages 100% when in fact people are also contributing to brand identity and resonance.
Social Media zealots preach that participation is marketing, and indeed it is, but there are ways to do it right and ways to completely f it up. One thing is for certain is that covering your ears to customer commentary taking place in social networks and the blogosphere and repeating “la la la la la” over and over pretending like it doesn’t exist IS NOT participating.
It the era of social media companies have no choice by to relinquish control, well somewhat, to those who chose to discuss it openly, in public forums that are in large part, actively contributing to the extensive influence enabled by social tools.
That doesn’t mean that companies can’t help chart the course of a brand, businesses just need to take into account that people now have voices and there in lies a new opportunity.
Let’s not forget that a good brand, or a terrible brand for that matter, evokes an emotion bond.
The true “open source brand” will acknowledge and leverage the “voices of the crowds” in order to extend and mold brands for both now and in the future – by connecting with people.
Again, Social Media is about people, not audiences, and therefore, brands affect people and in turn evoke responses. The smart marketers will learn how a brand relates to the various markets they wish to reach, why it’s important, different, and helpful, and connect with people directly to help them. This reinforces the brand and service attributes we ultimately hope to carry forward.
Question #1 - What do you think the biggest challenge is for the Public Relations industry to fully embrace social media? | <urn:uuid:7785f4fa-7355-4e12-87a5-02ad02c7c2f0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.briansolis.com/2007/11/pr-roundtable-discussion-brand-in/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945532 | 563 | 1.78125 | 2 |
While Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has forcefully denounced the Medicaid program for swelling the "welfare rolls," the mental health clinic run by her husband has been collecting annual Medicaid payments totaling over $137,000 for the treatment of patients since 2005, according to new figures obtained by NBC News.
Other political news of note
White House aides learned of IRS details in April, but didn’t tell Obama
The White House first learned of a draft report detailing abuses by IRS officials in targeting conservative groups in late April, though the top administration spokesman maintained on Monday that President Barack Obama was not notified of the emerging controversy at that time.
- Senate panel gives green light to test biometric exit program
- Competency questions pile up for White House
- White House defends IRS handling, McConnell asserts 'culture of intimidation'
- Immigration officers' union to oppose Senate bill
- White House aides learned of IRS details in April, but didn’t tell Obama
The previously unreported payments are on top of the $24,000 in federal and state funds that Bachmann & Associates, the clinic founded by Marcus Bachmann, a clinical therapist, received in recent years under a state grant to train its employees, state records show. The figures were provided to NBC News in response to a Freedom of Information request.
The clinic, based in Lake Elmo, Minn., describes itself on its website as offering "quality Christian counseling" for a large number of mental health problems ranging from "anger management" to addictions and eating disorders.
The $161,000 in payments from the Minnesota Department of Human Services to her husband's clinic appear to contradict some of Michelle Bachmann's public accounts this week when she was first asked about the extent to which her family has benefited from government aid. Contacted this afternoon, Alice Stewart, a spokeswoman for Bachmann, said the congresswoman was doing campaign events and was not immediately available for comment.
Questions about the Bachmann family's receipt of government funds arose this week after a Los Angeles Times story reported that a family farm in which Michelle Bachmann is a partner had received nearly $260,000 in federal farm subsidies.
When asked by anchor Chris Wallace on "Fox News Sunday" about the story's assertion that her husband's counseling clinic had also gotten federal and state funds, Bachmann replied that it was "one-time training money that came from the federal government. And it certainly didn't help our clinic."
At another point, she said, "My husband and I did not get the money," adding that it was "mental health training money that went to the employees."
But state records show that Bachmann & Associates has been collecting payments under the Minnesota's Medicaid program every year for the past six years. Karen Smigielski, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Human Services, said the state's Medicaid program is funded "about 50-50" with federal and state monies. The funds to Bachmann & Associates are for the treatment of low-income mentally ill patients and are based on a "fee for service" basis, meaning the clinic was reimbursed by Medicaid for the services it provided.
Smigielski added that these were not the only government funds that Bachmann & Associates has received. The clinic also participates in managed-care plans that are reimbursed under a separate state-funded Minnesota Health Care program. But the state does not have any records of payment information to the individual clinics that participate. (During her Fox News appearance, Bachmann was not asked about Medicaid payments, and she made no mention of them.)
Another state official, Patrice Vick, communications manager for the Human Services Department, said she was puzzled by Michelle Bachmann's assertion on the broadcast that the funds under the state grant went to employees. While the grant was to train employees to help them treat chemical dependency, the money did not go directly to those being trained, she said. "It went to the clinic," Vick said.
"The contract was with the clinic," Vick added later. But she had no immediate information about whether the clinic passed it along directly to the employees being trained or used it to cover its costs of training.
The issue of her receipt of government aid has gotten attention because Bachmann, a Tea Party favorite, has been a fierce critic of federal spending programs and has called for drastic cutbacks. This has especially been the case on health care, including the expansions of Medicaid called for under the new health care law.
When Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed an executive order earlier this year expanding the state's Medicaid program for more than 95,000 state residents, Bachmann was joined state Republican lawmakers in denouncing the move.
"Right now, Governor Dayton is wanting to commit Minnesota taxpayers to add even more welfare recipients on the welfare rolls at a very great cost," Bachmann said at a news conference in St. Paul in January.
"She's giving hypocrisy a bad name," said Ron Pollock, executive director of Families USA, a consumer health care advocacy group, when asked about the Medicaid payments to Bachmann & Associates. "It's clear when it feathers her nest she's happy for Medicaid expenditures. But people that really need it — folks with disabilities and seniors — she's turning their backs on them."
