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A Smith's fracture, also sometimes known as a reverse Colles' fracture or Goyrand-Smith's, is a fracture of the distal radius. It is caused by a direct blow to the dorsal forearm or falling onto flexed wrists, as opposed to a Colles' fracture which occurs as a result of falling onto wrists in extension. Smith's fractures are less common than Colles' fractures.
The distal fracture fragment is displaced volarly (ventrally), as opposed to a Colles' fracture which the fragment is displaced dorsally. Depending on the severity of the impact, there may be one or many fragments and it may or may not involve the articular surface of the wrist joint.
This fracture is named after the orthopedic surgeon, Robert William Smith (1807–1873) in his book A Treatise on Fractures in the Vicinity of Joints, and on certain forms of Accidents and Congenital Dislocations published in 1847.
Treatment of this fracture depends on the severity of the fracture. An undisplaced fracture may be treated with a cast alone. A fracture with mild angulation and displacement may require closed reduction. Significant angulation and deformity may require an open reduction and internal fixation. An open fracture will always require surgical intervention. | <urn:uuid:408050bd-f7dc-4961-8e8f-48379b4a11a0> | CC-MAIN-2015-27 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smith's_fracture | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-27/segments/1435375095668.34/warc/CC-MAIN-20150627031815-00224-ip-10-179-60-89.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.891216 | 274 | 2.765625 | 3 |
What is A Doctor’s Role to the Society?
It is given that doctors save lives but their importance to the society does not end there. Doctors are helping the patient to relieve their pain, to become free from illness and to live with a disability. Having successfully treated a person from an illness is just one of the so many things that make a doctor important.
No one ever prayed to become helpless, sick or disabled. Instead of getting sick, it is better to prevent it. Aside from spending less money if we do not get sick, it is also better if we stay healthy. Preventive treatment is very significant to the society. Hospital bills are quite expensive nowadays. It is really great to promote preventive medicine so that the people will stay healthy as well.
Doctors are also responsible in stopping pandemics.
There was a plague happened like the small pox who had killed millions of people throughout the history and the polio virus which have paralyzed a thousand of people as well. Fighting the plagues requires a lot of money and intelligent minds from organization working whether in a national or international scale. It is very important to have a doctor and other health care professionals to be in this kind of fight.
Medical practices are also considered business. Doctors with his or her own clinic, hire staff and buy or rent a space, hire contractors for repairs and improve the economic health of the community as improving the health of the patient. A hospital can generally give an economic growth to the town.
Educating people is also one of the responsibilities of doctors.
Today, you cannot directly have yourself medically checked online. What you read online might be over reacting to what you are actually feeling. There should be a one on one assessment and diagnostic tests in order to determine the diagnosis of your illness and the internet cannot do that with you. Each of us is different so it would need a thorough examination in order for the doctors to know what to do with the illness.
Shaping health policy is one of the responsibilities of doctors.
In terms of the health of the community, the state or the federal government plays an important role. Is the water safe to eat or the food safe to eat? In terms of medical situations that may require policies, the doctors are the ones responsible for shaping the policy. They use the government to push through the policies which have been made for the benefit of the public health. Discover more about doctors by clicking here.
There are a lot of information to know about doctors. You can have more information here. | <urn:uuid:e3d56ff4-679a-4188-935b-51cd8e2daf12> | CC-MAIN-2018-26 | http://urgewiki.info/the-key-elements-of-great-medicine/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-26/segments/1529267864740.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20180622162604-20180622182604-00444.warc.gz | en | 0.97552 | 513 | 3.015625 | 3 |
Theological debates raged throughout the period of the Reformation. These debates were about who had the right to interpret Scripture, what was the nature of salvation, who had authority in the church, and the like. Sound familiar? It should. Many of the debates that were central to the reformers are still in our purview today. Central to several of these debates focused upon the interpretation of Scripture.
Sola Scriptura: Two difficulties
The Reformers operated under the ideal of sola scriptura. The term literally means “scripture alone.” The notion seems simple enough: when it comes to doctrine, practice, and belief, the church universal is to be guided by Scripture alone. Yet it quickly became apparent during the Reformation era that things were not quite so simple.
