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Fixing a Perfect Morning: Making your Sunrise Image Match Your Eyes
I can't imagine a more perfect morning than the one we chose to go ballooning over the temples in Bagan, Myanmar on our recent photo safari. There was a soft breeze, only a few clouds, and the temperature was perfect. As the sun rose over the mountains in the east, it lit up the first of the literally thousands of temples and pagodas on our route with a golden light that made their historic brick facades glow.
Between bursts of the burners the balloon was eerily silent, and it was easy to imagine having been here centuries ago when these temples were built and were the center of the Burmese kingdom. The view past the temples included the majestic Irrawaddy River and the mountains of the remote Chin State.
Capturing The Image of a Perfect Sunrise
Snapping myself out of my reverie, I tried to figure out how to capture in an image what I was seeing. I knew right from the start that contrast would be an issue. Despite the mostly blue sky, the low-lying hazy cloud layer was in danger of burning out completely, and despite the warm golden light on the larger temples, the low-level structures and fields were barely lit at all. A simple "point and shoot" with my D700 set to Matrix metering yielded an impressive scene, but certainly didn't reflect any of the great quality I could see in the light or in the sky:
The image as metered by the camera, blowing out the highlights and the details in the sky
As an obvious first "fix" I dialed in -1 stop, changing my exposure from 1/30s at F/16 to 1/60s at F/16. I still wasn't picking up the blue in the sky or the contrasting small white cloud, so I tried -2, giving me an exposure of 1/125s at F/16. You can see both of these shots below. The -2 shot finally got the sky right, but now the ground was so dark, that I was losing the warming effect of the golden light and the detail of the shadowed sides of the temples:
The same scene captured at -2 e.v. to hold the detail in the sky
HDR From a Balloon? Are You Nuts?
So I decided to do something a little odd—I'd try to use HDR. Before you think I was crazy to try to create an HDR image hand-held from a moving hot-air balloon, imagine what you would have thought if I'd have tried to use a neutral-density filter, and fumbled it over the side from 300 feet up!
The key to making the HDR work is the image re-alignment capability of PhotomatixPro 4.0 from HDRSoft. It did a great job of re-aligning the images into a single one that I could work with. Frankly, the blur from the very slow shutter speeds of 1/30s and 1/60s from a moving vehicle with no stabilization were my biggest problems. If I had it to do over again, I probably would have worked with F/11, or even F/8, as a slightly higher shutter speed would have helped me more than the lower depth of field would have hurt.
Assembling the three images with a relatively neutral "Compressor" default in Photomatix yielded a big improvement. Now I had the richness of color I wanted, and my wonderful little puffy cloud was at least somewhat visible:
The initial HDR capture, before any additional post-processing
The Finishing Touches
I was pretty happy with the HDR output, but the image still didn't reflect the magic of what I saw. So I made three other tweaks, which helped make the image really pop. First I used the Crop tool in Photoshop to provide a little bit of perspective change, to help make the image look like it was taken from a little more "above" the temples.
Next, I brushed Nik's Tonal Contrast filter (I set all the sliders to about +20 for this effect—you can do something similar by bumping saturation and sharpening) onto the middle of the image to help draw the viewer's eyes to the primary temples in the center. Finally, I used another Nik filter, the graduated neutral-density, to darken the sky in a very similar way to how a real ND filter would work. If you don't have the Nik filters, you can do that by using a Multiply layer or gradient mask in Photoshop, applied to the sky area.
The resulting image finally looked the way I remembered it. As much as I love my digital cameras, sometimes even the best of them need help capturing what our eyes pull in automatically. If you'd like to explore some of the less traveled corners of Southeast Asia and capture some images like this one yourself, we hope you can join us for our December 2011 photo safari to Cambodia & Myanmar (Burma)! and we still have a few openings for our deluxe wildlife safari to Botswana in May.
The finished image.
And of course, if you'd like to learn more about digital photography we encourage you to visit our site, Cardinal Photo, and its sister site, Nikon Digital, which are both full of tips, reviews and forums where photographers compare notes and tips. Or you can follow us on Facebook.
We were fortunate enough to be one of two balloons aloft that morning, so we could photograph the other balloon.
A different view of a hot-air balloon-—this one from the basket, straight up into the balloon itself. | <urn:uuid:374356e8-bce0-4397-ba57-db8dbe40ef60> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bhphotovideo.com/insights/blogs/photography/fixing-perfect-morning-making-your-sunrise-image-match-your-eyes.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967948 | 1,168 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The Joy of Open - Erik Moeller
When we talk about free culture, open source software, participatory society, sustainability, and a better tomorrow, it's not uncommon that what people hear is: You're complaining. You're trying to make me do something that is inconvenient and unnecessary. You don't like me.
The future we deserve is a joyful future. The truth is that free and open culture is deeply pleasurable, addictive even. It's not the smug satisfaction of being better than someone else. No, quite the opposite: it's the pleasure of learning and discovery through connections with other human beings.
If you share your knowledge on a project like Wikipedia, or you contribute to open source software, or you're part of the open maker community, or you share artistic works freely, or you work in a participatory organization, or you help develop sustainable solutions, or ... then you know this. You know how wonderful it is to make friends all over the world. You know how revelatory it can be to see others share and change something you started, or to directly build upon the knowledge of those who have come before you. You know the joy and the pride of discovering how much our communities have already accomplished.
We're in this together, because we know that we belong here.
When we're inviting people to be part of this future, it's not because we want to harangue or lecture them. It's not because we're afraid that bad things will happen if we don't. It's because unfettered sharing is natural, it's rewarding, it's fun. The universe is not about business models, it's not about monetization, it's not about legislation. It's a playground, and we're always looking for new friends to explore it with us. Wanna play? | <urn:uuid:a28aae42-50c8-4632-b5f5-856e4d31fa09> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.appropedia.org/TheFWD_Erik_Moeller | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954172 | 370 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Paul Allen's memoir, 'Idea Man,' shows Bill Gates in a mixed light
Paul Allen's memoir, "Idea Man," won't be in stores until April 19, but Vanity Fair has an excerpt that's telling. In it, Allen remembers the 13-year-old Bill Gates -- they were classmates -- as smart, competitive, persistent and entrepreneurial. He also writes that as he was suffering from cancer, Gates and Steve Ballmer "were scheming to rip me off."
From the excerpt in Vanity Fair:
One evening in late December 1982, I heard Bill and Steve speaking heatedly in Bill's office and paused outside to listen in. It was easy to get the gist of the conversation. They were bemoaning my recent lack of production and discussing how they might dilute my Microsoft equity by issuing options to themselves and other shareholders. It was clear that they'd been thinking about this for some time.
Unable to stand it any longer, I burst in on them and shouted, "This is unbelievable! It shows your true character, once and for all." I was speaking to both of them, but staring straight at Bill. Caught red-handed, they were struck dumb. Before they could respond, I turned on my heel and left.
I replayed their dialogue in my mind while driving home, and it felt more and more heinous to me. I helped start the company and was still an active member of management, though limited by my illness, and now my partner and my colleague were scheming to rip me off. It was mercenary opportunism, plain and simple.
There was a reconciliation -- Allen includes an apologetic note from Gates, and a conversation with Ballmer -- but Allen, who was a co-founder of Microsoft, had already decided he was ready to go. He left his position at the company in February 1983.
Allen's company, Vulcan Inc., has a portfolio that includes technology companies, the Seattle Seahawks and the Portland Trail Blazers. He has been a funder of the Experience Music Project; the Alien Telescope Array; the Paul Allen Institute for Brain Science; and Tier One, the team that won the Ansari X prize to successfully build and fly the first suborbital commercial spacecraft.
"Idea Man" is being published by Penguin.
-- Carolyn Kellogg
Photo: Paul Allen and Bill Gates in 1981. Credit: Microsoft Corp. via Bloomberg News | <urn:uuid:7de3a079-0d37-4f43-9840-96b82d965bd4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/jacketcopy/2011/03/paul-allens-memoir-idea-man-shows-bill-gates-in-a-mixed-light.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983455 | 493 | 1.601563 | 2 |
What better way to spend a day at the dunes than riding your bike. Whether you ride from your house or pack up your bike and drive to the lakeshore, you're sure to have a fun day. As you plan your bike trip remember to bring a few simple things:
There are two bike trails within the park:
Calumet Bike Trail (maintained by Porter County Parks Department) a 10-mile off-road trail that runs from Highway 12 near Mt. Baldy to the Cowles Bog parking area at Mineral Springs Road. The trail is flat with a surface of packed crushed limestone. There is parking available at most road crossings for this trail.
Marquette Trail (maintained by the national lakeshore) a multi-use trail that runs about 2 miles from County Line road at West Beach on the east and Grand Boulevard on the west. Parking is available next to the national lakeshore's maintenance facility (look for the trail parking sign near the bridge on County Line road). The trail is flat with a surface of packed crushed limestone.
LaPorte and Porter Counties both have several bike routes for you to enjoy outside of your National Park. Porter County's Duneland Loop uses the Calumet Trail between 500 east and Kemil roads.
We hope you enjoy your day in the dunes on your bike safely.
Did You Know?
Without fire, there could be no prairie at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Non-prairie plant species would crowd out native prairie grasses. These rare grasslands are maintained through periodic controlled burns. | <urn:uuid:cdff5b54-a57d-498b-8467-efdbb3fc9267> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nps.gov/indu/planyourvisit/bicyclinginformation.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949859 | 331 | 1.773438 | 2 |
A-Z of the South West number 16 - Ellerslie
Five mysterious rocks on the highway mark out the district of Ellerslie
Ellerslie is one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it kind of places on the highway between Warrnambool and Mortlake, although there are a few clues to the area once being something bigger and more important than it appears today.
For a start there's an impressive avenue of honour which lines one side of the road, there's also an old Church and just off the highway you'll find the old hall.
Bill Vale has lived in the area most of his life and can recall the hall being the centre of the community with events being held there pretty much every week during the 1930s.
He can also recall Ellerslie used to boast two hotels, a blacksmith, and a local grocer.
Another part of Ellerslie's past has recently been partly preserved - the old wooden bridge is looking extremely ricketty and shakey, but a small section at the Mortlake end has been restored so you can walk out on it and get a sense of what the original bridge was like.
In the past, there was a tree on the Warrnambool side of the old bridge called the fighting tree - apparently if people wanted to settle an argument they'd go there because it was in the Warrnambool policing district and it took a lot longer for Warrnambool police to get there to break the fight up.
Some of those disputes may have been fuelled by alcohol - Bill says at one point there were 16 'grog shacks' between Mortlake and Warrnambool.
And then there's the question of those five rocks on the highway, but it seems no-one can explain what they are or what they're meant to represent.
Search ABC Local
Latest stories from ABC South West Vic. Including audio, photo, video, recipes and reviews across the region. | <urn:uuid:cd32b697-dccc-47b8-bc12-b0252dff21e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2010/06/18/2930376.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978368 | 404 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Update: Tampa Bay Still in Isaac’s Path
The storm’s projected track has changed little throughout the day.
Update 2:24 a.m. Aug. 23: The 2 a.m. advisory from the National Weather Service still has Tampa Bay within the five-day cone of uncertainty for Tropical Storm Isaac. The latest forecast map shows the storm, projected to be a hurricane, southwest of Tampa Bay by 8 p.m. Monday.
While it’s still too early to tell for sure where Tropical Storm Isaac will eventually strike, the entire Tampa Bay area remains in the five-day cone of uncertainty.
According to the National Hurricane Center’s 11 p.m. Aug. 22 advisory, Isaac remains southeast of Puerto Rico right now. It has maximum sustained winds of 45 mph at the moment. The storm is expected to strengthen into a hurricane sometime between Thursday and Friday.
A brush with the Dominican Republic and Haiti will likely weaken Isaac, but the storm is anticipated to once again reach hurricane strength before it nears Florida.
The current projection has Isaac in the Sarasota area around 2 p.m. on Monday.
As Isaac continues on a potential collision course with Florida, Bay area emergency managers are urging residents to prepare for the worst. With the Republican National Convention scheduled to start in downtown Tampa next week, planners in Hillsborough County are on high alert for developments in the storm’s track, as well.
National Weather Service meteorologist Nicole Carlisle said earlier today that now is the time to prepare for a storm. She also warns that even if Isaac misses the Bay area with a strike, additional rains in the area could be a concern.
“Don’t focus too much on the skinny black line” in the hurricane track, she said. “Do focus on preparing yourself in the case a hurricane does come barreling our way. It won’t necessarily take a direct impact to cause a problem.”
Stay with Patch for updates about Tropical Storm Isaac as they become available. | <urn:uuid:250e8822-8992-42d0-99a8-f8b4c0bbaf08> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://landolakes.patch.com/articles/tampa-bay-still-in-isaac-s-path | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944926 | 423 | 1.625 | 2 |
Seaman served on transport
Published: Friday, January 11, 2013 at 11:12 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, January 11, 2013 at 11:12 a.m.
A native of Bayonne, N.J., Irwin Wolfson entered the Navy at age 18 in 1944. He was assigned to the USS Florence Nightingale (AP-70) and served in the Atlantic, Mediterranean, North African and Asiatic-Pacific campaigns. Wolfson participated in the invasions of Southern France and Okinawa and transported various troops and prisoners of war across the globe. After he was discharged in 1946, he pursued stand-up comedy and eventually retired from the retail industry. Now 86, Wolfson lives in Sarasota with his wife of 37 years, Karen.
'We carried 1,500 infantry troops on our ship, either transporting them to wherever they were going to serve or taking them to invasions. We would also work with them, training them for the next invasion or the next step.
We had 20 landing craft and rope ladders hanging over the side of our ship. The troops would climb up the ladders onto the landing craft, then the landing craft would head for the beach.
After Normandy, in August 1944, we were in the invasion of Southern France. We had the 41st Infantry Division aboard and, by that time, Italy was pretty well secured and had not yet surrendered.
We took 1,500 Italian prisoners of war who were in prison camps in North Africa and brought them back to Italy. We'd travel between Naples and North Africa, bringing the troops back and forth.
The Germans had taken over France, but there were still French troops in North Africa that were fighting. We took a bunch of North African troops into Europe.
After World War II ended, we were in the Pacific and we brought 1,500 German POWs who were encamped in California back to Liverpool, and then went from Liverpool to Germany.
The troops loved coming aboard the ship because they got out of the mud and the water and they were able to clean up, even though they slept on the deck and we never had much space for them.
I became kind of friendly with some of the troops. I met another young guy from Chicago when I was 18; he also was Jewish.
We communicated with each other after the invasion, and then I hadn't heard from him for a while. A letter came in from his sister saying he had been killed.
Along with his papers back home in Chicago was a letter from me, so his sister just wanted to know if I had any knowledge of how he died and, of course, I didn't.
That was the closest I was to any of the troops.
After the invasion of Southern France, when we were taking the Italian troops back, we were sent back to the Brooklyn Navy Yard and the ship was refitted for the Pacific. After that, we went out through the Panama Canal to California and took 1,500 troops to Hawaii. By that time, things in the Pacific were winding down.
We went to Iwo Jima, too, but not during the invasion.
We made our last invasion in Okinawa. That was pretty rough compared to what we had in Europe. At that time, the kamikazes and the suicide submarines were operating in Okinawa.
During the invasion, I was on deck and a kamikaze came down and was strafing the ship. I started to head for a hatch, but one of the chief petty officers was just coming out of the hatch and he saw the bullets hitting the deck. He just jumped back in and bolted down the doors and I was stuck.
I dove onto one of the landing craft and bullets were coming down around me, but I wasn't injured."
Abby Weingarten may be contacted via email at Abby_Weingarten@yahoo.com.
Reader comments posted to this article may be published in our print edition. All rights reserved. This copyrighted material may not be re-published without permission. Links are encouraged. | <urn:uuid:a6f337eb-1028-4efd-b9be-7300c71d0c4d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20130111/ARTICLE/130119934/1243/topic0317?Title=Seaman-served-on-transport | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.991822 | 836 | 1.679688 | 2 |
A Fish in the Water: A Memoir
by Mario Vargas Llosa, translated by Helen Lane
Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 532 pp., $25.00
Mario Vargas Llosa belongs to a long tradition of the politically engaged Latin American intellectual. In the absence of a professional and competent political class, and in the face of an abundance of vile regimes, people with an education and no stake in the system—the kind of people who used to become journalists in the United States—have stepped in to fill a moral and ideological void. Often they too, like Vargas Llosa, have started out as journalists and ended up as fiction writers or poets. Often they have achieved professional acclaim and moral recognition. A great many have courted, and met, death courageously. But few would have been willing to risk extreme ridicule, as Vargas Llosa gamely did in his most recent political adventure. Apart from Václav Havel, no other writer in recent memory has taken his ambition as high as the presidency. And in a part of the world where a leftist revolutionary position is synonymous with intellectual honor, certainly none but the Peruvian Vargas Llosa would have tried to save his country by running for—and almost winning—the presidency of his country as the candidate of the right.
Now he has written a memoir about his life that concentrates largely on his run for office in 1990, when, after a very strong start that took everyone, including Mario Vargas Llosa, by surprise, he lost by more than twenty percentage points to Alberto Fujimori. One is relieved to learn in the part of this book describing his life before politics that his disastrous campaign was but one episode in a life generously filled with drama, and that a sense of proportion and irony provided by experience has allowed his ego a swift recovery. Three years ago he published a first version of the part of this memoir dealing with the campaign in Granta. He called it A Fish Out of Water then, and was holding a lot of grudges. Plunging into his subject now, he has changed the title for this edition, expanded his economic disquisitions, and reworked his campaign memories in ways that give the narrative detachment, amusement even, and some forgiveness.
Despite these revisions, Vargas Llosa’s account of his run for the presidency is not the most fascinating part of A Fish in the Water, and perhaps that is why he has constructed the narrative oddly, inserting chapters about the campaign between others that seize our attention from the first; chapters that trace his life from childhood through his early development as an intellectual, a political activist, and a novelist. The youthful narrative breaks off too soon (as the twenty-two-year-old author prepares to leave Peru for a sixteen-year-long stay in Europe), and we are left with characters hanging mid-plot and a great hunger for more of the stay-tuned sequences of his early life; the end of his marriage to his aunt, his experience of Europe, his readings, the writing of his first book. Vargas Llosa, author of some of the finest novels of this century, has written this book to explain himself as a politician, but he is first of all a writer and it is as a writer we must first try to understand him.
I interviewed Mario Vargas Llosa in Lima in the fall of 1987, just after he had made a reasonably successful debut as a political speechmaker (at a rally to protest President Alan García’s nationalization of Peru’s banks), but before he had decided to turn this semi-triumph into a full-fledged run for the presidency—or, at least, before he had made his decision public. It was, during the first part of our interview, a perfectly useless conversation: he was evasive about his intentions, plodding about his objections to President García, and not at all quotable about the awful situation of his native country. Then I asked him about his writing, and he relaxed. He told me about his first trip to the Amazon, at the age of twenty-two, an adventure which continues, he said, to provide him with the richest flow of imaginative material for his life as a novelist, and which was the inspiration for The Green House, Captain Pantoja and the Special Service, and The Storyteller. I asked what had moved him to write The War of the End of the World, a novel about a fundamentalist sect that fought a millenarian war in the parched northeast of Brazil in the late nineteenth century, and he answered that it was his lifelong fascination with fanaticism, with the complexity and danger of the fanatic’s impulso totalizador.
He told an amusing story about a campaign against him in the Amazonian departamento of Loreto, provoked by his book Captain Pantoja and the Special Service (which describes a touring group of prostitutes at the service of the military in Loreto). The local radio announcer’s selective readings from the book were followed by impassioned claims that the novelist’s intention had been to defame Loreto womanhood, and calls for that womanhood to impede Vargas Llosa’s imminent arrival in their region by blocking the airport landing strip with their bodies. But although the story was funny, Vargas Llosa himself, in some curious way, was not. I had the impression of a profoundly inhibited man, someone who had spent a lifetime learning that he had a right to be himself, and who, despite his effort, was still trying very hard to behave as was expected of him, to please, to avoid giving offense. It seemed to me then that beneath his attentive charm, and his calm and modest awareness of the importance of his work, was an anxious, even timorous, core of personality.
The very first chapter of A Fish in the Water tells of Vargas Llosa’s encounter with terror at the age of ten, in the form of his long-lost father, a man the child Mario has never met and presumes dead. Mario’s mother, who is living with him and her large and loving family in the desert town of Piura in the north of Peru, announces the reappearance of the man she still loves passionately despite the fact that he has left her ten years earlier, newly-wed and pregnant with Mario, in Lima. She takes the child to meet his father at the local hotel, warning him on the way that if they run into any of Mario’s many cousins, aunts, or uncles, he is to say nothing about where they are going. Mario is shocked when he greets his father, because he does not recognize this menacing gray-haired man from the photograph of him on his night table. Then father, mother, and son all pile into a car “for a drive,” and don’t stop until they reach a hotel in the town of Chiclayo, where from an adjoining room Mario listens anxiously in the night for indications that his parents are doing “those filthy things…that men and women did together to have children,” and retches at the thought.
“We’re going to Lima, Mario,” his father tells him in the morning. “‘And what are my grandparents going to say?’ I stammered. ‘What are they going to say?’ he answered, ‘Shouldn’t a son be with his father?’…He said this in a quiet voice that I heard him use for the first time, with a cutting tone, emphasizing every syllable, which was soon to instill more fear in me than the sermons on hell given us by Brother Agustín when he was preparing us for first communion.” In Lima, Mario was to live years of fear and rage under his father’s roof, belittled and bullied by him, censured and confined. The terror is so great that the bookish (or, as his father might put it, “queerish,”) Mario agrees to enroll in a military academy merely to escape home.
But long before we’ve got to that point in the narrative—right on page five, in fact—Vargas Llosa explains the reasons for his father’s raging turbulence, and with it, he recognizes his father—and himself—as Peruvian, a citizenship he can claim on the basis of a carefully nurtured, devastating, and specifically Peruvian tradition of rancor:
But the real reason for the failure of their marriage was not my father’s jealousy or his bad disposition, but the national disease that gets called by other names, the one that infests every stratum and every family in the country and leaves them all with a bad after-taste of hatred, poisoning the lives of Peruvians in the form of resentment and social complexes. Because Ernesto J. Vargas, despite his white skin, his light blue eyes, and handsome appearance, belonged—or always felt that he belonged, which amounts to the same thing—to a family socially inferior to his wife’s. The adventures, misadventures, and deviltry of my paternal grandfather, Marcelino, had gradually impoverished and brought the Vargas family down in the world till they reached that ambiguous margin where those who are middle-class begin to be taken for what those of a higher status call “the people,” and in a position where Peruvians who believe that they are blancos (whites) begin to feel that they are cholos, that is to say mestizos, half-breeds of mixed Spanish and Indian blood, that is to say poor and despised.
In particolored Peruvian society, and perhaps in all societies which have many races and extreme inequalities, blanco and cholo are terms that refer to other things beside race or ethnic group: they situate a person socially and economically, and many times these factors are the ones that determine his or her classification. This latter is flexible and can change, depending on circumstances and the vicissitudes of individual destinies. One is always blanco or cholo in relation to someone else, because one is always better or worse situated than others, or one is more or less important, or possessed of more or less Occidental or mestizo or Indian or African or Asiatic features than others, and all this crude nomenclature that decides a good part of any one person’s fate is maintained by virtue of an effer-vescent structure of prejudices and sentiments—disdain, scorn, envy, bitterness, admiration, emulation—which, many times, beneath ideologies, values, and contempt for values, is the deep-seated explanation for the conflicts and frustrations of Peruvian life.
Disdain, scorn, envy, bitterness, admiration, emulation…this hopeless litany that defined Ernesto J. Vargas as Peruvian shaped the work of his son, who has dedicated a lifetime to exploring the nuances and interstices of rancor, beginning with The Time of the Hero, his explosively tense first novel, which was written at the age of twenty-four and based on his miserable years at the military academy. Rancor, which also informs the poetry of César Vallejo and the novels of José María Arguedas and Manuel Scorza, dominates Mario Vargas Llosa’s best novels, but it is a literary territory first claimed explicitly by Miguel Gutiérrez Correa.
His novel, La violencia del tiempo, is set in the same desert city of Piura and in the same period used in several of Vargas Llosa’s works, and even based—I am guessing—on some of the same real-life characters, and its reiterated obsession throughout its one thousand pages of fury is to explore las posibilidades del rencor to their ultimate consequences. Vargas Llosa’s work compares to Gutiérrez’s as a sacramental wine does to a potion made of fingernails and toad’s blood. Vargas Llosa—a blanco in relation to Gutiérrez—wants to order the world and, as his candidacy would indicate, to save it. His Piura is a nostalgic place, idyllically remembered in A Fish in the Water. There is the crowded, welcoming family house, and the whorehouse (“La Casa Verde”), where, “as I remember it, the atmosphere of the place was happy and poetic, and those who went there really had a good time,” and also the Indian and Zambo (mixed Indian and black) enclave of La Man-gachería, “the joyful, violent, and marginal neighborhood on the outskirts of Piura…always identified in my memory with the Court of Miracles of Alexandre Dumas’s novels.” Gutiérrez Correa’s novel, by contrast, is set in and seen from a neighborhood like La Mangachería, narrated by the grandson of its ferocious Indian inhabitants. There are no good times and no lively music here, only despotism, murder, rape, as the child narrator traces his family’s disgraceful history and discovers it to be one long act of impotent defiance against the hated white landowners of Piura (with whom Vargas Llosa would presumably be lumped in the narrator’s mind). | <urn:uuid:503c5e74-5f0b-436f-af1c-8c3afdf18835> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1994/may/26/the-bitter-education-of-vargas-llosa/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980065 | 2,811 | 1.75 | 2 |
Brain-damaged childBy Lori Tighe
finds reason to smile
The only discernible word you can hear Jarin Fujii say is "Mom."
Once a running toddler who knew a dozen words, he is now a newborn in a 3-year-old body. He can't walk, talk, hold his head up, or eat solids. For a year he couldn't even smile.
But his mom, Naomi Fujii, is upbeat about life with Jarin now, after heart surgery caused "global" brain damage in 1998.
"There's improvement and there's hope. He's not as stiff as he used to be. You couldn't kiss his face. Now you can," Fujii said.
And the smile has returned.
"He has a very handsome smile," she said, smiling herself.
Jarin was "adopted" by a women's prayer group at Olivet Baptist Church downtown. They wanted to do more than pray for him.
Even though none of them could golf, they organized a golf tournament May 12 at Makaha Golf Club to help with Jarin's expenses. They had to learn the game to run the tournament.
Due to the overwhelming community response, they are turning teams away now.
"There are so many people who know them," said Jasmine Mau-Mukai, a member of Olivet Baptist Church and Cardiac Kids, a support group for families, including the Fujiis, with children who have heart defects. "They are sort of shy, too."
People have been drawn to help the Fujii family, Mau-Mukai said, because, "They're very giving themselves. There are a lot of friends and family who care about them."
Mau-Mukai met Fujii when her own daughter, 5-year-old Cara, at age 3 said she was afraid of dying. Cara has a hole in her heart, so Mau-Mukai began taking her to Olivet Church to "learn about God." There, she met the Fujiis.
"Jarin played with my daughter. They ran around together. Then I got the call from San Diego," she said, referring to the surgery that nearly killed Jarin.
Jarin was born March 13, 1997, with a congenital heart defect that required three heart surgeries. His last open-heart operation in San Diego, to close a hole between ventricles and put in a new valve, went awry. Doctors found air bubbles in his heart. Originally expected to be a quick surgery, the operation lasted 12 hours.
"They told us: 'If we don't find the air bubbles, then he won't make it out of surgery,'" Fujii said.
Fujii and her husband, Jay, paced the hospital halls. Doctors finally went in to close Jarin's heart when they noticed the air bubbles had disappeared.
"The doctor told us he had never seen anything like it," she said.
Their son was alive, but the 12 hours on a heart-lung monitor had caused massive brain damage affecting most of his physical and mental skills.
"They can't tell us if it's permanent, because he's so young," Fujii said. "Some people can get beyond it, others can't."
They brought their son home in November 1998, "extremely stiff."
"His knees were locked. His thumbs were turned inside and you couldn't unlock them. He was like a rigid board. He forgot how to eat. He could only moan, he couldn't even cry," Fujii said.
Jarin began smiling again in the summer of 1999. He's become responsive to his parents and continues to make incremental improvement.
The Fujiis live with her parents, but the expenses for Jarin mount: a $400 bath chair, a $300 feeding chair, a $5,000 wheelchair.
Jarin also has to have more heart surgeries to replace his artificial parts as he grows.
"It really teaches you patience," Fujii said.
"Women try to be more realistic about it," she said, referring to how she's handled it.
"Jay (her husband) was more depressed. We sought out help for him."
Then she added, "I still find times I'm thinking about how he used to be."
Fujii credits the United Cerebral Palsy Child Development Center and the Shriners in Honolulu for helping them extensively.
"We've been very, very lucky," she said.
For information about the Friends for Jarin Fujii Benefit, call Stephen Nagamine at 839-4472. | <urn:uuid:4c4e9b82-7f9c-4427-960d-4d3770c7ed19> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://archives.starbulletin.com/2000/05/02/news/story7.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987963 | 960 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Mohamed Morsi, the Egyptian president, issued a decree last month granting himself sweeping new powers and sparking widespread demonstrations. In an attempt to quell unrest the decree was annulled last week, but opposition leaders have called for further protests on Tuesday. Islamist groups have said they will respond by holding counter demonstrations.
Any protests are likely to be confined to Cairo and other major cities. The Foreign Office advised Britons in Egypt to avoid “all demonstrations and large gatherings”.
It added: “If you find yourself in a crowd you should leave the area immediately. Demonstrations happen regularly across Egypt, often on Fridays, but can take place at other times.
“Police often use tear gas for crowd control. If you become aware of any nearby protests you should leave the area immediately. You should keep yourself informed of developments, including by regularly checking this advice and monitoring local media for updates on further planned protests.”
Egypt’s tourism industry has struggled since the overthrow of former president Hosni Mubarak last year, and subsequent social unrest.
An estimated 1.2 million tourists visited the country in November, up from 1.1 million in November 2011, but down from 1.6 million in November 2010.
Around one million Britons visit Egypt each year, according the Foreign Office.
Britons are currently advised to avoid all but essential travel to the Sinai peninsula, excluding the popular tourist towns of Sharm el Sheikh, Taba, Nuweiba and Dahab, due to a number of hijackings and kidnappings.
For more advice on visiting Egypt, see http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-living-abroad/travel-advice-by-country/middle-east-north-africa/egypt | <urn:uuid:bebee33b-285d-483a-bc52-983e29676286> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/9734303/Further-protests-expected-in-Egypt.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951805 | 367 | 1.703125 | 2 |
From the seaside to the countryside, lots of places are easy to visit on a day tour from London. Or you could extend your tour and book a hotel for overnight using EasyToBook.com. They offer a wide range of hotels throughout England. If you are looking for something to play on your journey, perhaps you could try this mobile bingo site.
Bournemouth has seven miles of beaches, and the best is claimed to be
Sandbanks. Surfers have been coming here since the 1960's, especially to Boscombe Pier, Southbourne
Beach, Highcliffe and Kimmeridge Bay. Bournemouth Bay has always been
known as a safe surfing location and for its clean beaches.
The sea front is lined with various restaurants and shops, including a branch of the famous Harry Ramsden's fish and chips restaurant.
place map and aerial view
Pier has existed in its present location at the heart of the beachfront
since 1856. It has been re-built or strengthened several times, most recently
in the 1980's.
In 1868 the first recorded pleasure excursion from Bournemouth Pier was by the steamer 'Fawn'.
Since 1871 there has been a long association between Bournemouth Pier and pleasure steamers. To this day the tradition continues with regular seasonal visits by the paddle steamer 'Waverley'.
Bournemouth's oceanarium is a fun place to visit, especially with kids.
Through different viewing windows you can see examples of marine life from around the world including the Amazon, the Mediterranean, the Nile, the Caribbean, the Ganges and the Great Barrier Reef.
Daily shark feedings are also held, above an underwater tunnel where visitors can watch from. | <urn:uuid:fee62135-9417-4cf5-a144-4741a691594d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.londonforfree.net/trips/bournemouth.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952554 | 357 | 1.507813 | 2 |
< Return To Hearing
The Honorable Patrick Leahy
United States Senator
Statement of Senator Patrick Leahy
Earlier today, we celebrated the reauthorization and revitalization of the Voting Rights Act when President Bush signed that bill into law. I know that many in his party are unhappy with him but I think he did the right thing. The Voting Rights Act is one of the most important laws Congress has ever passed. I am proud to say that our democracy and our nation have been better and richer for it.
Keeping the Voting Rights Act intact is important, but enforcing it is equally important. Now that Congress has passed this bill -- and the President has signed it -- it is up to the President to ensure that this law and all of its provisions are enforced fully and faithfully. I was pleased today to hear the President commit to aggressive enforcement and to defend the Act from legal attacks. Article One of the Constitution says the Congress shall write the laws, and Article Two says the President shall enforce them. Congress has done its part, and now the President must do his. I commend him for saying that he will. That is the most important thing the President said today.
The President has not always been a supporter of this important civil rights law. While governor of Texas, President Bush, fought against some of the key anti-discrimination provisions Congress just reauthorized, as noted in a front page story in today's Washington Times. Today the President acted on behalf of all Americans and did the right thing despite the backbiting and criticism within his party. I commend him. Now his responsibility is to faithfully execute the law and aggressively enforce its provisions. I trust we will not see another after-the-fact presidential signing statement undercutting the commitment he made today in his public statement and by signing the Fannie Lou Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King Voting Rights Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006.
The enactment of this law is a triumph for all Americans, and a testament to efforts of its supporters in the House and Senate. On several occasions there were attempts by some to derail this bill. Those efforts continue. Fortunately, the findings in the Act itself and the record we have built should support this important measure. We know that effective enforcement of these provisions are vital in stamping out discrimination that, unfortunately, still exists in this nation today. As the President has acknowledged, the wound is not healed and there is more to do to protect the rights of all Americans to vote and have their votes count. | <urn:uuid:e312011c-14ff-47a5-b926-d22835260cce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/testimony.cfm?id=e655f9e2809e5476862f735da119b3e4&wit_id=e655f9e2809e5476862f735da119b3e4-0-1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978548 | 509 | 1.742188 | 2 |
This is the second (and final) post in the run up to this year's RSPB Garden Birdwatch (26-27th January) where I'm reviewing relevant products which you may find useful.
The birds are going mad on the feeders at the moment. It's not surprising after Friday's snow! So it's a 'thumbs up' (so to speak) from them for the Everyday bird food I'm trialling from Nottcutts. As you can see from the above picture, it's pretty similar to other bird feed mixes available on the market.
The main ingredient is wheat, followed by the black sunflower seeds, then kibbled maize, red dari (the commercial name for sorghum apparently) and white millet (reminds me of feeding my pet budgie when I was little). Vegetable oil's been added to get the calorific value up to 404 per 100g.
To be honest the birds are going for the peanut or sunflower seed only feeders first, then turning their attention to the mixed seed ones. At particularly busy times then everything on offer is popular. According to the packet, the seed mix is deemed most suitable for feeders (followed by tables and just a single star rating for ground) and is claimed to attract the widest variety of birds*.
In the past I've found quite a lot of the wheat gets missed by the birds and germinates to grow under where I have my bird feeders. To remedy this I also had a go at making some 'fat balls' by adding the feed to melted lard in a 50:50 ratio. I re-used the mince pie cases from Christmas to hold the resultant mixture, so the description 'fat ball' is rather tentative. The birds don't seem to mind though and it does seem to be reducing the amount of seed spilt. Thank goodness the chaffinches are around to hoover up what does reach the ground!
Overall verdict: the birds seem to like it, though I can't really see how this version differs that greatly from other similar mixes on the market. Therefore, it probably boils down to price and availability on whether this bird food is the choice for your bird feeders. I was going to give you details of an online discount voucher so you could try some for yourself, but I see Notcutts are revamping their website and sadly aren't taking orders at the moment. I'll put the details up on my Offers Page ready for future reference as the code is valid until June 2013.