© 2013 NBCNews.com Reprints | <urn:uuid:52cc308c-fc30-47d9-8ef3-6918d2f1723c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbcnews.com/id/43570552/ns/politics-decision_2012/t/bachmanns-husband-got-medicaid-funds/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973456 | 1,089 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Tue Sep 4, 2012, 11:42 PM
Renew Deal (56,907 posts)
Rep. Yvette Clarke from Brooklyn wants the Dutch slaves in Brooklyn to be freed in 1898
Last edited Wed Sep 5, 2012, 09:50 AM USA/ET - Edit history (1)
She's a little historically challenged. She was just on Colbert. She said that if she went back to 1898 she would want to be set free. Colbert asked from what. She said "slavery." Colbert asked who would be enslaving her. She said "the Dutch."
Her idiocy will get headlines soon.
Edit: Village Voice is already on it: http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2012/09/yvette_clark.php
8 replies, 1520 views
Rep. Yvette Clarke from Brooklyn wants the Dutch slaves in Brooklyn to be freed in 1898 (Original post)
|Renew Deal||Sep 2012||OP|
|Renew Deal||Sep 2012||#7|
|Fla Dem||Sep 2012||#8|
Response to kestrel91316 (Reply #4)
Wed Sep 5, 2012, 01:54 AM
foo_bar (3,984 posts)
6. naw, she's really one of the good guys
I haven't seen the Colbert clip, and I can't speak to her familiarity with US history, but... I voted for her in '06/08 so I'm a little biased, but she's among the most progressive voices in Congress:
Born the child of Jamaican immigrant parents, Clarke has lived all her life in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Flatbush. Upon graduating from Edward R. Murrow High School, she earned a scholarship to Oberlin College in Ohio, where she completed most of her education, before transferring to Medgar Evers College for her final semester. She is also a recipient of the "Prestigious APPAH/Sloan Fellowship in Public Policy and Policy Analysis".
Clarke is an advocate for the empowerment of women and minorities and introduced legislation that resulted in the Council's Minority & Women-Owned Business Empowerment (MWBE) study that that found women and minority-owned businesses are not awarded their fair share of city contracts. This finding forced New York City to end its system of economic discrimination. As co-chair of the New York Council's Women's Caucus, Clarke secured $9.5 million in funding for organizations that addressed the issues of domestic violence prevention, breast cancer awareness, housing and HIV/AIDS counseling for women.
“Twelve million Americans owe more money than the actual value of their homes. My constituents have been waiting on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to take the leadership role and work with state Attorney Generals to write down mortgage principals, particularly on subprime mortgages. The American people have been duped, lied to, and kicked out of their homes and now it’s time for Mr. DeMarco to stand up and do right by them,” stated U.S. Representative Yvette D. Clarke.
Representative Clarke received an “A” rating from the Drum Major Institute, TheMiddleClass.org, and 100% ratings by Peace Action, The Brady Campaign and the American Civil Liberties Union. She was also named After-School Hero by The After-School Corporation for her work on the House Education and Labor Committee.
There is overwhelming evidence of official misconduct, deliberate fraud and an attempt to suppress voter turnout by unlawful means that were used to produce George W. Bush’s false victory. The preponderance of the available evidence points to Vice President Al Gore as the actual winner of the most votes in Florida and he should have been awarded the state’s electoral votes.
Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), during a press conference with lawmakers from different minority caucuses in the House and Senate, condemned a tough, new Arizona law meant to crack down on illegal immigrants.
"It's akin to apartheid," Clarke said. "And that tramples on the civil rights and civil liberties of everyone."
Response to Renew Deal (Original post)
Wed Sep 5, 2012, 12:18 AM
eShirl (11,918 posts)
2. Did she mean to say the 1600s?
I think it was English by 1698 though.
great,now I have that song in my head...
Even old New York was once New Amsterdam...
Response to Renew Deal (Original post)
Wed Sep 5, 2012, 09:56 AM
Fla Dem (2,853 posts)
8. Tad mixed up in her facts; off by 200 years, but................
the Dutch did have a hand in bringing slaves to New York:
"The British took over in 1664, and control of the colony passed to the Duke of York, who, with his cronies, held controlling interest in the Royal African Company. The change of name from New Netherland to New York brought a crucial shift in policy. Whereas the Dutch had used slavery as part of their colonial policy, the British used the colony as a market for slaves. "The Duke's representatives in New York -- governors, councilors, and customs officials -- were instructed to promote the importation of slaves by every possible means."
From 1701 to 1726, officially, some 1,570 slaves were imported from the West Indies and another 802 from Africa. As it had under the Dutch, the colony continued to import relatively few slaves from Africa directly, except occasional cargoes of children under 13. The actual numbers were much higher, because smugglers made liberal use of the long, convoluted coast of Long Island. In some years illegal shipment of slaves on a single vessel outnumbered the official imports to the whole colony.
As a result, New York soon had had the largest colonial slave population north of Maryland. From about 2,000 in 1698, the number of the colony's black slaves swelled to more than 9,000 adults by 1746 and 13,000 by 1756." | <urn:uuid:5e3d5b37-fb81-438c-aa5a-02920ca6d6da> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021271825 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947295 | 1,260 | 1.523438 | 2 |
This year alone, Hoa Hao Buddhist followers contributed more than VND37.7 billion to the building of 2,020 houses for the poor and the provision of free meals to poor patients. Their donations have helped build 36 bridges and upgrade more than 100 km of rural roads.
The provincial leaders praised the Hoa Hao Buddhist followers for their active participation in social and charity activities and their contributions to the national unity and socio-economic development.
The Hoa Hao Buddhist Sect was founded by Venerable Prophet Huynh in An Giang province in 1939 and has expanded to 15 provinces and cities. The sect has more than 2 million followers. It has established 304 local managing committees and 39 places of worship. | <urn:uuid:aa4bdf4e-d878-4c57-9d8a-46c343b1164d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=55,7549,0,0,1,0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952612 | 147 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The United States is spending over $200 billion a year on a justice system that locks up more people than any country on earth. We have more prisoners than China. More than Russia. More than anyone. This colossal system is hitting our communities with staggering financial and human costs.