First, sola scriptura was largely founded upon the notion that any Christian could read and understand Scripture. Yet, as became clear due to the fierce debates of the meaning of the Sacraments (i.e. the debate between Luther and Zwingli on the “real presence” in the Lord’s Supper), it seemed that on some things, Scripture wasn’t so simple (McGrath a, Reformation Thought: An Introduction, 106-107, cited below). People could disagree, vehemently, even over things that each side thought was abundantly clear.
Second, Anabaptists and others argued that sola scriptura meant that every single individual Christian could read and understand the Bible for themselves. How was this problematic? Well, if every Christian could understand every part of the Bible, then there was no way to arbitrate between differing interpretations of soteriology (doctrine of salvation), eschatology (doctrine of the end times), and the like. Of course, not all of these interpretations could be correct, and if those who had argued for the individualism of Scriptural interpretation were correct, then they could all be right, in some sense. Furthermore, the issue was exacerbated in that because no one had the authority to proclaim what doctrines were correct, the church began to increasingly split to the point that “the radical Reformation was not a unified movement, but rather a chorus of protest against the clergy, secular authorities, and Reformers such as Luther and Zwingli. It was a reservoir for uncompromising protest that could well up in the most varied social circles… ‘Within the turmoiled flood of radical reform or restitution the fresh vitalities of the Reformation… were borne along swiftly to radical extremes'” (Carter Lindberg, The European Reformations, 213, cited below).
The solution to the first problem was simply to concede that, on at least some issues, Scripture was not crystal clear. On at least certain points, the magisterial reformers “had conceded that Scripture is obscure” (McGrath a, 108). There was genuine disagreement over some issues. However, not all agreed with this conclusion, and some still pressed that all of Scripture was indeed clear. Such an argument tied into the second problem the Reformers had to confront in relation to sola scriptura: who has the right interpretation?
Tradition played an important role in determining how the interpretation of Scripture was to be undertaken. During the Medieval period, a number of developments in hermeneutics laid the groundwork for the various interpretive methods utilized in the Reformation (McGrath b, 148ff). There were three primary views which emerged during the Reformation.
First, there was the position that “there is no place for tradition in the interpretation of the Bible. Every individual or community is free to interpret the Bible without reference to the Christian past” (McGrath a, 100). Such a position was part of the Radical Reformation and led to innumerable differing interpretations of Scripture. Of course, this was the group of reformers which applied sola scriptura most consistently. They took the principle literally and only allowed the Bible to be authoritative. However, with no way to arbitrate between differing doctrines, it seemed that such a position was incapable of standing up to scrutiny. All it could allow for was rampant individualism.
Second, there was the position that tradition was “an additional mode of divine revelation, in which information that was not committed to writing in the Bible was passed down…” (McGrath a, 100). The Roman Catholic church endorsed this position. However, it did not become popular with the reformers at all.
Instead, the Reformers developed a third position, one which stood as a middle way between the extremes of enshrining tradition and rejecting it outright. On this position, “Tradition designates a traditional way of interpreting a biblical text, which does not displace the text” (McGrath a, 100). Tradition therefore does not become an independent source of authority, but rather a way of interpreting the authority–Scripture–in an authoritative manner. By using tradition in this manner, the Reformers avoided the individualism of rejecting tradition, while also avoiding the error of raising tradition to the same level of importance as Scripture.
The third way was developed largely in the Reformed and Lutheran traditions, but it had its core in the historic Christian Creeds. Within the Lutheran tradition, the Apostles’; Nicene; and Athanasian Creeds were taken as theological foundations, and the Augsburg Confession and the later Book of Concord (which drew together several other confessions of the Lutheran faith) became the interpretive lens through which the Lutheran church would view Scripture and right doctrine.
Modern Theology, Reformation Problems
The discussions which occurred in the Reformation on the nature of sola scriptura, tradition, and the interpretation of Scripture had their origins in the past, and they continue into today. Some continue to insist that anyone can read the Bible and understand it in its entirety.
Against those who argue against their position, they insist that they themselves are just reading what the Bible says. This can be seen in a number of debates in Christian theology. It seems the best response to those who wield the ‘perspicuity of Scripture’ as a weapon against alternatives to their own doctrine have no alternative against those who disagree other than going back and forth claiming their own interpretation is correct and/or more clear.
The example I most often like to use is the book of Revelation and eschatology. Someone who claims the perspicuity of Scripture applies to the whole of Scriptural teaching must claim, in order to be consistent, that these doctrines are clear. Thus, such a person must maintain that every single verse in Revelation can simply be read by anyone and understood.