* = listed as tits, bramblings, finches, bunting, dunnock, sparrow, linnet, nuthatch, siskin and yellowhammer. I'd say the blackbirds, thrushes, robins and pigeons round here don't turn their beaks up at it either ;)
Disclosure: I received a 1kg sample packet from Notcutts for independent review purposes.
Related Post: last week's review was of the identification guide, Birdsong.
If you're looking for guidance on how to make your garden more attractive to birds, you may also like to read my review of The Birdwatcher's Garden. | <urn:uuid:7f78d28a-8336-4a76-9d05-d3a7a5a4fc5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vegplotting.blogspot.jp/2013/01/product-review-everyday-bird-seed.html | 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 | 0.961233 | 664 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Reporting Bill Hudson
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A quiet, sun-splashed street hides the pain of what happened inside the home on the 2600 block of Colfax Avenue North. One year later, a poster tacked alongside the front doorway reveals the sad and senseless tragedy.
It’s been one year since 3-year-old Terrell Mayes, Jr. was killed by an errant bullet.
“Every day about 6 or 6:30 p.m. my heart skips a beat because I don’t have Junior no more,” said a grieving Marsha Mayes.
The little boy’s mother fights back tears as she stands outside the home recalling that awful night one year ago. That’s when gunfire from outside the home sent her boys running for cover in an upstairs closet.
Sadly, one of the bullets fired from across the street ripped into the home, striking 3-year-old Terrell in the head. He died just hours later at North Memorial Hospital.
Now, 365 days later, Terrell’s killer still hasn’t been caught, despite countless pleas and thousands of dollars in reward money.
“I want the killer to know you can’t run, God knows everything. He saw you out here that night,” she said.
Memorials made of flowers and toys have disappeared from the front step. Billboards advertising the reward money went up and came down. Over the summer, backyard rallies were held to spread the word throughout the north side neighborhood, but produced no breaks in the case.
Still, family friends are observing the sad anniversary of Terrell’s death by cranking up the heat.
“I am pleading, begging with you again to please turn yourself in and let’s get this over with and bring closure to this mother,” K.G. Wilson said.
Marsha Mayes is a mother whose tears can’t wash away her anger — over the loss of a child and respect for those reluctant to talk.
“These parents need to get it together,” she said. “This is not OK.”
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Minneapolis Police. Crime Stoppers is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the boy’s killer. | <urn:uuid:8c9d4bac-9755-49c2-8619-66cf68b26c87> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2012/12/26/killer-of-minneapolis-3-year-old-still-unknown/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9513 | 495 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Old Blackhead Road, n.d.
This small horse and carriage and pedestrian are carefully making their way down Old Blackhead Road. Until an Urban Renewal Project in 1963 improved the road, this dirt track was the only access to Blackhead and the Brow, later known as Shea Heights. Shea Heights was amalgamated with St. John's in 1984.
Courtesy of the City of St. John's Archives (image 11-01-002). | <urn:uuid:0b523576-d53b-414d-b765-c6c64a6ee395> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.heritage.nf.ca/society/old_blackhead_road.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961307 | 93 | 1.75 | 2 |
Emergency Preparedness Events Planned for September
Community Emergency Preparedness Day at the Farmer’s Market
Wednesday, September 12
3:00 – 7:00 p.m.
Find out how to get your family prepared for the emergencies that affect our valley! In addition to the weekly Farmer’s Market Activities, the Carnation-Duvall Citizen’s Corp will set up information booths, talks and demonstrations geared to promote personal and community preparedness.
Emergency Preparedness Fair
Saturday, September 22
11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Les Gove Park – 910 9th St. SE
A community oriented event designed to encourage disaster preparedness. Includes activities for children and adults. For more info, email: firstname.lastname@example.org or phone (253) 876-1909.
Neighborhood Preparedness Event
Wednesday, September 26
6:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Residents of Renton who want to help prepare their neighborhood for emergencies can take this 2 hour training to learn how to facilitate a discussion with their own neighbors. After the training, the trained facilitator will meet with neighbors to map out the special needs within their own neighborhood as well as resources that may be accessed in an emergency. Pre-registration is required. Call 425-430-6700 or visit http://cybersignup.org.
For updates on local and national events, see the National Preparedness Month Event Calendar.
Emergency Preparedness for Older Adults
Joyce Remy, Caresource Healthcare Communications
The second anniversary of the devastating events of Hurricane Katrina is inspiring many Americans to think anew about the need to plan for emergencies. This includes preparation for natural disasters—earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, tsunami, extreme heat or cold, wildfire or volcanic events—as well as human error or deliberate acts, such as power failure, chemical or nuclear accidents, and events of terrorism and war.
If you are an older adult, or have older friends and loved ones, remember that older adults can be disproportionately affected by disasters. Physical impairments, medical and dietary needs, lack of transportation, and isolation can make it harder to be safe, and to recover from a hazardous situation. But advanced preparation makes it far more likely that you will be able to take appropriate action before...during...and after an emergency.
Taking practical steps to protect yourself or your loved one begins with getting the information you need. You should KNOW....
- the type of emergencies that are most likely to occur in your area
- immediate actions to take in case of a sudden emergency (such as an earthquake, explosion or landslide)
- your community's disaster preparedness plan
- the recommended evacuation route from your home
- the location of the nearest emergency shelter
- how to tune in NOAA Weather Radio
- escape routes out of your home in case of fire
- how to shut off the electricity, water and gas
- an out-of-area contact that you and your loved ones can reach if you are unable to make local calls
- your neighbors. (In times of disaster, people helping each other out is key. If you are disabled, make sure that someone nearby knows to check up on you—more than one person, if possible.)
Once you have the information you need, the next step is to PREPARE....
A personal support network. This can be an informal arrangement with family, neighbors or friends. If you have limited mobility, a sensory impairment or other disability, you may also be able to register with your local fire department or office of emergency services for special assistance. If you use home care, speak with your agency about emergency arrangements.
A shelter plan. If possible, make arrangements in advance to stay with friends or loved ones out of the area. Know where you should go if the order to evacuate is given. Make arrangements ahead of time for transportation to a Red Cross or other emergency shelter.
Emergency preparation supplies for surviving safely and comfortably at home, as well as an emergency evacuation kit with survival supplies in an easy-to-carry container, such as a backpack or duffel bag. It is recommended that you have....
- One gallon of water per person per day; enough for at least three days (or as long as is suggested in your area). Water should be stored in unbreakable containers that you are able to handle.
- Non-perishable, high-energy food supply, keeping in mind any dietary restrictions you have. Choose foods that are easy to store and carry.
- Basic utensils, including a manual can opener
- First aid and hygiene supplies (including toilet paper, moist wipes)
- Powerful flashlight and extra batteries
- Portable battery-powered radio or television and extra batteries
- Cell phone and extra battery
- Two-week supply (minimum) of your prescription drugs and other medicines
- Clothing, rain gear and sturdy shoes
- Blanket or sleeping bag
- Cash, credit cards or traveler's checks
- Phone numbers of relatives and friends, insurance agent, emergency numbers
A place for important papers, such as birth certificate, will, deeds, insurance policies and Medicare information. This can be a waterproof, sturdy container; or store them in your safe deposit box.
If you have pets, keep a supply of non-perishable food. Remember that if you evacuate to a shelter, normally only service animals are allowed to enter.
Then, if an emergency does occur, you will be ready to TAKE ACTION....
- Listen to your radio or TV for instructions about the prescribed steps for the emergency that is happening.
- If you are instructed to take shelter immediately, do so at once.
- If you are instructed to evacuate, your most comfortable choice may be with family or friends who live out of the danger area. Or, emergency public shelters can also provide food and a safe place to stay. Bring your disaster supply kit, and use the routes specified by local authorities.
- If instructed to do so, shut off electricity, gas and water.
Disaster Preparation Concerns for People with Disabilities
People over 65 and people with special medical needs or disabilities are especially vulnerable in the event of a disaster...so take steps now to put a plan in place. According to the Red Cross, if you have special medical needs, "You are in the best position to plan for your own safety, as you are best able to know your functional abilities and possible needs during and after an emergency or disaster situation." Here are some things to consider:
- Arrange for who will help you if you need to evacuate, and have a back-up plan in case that person can't reach you. Neighbors are often willing and eager to help those with special needs. But they can't help you without knowing who you are...and what they should do to assist you.
- Persons with medical needs such as dialysis, oxygen, or infusion pump can be at grave risk if their medical regimes are interrupted, and should have access to a back-up power source, such as a generator or battery, in the home or nearby.
- Know the location of your local emergency shelter that is equipped with emergency power generators, designated for people with special needs. If you are evacuated to a shelter, notify officials there right away about your disability and medical issues.
- Persons who are hard of hearing, or who have Alzheimer's or other cognitive impairment may miss emergency siren and radio/TV warnings. Arrange for other methods of notification. Keep in mind that the person may be hesitant to leave with a stranger, so explain your plan beforehand.
- If you normally use an electric wheelchair or scooter, be sure you have access to a manual model.
- If you are unable to get out of a building, let someone know where you are. Have a set of alternate emergency numbers with you, in case the 911 emergency number is overloaded.
- Have a supply on hand of your prescription medicines and any other supplies you regularly use, such as oxygen tanks, catheter, hearing aid batteries, spare glasses, etc.
- If you use home care or home health care services, make arrangements ahead of time for evacuation procedures. Discuss the provider's special provisions for emergencies, and go over your emergency plan.
- If you or a loved one lives in a nursing home, assisted living community or adult family home, learn about the evacuation and emergency policy. When selecting a facility, ask questions about their plan. Don't assume a plan is in place. Be sure the facility has your contact information.
While it is tempting to avoid "thinking about the unthinkable," taking the practical steps to preparedness can turn worry into action. You will be able to rest easier knowing that you have done everything you can to ensure the best outcome...no matter what emergency strikes.
For More Information
The emergency preparedness video Just In Case: Emergency Readiness for Older Adults and Caregivers, featuring members of the Seattle-King County Advisory Council on Aging & Disability Services, can be viewed online on the Aging in Stride website. (At left, Advisory Council Chair Don Moreland and former chair Timmie Faghin inspect their emergency evacuation kits.)
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Ready Campaign has released three new demonstration videos designed to highlight the specific steps older Americans, individuals with disabilities and special needs, and pet owners should take to prepare for emergencies. The videos are available online at www.ready.gov.
The Red Cross website offers information on disaster preparedness, including "Preparing for Disaster for People with Disabilities and Other Special Needs." Go to www.redcross.org for news, safety tips and updates.
To find out how to prepare for specific emergencies, and what to do before, during and after a disaster, see the 204-page booklet from FEMA entitled "Are You Ready: an In-Depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness." You can browse or print out the entire PDF document here. (This is a very large file, so it may take some time to download.) FEMA also offers information on Assisting People with Disabilities in a Disaster.
© 2007 Caresource Healthcare Communications | <urn:uuid:95d79b39-d612-4c9b-8071-deb5618f2896> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.poststat.net/pwp008/pub.50/issue.553/article.2360/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934284 | 2,115 | 1.84375 | 2 |
June 8, 2011
Barkow on LWOP and Real Sentencing Reform
Rachel E. Barkow (New York University (NYU) - School of Law) has posted Life Without Parole and the Hope for Real Sentencing Reform (NYU Press, Forthcoming) on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
In this chapter for a book that asks whether life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) is the new death penalty, I will explore some reasons why it is unlikely LWOP will experience the same procedural and substantive oversight that now exists for the death penalty. The chapter begins by highlighting the problem of defining LWOP in a way that will lead to meaningful reforms. If the concern with LWOP sentences is, as the Supreme Court recently suggested in Graham, that they eliminate the realistic hope of release, then other sentences – such as natural life sentences where parole is just as unlikely as executive clemency of an LWOP sentence or long term-of-years sentences – would seem to be equivalent.But once one recognizes that these other sentences are comparable, problems of administrability and line-drawing pose enormous obstacles to both judicial and legislative reform efforts. The next hurdle is the puzzling question of how one should limit LWOP, assuming one can define it. Although some reformers would favor outright abolition, that is exceedingly unlikely given current Supreme Court attitudes about punishment review and American politics more generally. Thus, the question becomes who should be eligible for LWOP and which categories of offenses and offenders will create enough public sympathy to generate favorable judicial decisions or legislative reform efforts. Outside of juveniles, the pool of candidates is shallow. After addressing these substantive questions of scope, the chapter turns to the likelihood of procedural reforms and explains why LWOP sentences are unlikely to get the same procedural protections as capital cases. The sheer number of such cases is the largest obstacle, but the line-drawing problems are also likely to deter courts and legislators.
The Chapter also discusses an additional significant political obstacle to LWOP reform: the capital abolition movement itself. Anti-death penalty advocates have incentives to prevent LWOP from becoming the "new death penalty" in order to abolish the "old death penalty" and keep it from coming back. The success of abolition campaigns against capital punishment have depended heavily on the existence of LWOP, and it is unlikely that most abolitionists will join the battle to reform LWOP unless and until the death penalty is off the table as an option – and with no risk of return.
Finally, the Chapter concludes with a note of caution about focusing too much on what makes LWOP a unique punishment – the path paved by the Court’s "death is different" jurisprudence – as opposed to emphasizing the troublesome aspects it shares with other sentences. While a majority of the Supreme Court seems to view the extinction of hope as the main problem with LWOP, that concern is in many ways a distraction. The bigger problem with LWOP is that in too many cases it is a disproportionate punishment relative to the offense or the offender. But a concern with disproportionate sentencing is hardly limited to LWOP sentences. Any term of years or sentence with or without parole can be disproportionate under the Eighth Amendment. The Court created a “death is different” jurisprudence to avoid facing the hard question of disproportionality outside the capital context. It appears to be on the road to doing the same thing with LWOP. That may be the easier path for the Court’s docket and judicial management more generally, but it falls short of fulfilling the Constitution’s mandate.
June 8, 2011 | Permalink | <urn:uuid:0dbb6a07-3001-4c5c-83c0-e91d198d5381> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/crimprof_blog/2011/06/barkow-on-lwop-and-real-sentencing-reform.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947232 | 736 | 1.554688 | 2 |
SAN DIEGO – 13 Southern California counties have voted to secede from California and form a new state.
The new states will be called Calmerica – because the citizens in Southern California want to take back California from “the Mexican invaders.”
“Mexicans have taken over and the Northern Californians don’t give a damn,” said Temecula resident, Jonathan Taklan. “They just changed English from #1 on the voice prompts to #2. We have to take action to take our state back!”
Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone propose that the county join with 13 Southern California counties to secede from the state. The measure was quickly voted and it passed unanimously. The new state, Calmerica, will become the 51st state as of January 1st, 2012.
Stone said in a statement late Thursday that Riverside, Imperial, San Diego, Orange, San Bernardino, Kings, Kern, Fresno, Tulare, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa and Mono counties will be part of the Calmerica.
The creation of the new state will allow officials to focus on securing borders, balancing budgets, improving schools and creating a vibrant economy, he said.
“Our taxes are too high, our schools don’t educate our children well enough, unions and other special interests have more clout in the Legislature than the general public,” Stone said in his statement.
The secession vote happened on the day Gov. Jerry Brown signed budget legislation that will divert about $14 million in 2011-12 vehicle license fee revenue from four new Riverside County cities.
Calmerica intends to immediately build a forty-foot wall along its Southern Border and will send its new National Guard to “shoot and kill any illegal crossing into our state.”
President Barack Obama has strongly opposed the new state and will “do everything it takes to control the people of Southern California.” Obama may send the U.S. Army to fight the Southern California secessionists. “If we have to control them by force, we will do it. They will not get away with this on my watch.”
Here’s an initial report that happened BEFORE the votes passed. | <urn:uuid:8c95bc3c-aecf-4e44-8070-5944ce55a689> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://weeklyworldnews.com/headlines/35235/socal-to-secede-form-new-state/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951547 | 466 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Libya operations expose France-Turkey diplomatic rift
The fraught relationship between Ankara and Paris, which staunchly opposes Turkey’s accession to the EU, is laid bare as the two countries come together under the NATO umbrella to decide how Libyan operations will play out.
NATO countries agreed on Sunday to take control of military operations in Libya from the US-led coalition following tough negotiations in which Turkey had initially opposed any foreign interference in the country.
France and Turkey, in particular, were at loggerheads on the issue of political control of the ongoing operations.
Paris was keen that the coalition (USA, France and UK-led) would hold the political initiative, while NATO coordinated the military side of things.
Ankara, meanwhile, had initially wanted to use its NATO veto to limit allied operations against Libyan infrastructure and to prevent innocent civilians from being killed in the crossfire.
For many observers, Turkey’s reluctance to engage fully in Libya stems from it’s historically complicated links with France, a country that has vocally opposed Ankara’s accession to the European Union.
Turkey, the only Muslim NATO member and an increasingly powerful voice in the Arab world, has taken a particularly dim view of France’s leadership in Libya.
“The fact that France is trying to set the agenda in Libya exasperates the Turks,”
said Didier Billion, Turkey specialist at the Paris-based Institute of International and Strategic Relations (IRIS).
“Ankara was opposed to intervention in Libya – but now that the process has begun, it would rather it becomes a fully NATO-led operation than one led by the French.”
Diplomatically, France has not shined in Turkish eyes in recent weeks, analysts said. In late February, French President Nicolas Sarkozy was given a chill welcome in a whirlwind visit to Ankara during which he stayed on the ground for a few brief hours.
“I think this is not a visit that corresponds to the height of the friendship between France and Turkey," Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said at the time. "Turkey and Turkish-French relations deserve more than that."
'…a stupid mistake'
On March 19, the day after the UN resolution on Libya, France committed yet another diplomatic faux pas in “omitting”
to invite Turkey to an international summit in Paris.
“This was a huge mistake,”
Didier Billion said. “It was an impolite slight against Ankara as well as being a stupid mistake.”
He added: “The French executive has a tendency not to trust the Turks. They don’t like their growing influence and they don’t like them taking the initiative in the region. It is an absurd diplomatic position to take.”
If there is a growing race to impose leadership in the region, Ankara is determined to be a front-runner. Turkey will be at Tuesday’s NATO meeting in London and is expected to push its agenda hard.
“We are the only country to maintain contacts with both sides in the Libyan conflict,”
said Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek, and in this privileged position Ankara says it is determined to be the country that stops the situation in Libya becoming "a new Iraq or Afghanistan". | <urn:uuid:1bac226d-d2a5-4314-bf39-d7604ce994ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.militaryphotos.net/forums/showthread.php?194456-Libya-Unrest-Thread/page516 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00037-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964234 | 686 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Almost three years ago I wrote one of this blog’s most (un)popular posts of all time, about Bard’s Gluten Free Sorghum beer. Since returning to Vancouver, I’ve noticed that gluten has fallen considerably farther out of favour. I cannot stand for this; I must defend the merits of my dear friend gluten.
SORRY COELIACS, YOU POOR BASTARDS
To sum up my previous post, gluten free beer is not good and I feel sad for people with coeliac disease. Yes, I’m aware that a small percentage of the population (far less than 1%) can not consume gluten because of this terrible affliction. I’m also aware that there are others who are so intolerant of gluten that the resulting discomfort caused by it’s ingestion makes avoiding gluten a prudent course of action. I also feel sorry for these people, though I feel they should make certain allowances for the finest beers and baked goods. So there you have it past commenters, I know that some people have severe problems with gluten. This time if you’d like to call me an idiot, please do so for reasons otherthan my assumed ignorance on this particular matter.
FIRST WORLD PROBLEMS
I recently read a book called the Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan. I found it to be a ridiculously good book and I highly recommend it to anyone that eats food. The idea behind the book is that people are omnivores and find ways to eat pretty much everything. Nowadays, at least in the modern western world, we have so much food and so much variety that choosing what to eat is much more of a problem than finding enough to eat. Talk about your first world problems. As such, we North Americans, who lack a traditional food culture, are easily absorbed into an obsession with health and eating the “best” food. This opens the door for food companies, who need to find new ways to sell more food at higher profit margins, to suck us in with clever marketing. Tell an Italian to stop eating pasta or a French person to stop eating baguettes and they’ll likely punch you in the balls.
WHAT IS GLUTEN ANYWAY?
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. These are the grains we humans use to make bread, pasta, pizza, baked goods, breakfast cereal, and beer. It’s not bad for you in any way unless you are a coeliac or have a substantial intolerance. You can’t even be allergic to gluten. Gluten sensitivity or intolerance is not an allergic response. That’s not to say intolerance isn’t an issue, because it is. Symptoms can be painful and prolonged gluten consumption can lead to malnutrition because the body stops absorbing everything to keep out the gluten.
AM I GLUTEN INTOLERANT?
If you have the symptoms, take them to a doctor, she tells you to stop eating gluten, then your symptoms go away, then most likely. If not, then probably not. If someone is telling you that you have problems with gluten, ask yourself if this person has anything to gain from you financially. I sincerely doubt chiropractors can do anything about gluten problems.
I’ve had a lot of people tell me they felt better when they started eating gluten free. However, in some cases I don’t think their feeling better had much to do with cutting out gluten. Gluten is found in whole, nourishing grains. It’s also found in a lot of processed crappy food, like triscuits (what is a triscuit anyway?). Food scientists (yeah, that is a thing) take real food like wheat and make food that tastes perfect to us, then we eat too much, then we get fat. I’ve noticed a correlation between people who feel better after going gluten free, but are also making an effort to “be healthy” in the rest of their lives. Instead of going gluten free, why not try eating real food for a while?
Gluten doesn’t actually taste like anything, but it is found in a lot of tasty foods. What does it do for food, you ask? Well, it gives it body mostly. In bread, it contributes to dough elasticity, overall shape, and chewiness. The best breads and pizza crusts owe much of their finery to gluten. In beer, gluten contributes to body and mouthfeel, hence why many gluten free beers come off as watery.
HOW MUCH GLUTEN IS IN BEER?
Not very much actually. Beer is brewed, denaturing many of the gluten proteins found in barley. Beer is also naturally filtered during the fermentation process as the wort is drained through and out of the mash of barley husks. A beer contains around 10mg of gluten, whereas a piece of bread contains 5g. All but the most afflicted should be able to enjoy beer.
SOME GLUTEN FREE BEERS
I’ve seen quite a few gluten free beers in Vancouver recently. Bard’s, New Grist, and Green’s are a few to look out for Are they good? Well, taste is subjective, but no they are not. I really like this article about the 14 best and worst gluten free beers, complete with % like actual beer rating.
DEFENDING MY BUDDY GLUTEN
It really comes down to this, some people have a lot of trouble with gluten and I feel really bad for them. Gluten is in a lot of the best foods, not to mention beer, and I would be really sad if I couldn’t consume those anymore. I think a lot of people who think they have gluten problems don’t actually and I implore those people to open their minds. Most importantly, try drinking really good beer because gluten free beer is not as good. | <urn:uuid:dfdb44bc-e2ec-484e-8ea5-92edef09944b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lovegoodbeer.com/tag/gluten-is-good/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967509 | 1,240 | 1.523438 | 2 |
What is LIFE?
LIFE is a company that specializes in producing personal development materials offered for sale through independent Life Members. One of the mainstays of the LIFE approach to personal growth is the development of communities that encourage people to improve their leadership, people skills, and other core competencies. The founders of LIFE have designed their learning programs to follow the principles consistent with long term high achievement, namely: small, affordable doses of information and truth learned and applied consistently over time. This is predominantly accomplished through the format of monthly subscriptions, which focus on the "8F's:" the categories through which we live out our lives - Faith, Family, Finances, Fitness, Following, Freedom, Friends, and Fun.
Are the LIFE improvement materials credible?
LIFE is founded upon the teaching principles of Orrin Woodward and Chris Brady, co-authors of the NY Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Money Magazine, Business Weekly best seller Launching a Leadership Revolution. The LIFE improvement materials provided by the LIFE Company have received accolades from individuals, business owners, educators, business consultants, other best selling authors, military leaders, leaders in elected government, and professional sports figures.
How competitive are the prices of LIFE's materials?
The founding principle of LIFE is "Making a Difference." For this reason, the pricing model for LIFE's materials reflects the founders' desire to maximize the impact of their information. Nearly any price comparison to materials of similar genre will demonstrate that LIFE's materials are not only priced below the competition, but well below. As an example, below are the prices for each of the top four subscription packages available through LIFE:
- LIFE Series (Improved Life Skills), which includes 2 CDs, 1 DVD and a book each month for $50.
- Leadership Series (Improved Leadership Skills), which includes 2 CDs, 1 DVD and a book each month for $50.
- Faith Series (Spiritual Development), which includes 1 CD and a book each month
for $25. (All corporate profits from this series go to our All Grace Outreach charity).
- Edge Series (Youth Development), which includes 1 CD a month.
These subscription prices are anywhere from 20% to 200% cheaper than similar offerings
from other providers.
What is the opportunity offered by LIFE?
LIFE offers members the opportunity to profit from the sale of LIFE's materials through a competitive compensation plan. LIFE's goal is to flow the money typically spent on marketing and advertising to the leaders who help build the customer base for LIFE materials. Further, the founders of LIFE are dedicated to serving in the field alongside LIFE members - a unique situation that enables the compensation structure to maintain as its chief consideration the flowing of profits to the field and not to corporate shareholders, investors, or other interested parties, as is true with most companies. What this means is the LIFE compensation plan can offer one of the highest margins in the industry, with a pay plan that provides 50% of sales on a graduated bonus chart, and additional bonuses (upwards of 15% at the time of this writing, with plans for more depending upon profitability) in additional bonuses for developing leaders in the field, all while keeping prices competitively low.
Additionally, money saving innovations are made available to customers of LIFE materials.
The Three for Free Program allows customers or members who obtain subscriptions
for LIFE materials to three or more other customers to qualify for a free product
subscription for themselves.
Is there any business development training?
LIFE has partnered with LIFE Training, a top community building and training material organization, to provide all of its business development training. LIFE, in other words, provides world-class personal development materials at a remarkable price point. LIFE Training (with over a decade of experience with tens of thousands of people in several countries) provides leading-edge business development and training to assist LIFE members in building their businesses. Here is how the personal development and business development break down:
- If a person desires to be a customer, then he or she signs up for one of the LIFE
material subscriptions mentioned above.
- If a person desires to be a LIFE member (business builder), then he or she follows the same steps as a customer. However, on top of this, he or she also signs up in LIFE as a member ($35 LIFE membership and $89.99 business starter kit). As a member of LIFE, there are several different levels of participation.
For any of these levels, the LIFE Training system (business development training) is an optional assist in such efforts. It provides a supportive environment, specific training, mentoring, recognition, materials, events, and team-building activities, and can be utilized as much or as little as the LIFE member deems necessary.
- Simply become a member of LIFE and utilize the materials for one's self and occasionally
recommend LIFE materials to others.
- Become a member of LIFE but pursue the amassing of a large number of sales to take
advantage of the aggressive pay plan.
- Become a member of LIFE, and in addition to generating sales of LIFE materials,
also build a sales force (or team) that does the same thing.
How credible is the LIFE training system?
Both Chris Brady and Orrin Woodward have been showcased as keynote speakers at the prestigious MasterMind event, which features top leaders from the training world and is attended by participants from six continents. Additionally, both Brady and Woodward have been featured in Networking Times magazine, the leading trade magazine for the industry, and currently host a monthly column in the publication. They have also been featured in special editions of Success and Success from Home magazines. The other leaders comprising the Policy Council collectively have over 100 years experience in the industry and are in-demand speakers around North America. LIFE Training operates under the motto: Have Fun, Make Money, and Make a Difference! Moreover, LIFE Training is one of the few communities of its kind that routinely hosts thousands of people at quarterly events around the USA and Canada. LIFE Training puts its money where its mouth is, guaranteeing a "no questions asked" 30 day money back refund policy. LIFE Training wants satisfied business builders and works hard to ensure that satisfaction.
Is there a guarantee on LIFE materials?
Absolutely. Just as with LIFE Training, LIFE offers a 30 day money back return policy on all its products. | <urn:uuid:26881c9f-3849-4fd1-a3e2-deaa0ccf5524> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.life-leadership-home.com/en-us/faq.aspx | 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 | 0.955413 | 1,296 | 1.570313 | 2 |
I was invited to contribute to a roundup for the Sunday Op-Ed page of views on how President Obama could approach various issues in his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
My short piece is on energy. My suggestion?
Despite deep polarization, particularly on the climate implications of energy policies, Obama can use this speech to lay the foundation, in a “cathedral building” sense, for making a sustained energy quest the American imperative for the 21st century.
The first step is not to lay out a detailed administration agenda, but to hold a yearlong conversation on energy, and climate, aimed at clarifying points of agreement amid the shouting. Obama came into office in part based on his reputation for listening and then responding and acting.
Too often in the first two years of the administration, events on energy were more like scripted pep rallies for one team than a real productive discussion.
There are many points of agreement. But they have been largely hidden because the national discourse on energy and climate has been left to the loudest voices, many of which, at best, are highly selective in dealing with facts and, at worst, utterly duplicitous.
The audiences should include graduate students in engineering and energy-related sciences, like those who put up a maze of posters describing their edge-pushing work at an energy innovation meeting last fall at Stanford. They should include some of the several dozen Nobel laureates who signed a letter to the president pressing for renewed American investment in basic inquiry on energy — and who never got a reply.
They should include people in gas country, where federal studies hopefully will soon clarify ways to responsibly expand extraction of a vital fuel (if you care even remotely about moving away from oil or limiting emissions from coal-burning power plants). They should include people in coal country and cities ailing as manufacturing drains to Asia, as well.
They should avoid breezy speeches on “green jobs” unless efforts to create such jobs are honestly cast against the enormous, sweeping challenge of providing an energy menu that can foster progress in aworld heading toward 9 billion people seeking decent lives.
If an Obama Energy Road Show came to your town (even if your town is in India or Botswana) and you had your “Obama moment,” what would you say?
On Friday I sent this question to a range of thinkers and doers focused on energy. I’ll post their views on Monday morning. The discussion begins now.
A couple of previous posts may be worth revisiting: | <urn:uuid:e2654bf0-1960-4af6-a8bd-8620af578e77> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/23/its-your-obama-moment-what-do-you-say/?ref=politics | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964538 | 517 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Somali civilians have suffered much as a result of the US-backed invasion of their country.
Originally uploaded by Pan-African News Wire File Photos
12 Nov 2007 22:43:16 GMT
By Aweys Yusuf
MOGADISHU, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Residents fled the Somali capital Mogadishu on Monday, adding to a growing humanitarian crisis as government forces backed by Ethiopian tanks stepped up efforts to crush Islamist-led insurgents.
At least 70 people have been killed in more than a week of fighting that has driven tens of thousands of Somalis from their homes, residents and aid workers say.
The United Nations said in New York that 24,000 people had fled Mogadishu in the last week, bringing the total number of internally displaced in Somalia to a record 850,000, more than half of whom left the capital this year.
Hawa Amed, a 40-year-old mother of eight, said she had wanted to stay in her house deep in the sprawling Bakara Market, where allied Somali-Ethiopian troops have been hunting for the guerrillas and their hidden arms caches over the weekend.
"But after two policemen were killed outside on Sunday, we had to run," she told Reuters as she left the city on foot, her youngest child strapped to her back. "We are now heading to Madina District ... we don't know how we will survive."
The latest fighting killed nine out of 10 members of one family on Monday. Only a 9-year-old girl survived when an artillery shell hit them as they tried to flee.
Returning from a visit to Mogadishu, European Commission officials said some 5,000 Somalis had been treated for war-related injuries in hospitals there since the start of the year, and that about a third of those were women and children.
Describing to journalists a meeting with a 7-year-old boy who saw four of his friends torn apart by a land mine blast as they played outside, one delegate broke down in tears.
In New York, U.N. humanitarian affairs chief John Holmes said civilians were increasingly bearing the brunt of the fighting.
"I appeal to all those with guns, whether government, insurgent or Ethiopian troops, to refrain from indiscriminate and disproportionate attacks affecting civilians," he said.
Government security forces and Ethiopian soldiers are hunting for rebel weapons in and around Bakara Market, and on Monday the city's mayor, Mohamed Dheere, called on traders to return there and reopen their shops so they could be searched.
"We believe that a lot of wounded insurgents are hiding in Bakara and the surrounding areas," said one senior security officer who asked not to be named.
Ethiopian and Somali government troops have been battling insurgents in the Horn of Africa nation since Addis Ababa helped the interim administration rout a group of hard-line Islamists from Mogadishu in January following a two-week war.
About 1,600 Ugandan peacekeepers deployed in Mogadishu in March as the vanguard of a proposed 8,000-strong African Union force. No other nation has so far sent troops, although a similar number of Burundians are due to arrive this month.
Also on Monday, Somalia's interim government ordered an independent local broadcaster, Shabelle Radio, off the air and briefly detained two of its senior staff.
Earlier this year, the authorities accused Shabelle and other Somali news organizations of supporting the rebels.
"This is an operation against the independent media," Shabelle's acting director Jafar Kukay told Reuters after being released from custody at a police base in Bakara.
(Additional reporting by Barry Malone in Nairobi and Patrick Worsnip at the United Nations; Writing by Daniel Wallis; Editing by Xavier Briand)
Somali Clan Leader Hiding After Ethiopian-Backed Government Launches Crackdown
By Alisha Ryu
12 November 2007
The top leader of the Hawiye clan council of elders in the Somali capital Mogadishu is believed to have gone into hiding, after he accused Somalia's Ethiopian-backed interim government of trying to silence opposition. As VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, a government crackdown on leaders of the most dominant clan in Mogadishu is likely to further fuel public anger against the government and its Ethiopian allies.
VOA sources in Mogadishu say the chairman of the Hawiye clan elder's council, Mohamed Hassan Haad, moved to an undisclosed location, a day after he condemned the arrest of the group's spokesman, Ahmed Dirie.
Local media reports say before he went into hiding, Haad had publicly criticized leaders of Somalia's transitional federal government for arresting Dirie, accusing them of trying to silence opponents through force and intimidation.
On Sunday, the police in Mogadishu raided the home of Ahmed Dirie, arresting him, two of his sons, and another clan elder. The Somali Internet Web site, Garowe Online, reports that government sources told Garowe reporters that the police discovered a cache of weapons and explosives in Dirie's home.
The claim could not be independently verified.
A cabinet minister in the transitional federal government, Ahmed Gagaale, says he does not know why the police targeted Ahmed Dirie. But he says he is certain the arrest was not politically motivated.
"The people that have been arrested, if they are not guilty, they will be released," he said. "Dirie is one of the elders and if there is no evidence against him, he will be released, I assure you of that."
Since the interim government took power nearly a year ago with the military help of neighboring Ethiopia, the dominant Hawiye community in Mogadishu has been divided between those who support the Ethiopia-backed government and Somalia's former Islamic Courts rulers.
Haad and Dirie led a group of Hawiye elders in the council, who have been vocal in their opposition to the presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia, prompting some government officials to accuse them of supporting radical Islamists, the core group behind a bloody nine month anti-government, anti-Ethiopian insurgency in the capital.
In an interview with VOA, a member of the Hawiye elders council, Abdullahi Sheik Hassan, says Somalis who oppose Somalia's traditional enemy, Ethiopia, are being automatically judged as being enemies of the government.
"We want a government. We are not refusing a government. But Ethiopians, they are killing our children. They are arresting our people. We cannot support that," he said.
Many Somalis in Mogadishu accuse the Ethiopian army of committing atrocities against civilians, a charge the government in Addis Ababa denies.
But anti-Ethiopian demonstrations in the capital have been growing. On Sunday, hundreds of stone-throwing Somalis, including women and children, staged a mass protest in the same neighborhood in north Mogadishu, where an angry mob dragged the dead body of an Ethiopian soldier through the streets on Thursday.
Somalia: ASOJ denounces the closure of Radio Shabelle
Mon. November 12, 2007 10:18 pm.
By Mahad Hassan
(SomaliNet) The Association of Somali Journalists (ASOJ) has strongly condemned the act in which the transitional federal government troops shut down Somali Shabelle Radio in Mogadishu on Monday as in violation of the freedom of expression.
ASOJ expressed its deep concern over the pressure mounting to the radio which went off air after heavily armed government soldiers stormed the station’s headquarter near Bakara market in south of the capital.