Our prison system is a beast, gobbling resources that should be going to communities. Watch this video to find out why. To get involved and do something, visit http://beyondbars.org. | <urn:uuid:6f3fae96-8d80-4383-ac64-9e96b1042b22> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://occupyamerica.crooksandliars.com/diane-sweet/our-prison-system-beast | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941243 | 97 | 1.585938 | 2 |
[Gatesedge] OTE for Aug
lisabetta at kjsl.com
Tue Jul 24 07:53:19 PDT 2007
Racheal, & Shire
As a person who lives with Lupus day in and day out the article you posted
in the Guild of St. Camillus de Lellis section. Really hit home.
Fo the many of you who have stood by and offered helped and wonder why I
am so out of it and think "how it isn't that bad"
This story the example the writer gives is dead on the money. We have to
continue thru the day because we have to however there isn't much left to
travel to be social or even pick up the phone and keep in touch.
This is why I have been so distance the last two years ( not including the
last 4 months since I broke my leg) .
If someone has a slight cold and pass it on to me, it could mean the
hospital for me for IV antibodics.
Lupus not only effects your Muscules and Joints, but your Immune system.
It effects your mood, your energy level, and friends and family.
If you know someone who has Lupus please educate yourself as having
friends who understand really helps.
More information about the Gatesedge | <urn:uuid:4f0b32c2-63a3-48ff-baad-0b674cd4afc0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lists.ansteorra.org/pipermail/gatesedge-ansteorra.org/2007-July/007995.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962584 | 277 | 1.5625 | 2 |
FIESTA LAWN WEED KILLER
Operations manager Jordan Lavin gives Rogers local TV an update on the lawn care business one year after the province of Ontario pesticide ban removed some of the tools the lawn care industry was using to manage pests.
The latest release of Fiesta weed control is both timely and effective. John Payne of Rogers examines the effectiveness with before and after video of Dandelions Lavin had treated with the product Fiesta offered by Nutri-Lawn. Its made with iron, which occurs in nature. Fiesta kills the weeds, and not the lawn.
This new product was developed by Neudorff North America. Fiesta is an alternative to the traditional three-way chemical herbicides such as Killex that have been banned in many areas across Canada and the United States.
The active ingredient of Fiesta is Iron in the form of FeHEDTA. Fiesta iron is chelated with hydroxyethylenediaminetriaceticacid (HEDTA) to form FeHEDTA. Fiesta contains 4.43% Iron in the form of FeHEDTA.
Fiesta’s mode of action is through Iron toxicity (oxidative damage) at the cellular level. The excessive uptake of FeHEDTA by many broadleaf weeds leads to the contacted area to turn black and brown (tissue necrosis) and ultimately plant death. Broadleaf weeds (dicots) absorb and uptake Iron differently than turf (monocots ) which provides the mechanism of selectivity. This allows the turfgrass to not be affected by the application and only the weed is controlled.
• Fiesta weed control Kills the weeds, but doesn’t harm the lawn!
• Fiesta works extremely fast and control results are expected in less than 48 hours!
• Fiesta weed control is made with Iron, which occurs in nature!
• Fiesta is rain-fast in just 3 hours!
• Fiesta weed control is spot applied to weeds and is odourless!
FeHEDTA is compatible with integrated weed management practices in that it is applied only when weeds have emerged and is not used as a "preventative" treatment. | <urn:uuid:474ba957-0fc5-4a38-98df-0df4c03b6a96> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nutrilawn.com/Your-Lawn/fiesta-weed-control/7850.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956589 | 441 | 1.757813 | 2 |
SEOUL — South Koreans on Wednesday elected their first female president — Park Geun-hye, leader of the conservative New Frontier Party — in a close election with results that are likely to please U.S. officials, analysts said.
"She is very well-known in Washington, and everyone on both sides of the aisle, Democrats and Republicans, think very highly of her," said Victor Cha, senior adviser and Korea chairman at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Mr. Cha said Ms. Park's victory is historic because she will become South Korea's first female president in a "terribly male-dominated society" and because she is the first South Korean president "since democratization in 1987 to get over 50 percent of the votes."
Ms. Park, the 60-year-old daughter of a former dictator, received 51.6 percent of the vote in defeating Moon Jae-in, leader of the liberal Democratic United Party, who garnered 48 percent of the vote. Polls before the election had predicted a much closer race.
"It has been a tough, difficult election, but we did well," Ms. Park said at her party's headquarters. Later at a central plaza in Seoul, she told supporters that her election is "a victory for the citizens' hearts," and pledged herself to be "a president who keeps promises."
President Obama offered his congratulations to Ms. Park, saying in a statement that he looks "forward to working closely with the Park administration to further enhance our extensive cooperation with the Republic of Korea on a wide range of important bilateral, regional and global issues."
Jae Ku, director of the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, noted U.S. officials' familiarity with Ms. Park and said they also will likely know those she appoints to her Cabinet or as advisers.
"In that sense, the U.S.-South Korea relationship will be better than had Mr. Moon won, but that is not to say it will be perfectly smooth," Mr. Ku added.
Ms. Park, who has visited North Korea, is expected to push for dialogue with the totalitarian government in Pyongyang. During her campaign, she said she would consider economic aid to North Korea on the condition that Pyongyang commit itself to ending its nuclear weapons program.
"I think that in the first six months to a year [of the Park administration] there might be some awkwardness and discomfort in the U.S. as Seoul reaches out [to Pyongyang]," Mr. Ku said.