To be frank, I find this absurd. The extreme diversity of people’s interpretations of Revelation seem to undermine the notion that every passage in Scripture is clear. Furthermore–as has already been noted–those who hold to this radically individualistic position of Scripture have no way to decide between differing interpretations of Scripture. They are thus left with no way to determine any doctrine, whether it is radically opposed to Christianity or not, is heretical. Thus, one who holds this position cannot condemn modalism, as long as the person arguing for it is only using the Bible. After all, Scripture is clear! Everyone can read it. Therefore, it seems that this debate which continues to rage on from the Reformation must end. In order to avoid the mire of wanton individualism, we must have some principles for interpretation.
Another major issue of contemporary debate is that of Creeds and “paper popes.” Often, for example, the Lutheran Church is accused of utilizing the Book of Concord as a “paper pope”–a book which acts as an infallible interpreter of Scripture. Similarly, some argue that the historical Christian creeds are not Scripture and therefore must not be affirmed: again, sola scriptura.
It may be helpful to see this as a case study: in Lutheran circles, there is a debate over whether one must agree with the Book of Concord (the Lutheran Confessions) because it agrees with Scripture or insofar as it agrees with Scripture. Note the very important difference. If one says it is “because,” one is affirming that the Book of Concord is the correct intepretation of every relevant passage of Scripture. If one affirms that it is “insofar as,” one is admitting that there may be error in that interpretation. From a Lutheran perspective, this debate is hard to resolve. I tend to line up on the latter (insofar as) view.
However, it is clear that once one takes that position, one must lean more towards individualism. Again: how does one arbitrate doctrine if one does not adhere to any kind of authoritative statement on doctrine? It seems to me that one must at least hold that God has the power to transmit His teaching truthfully, and that’s why the historical Christian Creeds are vastly important. There must be a line drawn somewhere, but people may ever debate where to draw that line.
The key is perhaps found in Scripture itself, in which Christians are instructed not to continue arguments needlessly nor to focus upon topics which will create division (1 Corinthians 1:10ff; Ephesians 4:1ff). These teachings do not, however, preclude division nor do they allow for rampant individualism. It seems to me, therefore, that by adhering to the ecumenical council’s teaching–specifically, the creeds–as drawing out the right teachings of the church, we can avoid some of the great difficulties illustrated above. That’s why I would focus upon the Creeds which were drawn from those councils (like the Apostles’, and Nicene Creeds) as the sources of authoritatively governing Christian interpretations on those topics.
Many theological questions that are in play today have their origins in various aspects of Reformation thought, which themselves have their origins in earlier Christian thought. The issue of the perspicuity of Scripture, it seems to me, must be limited to that of soteriology and perhaps a few other core issues. On who has the authority to interpret Scripture, it seems that the Reformers offered a way forward: by agreeing to submit to the authority of ecumenical Creeds not as sources of their own authority but rather as authoritative interpretations of the Bible, Christians can proceed in their reading of Scripture and interpretations thereof through those lenses. Thus, the danger of individualism and endless division can be avoided.
I survey the origins of the Reformation.
Alister E. McGrath a, Reformation Thought: An Introduction (Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012).
Alister E. McGrath b, The Intellectual Origins of the European Reformation (Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2003).
Carter Lindberg, The European Reformations (Malden, MA: Blackwell, 2010).
Alister McGrath’s Reformation Thought: An Introduction was a gift from an anonymous donor. I was blown away when I saw it show up at my door and I have to say Thank you so much for being such a blessing! Whoever you are, you made my day. Well, more than just one day actually. This series of posts is a direct result of your donation. Thank you!
The preceding post is the property of J.W. Wartick (apart from citations, which are the property of their respective owners, and works of art as credited) and should not be reproduced in part or in whole without the expressed consent of the author. All content on this site is the property of J.W. Wartick and is made available for individual and personal usage. If you cite from these documents, whether for personal or professional purposes, please give appropriate citation with both the name of the author (J.W. Wartick) and a link to the original URL. If you’d like to repost a post, you may do so, provided you show less than half of the original post on your own site and link to the original post for the rest. You must also appropriately cite the post as noted above. This blog is protected by Creative Commons licensing. By viewing any part of this site, you are agreeing to this usage policy. | <urn:uuid:3c219d7b-176b-4def-abb4-acfc7b14a304> | CC-MAIN-2019-51 | https://jwwartick.com/2012/10/15/who-interprets-sola/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-51/segments/1575540487789.39/warc/CC-MAIN-20191206095914-20191206123914-00349.warc.gz | en | 0.96677 | 2,541 | 2.96875 | 3 |
The Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army Revolver (also known as the Peacemaker or SAA) is a powerful single action revolver holding six rounds of .45 Colt ammunition (often alternatively referred to as .45 Long Colt). The Single Action Army was designed for the United States Army by Colt's Manufacturing Company and adopted in 1873.