“We are very sorry about toady’s action in which the government forces silenced Radio Shabelle,” said Dahir Alasow, the chairman of Association of Somali Journalists (ASOJ) adding that “this is absolutely intolerable action and in contrary to the free press,”
ASOJ called on the transitional federal government to allow Radio Shabelle to resume on air and perform its journalistic work.
No reason was given to the latest closure of Shabelle Radio, one of the popular FM stations operates in Mogadishu particular in Bakar market area where the government troop carried out door to door security search operations aimed to crack down the rising insurgents groups.
ASOJ urges all the warring sides in Somalia to respect the free media regarding obeying to the international law.
It is the eighth time that Shabelle Radio was shut down by the transitional federal government.
In one year alone, eight journalists have been killed in Somalia violence as dozens of others fled the country for their security.
Somalia: Al-Shabab threats to kill Somali journalist
Mon. November 12, 2007 09:05 pm.
By Mahad Hassan
(SomaliNet) The Young Islamic Movement known as ‘Al-Shabab’ in Somalia recently threatened to kill the editor of http://www.Waagacusub.com one of the Somali widely read websites after they accused him of ‘setting flame among the Mujahidsts’, sources say on Monday.
In a statement posted on their website on 9 November, the Al-Shabab said Dahir Abdulle Alasow is a great spy and sought to bring the Islamists against one another publishing fabricated news stories.
The website, http://www.almujaahid.com which also posted the photo of Dahir Alasow said the journalist spread a news over that the Al-Shabab’s spokesman Sheik Mukhtar Robow Abu-Mansur was fired from the post.
The Association of Somali Journalist (ASOJ) condemned the death threat by the Al-Shabab on Dahir Alasow as in violation of human rights.
“Abu-Mansur emailed and telephoned me many times and threatened that he will kill me and I answered to him ‘you are not closer to Allah than me and you are not the life taker,” said Dahir Alasow, the chairman of ASOJ and editor of http://www.Waagacusub.com
Mr.Alasow, who is now in Nairobi, Kenya in exile, left Mogadishu mid this May after the transitional federal government and Al-Shabab Islamic movement threatened to kill him and had been in Hargeisa, Somaliland for a while.
Similarly, the TFG issued a death warning against Dahir on 13 October this year after he was accused of publishing report on the conflict between Somali’s interim president Abdulahi Yusuf and his Prime Minister Ali Gedi and the president wanted to sack the premier.
On 1st December 2005, two years ago, the Al-Furqan Islamic Courts under the control Islamic Courts Union issued arrest sentence on Dahir Alasow over baseless charges.
Dahir Alasow is known to publish sensitive and untold news stories which made the Waagacusub site more popular among the readers.
Eight journalists were killed and dozens more were wounded in Somalia this year alone while many others fled their country. | <urn:uuid:1a6f176a-9090-453e-bc21-2239e2d4ad2c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://panafricannews.blogspot.com/2007/11/somali-update-residents-flee-capital.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961837 | 2,312 | 1.5 | 2 |
Best way to catch frogs in a little pond?
To catch a frog in a pond: Go to a pond with a cover and net. Get a tiny flash light and look. Be quiet then listen but remember that frogs have really ..MORE?
Answered by kgb agent Grisel V on Sunday, May 13 2012 at 09:04PM EDT | <urn:uuid:4094e69a-0f35-475e-9ec1-c5d242b65460> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kgbanswers.com/best-way-to-catch-frogs-in-a-little-pond/22379721 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.940434 | 73 | 1.742188 | 2 |
The declaration last week by President Mario Draghi that he will do "whatever it takes" to save the euro whipped markets into a frenzy. Investors took it as a signal that the ECB was poised to announce dramatic intervention to stem the eurozone crisis before policymakers take a summer break.
With expectations for the press conference on Thursdy afternoon so high, however, anything short of major action is likely to disappoint markets and trigger fresh panic. Here is a look at some of the possible options open to the Bank.
The ECB could grant a banking licence for the region’s permanent bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism. This would allow the ESM to borrow from the central bank and take on a “lender of last resort” role for those sovereigns in difficulty but essentially solvent, like Spain and Italy. It would be a hugely significant move and likely have the most dramatic impact. Italy’s Prime Minister Mario Monti said yesterday such a move “will in due course occur”, but strong opposition from German policymakers makes it unlikely today.
The ECB might opt to expand its Securities Markets Programme, which allows the central bank to buy distressed government bonds. The Bank has in the past bought a total of around €210bn of bonds in Greece, Portugal and Ireland, and later Spain and Italy. Economists believe that any further purchases would have to be on a far bigger scale to make an impact on Spanish and Italian bonds markets and bring borrowing costs down. Rather than limiting the programme, they say, the ECB would have to make it unlimited and permanent. Germany has long-opposed the SMP, but it hasn’t stopped the Bank in the past.
However, there is a sense that the ECB will only be prepared to intervene in a specific sovereign bond market at this point if that sovereign has first appealed for aid from the region’s rescue fund. Spain has so far resisted such a move for fear of repercussions. This could prove a major stumbling block. Nonetheless, the ECB could always announce its willingness to act should countries satisfy that condition.
The ECB has so far refused to consider the idea of monetary stimulus through quantitative easing. Bond purchases made under the SMP have been sterilised, with those bought offset by sales of other bonds, meaning no net stimulus to the eurozone has occurred. QE on the other hand would involve buying bonds across the region with newly created money. Again, Germany is vehemently opposed to the idea. The Bank could potentially use some sort of model to determine how many bonds per eurozone member it would buy. For example buying according to the debt-to GDP ratio of member states.
A liquidity boost
Another round of the ECB’s long-term refinancing operation could be favoured by the Bank. The ECB has already provided €1 trillion of liquidity through the LTRO and prevented Europe’s money markets from completely seizing up at the turn of the year. It may decide to revisit this again, given the region’s banking crisis is far from over. Collateral agreements could be loosened to make it easier for banks to get access to the cash, which might then make its way into the wider economy.
Lower interest rates
The ECB hasn't opted to further lower interest rates. It cut borrowing costs to a new record low of 0.75pc in July from 1pc, so it has scope to go lower. However, this would be considered a “fiddling around the edges” measure with limited impact.
Combination of measures
The ECB is not limited to one option and could choose a combination to maximise impact. The most likely would be to combine bond buying and further liquidity provision. | <urn:uuid:c08ef1b5-64ee-4d97-b801-a15cc8c85d01> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financialcrisis/9444699/Debt-crisis-What-could-the-ECB-do-to-save-the-euro.html | 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 | 0.966722 | 752 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Do you ever notice how just looking at a picture of a chocolate cake on the menu makes you want to order one too? According to a recent study presented at the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, the part of your brain that caters to reward and appetite control actually lights up when you look at pictures of decadent desserts.
Researchers recruited 13 obese Hispanic women and showed them pictures of various sweet treats, like cupcakes, chocolate cake, and chocolate chip cookies. The participants were then asked to rate their appetite before and after seeing the images. Results revealed that their appetite was stronger after the experiment. Not only that, but the study also provided proof that the regions of the brain linked to reward and appetite were lit up as well.
In another experiment, researchers gave participants a sugary drink (approximately 200 calories) and repeated the process of scanning their brains and showing them pictures of tasty treats. The results were unexpected. Instead of reducing their appetite, the sugary drink merely made it stronger.
"Surprisingly, consumption of the sugar drink--which was essentially equivalent to a 16-ounce soda--actually increased the ratings of hunger and desire," says Dr. Kathleen Page, a professor of medicine at the University of Southern California. "We didn’t predict a hunger increase with the sugar drink. Apparently the brain saw it as an appetizer."
If that is the case, then it’s no wonder everyone seems to be struggling with their weight. With food ads left and right, staying away from temptation may prove to be near impossible. Still, you may want to resist poring over the menu photos the next time you're out at a restaurant and instead consulting dish descriptions or your server to determine your order. And much as you may love browsing through food blogs, it may be a good idea to do so after you have eaten so the chances of overindulging might be reduced.
(Photo by Food Thinker via Flickr Creative Commons) | <urn:uuid:3d12f942-69aa-4009-a1c5-5029206dc5c7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.femalenetwork.com/health-wellness/simply-looking-at-photos-of-sweet-treats-may-make-you-hungrier | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965931 | 399 | 1.8125 | 2 |
While President Obama is still statistically likely to win November’s election, several recent developments have emerged that lower those chances substantially. The more widely discussed issue is the outbreak of violence around the Muslim world against US interests. The other issue that we’ll discuss in this article is a government report from last week showed a major decline (1.2%) in overall industrial production for August 2012.
Why is a decline in industrial production bad news for President Obama? With the economy still limping along, President Obama has been relying on the overall narrative that he is rebuilding the manufacturing base of America and setting the foundation for long term growth. But negative manufacturing trends don’t support this story and undermine one of the few positive economic indicators that President Obama had going for him. | <urn:uuid:9a0492ce-f15f-4891-b02d-9b09dd268644> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businesspundit.com/poor-industrial-production-for-august-2012-hurts-obama/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972122 | 157 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Posted by: Big_D on Nov-08-10 7:55 AM (EST)
It is real easy to get into trouble in cold weather or cold water.
Pick your water carefully, keep a close eye on the weather, maintain a bail-out bag with you in the boat, learn how to use the contents of the bail-out bag, learn to use your boat well, dress to stay dry if you fall into the water, dress for the water temps and not the air temps, and above all use your head.
The bail-out bag should contain fire making materials, high calorie food (like a protein bar and granola bars), a spare set of dry clothes, a "space" blanket, and maybe a small shelter of some kind (like one of the space blanket bivies). I also like to take some hot tea or hot chocolate in a thermos when the weather is cold.
As far as whether you are crazy to go alone, it all depends on your skill level and the other choices you make. I will say that it is very easy to get into big trouble fast, especially when alone. I lost a friend who was paddling in waters familiar to him a few years ago. He was very experienced and well equipped. The weather turned unexpectedly and instead of small waves in a protected cove, he found himself in big trouble.
On the other hand, my step-mother used to do everything wrong when she paddled and survived things without even much of a scare that would have killed stronger, younger people.
Great Products from the Buyers' Guide: | <urn:uuid:646b6021-402a-49c7-9483-07391cccaa20> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.paddling.net/message/showThread.html?fid=fishing&tid=1347974 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954888 | 329 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Last Spring, we took a family trip to Mississippi to visit Dee’s grandmother and extended family. We drove with our 4 kids, including our 8-month-old twins. It was quite an undertaking trying to plan and pack for that trip (but we did make it through and had a great time!). The day we were leaving, I was trying to get the last things packed and make sure I was bringing everything we would need and my Accidental Parenting kicked in yet again.
The three little ones were napping, but I had a very excited 4-year-old following me around asking me lots of questions and wanting attention that I didn’t have to give right then. So, out of nowhere, I said (in a very excited tone), “Karis, let’s see how many Big Girl jobs you can do before we leave!” Every time she helped me with something I would write a number on our kitchen chalkboard and I made a big deal out of how many numbers she was getting. I titled it “Karis’ Big Girl Numbers” and she surprisingly loved it and was very motivated to keep getting numbers.
The last hour before we got out the door went much smoother, but more than that, I saw how well she responded to positive motivation. Even as a first grade teacher, I struggled with extrinsic motivation of candy or stickers. I don’t love the idea of kids getting something or asking for a little treat every time they do the right thing when it’s what they should be doing anyway (enter Chris Rock’s voice in my head: ”What do you want, a cookie?!?”). However, children definitely need motivation (as do I) and recognition (as do I).
We are actually still, a year later, using “Big Girl Numbers” for Karis. Here are the “rules” for how we use them:
- Karis gets a number written on the board for doing “Big Girl” things – being kind/helpful to her siblings, cleaning up without being asked, responding quickly and happily to instructions, accepting answers without arguing or complaining. Basically it’s the things she needs to work on and we change what she gets a number for according to what she needs motivation for in her behavior. It’s not a set list.
- Only Dee or I can put up numbers. She can’t ask for a number or she doesn’t get one.
- When she gets to 50, she gets a treat of some sort. We let her choose between buying something or going to do something. We try to stress the “Big Girl” part and let her get something or do something that our little ones can’t have – paint nails, a small toy, go on a date with one of us.
Letting her work to 50 has been good motivation. It’s an achievable goal because sometimes she’ll get a few numbers in the same day. But it’s also big enough to give her something to work toward. She calls it her “50 Prize” and she thinks about what she will choose for her prize a lot. But even with the prize at the end, I see her get the most pride from the recognition for doing a good job. Another side benefit is working on recognizing and writing numbers almost every day.
Now I’m not really sure how long we’re going to keep this going since I didn’t really have a plan for it in the beginning. And I don’t know if I’m going to start it with the other kids. More Accidental Parenting in play here – I guess I’ll just let it happen and see where it takes us.
What do you use to motivate positive behavior in your children?
Other posts in Accidental Parenting: | <urn:uuid:20730010-a514-4770-8a11-99b5e46ee9f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://gettingthroughtheday.com/parenting/accidental-parenting-part-3-motivation-for-big-girl-behavior.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976102 | 818 | 1.828125 | 2 |
James Stewart received the M.S. degree from Stanford University and the Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. After two years as a postdoctoral fellow at the University of London, he became Professor of Mathematics at McMaster University. His research has been in harmonic analysis and functional analysis. Stewart’s books include a series of high school textbooks as well as a best-selling series of calculus textbooks published by Brooks/Cole. He is also co-author, with Lothar Redlin and Saleem Watson, of a series of college algebra and precalculus textbooks. Translations of his books include those into Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian, Korean, Chinese, Greek, and Indonesian.
A talented violinist, Stewart was concertmaster of the McMaster Symphony Orchestra for many years and played professionally in the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. Having explored the connections between music and mathematics, Stewart has given more than 20 talks worldwide on Mathematics and Music and is planning to write a book that attempts to explain why mathematicians tend to be musical.
Stewart was named a Fellow of the Fields Institute in 2002 and was awarded an honorary D.Sc. in 2003 by McMaster University. The library of the Fields Institute is named after him. The James Stewart Mathematics Centre was opened in October, 2003, at McMaster University.
For the academic year 2007-2008, Stewart is teaching calculus at the University of Toronto. Here is his MAT135 class: | <urn:uuid:6989baec-1e58-4775-bb75-ad5a2c42bc30> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://stewartcalculus.com/media/6_author_about.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974337 | 292 | 1.820313 | 2 |
The LA Times summarizes the case made by journalist Ron Suskind that the Bush administration orchestrated the forging of a document by Iraqi defector and former intelligence chief Tahir Jalil Habbush. Habbush was allegedly paid $5 million and settled in Jordan because of his cooperation.
The document, which alleged that 9/11 hijacker Muhammad Atta received training at a camp run by Abu Nidal in Baghdad, was leaked to British hack Con Coughlin in December, 2003.
The allegations in the document are completely implausible. Sabri Khalil al-Banna, known as Abu Nidal, was a psychopathic and paranoid leftist who had had ties to East Germany and split with the PLO because it was too far right for him. Neither would al-Qaeda, a far rightwing Muslim fundamentalist cult, have been willing to have anything to do with him, nor he with it.
The regime of Saddam Hussein would never, ever have allowed a loose canon like Abu Nidal to run a terrorist training camp in Iraq. I mean, really. First you accuse the Baath of being totalitarian, then you say they let notoriously unstable people run around with explosives? Moreover, Jordanian intelligence would never have countenanced such a thing, and Saddam needed Jordan’s smuggling trade to get around the UN/ US boycott, so he could not have afforded to disregard their sensibilities completely. He could not have hidden a whole training camp from Amman!
Ironically, Habbush, who created the forgery, had probably been the one who whacked Abu Nidal, as head of Iraqi intelligence, in 2002. So, having killed the man, Habbush then used him for tradecraft purposes.
The letter also mentions, according to Coughlin, the purchase of uranium from Niger by Iraq and its transshipment across Libya and Syria.
Ayad Allawi, a long-time CIA asset, vouched for the forged document to Coughlin. That item is circumstantial evidence for Suskind’s narrative about Bush coercing the Company into manufacturing this thing. Allawi, based in London, had a special charge from the CIA to cultivate ex-officers who defected from Iraq, so he may have been Habbush’s handler.
Now for the big mystery: Why bother to cook up this document in September, 2003, after the US had already conquered Iraq?
It seems to me likely that the forgery was ordered by the White House as a direct response to Ambassador Joe Wilson’s New York Times op-ed that revealed that he had proven false the allegation that Saddam had recently bought yellowcake uranium from the African country of Niger.
By September of 2003, a guerrilla war was raging in Iraq and it had become clear that there were no WMD. Shiite cleric Muhammad Baqir al-Hakim was blown up in Najaf on August 31. GIs were being killed in al-Anbar.
Bush and Cheney needed to refute Wilson’s allegation that they ignored his report on Niger uranium. They also needed a smoking gun to tie Iraq to al-Qaeda, without which their continued occupation of the country was on thin legal grounds.
Tying Atta to Abu Nidal would form an ex post facto justification for the war, something Bush desperately needed.
Tying Syria and Libya to the alleged Iraqi nuclear program was also a way to set them up as the next targets. | <urn:uuid:a2dc40de-58b9-446d-abdd-74137a6a6155> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.juancole.com/2008/08/was-abu-nidal-forgery-aimed-at-refuting.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00030-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.982343 | 706 | 1.75 | 2 |
An American Legacy: Norell, Blass, Halston & Sprouse at the Indianapolis Museum of Art
highlights the achievements of celebrated fashion designers Norman Norell, Bill Blass, Stephen Sprouse and Halston, all of whom hailed from Indiana. Spanning more than 50 years of fashion history, the exhibition presents the work of four innovative designers, their individual styles and lasting influence on American fashion. Featuring some of the most outstanding garments from the Indianapolis Museum of Arts fashion arts collection, An American Legacy will be on view from May 4, 2012, to January 27, 2013.
Adhering to individual creative philosophies, these designers produced bodies of work that contributed significantly to the universal definition of American style. An American Legacy, the first group exhibition devoted to these prolific designers, traces their careers and offers a fresh look at their work, which ranges in date from the 1940s to the late 20th century.
Norell, Blass, Halston and Sprouse influenced not only American fashion, but international style, said Niloo Paydar, curator of fashion and textile arts. The pieces in An American Legacy were selected to represent the unique style of each designer, highlighting their individual artistic approaches and philosophies of decorating the human body.
The exhibition features more than 50 garments drawn from the IMAs comprehensive collection, augmented with major loans from the archives of Stephen Sprouse. Established in 1973 with the donation of five pieces from the estate of Norman Norell, the IMAs American fashion design collection now comprises more than 500 pieces from Norell, Blass and Halston alone.
Among the highlights of the exhibition are a Bill Blass evening gown created for the former first lady Nancy Reagan, a Norman Norell day dress worn by American actress Betty Furness while on camera during the 1960 Presidential convention, a 1972 evening dress designed by Halston based on Andy Warhols flowers paintings, and a Sprouse designed Warhol-inspired camouflage dress popularized by rock star Debbie Harry. Organized by the IMA, An American Legacy will be on view in the museums Gerald & Dorit Paul Textile and Fashion Arts galleries. | <urn:uuid:875aaedd-71be-4e0d-94d9-8c97dbd2595b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artdaily.com/index.asp?int_sec=11&int_new=55189&int_modo=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933546 | 437 | 1.835938 | 2 |
2009-11-08 51 14
Between Klein Bademeusel (DE) and Tuplice(PL) on the Polish side of the border.
The closest available border crossing is north of Forst(Lausitz).
- There is one really close (Bademeusel), which is a highway and unpassable for pedestrians and cyclists.
- There is the rail operating between Cottbus and Tuplice, with three trains a day, either at ~6am or ~4pm.
Hence, we plan to go to Forst(Lausitz) by train (
10,70 Eur reduced fee + bike pass¹, departure 10:03 on Hauptbahnhof), cross the border to the north of Forst, and cycle along the Polish side of the border until we hit either the geohash or the end of the passable roads. But it should be all forest tracks or something. Unverified sources say, there is a historical explosive factory somewhere in the area.
- We'll take the next train at 11. -- relet 08:51, 8 November 2009 (UTC)
That's how the day started for us. Re-calculating the time we would need for the expedition, we opted for an extended breakfast instead of an early depart. And while the trains to Zazieki and Tuplice on the Polish side of the border run only three times a day, the same train to Forst circulates on an hourly basis. We reached all the trains in time, and were soon greeted by the first Sorbian village names. Sorbian is the second largest minority language in Germany, spoken by some 20000 people in Upper and Lower Lusatia, an area that is today shared between Poland and Germany.
During the trip we memorized the melodies the German rail uses to announce stations, mainly to annoy other voyagers when playing these on a xaphoon. The first notes which form the station announcement jingle are immediately recognized (and acknowledged with a distressed groan) by anyone who ever took a regional train in the area, yet the actual folk songs or their lyrics are largely unknown to our generations. ¹We also realized that we could have ridden far cheaper by using a different combination of tickets.
Our bikes and the two of us reached Forst (or Baršć, as they call it), organized our backpack and the devices and set off in direction of the border crossing. Knowing that we wouldn't have cheap uplink on the Polish side, we were prepared with a hand-drawn paper map instead of relying on the downloads. Thus, we managed to lose our way even on this side. So, relet turned on the GPS and even found some still cached map tiles of where we were going to go.
We reached the border on excellent cycling trails that are part of the Oder-Neiße cycling network. The border crossing was unspectacular, as expected. However, they still do have an operational customs station here where you might stop to declare your goods. We found out that, as a pedestrian, you could just as well opt to continue on the walking paths along the river if you have any reason to avoid the officials. We didn't, crossed the station and over the river, and continued on the Polish side on equally good cycling trails.
The trails continued until the Zasieki roundabout, from whence we planned to go south until the road ended, and to continue on what trails the forest were to offer. We passed a small cemetery, Zasieki station (where the formerly mentioned train stops, three times a day), and reached the village of Brożek. The road continued from there on as a concrete slab track into the forest. There was some building activity on the one side, and some disused buildings on the other.
Cycling on, we discovered that the whole area was covered in small concrete mounds, overgrown with trees, and bushes and greenery, by now windowless and derelict. Relet preferred to think of it as the hobbit homes in the Shire, while lyx said it looked like a war scenery. Might have been a bit of both. However, it is amazing how fully grown trees can grow on a mere layer of concrete (and the earth that has been collected on it), pillowed two or three metres above ground.
Eventually, we reached the end of the road. We were greeted by a lowered boom, and a security booth guarding the scrap metal processing area behind it. We spotted a security guy in the booth, and relet walked up to ask him for directions. About that time, he realized that all his holiday knowledge of the Polish language had shrunk to a "dobry" greeting (half of a "good day", but perfectly acceptable in an informal context), not remembering how the Polish prefer to continue it. He tried to explain that we were to continue along the Odra. The security guy pointed back the road, and said something.
We decided to backtrack a bit, and search for further trails, which we had seen on the satellite images. In that respect, we were quite lucky, and found a truck-wide sandy (what is euphemized as waterbound by construction people) trail pointing in roughly the direction we wanted to take. We soon found an even sandier road heading into an even better direction and took this one. There were even some kind of road signs on this road.
About 1.5km later, the distance on the GPS was down to 150m and began to increase again. Time to call it a stupidity distance and head into the forest. We found a former forest track (less trees, and about a truck wide) in the direction of the hash, locked our bikes to a tree, and headed into the forest. Lyx was still hoping to get a good view of the Odra, but we soon found out that a large girdle of reed and fields separated us from the water. Still, we found the hash, and celebrated this with a stupid grin.
To return, we had to backtrack our way - which went quite well, but was a bit unspectacular.
- success! we're back in Forst and waiting for the train. -- relet 15:59, 8 November 2009 (UTC)
- We saw two roes on a lot next to the road, which were particularly unimpressed by our human presence.
- Lots of cats were out hunting, or sitting, or whatever cats are doing.
- We chased about 1.533 ducks from a field while cycling by. The noise was immense.
| lyx and relet earned the Border geohash achievement
| relet earned the Musician Achievement | <urn:uuid:66c181c2-bb58-406d-a171-b65cadb46df7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wiki.xkcd.com/geohashing/2009-11-08_51_14 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9776 | 1,393 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Showing Juntas Some Love
An Associated Press headline reads China vows closer military ties with North Korea.
China said Friday it would strengthen military ties with ally North Korea. … The vow follows a three-day visit to the North by the Chinese military's top political commissar, Li Jinai, during which he told North Korean leader Kim Jong Il that China's army wanted to enhance understanding and mutual trust and strengthen practical exchanges with the North Korean military.
Although Li's trip was likely planned in advance, recent remarks by President Barack Obama asserting the U.S. military's continuing presence in Asia have riled Beijing. Chinese government-backed scholars and state media say they see the strengthening of America's alliance's with the Philippines, Australia and others as a new form of encirclement aimed at blocking China's rising predominance in the region.
Meanwhile, last August, in that junta in democracy's clothing known as Burma, reads a Guardian headline, Aung San Suu Kyi meets Burma's president Thein Sein. Then, on Monday, November 14, the AP ran a story headlined: Suu Kyi says Myanmar government has taken positive steps toward reform, more needs to be done.
Thein Sein was prime minister under the junta led by Than Shwe and was elected president in 2010, when AP reports, "As expected, the polls brought to power a proxy party for the military." Myanmar "democracy icon" Aung San Suu Kyi, as AP calls her, stated that she believed Thein Sein was committed to reforms.
“I personally believe that he is very genuine in his desire for the process of democratization,” Suu Kyi said.
Next, on Friday, November 18, a BBC headline read Suu Kyi's NLD democracy party to rejoin Burma politics
On Friday her National League for Democracy said it would register to run in the as yet unscheduled by-elections. The party boycotted the last polls in November 2010, the first in 20 years.
On the same day a Reuters headline read Obama opens door to new U.S. ties with Myanmar.
"We want to seize what could be a historic opportunity for progress and make it clear that if Burma continues to travel down the road of democratic reform, it can forge a new relationship with the United States of America," Obama said.
And the big news:
Clinton's two-day visit from December 1 would be the first by a U.S. Secretary of State since a 1962 military coup ushered in 50 years of unbroken military rule that ended in March when a nominally civilian parliament was established.
The cherry on top: UN Supports Burma's Selection to Chair ASEAN.
At the East Asia Summit Saturday, the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed support for the decision by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, to choose Burma to chair its meetings in 2014. … “Now the United Nations welcomes, just as ASEAN did, the recent developments of the situation under the leadership of [Burmese] President Thein Sein, releasing political prisoners and taking proactive initiatives to reform their political systems,” he said.
What's the moral here -- or, in the case of juntas -- the im-moral? With NORK, simply that occasionally the tide of regional politics will turn in its favor. In Burma's case, token reforms can be just enough to provide an opening for a Western world eager to trade for resources monopolized by China and India to poke through. | <urn:uuid:dc5f6c4c-c19f-4622-9c35-6d7115f9df6b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fpif.org/blog/showing_juntas_some_love?q=Tag%3ADisarmament | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957689 | 740 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Donald Ray Bernard has his particular dreams in terms of car racing. Auto racing is usually a preferred sport amongst lots of people. A great deal of Americans like to watch this particular racing affair which they also let their own friends gather into their homes to watch the race together.
Donald R. Bernard as well as the Kinds of Car Racing
Racing has become a good idea of selling in addition to advertisement to many people organizations. That is because of the fact that many persons are watching this great racing fad and businesses took benefit of it. Auto racing continues to be one among the quickest expanding sports on the planet.
Donald Ray Bernard is convinced that NASCAR racing is usually a risky world to go into. You can put yourselves in danger simply learning to be a racecar driver. There are many of crash accidents that you’ll confront. Therefore, great care is extremely important.
There are various forms of car racing. The very first type is actually drag racing. Such type of racing is conducted in a very straight road or maybe street inside of a short distance. Automobiles which can be engaged in this particular race own potent engines. This specific race normally takes about 10-seconds to conclude. Parachutes are essential only to show the car to stop.
One other type is the stock car racing. This can be done on tracks. This can be known as the American race as many Americans enjoy this kind of race. The actual cars made use of tend to be production cars which might be refitted to race. The particular tracks employed in this kind of car racing are typically in oval shape. NASCAR races would be best known for this specific racing type.
Sports car racing usually are sports cars in addition to prototypes racing is a closed circuit. They shall be racing in opposition to each other. Typically, they’re racing within a long distances. Such type of great racing features teams along with 2 to 3 people in a team. The actual members will probably replace one another within a specific period within the race.
The last type of auto racing is the single-seater racing. To numerous viewers within this gaming planet, this is actually the most in-demand. The particular car auto used in this game race is made for the purpose of racing simply. It possesses a great individual seat just, designed for one car driver simply.
They have uncovered wheels. They also have wings to allow them to go through the race car road easier. This helps in speeding up quickly. This particular game race is usually completed in shut circuits having oval tracks. The most popular occurrence is the Formula One, which includes an annual world championship.
Supplies Utilized in Racing According to Donald R. Bernard
Donald Ray Bernard features the significance of the particular supplies as well as gears through the Texas car race. These kinds of materials can protect a person, in particular within a car crash. It is a risky world, and that’s why these kinds of supplies are incredibly important.
When you finally own a race automobile, you must have car auto tools. They may be necessary so your car will certainly function properly. Caring for your car is a bit more than that. You have to polish, paint, sand, as well as repair and also tune your vehicle. Hence, the particular right supplies are needed.
Racing expert claims these supplies brings mark ups to you. Once you know somebody who has a race car, it is among the finest gifts. Actually seatbelts are extremely much needed.
Some of the car auto gears that require to come handy are generally adhesives, cockpit accessory mounts, car linkage. In addition, you really need coolants and also sealants, chassis brackets, decals in addition to patches, unique lubricants, roll bar padding and even more. This makes the actual risky realm of this game race less hazardous.
NASCAR races along with other varieties of races are becoming a fundamental piece of someone’s driving encounter. Consequently, this information is quite definitely necessary for your safety. Racing will almost always be an incredible racing, thanks to Donald R. Bernard. | <urn:uuid:9bbf8ea4-ce86-4093-96c0-5eaeb72308c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cqbbjsw.com/general/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97124 | 835 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Biotech companies run into walls all the time, and either reinvent themselves or die. If they’re fortunate, they get one shot at a turnaround. San Diego-based Ambit Biosciences is getting a third chance, and this time it has some hard data, not just a flashy concept, to offer.
Ambit got started in May 2000, just when the bubble was starting to pop on the Internet and genomics stock bubbles. Ambit’s original plan was to take some technology out of Yale University to build a database of all the proteins in the body and sell the information to drug companies.
When that business model fell out of favor just seven months later, Ambit re-started around the idea of screening ideal drug candidates against certain protein targets. Two multi-billion dollar drugs for diabetes and neurological conditions, metformin and gabapentin, were losing patent protection, and Ambit thought it could develop more effective second-generation treatments if it could discover how they really interacted with protein targets. It raised $20 million on that effort in 2001 and 2002, before it flamed out the next year.
“At the end of the second incarnation, we had nothing. It didn’t work,” says Scott Salka, Ambit’s CEO. “We had two strikes against us, we were standing at the plate, and had hardly any money. We could fold up our tent and go home, or salvage something.”
Ambit’s next chance came with an emerging class of drugs known as kinase inhibitors. They have been a hot area for prospective cancer drugs over the past decade, and block certain enzymes called kinases. Novartis’ imatinib (Gleevec) achieved breakthrough status (and multi-billion-dollar sales) as an inhibitor of a very specific kinase involved in chronic myeloid leukemia. Other pioneering kinase inhibitors, like Pfizer’s sunitinib (Sutent) appeared to work well against kidney cancer even though it blocked several variations in the family of kinases. That stirred debate about whether it was better to be more selective to certain targets, or less, in developing new compounds. That created demand among drug companies to do in-depth selectivity studies, Salka says. As a result, drug companies lined up for services from Ambit, which could screen large numbers of kinases for the best possible drug to block them.
That core skill of Ambit’s was good enough to win support from Roche, Bristol-Myers Squibb, GlaxoSmithKline, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Cephalon, and has provided some cash to keep the doors open of a fledgling biotech company for nine years. It’s also enabled Ambit to raise a total of $105 million from a list of investors that now stretches 14 deep.
But just like genomics was the hot new thing that faded in 2000, it’s hard to get investors excited about a biotech business that collects fees for services from Big Pharma. The big potential, as always, is in developing new drugs for deadly diseases.
While Ambit was screening kinases for Big Pharma customers, it was also building up a portfolio of kinase drug candidates of its own. The company’s lead asset of the moment is AC220 for acute myeloid leukemia. It’s a malignancy that strikes 13,000 people each year in the U.S., mostly elderly, who have a short life expectancy and no realistic treatment options beyond chemotherapy. With little notice, Ambit is gearing up this month to start a pivotal clinical trial of this product and is even in partnership talks. If this drug can match striking results seen in an earlier study, then Ambit could have this product on the market by the first half of 2011, Salka says.
“It’s a great story for San Diego biotech,” Salka says. “Hopefully we can deliver the goods.”
Ambit drew some attention for its drug last December at the American Society of Hematology meeting in San Francisco. That was where researchers reported that 16 of the first 54 patients with relapsed forms of acute myeloid leukemia had tumor shrinkage …Next Page | <urn:uuid:c32b8192-0f37-43d7-8735-37eb53538565> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2009/sep/10/wwwxconomycom40816/?xconomy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957533 | 892 | 1.679688 | 2 |
IntroductionPAGE UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Lizard Head Peak just may be one of the most coveted summits in Colorado. It is one of the 637 13,000 ft peaks.It's one of the few summits in Colorado that requires a rope to get to it's summit. Add some history to that and it's a classic!
In Albert Ellingwood's words,
A rottener mass of rock is inconceivable. The core may still be solid but the "surrounding tuffs" are seeking a lower level in large quantities. This far-advanced disintegration was our greatest obstacle. Absolutely the whole surface of the rock is loose and pebbles rain down from the sides as readily as needles from an aging Christmas tree. In many places one could with one hand pull down hundreds of pounds of fragments, and occasionally we could hear the crashing of small avalanches that fell without human prompting.
OverviewLizard Head Peak has been known as Colorado's hardest summit to reach as the easiest route is 5.8+. It stands out as a big pinnacle shooting into the sky. It almost looks like a desert tower except that it's at over 13,000 feet and the rock isn't great. The top 500 feet of Lizard Head is a near vertical pillar. Heavy erosion leaving whats left of an ancient volcano. That being said, the rock is not Yosemite like. Many that have done it, never return again due to that factor. I would do it again though! It ain't that loose, as storied. The summit is the best in Colorado in my opinion. Lizard Head also has a bit of history.
There are at least 3 routes in it's south face. The standard route is what everyone uses though and the other routes, expect massive amounts of choss. There is potential for new routes if that's your sort of thing. New routes would be steep, loose, run out, and probably require some aid.
Get to Telluride one way or another. The peak is accessed by the Cross Mountain TH at Lizard Head Pass just west of town. There is a pullout. There is no winter closure as it's right off the highway. Follow the trail all the way to the saddle between Wilson and Lizard Head. Head straight up the cone until you arrive at the base, a corner.
No Red Tape. Leave no trace!
When To ClimbJuly to early September is the main season for climbing Lizard Head Peak. The snow is gone. That being said, take my advice and get a late start. The route is in the shade in the morning and is bitter cold. Some have got frost bite in the summer. You don't want to get too late of a start though. Make sure your off the summit by 11 or 12 at the latest as this would be one nasty place to be with lightning.
Winter on Lizard Head Peak is more of a challenge, if doing it in the summer is not hard enough. It involves a large dose of suffering. Climbing in double boots and gloves is a must making the climb feel a bit harder then 5.8. No ice screws needed as there was no ice just snow covered rock. The summit has been one of my favorite experiences in the winter in CO. That being said, I only know of one or maybe two parties climbing it in the winter in the history. It's a bit more serious but well worth the effort!
Additions and Corrections[ Post an Addition or Correction ] | <urn:uuid:a00661e1-febc-4f10-96e9-50134b52ba1b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.summitpost.org/lizard-head/152036 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969228 | 712 | 1.65625 | 2 |
RightScale Eases Developing on Amazon EC2
RightScale Eases Developing on Amazon EC2
Software development is always easier when you have tools to assist you, such as integrated development environments and code libraries. However, now that programming has reached the level of the so-called cloud, the need for tools to help in development has grown even more. Programming for the cloud requires maintaining, not just the software, but the whole infrastructure that is supporting the software.