However, in the wake of North Korea's launch of a long-range rocket — just one week before the election — it remains to be seen how far a new government in Seoul will reach out to the secretive North Korean regime.
"We are threatened by North Korea. The lives and property of our people are at risk. The duty of our leaders is to protect the people," Ms. Park said late in the campaign.
No stranger to history
Ms. Park is best known as the daughter of Park Chung-hee, the general who seized power in 1961 and transformed South Korea from agricultural backwater to industrial power at the cost of abusing human rights and suppressing democracy.
When she assumes office in February, it won't be her first visit to the presidential residence called Blue House: She became the country's de facto first lady in her 20s after her mother was shot by a pro-North Korean assassin in 1974. Her father was assassinated by his intelligence chief in 1979.
Although South Korea is notorious for its so-called "glass ceilings" for female achievement, the liberals had dominated the gender debate, sniping at Ms. Park's never-married status and lack of motherhood experience.
On Wednesday, she responded: "Like a mother who dedicates her life to her family, I will become a president who takes care of the lives of each one of you."
Scott Snyder, director of the Program on U.S.-Korea Policy at the Council on Foreign Relations, said that although Ms. Park did not campaign on a platform of women's issues, her victory makes her a role model for Korean women.
"There are ways in which Korean society is changing and needs to change, and in theory some of those changes can be accelerated by the fact that Madam Park has reached this position in Korean society," Mr. Snyder said.
An economic challenge
During the campaign, there was little difference between the two candidates on the major issues of the day — the economy and North Korea. Both Ms. Park and Mr. Moon called for renewed efforts to engage North Korean officials and reforms to help South Korea's middle class and small businesses.
"Traditionally, there were policy differences related to North Korea or economic issues," said Kang Won-taek, a politics professor at Seoul National University. "But this time, policies are quite similar. There is no salient issue."
Ms. Park has pledged to "restore the broken middle class," but analysts said she has her work cut out for her.
"On the domestic front, she has to raise Korean growth rates from a paltry 2 percent to levels Koreans are used to — 5.5 percent — but at the same time do that without leaving people behind," said Mr. Cha of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Voting appeared to be along demographic lines, with older voters who had experienced Park Chung-hee's "economic miracle" opting for his daughter and those who had protested the dictator and the general who succeeded him favoring Mr. Moon.
"I voted Park, she is wonderful," said Lee Kyung-joo, 83, a retiree and Korean War veteran. "And her father was a great president."
The clearest ground between the candidates was on corporate policy. Mr. Moon demanded tough measures to rein in the giant family-run conglomerates such as Samsung and Hyundai. Despite being economic locomotives, the corporations are widely alleged to crush competition.
Late in the campaign, Miss Park toned down her earlier demands for reform.
On foreign policy
Foreign policy is more complicated than it was just weeks ago.
Ms. Park and the Obama administration likely will focus on maintaining the strong relationship that Mr. Obama shared with her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, coordinating policy in response to North Korean provocations, implementing a free-trade agreement and revising a nuclear agreement, Mr. Cha said.
"They have a lot of issues on their plate," he said. "But the U.S. feels confident in her capabilities."
With the hawkish Shinzo Abe set to become Japan's next prime minister, simmering territorial disputes between Japan and South Korea could prove explosive, creating a headache for Washington officials promoting a closer alliance between the two democracies as a buttress against rising China.
"We have two parallel leadership transitions and that circumstance carries with it both opportunity and risk," Mr. Snyder said.
"[South Korea's] relationship with Japan is the one on which I see Madame Park is most constrained, primarily because the historical and territorial issues that have been sticking points in the relationship are ones that in Korea are associated to a certain extent with her father," he added.
The South Korea-Japan relationship has been roiled by a dispute over a rocky outcrop of islands in the East Sea/Sea of Japan and the issue of comfort women used by the Japanese in World War II.
Ms. Park's father was responsible for normalizing South Korea's relationship with Japan and getting a Japanese loan that allowed South Korea to enter the steel industry and embark on the path to economic prosperity.
"Miss Park will have to walk a very tight rope because of her father's legacy," Mr. Ku said.
Still, U.S. policymakers are likely relieved at Ms. Park's victory: Mr. Moon had pledged to upgrade Seoul's relations with Beijing, putting them on an equal footing with Washington, and renegotiate the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement.
• Ashish Kumar Sen reported from Washington.
© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
Ashish Kumar Sen is a reporter covering foreign policy and international developments for The Washington Times.
Prior to joining The Times, Mr. Sen worked for publications in Asia and the Middle East. His work has appeared in a number of publications and online news sites including the British Broadcasting Corp., Asia Times Online and Outlook magazine.
By John Solomon
How the government's punishing of the exposure of official wrongdoing can linger for years
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
A carefully guided tour through the confusing world of modern bookselling and publishing.
“Right Angles” explores serious subjects, such as the Islamization of the Middle East and delegitimization of Israel, with humor, candor and a twist.
Columns from Voices around the World talking about the events, people, politics and social issues that concern us wherever, and whoever, we are.
Weekly agitation from a columnist who many believed to be one of the least likely to become known as a Conservative Republican.
Benghazi: The anatomy of a scandal
Vietnam Memorial adds four names
Cinco de Mayo on the Mall
NRA kicks off annual convention | <urn:uuid:40661c11-82b5-446a-82ff-951ab9f9f5db> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2012/dec/19/park-breaks-through-glass-ceiling-to-win-presidenc/print/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973311 | 1,904 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Today’s business owners must be working out and lifting weights a lot more than executives of the last generation did. How else do you explain the fact that, in just one hand, they can hold a computer, a camera, a presentation device, a communications service, a payment service and a global positioning system? It’s all inside their smartphone, but apparently a substantial number of executives don’t know their own strength.