Colt's Patent Firearms Company first began manufacturing single-action revolvers in 1841. Numerous black powder designs saw great success over the next 25 years, including the Paterson, Dragoon, 1851 Navy, and 1860 Army models. During the American Civil War, Colt began offering the after-market Richards-Mason Conversion Kit for the 1860 Army, which allowed the pistol to fire the recently-invented metallic cartridge. Beginning in 1865, the conversion kit was applied to guns on the assembly line, resulting in the Colt Open-Top revolver. These weapons were usually chambered in .44-caliber.
In 1873, Colt submitted a new pistol to the U.S. Army. It utilized an improved single-action mechanism coupled with a greatly-improved frame design. It was chambered for the newly-designed .45 Long Colt cartridge. The Army promptly adopted the new revolver as the new standard-issue sidearm. Colt also offered the pistol on the civilian market.
The SAA had some drawbacks; it was much slower to reload than the contemporary Smith & Wesson Schofield revolver (a top-break design), and difficult to fire rapidly due to its single-action mechanism. Still, it was widely praised for its balance, ergonomics, simplicity, and the excellent stopping power of the .45LC rounds it fired. It was easily the most popular pistol in the American West. It was wielded by famous lawmen like Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson, and Bill Tilghman, as well as outlaws such as Henry McCarty (a.k.a Billy the Kid) and John Wesley Hardin. It remained popular even long after double-action revolvers entered the market, including Colt's own Lightning and Thunderer.
The U.S. Army chose to replace the venerable Peacemaker with a newer double-action .38-caliber revolver manufactured by Colt in 1897. This new pistol was mechanically reliable, but its ammunition was notoriously weak. As a stopgap measure, the old M1873s were reissued beginning in 1902 and remained in service for 9 more years until finally being replaced for good by the superb Colt M1911.45 automatic.
From 1873 to 1941, Colt produced many different versions, in various calibers, finishes, and barrel lengths. The three main versions (differing in barrel length) are now known as the 7 1/2" "Cavalry Standard", the 5 1/2" "Artillery Model", and the 4 3/4" "Civilian" or "Gunfighter", though in actual fact customers could order Single Action Army's in any barrel length they wanted. Also, during that time period, Colt would constantly showcase "new" models of the Single Action Army, with names such as the Bisley, New Frontier, and Buntline. Today, the Artillery and Civilian models are popular with Cowboy Action Shooting competitors and gunspinners, and are in production with several modern firearms manufacturers, including Colt.
In 1964, Major Ocelot adopted the Artillery Model as his weapon of choice after his semiautomatic Makarov PM jammed during combat with Naked Snake, in Rassvet, Tselinoyarsk. After effortlessly subduing him, Snake advised Ocelot that his shooting style would be better suited for a revolver. He later took this advice and switched to the Single Action Army. However, he utilized a specially-engraved showpiece model initially. In addition, due to his having become accustomed to his previous sidearm, Ocelot forgot that the revolver only carried six shots, compared to the Makarov's eight. This mistake cost him a second confrontation involving Snake, while holding EVA at knifepoint. During Ocelot's pause, after attempting to fire his empty revolver at Snake, EVA kicked him to the ground and then escaped on her motorcycle. Humiliated, Ocelot fled into the wilderness.
During their encounter at Bolshaya Past, Ocelot (who was apparently ambidextrous, though he favored his right hand) used two ("Black Powder" model) revolvers in a duel against Snake. Later, Ocelot used three revolvers in a game of modified Russian Roulette to intimidate Nikolai Stephanovich Sokolov, who wet himself in the process. Just as Ocelot was about pull the loaded gun's trigger, The Boss snatched the gun from him and fired the bullet out of harm's way. She then handed it back to him, after removing the cylinder. Chastised, Ocelot took his field-stripped pistol back without a word.