Amazon.com's various cloud offerings are a case in point. Developing for Amazon EC2 (Elastic Compute Cloud) can be done with a modest set of tools, including the Eclipse IDE and the command-line tools from Amazon.com itself. However, dealing with the software can be a big task, from provisioning to effectively managing servers and assets. That's where tools such as the RightScale Platform come in.
RightScale provides what it calls the RightScale Dashboard to help manage the infrastructure. The product comes with several price plans, including a free developer account that even includes a free trial run of Amazon EC2.
In this article, I take the developer account for a spin to see what it can do. RightScale also offers tools that go beyond what the free developer tool can do. Go here for a full comparison of RightScale's offerings.
When starting out with the free developer account, users log in to the site via the Web page, and can easily launch one of several prepackaged server templates. When creating an account in Amazon.com's cloud, developers need to start by specifying a server. The servers are equivalent to various familiar desktop server configurations, complete with an operating system and various startup and shutdown scripts.
The product offers templates, an area where the benefits of using RightScale are already apparent. Instead of the user having to fuss over configurations, RightScale has already done the work.
For this free trial, I chose the server called Mephisto all-in-one (per the directions for the free trial). For each server, users can get a full description. The description for this said it was a "blog application written in Ruby on Rails" and that the template "combines Load Balancer, Rails application [Mephisto] and MySQL all-in-one box." In other words, this is a preconfigured blogging application running on a server.
There is also the word "image," followed by the description, "RightImage CentOS5_0V3_0_0 (ami-d8a347b1)." This is also something preconfigured by RightScale; it's a custom server image that mimics an operating system on a desktop computer. RightScale offers several preconfigured images, including, for example, a Ubuntu installation running on an X86 system. Through the dashboard, programmers can launch individual images, or they can launch a template that's an image preconfigured with software. And they're free to launch just an image without using a template, if they prefer more customization.
Walking Through the Tabs
RightScale also offers various tabs, which I explored before launching the template. The Scripts tab lists all the scripts that will run on this server, including various Ruby on Rails scripts and MySQL and Apache monitoring tools.
The Inputs tab lists several environment variables that this template preconfigures. Remember, programmers are effectively building a server here, so environment variables play a part.
The Xref tab shows an empty list; it will later show the instances where I've deployed this template. Finally, the Revisions tab shows the various revisions RightScale has made to this template.
I clicked on the Launch button on the template page, and instead of Amazon.com's entire cloud crashing due to any mistakes on my part, a message box opened informing me that the template would launch in the default deployment. This box had a second Launch button, which I clicked; a nice message told me it had been added to my deployment. It took me to the Launch Inputs page I looked at earlier, saying the server would launch with this configuration. It took a while to launch.
Each environment variable was listed, and next to it was a text box filled in with the default setting; I could have typed something different to override these, but didn't.
I clicked the third Launch button and glanced out the window in the direction of Cape Canaveral.
This button took me back to my Dashboard, where I saw a list of my deployments, including the one I had just launched. Its state was "Pending," which presumably meant it hadn't actually started yet. Next to the state was a column called IP, then one called Zone, then Runtime, and finally Actions. Actions has a red Terminate button where I can apparently stop the server if I want to.
I didn't see a way to refresh the screen, so I clicked on a link called Servers. There I saw my server again, and this time it said Booting. I refreshed the page, but apparently I didn't have to: I saw a message that it would refresh on its own. Eventually I saw the status, "Running."
Looking at the site
My running server included Ruby on Rails and a blogging platform, which meant it had a Web interface. In fact, the Dashboard showed an address for me:
I clicked on it, holding down Ctrl to open it in a new tab. Firefox couldn't find the server, but I had a pretty good idea why: This was probably a brand-new address, and my local ISP's DNS (Domain Name System) server didn't know about it. But that address looked like it contained an IP address, 18.104.22.168, so I put that in Firefox. After that, I saw my Mephisto blog page. I knew that was what it was because it said Mephisto on it, and there were no blog entries.
So far, so good. We had a site up and running on a server that was sitting on the Amazon EC2 cloud. I went back to the dashboard. (I wasn't going to mess with the blogging software that was running, since, as far as I was concerned, that was just a demo of the capabilities of the server.)
Monitoring the System
Back in the Dashboard, I clicked on the server name, "Mephisto all-in-one v7," and got the main page for the server. This page included several tabs and scrolling down showed several other aspects of the server, including Amazon EC2 information such as "instance type" and "kernel information."
Typically, server software needs to write to a console log, and programmers and system administrators need access to the log. With the Console Output tab, the current log is displayed. I won't print it here; it's not particularly useful to the article. However, I saw things like "GACT probability on" that meant nothing to me (I'm just a programmer), but probably had meaning to a system administrator. But I also saw items that made reference to various Unix devices, such as /dev/sda1, which again showed that we were really running a server here.
Next, I clicked on the SSH Console button. This opened a new Firefox window containing a Java program that is an SSH [Secure Shell] program; the SSH shell program logged me right into my server, where I saw the Unix shell prompt, complete with the bin directory and everything you could ask for.
Back in the server page, I clicked on the Monitoring tab. This brought up a bunch of thumbnail images of graphs and charts that I could click on to look at the current server status. This was particularly cool because it included status reports named cpu, df, disk-sda1, memory, mysql, processes-mongrel_rails, and others: in other words, the hardware and running software.
The Scripts tab includes several built-in scripts that I could run simply by clicking a Run button. For example, one script let me back up my data to Amazon S3 (Simple Storage Service).
Finally, so I wouldn't use up all the minutes in my free trial, I clicked the Terminate button.
More to do
What I've described so far is just the surface. On the left of the Dashboard is a tree list of various things programmers can do; for example, there is a category called Design, which lets programmers customize the design of their servers. This includes two sections, Servers (which included the templates I mentioned earlier) and EC2 (which included the various images). The Images section includes several server images created by RightImages, Amazon.com, RHEL, rBuilder and others. There are hundreds of options under all of these, so programmers will want to take a look and scroll through them and see what's available.
There is also a Reports section where users can get reports on their own servers, as well as reports about usage and audits.
Conclusion: Manage It Like You Own It
I only scratched the surface of what's available. At the most fundamental level, RightScale is a configuration and monitoring dashboard for controlling servers and images on Amazon's EC2. This was some pretty cool stuff here: Sitting at my laptop in my office, I was able to remotely control a set of virtual servers that live on Amazon's cloud.
In the past, companies had to either build their own huge operations centers to house all their hardware, or they had to outsource it to a company that housed all of it, the latter of which required the companies to pay high prices not only for using the hardware, but also to make sure somebody was there to configure it, run it and monitor it.
With a product like RightScale, now programmers can manage the servers themselves as they would if they owned them, except now the servers have the extreme power of being on Amazon.com's cloud. Sitting at my lowly little laptop, I can run the equivalent of an entire operations center. Think of the possibilities.
Senior Editor Jeff Cogswell can be reached at jeffrey.cogswell@ZiffDavisEnterprise.com. | <urn:uuid:b1efc952-2d67-4ad2-865c-e76d7be7620a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eweek.com/print/c/a/Application-Development/RightScale-Eases-Developing-on-Amazon-EC2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958753 | 2,101 | 1.71875 | 2 |
The Business Address Standards are being adopted by postal units and are required in all internal Postal Service processing systems — including the NCOA System and ACS. Postal Service licensees, direct marketing service bureaus, and business–to–business mailers are encouraged to incorporate these standards as a means to achieve improved merge/purge results, higher list quality, and Postal Service deliverability.
There are additional benefits to be achieved through improved business–to–business address quality and a standardized address format, such as increasing potential deliverability of mail once processed and more consistency in address information stored in customer files and directories. The emphasis has been to clarify business–to–business addressing techniques and provide guidelines and tools that deal with the many unusual addressing conventions in business–to–business list processing. A strong focus has been on providing the Postal Service with a uniform approach to matching these addresses through its customer products and automated equipment. | <urn:uuid:317df7ba-4adf-464e-9813-35927bf16601> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pe.usps.gov/text/pub28/28c3_005.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95541 | 185 | 1.585938 | 2 |
said by tmc8080:The fees for using Credit Cards is a gray area when you call it the cost of doing business unless you compare them to the cost to the business of being paid some other way (such as by check). The cost of being paid by check is the charge from their bank for depositing and clearing the check (in addition to some prorated part of the cost of the clerk handling the check). Even ignoring the clerk issue, the cost of accepting payment via a credit card is ~2-5% of the charge (ie: The company only gets $0.95-$0.98 on the dollar via cards). Processing a check has a much lower amount being kept by the bank. Thus the fee is supposed to cover the fees that the Bank removes from the total for processing the card. Most fees that I see are much higher than the actual "loss" to the company.
these are user fees that generally don't fly with the consumer.. in addition to fees for using a credit card, etc..
the above fees are the COST OF DOING BUSINESS and if you want to cover your costs of doing business, then you RAISE your prices.. but fees quoted as disconnection fees will tend to violate consumer protection laws.. | <urn:uuid:8e04a565-fe08-47f0-8888-76210a596635> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.broadbandreports.com/forum/r27626380- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969409 | 258 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Journalist, former newspaper director convicted in criminal defamation case in Italy
ARTICLE 19 has sent requests to both chambers of the Italian Parliament urging them to review and amend the provisions of the Penal Code dealing with defamation. Our request was prompted by the prison sentences given by the Bolzano Tribunal to journalist Orfeo Donatini and the former director of the newspaper Alto Adige, Tiziano Marson.
The criminal defamation case against Donatini and Marson was initiated by a member of Bolzano's Provincial Council, Sven Knoll. Knoll complained that the defendants had defamed him in an article published in Alto Adige in 2008. The article, written by Donatini, reported that Knoll had participated in a neo-Nazi summit in Val Passiria, Italy. This information, which first appeared in the national weekly L'Espresso, was taken from a police report.
Knoll did not contact Alto Adige in reaction to the article. Instead, he lodged a criminal defamation complaint with the Bolzano Tribunal. At the prosecutor's request, the journalists were initially acquitted but the case was reviewed by the Court of Cassation, which referred it back to the Bolzano Tribunal.
On 20 June 2012 Donatini and Marson were convicted of 'defamation through the press', and were sentenced to four months in prison and asked to pay 15,000 Euros (18,500 USD) in compensation.
ARTICLE 19 is concerned about the decision taken in this case. We believe that the presence of criminal defamation provisions in the Penal Code and its continued application as in this case is incompatible with basic democratic ideals, as well as international guarantees of freedom of expression.
ARTICLE 19 is alarmed that Italy is one of the two last remaining countries in Europe where journalists still receive prison sentences for defamation. It is disturbing that one of the founding member states of the Council of Europe and the European Union uses sanctions regarded in the rest of Europe as archaic, anti-democratic and a disproportionate restriction on freedom of expression. The second country in Europe is Belarus, which is currently suspended from the Council of Europe because of its lack of respect for fundamental human rights.
The recent case, as well as the prison sentences given by the Court of Chieti to the journalists Valter Nerone, Claudio Lattanzio and Luigi Vicinanza in 2011, highlight the need for an immediate response at a legislative level.
We call on the Italian Parliament to repeal the defamation provisions of the Penal Code in order to comply with international standards on freedom of expression. The criminal sentence against the Alto Adige journalists must be reversed accordingly. | <urn:uuid:2403431e-51ad-4c57-9fc1-bc3f7e0b21b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ifex.org/italy/2012/08/08/journalists_defamation_prison/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00028-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97083 | 539 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Each year, IKAR asks its members to reflect on the year gone by, and submit personal stories on a particular theme - these essays and paragraphs are then published in a book that's distributed at IKAR during the High Holidays. The texts in this booklet provide an additional layer for those who are meditating on renewal, repentance and change and who may not always feel connected to the traditional liturgy or even to its modern tunes. Last year's theme was epiphany (and you can read last year's contribution here). This year, the theme was courage and cowardice (you can read more about this exercise here). My submission is below. Wishing you all a reflective, inspiring, healthy and peaceful new year.
Years ago, on a Friday night on the Upper West Side, I was on my way home from Shabbat dinner when I saw a woman walking on the sidewalk. All of a sudden, she pitched forward into the street. I sprang forward into the street which, thankfully, was free of motor traffic; helped her out of the street and back over to the sidewalk. I asked if she was okay and she muttered something about having forgotten her medication in a cab. I stayed with her another minute or so, asked her again if she needed anything and then headed on my way. My heart was beating very fast. I had done the right thing, without thinking about it. But I also heard other voices in my head – the voices that distrust late-night New York life, the ones that speak on behalf of my self-preservation and warn about sketchy behavior and potential danger.
Last month, I was driving in a not-so-great part of Los Angeles, but it was daytime. A pale, scraggly, lanky man crossed the street with a case of beer, then staggered and fell on the sidewalk, thrusting the beer ahead of him as he fell. Then he started crawling toward the beer, as if he was too unstable to stand, or as if his legs had ceased to function. I was stopped at a light - I watched with concern, but stayed in the car. I was late, there was traffic all around me, I felt pressure to ignore him, assume he’d get help from somewhere else. As I advanced through the light, I glanced back, and saw someone was helping him. A case could be made that my role was to keep an eye on him until someone else arrived who could help. But I still felt guilty for watching him as he suffered, and waiting for someone else to help him. It was not my finest moment.
Contemplating courage is particularly confusing, as it is often used in opposing contexts. If someone suffers in silence, it is sometimes called courage, as they bear their pain alone, to protect the people they love. And then there are those who share their challenges honestly, openly - people will say, "so courageous," as the afflicted unshrouds the mystery of pain and lives his or her mortal truth in each literal or metaphorical step.
And what of cowardice? Is cowardice merely the absence of courage, or something far more shameful, the deliberate obfuscation of our responsibility to people and planet in favor of something self-serving or worse, inane? Is acting to protect oneself and one’s family courageous? What if this action of protection leaves someone else vulnerable? Can a single moment be both courageous and cowardly?
Speaking of courage and cowardice in the theoretical is an intellectual exercise. Plumbing the depths of heart, soul, conscience and memory for personal examples from our own behavior – that is the essence of the repentance process. These examples, if our minds permit their recall, are points on a timeline – not highs or lows that define us forever-more in a moment’s action, but points over the course of a life to examine and learn from. Our individual leaps of faith are often acts of quiet courage, observed by few or no one at all, stepping off a platform into an unknown whose depths we cannot fathom. It can be stepping toward life after a year of mourning, taking a chance on JDate again despite the colloquial definition of insanity, reintegrating into a culture that won't treat you with kid gloves anymore because, after all, isn't a year enough time to mourn?
The public face of courage is grand, like superheroes with great costumes or officers in uniform, visible as a symbol to all. Still, we’d do well to remember that there are those in this community who sit courageously in plainclothes after having suffered some trauma, and that courage is, possibly right this very second, beside us. | <urn:uuid:dfcdf1dd-85cc-46fa-9b30-b5f98f6eaaf7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://estherkustanowitz.typepad.com/myurbankvetch2005/2012/09/courage-and-cowardice-a-high-holidays-meditation-inspired-by-ikar.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977084 | 958 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Animal Rights( Re: A few comments to the Devils Advocate)
James.F.X.Wellehan at dartmouth.edu
Wed Jul 7 13:40:32 EST 1993
In article <CSNET_MQ-101.930706190530.480 at crop.uoguelph.ca>
SPLUHAR at CROP.UOGUELPH.CA writes:
> Jim Wellehan wrote:
> > What is the distinguishing characteristic that elevates humans above
> > other animals? It would seem to me that our main attribute would be
> > intelligence. If so, wouldn't an intelligent non-human animal (Koko,
> > etc.) merit more rights than a less intelligent retarded human?
> A definition first. Intelligence is the ability
> to solve problems and learn new tasks.
> Now on to the question above. I would answer no based on evidence
> from recent human history. The ranking of human beings into groups
> with differing legal statuses has lead to some very horrible things.
> Thus giving humans differing legal statuses based on inherent traits
> can be a very dagerous president.
Agreed. If not an inherent trait, why should species have different
legal statuses, then?
> Please Note I am not implying any sinister motive on the part of the
> devil's advocate and mean no offence to him.
> To a certain extent animals are given legal status based on
> itellgence and yes cuteness. For instance you can do all sorts of
> things to frogs and people won't care.
Wouldn't an AR activist object to doing things to frogs?
> Experiment on mamals and
> people are up in arms.
Mammals are commonly used in research. Mice are one of the most common
> Another example you can step on a fly in front
> of a large group of people and no one would protest, NOT EVEN AN
> ANIMAL RIGHTS ACTIVIST.
There are extremists who would definitely protest.
> Basically I feel that we should reduce the suffering of animals
> in labs as much as possible and if we can avoid using them in
> learning some information we should. This means that some experiments
> which cause extreem suffering to animals perhaps should not be done.
> Further we should also try to reduce our dependence on animal
I agree with you. (That doesn't mean I won't question my own position,
> But right now ending animal research would criple medical research
> and deny hope to millions of suffering people. I for one find the
> relief of human suffering of the highest priority.
The highest priority? Why? I'd consider continuation of the human
species more important.
> > Also, what if we engineered super-intelligent animals? If they were
> > vastly more intelligent than ourselves, would they have a right to
> > experiment on us?
> No because we would be there creators and they should respect us more
> than that for bringing them into being.
Why should reptiles evolve into mammals? Should we not experiment on
any animal that is potentially a human ancestor?
> Why should we want to creat
> super-intelligent animals that would rule over us?
So you think our evolution should stop with H. sapiens, and we should
not improve ourselves?
More information about the Bioforum | <urn:uuid:f39226db-93a7-423a-9601-e00b3c5a959f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bio.net/bionet/mm/bioforum/1993-July/005329.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93703 | 724 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Biography of Harold Stephens
By Mort Rosenblum, Associated Press, Paris
As a foreign correspondent, my job involves the usual upheavals, small wars and workaday mayhem. Every so often, however, the mail includes a pleasant surprise which takes me away from that boring routine; a letter from Harold Stephens, filled with some real excitement. You can spot Steve’s letters from across the room: The address is written in urgent printed characters, with the no-nonsense, slightly askew strokes of a man who has struck gold and is racing to catch the last burro to Eureka. The envelope seems to twitch and quiver from all the energy within.
I remember one which reached me in Singapore, full of the usual chatty news: “chased by crocodiles . . .,” “capsized off Tioman Island . . .,” “pirates nearly got us near the Celebes. . . .” At the end, when he added, “Wish you were here,” and I thought: me, too. If it was merely a matter of voracious reptiles, shipwrecks or killers afloat, I’d bet on Steve, hands down.
What always struck me was the tone of the letters. Always humble, courtly, full of derring-do but absent of bravado. But this is only to be expected. Adventure is Harold Stephens’ natural state. To boast of his exploits would be like bragging about breathing
A product of long nights with Conrad on a Western Pennsylvania farm, he grew up with a code of honor and a sense of ingenuous wonder. He is burly and broad-shouldered-in “Mutiny on the Bounty” he doubled for Brando when action got intense-but his buckles don’t swash. Handsome, with eyes that, in fact, twinkle, he is no ladykiller. His code, in that regard, is more Sir Walter than Flynn.
Steve can give you Lord Jim by heart: “He saw himself saving people from sinking ships . . . cutting away masts in a hurricane, swimming through a surf with a line, or as a lonely castaway, barefoot and half-naked, walking on uncovered reefs in search of shellfish to stave off starvation.” He can tell you about everyone of Maugham’s rubber planters and district officers.
He is always after something that eludes normal men. If someone tells him a prehistoric, enigmatic Big Kneecap is running loose in the Burmese backcountry, he’ll be off before the informant finishes his sentence. If he hears of an ancient Greek olive oil convoy lost in the Mariana Trench, he’ll head out with snorkel and swim fins. Unlike quixotic amateurs, Steve most likely will bring back the kneecap and olive pits.
One day Steve announced to friends that he would build a vessel to take him on his odysseys to forgotten archipelagos and against currents that others avoided as a bad idea. It would be made of cement. Of course, we thought. Months later, we were spending our weekends slapping concrete across a transom.
Steve’s Third Sea must have done a million miles, its low-slung pirate-brown schooner hull crashing the reefs in every lost corner of the Southern Hemisphere. He racked up adventures even he hadn’t dreamed of, from the nastiest straits of the Philippines to Cook’s favorite waters across the Pacific.
One day, in another of these letters, the news was bad. The Third Sea was blown onto the rocks off Hawaii in a hurricane. Even Lord Jim couldn’t have saved her; it must have been a hell of a blow. If there was ever the time for a little self-pity, this was it. Not a trace of it. Steve had lost a love of his life, but he had others.
Once I tried to write a book about Steve. But who would believe it? Anyway, he writes his own books, and they’re good ones. But my notes spill out of a large crate. Steve lied about his age to join the Marines so he could fight in the Pacific. He exaggerated his language skills so he could be a translator in China. Imprisoned by the Chinese communists, he escaped and swam out to a passing junk. He rode a motorcycle across Australia, a jeep across Russia and-was it a pogostick across the Arctic?
Occasionally, word slipped out about his affairs of the heart. A gentleman, he does not talk much of these matters. Only later, for instance, his family back home discovered why he returned from Tahiti with a cast on his arm. A Tahitian woman, distraught at his leaving, drove him off a cliff.
Once Steve had a respectable job in naval intelligence and was married to a woman of Philadelphia high society. The marriage ended. That was when he went to Tahiti. One ranking government officer tried to talk sense into him. He invited Steve home to a family dinner and sat him down to watch a television series called, “Adventures in Paradise,” to explain the ridiculous Hollywood romanticizing of a dull reality. Soon afterward, Steve was in the cast of the series. And in paradise.
Part of the time, he now lives among the redwoods in Northern California, in what ought to be a tame environment. But this is Harold Stephens. When I telephoned him just before delivering these lines to his publishers, he and his wife, Michelle, an island girl herself, reported an earthquake that very morning, and the rains were causing havoc. The Eel River was overflowing its banks and flood waters raged all around, carrying off power lines and outing the roads. Normal people had evacuated.
But even more than he amasses adventures, he collects characters. He is drawn to people who distinguish themselves from the chairs they sit in. And anyone in that category is drawn to him. With a writer’s skills and a friend’s warmth, Steve describes the remarkable lives of those who populate his world. | <urn:uuid:0866c729-56ae-4670-9ec7-9d7a26cfbf92> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wolfendenpublishing.com/cms/?page_id=325 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971881 | 1,293 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Being bullied as a child or teen is hell. I know from experience.
My upbringing involved constant, unannounced moves to new locales. By the ninth grade I had attended 14 different schools in 11 different towns in BC and Alberta and knew firsthand just how dangerous it is to be eternally the new kid.
However, this nomadic existence also ensured that I figured out the rules early on and learned to prepare myself for the inevitable confrontations. I wasn’t a particularly big kid, but I was smart and figured out that making people laugh and having a slightly dangerous quality were excellent ways to keep the bullies at bay.
In fact, there are only a few bullying incidents I recall with any detail.
One encounter happened in the fifth grade while I was living in a BC mining town. It involved a very tall girl — one of those who go through puberty early — who seemed like a high-school student sitting among children. Why this girl, whom I’d previously been kind of friendly with, took such a sudden dislike to me I don’t know.
Bullying is complex. It's not confined to a particular class, age group or gender.
The campaign started with her whispering insults about me to the other kids and telling terrible lies behind my back. It quickly progressed to open derision of the most hurtful kind. Attempts to speak to her about this brought on nothing but more abuse. Over several months the events escalated — from her kicking me so hard in the ass on the playground while my back was turned that I ended up in the mud, to her throwing my belongings in the garbage (including my only pair of gym shoes) when I wasn’t around. This was fairly often because I started avoiding school as much as possible because this girl made it hell.
What was really frustrating was the fact I couldn’t figure out what to do about it. If it had been a boy, there would’ve been a fight that decided dominance. I didn’t have that option with her. Hitting a girl for any reason was, rightly, a huge taboo.
I finally spoke to my parents about it, and my teacher, separately. Their contempt for my complaint was palpable: no boy worth his salt would be bullied by a girl. All disputed that such a thing could even happen. I was shamed for reporting it.
So the next time we encountered one another in a hallway when no one was around, I told the girl I was tired of her bullying and said she wasn’t going to push me around anymore. She laughed and called me a name that had something to do with my partial native heritage. I punched her in the centre of the chest as hard as I could, knocking the breath out of her as she fell back against the wall.
She never reported the incident and never bullied me again. I wasn’t at all proud of what I’d done, but I was quite sure it was the only recourse I’d had left.
This story’s been on my mind because I read so much about bullying in today’s news — the term itself has been abused.
Bullying is complex. It’s not confined to a particular class, age group or gender. It can be extremely obvious and physical, but it can also be subtle and all but invisible. It can take place between the most unlikely parties, and, in some cases, the co-dependent relationship between victim and bully can be as nuanced as any other social coupling.
However, when rightwing shills in the political arena and the popular media start whinging about “being bullied” by people who don’t accept their hateful words and actions, a problem must be acknowledged.
Bullying, by definition (Merriam-Webster), is “one habitually cruel to others who are weaker.” That seems pretty clear to me. It does not say, “people who don’t accept every stupid thing I say without challenge.” It doesn’t say, “someone who doesn’t like me even though I wish they did.” It doesn’t say, “anyone who does anything that puts me in conflict because I don’t want conflict of any kind.” And it certainly doesn’t say, “people who admonish or correct me because I’m hopelessly bad at a job I represent myself as being able to do.”
While everyone has an obligation to acknowledge and battle bullying among youth, we also have to acknowledge that a society or a world without conflict is not only highly unlikely, but undesirable as well.
“Weaker” is a very subjective term and not necessarily one of permanence. It is possible to become stronger, and we all benefit by doing it. | <urn:uuid:e06241d6-2873-42f5-80fe-9a5d47180f94> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto/The_abuse_of_bullying-13176.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984762 | 1,008 | 1.789063 | 2 |
NEW YORK (AP) — Less than three weeks after Superstorm Sandy came ashore on the East Coast, three television networks will offer the chance to relive the experience on the same night.
PBS’ “Nova” series will air a one-hour special on Sandy on Sunday evening, the same night that History is scheduled to run “Superstorm 2012: Hell and High Water.” The National Geographic network first airs its Sandy special on Thursday but is rerunning it on Sunday night.
Two of the specials, on PBS and National Geographic, will directly compete with each other Sunday at 7 p.m. Eastern time.
Still, many of the people affected by the storm will be unlikely to see the TV specials. Thousands of homes remained without power Thursday. | <urn:uuid:1afda268-23dd-4e5b-a6b4-3e33f275868c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.trentonian.com/article/20121115/ENTERTAINMENT01/121119736&template=printart | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93307 | 161 | 1.507813 | 2 |
|Price||$2 New Austin|
$2 Nuevo Paraiso
$2 West Elizabeth
Horse Hide is an animal item found in Red Dead Redemption. It is one of two items that can be obtained by killing and skinning a Horse. It can be sold to merchants and is considered a medium value item. There is no distinction between hide from different horse breeds or between domesticated and wild horses.
- Note: prices listed on this page are based upon the player having neutral honor. If the player has high honor, the selling price will be increased by 50% everywhere except Thieves' Landing. Low Honor decreases selling price by 50% everywhere except Thieves' Landing.
|Hey there, cowboy. It looks like this little ol' article is a bit puny.|
I reckon you could impress me by adding to it. Don't be shy now.
If you're logged in, it'll help you earn them fancy achievements, too. | <urn:uuid:df722b82-13b1-4a49-8d6c-9bf8648d2272> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://reddead.wikia.com/wiki/Horse_Hide | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934657 | 198 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Great expectations – generation Y are transforming communications and driving ICT innovation
In 2010, about half the UK's work force are comprised of Generation Y - those born between 1980 and 2000. They're the people for whom personal communications technology has always been there - it's the norm.
Not only does this generation demand to use their technology of choice in the workplace, they also make the same demands as customers.
When it comes to customer service and contact, two things are clear: firstly, if they receive bad service they don't complain, they simply leave. Second, they've grown up into the world of social media and that's how they want to communicate. They barely use email, let alone the dinosaur concept of fax.
Generation Y will shape the technologies that support employment and customer service
Teenagers communicate using IM, Facebook and SMS, so our team implemented custom connectors on top of our existing multi-channel contact centre product, bringing web 2.0 technologies into the contact centre platform. | <urn:uuid:4dd50f09-875c-4669-98b6-8ae0bc66bf42> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.azzurricommunications.com/en/about-you/your-people/generation-y.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00042-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95063 | 203 | 1.515625 | 2 |
No living thing came into existance before the atom. BECAUSE EVERYTHING IS MADE OF ATOMS!!!
12/23/2006 12:49:09 AM
And what does Genesis say people are made out of?
That's right, dirt.
So we're literally looking at dirt vs dirt.
(except that evolution doesn't go back to before atoms; only to the first living things, so you're still wrong)
4/10/2007 4:15:58 PM
And the proof of God is where again...?
6/30/2008 4:48:18 AM
I'm pretty sure that atoms pre-date dirt.
12/14/2008 6:51:43 AM
a mind far far away
Wow, he confuses astronomy, cosmology, evolution, abiogenesis, and geology all in once sentence. This is gold.
12/14/2008 7:44:39 AM
1)You're confusing your biology with your physics and it's various related sciences.
2)Nothing existed before atoms as everything is made of atoms (excetp for sub-atomic particles but I don't think that's what you meant).
3)You're too stupid to own a computer with a net connection. Please hand it in at your nearest Idiot Station.
12/14/2008 10:29:21 AM
That the scientific community won't say "we know" is to their credit.
The fundie argument has long been "you weren't there so you can't know" and when science admits to not being sure they attack that too.
The big point is, massive amounts of long studied facts against a book that can't agree with itself
12/14/2008 2:27:06 PM
Well, I know dirt exists, so...
12/12/2009 3:20:58 AM
You want to know what came before atoms? Simple. An ionised plasma.
12/12/2009 5:38:17 AM
"I don't know" =/= dirt
evolution =/= abiogenesis
evolution =/= The Big Bang
abiogenesis =/= The Big Bang
I'm assuming that by talking about talking about "what was the first thing that came into existnce before the atom" he's talking about the origin of matter. I think he's talking about the start of the universe as we know it. So I'm going to be generous and assume he's talking about the Big Bang, but simply doesn't understand anything about it.
But simply put:
cosmology =/= biology
In any case, even abiogenesis doesn't say something as simple as "we came from dirt". The Bible on the other hand . . . well, what was it God made Adam out of again? Wasn't it dust, which is basically, you know dirt.
Anyways, what we're actually looking at is:
ignorance vs. evidence
"I don't understand and you guys say you don't know, so Goddidit!!!" vs. "We don't have enough evidence. We don't know, and it would be wrong to pretend we knew something that it is impossible for us to know."
12/12/2009 2:31:26 PM
and as we know, dirt wins every time.
simply because "God", doesn't exist!
1/3/2011 6:23:14 AM
Someone hasn't read what God made us out of.
8/10/2011 11:48:39 AM | <urn:uuid:c597629f-09f4-4616-b347-be705bb035e1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fstdt.com/QuoteComment.aspx?QID=7487 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00032-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954983 | 747 | 1.804688 | 2 |
At first blush, the solution seems obvious: Take extra hormones, and the symptoms of menopause should vanish. Over the decades, millions of women have taken some form of hormone therapy to relieve symptoms of menopause or to prevent the bone-thinning disease osteoporosis. The treatment typically included Premarin, estrogen isolated from the urine of pregnant mares, combined with Provera, a synthetic version of the hormone progesterone.
Soon after the WHI made headlines, some pharmacies, alternative health clinics and a few outspoken doctors started heavily promoting so-called "bioidentical hormones" for the treatment of menopausal symptoms. Unlike Premarin or Provera, bioidentical hormones — which are produced in laboratories using yam and soy phytoestrogens as a starting point — exactly match the hormone made by human ovaries.
The Food and Drug Administration has approved several prescription-only drugs that contain bioidentical hormones, including Estrace pills, Estrasorb topical cream and the Alora patch. But many health clinics and pharmacies also sell non-approved creams that contain bioidentical estrogen and/or progesterone. These creams are often custom-made — or "compounded" — for each patient, sometimes based on the results of a saliva test that measures a woman's hormone levels.
Dr. Kent Holtorf, a physician and proponent of bioidentical hormones who offers the treatments at his Holtorf Medical Group clinics in Torrance and Foster City, Calif., says a month's supply of a compounded estrogen costs about $25, about one-sixth the cost of an FDA-approved prescription cream.
Non-prescription bioidentical creams are also sold online. Better Health Naturally sells a 2-ounce jar of its Menopause Moisture Cream for $21. Users are instructed to apply 1/4 teaspoon of cream twice a day to the skin for 25 days straight, take a break for three to five days, then start the cycle again.
Claims: The website for Holtorf's clinic says that women using bioidentical hormones "feel great" without suffering any of the side effects of "synthetic hormones," said to include fatigue, depression and weight gain, along with the increased risk of breast cancer and heart disease.
In a phone interview, Holtorf said that bioidentical hormones are more effective and safer than traditional treatments. "Over and over, women have told me that they feel much better" after taking the bioidentical hormones, he says.
The Better Health Naturally website says that its menopause cream will treat hot flashes, night sweats, depression, lack of sex drive and fuzzy thinking. The site emphasizes that the cream doesn't contain "risky synthetic estrogens and progestins."
The bottom line: Bioidentical hormones have an obvious appeal to women seeking relief for menopausal symptoms, says Dr. Nanette Santoro, chair of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver and vice president of clinical science for the Endocrine Society. After all, it just seems to make sense that anything that exactly mimics a woman's own hormones must be better than mare's urine or a man-made compound that doesn't exist in nature.
But Santoro says there is no proof that bioidentical hormones are any safer or more effective than traditional treatments. "All of the evidence that we have suggests that all of these hormones should be painted with the same brush," she says.
She has many concerns about bioidentical hormones that don't have FDA approval. For one thing, she says, it's impossible to know if unapproved creams have the promised amounts of hormones. "I've seen patients on these compounds actually losing bone mass because they were getting an insufficient dosage," she says. "Why take that chance?"
Dr. Cynthia Stuenkel, clinical professor of medicine at UC San Diego and president of the North American Menopause Society, shares this concern. "Some progesterone creams may contain little or no progesterone, while others contain so much that they definitely should be available only with a prescription," she says.
Taking hormones without the careful guidance of a doctor is risky business, Stuenkel says. Among other things, too many hormones can potentially cause blood clots and endometrial hyperplasia, a precursor to uterine cancer.
Holtorf says there is strong evidence that bioidentical hormones are superior to other hormone treatments. In 2009, he published a review article in the journal Postgraduate Medicine that described dozens of studies of bioidentical hormones, many with positive results. And he notes that a survey of 176 postmenopausal women published in 2000 found that 65% said that bioidentical progesterone worked better than the hormone found in Provera.
"Nothing is ever proven in medicine," he says. "You just try to look at the evidence and find the best treatment for your patient." (He adds that he's not yet convinced that the saliva tests offered at many clinics are a good measure of a woman's hormonal needs.)
Holtorf claims that doubters of bioidentical hormones are generally either slow to accept change or are tainted by funding from the pharmaceutical industry. But Stuenkel counters that she and other physicians are simply following the evidence. Although some FDA-approved bioidentical hormones may, in fact, be improvements over traditional treatments, she says, the unapproved products have never been carefully studied. She points out that the biodentical progesterone used in the 2000 survey was almost certainly an FDA-approved product, not a compounded hormone put together in some clinic or pharmacy.
Stuenkel says that doctors paid close attention to the results from the Women's Health Initiative, a powerful study with a huge size and scope. By using smaller doses and different methods of delivery, they are continuing to give women safe relief from menopause symptoms without resorting to unapproved and untested treatments, she adds. "We have women's best interest at heart," she says. | <urn:uuid:43cc74d5-c0c7-4387-8f0d-3ce0638feb5c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kwch.com/community/after50ks/sns-health-bioidentical-hormones-menopause,0,487980.story | 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 | 0.949743 | 1,257 | 1.609375 | 2 |
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LoadMatch Case Studies
Waterloo High School: New High School in Land of Lincoln Comes With a Hybrid Hvac System
High school students in the community of Waterloo, Illinois, a traditionally farm-based but increasingly commuter city across the Mississippi from St. Louis, will be learning in a brand new school this year. Waterloo High School, home of the Waterloo Bulldogs, replaced a former school facility originally built in 1938 that by this decade had become seriously overcrowded. Voters in 2006 approved a bond referendum to build a new school, which today is serving approximately 900 students in grades 9 thru 12.