A new survey commissioned by Microsoft sampled 260 decision makers from small and midsized U.S. businesses, and seven in 10 of them agreed that the smartphone is their most important business tool. Of those smartphones owners, however, 80 percent use it only to check email. They’ll never build their business muscles that way.
Smartphones and other handheld devices can make a huge difference in your business operations and your ability to engage with customers, because they streamline communications and allow you to work remotely from anywhere at any time. Just about anything you do at your desk here in Los Angeles you can do with your mobile device. And the same goes for your customers. Consumers today use smartphones, laptop computers and other mobile technology to research, locate and communicate with the business they frequent.
Yet, according to the Microsoft study, more than half of business decision makers are not employing any kind of mobile marketing to proactively reach the devices that consumers are carrying in their hands all day long. If you don’t swing at your target, you’ll never hit it. To capitalize on these benefits, here are three questions you can ask yourself to get started:
1. Does your business have a remote workforce? Going mobile can dramatically reduce travel time and cost, along with paperwork and administrative expenses for your business. First Choice Home & Hospice Care of Utah did just that by deploying Windows Phone 7 smartphones to let clinical staff file paperwork remotely in real time, the company saved $500,000 annually in labor and travel costs.
2. Is social media an important channel for communicating with your customers? Your smartphone can allow you to discover customer issues as soon as they pop up on Twitter or Facebook so that you can respond immediately to any disgruntled customers and their followers. In addition, your mobile device can enable you to remotely access customer information and instantly research and respond to customer issues from anywhere at any time.
3. Are you looking for new ways to extend your technology’s potential? Get to know your smartphone and all its capabilities. It can get you from here to there without a bump in the road, display your business presentation without a glitch or even deposit your check without an ATM.
Start building a stronger business by visiting www.microsoftbusinesshub.com to learn more ways that you can go mobile. | <urn:uuid:3fd0de97-5369-4aaf-964e-6e92be9a308d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.technet.com/b/los_angeles/archive/2012/06/27/carrying-your-business-in-one-hand.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95011 | 560 | 1.632813 | 2 |
On July 7, 2011, CEOs for Cities and Local Projects launched Change By Us NYC in partnership with New York City Deputy Mayor for Operations Stephen Goldsmith.
“Change by Us NYC will be a social network for grassroots leaders,” said Deputy Mayor Goldsmith. “New Yorkers have long been active in greening our City and improving our quality of life, and thanks to this new website, volunteers, professionals, and City agencies will have the opportunity to collaborate on issues like sustainability like never before.”
Change By Us is the City’s new website for helping residents connect online and take action toward creating a greener, greater New York. Lots of New Yorkers have ideas about how to make their city better. And Change by Us NYC is a central place for sharing those ideas, creating or joining a project with similar goals and discovering resources from city agencies and community-based organizations.
New Yorkers can sign up directly at www.nyc.changeby.us or using their Facebook or Twitter accounts.
A shift is underway in the way some Americans define “community” and the tools they have to pursue it. Bolstered by grassroots movements and technology, the ability of people to connect with one another has dramatically accelerated, creating a unique opportunity to redefine community at the citizen level.
Yet public processes in American cities continue to plod along in the old vein of town hall- style community meetings that often end in gridlock and lost opportunities. This tired model frames new city development as a zero-sum game focused on what people may lose and colored in black and white, for or against terms.
Conceived of as a 21st century redefinition of public engagement, Change By Us is a new kind of public dialogue about how to make our cities better. It’s an easy way to share ideas, connect those ideas with change-making community leaders, create projects and make things happen. Change by Us provides the platform for citizens and civic leaders to collectively imagine what a city can be and how it can foster citizen engagement and attachment.
Change By Us is a collaboration between CEOs for Cities and NYC-based Local Projects and is made possible by support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation and the Case Foundation. | <urn:uuid:82df2073-9aa4-4fb6-a922-21612fc79413> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ceosforcities.org/change-by-us | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941422 | 465 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Don't Shoot the Messenger
Don't shoot the messenger. The downgrade of U.S. government debt by S&P is the result of policies pursued over many years that rely on the U.S. being the world's reserve currency. Policy makers have forgotten that the status must be earned; it's not a birthright.
Some thoughts on the downgrade, as well as recent ECB actions:
With large-scale bond purchases announced, the ECB is moving closer to how the Fed operates in a crisis. In 2008, then NY Fed President Geithner conferred with Treasury Secretary Paulson whether to "foam" the markets. That referred to massive liquidity injection by buying Treasuries.
Now the ECB may buy bonds of the largest European bond market, the Italian. The ECB has indicated it would sterilize any purchases, i.e. not print money on a net basis.
Last Thursday, when the ECB announced it would reopen its six-month funding facility, the central bank may have received a heads up from S&P of the looming U.S. downgrade. The ECB is concerned about a shock that would shun Italy and Spain from the funding markets.
Let's not forget that some of the market tension comes from U.S. money market funds having dumped commercial paper issued by European banks after a lot of scrutiny (we added to that). This is more a re-pricing of funding costs, adding to the pressure that European banks should raise capital, a process long overdue.
Some more thoughts on S&P downgrade;
- Ratings agencies don't want to be caught late in downgrading anyone these days. As such, many may initially shrug off the downgrade. Especially since S&P only points out the obvious, which presumably should be priced in; that said, there is no way to put a positive spin on the downgrade, especially given the negative outlook that accompanied it.
- Initial bond reaction may be a rebalancing of some portfolios to increase average security quality. This may have the ironic effect of increasing allocations to Treasury securities. However, while this logic may apply to select U.S. institutional managers, international managers may veer to other securities.
- One beneficiary has been corporates - the market appears to embrace some corporations as more creditworthy than the U.S. government.
- Foreign institutional managers, however, may choose sovereigns elsewhere; not necessarily immediately, but over time.