One of Ocelot's revolvers was also responsible for the loss of Snake's right eye during his torture at the hands of Colonel Volgin at Groznyj Grad. The Boss again took the weapon from Ocelot, after admonishing him for his actions. However, she secretly gave it to Snake after his torture, though it was empty. Snake, after procuring some ammunition, used it to defend himself against the attack dogs and guards he encountered, during his escape through Groznyj Grad's sewers. Ocelot later attempted to use a revolver against Naked Snake when cornering him at the Groznyj Grad sewers, although the ammo he utilized was not actually a .45 Colt bullet: Rather, it was a 9mm bullet from Ocelot's Makarov that jammed his gun back when he lost to Snake during the Virtuous Mission that he modified with a specialized ring attachment to bypass the ammo restrictions for the revolver. However, the gun chamber had narrowly went to the wrong slide of the gun, which allowed Snake the opportunity to escape by jumping from the waterfall. One of Ocelot's revolvers ended up falling into the ravine separating Groznyj Grad from the path to Lazorevo, after he narrowly avoided falling into the gorge after the rail bridge ended up destroyed by Naked Snake. Later, after their motorcycle crashed, Snake gave the revolver to an injured EVA to defend herself from pursuing GRU forces, having lost her Type 17 Mauser to Ocelot during their escape from Groznyj Grad. Later, while aboard the WiG aircraft, EVA gave the same revolver back to Snake as protection against Ocelot, for one final duel.
- Main article: San Hieronymo Incident
|Warning: The following information is from outside Hideo Kojima's core "Metal Gear Saga." It has some level of canonicity within the continuity, but reader discretion is advised.[?]|
In 1970, Big Boss (Naked Snake) and his resistance against FOX located a Single Action Army in a pantry at the Guest House, on the San Hieronymo Peninsula. Ocelot also used an SAA to take down the bodyguards of the DCI, as well as execute the DCI himself, framing his death as a suicide.
|Non-"Metal Gear Saga" information ends here.|
- Main article: Shadow Moses Incident
Revolver Ocelot was still using his Single Action Army as of 2005, during which he challenged Solid Snake to a gunfight, in the armory of the nuclear weapons disposal facility on Shadow Moses Island. Snake gained the upper hand during the fight, in part because Ocelot had to continuously stop to reload his six-chamber revolver. However, their duel was interrupted by Gray Fox, who cut off Ocelot's right hand as he attempted to fire on Snake again. Ocelot later conversed with Liquid Snake in the control room of the underground maintenance base, where he noticed an eavesdropping Solid Snake and shot at him with his revolver, shooting the PAL key out of his hand in the process.
In 2007, Revolver Ocelot used his signature Single Action Army to execute both Russian mercenary leader Sergei Gurlukovich and U.S. Marine Commandant Scott Dolph, and then a second revolver to kill three Gurlukovich Mercenaries. In 2009, Ocelot used one of his revolvers to execute U.S. President James Johnson and Dead Cell leader Fortune.
Behind the scenes
The Single Action Army revolver is a recurring weapon in the Metal Gear franchise since Metal Gear Solid. It is often associated with Revolver Ocelot. Although it appeared in Metal Gear Solid, its remake The Twin Snakes, and Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty as the weapon of choice by Ocelot, it is never actually usable by the player until Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. It does not appear in Metal Gear Solid V despite Ocelot himself appearing in The Phantom Pain due to the decision to use combined fictional weapons over real life weapons, although the Tornado-6 Revolver and to some extent the Windurger series S333 Combat Special and Adam-ska Special were based on the Single Action Army revolver (the last partially being based on the engraved model).
Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Weight: 1.0 kg
Naked Snake can wield the Single Action Army in Metal Gear Solid 3 upon starting a new game. The gun is unlocked by letting Ocelot win in the final confrontation; satisfied, he allows Snake to keep his revolver. To do so, pick up the right gun at the time of choice.
The Single Action Army is as powerful as the default M1911A1, yet has a slower rate of fire, cannot be silenced, takes longer to reload, cannot be fired while moving, and is arguably more difficult to aim. However, the SAA's rounds can ricochet off of surfaces and towards enemies, a capability that the M1911A1 lacks. This makes the SAA useful for shooting enemies behind cover.