The building complex was designed by Design Architects, Inc., a sister company to Hurst-Rosche Engineers of Hillsboro, IL. Containing 227,000 sq. ft. of classroom, labs, activities and administration space, to include a 1,800 sq. ft. culinary arts laboratory and an inner courtyard-reflecting pond, the school's campus was designed specifically with future community growth in mind; Waterloo CUSD5 school officials foresee the school potentially serving up to 1,800 students in the future.
Built on a vacant 62 acre parcel of land just outside town the school contains a single pipe loop, heat pump-based system featuring Taco's LoadMatch® system and a complete BAS energy management system supplied by Johnson Controls. The mechanical systems at Waterloo High School were not only designed to comply with a new state energy conservation code but also with designed-in redundancy and flexibility, particularly with a possible geothermal option in the future.
"We were looking for energy efficiency in accordance with ASHRAE 90.1," says school superintendent Jim Helton of the design of the school and its mechanical systems. Tom Baker, P.E., President of Hurst-Rosche Engineers, describes the school's HVAC system as a "hybrid system" comprised of 120 Trane constant speed heat pumps, some DX with fluid coolers, boilers and a 100 percent dedicated outside air (DOAS) make-up unit with distributed ventilation. The hydronic LoadMatch option for fluid circulation added redundancy to the heat pumps and simplified the controls for the heat pumps while reducing first costs because of a reduction in piping and control valves.
Introduced to the LoadMatch concept back in 2007 by Taco rep agency Behrmann Company of St. Louis, Hurst-Rosche Engineers utilized the Taco Hydronic Solutions Software (HSS) system to design and equip the heating and cooling system. "HSS," says Tom Baker, "proved to be a great time saver for us. It helped minimize errors, allowed us to check and then guarantee our design with Taco, and to link in associated disciplines such as electrical, plumbing, condensate piping and controls into the system design."
Since this was the first project that Hurst-Rosche employed the LoadMatch system, there were some initial questions to overcome, particularly with regard to the temperature cascade for cooling and dehumidification. "A temperature cascade will occur with LoadMatch," says Baker, "because the system doesn't incorporate a dedicated return pipe and, therefore, as you go down the piping system, temperatures will rise or decrease depending on whether you're in the heating or cooling mode, and it is more efficient to maintain the same entering water temperature at the last terminal unit on the primary loop as you do on the first." To counter this, Hurst-Rosche specified water source heat pumps for the terminal units and designed the main piping system supply point as the center of the loop, thereby segmenting the building into quarters over both the first and second floors. This helped to minimize temperature cascade and allows the system to maintain maximum heating and cooling to the most distant points in the building.
The installing contractor, Custom Mechanical LLC of Troy, IL, also had not experienced the LoadMatch system prior to this project and they were initially skeptical of its performance. But according to Marcus Frederick, president/owner, "Once we got past the learning curve and became familiar with the system, there were no problems. LoadMatch was easy to install and was quite a timesaver in terms of scheduling and manpower. One pipe really helps in terms of installation time. The system operates flawlessly and control and maintenance is a breeze." Custom Mechanical started the mechanical rough-in back in March 2008, completed installation of the heating system in August 2008, and commissioned the cooling system this past July, after a rainy, cool spring.
Taco KS vertical inline pumps along with Taco expansion tanks and a 4900 Series Air/Dirt Separator support three Lochinvar Intelli-Fin gas-fired mod-con boilers in the heating system mechanical room on the school's second floor. On the A/C side there is no central chiller but Trane supplied air handlers. Johnson Controls thermostats within the building are linked to the BAS. Temperature set points are maintained at 70º F in winter and 76º in summer. In addition to the energy management system, the school comes equipped with key card access and control, plus an Internet-based closed circuit surveillance system to allow monitoring, reaction and control from virtually anywhere on or off the campus.
For greater energy efficiency the school has a white roof composed of PIB roof materials. It was also built to be in compliance with the IBC's tougher seismic compliance standards. The school, which is an evacuation site for the local area, received a FEMA grant for the upgrade. Interestingly, the school not only has to weather tough Midwest winter storms and occasional tornadoes but lies only 125 miles north of New Madrid, Missouri, the epicenter of the 1811 earthquake that permanently altered the flow of the Mississippi.
"Design Architects and Hurst-Rosche Engineers did a very good job of listening to our needs and then taking those needs and putting them into this project," says Superintendent Helton. As for the Taco LoadMatch system, "We'll definitely use it again, without a doubt," says Tom Baker.
Information supplied by Taco, Inc. www.taco-hvac.com | <urn:uuid:14aff9c1-8302-42fd-a54c-583e045aede6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://taco-hvac.com/products.html?current_category=60&News=427&view=Newsdetail | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952336 | 1,283 | 1.648438 | 2 |
"Christianity cannot compromise on the question of polygamy. If present day Christianity cannot do so, it is to its own detriment. Islam has permitted polygamy as a solution to social ills and has allowed a certain degree of latitude to human nature but only within the strictly defined framework of the law. Christian countries make a great show of monogamy, but actually they practice polygamy. No one is unaware of the part mistresses play in Western society. In this respect Islam is a fundamentally honest religion, and permits a Muslim to marry a second wife if he must, but strictly forbids all clandestine amatory associations in order to safeguard the moral probity of the community."
Only one source that uses the quotation actually has a footnote telling where it supposedly came from in Rev. Graham's published works. Modern Indian Family Law by Werner F. Menski contains a footnote that identifies it as coming from Peace with God, pages 93-94. No English language edition of Peace with God contains the quotation or anything similar.
The original source of the quotation appears to be the pamphlet entitled, The Position of Woman in Islam (A comparative study), published by Islamic Book Publishers of Kuwait in 1982. The quotation attributed to Billy Graham appears on pages 22 and 23. The pamphlet is a reprint in English of two articles, one by Nazhat Afza and the other by Khurshid Ahmed. The Graham quote appears in the Afza article. Throughout this article, the author sometimes uses quotation marks and usually does not. In some cases, the reader cannot tell where Afza is quoting and where he is giving his response to what was quoted. Afza appears to be quoting the first sentence: "Christianity cannot compromise on the question of polygamy." Everything following that sentence in the paragraph appears to be Afza's reaction to the sentence.
The Archives' staff has not been able to find any part of the quotation (not even the first sentence) attributed to Rev. Graham in any his actual books, articles, or sermons. | <urn:uuid:0e62425f-dff2-40a0-909e-ce9b4887e0a8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www2.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/faq/26.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950432 | 405 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Tables turn as Egypt's Islamist president sworn in
CAIRO (Reuters) - In a day full of memorable images, none on Saturday was more powerful than that of Egypt's first Islamist president, Mohamed Mursi, flanked by generals at a military parade where he was formally handed authority to govern the nation.
For six decades, Mursi's seat had been filled by presidents drawn from the ranks of the military. And for half that time, it was occupied by one man, Hosni Mubarak, a former air force chief who hounded and jailed members of Mursi's Muslim Brotherhood.
Now the tables are turned, even if the presidential office Mursi holds has been shorn by the generals of many of powers Mubarak and his predecessors enjoyed.
"We have kept the promise that we made before God and the people. Now we have an elected president who takes over the keys for ruling Egypt through a direct and free vote," said Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, addressing his guest as "Mr President".
Before that, state television showed Tantawi, Egypt's top general and Mubarak's loyal defense minister for 20 years, welcoming Mursi as he stepped out of a black sedan at the desert base with a hurried salute before shaking his hand.
It was not just the military ceremony that oozed symbolism.
Mursi addressed the nation from the same stage in Cairo where U.S. President Barack Obama had in 2009 appealed to Arab autocrats to open up. Egypt's new leader was sworn in at a court next to the hospital where imprisoned Mubarak is being treated.
But it was the scene at Heikstep military base that captured Egypt's dramatic transformation most clearly with images unthinkable a year-and-a-half ago before Arab uprisings challenged autocrats who had ruled the region for generations.
"A picture for history: a civilian president in the middle of the military," wrote Dima Khatib on Twitter, one of the social networking sites that was used to galvanize the masses against Mubarak, toppling him on February 11, 2011 after 18 days.
Mursi was given a 21-gun salute, helicopters flew past to honor him and troops stood to attention in serried ranks.
Those acts of respect did not however signal generals were retiring to barracks to leave civilians completely in charge.
In a decree issued as this month's run-off presidential elected ended, the military council declared the next president would not command the armed forces and could not declare war alone. It also said the army would have legislative powers until a new parliament is elected to replace one dissolved this month.
But the ceremony showed the military, one of the few state institutions to survive the post-Mubarak turmoil intact, now has to accept that its erstwhile adversary, the Brotherhood, has a popular mandate to help determine Egypt's future.
"The Egyptian people and the ... world are witnessing a unique model, not seen before, of how power is transferred from the Egyptian military forces by the will of the people to an elected, civilian power," Mursi said, hailing the military, but also sending a clear message to the men in uniform.
Tantawi shook Mursi's hand firmly as he handed him a plaque bearing a military shield. Mursi then joined a gaggle of senior officers who lined up around him for a group photo.
Mursi had earlier delivered a speech at Cairo University on the same podium from which Obama addressed the Arab and Muslim world early in his presidency, reaching out to a region angry at U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq over the previous decade.
"America respects the right of all peaceful and law-abiding voices to be heard around the world, even if we disagree with them," Obama told the audience at the time.
Yet when protests against Mubarak erupted on January 25, 2011, many Egyptians were dismayed by how long it took Obama to ditch the president who had become a linchpin ally in the region and guardian of the U.S.-sponsored peace treaty with Israel.
CHANTS AND COUNTER-CHANTS
Washington, long wary of political Islam, took several more months before opening formal channels to the Brotherhood.
The Brotherhood was itself slow to send supporters onto Cairo's streets in the uprising, anxious to avoid a crushing response from Mubarak's police after being bruised by earlier crackdowns that the group had struggled to survive.
But the Brotherhood has emerged as the biggest beneficiary of a revolt ignited by young, secular liberals.
In his speech Mursi pledged to serve the whole nation and secure rights for the families of those killed in the uprising.
"Free revolutionaries, we will complete our journey," some in the audience chanted as he wrapped up his address.
Tantawi joined guests in the university hall, applauding when Mursi lauded the armed forces, seated alongside Christian priests, Muslim preachers, veiled women and suited men.
"Down with military rule," some had briefly chanted when Tantawi entered, before an official guided those present towards a more respectful: "The army and people, one hand."
Mursi had pulled up in a cavalcade, but unlike in Mubarak's day, the whole capital was not brought to a grinding halt by police blocking every road to clear the president's route.
Cars passed freely along the Nile-side road in front of the Supreme Constitutional Court even as Mursi swore his oath.
The oath is usually held before parliament, but the location was forced on the Brotherhood man after the same constitutional court, stuffed with judges appointed in Mubarak's era, dissolved the Islamist-led parliament, a ruling the army swiftly enforced.
Yet the venue carried its own mordant twist, standing next to Maadi military hospital where Mubarak, jailed for life for failing to stop the killing of protesters, is being treated. He was moved there from a prison medical centre last week.
In that same Maadi hospital set in lush gardens, Mubarak's predecessor Anwar Sadat was pronounced dead after Islamists gunned him down in 1981. The exiled shah of Iran died there after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
(Editing by Alistair Lyon)
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- Digg this | <urn:uuid:3a2fc4af-83bc-462a-bc43-6ce4b54367e7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/30/us-egypt-politics-idUSBRE85S0JP20120630?feedType=RSS&feedName=topNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FtopNews+%28News+%2F+US+%2F+Top+News%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97666 | 1,280 | 1.507813 | 2 |
City of Hope established the Center for Biomedicine & Genetics (CBG) in 2001 to ensure that its technological innovations are efficiently translated from the research lab to the clinical setting in a cost-effective and expeditious manner. The center also allowed scientific and clinical investigators the freedom to test and refine the most promising new therapeutics. CBG was founded with generous support from City of Hope’s National Office Products Industry (NOPI), and is licensed by the state and federal government to produce pharmaceutical-grade therapeutic compounds.
CBG provides investigators with the isolation, environmental control and security needed for the manufacture of products for human use. It functions as a centralized facility and shared resource, available for multiple investigators both on and off campus.
CBG is recognized as the nation's premier academic biologic manufacturing facility (the “gold standard” for such facilities, according to the Food and Drug Administration), and has been lauded by The New York Times for its leading role in devising innovative methods of rapid drug development.
CBG is a founding member of the Association of Academic Biologics Manufacturers (AABM), whose mission is to establish a cooperative network of nonprofit, academic-based biologics manufacturers. The association serves as a national resource that brings together clinical investigators with manufacturing capacity and expertise, develops and shares facility operations knowledge among members, provides quality, manufacturing and regulatory training opportunities, and holds annual meetings.
GMP-grade Biologics Production
CBG is designed specifically to accommodate small scale (bench-top) production of GMP-grade biologics, viral and nonviral gene therapeutics and modified patient cell populations to support phase I and II clinical trials at City of Hope. Adherence to cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practices) is essential in ensuring the quality and integrity of manufactured biologics.
Islet Cell Production
The islet cell production facility at CBG provides isolated islet cells for the islet cell resource centers, which are accelerating the study of islet cell transplantation as a potential cure for type 1 diabetes. | <urn:uuid:e81c07a8-6851-405a-9601-f0eda338b9f6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cityofhope.org/research/support/center-for-applied-technology-development/center-for-biomedicine-and-genetics/Pages/default.aspx | 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 | 0.936303 | 423 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Derailleur cables and housing rank among the least sexy parts on a bike. Maybe the seat clamp is lower. Maybe. Few think of their cables. And that could be a problem. When your Shimano 7900 Dura-Ace levers seem to move the derailleurs at a glacial pace, it could very well be the derailleur cables and housing are to blame.
Cables and housing deteriorate. The more you ride, the more you shift. Each shift wears microscopically. The cable will eventually eat through the liner. And that isn't taking into account what the elements do to the cable. It might start off a stainless, coated work of art, but as time goes on and moisture gets trapped inside, it can start to corrode. Chances are, you should probably replace them much more frequently than you do. Our personal interval is once a year on the housing, twice a year on the cables.
So, to get your shifting feeling as crisp as new, it's time to invest in new shift cables and housing. Considering that you have to replace handlebar tape with 7900 shifting, it's a good idea to do your brake cables and housing when you replace your tape. The Shimano Dura-Ace 7900 Derailleur Cable and Housing set comes with two cables, two lengths of housing, and the necessary end caps/ferrules and cable end caps. The housing segments are 4mm wide in diameter, the two lengths are 600mm long and 3320mm long. The cables are 1.2mm in diameter, PTFE-coated, and made from stainless steel. The 7900 cables and housing are compatible with other Shimano cable-actuated road shifting systems. Choose between Black, or Grey to match your frame. | <urn:uuid:d564f43e-fb6e-42d0-aa99-9fc7a6471ad7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.competitivecyclist.com/product-components/2013-Shimano--PTFE-Shift-Cable---Housing-10764.21.1.html?CS_ID=RC_CC0002 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935031 | 368 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Obama Declares Himself “Good King” By His Promise Not To Indefinitely Imprison You
HRH Barack Obama’s signing statement to the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 is significant beyond just being a broken campaign promise not to use signing statements. In it the President admits he has the power to imprison American citizens indefinitely (I use “imprison” as opposed to the more popular word “detention;” you’re not being kept after school). To quiet your discomfort at the casual repeal of the rusty old Bill of Rights, the President reassures you that even though he can jail you until the end of the next Mayan Calendar without due process, he promises he won’t. Cross his heart and hope to die.
This issue is reminiscent of an interesting discussion we had last month about the statement made by two of the President’s lawyers that not only may the president kill Americans he thinks have taken sides with the enemy in the Global War on Terror, but his decision is not reviewable by the courts.
That statement by the President’s lawyers was likely a response to questions about the killing of American citizen and Al-Qaeda terrorist Anwar al-Awlaki. While most Americans (the undersigned included) applaud the death of a terrorist, assuaging our yearn for vengeance mustn’t obscure the delicate questions of Constitutional due process that remain extant when a President arrests or kills an American citizen, no matter what the charge. This is not to say that those “delicate issues” cannot be dealt with in a manner that permits the action. But as a civilized nation, deal with them we must. Or at least admit to the solutions we've crafted and come to terms with them.
We start our analysis with the genesis law that authorized Presidential action in fighting terrorists. Public Law 107-40, passed a week after September 11, 2001, states as follows:
That the President is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or persons, in order to prevent any future acts of international terrorism against the United States by such nations, organizations or persons.
Notice first the President may use force against all persons “he determines” committed the defined acts. That is likely the basis of his lawyers’ statement that the President’s actions in selecting kill targets, even US citizens, is not reviewable by any court. If you strictly construe the words of the statute, the President’s lawyers appear to be right.
Notice secondly that there is no geographic restriction to the President’s power. He need not wait for a target to assume an aggressive stance on a battlefield to kill him. Al-Awlaki was killed leaving breakfast.
What lengthened our Ricochet discussion was my assertion that the President could kill me in New Jersey while praying in Church, and his indiscriminate decision to label me a terrorist would be unreviewable by any court. I assert he would be free from criminal and civil prosecution, perhaps only facing impeachment from an electorate angry at my death (though with my diabolical twin-billing as conservative columnist and civil trial lawyer, I don’t envision either end of America’s political spectrum rising in my defense).
The subject of the President’s power to kill terrorists without process was briefly discussed on Ricochet Podcast #14 of Law Talk, when host Troy Senik showed exceedingly good sense by posing a question drafted by me about it to erstwhile trial lawyers and esteemed professors John Yoo and Richard Epstein.
After Epstein and Yoo spent time waltzing with the unconvincing non-sequitur that someone on the target list can turn himself in to avoid being killed (oh you loyal slaves to due process!) Professor Epstein himself turned to the "Good King" theory. He argued we will never encounter a President abusing his power to kill (is that a reason to allow it to him?). He also noted that if the President started picking out random folks in Saudi Arabia to kill he would face impeachment. Not a criminal or civil penalty, but a political one. I agree.
Congress and the President have moved the discussion along. While Professor Epstein addressed the power of the President to act against people in Saudi Arabia, the President has confirmed with the new law and his signing statement that he has the power to move against Americans (the President referred only to depriving us of trial rights in his statement, not rights to our very lives, though the killing of al-Awlaki leaves no doubt he is convinced he can do both).
In the new authorizing statute there is an attempted sleight of hand. It states:
The requirement to detain a person in military custody under this section does not extend to citizens of the United States.
Read that again. What doesn’t extend to US citizens? The “requirement” that they be held by the military. That simply gives the President a choice. He can elect to have the military hold you or the civilian authorities. Were he not allowed the former, the statute would have said “shall not” be held by the military, the legal term of art for “forbidden.”
I maintain my original position, only with more confidence now. Under existing laws, the President can have the military jail me in a cell forever without trial or even kill me while praying in a church in New Jersey after first declaring that he, in an unreviewable decision, finds me to be an agent of terrorists.
We have undeniably given first to President Bush and now to President Obama the trust of the Good King. As President Bush remarked after his controversial Keynesian bailouts that he “Abandoned capitalism to save capitalism,” we have to come to grips with our having abandoned individual freedom to save freedom, repugnant though it sounds. Some will argue the necessity of it, or against it.
Like Professor Epstein I have no fear of President Obama breaking the enormous trust we have put in him to be the Good King. I fear the next King and the one after that; the ones we have yet to meet. | <urn:uuid:672b15c3-d5d9-411b-b56d-58b8f9c0ddeb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ricochet.com/main-feed/Obama-Declares-Himself-Good-King-By-His-Promise-Not-To-Indefinitely-Imprison-You | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96469 | 1,297 | 1.703125 | 2 |
WASHINGTON (CNS) -– Dioceses along the East Coast followed the lead of federal, state and local governments in shutting operations Oct. 29, the day Hurricane Sandy was expected to make landfall, with New Jersey expected to be in the center of the huge storm.
Catholic Charities USA was working with its local affiliates along the East Coast on how to get necessary supplies and services to the affiliates once the storm passes.
“Reports from the National Weather Service make it clear that many of our agencies on the East Coast — from New York all the way down to Florida — will be feeling some impact from Hurricane Sandy and we stand ready to provide whatever support necessary to meet the needs of those affected,” said a statement from Samuel Chambers, Catholic Charities senior vice president of disaster operations.
“Since Hurricane Katrina, we have focused on being prepared for future disasters,” said a statement from Catholic Charities president Father Larry Snyder. “Not only are we early responders, but our presence in the community also puts us in a position to be able to quickly assess and provide support in the long term.”
Dioceses heeded the advice of governors and big-city mayors, who had declared a state of emergency in their respective jurisdictions, and shut down for at least one day with the possibility of extending their shutdown longer.
The Archdiocese of New York closed Oct. 29 “due to the decision by the MTA to suspend public transportation as a result of Hurricane Sandy,” said a statement on the archdiocesan website. The MTA is the Metropolitan Transit Authority; New York’s subway system shut down the day before. As for the possibility of continued closing, the statement added, “We will be guided by the decisions of the governor, mayor and MTA.”
The Diocese of Camden, N.J., which takes in southernmost New Jersey, announced it would be closed both Oct. 29 and 30. “There’s some kind of meeting in Atlantic City on Wednesday (Oct. 31); that’s not going to happen, Peter Feuerherd, diocesan director of communications, told Catholic News Service.
“The storm is coming, apparently, right over Atlantic City,” which is in the Camden Diocese, Feuerherd added. “Our parishes are all along the shore from Atlantic City down, all the way to Cape May,” he said. “Those beach communities are going to be hit hard. The governor (Chris Christie) has already evacuated those beach communities, (but) I’m not actually there and I can’t tell you whether people have actually taken the advice to get out.”
The Archdiocese of Newark, N.J., had already decided by late morning Oct. 29 to be closed Oct. 30 as well, according to Jim Goodness, the director of communications for the archdiocese.
“All of the schools of the archdiocese have been following the leads of the state,” Goodness said. “Parishes can certainly handle themselves.”
Still, “we’d certainly worry. We had several parishes that went underwater last year” from the rains of Hurricane Irene after it was downgraded to a tropical storm, Goodness told CNS. “Working with our property management people to mitigate (bad effects), however, they can hope that things can work out better this time than they last time.”
Since the worst of the storm wasn’t expected to come until sundown Oct. 29, diocesan representatives said it would be hard to assess any negative impact of Sandy until afterward.
The Diocese of Paterson, N.J., was also closing Oct. 29-30. Accompanying the Oct. 29 announcement on the diocesan website was a map showing Sandy’s path. New Jersey was the only state in all white while other states had at least a little green.
President Barack Obama returned to the White House from an Oct. 29 campaign event in Florida, and canceled a campaign event in Wisconsin to monitor the storm and be briefed on federal emergency preparedness activities.
Asked whether Sandy would have an impact on the Nov. 6 election, Obama replied: ”The election will take care of itself next week. Right now, our number-one priority is to make sure that we are saving lives, that our search-and-rescue teams are going to be in place, that people are going to get the food, the water, the shelter that they need in case of emergency, and that we respond as quickly as possible to get the economy back on track.” | <urn:uuid:9960ac7e-4a93-40ac-b77f-0c5c092e51ec> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cnsblog.wordpress.com/2012/10/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969902 | 979 | 1.554688 | 2 |
All Articles Tagged "hardships"
One of the most beautiful gifts of life is the ability to dream. Neuroscientists and researchers across the board have postulated that we all spend at least two hours a night dreaming. Our dreams can be bad in the sense of “nightmares,” or they can be extremely good and positive. Oftentimes, some individuals are able to remember their dreams and are able to actually implement their vision and to bring them to fruition. What’s the secret for these individuals? With the outstanding enigma that continues to remain with dreams, researchers still have not been able to fully understand them and to completely decipher how we are able to dream.
In lieu of engaging into discourse on intricate neuroscience, I would rather focus on the optimistic and value-adding perspective of our dreams, particularly when they are positive. I believe that we can “get higher” and move closer to our dreams, as Goapele beautifully vocalized in her peaceful classic. And, here are at least five ways to accomplish these tasks: | <urn:uuid:7098ae58-43c5-411e-a2b5-e33e669f501e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://madamenoire.com/tag/hardships/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962658 | 218 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Facing an eviction can leave you feeling both frightened and vulnerable. Understanding your rights as a tenant, will give you the confidence you need to determine if it makes sense to fight the eviction in court.
Landlords must strictly comply with all technical requirements
Landlords cannot evict a tenant without first formally terminating the tenancy. Likewise, a landlord cannot lock you out of your apartment or home, even if you are seriously behind on your rent. The landlord must first obtain a court judgment against you called an eviction order. While landlords must strictly comply with the eviction process, they are also given certain legal rights in their battle to remove a tenant from their home.
Because landlords are given special privileges in eviction lawsuits - e.g., they "move to the head of the line," getting to trial before other cases filed earlier - they must "strictly comply" with all notice and other requirements. "Substantial" compliance usually is not good enough. So if the tenant's attorney can find defects in how notices were written or how they were served, she might defeat the landlord's case.
Legal doctrines that prevent evicting
There are some legal doctrines that prevent the landlord from evicting (even if the tenant has not paid the rent). If the landlord has violated the "implied warranty of habitability" by failing to make required repairs, this might be a good defense to the eviction lawsuit. If the landlord's reason for suing is in fact to punish the tenant for exercising some legal right, she might have a good defense of "retaliatory eviction". If the property is in a community that has a rent control law, the landlord might have to prove "good cause" to evict. If the landlord gave a 30-day notice terminating a month-to-month tenancy but later accepted rent covering a period beyond 30 days, he might have "waived" the right to evict on that notice.
Consider hiring a lawyer to defend you
You may file the lawsuit yourself and represent yourself in court, but that is not a good idea. People who represent themselves (particularly in such a complex area of law) often lose. Non-lawyers are often confused by court procedures (especially by technical rules - like "hearsay" - about what evidence is admissible), and many judges have little patience with this.
Even if you are able to present your case clearly and properly, judges often think, "No lawyer? Either this person is a deadbeat who can't even afford to hire a lawyer or his case is so bad that no lawyer would take it." This is why even a lawyer needs a lawyer. A wise old lawyer once said, "A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client." If you can possibly do so, get a lawyer. (If your lease or rental agreement has language requiring the losing party in any lawsuit to pay the winner's attorney's fees, you might be able to get your lawyer's fees back from the tenant if you win.)
For more information on tenants rights and eviction visit GotTrouble.com | <urn:uuid:6ee4eeac-6557-4b93-b84c-f56305206fe3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://guides.gottrouble.com/Fighting_Eviction_Against_Your_Landlord_New_Mexico-r1183033-New_Mexico.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00029-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973718 | 621 | 1.75 | 2 |
Wyoming Guard Supports Utah In Earthquake Exercise
The Wyoming National Guard wrapped up a three day exercise in the Salt Lake City Area Thursday.
‘Operation Utah Shake Out’ was an earthquake disaster drill that simulated a magnitude 7 earthquake.
Joint Task Force Commander, Col. Shelly Campbell, says Salt Lake City sits on the Wasatch fault line and is at high risk for an earthquake. Estimates suggest some 1.3 million people would be impacted by widespread destruction with the likelihood of thousand of deaths. She says the exercise involved about 900,000 people from civilian and governmental agencies across the state and region.
“Its just been a great exercise for us. It always helps to prepare and build relationships with our neighbors, because they may have to respond to help us at some point.” | <urn:uuid:45263cc7-8d31-479e-b92d-79ed24601218> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://k2radio.com/wyoming-guard-supports-utah-in-earthquake-exercise/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96073 | 164 | 1.734375 | 2 |
On-Grid Solar: An Industry in Plight (Government-dependence perils)
“Without these subsidies … ‘On-grid PV,’ would be virtually non-existent. It only exists because the solar industry lobbied government officials to compel citizens to purchase this otherwise non-economic energy source.”
“Included in the list of failed solar companies is Solon of Germany whose corporate slogan was ‘Don’t Leave the Planet to the Stupid.’ Fortunately for taxpayers, it appears Solon will be leaving the planet.”
A recent Wall Street Journal article, Dark Times Fall on Solar Sector(December 27, 2011), surveyed the latest solar industry fallout, as well as overviewed the financial condition of the surviving companies.
But the article seems to mistakenly equate the fallout to viability as if better profits would mean sustainability. The industry is not viable, but this is unrelated to the recent fall-out. The industry was growing and profitable in the recent past and was equally non-viable then. The difference is that with profit-enabling government subsidies intact, many established U.S. and European manufacturers are now competing with China. And they cannot compete.
There is a measure of justice in this recent turn of events. The old adage “he who lives by the sword dies by the sword,” comes to mind. In this case, one might say, “the industry that lives by government intervention dies by government intervention.”
The U.S. solar industry has seen remarkable growth in the past six-to-eight years, principally on the backs of taxpayers and ratepayers who have been forced to shoulder a significant percent of the cost of these solar photovoltaic (PV) systems to make them appear financially viable as on-grid resources.
The solar industry has amassed a ridiculous collection of additive subsidies, which total upwards of 80 to 90% of the total lifecycle cost. They have lobbied every conceivable legislative body to garner special handouts for installing the systems and production subsidies (Net Metering) for operating the systems.
This industry is artificial. Without these subsidies this market segment called “On-grid PV” would be virtually non-existent. It exists only because the solar industry lobbied government officials to compel citizens to purchase this otherwise non-economic energy source.
In fact, they did such a good job of creating an enormous demand, that it attracted the attention of manufacturers and governments around the world, governments whose only subsidy is perhaps favorable lending to those companies that wish to sell into this artificial marketplace.
Global Subsidies, Calls for Protectionism
So now those same solar companies, which lobbied so heavily to plunder the public coffers, are through some grand act of justice being forced out of the business by Chinese manufacturers, who can produce panels at much lower cost. This industry built on government intervention in the marketplace is now dying because of possible Chinese government intervention in the marketplace. I call that just deserts.
So what is the response of the U.S. solar industry? It’s mixed, but continues on the same self-serving path it has followed. Some panel manufacturers are trying to block solar imports from China, which leads me to believe they’re not really that concerned with green house gas emissions after all.
Solar installers are against the restrictions, because the cheaper panel prices are increasing the sales of PV systems and they’re as happy as ever to continue riding the subsidy gravy train. Both segments are guilty of participating in a massive plunder of public and private moneys.
It is almost comical watching manufacturers and installers fight over the import restriction policy. The manufactures want the restrictions so that they won’t have to compete against the low-cost panels from China, and the installers like the low prices so they have more business, thus showing little concern for the U.S. manufacturers who created the subsidies in the first place. Is there no honor among the plunderers?
The oversupply of panel production is the direct result of government subsidies for solar. The article, in part, credits the oil price boom for the investment surge, but solar is not a substitute for oil. Installing solar panels does not reduce our oil imports. Solar PV offsets electricity and only about 1% of our electricity is made from oil, so I can’t believe investors invested in solar in response to high oil prices, nor for the reason of climate concerns, since solar is a very expensive means of reducing GHG emissions.
Reality Check Needed
It is far more reasonable to assume that investors invested simply based on a belief that subsidies and mandates would continue for many years. The subsidies created an artificial demand, which those investing in the industry surely understood was unsustainable. But apparently they did not correctly foresee the competition.
And fortunately for the taxpayers, who were helpless against the massive lobbying efforts of the industry, the Chinese manufacturers have come to the rescue. So if we’re being forced to buy panels, at least we can buy less expensive ones.
The best possible outcome for the U.S. taxpayers at this point is:
1) those companies most responsible for the solar subsidies lose interest because of the competition, and
2) there is a widespread realization that our utility mandates are accomplishing little except supporting the Chinese solar panel manufacturing industry.
Hopefully, these two outcomes will result in a shuttering of the political forces sustaining the subsidies and the subsidies will finally end.
PV Grid Parity: Still Illusory
One other point worth noting about this article is that the cost of PV is finally down to about $1/watt, which is the price many in the industry claimed was the price needed for solar to reach grid parity without subsidies. Well, $1/watt is finally here and solar is still far from grid parity. The truth is even if China could sell panels to installers for 1¢/watt, the systems would still be too expensive. Even with free PV, the cost of installation, mounting structure, inverters, wiring, etc. make the systems financially unsustainable.
The article concludes with the statement that “as technology advances and costs drop, solar-panel makers can supply power without a need for heavy government subsidies.” This leaves the reader some hope that on-grid solar PV will wean the world off fossil fuels, but this is wishful thinking. There is no guarantee that the prices will ever reach the point of grid parity without subsidies.
PV would reach grid parity if the total installed cost plus the net present value (NPV) of the operations and maintenance cost were at or below about $1/watt. But given that the PV panels alone cost $1/watt, and the total system cost for utility scale PV arrays is still $3.75/watt not including the NPV of O&M costs, I don’t see on-grid PV as a rational bet. Unless of course, one gets to bet with other people’s money and can ignore the moral implications.
Perhaps it will someday be necessary to wean ourselves off fossil fuels for reasons of supply limits or environmental issues. If that happens, normal market forces will rebalance both the supply and demand of energy in logical and rational ways. Till then we’ll just have to suffer through yet another economic bubble created by government intervention in markets.
Will we never learn?
As a final note, included in the list of failed solar companies is Solon of Germany whose corporate slogan was “Don’t Leave the Planet to the Stupid.” Fortunately for taxpayers, it appears Solon will be leaving the planet.
David J. Bergeron is founder and president of SunDanzer of Tucson, Arizona, a leading provider of solar-powered refrigerators and freezers world-wide. He has worked in the refrigeration and aerospace industries for 21 years and holds key refrigeration patents used by his company.
Bergeron graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University cum laude in 1982 and from the University of Houston (Clear Lake) with a Masters in Finance in 1985. | <urn:uuid:a71c40e4-4a7d-48f9-b95d-91349528e9c8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.masterresource.org/2012/01/on-grid-solar-plight/ | 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 | 0.95442 | 1,688 | 1.71875 | 2 |
It would be unfair to criticise the parties for a lack of delivery, whenever all they were expected to deliver was “themselves” to the finishing line.
But as they head into an election seeking a mandate for a new term in office, it will be interesting to see what expectations are for the new term. And a question they will have to address is whether the current structures actually allow for good government.
A number of issues this week highlighted the dysfunctional nature of an Executive where power is distributed less by coalition, than by contested carve-up. The ministers around the Executive table have the leadership style of mafia bosses representing five different families, each with their own territory and each with their own power base.
They work together because they have accepted the basic ground rules, but getting agreement is a constant game of trade-offs. The smaller families feel they are not getting a fair slice of the action, but they remain at the table because they fear annihilation from the bigger families should they leave.
It is a structure which does not encourage strategic oversight, or shared common objectives.
Read the whole thing. As Jim Fitzpatrick says
…when it comes to election time, expect our politicians to trumpet how good it has been to have had four years of government, but perhaps they could tell us how good a government the next one will be.
Topic: Government, Politics, Society and Culture
Region: Northern Ireland
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You must be logged in to post a comment. | <urn:uuid:9724b3b3-b8fd-4696-9d1e-b1d14c576d0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sluggerotoole.com/2011/03/19/ni-executive-never-mind-the-quality-feel-the-width/comment-page-1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00025-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974993 | 303 | 1.703125 | 2 |
JUNEAU - Discovery Southeast naturalists are inviting local elementary school students to join in a for a few hours of nature-inspired fun from 1:30-3:30 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 25.
With early dismissals every other Monday, Discovery naturalists at all elementary schools will provide nature club after school releases. Open to first through fifth graders, kids will go on short hikes, make art and learn about the nature in their backyards. Children may be enrolled in all 15 Mondays, or mix and match the Mondays with three and six day punch cards. For more information call 463-1500 or go online to www.discoverysoutheast.org.