- And in general, the downgrade may precipitate de-leveraging, as more collateral may be required. Recently, we have seen signals that U.S. regulators won't require more collateral, but market forces may still move in that direction, if only on the margin [pun intended]
- Net, we see a slight negative for commodity currencies as part of the de-leveraging trend, but a plus for the Euro, as the playing field is leveled - the Chinese are now given the green light to diversify in earnest out of the U.S. dollar. Other Asian currencies should also appreciate, although it may only happen in the medium term.
- Keep an eye on the Fed this week. We expect them to move closer to, or even announce that maturing Treasury securities will be invested in the middle of the yield curve. That should overwhelm the S&P headlines in the short term, causing dollar weakness across the board.
Long term, more pronounced damage is likely to occur in the bond market, but like a frog in a boiling pot, the pundits will likely shrug off this view, as the initial bond market reaction may not be too severe. Politicians will simply complain, but not change. And that will cause further downgrades...
At Merk, our hard currency strategy saw substantial shifts last Thursday and Friday with reductions in the Canadian, Australian and New Zealand dollar, with money re-allocated to the Euro, Norwegian Krone and Japanese Yen. We did not foresee the timing of the downgrade, but positioned ourselves for further global de-leveraging and long-term dollar weakness. The downgrade is a symptom, not a trigger, of the environment we are in.
Having said all this, the situation may be fluid and we may also change our minds. The market is never wrong... Sometimes a bit early or late...
Ensure you sign up to our newsletter to stay informed as these and other dynamics unfold. | <urn:uuid:445222d5-20e0-4f2b-a6f0-c60a7139c9b5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.safehaven.com/article/22077/dont-shoot-the-messenger | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953968 | 896 | 1.507813 | 2 |
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Violence flares again in flag row
Fresh violence has flared in Northern Ireland as loyalists protest over the flying of the Union flag.
More than 1,000 demonstrators marched on Belfast's City Hall earlier on Saturday, but despite tense scenes the rally passed off without major incident.
There was a heavy police presence, including officers in riot gear with dogs, stationed within city hall itself and on surrounding side streets.
But as the flag-waving crowds dispersed, ugly scenes erupted on the Newtownards Road in the traditionally unionist east of the city.
Police again came under attack from a missile-throwing mob of up to 100 loyalists, who hurled masonry and fireworks at officers.
The PSNI said they are also investigating reports that a number of shots had been fired at police lines on the Newtownards Road. A 38-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.
A section of the Newtownards Road - between Bridgend and Hollywood Arches - was shut down because of the sporadic disorder. There were no immediate reports of any police injuries.
Loyalist violence on Friday night saw 18 people arrested and nine police officers injured. More than 30 petrol bombs, along with fireworks, ball bearings and masonry, were hurled at officers during a sustained attack in the east of the city. Up to 300 people were involved in the disturbances.
None of the police injuries are life threatening, however one female officer required medical treatment at the scene.
Three attempted vehicle hijackings were made in the Beersbridge Road area while a business premises on the O'Neill Road was broken into, damaged and money stolen from it. | <urn:uuid:67976ee3-1742-4792-85b2-436177f04927> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/uk_national_news/10143249.Violence_flares_again_in_flag_row/?ref=nt | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971008 | 364 | 1.539063 | 2 |
When we hear words like "gas leak," we're expecting to hear words like "recall" shortly thereafter. That's not the case for 80,000 Honda Civic Hybrid models from the 2006 to 2011 model years that may experience small gas leaks. The New York Times reports that Honda has instead opted to extend the warranty of those models to satiate customers who may experience the problem.
Honda spokesperson Chris Martin tells the NYT that the potential leak is located where the fuel filler meets the tank, adding that possible leaks are likely small, and they tend to appear nowhere near a likely ignition source. In the event that a leak is detected, Martin says that the fuel tank will be replaced. Owners of the models in question who smell gasoline vapors or who spot a small quantity of gas on the ground need to take the vehicle to a Honda dealership to determine if there is a gas leak. States with really hot weather are reportedly more likely to experience the leak. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration hasn't yet made any rulings regarding the fuel leak issue, but the NYT reports that the government agency is looking into the matter.
While the lack of a recall campaign may annoy some owners and safety advocates, we're guessing most owners will be thrilled with the extended warranty. Honda will cover the Civic Hybrid models in question with a 10-year/120,000 mile warranty. That's an expensive bit of coverage to give away for free, but keep in mind that a recall would likely be far more costly for the automaker. If Honda is forced to recall the models, every affected part will need to be repaired, and doing so will likely translate into quite a bit more coin than the extra coverage. | <urn:uuid:5e94369e-791b-487e-ae06-702fc5706e99> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.autoblog.com/2011/12/21/honda-extends-2006-2011-civic-hybrid-warranty-over-gas-leak/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965371 | 341 | 1.773438 | 2 |
by Salma Yusuf
The notions of justice and equity are paramount in any endeavour to establish and sustain national security.
The sentiment was consistently resonant in the submissions and interventions made by a range of speakers from diverse backgrounds at the fifth annual International Symposium of the Sir John Kotelawala Defence University held last week. Accordingly, the following were among the key messages tabled at the deliberations.
Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa clarified concerns regarding the presence of security forces personnel in the North which he stated had been reduced with 28 battalions being moved to the East and the South. The overall number of troops had been reduced by over 21,000 since the war ended in 2009. The government, he said, would compensate the owners of the properties within the Palaly cantonment and provide them with alternate lands.