In addition, if the player enters first-person mode and spins the right analog stick in a circular motion, Snake will draw the SAA and spin it on his finger. This can be used to the player's advantage in the fight against Ocelot at Bolshaya Past Crevice, as it will entice Ocelot into showing his own prowess in gun twirling. The faster the player spins, the more positive comments Ocelot will exhibit; however, if the player spins too long, Ocelot will get irritated and open fire.
While escaping Groznyj Grad while riding EVA's motorcycle, the Single Action Army will almost always hit enemy soldiers and kill them with a single hit regardless of where it's shot because of the bullets' ability to richoet off surfaces. However, the bullets must be shot from a reasonable angle as shooting while trying to hit an enemy behind Snake will not hit them.
Ocelot, at several points throughout the game, loads a 9x18 Makarov cartridge into his Colt. While the nine millimeter bullet would fit if fired in the barrel designed for an eleven millimeter bullet, its is unlikely it could fire it, as the Makarov round lack a rim and is much shorter than the .45 Colt round the cylinder is designed for. By saboting the smaller Makarov round, however, Ocelot can put the cartridge into the cylinder, and have it ready for firing. This was revealed in the director's commentary.
- "The Single Action Army. A .45 caliber, six-shot revolver. Equip in First Person View and press the L1 button to aim precisely. Can also use the right analog stick to do tricks."
- ―Single Action Army description in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
In Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, mobility is not lost while using this weapon compared to Metal Gear Solid 3 as Naked Snake can take advantage of the ricocheting bullets produced only by this weapon to take out enemies concealed behind cover at the right angle.
For obvious reasons, Ocelot will come equipped with the Single Action Army if unlocked.
In-game weapon description
- "Also known as the "Peacemaker" and the "Frontier," this single action revolver is a symbol of the days of the Wild West. The masterpiece SAA was adopted as the official sidearm of the U.S. Army in 1875. This pistol's solid frame construction results in lengthy reload times, but also ensures extremely high durability. This and the gun's simple mechanics make the SAA a highly reliable weapon.
Uses .45LC ammo."
- ―Single Action Army weapon description in Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops
- Metal Gear Solid
- Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
- Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
- Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops | <urn:uuid:38380559-700f-4e02-bf8b-6f5bd9f587c2> | CC-MAIN-2020-16 | https://metalgear.fandom.com/wiki/Colt_Single_Action_Army_Revolver | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-16/segments/1585370509103.51/warc/CC-MAIN-20200402235814-20200403025814-00498.warc.gz | en | 0.964496 | 2,666 | 2.625 | 3 |
im doing c2 integration homework atm, and while i know what to do and can get the marks, i really have no idea what im doing and why. i've been told im finding the area under a curve when using definite integrals, but how am i doing it? whats happening? and wtf is an integral, anyway? or a derivative for that matter?
can anyone explain any of that in laymans terms please?
x Turn on thread page Beta
c2 integration watch
- Thread Starter
- 13-02-2010 13:37
- 13-02-2010 13:47
What you are pretty much doing with integration is that you are finding the area under the curve between two limits. This could be visualized by a perfect form of an implementation of the trapezium rule, where h is an infinitessimally small number and there are an infinite amount of trapeziums of which their area is calculated. It's a terrible way to explain it but that's the only way I can in 'laymen's terms'.
A deriative is just a gradient function for any point within the equation of which its derive. That is, for any value of x, the gradient at that very point can be calculated by putting the value of x into the derived gradient function.
- Thread Starter
(Original post by innerhollow)
- 13-02-2010 14:01
And 10 is your final answer. PM me if you need any more help, but please look over your textbook because you need to learn how to do stuff like this.
from serrated_colon's description "This could be visualized by a perfect form of an implementation of the trapezium rule, where h is an infinitessimally small number and there are an infinite amount of trapeziums of which their area is calculated."
firstly, i wish to know how
means gives me the area?
i just think im going to understand it better and be able to adapt it better to wierdly phrased exam q.s etc if i understand what is actually happening, rather than just blindly accepting the method im told
thanks for the reply and any further ones
p.s. i dont really know how to use this latex thing so it may look a bit retardedLast edited by DJ AgnieszkaA; 13-02-2010 at 14:04.