Juneau Empire ©2013. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:5c295696-b991-4ed9-9e44-c105cabc3678> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://juneauempire.com/stories/102210/out_724421928.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934548 | 153 | 1.625 | 2 |
Year-round conservation and improved water-use efficiency are both key elements of a new report just released by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. It’s in response to the state’s ongoing, severe drought conditions. WGCU’s Mike Kiniry has more.
Thursday, 12 July 2007 01:00
Drought Smart ReportWritten by Mike Kiniry | <urn:uuid:0f8eee2b-4186-4709-88bd-841813f9b7df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wgcu.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=23765%3A | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938262 | 77 | 1.5 | 2 |
A freshman southern Arizona lawmaker is leading the effort to strip Arizona voters of the right to nominate U.S. senators.
The proposal by Rep. David Stevens, R-Sierra Vista, would give that right to the elected legislators from each party. Only after that process is complete would voters get a say, in the general election, who they actually want to send to Washington.
Stevens said his measure, if approved by Arizona voters in November, would be a partial return to the way things were before the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was adopted.
Until then, each state legislature actually got to choose its U.S. senators, with voters allowed to pick only the folks going to the House of Representatives. The 1913 amendment requires direct election of all members of Congress.
Stevens said that amendment was a mistake. He said the old system ensured that senators were responsive to the desires of state lawmakers.
"The state is supreme over the federal government," he said. "And when they weren't doing what we thought they should be doing, we could recall them at any time."
With direct election, Stevens said, federal senators are less interested in protecting the rights of the states and more interested in looking out for the powers of the federal government.
"It takes away the ability of the state to negotiate with the federal government," he said.
Unable to repeal the 17th Amendment, Stevens is trying the next best thing: changing the nominating process.
He said HCR 2046 would not run afoul of the U.S. Constitution because it does preserve the direct election of senators as required. He said nothing in that amendment spells out the nominating process for those candidates, which is what he wants to change.
Because his plan requires voter approval, nothing in his measure would affect this year's Republican primary battle involving incumbent John McCain and challengers J.D. Hayworth and Chris Simcox.
Stevens said, though, there might be an entirely different political landscape if McCain, Hayworth and Simcox were busy battling for the support of the 35 House Republicans and 18 GOP senators rather than seeing who can corral more popular votes at the primary in August.
In fact, he said it is possible that someone like Hayworth, whose campaign warchest is going to be dwarfed by McCain, actually might have a better chance of becoming the party's nominee.
"He would have to come down and, basically, campaign us," Stevens said.
Stevens said he believes he can sell voters on the idea of giving up their right to nominate their U.S. senators.
"I'll ask them if they feel like they're being served by their senators," Stevens said. "And I can pretty much tell you what their answer is going to be. That is 'no,'" though, he said he's not just talking about Arizona but the situation nationwide.
The plan will get no backing from McCain.
"Senator McCain believes all elections, primary and general, should be decided by the people, as stated in the Constitution," said aide Brooke Buchanan.
Hayworth said he is sympathetic to what Stevens is trying to do.
"I believe in states' rights," he said. But Hayworth said he can't support this specific measure.
"Right now I just think it's important for the people to decide" their Arizona senators.
And Simcox said he's not sure if such a change would make the process better.
On one hand, he said the measure might help candidates like himself who he contends are more committed to the principles of the party and less to being loyal to those who control the party structure. But Simcox said he also can foresee a way that this system also can be co-opted by the party leadership.
The measure does have an escape clause for recognized parties that don't happen to have any members in the Arizona Legislature: Their U.S. Senate nominees would continue to be chosen the way they are now through a primary race.
Stevens said even if he gets his wish and the nominating process is changed, it still might be difficult for Arizona lawmakers to keep their federal senators' feet to the fire. That goes back to the 17th Amendment and that federal requirement for direct election.
"Once they get elected to their six years, we (legislators) don't have the ability to call them back," Stevens said. | <urn:uuid:b2b527ea-1fa0-4ed8-afdc-5bea2d344020> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/article_39f8c7b2-07e7-5240-aeb0-c48f9bf7cb36.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984009 | 901 | 1.671875 | 2 |
World stays silent as Israel flattens Palestinian basesBy Phil Reeves in Gaza 27 August 2001
More than 12 hours after Israeli jets roared in before dawn yesterday to flatten security headquarters in Gaza and the West Bank to avenge the Palestinians' first major guerrilla infiltration into an Israeli army base, not a whisper of complaint had emerged from the international community.
Only three months of the Middle East's "summer of hate" have been needed for Israel's use of American-made F-16 and F-15 warplanes to bomb the Palestinians to be seen as a routine military tactic.
When Ariel Sharon, Israel's Prime Minister, first used F-16s in May, killing a dozen Palestinians in the West Bank in answer to a suicide bombing, there was an outcry; it was the first attack by warplanes on the Palestinians of the occupied territories since the 1967 war. Israel's army held off from using them again for weeks afterwards. But yesterday -- the third such strike -- the world shrugged it off.
By sunset, there had been no significant criticism, no protest that this was another example of excessive force.
Israel was focused on the incidents that prompted the bombing raids -- an attack before dawn on Saturday by two Palestinian guerrillas from the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, who managed to infiltrate a heavily fortified army base in a hillock in southern Gaza and killed three soldiers, including a major. Israel's army commanders have been highly embarrassed by the assault, which is the first of its kind during the 11-month intifada, and have launched an inquiry.
Later on Saturday, two more Jewish settlers -- a married couple -- were killed in a West Bank ambush.
The F-16's laser-guided missiles used in the strikes are designed to bring down buildings like playing cards. Most of the main headquarters of the Palestinian police in Gaza City, a large complex that once housed hundreds of men, was turned into a heap of dust and broken concrete. One half of the four-storey building came crashing down; a third of a nearby administrative building was similarly destroyed.
The scene was the same 10 miles down the road, close to the Jewish settlement of Kfar Darom. A base belonging to Palestinian military intelligence, but evacuated three months ago, lay in a pile, adorned only with a tattered Palestinian flag that continued to fly from a flagpole above a sign showing the unit's insignia.
There is no comparison between these ruins and those buildings hit by missiles fired from helicopters, Israel's most frequent form of aerial attack in the occupied territories. The latter are usually intact, but punctured by a large hole. The former look as if they have been brought tumbling down by an enormous earthquake.
And that is the crucial point. The F-16 strikes hit buildings belonging to Yasser Arafat's security apparatus, which the Israelis knew were likely to be empty. The weapons accurately found their targets. A handful of people were injured but no one was killed -- although a man died in Rafa, southern Gaza, in a separate Israeli demolition raid on the ground.
The air raid was clinically executed, and almost ritualistic punishment, designed to intimidate the Palestinians by providing them with another example of Israel's massive military superiority. But this is an incredibly dangerous game. It is all too easy to imagine an F-16 hitting not a police station, but an apartment block crammed -- as they usually are in the grotesquely overcrowded Gaza -- with families.
A massacre would ratchet up the conflict to a terrible new level. The United States has played an important role in creating the conditions in which it is now possible for Israel to deploy F-16s without incurring an international backlash. The message that has been emanating from George Bush, the US president, while on holiday is that he does not want to get involved in a conflict that can only lose him votes, and that he will not complain if Israel toughens its methods further.
Gaza was not the only place in the cross-hairs of the F-16 bombers yesterday. The Israelis also flattened a police station in Salfit, a Palestinian town south of the Ariel corridor -- a finger of occupied land in the northern West Bank that has been steadily populated with settlers.
Reports have long been amassing of Jewish settlers using violence to try to drive Arabs off the land, which is already under total Israeli military control, and which Israel wants to annex, should it ever get a peace deal. Yesterday, Israel peace activists were puzzling over why their air force had hit Salfit, where the military closure was tightened yesterday.
Also yesterday Gaza was celebrating what was deemed to have been a successful attack by its fighters on a base belonging to the occupying Israelis. Posters of the two dead DFLP guerrillas posing with their weapons have already begun to adorn the streets. No one seems to see any contradiction between their role as guerrillas for a Marxist opposition group, and their membership of Mr Arafat's security apparatus. One, Amin Abu Hatab, was a member of military intelligence; the other, Hisham Abu Jamous, was a border policeman.
The DFLP -- hitherto inactive in the military side of the intifada -- appears satisfied with the results despite the death of their two gunmen. The DFLP, like the mainstream Fatah, is against attacks against civilians inside Israel. DFLP officials see the raid on the Israel base as an example of the best form of resistance -- a war fought against Israeli soldiers and settlers in the occupied West Bank and Gaza. "It was meant as a message, that we can do this and that we can do it inside Gaza, despite the high level of security," said Saleh Zeidan, the DFLP's political spokesman. Asked if there would be more, he smiled bleakly. "We hope so," he replied. | <urn:uuid:76238c0b-0700-4e09-b705-dcd3e3f2f535> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.radioislam.org/historia/zionism/reeves_silentworld.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975077 | 1,197 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Last week, Hurricane Sandy - a.k.a. Frankenstorm - pounded the eastern part of the United States. In the days since, thousands have been displaced from their homes, more are still without power and millions have been financially impacted by the storm that, by some estimates, could top $50 billion in damages. Unfortunately, many of those who’ve been affected could be about to make - or may have already made – a bad situation worse by making costly financial and tax mistakes or top of the losses suffered as a result of Hurricane Sandy.
There is also no general exception for natural disasters, such as a hurricane. This has, unfortunately, caught some people by surprise over the years, since, at times, there have been specific exceptions to the 10% penalty for specific people, living in specific areas and affected by specific natural disasters.
For example, after Hurricane Katrina, Congress took action and created a limited exception to the 10% penalty for certain distributions taken by some that were affected by that storm. To date, Congress has not enacted any similar provision for those affected by Hurricane Sandy, though to be fair, it’s been less than 10 days since the storm hit – not to mention the last week or so of a highly contentious election season.
So what should you do if you’ve been impacted by Hurricane Sandy and now need to come up with funds quickly? Well, the best places to raise money quickly are typically from some sort of highly liquid, penalty free, low tax-impact types of accounts. For most people, this is your everyday checking, savings or money market account. This is also why one of the first steps any financial professional recommends is an emergency savings fund.
If you don’t have enough cash on hand in one of those types of accounts, the next place you might consider raising funds from is a non-qualified (non-retirement account) brokerage account. Although there might be a tax consequence for selling some of your investments, the investments held in these types of accounts are generally pretty liquid and typically don’t carry penalties when sold. If you are forced to sell some of the investments in these types of accounts, you may want to consider using strategies, such as tax loss harvesting (selling investments at a loss to net against investments sold at a gain) in order to minimize Uncle Sam’s tax bite. On the other hand, selling long-held investments at a gain before year-end might not be such a bad deal anyway, considering that the highest tax rate you’ll pay on long-term capital gains in 2012 is 15% - a rate scheduled to increase to 20% next year.
Don’t have a cash account or brokerage account? Well then it might be time to get a little bit more creative. For instance, you might consider taking money out of an existing home equity line of credit, as the current interest rates are low and you may be able to deduct the interest that you do pay.
If the only money you have accumulated is in a retirement account, and you absolutely need funds, then "you’ve gotta do what you’ve gotta do." However, even here there are a few strategies to consider. One option, if you are a participant in 401(k) or similar plan, is to check and see if your plan has a loan provision. If it does, you might be eligible to access up to $50,000 without paying a tax or penalty. I’m generally not a fan of plan loans because people often make mistakes that cause the loans to become taxable and, perhaps, subject to the 10% penalty, but in this case, it might be the best of some unfortunate options. Of course, like any loans, these must be repaid. In general, the repayment must be made using level payments over a period of 5 years or less.
Another way people sometimes try to access retirement account money without paying a tax or a penalty is by using what some websites, including some from major financial institutions, call a “60-day IRA loan.” Don’t get confused by the name, you can never “take a loan” from your IRA. In fact, if you do, you can kiss your entire retirement account goodbye. Taking a loan from your IRA is what’s known as a “prohibited transaction” and the penalty for making such an error is an immediate distribution of your entire account balance. So if you were to set up a $10,000 “loan” agreement with your $2 million IRA to help pay for a roof repair, you have instantly lost your IRA. All $2 million will be treated as distributed, taxable and perhaps, subject to a 10% penalty. Don’t make this mistake.
So what’s the deal with these so-called IRA loans then? Simply put, these sites are just using some creative language when describing your ability to make a 60-day IRA rollover. If you take money out of one of your IRAs, you can put it back into an IRA within 60 days to prevent the distribution from being taxable, and, if applicable the 10% penalty. Your 60-day clock starts on the day you receive your distribution (i.e. the check arrives at your house). Be careful though, you can only do one 60-day rollover per account, per year. So if you have made a 60-day rollover in the last 365 days, you cannot rollover another distribution from either the account the previous distribution came out of or went into. If you miss the deadline, only IRS can grant you more time through a PLR, but that is an expensive process that can take a lot of time. Plus, in the past, IRS has generally denied 60-day relief rulings where the owner had used the funds within the 60-day period.
One final place to turn to as a possibility? Roth accounts. Although Roth money is generally the last money you’d ever want to touch – after all, why touch money that’s growing tax-free before you have to – desperate times sometimes call for desperate measures. If you have a Roth IRA, you can take distributions of your contributions with no tax or penalty. Converted amounts can also be taken with no taxes due, but the 10% penalty would apply if you are under age 59 ½ and the converted amounts have not been held for five years. If you’re withdrawing earnings from your Roth IRA, they may be subject to the 10% penalty and/or income tax, depending on a number of factors. These rules can be complicated, so you may want to consult with your tax professional first.
So what’s the big take away from all this? The bottom line is this… If you or someone you love has been severely impacted by Hurricane Sandy, chances are you have more pressing issues on your mind than taxes. Making a quick move without thinking though could make a terrible situation that much worse. If you’re already feeling the financial pinch thanks to Sandy, don’t let Uncle Sam tighten the noose with needless and unnecessary taxes and/or penalties.
There’s been enough bad news lately, so let’s at least end on a positive note here. Last week IRS released very limited relief for some tax deadlines, but indicated that more relief would soon be on the way. Plus, now that the election is over and our Congressmen are through campaigning, they should have more than enough time in their lame duck session to get some sort of additional relief, such as an exception to the 10% early distribution penalty passed. If either of these items, or some other type of tax relief come to pass, we’ll be sure to pass that along in a timely fashion.
UPDATE: IRS has just issued further relief for individuals affected by Hurricane Sandy. The relief grants extensions for certain tax deadlines, including 4th quarter estimated tax payments, to February 1, 2013. If you live in certain counties in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, you are automatically eligible for the relief. If you were affected, but live in other areas, IRS will work with you on an individual basis for relief. For more information on the IRS relief and what areas automatically qualify, click here.
- By Jeffrey Levine and Jared Trexler
Author’s Note: This article is meant to address immediate and potentially immediate tax issues. It does not address items like casualty loss deductions that may ultimately provide a tax benefit to some, but won’t really come into play until an affected person's 2012 tax returns are filed. We may address those in a separate article here at a later time. | <urn:uuid:f85a55e9-3f91-43ae-a763-d28db3a8ce3c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theslottreport.com/2012/11/hurricane-sandy-financial-recovery.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964491 | 1,788 | 1.53125 | 2 |
A provocative premise delivers considerable literary dividends.
In one of his richest and most engaging novels, Boyle (The Women, 2009, etc.) characteristically combines a dark sense of humor and a subversive streak as he illuminates the dark underbelly of all-American idealism. The focus is California environmentalism, the idealization of the natural world, which is more often dangerous, even deadly, than idyllic. The novel puts two characters on a collision course, with each discovering in the process the complexities and ambiguities of their polarized opposite positions. Dr. Alma Boyd Takesue, a native Californian of mixed American and Japanese descent, spearheads a program for the National Park Service aimed at eliminating various species that have been imported to the Channel Islands, near Santa Barbara, to preserve the ecosystem and allow indigenous species to survive. Her antagonist is Dave LaJoy, head of the PETA-like FPA (For the Protection of Animals), who is both a dreadlocked hipster and a successful businessman. He is also a dislikable loudmouth—ravaging restaurant personnel, throwing his weight around, bullying Alma, whom he once dated. But he has a point: “He believes in something, the simplest clearest primary moral principle: thou shalt not kill.” And his activism has spurred plenty of press coverage that demonizes the National Park Service’s initiative, accusing Alma of trying to “manipulate nature and make a theme park out of the islands.” Nature being nature, it refuses to obey the dictates of either Alma or Dave, as their battles escalate over rats, feral pigs and rattlesnakes, and the plot naturally comes to encompass human death (and birth) as well. A richly detailed back story provides additional context, as Boyle nimbly plays chronological hopscotch, showing how both these islands and these people came to be how they are. The novel never reduces its narrative to polemics—there are no heroes here—while underscoring the difficult decisions that those who consider themselves on the side of the angels must face.
Narrative propulsion is laced with delicious irony in this winning novel. | <urn:uuid:bc3bbe3a-26f7-454a-805d-b452277dec56> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/tc-boyle/when-killings-done/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947236 | 441 | 1.632813 | 2 |
- Last Updated: 6:11 PM, November 2, 2012
- Posted: 6:11 PM, November 2, 2012
As many as 40,000 students at 65 public schools that are unusable because of severe damage from Hurricane Sandy will not resume classes on Monday as planned, city officials said.
Instead, those students will be rerouted to other school buildings left unscathed by the storm — but not until Wednesday.
School officials said the delay was necessary because of significant challenges posed by the situation — including creating new routes for a host of yellow buses and figuring out how to share space in buildings that are suddenly serving multiple schools.
“Wednesday, I do expect challenges. I mean, that’s seriously going to be a challenging day,” said schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott. “Those challenges will find [their] way lessening over a period of time.”
The remainder of the city’s 1 million public school kids will come back to school Monday, following an entire week off.
This includes students at eight large high schools that have been and will continue serving as evacuation centers from the storm — although city officials said they’d keep track of concerns about safety and cleanliness in those buildings.
At one of the eight sites, Graphic Communication Arts HS in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen, residents broke toilets by stuffing clothes down them and left human feces under a cafeteria table.
On Staten Island, Tottenville HS is being used as both a methadone clinic and an animal shelter according to a source.
“There’s no way this building can be ready for students by Monday,” United Federation of Teachers representative Alice O’Neil said after touring Graphic Communications Arts HS. “It’s not sanitary.”
Schools are not in session Tuesday because many serve as polling sites for the election. | <urn:uuid:f68e709c-4e38-4b0e-bdd2-ea16005971bb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/kids_at_storm_damaged_schools_won_0pCoS92eiUea6ABI0tKt2H | 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 | 0.964344 | 393 | 1.65625 | 2 |
The Oregonian article was mostly about the tea shop, but there was more to it even though unintentional. A tea shop one block from the one in Lu San Chinese Garden? Louis Lee: "We're trying to find the formula for success in Chinatown." He might well want to rethink that a few more times.
A another tea shop in a true Chinatown like that in San Francisco might well make sense. This shop is in Old Town that is located in neighborhood misnamed as Old Town/Chinatown. A Chinatown Gate doesn't a Chinatown make. There is next to zero Chinese living in Old Town or even working in Old Town. Chinese businesses have long vacated Old Town.
It is interesting that the tea shop owners had a restaurant on the edge of Old Town that they sold and went to work for someone else to make money for their children's college education. Is the tea shop a retirement endeavor?
The absence of Chinese or Asians in Old Town casts doubt on the value of the tea shop as a community center for Cantonese speaking Chinese or others, and it casts doubt on Mr. Lee's grasp of development issues in Old Town and efforts to make Old Town livable and safe.
If Mr. Lee's efforts is directed to making Old Town a Chinese community then he hasn't thought it through. Neighborhood vision and development planning documents looks to an inclusive community. Moreover, that Chinese neighborhood concept has been tried before without success. E.g., Pacific Tower was originally to be for Chinese occupants but attracted no takers.
Nor is it clear that PDC should be using pubic dollars for this endeavor. | <urn:uuid:a455284f-7eca-43ae-a99b-7788292ba527> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://oldtownperspective.blogspot.com/2011/08/red-robe-tea-shop-old-town-non-sequitur.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980867 | 328 | 1.75 | 2 |
Setting up home security cameras systems is a fairly simple task, even for
the unskilled do it yourselfer. Minimal tools are required - mainly you need to
do a little planning, and think about your home like a burglar or other intruder
would. With proper placement of small, inconspicuous home security cameras, you
can protect almost every area of your house using anywhere from four to perhaps
at most ten well-placed cameras.
Home security cameras systems are used for more than just protecting your
property from prowlers and burglars. A growing trend is the use of these cameras
to monitor maids, child care providers, and handymen who may be in your home
when you aren't there.
Especially if you are setting up home security cameras yourself, you probably
should go with a wireless home security cameras system, for the sake of
simplicity. You don't need to worry about running wires back to your main
control panel or recording system, and if you go with battery operated cameras,
you don't even have to worry about the proximity of power outlets.
Wireless home security cameras systems transmit images to your television or
you can record the images on your VCR for later review as needed. You can also
set things up so that you can see what's going on at home even if you aren't
there, by routing the images through your computer, which you can then remotely
connect to via the internet.
Examine your home carefully, and when setting up home security cameras
position them so that you can cover several potential entry points (e.g., doors
and windows) simultaneously. Another wise move when setting up home security
cameras is to position them so that they monitor obvious traffic paths through
your home, and/or monitor the parts of your home that contain the most valuable
burglary targets (e.g., home entertainment systems, jewelry, and computers).
If you have an entrance with several windows leading to a hallway, you can
set up your home security camera to monitor just the hallway, rather than
monitor each individual entrance. Another good idea when setting up home
security cameras is to monitor the access to your upper floors simply by
monitoring the staircase.
If you have a basement, monitoring that staircase as well is also a good
idea. Put entry and breakage sensors on all the basement windows, and then set
up a security camera with a view of the stairs leading up into your home. You
might similarly monitor the garage entrance to your home, if you have one.
Once you have selected your desired locations, setting up home security
cameras requires little more than a screwdriver, perhaps an electric drill, and
some sturdy wood screws and molly bolts or plastic screw anchors. If you have a
helper, test positioning the camera in several locations while your assistant
watches the monitors.
When setting up home security cameras systems, some people choose to have
obviously visible home security, or you may, instead, choose tiny micro cameras
that can be concealed almost anywhere - a flower pot, stereo cabinet, or within
a ceiling mounted light fixture are commonly chosen locations. In any case, with
the variety of home security cameras options available today, a do it yourself
home security installation is easier than ever. | <urn:uuid:42ab550f-c153-4664-8986-2f604c1ea530> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.vdocapture.com/SettingUpHomeSecurityCameras.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.938773 | 691 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Foreign exchange risk arises when payments are made or received in a foreign currency. In recent times, currency volatility has made life extremely difficult for finance directors. Local businesses must formulate an effective strategy to manage foreign exchange risks. At First Trust Bank we offer a comprehensive suite of foreign exchange services and professional guidance that helps businesses improve their risk management practices.
How Spot Foreign Exchange works:
- An exchange rate is agreed today for a transaction that will take place within two days time.
- This approach can is best described as a 'wait and see' approach.
- Businesses buy or sell an amount of currency as and when an invoice is due or when payment is received.
- Typically, an importer buys a draft or makes a international funds transfer and an exporter negotiates a cheque or converts an incoming international payment.
Benefits of Spot Foreign Exchange:
- The company can benefit if exchange rates have moved favourably from the time the actual business transaction is struck until the time payment is effected.
- The major disadvantage of Spot Foreign Exchange is that a business can be at the mercy of the foreign exchange markets until the rate is agreed
All First Trust Bank clients can book Spot Foreign Exchange through their Branch.
How a Forward Foreign Exchange Contract works:
An exchange rate is agreed today for a transaction that will take place at some stage in the future.
Benefits of Forward Foreign Exchange Contracts:
- This approach eliminates exchange rate uncertainty.
- Whilst the exchange rate is agreed, no payments are made until the underlying business transaction occurs.
- A time option is available. This means that the transaction need not be made on a specific day but can be made between two agreed dates.
- The contract can be utilised in tranches between the two agreed dates.
- Ultimately, forward contracts provide exchange rate certainty for future transactions and play a central role in safeguarding profit margins.
- The particular business transaction is not at the mercy of foreign exchange volatility
First Trust Bank clients can book Forward Foreign Exchange Contracts through their Branch. A forward contract facility must be arranged with the Branch prior to a contract being struck. Deals can be booked for amounts of £10,000 upwards.
Back to top | <urn:uuid:9e7b892e-ad14-41d4-90b1-464eafaa35a7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.aib.je/servlet/Satellite?c=FTBContent_C&channel=C007&cid=1141323962320&pagename=FTBusinessPortal%2FFTBContent_C%2Fftb_service | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00039-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941765 | 451 | 1.53125 | 2 |
PIRU — Over the years, Habitat for Humanity has often been known for building one home at a time.
But now the group is going full steam ahead on an ambitious 22-home subdivision for low-income families in this rural enclave east of Fillmore still rebuilding from the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
Gary Mugridge, executive director for the group in Ventura County, said Habitat for Humanity needs another eight sponsors--corporate or civic groups committed to raising the $70,000 needed to build each home--to complete the project .
Skilled and unskilled construction volunteers are also needed.
Mugridge hopes the holiday season stirs interest in the project.
"Holiday seasons are exciting, mystical, magical, because we're fortunate to live in stable decent homes," he said. "We sometimes forget there are other people out there who are not as fortunate as we are. This is a good time to be thinking of that."
Since its inception in 1984, the local Habitat for Humanity chapter has built a dozen homes scattered on lots throughout Ventura County.
The Piru development, known as the Duneden project, is the nonprofit group's first local subdivision.
After acquiring the 4.5-acre swath of land near the entrance to town, it has taken the group four years to build seven homes and get five more under construction.
Now, Habitat for Humanity wants to pick up the pace and complete construction of the remaining 10 homes by the end of 2001.
The group's homes--usually three-bedroom, two-bath wood-frame structures of about 1,100 square feet--are sold without profit and are free of interest to low-income buyers.
Future owners must each put 500 hours of work into the construction of their houses. To qualify, Mugridge said, a family of four in Ventura County must earn no more than $31,500 a year.
Any low-income resident may apply for a Duneden home, but priority goes to people who live or work in Piru or who were displaced by the earthquake. A Habitat for Humanity committee selects prospective owners from the applicant pool.
Piru, which began as a railroad town in the late 1800s and later became a popular spot for movie filming, has experienced hard times in recent decades.
Unemployment among its 1,800 residents hovers at about twice the county rate. An economy driven by agriculture means much of the work among the 75% Latino population is seasonal. Median household income is $25,000 a year, compared with $46,000 countywide.
When the quake struck six years ago, it devastated several commercial properties and homes, leaving some residents without a place to live.
Soon after the quake, county officials received federal grant money to help restore housing for those displaced by the disaster, said Mary Ann Krause, a field deputy for Supervisor Kathy Long, whose district includes the area.
"One of the Habitat volunteers was a broker, and he ran across a [land] subdivision that was created in 1909 but had never been built," she said. "The county looked at it and decided, yes, this would work, and the Board of Supervisors awarded Habitat the money to purchase the property."
But the land was in a flood plain and needed to be raised 6 feet before being built on, Mugridge said.
The elements again stepped in, but this time to help.
As El Nino conditions barreled through the county in the winter of 1997, rains shifted tons of dirt to unwanted spots. Habitat officials offered to take the debris off the county's hands; they needed all the fill dirt they could get to raise the flood plain.
Once the flood threat passed, the building began.
Families already have moved into the completed houses. Irma and Jose Luis Sanchez, who have lived for years in nearby housing for farm workers, will move with their three children into the eighth Duneden home when it is ready. Irma Sanchez works at the citrus packinghouse in Piru.
The couple's 17-year-old daughter, Maribel, said owning a home has long been a dream for her parents.
"We talk about it a lot," Maribel said. Her mother already has plans for the backyard. "She would like to plant fruit trees and red roses and grass." | <urn:uuid:95687e88-1b77-4908-9bc6-1c2dccafd03f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.latimes.com/2000/nov/24/local/me-56670 | 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 | 0.97029 | 889 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Be prepared to meet three unforgettable women:
Twenty-two-year-old Skeeter has just returned home after graduating from Ole Miss. She may have a degree, but it is 1962, Mississippi, and her mother will not be happy till Skeeter has a ring on her finger. Skeeter would normally find solace with her beloved maid Constantine, the woman who raised her, but Constantine has disappeared and no one will tell Skeeter where she has gone.
Aibileen is a black maid, a wise, regal woman raising her seventeenth white child. Something has shifted inside her after the loss of her own son, who died while his bosses looked the other way. She is devoted to the little girl she looks after, though she knows both their hearts may be broken.
Minny, Aibileen's best friend, is short, fat, and perhaps the sassiest woman in Mississippi. She can cook like nobody's business, but she can't mind her tongue, so she's lost yet another job. Minny finally finds a position working for someone too new to town to know her reputation. But her new boss has secrets of her own.
Seemingly as different from one another as can be, these women will nonetheless come together for a clandestine project that will put them all at risk. And why? Because they are suffocating within the lines that define their town and their times. And sometimes lines are made to be crossed.
In pitch-perfect voices, Kathryn Stockett creates three extraordinary women
whose determination to start a movement of their own forever changes a town, and the way women-mothers, daughters, caregivers, friends-view one another. A deeply moving novel filled with poignancy, humor, and hope, The Help is a timeless and universal story about the lines we abide by, and the ones we don't.The Washington Post -
Southern whites' guilt for not expressing gratitude to the black maids who raised them threatens to become a familiar refrain. But don't tell Kathryn Stockett because her first novel is a nuanced variation on the theme that strikes every note with authenticity. In a page-turner that brings new resonance to the moral issues involved, she spins a story of social awakening as seen from both sides of the American racial divide.More Reviews and RecommendationsBiography
Kathryn Stockett was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. After graduating from the University of Alabama with a degree in English and Creative Writing, she moved to New York City, where she worked in magazine publishing and marketing for nine years. This is her first novel.More About the AuthorCustomer ReviewsReader Rating: Ratings: 51Reviews: 23See All ReviewsI would love to see this book on high school required reading lists.by NJ-Nina
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April 21, 2009:
I LOVED THIS BOOK! It has been some time since I have enjoyed a book as much as I enjoyed The Help! It is a wonderful and touching story of how difficult it was to be black, and at times white, in the early 1960's. Mississippi had well defined lines drawn between blacks and whites; these rules of behavior were passes down from generation to generation. In the 60's things started to change and these lines became blurred, it was a difficult and confusing time for families of any color in the Deep South. The Help takes the reader deep into the lives of three women who dare to cross those lines knowing that they are risking their lives by doing so. I would love to see this book on high school required reading lists. It illustrates so vividly the inner strength of those who lead the way in the civil rights movement and how far we have come as a nation.Helpby Anonymous
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April 20, 2009:
I like the book til it got towrad the end. It is one of those books that you feel the author just wanted to end it. Horrible ending.
More Customer Reviews | <urn:uuid:5c5e044a-4932-47dc-b77f-24efe2e8f44e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bookfinder.us/review9/0399155341.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973395 | 810 | 1.65625 | 2 |
This merely means that physical causes act without any definite intention on their part of any particular results to follow from their action. Electrical tension in the air tends to discharge itself in the form of lightning, but not to kill this particular man under the tree, although it does kill. The volcanic nisus prompts to an eruption, but not to the destruction of such and such a city that is built over the volcano. So far as physical agencies are concerned, the lava, or flaming gas, takes its determined path, neither making for the city, as such, nor avoiding it, as such.
Of God and His Creatures: 1.50 | <urn:uuid:90b9340d-6cd7-42d6-aa79-7fee7c04ee07> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www3.nd.edu/Departments/Maritain/etext/gc1_50b.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956343 | 129 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Festival revamp aims to get more people learning Welsh
A TRADITIONAL Welsh festival is to get a makeover this month in an effort to tempt more people to learn the language.
Eisteddfod y Dysgwyr — or the Eisteddfod for Welsh Learners — is being held for the first time in Carmarthenshire on March 15.
Kathleen Isaac, a learner who has helped organise the event, said: "Because it's an Eisteddfod, the point of it is to give learners a taste of what the National is like, but on a much smaller scale.
"It will give them the confidence to have a go and understand the event."
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She added that the event was important to the county at this point in time.
"Especially in regards to the census, and the Welsh language National Eisteddfod coming to Llanelli next year.
"It's quite high on the agenda at the moment."
Census figures revealed last year showed that within Carmarthenshire, 43.9 per cent of the population aged over three could speak Welsh in 2011. This was down from 50.3 per cent in 2001 and 54.9 per cent in 1991.
Learners will be participating in the competitions in a bid to raise their confidence in using the language in the Welsh speaking communities across Carmarthenshire.
"Even if you can only say bore da, the Welsh community want to hear you speak it," added Ms Isaac.
"It will be really, really nice for that community to see how much effort Welsh learners are putting in."
Funded by a grant from the Robert Dickie Trust, the event will follow the path of the centuries-old Welsh language festival, with stage-based events, including performances from choirs.
Written pieces, including poetry will also be judged in relation to the language level the competitor is currently on, and craft events complete the line up.
The Eisteddfod y Dysgwyr takes place at Cross Hands Public Hall, from 6pm, on March 15. | <urn:uuid:ad68a2d2-ac2d-4920-b7ed-23c9ceab6abb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/Festival-revamp-aims-people-learning-Welsh/story-18299181-detail/story.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946648 | 568 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Plymouth cars of 1966
Plymouth had taken care of the top in 1965, introducing its first full-sized car in four years. It was an immediate success. Now, a year later, it was time to take care of the middle.
When it introduced the new full-sized Fury in 1965, Plymouth also "introduced" a "new" mid-sized Plymouth called the Belvedere. However, outside of the front fenders and trim, it was the same car Plymouth had been trying to sell as a "full-sized" car in 1964.
Now, with its full-sized Fury now established, Plymouth turned its attention to the middle and an all-new mid-sized Belvedere that had never been anything else.
Well, not quite. The basic chassis platform [called the B-body] remained basically the same as when it was introduced in 1962 and as it would remain until the Plymouth Gran Fury was demoted to the Volare chassis in 1982.
The body itself, however, was the first that Elwood Engel had a free reign in designing on this chassis without having to redo Virgil Exner's unpopular original 1962 design. The new 1966 Belvedere displayed the Engel trademark for long straight lines. Most notable were the straight knife edge fender lines running uninterrupted from front to back.
Valiant, too, felt the Engel touch for 1966. Although in the last year of a long, long four year cycle, it got straight and squared-off new sheet metal for a one-year-only appearance.
Like the 1965 Fury, the new Belvedere featured sculpted side panels and, like the 1965 Belvedere, and the 1966 carried on the themes of square surrounds for the single headlamps and a flatter, wider version of the distinctive triangular shaped C-pillars on the two-door hardtop. Plymouth advertising made much of the unique "ribbon style" taillights that wrapped around the knife edge crease that descended to the bumper.
Although its wheelbase remained at 116 inches, the new Belvedere's overall length was reduced by three inches, a reflection, perhaps, of its new status as a mid-sized car. It was still a bit larger than its Fairlane and Chevelle competitors, but while Plymouth was reducing, they were growing.
The new street Hemi
Under the hood, Plymouth was offering its widest array of engines yet. Beginning with a 225 Slant Six, the lineup continued with V8s from 273, 318, 361, 383 to 426 cubic inch sizes. Although all the other V8s each far outsold the last, it was the one to get most of the attention in the enthusiast magazines. The 426 size had been in the lineup for two years and, potent engine that it was, it had little of the "pizzaz" of this new 426. For this new one was the legendary Hemi! After two years of racing-only application, the Hemi was detuned just enough to be street driven. Magazine testers fell over each other in testing this power plant previously available only to the likes of Richard Petty. After looking over the inline 2-4bbl. carb set up and the cast iron headers civil enough to feature a heat riser valve, they got behind the wheel. They were docile under light use, but had an appetite for oil and gasoline.
Ironically, disc brakes, introduced in 1966 as options on Fury V8s and Valiants, were supposedly not available on the Belvedere series, the only one that could be powered by a Hemi. However testers found that the large drum brakes and extra firm suspension made the hemi-powered Plymouth a car that could turn and stop as well as go. In addition, it does appear that disc brakes were available for the hemi-powered Belvedere, at least in Satellite trim; Bob Baker ordered (and still has) a 1966 Belvedere Satellite with the Hemi, 3.23:1 limited slip differential, Torqueflite, and disc brakes, and several magazine articles from the time mentioned the discs as well.