Travel restrictions to the north have been removed which has resulted in the movement of a large number of persons between the North and South. In 2012 alone, over 31,000 persons have travelled to the North of the country. Further, restrictions on fishing in certain areas of the sea particularly around critical harbours have been removed. The task of maintaining law and order has been completely handed over to the police. Rajapaksa went further to say that military camps have been retained only in strategic locations which is not unusual for a country emerging from the throes of a brutal and violent conflict. However, he mentioned that even where such a presence does exist, it would be non – intrusive to civilians in the daily conduct of their affairs.
HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS
Responding to questions posed regarding excesses of the armed forces in the final stages of the war, the Defence Secretary remarked that such personnel have been dealt with either through punishment or by removal from the service. Furthermore, he said that just as the concept of human rights and humanitarian law are critical to the exercise of the functions of the armed forces in any part of the world, so too is Sri Lanka aware of this nexus. Additionally, military personnel have been provided with training in international humanitarian law, human rights norms and principles to provide guidance in the execution of duties.
A NATIONAL REVIVAL
The sustenance of national security in Sri Lanka depends on the inclusiveness of democracy, and the equality of all citizens. In the past, there was mistrust between communities that led to unfortunate incidents. All Sri Lankans irrespective of their ethnicity, religion or political affiliations, must be confident that they can lead lives of dignity, equality and fulfilment within a supportive, dynamic and multicultural environment, Rajapaksa said. To achieve this vision, the government is working hard to achieve national reconciliation and sustainable development, he said.
Recognising that perceived discrimination by the state apparatus towards the Tamil citizens was a key cause of the conflict, Rajapaksa contended that equal access to all facilities provided by the state is essential in any effort to sustain peace and security. Linked to this has been the training and recruitment of Tamil speaking policemen amounting to a number of 789 and a further 425 in 2012 alone. Additionally, 11 new police stations have been established in the North and training in the Tamil language to non – Tamil speaking officials is underway.
HOW SECURE IS SECURE?
Vice Chancellor of the Kotelawala Defence University, General Milinda Pieris pointed out that both preventive and proactive measures are necessary to curb internal and external threats, and it is only to that extent that any nation can be safe and secure. Pieris went further to say that the bringing together of communities that have been artificially torn apart by the three – decade conflict is essential for reconciliation and can be consolidated only through constitutional means.
FROM WAR – FIGHTERS TO PEACE – MAKERS
Chair of the session, Prof Rohan Gunaratna identified the following as critical in addressing two of Sri Lanka’s key challenges: the development of specialist agencies to counter both misinformation and disinformation that is being propagated nationally and internationally pertaining to developments in the country and secondly, the need to constructively re-engage and reach out to Sri Lankan Tamils living overseas.
UNIFORMITY IS NOT UNITY
Additional Secretary, Centre for Land Warfare Studies, India, Major General Dhrouv C Katoch, stated that the imperative of national security must be regarded as a public good and not the private property of a state. Further, reconciliation is closely linked to justice and the denial of the latter will inevitably lead to a resurgence of conflict. While economic development must be looked at as a catalyst to maintaining national security, it is justice that must be accorded priority in any endeavour to sustain national security.
He went further to explore how the issue of language has been the cause of conflict in the larger Asian context including in both India and Pakistan where the declaration of Hindi and Urdu as the national languages respectively led to national unrest and upheavals. It must be remembered that uniformity will not necessarily lead to unity, as has been the unfortunate misconception underlying the declaration of a single language as the national language in multi – ethnic and multi – lingual societies.
PRISONERS OF GEOGRAPHY
President of the National Defence University in Pakistan, Lt General Naseer Junjua, opined that forging friendly and peaceful relationships between states in Asia will not only ensure security in the region but also contribute significantly to the national security of individual states in the region. For such to be achieved, there is a need to encourage multi – sectorial engagements between states while increasing the frequency of people – to – people contact between countries.
CUTTING – EDGE EDUCATION AND NON – TRADITIONAL UNIVERSITIES
Vice Chancellor of Massey University in New Zealand, Hon Steve Maharey, highlighted the need for educational institutions, particularly at the tertiary level, to contribute to a nation’s post-war development efforts. In this regard, two Memorandums of Understanding have been signed between Massey University and the University of Colombo and the Kotelawala Defence University. Sharing experiences from New Zealand, Maharey noted that a three-pronged approach has been adopted in New Zealand: first, Learning for Life Reforms were introduced in the 1980s where it was made mandatory that universities respond to the new social, economic and technological age and related needs of the country; second, the focus of education was opened to different groups of people which encouraged inclusiveness and increased participation through the provision of loans to those previously disadvantaged and excluded from tertiary education; and third, the Government in its most recent regulations has made it mandatory that universities incorporate strategic, entrepreneurial and socially-responsive elements to its curriculums and plans and in turn remain accountable to the Tertiary Education Commission of the Government of New Zealand.
A NEW ROLE FOR THE ARMED FORCES
With the conclusion of the war it has been opined that the armed forces must play a new role in reconciliation, sustainable development and national security.
Speaking on the subject, Secretary, Presidential Task Force for Resettlement, Development and Security, S.B. Divarathne, identified the following as key aspects of nation building which require intervention by the armed forces: maintenance of essential services in the immediate aftermath of a humanitarian operation; partnering in resettlement activities including demining activities, restoration of damaged infrastructure, and restoring national irrigation systems coupled with bringing land to a cultivable state; provision of skilled labour to improve the quality and standard of vocational training; information management and administration to increase productivity in the public service.
THE WAY FORWARD
Since the end of the armed struggle in May 2009, both organised and natural processes of reconciliation are taking place in Sri Lanka. While the path to moderation, tolerance and coexistence must be paved as prerequisites for genuine peace and reconciliation, so must an organised process of reconciliation be put in place so as to prevent a relapse or resurgence of past animosities that initially led to hostilities. Such an endeavour must necessarily be state – led in order to ensure that dividends are maximised and confidence is restored in the state machinery.