- 13-02-2010 14:34
Agreed, in the textbooks it explicitly says that the proofs for these things are beyond the level you need to know. I don't think that the 'weirdly asked questions' will require any of the principles involved in proving these results though, the worst they can ask is 'estimate the area under the curve 1/x between limits a and b' with regards to the trapezium rule. Differentiation is a different issue though, you have to understand the problem solving aspect with regards to local maxima/minima. It's not too difficult for c2 though. | <urn:uuid:fac59482-bf01-4235-b052-4304ff638847> | CC-MAIN-2018-17 | https://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1181290 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-17/segments/1524125946688.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20180424115900-20180424135900-00338.warc.gz | en | 0.939362 | 628 | 2.609375 | 3 |
How has American capitalism evolved? When were banks introduced into our economy? How did the stock market come into existence and why is it so important today? Who were the pioneers of American industry and finance? How has government policy affected the economy in the past? In this issue of History Now, five noted scholars grapple with these questions. The result is a primer on the American economy, describing clearly and accessibly the origins and development of our most critical institutions. In addition, we have included a slideshow of images from financial scandals throughout American history in partnership with the Museum of American Finance.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
History Now: Shaping the American Economy
The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History has announced publication of Shaping the American Economy, the latest issue of History Now, a quarterly online journal for history teachers and students, available here. The Institute explains: | <urn:uuid:3386a5dd-13c8-4f06-b17f-2d9797b1fd03> | CC-MAIN-2017-39 | http://legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/history-now-shaping-american-economy.html?m=0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818686077.22/warc/CC-MAIN-20170919235817-20170920015817-00315.warc.gz | en | 0.959262 | 178 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Two of the world's biggest cola drinks makers - Coca-Cola and PepsiCo - have come under fire for using cancerous caramel coloring agents in their drinks.
Even as California has scheduled a hearing on the labeling requirement for products that contain the carcinogenic chemicals for March 10, a consumer group has now taken up the issue on a national level.
According to the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), two chemicals - 2-methylimidazole (2-MEI) and 4-methylimidazole (4-MEI) -that are widely being used as caramel coloring, are cancerous.
In 2003 and 2005, studies by the National Institutes of Health's National Toxicology Program did find that the chemicals caused cancer in some mice and rats. However, it is still not known whether the two chemicals, which are used in dark soft drinks and sometimes in beer, soy sauce and other foods, can cause cancer in human beings.
CSPI has asked the Food and Drug Administration to look into the matter and ban the substances from use in drinks and foods, if found harmful to human health.
However, CSPI Executive Director Michael F. Jacobson has acknowledged that the two chemicals are not potent carcinogens. Nonetheless, they have no nutritional or preservative value and it is totally inappropriate to accept any risk from artificial coloring, he said.
However, the American Beverage Association has said that there's no evidence that the chemicals cause cancer in human beings and said CSPI is only attempting to scare consumers away.
Coca-Cola Co. has also issued a statement, saying its beverages are completely safe. CSPI's statement irresponsibly insinuates that the caramel used in our beverages is unsafe and maliciously raises cancer concerns among consumers, the company said.
Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether California will go ahead with its plan of requiring foods and drinks manufacturers to label carcinogenic chemicals on their products.
Last month, the state's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment added 4-MEI (but not 2-MEI) to the list of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. The state has also set an exposure limit of the chemical in individual products - 16 micrograms per day - beyond which the products would need to be labeled. According to CSPI, some popular cola drinks contain up to 200 micrograms of 4-MEI per 20 oz bottle.
Not surprisingly, the American Beverage Association, California League of Food Processors, Grocery Manufacturers Association and the National Coffee Association are vigorously protesting against the labeling policy and have sued the California government in this regard.
The labeling requirement will go into effect in January 2012.
To contact the reporter on this story, email email@example.com | <urn:uuid:f66272b3-f78e-477a-bd3b-6203f5150d14> | CC-MAIN-2017-09 | http://www.ibtimes.com/coca-cola-pepsi-may-contain-cancerous-coloring-agents-should-be-banned-report-270035 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-09/segments/1487501174167.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20170219104614-00011-ip-10-171-10-108.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955925 | 587 | 2.71875 | 3 |
Weightlifting can help you make changes to your body such as trimming your waistline or bulking up your biceps. But all of the changes weightlifting makes are not visible to the naked eye. In addition to altering your physique, weightlifting can cause increases in several different hormones. Consult your doctor before starting any weightlifting routine.
What Are Hormones?