The Belvedere model lineup remained the same as in 1965 from the low-line Belvedere I though the mid-range Belvedere II to the top-line Satellite series which was available in convertible or hardtop form only. Reflecting their sporting nature, the Satellites were not available with Slant Six power. Inside, they featured the new dash with a sweep-style speedometer, plus a console and bucket seats. The latter featured vinyl trim embossed to look like western tooled leather. [Bob Baker wrote that his own Satellite does not have the sweep-style speedometer, but has the regular dial.)
In its second year, the Fury line, as expected, displayed few visible changes. Up front, the 1965's fine mesh grille was replaced by horizontal bars set within frames that give a split grille effect, sort of Pontiac style. Some would conclude it was a change-for-the-sake-of-change cluttering of a previously clean design, but it was popular anyway. Out back appeared the only sheetmetal change as the taillights were moved to the upper edge of the trunk, set within stamped panels that somewhat imitated the new split grille. On the upper level Sport Fury and Fury III, the remainder of the panel was filled with brushed aluminum material. On the lower-level Fury I and II, the panel was just there as a painted stamped panel. Below the trunk, the upper edge of the bumper featured widely spaced "P-L-Y-M-O-U-T-H" letters. The exterior changes resulted in a .4-inch increase in length and a .7-inch increase in width to 209.8 and 78.7 inches respectively.
The Fury interior displayed minor changes to the dash panel where the bottom edge of the speedometer was given a curve. There was a new console in the bucket seat Sport Fury replacing the one introduced in 1964. The console sprouted a new automatic transmission lever with a reverse lockout button on the top. The desire for a reverse lockout on the four-speed manual cars led to the mighty Hurst shifter being replaced by a willowy Inland unit, a definite step backwards in the opinion of the enthusiasts.
Also new for 1966 was an optional telescoping tilt steering-wheel, thin shell bucket seats and four-passenger seat belts with optional front shoulder belts. In another safety inspired move, the previous years' door handles were replaced by handles mounted at the front edge of the armrests where they looked very much like the seatbelt latches. This feature, which would remain on Chrysler cars for years to come, reduced the chance of a door accidentally opening if the handle was caught on clothing or used as an unintentional hand grip.
In response to the success of Ford's 1965 LTD, a luxury sedan in the "low-priced" field, Plymouth offered the VIP. Would people pay the price of a Chrysler to buy a "gussied-up" Plymouth? They hoped so, offering a car featuring exterior refinements such as an optional vinyl roof (that was virtually standard since most VIPs came with it), fluted aluminum taillight panels, wood grained inserts in the side trim, rubber bumper strips and special colors and medallions. Inside, luxury was found in deep pile carpet and special tufted block pleated upholstery on seats featuring fold-down armrests. The padded dash was standard as were individually switched reading lamps on the inside C-pillars, seat edge courtesy lights plus plastic walnut grain trim and the special medallions. Introduced only as a four-door hardtop at the beginning of the model year, the VIP line was, on January 1, expanded to include a 2-door hardtop. Like the Sport Fury, the VIP came stock with a V8 engine, a 318 with the larger sizes optional. VIP production totals are unknown since they were included with other four and two door hardtop totals. Unfortunately, the VIP did not prove to match the resounding success of the LTD and it was dropped during the 1969 model year.
The biggest underhood news was the introduction of a 440 cubic inch engine bearing 10:1 compression, dual exhaust and a single four barrel carburetor featuring a dual snorkel air cleaner to put out 365 horsepower.
A sign of things to come was a new Cleaner Air package for Plymouths destined for California. Emergency four-way flashers were introduced two years before they became mandatory and fender tip external turn signal indicators -- standard on some cars, optional on others in all Plymouth lines -- were also advertised as safety features.
As in 1958, Plymouth put out a Silver Special for the spring of 1966. The Fury II four-door sedan, painted solid silver metallic with an exclusive blue upholstery, came standard with wheelcovers, whitewalls and bright window mouldings.
Spring specials usually indicate slow sales. Plymouth's sales were a bit off this year, a 5.7% drop that could be expected, given the resounding successful year of 1965. However, Chevrolet and Rambler losses led to an actual increase of Plymouth's industry market share. And, in December 1965, the 14 millionth Plymouth -- a Sport Fury hardtop -- was produced.
See the Valiant.org site for details.
After being absent for its first year, the Belvedere line was introduced to Canada in 1966. Being the first new car of the U.S.-Canada Auto Pact, Canada's Belvedere was essentially identical to its U.S. counterpart.
With the introduction of the Belvedere line, the Savoy nameplate, which was kept one year longer in Canada, was replaced by "Fury I".
Four engines were available on the new Canadian Fury line: 225, 318, 383 4bbl. And the new 440.
While the 1965 Valiant line included both the U.S. Dart and Valiant bodies, the 1966 Valiant came only with a Dart body bearing Valiant nameplates, dash and trim. The Canadian Barracuda bore neither Plymouth nor Valiant (as in 1964-'65) identifying nameplates. This would be the final year that a Valiant would be sold by both Plymouth and Dodge dealers in Canada. Because of the Auto Pact, the new bodied 1967 Valiants and Darts would be sold by their respective Plymouth and Dodge dealers.
Likewise, this would be the final year that Canadian Dodge would use Plymouth instrument panels as found that year in the large Polara models.
Plymouth was reaching the zenith of its involvement in racing. Advertisements in enthusiast magazines were almost exclusively racing oriented, usually featuring Belvedere two-door hardtops.
On the drag racing front, Plymouth remained as potent as ever. The availability of the Street Hemi made the hemi-powered Plymouth accessible to the ordinary guy. No Plymouths left the factory with altered wheelbases as in 1965. The funny car phenomenon was already turning to flip-up fiberglass facsimiles of production cars.
The Top Stock finals at the National Hot Rod Association Winternational and National meets featured 1966 Plymouths. At the former, Ken Heinemann's 1966 lost to Shirley Shahan's 1965 Plymouth. At the latter, Jere Stahl's 1966 Hemi Belvedere I beat out Grumpy Bill Jenkin's Chevy.
Although not a prestigious a being chosen Indianapolis 500 pace car, the Daytona pace car status given a Satellite convertible was enough of an honor for Plymouth to advertise it.
Richard Petty won his second Daytona 500 in three years and Plymouth went on to win five more major NASCAR races.
The season brought on a strange twist as Petty raced the Firecracker 400 in a 1966 Plymouth that looked like a 1964. With the introduction of its new fastback Charger, Dodge was expected to clean up the tracks. However, the sloping rook caused so much rear end lift at high speed that top Dodge driver David Pearson switched to a Coronet hardtop. Halfway through the season, Dodge engineers discovered that a simple rear spoiler solved the problem. After installing it on the requisite 500 production Chargers, Dodge introduced the spoiler on its race cars and promptly won its first race. Then it was Petty, who had been laughing at the previously ineffective Charger, who was crying the blues. Since division identity was important and he was under sponsorship contract with Plymouth, he wasn't allowed to switch to a Charger. So, deciding that the 1964 Plymouth was more aerodynamic than the 1966, the Petty team stripped the 1966's sheetmetal, replacing it with 1964 panels. (Some sources report that Lee Petty actually hammered the former into the latter!) Fortunately for Plymouth, who sponsored Petty to sell the new 1966s, not used 1964s, the car crashed (despite leading the race for a while) and the whole [mis]adventure came to an end.
Had the whole thing occurred during the 1970s or 1980s, Chrysler would likely have mounted a front clip to a Charger body and Petty would have had his fastback and Plymouth Owners Club members would have had another interesting car to collect.
What would such a pregnant Barracuda have been called? Super Barracuda? Super Fish? Who knows? | <urn:uuid:fb6fd11a-445c-4f48-9f70-8d99b9ff4cc0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.allpar.com/history/plymouth/1966-belvedere.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96826 | 2,747 | 1.554688 | 2 |
"'Now another message to tell your relatives.
"'This concerns education. It is concerning studying in English schools.
"'Now let the Council appoint twelve people to study, two from each nation of the six. So many white people are about you that you must study to know their ways.'"
So they said and he said. Eniaiehuk.
38:1 A more complete catalog of the besetting sins of the Iroquois than set forth in the foregoing sections can not be found nor are they elsewhere more graphically described. | <urn:uuid:94b9b7af-7a43-4c68-9ee7-0f956eaff3ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sacred-texts.com/nam/iro/parker/cohl037.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00023-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954178 | 111 | 1.710938 | 2 |
So how can this notion be applied to the 9/11 truth movement? The following is a common example of special pleading (e.g., How can the govt. continue to conceal the conspiracy if literally thousands of people were involved? Special plead: you don’t understand the concept of compartmentalization within the government).Much of what I'm about to say here is going to be in my post after this one, but since Pat focused in on it, I will as well.
This argument is special pleading because it avoids having to answer the real problem, namely that even with compartmentalization there still remain thousands of people who have to remain silent. Lets take the people who set up the demolition charges for instance. If they were only given instructions to set charges and nothing else, then I find it a little odd that not a single one of them has come forward with this information. The notion of compartmentalization fails when we realize that if one link in the chain fails, then the entire conspiracy fails.
First off, it can't be the fallacy of special pleading because we have unrefuted peer-reviewed science on our side. Therefore, Mr Rational's typical "debunker" a priori objection, according to The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, falls into the category of a priori fallacies because one cannot "base knowledge of fundamental synthetic truths on anything other than empirical evidence."
"It does not matter what problems we face with other details of the attacks, we KNOW, from the key forensic evidence, that the WTC buildings were brought down using explosives."
The idea that government complicity in the attacks would require large numbers of people with full knowledge of the operation is a notion largely debunked by the intelligence technique of compartmentalization, but does this still leave thousands knowing pieces of the puzzle?
In fact, this assertion is itself using the logical fallacy of necessity where "a degree of unwarranted necessity is placed in the conclusion based on the necessity of one or more of its premises." One part of the premise here is that controlled demolitions require large numbers of people, which leads to the conclusion that controlled demolitions on 9/11 would require the same.
However, as 911review.com points out:
"A demolition that is planned as part of a covert operation to fit a narrative of events that attributes the total destruction of the building to a different cause (such as a jetliner crash and consequent fires) has a very different set of requirements than a demolition that is planned to legally remove a building in an urban setting."
Beyond this, the intricacies of the evidence indicate a plethora of ways in which the number of people intimately involved in all aspects of the plot could have been significantly decreased, but we'll get there in a second.
The next part of Mr Rational's premise relies on the fallacy of assumption where "someone assumes the very thing they are trying to prove." He simply assumes somebody would have talked in such a conspiracy, and since they haven't there was no conspiracy.
However, as professor David Ray Griffin stated:
...How could one know this? If some big operations have remained secret until now, we, by definition, don’t know about them.Another great example is Operation Gladio set up by the CIA and NATO. Although Gladio was eventually exposed, it was not just a single event, but an ongoing operation that remained secret for decades, in which hundreds of innocent people were killed and injured in terrorist attacks that were blamed on other groups.
Moreover, we do know about some big operations that were kept secret as long as necessary; such as... the war in Indonesia in 1957 which the United States provoked, participated in, and then kept secret until 1995.
Many more examples could be given.
Now that I've put this claim of fallacy from a three time offender in perspective, let's wrap this thing up.
In regard to how the NORAD stand-down was achieved, many have speculated that inaction by an intentionally AWOL chain of command was combined with deliberate confusion via the four wargames that were conducted on 9/11, which seem to have included live-fly simulations of hijackings, and NORAD radar screens, which displayed false tracks throughout the attacks. But no matter how it might have been achieved, one thing is clear, it would have only required the complicity of a few high level officials.
Pat states that:
"No matter how compartmentalized the work was, there would be a hell of a lot of people who would say, 'You know, I wonder if those weird ceiling tiles I installed at the WTC had anything to do with the collapse.'"
He is referring to Jim Hoffman's hypothetical blasting scenario. If this is how the demolition was carried out the ceiling tiles would not look weird at all.
"Explosive devices could have been disguised as or concealed within legitimate equipment, such as smoke alarms or ceiling tiles, and installed by workers oblivious to their surreptitious function. Numerous such possibilities are afforded by the properties of energetic materials."
And these numerous possibilities are beyond the hypothetical. Civil Engineer Jonathan Cole recently published a video of experiments he carried out proving that thermite variants, such as were found in samples of WTC dust, can demolish vertically standing steel beams. One possibility hinted at in the video is that nano-thermite was sprayed on or in beams and activated with a micro-detonator. If this were the case, the operation still would not have required large numbers of people as there wouldn't be any need for running miles of det cord through the building. The fact that this could be done unnoticed is evinced by the Citicorp Tower in New York, which underwent a secret structural retrofit that was unknown to the building's tenants and went almost unnoticed by the general public. Furthermore, in 2009 it was reported that drills were successful in planting bombs in ten high-security federal buildings.
Now, why have we not seen any of this small group of operators come forward, well Mr Rational, because that would be irrational!
People rarely do things opposed to their own self interest. Hence, conspirators usually rat on their co-conspirators only to receive lesser sentences. They rarely pop up out of the blue and say, "would you please give me a lethal injection." In fact, with this mass murder, it is likely that many of the operatives have already received one without asking for it! A real investigation into the events of 9/11 is yet to take place. If and when this occurs, the lesser conspirators or accomplices may be granted immunity, or granted favorable plea bargains in return for turning state’s evidence, leading to convictions of numerous others.
With all that being said, it would still be expected that people not directly involved who caught wind of suspicious goings-on would probably talk, and in fact, they have.
"Some people will never believe us no matter how many tests are run. They wouldn't believe in the controlled demolition of the World Trade Center even if Mark Loizeaux produced a signed confession." | <urn:uuid:ca6cc50f-5961-4768-a365-c96628e712bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://911debunkers.blogspot.com/2010_11_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977264 | 1,445 | 1.804688 | 2 |
The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
LEADERS: Beka27 BinkyBunny Elrohwen KokaneeandKahlua LittlePuffyTail Peppypoo RabbitPam Sarita
Hello dear friends!
As our friend suggest me, i am starting a new thread for my query. I want to know about the Pet care and feeding. How we can know more about our pets to care them well and prepare a good diet for them.
Posted By BB on 10/17/2012 11:36 AM
How old is your bunny?
Posted By tanlover14 on 10/23/2012 06:02 PM
Welcome to BB!
Considering how young your bun is I would suggest he be on unlimited Young Rabbit Food and unlimited Alfalfa hay. This seems to be the best in helping our baby buns gain weight and grow up healthy and strong! He should be on unlimited of both until about 6-7 months of age when you begin reducing their pellets and introducing timothy hay into their diet. (You can also introduce other kinds such as Orchard Grass and Oat Hay but typically Timothy is very popular and you will eventually switch them off Alfalfa because it's mainly to help them gain weight.) Have you began introducing veggies to him? If you have, or are deciding to, I would introduce no more than one veggie per week so you can watch his poos and make sure nothing is upsetting his little tummy.
Have you began considering options for neutering? This will help with any litter-training and behavioral issues you may have with him. If not already, then soon, he will definitely be getting those hormones kicking in and BOY will you know it!
Posted By tanlover14 on 10/25/2012 08:31 AM
Good luck -- if you need any other types of advice feel free to ask!
I will definitely ask my queries. | <urn:uuid:da274ba1-a1a7-41ee-9d3f-9daa737f0244> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/122236/Default.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00022-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950571 | 452 | 1.59375 | 2 |
From the AP story this morning:
More than 70 percent of workers who get health care through their employers are enrolled in plans that allow them to go out of network, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Typically, those plans will pay a set percentage, say 70 percent, for an out-of-network visit.
But unknown to many consumers, when patients go out of network, their plan doesn't actually pay 70 percent of the doctor's visit cost. It pays 70 percent of what it determines is the "usual, customary and reasonable" cost for the procedure or doctor's visit in question.
Insurance companies determine that cost themselves, and there's scant regulation or oversight of how they do it.
In the case of UnitedHealth and Ingenix, they were allegedly manipulating claims data so that the "usual, customary and reasonable" costs they used were lower than they should have been, leaving patients to pay more. [State Attorney General Andrew] Cuomo's office said Ingenix was understating the market rate for doctor's visits across New York state by 10 percent to 28 percent.
It occurs to me, on reading this story, that one of the big problems with "health care" is that the pricing is almost never made available to the consumer until after the services are delivered. Sometimes well after. This is a problem almost unique to medical services. If I go to a store, the cost of the items on the shelves are right there. If I call a plumber, he'll almost certainly provide an estimate of what it will cost to fix whatever problem he's facing. But if I visit a doctor, the prices are never advertised. Dentistry is a partial exception to this generalization, but doctors tend to do what they do, and the patient doesn't find out what the price is until he gets the bill. This makes price competition in the medical business difficult, which probably increases prices.
And while I'm at it, why is it that doctor's warrant their work. If I purchase something that doesn't perform it's advertised function, I can almost always take it back for an exchange or a refund. But try asking a doctor the terms of his warranty and see what reaction you get. | <urn:uuid:3aca5bf7-664d-43a2-a279-71bc3937b37f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://academywatch.blogspot.com/2009/03/price-transparency-in-medicine.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00034-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975528 | 451 | 1.6875 | 2 |
My friend Francie's mother used to be known by all as "the Nation." It was a loving nickname based on her tendency to make pronouncements to one and all about what the nation thought of a particular topic. She would laugh.
I wonder if House Speaker John Boehner has a sense of humor.
Monday night, in justifying his walk-away from budget negotiations in which he had been avidly participating until Saturday, Boehner announced that "the American people" would not accept any tax increases — even from closing loopholes or increasing taxes on the wealthy beginning two years from now, when the economy will hopefully be less fragile.
How, one might ask, did the American people come to that conclusion when only last Friday they were open to a major deal? Did something happen to make the American people change their mind on Saturday? How could I have missed it?
I could understand if he had said: My conservative Republican base in the House won't vote for anything that remotely looks like a tax increase, even if Democrats are willing to eat Social Security and Medicare cuts, even if the ratio of spending cuts to tax hikes (or loophole closings) is 4 to 1. That would be the truth. But "the American people"?
Of course, the Republican speaker is not the only one to invoke "the American people" to cover his own political you-know-what. Politicians on both sides, most of whom speak of themselves as "we," are prone to announcing that whatever they think, or their base thinks, is what "the American people" have somehow decided.
Yes, there are certain things on which the American people probably do agree. In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, the American people really were shocked and appalled and angry and determined. All of us. On Veterans Day, the American people really are united in saluting those who have died for this country and in expressing our appreciation for those who put their lives on the line for our freedom.
When a congresswoman is shot at a supermarket event and those who came to greet her are killed in cold blood, the American people really do condemn the violence, regardless of whether we are for or against gun control. I'm sure I could think of a few more examples if I tried, but budget policy would never be one of them.
It's easy to do what "the American people" want. Saying yes to a crowd is easy. Saying no to your base is not. I try not to pay too much attention to the on-again, off-again negotiations in Washington. It's hard to listen and not get aggravated at all the posturing and game playing.
This could be an opportunity to actually make real progress on budget issues, but I'm old enough to know that any deal would require political courage and cynical enough to believe that courage is the attribute that is hardest to find in the political capital of the world.
Why be courageous when you can hide? Why focus on what is really best for the American people when you can spend your time figuring out how to get to the 50 percent plus one it takes to hold on to your job or get the next one?
So the American people are facing crushing unemployment. So our kids are going to be left with these bills. So the programs senior citizens rely on are going to run out of money. The next election is only 16 months away. Get it?
We are a diverse country. When it comes to dealing with the deficit, we don't agree. We don't have a consensus. There may be a moderate majority who would like to see a sensible solution, but there are also plenty of ideologues on both sides who will try to block any assault on their sacred cows. Compromise is the mother's milk of politics precisely because there is no solution that will satisfy everyone. Pardon me, but the American people know that.
Who will tell Boehner?
© Creators Syndicate Inc. | <urn:uuid:93cf443d-e167-4f96-9bbf-7263183156ef> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newsmax.com/Estrich/JohnBoehner-taxincreases-taxloopholes-SocialSecurity/2011/07/13/id/403414 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983034 | 803 | 1.5 | 2 |
What Changed in Swiss Gold Banking?
by Adrian Ash
Wednesday, 6 February 2013
What the Swiss banks’ move away from unallocated accounts says about gold, and about banking…
IMAGINE you could sell someone something, but keep ownership of it, and then use it yourself, writes Adrian Ash at BullionVault.
You could lend it out for interest, say, or raise loans of your own by pledging it as collateral. Or even sell it to raise cash when things get tight. And if your business fails entirely, the “owner” will just have to cue up with all of your other creditors, and be thankful with whatever small change is paid out by the courts.
This is pretty much what big banks get away with in gold – or they did. Now Swiss banking giants UBS and Credit Suisse are changing their gold-account fees for big, institutional clients. The aim is to discourage other institutions from keeping gold with them like this – so-called “unallocated gold”. It looks a lot like putting cash on deposit. The bank gets to own it, and so it gets to go banking with the value as well. But now the business of selling gold but without selling anything no longer pays.
And if you can’t make a return from that, what hope is there for big banking bonuses in 2013 or beyond?
You might wonder, as I did, if this news has something to do with the collapse of gold interest rates…
…but as you can see, there hasn’t been much money to make in lending out gold – whether it belongs to you or not – for nearly a decade now. Yes, the collapse in cash interest rates played a part in that switch. (The returns above are what a gold lender makes after paying a borrower to take it away, receiving the gold’s cash value in return, and then lending out that money instead. Just another oddity of the gold market.) But the slump in lease rates came as gold miners stopped borrowing gold, selling it for fear of further price falls, and instead began expecting higher prices for their future output. And lending was never really the point of unallocated gold accounts at the big banks anyway.
Instead, from what our friends in gold banking and Swiss bullion storage tell us, the big banks were keen to get big piles of shiny metal which they could then show to regulators. “Look, all this belongs to us, and not to clients,” they could say, before going out and banking with it – investing, borrowing and lending with that weight of highly liquid, instantly priced bullion behind them. Or at least, banking with a hefty part of its value.
Most especially in Switzerland, the big banks gathered such unallocated gold from their smaller competitors – those private Swiss banks caring for very wealthy customers, but lacking the secure, underground gold vaults which such well-heeled clients might expect. Perhaps the big banks could help? Sure they could. But only if a chunk of the client’s gold wound up on the big bank’s balance sheet too.
Whatever the proportion of allocated to unallocated gold, this meant confusion for any private-bank customer wanting to own his or her metal outright. Because the bullion was now split between the big bank’s balancesheet and the private bank’s own account in the vault. So the actual client was a long way from fully allocated. Come a banking crisis – not that such things ever happen of course, until they do – he or she would most likely find themselves exposed to not one but two Swiss institutions.
Now, if this unallocated gold trail hadn’t existed, neither would BullionVault today. Paul Tustain founded it in 2003 precisely because of the confusion – and risks – he encountered when trying to buy gold for himself a year earlier. The Financial Times, which broke the new move last week, explains the background:
“Under the more common ‘unallocated’ gold accounts, depositors’ gold appears on banks’ balance sheets. [But as regulations change, that is] forcing them to increase their capital reserves.”
Just as with any loan the bank takes in – including household and business deposits – it has to match at least some of that debt with ready cash. Or rather, with reserves held at the central bank. This was always the way, but 2013 sees new regulations – aka Basel III – raise the requirements to try and avoid a repeat of 2007 and all that. Before now, offering unallocated gold at least put bullion onto the bank’s balancesheet. But with these new regulatory hassles and thus costs (money unlent is dead money to banks, remember) unallocated gold has suddenly become lose-lose to the banks.
This marks a big shift in the banks’ provision of gold, and there is more on this to come no doubt. Such as how the Swiss giants – who provide a lot of gold-vaulting to the smaller Swiss private banks – are actually raising their unallocated fees by 20%, as the press report. Unallocated gold shouldn’t cost you an ongoing fee, because why would you pay to store something which isn’t yours? On the other side, according to Dow Jones’ report, they are actively cutting their allocated storage fees too. Suggesting perhaps that either they’d like to get the private-banks’ clients directly. Or they’ve got a lot more spare capacity in Swiss vaulting than earlier press reports would suggest.
Either way, private savers trying to hide out in gold aren’t likely to see vaulting fees drop. Swiss private banks charge 1% and more per year to their clients, and a 1/100th of a per cent drop in their costs is unlikely to show up in their “retail” pricing. (BullionVault is best-value worldwide, by the way, at 0.12% per year for specialist non-bank, fully allocated storage in your choice of Zurich, New York or London.)
So for now, this change simply marks another key stage for gold and for banking. One is making a long return as a core asset to be owned outright. The other is struggling to cream off the kind of fat margins which once paid so well.
Adrian Ash is head of research at BullionVault – the secure, low-cost gold and silver market for private investors online, where you can buy gold and silver vaulted in Zurich on just 0.5% dealing fees.
(c) BullionVault 2013
Please Note: This article is to inform your thinking, not lead it. Only you can decide the best place for your money, and any decision you make will put your money at risk. Information or data included here may have already been overtaken by events – and must be verified elsewhere – should you choose to act on it. | <urn:uuid:60e11ff9-257c-45a2-9a51-eff6557abdf0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://investmentwatchblog.com/what-changed-in-swiss-gold-banking/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963756 | 1,450 | 1.640625 | 2 |
Salma Hayek - Salma Hayek Missed Out On Her Olympics Dream18 June 2012
Salma Hayek Missed Out On Her Olympics Dream
The Frida star reveals she was a "very flexible, very agile little girl" and learned all about the moves in gymnastics by watching the sport on TV.
She was so good, she caught the eye of Olympic trainers while enrolled at a summer gymnastics class in Mexico City in the early 1970s and was picked to represent her country in the next Summer Games - but her dad Sami pulled the plug on her athletic career before it had even begun.
She says, "They drafted me... to be part of the Olympic team! But I was eight or nine and my father said no because I would have had to go live in Mexico City in a boarding school for gymnasts, do six hours, eight hours a day of training, which for me was like paradise."
Hayek insists she isn't bitter about her father's decision because she went on to pursue another of her hobbies - and ended up in Hollywood: "My father thought I wouldn't have had a normal childhood, and he wanted me to be normal. It's too bad that with all his efforts it didn't work out! But anyway, it worked out for me because now I'm an actress!"
However, the 45-year-old mother-of-one admits that was the height of her athleticism and she has now grown to despise working out, joking that she was "probably traumatised" by her missed Olympics opportunity.
She adds, "It's tiring, boring, you have to smell everybody else's sweat and even if you're in your own house, you know, it takes a lot of effort. I like dancing, but I do work out more than before. Oh yes, after you have a baby and after you're 40, forget it girls, enjoy it now!"
|Comment on this article| | <urn:uuid:12ed8c44-101d-4c26-b18e-6495ef1fdefe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.contactmusic.com/news/salma-hayek-missed-out-on-her-olympics-dream_1346732 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990301 | 400 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Happy New Year! It always seems that the New Year is a bit a like a wonderful present - left quietly behind under the tree after the festivities are all over - waiting to cheer and surprise with what might be in store. I love the New Year and the possibilities of fresh starts and change that it heralds. It is a wonderful balance to the comfort of familiarity and tradition that is so much a part of the holiday season. Stability and change - both are great, in moderation!
At this time of year, it is common, and feels natural, to think about things we can improve particularly after the holiday overindulgence with regards to diet and exercise - and there are books and videos galore to guide us in this.
I have been reading two wonderful and inspiring books that have just come from Quadrille Publishing out on this subject. They are very different in style and approach, but share a common view that the path to a healthy body and weight lies not in quick fixes or the indulgence/abstinence rollercoaster that many diets involve and perpetrate. Rather it is about achieving balance in our everyday habits, understanding and choosing the foods that suit us and equally importantly, enjoying eating.
Ian Marber - the Food Doctor - has just published a book entitled How Not To Get Fat. It gives a truly fascinating and unusually clear explanation of how our bodies work in the process of digestion, and the emotional and psychological factors that cause us to gain weight. When I first flicked through this book, I didn't expect to find it as intriguing as it is - there aren't any glossy photos of gorgeous salads and glowing people! - and you have to give it the time and respect that it deserves. I thought I had a fairly good knowledge about nutrition and healthy eating but I was amazed at how much I don't know. Just learning about the biochemistry of digestion was a revelation and made me think about the way that I eat and how a few basic changes can make a big difference.
Ian Marber's approach to the subject of managing weight is so sensitively and respectfully written. It is absolutely packed with interesting points and I am really enjoying reading it.
Eat right for your body type is the new book by Anjum Anand. (The super healthy diet inspired by Ayurveda.)
Anjum's book is another sensitive guide to managing weight. She speaks with an understanding as someone who has battled with her weight in the past. In turning to the Ayurvedic principles, she found a way to eat that is in harmony with her body type. There are three body types and you need to establish which type you are, and how to eat and live to maintain balance and harmony for your type. Good health follows from sticking to the basic principles of finding this balance. I found the subject of Ayurveda and the body really interesting, particularly the spiritual elements of this approach.
This book is packed with beautifully photgraphed dishes of yummy, healthy foods that really inspire you to try them out. The recipes are lovely and all provide variations to suit the different types.
Thank you Quadrille for the opportunity to review these two marvellous books.
So now it's time to start cooking - and eating.
Here's to a happy and harmonious 2010! | <urn:uuid:4e150264-621f-4889-8f22-3c046a4e20e2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://extra-relish.blogspot.com/2010/01/unwrapping-new-year.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971262 | 678 | 1.601563 | 2 |
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has filed a complaint against a company for wastewater violations at a former sugar mill on the Big Island that was converted into a power plant seven years ago, officials said yesterday.
The complaint alleges Hilo Coast Power Co., a subsidiary of Brewer Environmental Industries, improperly discharged wastewater and lacked storm-water controls at its Pepeekeo Mill Power Generating Facility, a coal-fired power plant that produces nearly 20% of the Big Island's power, mostly along the Hamakua Coast.
EPA and state Department of Health inspectors in January and August 2001 found the alleged Clean Water Act violations at the Pepe'ekeo facility, the former sugar processing plant for the Hilo Coast Processing Co. In March 2001, the EPA issued a compliance order ordering Hilo Coast to correct the violations, and modified the order in September of that year to include additional conditions.
Dennis Poma, who was Brewer's vice president of facilities and environmental compliance until last year and is now a consultant to the company, said Brewer has spent more than $100,000 to address the EPA's 2001 complaints.
Inspectors found the facility had unpermitted discharges of process water, a lack of controls to prevent storm-water pollution, exceeded temperature limits in its discharged water, poor housekeeping practices associated with ongoing maintenance activities and a lack of storm-water management, which resulted in the discharge of pollutants, the EPA said. | <urn:uuid:725a1d46-bbd9-4e7e-8051-baf4938abe0f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wwdmag.com/print/7752 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959872 | 294 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Here is my theory, managers don't skim books because they are busy, they skim because most of the content is not useful to them. In my own case I usually skim books mercilessly but if I’m reading a genuinely deep book (e.g. The Secular Age by Charles Taylor) then I read each sentence very carefully; even re-reading pages that were particularly important.
How do we write for managers so they get value from every word?
A History of Bad Examples
I think part of the problem is our own experience with books. Many of the books we read are written for novices. A popular history book like Guns, Germs & Steel assumes you don’t have any real background in the subject. But if we are writing about management for managers then they are deeply immersed in that world and a style suitable for novices won’t work for them.
Another bad example is books written by one technical expert to other technical experts. In this case it’s natural to exult in the jargon, shared mental models and obscure references of the field. Imagine one computer geeks writing to impress his peers, there is no way he would stoop to writing in plain English that could be understood by the masses. Managers are expert in the practice of management but not RO. The book you write on RO for managers is not the one you would write for RO consultants.
So as authors we may be tempted to write for novices or for technical insiders because that is what we have seen before. We need to push those bad examples aside if we are to write a book managers want to read.
The Manager in Mind
The easy solution to writing for a say stratum IV manager is to have someone at that level in mind as you write. Think of the process not as writing but as explaining it to them. Think of it almost as a conversation where you explain something, imagine the question they’d ask, and then go from there.
You sometimes hear that someone writes in a ‘conversational style’; I’ve never seen that presented as being a bad thing.
Diversity of Readers
The challenge of course is that there is a diversity of readers and not all managers, even at the same stratum, will have the same background knowledge and interests.
Here are a few tips with dealing with a diversity of readers:
- Use sidebars. If you think most of your readers will know what time-span of discretion is then you don't want to waste readers’ time by explaining the idea in the body of the text. However, if you think there may be a significant number of readers who don't know, then put that information in a sidebar which expert readers can skip.
- Give a micro-explanation. Rather than chose between a complete explanation and no explanation you can use a micro-explanation. If you say "....time-span of discretion (essentially, the longest period within which a manager needs to juggle required tasks and often represented by the longest task in the role)...” then people who have no idea what time-span of discretion is are not thrown completely off track, they can carry on reading your argument.
It's worth remembering that the normal style of books evolved in a pre-Wikipedia era. Anyone who feels they need to know more about time-span of discretion can find it online—but it's nice if they have the micro-explanation so they don't have to drop your book right at that moment.
- Use lots of headings and sub-headings. Headings allow the reader to easily skip ahead. Don’t think this excuses the inclusion of tedious material in your book, but a section that is of great interest to one reader may be old hat to another and generous use of headings and sub-headings helps each reader get what they need. | <urn:uuid:0308090d-17cf-4c1d-a602-19a427eed461> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.globalro.org/en/blogs/go-presidents-blog/item/1074-writing-for-managers.html | 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 | 0.961519 | 808 | 1.679688 | 2 |
An Iranian diplomat was threatened and harassed by a group of people on a New York City street several blocks from the United Nations headquarters, the Associated Press reports.
In video of the incident the diplomat, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast, can be seen surrounded by angry protesters. A witness to the incident said he was shoved and threatened verbally before police intervened, according to New York Police Department spokesman Paul Browne.
According to Reuters, Iranian officials have blamed the incident on a controversial Iranian opposition group that was recently taken off the U.S. State Department's list of terrorist organizations. Members of the group, Mujahadin-e Khalz (MEK), harassed Mehmanparast because he is a member of the Iranian government the group seeks to overthrow, the Iranian official said.
"There was an attack by MEK sect members on Mr. Ramin Mehmanparast," Alireza Miryusefi, spokesman for Iran's U.N. mission, told Reuters. "MEK is going to be delisted from U.S. terrorist groups and you can expect such aggressive behavior of a terrorist sect."
The incident occurred following Iranian President Mahmoud Amadinejad's speech yesterday to the U.N. General Assembly, which drew protests outside the U.N. compound.
The MEK is a Iranian sect that in recent years has conducted an extensive lobbying effort to be removed from the State Department's list of terrorist groups, which it has been on since 1997. Despite its history of violence, including time spent as an ally of Saddam Hussein, the group said it recently renounced violence and aimed to curry favor with the U.S.
According to an investigation by U.S. News, the group paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to Washington lobbying firms and prominent politicians to speak and advocate on its behalf. Last week, MEK's efforts paid off when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton removed MEK from the terrorist list.
Seth Cline is a reporter with U.S. News and World Report. Contact him at firstname.lastname@example.org or follow him on Twitter. | <urn:uuid:8f8c8020-bcd5-43b0-b7dc-b901f1148695> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/09/27/video-iranian-diplomat-threatened-by-protesters-outside-un_print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00036-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970045 | 433 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) – Just one day after Destiny USA announced that the first phase of the mall expansion has become the final phase, the city of Syracuse is looking at what could have been.
A clause in the original agreement allowed the Pyramid Companies to stop completion of any more phases of the project, but face no penalties and pay no property taxes to the city.
Starting in 2006 and for the 30 years that follow, the city could have been making about $585 million in taxes off the mall. But because of the agreement, it won't.
The city would have made about $19.5 million this year alone.
It is the biggest single taxable property out there - nothing else compares in the city - but other communities are getting Pyramid property tax payments.
Take the Crossgates Mall in Albany: Pyramid pays just over $7 million in property taxes. There are no PILOT agreements there.