While the Government’s efforts in rehabilitation, resettlement and reconstruction in the North-East have been commendable, it is imperative that the important next step is taken, namely, reaching out to the Tamil community to address their concerns and grievances. The Muslim community has oft been caught in the crossfire and hence need to be taken seriously and made stakeholders in any endeavour aimed at peace and stability.
Conversely, the minority communities too must be urged to reposition themselves by not only demanding equality but also conducting themselves as equals. One way of doing this is for minority communities to speak not only on issues affecting their respective communities but also to participate in national issues and lead national campaigns.
Four aspects remain critical to Sri Lanka’s nation-building enterprise.
First, the need for internal consensus within government of positions related to issues of national importance: such will augur well not only for keeping citizens and stakeholders informed of national decisions and plans but also for the country’s international relations ;
Second and closely related, is the need for an improvement in the state’s communication strategy which will not only serve as a barometer for measuring progress but also identify gaps to be filled by providing direction for taking the nation-building and peace-building agenda forward;
third, there remains a need for greater and active involvement of citizens and relevant groups in national processes of consultation;
and fourth, there remains the need to cultivate and capitalise on the crucial aspect that unites all the peoples of Sri Lanka, namely, the common identity of being Sri Lankan. Such is imperative in the ultimate analysis of moving the nation forward to sustainable security, peace and prosperity. | <urn:uuid:43ba7207-f0e7-45df-b15b-af30ac19bda2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dbsjeyaraj.com/dbsj/archives/10112 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958613 | 1,995 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Student Advisory Board
The Center's Student Advisory Board (SAB) is a group of highly qualified, committed students interested in human rights and humanitarian law. The SAB works closely with the Center and takes the lead in development of programming that reflects student interests and priorities.
The Center selects new SAB members every January; members are active through the spring, summer and fall semesters. Members meet weekly with the executive director and commit to at least 15 hours of work per month with the Center. All WCL students are encouraged to apply.
The SAB is predicated on a give-and-take philosophy. Members contribute their time and ideas over a calendar year, helping to organize programs and create new initiatives; in return, the Center provides them with special SAB-only skills development seminars. SAB members also receive special invitations to outside events, such as awards dinners and meetings with human rights advocates. | <urn:uuid:f66e49c1-bb11-4de3-99ff-917a2b40d72d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wcl.american.edu/humright/center/students/sab/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958285 | 184 | 1.546875 | 2 |
MTA To Reportedly Reduce Number Of Station Agents
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The Metropolitan Transportation Authority's shaky financial picture could reportedly mean fewer token booths and station agents in the subway.
The Daily News says the cuts are part of the agency's doomsday budget, which is due to be presented to its board on Thursday.
The paper says the stations being considered for closures have at least two booths, leaving at least one booth staffed all the time.
The budget plan could also eliminate the 600 roving clerks who help riders in stations, though it's unclear if they would be laid off or reassigned.
The news comes after MTA officials said service cuts and fare hikes are unavoidable unless Albany bails out the agency. The MTA's projected budget deficit for next year has soared to over a billion dollars. | <urn:uuid:2cda274f-5cf6-4a6a-9bd7-05494ccca548> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ny1.com/content/top_stories/88992/mta-to-reportedly-reduce-number-of-station-agents/?ap=1&MP4 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94805 | 189 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Today's complex SOC design is driven by the constant demand for high performance capabilities, rich feature sets, concurrency modes and low power requirements. This creates many challenges in delivering on what users want from their devices and these challenges impact the whole SOC eco-system from Design, analysis, sign-off, reliability and time to market. These trends will continue to challenge SOC designers in the future especially now that compute and mobile devices are merging.
My talk will focus on the key challenges that designers are facing especially in key areas like performance, power, thermal and reliability and discusses some of the future trends in the industry that requires a more efficient model between foundries, SOC designers and EDA companies.
Charles Matar is a Vice President of Engineering at Qualcomm. He joined Qualcomm in 2003 and formed a new CPU team the delivered ARM based CPU Cores for Qualcomm's Mobile SOCs. After that, he was the chip lead that delivered the first 65nm Mobile SOC in 2007 and then he went on to manage the Physical Design Team, Low power Implementation team, Serdes and the foundation IP Design. His responsibility then included delivering all of the SOC tape outs for San Diego's QCT division and enabling new technology nodes for next generation SOCs like backend infrastructure, IP, methodology and working closely with foundries, design and EDA companies. Presently, he is managing the Graphics Hardware team in Qualcomm responsible for delivering all of Qualcomm's Adreno GPU cores.
Prior to joining Qualcomm, Charles held multiple positions as a CPU designer and manager. His technical interest is in SOC and Processor Design, Low Power Design and Process Technology.
Charles Matar hold a BSEE from the University of Texas at Austin and an MSEE from Southern Methodist University.
Charlie will be followed by technical tracks/breakout sessions featuring application specific presentations focused on 20-nm low-power designs and high-speed I/O verification. They will include presentations by leading companies such as Samsung-SSI and Texas Instruments sharing their experiences designing for low-power applications.
The 20nm Low-Power IC Design track will discuss tools and methodologies that address power and reliability challenges for advanced low-power designs. For those designing high-speed I/O interfaces such as DDR3/4, a special technical presentation entitled "Chip-Package-System (CPS) Methodology for Giga-hertz Performance Mobile Electronics" should be of key interest.
View the full Agenda and Technical Track abstracts.
For more information on the series.
Reserve Your Seat Today!
I will see you there! | <urn:uuid:110a9190-202f-4162-8ec1-ecd1388148fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.semiwiki.com/forum/content/1717-challenges-managing-power-consumption-mobile-soc-chipsets-what-lies-ahead-when-your-hand-held-your-compute-device.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934692 | 522 | 1.78125 | 2 |
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