The Poughkeepsie Galleria costs Pyramid just under $4 million a year in property taxes.
David Clifford, Syracuse Commissioner of Assessment, said "Obviously if we had millions of dollars to help us out, every dollar helps at this point and time. The city is in a tough financial condition right now."
The argument has always been that the sales tax generated by all the shops, restaurants, stores and attractions at Destiny would more than offset any loss of property taxes.
It's anybody's guess how much sales tax money this one phase - far short of the tourist destination originally promised - will generate.
David Clifford said, "Sometimes it's hard to explain to taxpayers that a large commercial structure is not paying property taxes and they do."
The city does stand to see about $3.8 million a year for the next 12 years, plus an upfront $11 million payment in fees for help with financing the project. | <urn:uuid:ab2bc4bb-3d5c-4fdf-be08-d18953a7dd31> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.9wsyr.com/news/local/story/Destiny-USA-developer-pays-property-taxes-on/GVyDLG7ot0quh0z3SDX73g.cspx | 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 | 0.961124 | 380 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Two URI alums honored nationally for enriching society
KINGSTON, R.I. -- April 20, 2000 -- Two extraordinary University of Rhode
Island alumni have found themselves to be in extraordinary company. Christiane
Amanpour and Robert D. Ballard, have been selected as 2000 Common Wealth
Award winners, along with Angelican Archbishop Desmond Tutu, American Novelist
E.L. Doctorow, and legendary dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. The Common Wealth
Awards are sponsored by PNC Financial Services Group and honor individuals
who represent extraordinary talent and human spirit who have enriched society
in exceptional ways.
"Christiane Amanpour and Robert Ballard have truly sought excellence
and success in their fields and are well deserving of this honor. This award
is a wonderful representation of the difference they have made in the lives
of others, and is a reflection of the important contributions made to society
by URI alumni," said Robert Beagle, URI's vice president of University
Advancement. "Any institution would be proud to have two alumni honored
among the five recipients," he added.
Christiane Amanpour, '83, received the Common Wealth Award for
Mass Communications. She is CNN's chief international correspondent and
is renowned for her reporting from most of the major war zones of the 1990's,
including Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Rwanda, Algeria and Zaire. During
the Persian Gulf War she was called CNN's "Voice of Baghdad,"
and she also earned wide acclaim for her impassioned accounts of Bosnia's
brutal ethnic cleansing. Amanpour has received many prestigious awards in
journalism such as the Peabody Award, two George Polk Awards and the Alfred
I. du Pont-Columbia University Silver Baton. She also serves as contribution
correspondent to 60 Minutes. Amanpour received her undergraduate
degree in journalism from the University of Rhode Island in 1983 and was
awarded an honorary degree from URI in 1995.
Robert Ballard, '75, is awarded the Common Wealth Award for Science
and Invention. Ballard is an oceanographer, explorer, author and educator.
At the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Ballard pioneered deep ocean
research with manned and remote-controlled submersible craft. In the last
30 years, he has led or taken part in more than 100 deep-sea expeditions.
His famous discoveries include hydrothermal vents, or hot springs, deep
in ocean waters, and fabled shipwrecks, such as the luxury liner, Titanic,
and the German battleship, Bismarck. Ballard is the founder and president
of the Institute for Exploration in Mystic, Conn., and is also the founder
of the JASON Foundation for Education, which takes hundreds of thousands
of young students on a virtual discovery expeditions worldwide. Ballard
has also authored 15 books, including two bestsellers and has produced more
than six Emmy award-winning television documentaries. He has received many
honors and awards including National Geographic's Hubbard Medal. Ballard
received his Ph.D. in marine geology and geophysics from the University
of Rhode Island in 1975 and also was awarded an honorary degree from the
University in 1986.
The Common Wealth Awards were created in 1979 to reward and encourage
the greatest minds and talents of the modern world, and to date, the awards
have bestowed nearly $2 million on 126 honorees worldwide. The awards are
presented in the fields of mass communications, public service, dramatic
arts, science and invention, literature, government, and sociology. Past
Common Wealth honorees include statesman Henry Kissinger; author and Nobel
laureate, Toni Morrison; acclaimed television journalist, Walter Cronkite;
and father of the polio vaccine, Jonas Salk.
For Information: Jhodi Redlich, 401-874-2116 | <urn:uuid:4cd33e87-db44-41f3-8a69-e9acb27a7238> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.uri.edu/news/releases/html/00-0420.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00040-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942101 | 806 | 1.671875 | 2 |
When our office manager retired, I had hoped to be promoted to the job. Instead, the company brought in a “temporary” office manager who apparently has extensive experience in our industry. What advice would you give me for improving my “career rating”? — No initials please.
Unless you're already an ace, consider dramatically upgrading your digital skills through continuing education. Demographics are changing, bringing in younger workers who grew up with computers and video games, and how can you manage them if you don't know what they're doing?
Additionally, revisit your relationship skills. A huge hunk of career success depends on your ability to communicate well and foster mutually beneficial relationships at work, says Beverly Flaxington (thehumanbehaviorcoach.com), a behavioral analyst and author of “Understanding Other People: The Five Secrets to Human Behavior.” Among Flaxington's tips:
CHOOSE YOUR BATTLES
Confront thoughtfully when you must face another person about a disruptive behavior or a performance issue. Learn best practices in giving feedback: what works and what doesn't.
KEEP INQUISITIVE MIND
Assumptions can fuel workplace misunderstandings, lost sales and failed business negotiations. Come to every interaction with open eyes and attitude. Rather than assume what the other person thinks or wants, learn to love the question, “Why?”
STOP FIXING OTHERS
We're great at seeing others' flaws and missteps, and we also often think we see ways in which they can avoid getting into trouble with a few simple tweaks of their behavior — much better than we can do this for ourselves. Focus on you, and let others make their own mistakes.
Let the other person finish her thought completely. This means not giving feedback or adding commentary until the person is completely through talking or asking.
Watch others' reactions to things being said. You'll observe “helpful” people, “I feel sorry for myself” people and “giving” people, to name a few types. Now watch yourself. Do you react as a “type” instead of as an objective listener?
I'm thinking about connecting with a career counselor and career coach. How can I choose a good one, and also, do they do the same thing? — P.V.
Your best bet for referral to either type of professional in private practice is from a friend or school counselor who has first-hand experience or recommendations from many others. Word gets around about who's good and who's not helpful. You'll have the choice of seeking local counsel or distance counsel online. There's much similarity and some overlap between counselors and coaches.
Many career counselors emphasize assessment, personal evaluation and the career decision-making process. Counselors don't usually get involved in job search campaigns but function more like teachers who instruct a client on how to seek greater self-knowledge. Counselors typically have an academic counseling degree awarded by a university.
These professionals come from various walks of experience, and they train, coach and mentor, rather than counsel. But coaches may also emphasize assessment, personal support and encouragement. Coaches work to make sure the client has full responsibility for “taking the knowledge and running with it.” Coaches typically have certifications awarded by a professional coaching organization.
Once you have a few names, check out each one at a no-fee orientation meeting for the purpose of understanding the professional's services and their cost. I strongly recommend against signing an upfront contract for a specific amount and instead suggest that you pay as you go, much as though you would pay a doctor or lawyer. Career coaches disagree, arguing that a signed contract keeps the client engaged until success is achieved with good employment.
The initial meeting also serves the purpose of testing the rapport between you and the professional. If you don't feel the two of you relate well, trust your instincts. You have no obligation to proceed. Keep shopping until you find a “good fit.”
Email career questions for possible use in this column to Joyce Lain Kennedy at firstname.lastname@example.org; use “Reader Question” for subject line. Or mail her at Box 368, Cardiff, CA 92007. | <urn:uuid:0678d386-3d73-45fe-97b4-cc690b438b86> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.telegram.com/article/20121125/COLUMN72/111259944/-1/business02 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967041 | 877 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Part 2 of 2 From Twilight Zone-The Movie Segment 1-Time Out Starring Vic Morrow Written and Directed by John Landis Produced by John Landis Steven Spielberg Kathleen Kennedy Released June, 1983 Distributed by Warner Brothers. Synopsis- Vic Morrow plays Bill Connor, an outspoken bigot who is bitter after being passed over for a promotion. Drinking in a bar after work with his friends, Bill makes prejudiced remarks and racial slurs towards Jews, blacks and Asians...thus attracting the attention of several black men sitting near them who strongly resent his racist comments. Bill leaves the bar very angry. When he walks outside, the supernatural tone begins. He inexplicably proceeds to assume the racial ethnicities of people against whom he was always prejudiced. First, he finds himself in occupied France during World War II. He is spotted by a pair of SS officers patrolling the streets, who see him as a Jewish man. A chase ensues around the city, and Bill is shot in his arm by one of the German officers. Bill falls from the ledge of a building...and abruptly finds himself in the rural South during the 1940s. There the Ku Klux Klan sees him as an African American whom they are about to whip and lynch. Bill is scared and confused; he vehemently tells them he's white. While trying to escape the Ku Klux Klan, he suddenly finds himself in a jungle during the Vietnam War...as a Vietnamese man blown to bits by U.S. soldiers. Instead of killing him, the grenade thrown by the soldiers blasts Bill into occupied France again. There he is captured by Nazi soldiers and put into an enclosed railroad freight car, along with other Jewish Holocaust prisoners. With no possibility of redemption or rescue, Bill uselessly screams for help to his friends from the bar, whom only he can see as the train pulls away to a death camp.
Evansville, Indiana...The Klan City 1921-1925. Know history. Know your local hater(s) David Curtis "DC" Stephenson. An evil man, once a local hero and now someone most Tri-State citizens have no knowledge of at all. "This large Klan voting block allowed Stephenson to take over Indiana politics. In the 1924 Indiana Election almost every Republican candidate was handpicked by Stephenson. He had nearly all elected officials in his pocket. Stephenson backed Republican candidates swept to victory in the November elections. The Klan elected the Governor, controlled BOTH houses of the legislature, and Klan Candidates won a variety of local political offices...mostly Republican. Stephenson was at the height of political power but in less than a year he would be confined to a State Penitentiary serving a life sentence." WATCH Any part of this sound familiar? Hhhhmmmm....November 2010 perhaps? Just saying. The Rise and Fall and return of Hate Groups... Beware these men behind their masks, their name is Legion. They can fool those watching their network sponsor but they can never fool a true Patriot. Fight hate and intolerance. Spread the knowledge. Peace Excerpt from Ku Klux Klan- A Secret History Part 4 of 9
The President calls for a bipartisan approach to fixing a broken immigration system and explains why immigration reform is critical to building a 21st century economy in a speech in El Paso, Texas. May 10th, 2011.
Just some of what's on my mind today.
Chad Harvey's CD release party of GET LIT at the Duck Inn. Tripodder.com brings you highlights of the show and an interview with Chad Harvey. Visit myspace.com/chadharvey or www.ChadHarvey.com | <urn:uuid:bcf7789d-837c-4f71-bbdb-d8f1866aaed6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://watchevansville.com/search/tag/texas | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00038-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963829 | 730 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Elton John AIDS Foundation
584 Broadway, Suite 906
New York, NY 10012
EJAF regularly evaluates its grant-making priorities within the context of the ever-changing challenges and needs of the evolving HIV/AIDS epidemic, targeting its grant awards where they will make the greatest impact. This approach, initiated in late 2005, has clearly resonated with our donors, and their generous response enabled EJAF to significantly increase its grant making from $4.8 million in 2006 to $6.35 million in 2007. Since then, EJAF has worked hard to remain a stable force and a consistent source of funding, keeping its annual grant-making in the $6 million range, and achieving a record $7.1 million in 2010, despite an economic environment that has been extremely challenging over the past several years in particular.
In addition, EJAF has expanded not only the amount of money given but also strategically targeted key regions and populations that are poorly served by current prevention efforts and most at risk of infection including: critically under-funded communities of the Southern United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America; highly marginalized populations such as injection drug users, men who have sex with men, and incarcerated individuals; and under-served populations such as African Americans and young people. EJAF focuses on supporting community-based prevention programs, harm reduction programs, public education to reduce the stigma of HIV/AIDS, advocacy to improve AIDS-related public policy, and direct services to persons living with HIV/AIDS, especially populations with special needs. Direct services include HIV/AIDS-related medical and mental health treatment, testing and counseling, food distribution, assisted living, social service coordination, and legal aid.
There are approximately 1.2 million people living with HIV in the U.S. Of those infected, one in five (220,000 people) are unaware of their infection. An estimated 49,300 Americans become infected with HIV each year.
The highest rates of new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. are now seen in Southern cities (such as and including Atlanta, Baton Rouge, Birmingham, Charlotte, Dallas, Jackson, Jacksonville, Houston, Memphis, New Orleans, Orlando, Raleigh-Durham, Richmond, Virginia Beach, and Washington DC) as well as in other major U.S. urban centers such as Chicago, Detroit, New York/Newark, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. More than half of all new HIV diagnoses in the U.S. are now in the southern states.
Progress has been made in combating the AIDS epidemic in the U.S., but there is still significant work to be done. Although approximately 427,000 Americans are accessing HIV treatment, more than 150,000 others should be accessing treatment but aren’t. And unfortunately, only 25% of people living with HIV (a total of 329,000 people) have successfully responded to HIV treatment with a suppressed HIV viral load.
HIV/AIDS disproportionally affects highly marginalized populations. Gay men and other men who have sex with men accounted for 65% of new HIV infections in 2011 – meaning 30,000 people became newly HIV-infected in just one year. African Americans represented 69% of new HIV infections in 2010 – a total of 21,000 people. Hispanics/Latinos are also over-represented in new HIV infections, making up 28% of new infections in 2010. HIV infections due to injection drug use now account for an estimated 10% of all HIV infections in the United States or approximately 5,000 people. In addition, prisoners in the U.S. state and local correctional system have HIV infection rates approximately five times greater than that of the general public, with approximately 171,000 (1 in 7) HIV-positive Americans passing in and out of the U.S. correctional systems (federal and state prison, county jails, parole, and probation) every year.
In the Caribbean, 240,000 people are living with HIV. Approximately 75,000 people are accessing HIV treatment, but more than 50,000 others are in need. Half of the Caribbean HIV epidemic is in Haiti, where 120,000 people are living with HIV. More than 29,000 Haitians are now accessing HIV treatment, but at least 30,000 others are in need.
In most areas of the Caribbean, sexual transmission is the driving force behind HIV seroprevalence. This disproportionately affects gay men and other men who have sex with men, as well as young people in comparatively poor communities that face limited access to health care and health education and relatively high rates of drug use and incarceration.
In most areas of Latin America, sexual transmission is the driving force behind HIV seroprevalence. This disproportionately affects gay men and other men who have sex with men, as well as young people in comparatively poor communities that face limited access to health care and health education and relatively high rates of drug use and incarceration.
The epidemic is not evenly distributed across the region; Brazil alone accounts for 35% of all people in the region living with HIV/AIDS, with another 10% each in Mexico, Central America, Colombia and Venezuela, the Andean countries, and the Southern Cone countries.
b) If your organization is not located in one of AIDS United’s Community Partnerships, you may submit a grant proposal to EJAF as part of the Foundation’s open RFP process. Please note that EJAF focuses on supporting community-based prevention education programs, harm reduction programs, and direct services to persons living with HIV/AIDS, especially populations with special needs. We do not fund research programs. | <urn:uuid:4126546c-8941-41fc-b3d9-c48ba251e13e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ejaf.org/frequently-asked-questions/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956142 | 1,153 | 1.578125 | 2 |
The president merely proposes extending the status quo for some Americans — and only for 12 months, at that
Only in Washington could a politician call keeping tax rates the same a tax cut. But that's exactly what President Barack Obama did in his East Room speech on Monday, trying once again to push a tax hike on high-end earners — an increase that even Senate Democrats rejected a year ago. Plus, Obama's pledge to keep the rates the same has a big, fat asterisk that speaks to the Obama agenda for a second term — a worrisome signal from an incumbent who still has yet to reveal his plans for after November.
First, let's define exactly what Obama and everyone else will reference in this debate. In 2001 and 2003, the George W. Bush administration pushed for and received two tax-rate reduction packages, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) and the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003 (JGTRRA). The EGTRRA lowered the rates for all income tax brackets, along with other reforms in retirement plan taxes and a small reduction on some capital-gains tax rates. The JGTRRA accelerated the tax-bracket reductions, which were originally supposed to phase in over a period of several years, in part to offset the economic impact of the 9/11 attacks.
These aren't tax cuts, and they haven't been for nine years.
The tax cuts worked as intended, especially the JGTRRA. Within months, the economy soared, and unemployment dropped from a high of 6.3 percent in June 2003 to 4.4 percent in October 2006. Unfortunately, the Democratic-controlled Senate in 2001 forced Bush to agree to a sunset clause that would raise the tax brackets back to pre-EGTRRA rates by the beginning of 2011.
This was a big issue in the 2010 midterm elections. Obama and congressional Democrats insisted on keeping the sunset rule in place, hoping to force Republicans into raising taxes on the upper bracket by keeping the middle-class rates as a bargaining chip. The strategy flopped, however, as Democrats lost 63 House seats in the midterms. Stung by the historic rebuke, Obama and Democrats agreed to a two-year extension shortly after the midterms, averting a massive tax hike.
And a tax hike is exactly what would have taken place. All four of the middle-income brackets charged 3 percentage points more before the EGTRRA and JGTRRA fully took effect in the 2003 tax year. Middle-class families got a real tax cut at that time — plus the ability to plan for the future as the rates were locked in at least until 2010. That helped unlock consumer spending in 2003 and 2004, leading to an economic boost and job-creation bonanza. Americans who see the rates increase at the end of this year will call that a tax hike — and will have less money to spend as a result.
The cut is now almost a decade old for most Americans. However, Obama seems to have difficulty realizing this. In his speech yesterday, he wants to take credit for extending tax cuts — and only for another year:
"And that's why I'm calling on Congress to extend the tax cuts for the 98 percent of Americans who make less than $250,000 for another year."
These aren't tax cuts, and they haven't been for nine years. These are the current tax rates middle-income Americans have been paying for almost a decade. Obama wants to campaign for the status quo, and not even that for long. Later in the speech, Obama suggested that middle-class voters take this deal for now, but that later, he wants a debate on "the entire tax code":
"And then next year, once the election is over, things have calmed down a little bit, based on what the American people have said and how they've spoken during that election, we'll be in a good position to decide how to reform our entire tax code in a simple way that lowers rates and helps our economy grow, and brings down our deficit — because that's something that we're going to have to do for the long term."
Translation: Enjoy those rates while you still have them. Asking to kick the can past the election — again — gives a strong hint that Obama will champion a policy that will change middle-class tax rates in a way that won't win him too many votes. Why not just pledge to keep the middle-class rates where they are, permanently? Republicans have wanted to make the EGTRRA/JGTRRA rates permanent almost ever since they passed into law, and that is still their official position.
An even better question would be why Obama hasn't had a debate on the tax code until now. After all, he has been in office for almost four years. In the first two years, his party controlled both chambers of Congress. He could have easily restructured the income tax rates as he and his fellow Democrats saw fit in those first two years, and Republicans couldn't have done anything to stop it, especially under the rules of reconciliation. Instead of addressing the issue, House and Senate Democrats refused to pass a budget resolution in 2010 to account for their future fiscal policy — and haven't passed one since in the Senate, which they still control.
Finally, this comes on the heels of a bad jobs report for June, the third straight flop for Obama on jobs and the economy. Obama obviously wants to change the subject from the worst post-World War II U.S. recovery, which has produced an embarrassing 65,200-jobs-per-month average over its 37 months, to conduct more class warfare and promote Obama's soak-the-rich populism. However, pushing for tax hikes in the middle of an economic downturn will almost certainly backfire as investors take more steps to shelter income and capital rather than put it to use in job-creating activities and investments. Not only is this latest attempt at a distraction unlikely to last past the next bad jobs report, it's all but certain to guarantee more of them.
Other stories from this topic:
- In-depth briefing: Countdown to Taxmageddon
- The Bullpen: Washington's Daft Punk justification for wasteful military spending
- Opinion Brief: Will 'Taxmageddon' trigger a new recession? | <urn:uuid:762006d1-41dc-4eef-9468-cc76f2a206da> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-plan-isnt-tax-cut-064500901.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00026-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977619 | 1,295 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Tech Tuesday with Pam Muldoon on The Pete And Doug Show [PODCAST]
One of the missions for our show is to introduce you to new technology. Every Tech Tuesday , you’ll hear our special guests talk about the technology that is all around us and, on the horizon. It’s our goal to explain the lightning fast changes in real world technology in down-to-earth language that encourages us to embrace the mysterious technology landscape.
This week our special guest was Pamela Muldoon, the Social Media & Content Strategist for Globe Education Network. She oversees the social media and content strategy for all brands under this network: Globe University, Minnesota School of Business, Broadview University, Minnesota School of Cosmetology and IPR (Institute of Production & Recording).
She is also principal of Next Stage Media Group, a content marketing consultancy for business, with a specialty in audio content strategies. She is also host of Content Marketing 360, an online radio show (or podcast) where she interviews top marketing professionals from around the globe.
Pam talked about the importance of social media marketing for not only product and business brands, but your own personal brand. She explained that setting up a Google Alert for your business and your actual name can help you keep track of not only the good things being said on the web about you and your business, but it can be a red flag for you when negative press gets through.
She said that for teenagers getting close to wrapping up their high school career and Millennials nearing college graduation, keeping your image untarnished is especially important. Poor decisions that surface on the net can, in some cases, affect your college acceptance or your chance at a job. She recommends treating your personal life like a brand that encourages loyalty and positive feelings.
Pam also revealed that, lately, her favorite app has been Evernote. She says it’s invaluable to her, as she needs to keep track of multiple websites and ever-expanding research. It syncs all your notes, files and images on every device you use. | <urn:uuid:5411e3b1-71ad-4415-9539-d0d83db03e24> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wjon.com/tech-tuesday-with-pam-muldoon-on-the-pete-and-doug-show-podcast/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00027-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934776 | 424 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Legend goes, that hundreds of years ago, a bishop was walking by and someone responded, “There goes the Church.” (I don’t recall which bishop or saint it was, so if anyone knows the reference, please leave a note on the comments section.)
It is always an interesting question when people are asked to identify the Church. Is it the building? Is it the bishop? Is it the teaching? Is it the work? What is the Church?
I find the question horribly mistaken. The more adequate way to ask the question is “Who is the Church?”
I’ve changed a little bit of the language I use in describing this pilgrimage. When asked, I usually respond with the following comment. Pilgrimages are often made to a church, but I’m making a pilgrimage to THE Church. (More specifically (thank you Fr. Gerard) it is an Ecclesiological study in the present.)
What I mean is that my ultimate destination is not Rome, or Jerusalem. My ultimate destination is to encounter what it means to be Church, in its entirety, or at least as much of it as I can absorb. This means the buildings, the art, the places, the teachings, the work, the leaders, and most importantly the people.
This last day has been a perfect example of what I mean. In the last 24 hours, I have been to my first ever Base Ecclesial Community session, I have visited an ordinary Catholic family, and gone to dinner with the extended family of my hosts, in which we discussed the diversity of the Church in Asia. I consider these experiences to be “The Church” as much as any shrine, sanctuary, or bishop.
Base Ecclesial Communities (BECs) are neighborhood gatherings of Catholics in family homes, in which the Faith is deepened through prayer and sharing. They are the foundation of the Church in places such as Asia and Africa and parts of South America, (although the phenomenon of Lay Movements are also very important in South America.) BECs may have many different formats, but the principle behind a BEC is that large, healthy communities, are really made up of smaller communities, built to support the individuals within them.
Having attended my first BEC lat night, I can say that they are quite a gift to the Church. In a world which is challenging what it means to be family, they are bringing families together. In a church that struggles with gender equality and gender roles, BECs are calling both men and women to collaborative service. In a world, which for well over 1700 years, has maintained Christianity as public cult in large temples/churches, BECs are reminders that Christianity’s origins are really the gathering of the faithful in small homes. In my BEC experience last night, we prayed the Stations of the Cross in a family home. Children were praying with their parents, and even leading us in prayer. It was truly an experience of what I mean when I say “The Church.”
On this pilgrimage, I met a woman from Malaysia back in Ohio. She made sure that I would stop and see her adopted family while here. I made the connection, and was able to have lunch with Pamela Rosario and her family. This was another example of “The Church” to me. We weren’t in any sacred place other than the sanctuary of a home, and the home is holy in and of itself. We merely shared a meal, and that meal was reflective of beloved people in our lives, with whom we have had the privilege to encounter. If that is all lunch was, then it sounds a lot like the meal we share with Christ at the Eucharistic altar.
Of course, this week, I am staying with a family, not a religious congregation or institution. The life is very different, but still very blessed. Prayer is not the Liturgy of the Hours, but every hour is filled with exhortations that praise the name of God. Prayer may not be as formal as it is in a seminary or convent, but it is just as constant.
This evening, I celebrated dinner with the extended family of my hosts, at a restaurant in which there is a bowl of boiling soup on the table. In the bowl, you cook your own dinner. During dinner, we shared a lot about our different backgrounds, but somehow sharing from the same pot made us feel like we were all one family.
These encounters are with people. Not architecture, not doctrine. In my experience, they are just as holy, and definitely part of what it means to be church. I could visit every shrine in the world, and never really have a picture of what the Church really is, unless I also visited the people, and the sacred moments of their lives. Today showed to me, just how sacred, even sharing a simple meal with people or gathering with them in their home, can be.
This is all happening on St. Patrick’s day. So I give thanks for St. Pat’s and for the gift of the Irish to the Church. But I am also writing about this discovery on the day I visited Holy Family parish, which is the parish of my host family. If you have downloaded Google Earth onto your computer, you can view my pictures of Holy Family parish in their daily and Sunday Mass, by clicking here. You can also view the pictures of the BEC gathering I had last night by clicking here.Jesus was not born in a church, but a manger. He was not raised in a sanctuary, but in a home. He did not learn about his religion (Judaism) from bishops, but from his family. The parish of Holy Family, and today’s experience crystallizes something I have been sensing for a while. The Church is more than a building, it is the entirety of its people, in all their beliefs, practices, vocations, and sanctuaries, diverse as they are throughout the world. All together, they make up not just a church, but THE Church. | <urn:uuid:d468b677-d70e-4391-aba2-6ae61ef4bc7d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.adsodalitatem.org/blog/?id=88 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00033-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.98417 | 1,259 | 1.8125 | 2 |
"We were expecting a big crowd, but we got a quality crowd," said host Henry Dowlen, head of the facility known to many as The Experiment Station.
Jimmy Ogilvie of Caney Spring, a lifelong dairyman and president of the Farm Bureau, was there to hear about animal welfare. He had some trouble last year when a member of the public saw one of his cows calving.
Dr. Fred Hopkins, a UT professor, spoke on animal welfare. He pointed out that how the public perceives the farmer's ability to care for his animals is the important thing. The media often misrepresents or exaggerates the issues on which it is reporting.
Kristy Campbell contributed the golden rule of farmer's public relations: "Keep it clean and keep it pretty!" Hopkins warned producers that independent dairy welfare audits are coming in the not-too-distant future and they need to constantly be thinking about how their cattle and facilities would appear to an outsider.
Tennessee has 564 dairy farms in the state, 30 of those in Marshall County. Unfortunately, Tennessee's milk ranks lowest in the nation for quality. To address this, the Tennessee Quality Milk Initiative has been set up. Campbell spoke on the educational component of the initiative, the Tenneesse Quality Milk Producer certification. A total of 219 producers gained Level 1 TQMP certification last fall, 214 attained Level 2 this spring, and 208 farms sent milking personnel to a training session.
Why the drop in numbers? Tennessee has been losing milk producers at the rate of seven per month for the last seven years. The latest lost in Marshall County is Mickey Cantrell of Cornersville, who hopes to sell his land to Waste Management and got rid of his cows this week.
Producers need TQMP certification to qualify for the Agriculture Enhancement dollars that are on offer for improving herd genetics and upgrading facilities. More than 100 Tennessee dairy farmers have taken advantage of the program so far, and more are expected to apply this year, starting June 2.
Campbell said, "We want cows to eat, drink and make milk." To do that they have to have good quality food and water, and clean, comfortable places to lie down and rest. "Cows that rest produce more milk," she said.
The problem of feeding cattle during a period of drought and record high feed prices was addressed by Dr. John Bernard of the University of Georgia at the beginning of the field day.
Providers of goods and services to dairy farmers sponsored a buffet lunch after the speakers had finished. Agriculture Commissioner Ken Givens evidently enjoyed eating and mingling with the crowd.
"He's definitely a spokesman for agriculture in Tennessee," said local extension agent Rick Skillington. | <urn:uuid:cf0b8915-a806-4d45-abdd-796d7854f5f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.marshalltribune.com/story/1322094.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00031-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974432 | 559 | 1.71875 | 2 |
Our people weigh in on the issues of the day.
Blue Slate's people think a lot about the challenges facing their industries today. In the process, they often come up with completely unexpected slants on current issues, or new ways of thinking about business problems. Bluespeak is where they share those thoughts. Feel free to read and reflect.
[Any views or opinion represented in this blog are personal and belong solely to the blogger and do not represent those of Blue Slate Solutions.]
Lately the subject of net neutrality has garnered a lot of attention. As businesses large and small create an ever increasing set of offerings that require lots of bandwidth there is concern that the Internet infrastructure may not be able to keep data flowing smoothly.
The core of the Internet’s bandwidth is provided by a few businesses. These businesses exist to make money. Fundamentally, when demand exceeds supply the cost of the good or service goes up. In this case those costs might appear as increased charges for access or a slowing of one company’s data transfer versus another.
As in many debates there are two extreme positions represented by individuals, companies and trade groups. In this case the dimension being debated is whether there is a need to legislate a message-neutral Internet (Net Neutrality).
The meaning of being “neutral” is that all data flowing across the Internet would be given equal priority. The data being accessed by a doctor reading a CAT scan from a health records system would receive the same priority as someone watching a YouTube video.
Although the debate surrounds whether net neutrality should be a requirement, the reasons for taking a position vary. I’ll start with concerns being shared by those that want a neutral net to be guaranteed.[Read More] What Should Business Managers Know About Information Systems?
In my work I interact with many business-centric and technology-centric individuals. In most cases I am working with teams that include subject matter experts (SME), project managers, business analysts, architects, developers, IT infrastructure administrators, quality assurance personnel and users. Each of these roles is important, but not sufficient, to delivering a successful project. Beyond these roles, successful projects also rely on a host of best practices including strong business sponsorship, effective scoping, and good communication. However, one area that can influence the effectiveness of a systems-based solution is the business management’s understanding of information systems (IS).[Read More]Why Do So Many Information Systems Implementations Fail and What Can Be Done to Improve Our Success Rate?
Information Systems (IS) implementations normally fail due to a lack of ownership, planning and execution by the organization. The software and hardware tend to do what they are supposed to do. Their features and limitations are typically known, at least if we take the time to investigate. However, it is the organizational issues among and between business units and teams that actually require most of the effort when running an IS project.[Read More] | <urn:uuid:126f2412-96b4-45f7-8ca6-eb9dfcf08d06> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.blueslate.net/roller/daveread/tags/information | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953119 | 600 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Colored paint pellets slice the air and splatter on the rough bark of large oaks and every once in a while on the back of an enemy. During paintball play, shouts and laughter reverberate through the forest canopy as the thudding of footsteps cuts through thick underbrush. Players on the 12 outdoor fields at Operation Paintball engage rival teams during bouts of capture the flag and last-man-standing shootouts, hoping to earn victory for their mates and impress Mom one more time. The Mother Earth field's tall trees stand between natural bunkers, the Speedball concept field boasts a circle of broken wooden picket fences surrounding a central bunker, and wooded slopes take over the Yellow, Blue, and Candy fields. Staffers prepare guests to safely skirmish by providing masks, secure goggles, and padded vests, each of which has helped to contribute to the facility's perfect safety record. | <urn:uuid:cbade383-8825-4949-8208-ac7a3b4d322e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.groupon.com/local/graham-wa/things-to-do | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943582 | 181 | 1.539063 | 2 |
The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
Compiled and Edited by Virginia Ross
Registrar for Daniel McMillan Chapter, N.S.D.A.R.1915
Stronghurst Graphic, May 27, 1915
WINS TRACK AND FIELD MEET: Seven first and one second in the thirteen athletic events and two seconds and two thirds in the four literary and musical events constituted the honors won by the Stronghurst High School in the big bi-county meet held at Biggsville. Stronghurst took first in the 50, 100, 220 and 440 yd. dashes, the pole vault and the running broad jump. They placed second in the shot put. Brokaw was the high point winner for the school and the particular star of the meet, accumulating 15 points by winning the 100, 220 and 440 yd. dashes and snatching victory from seeming defeat in the relay race by beating his rival Roseville's Ragan by a few inches. By winning this race, the Stronghurst boys were able to bring back the silver loving cup which they won last year at Kirkwood and which in the event of a victory next year will become permanent property of the school. Davidson contributed two firsts by winning the pole vault (new record-10 ft.3 in.) and the running broad jump. From 1200-1500 spectators filled the grand stand in weather calling for overcoats and wraps.
Dorothy Bainter came in third in declamation and Guy Sanderson finished third in oration. The school also was given second place in the musical event.
GRADUATION WEEK; A class of fourteen will receive diplomas certifying that they have satisfactorily finished the prescribed 4 year high school: Nellie Bowen, Marie Rankin, Marie Mudd, Thelma Smith, Glenn Baxter, George Brokaw, Oliver Cooper, Roland Davidson, Rex Hicks, Chauncey Hollingsworth, Guy Sanderson, Eddie Smith, Cleo Stine and Charles Wheeling.
On Saturday evening the junior class gave the annual banquet in the school building, a three course menu prepared under the supervision of Mrs. Johanna Wheeling. Glenn McElhinney presided as toastmaster and Chauncey Hollingsworth did the honors for the senior responding. Principal Pope and his assistant, Miss Lucille White, gave brief toasts and assistant principal Ethel Gabby rendered a vocal selection. Misses Ethel Schierbaum and Ruth Brooks of the junior class spoke on "The Future."
On Sabbath evening the U. P. Church was overflowing with those who came to hear the baccalaureate sermon given by Rev. K. R. Anderson. The class play "One of Eight" was presented at the Opera House another evening and commencement exercises will be held there on Friday night.
GOING TO ANNAPOLIS: Rex Hicks, son of Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Hicks, will depart for Annapolis and the U.S.Naval Academy in June. He bested two other scholars for this opportunity and is the first from the county to be so appointed.
LOCAL AND AREA NEWS: George A. Curry arrived in Stronghurst from Litchfield, Nebr. To visit old friends. Henry Willard, a well known farmer and stockman of Kirkwood, died suddenly at his home near there of heart trouble. His wife was the former Miss Nellie Garrett of the Raritan neighborhood.
The storm of last Tuesday developed into a small tornado at Raritan and did considerable damage including the wrecking of the tower on the Christian Church. Miss Sarah McElhinney started on a trip to the Panama Exposition at San Francisco; Her itinerary will include visits with relatives in southern California and friends located in other Western states.
The iron pipes for the village water mains are arriving at the rate of one or two carloads a day and are being distributed along the streets. The trench digging machine and the contractor's force of workmen are expected to arrive within a short time.
Mrs. J.W.Brook and daughter, Miss Beth, have decided to take up their residence in the state of Kansas where Mrs. Brook recently purchased property near Wichita. Fred Crane of Carman vicinity has purchased a new "Maxwell" car. A freight train wrecked about a mile east of Gladstone and the wrecker worked all the next day clearing the track. No lives were lost.
In Olena, Sammy, the young son of Mr. and Mrs. S.C.Lant, has just recovered from a siege of pneumonia and is now afflicted with dropsical trouble (edema). Mr. James Pendry, who recently moved to the village, is on the sick list. Mrs. Jesse Hicks is suffering from a felon on one of her fingers which has developed into blood poison. (She had an infection near the cuticle of her finger which became serious.) | <urn:uuid:4e95e8d7-9311-4b92-8a4c-e83c1f44ca69> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.quillnewspaper.com/theGraphic01/Feb1401.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00021-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963727 | 1,021 | 1.6875 | 2 |
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