At any given time, your body has countless different hormones actively influencing characteristics ranging from your mood to your body's growth and development. Hormones are chemical messengers -- typically produced in your endocrine glands -- that cause cells or organs to take certain actions, such as increasing production of muscle mass in the case of testosterone.
Weightlifting helps encourage the production of a number of hormones, including growth hormone. According to researchers at Pennsylvania State University, workouts using heavy weights and sets of between three and 12 repetitions each can help maximize growth-hormone production. And, that's a good thing -- particularly for women, who rely on growth hormone to increase muscle and bone strength, according to Science Daily.
Not all weightlifting-related hormone production is beneficial. Cortisol, also known as the stress hormone, can damage your body's cells and impair muscle development. Weightlifting can cause increases in your cortisol levels, particularly if you don't get a good meal after lifting. Research published in the April 2010 issue of the "European Journal of Applied Physiology" showed that consuming a lower carbohydrate diet in conjunction with intense workout sessions can increase levels of cortisol in your body. | <urn:uuid:ed3ba3b1-82c5-45b4-b21e-556b0c708dd2> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | http://www.livestrong.com/article/389066-does-weightlifting-increase-hormone-production/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549424610.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20170723202459-20170723222459-00173.warc.gz | en | 0.923723 | 313 | 3.328125 | 3 |
From conception to birth the development of a baby follows a predictable path. As cells divide and differentiate, the developing baby begins as a zygote, forms into a blastocyst, becomes an embryo and then transforms into a fetus, all in the first trimester of pregnancy. From the very beginning, the developing cells need oxygen and nutrients. The fetus receives its nutrition from the mother through the placenta and the umbilical cord.
Formation of Placenta
The placenta--defined as a temporary organ consisting of blood vessels and membranes that unite mother and fetus--begins to develop as the blastocyst, a hollow ball of cells, implants in the uterus. The inner cells of the blastocyst become the embryo while the outer layer fills with blood from the mother's uterine lining. Blood vessels form in this area between the embryo and the mother's uterus until--by day 21--the mother's blood surrounds the embryo's blood vessels, allowing the exchange of nutrients, as described by Penn Medicine.
Functions of Placenta
The placenta contains a collection of thin tissues, known as the blood barrier, that permits some particles to flow between the bloodstream of the mother and fetus while restricting others. The placenta transfers oxygen and nutrients from the mother's blood to the placenta and transfers waste products from the placenta's blood to the mother's blood. It also produces hormones, including human chorionic gonadotropin, or hCG, estrogen and progesterone, to signal the baby's needs to the mother. Lastly, the placenta protects the fetus from harmful particles, such as the mother's red and white blood cells, which can treat the baby as a foreign invader.
Source of Nutrition
As the mother eats, the food passes through the digestive system where the body breaks it down into small particles the body can absorb. The nutrients travel through the mother's bloodstream and exchange to the bloodstream of the fetus through the placenta. In addition to ingested food, the mother's body continually breaks down muscle, fat and bones, releasing proteins, fat and calcium to the mother's blood that can be absorbed through the placenta to provide nutrients to the fetus, as described by Nutrition in the Womb.
Formation of Umbilical Cord
When the placenta forms, the embryo and placenta connect through a stalk surrounded by the primitive umbilical ring. As the embryo grows and develops into a fetus, the stalk also grows while developing two arteries and a vein. As the gastrointestinal system develops, it protrudes through the umbilical ring, forming the longer umbilical cord. The umbilical cord provides the pathway for fetal blood to flow to and from the placenta.
Flow of Blood
The umbilical cord serves as the lifeline for the fetus. The two arteries carry blood pumped from the left ventricle of the fetal heart to the placenta to receive oxygen and nutrients from the mother. The vein returns the oxygenated blood from the placenta back to the right atrium of the fetal heart. The umbilical cord usually reaches 60 to 70 centimeters by birth, according to the Yale University School of Medicine. Fortunately, a rich matrix made of proteins and carbohydrates, known as Wharton's jelly, surrounds the arteries and veins, preventing the cord from twisting and cutting off the supply of nutrients to the fetus. | <urn:uuid:cfd026b4-409a-4538-9949-9ae59dffce8b> | CC-MAIN-2019-35 | https://www.livestrong.com/article/230923-how-does-nutrition-get-from-the-placenta-to-the-fetus/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-35/segments/1566027313803.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20190818104019-20190818130019-00164.warc.gz | en | 0.916798 | 702 | 3.84375 | 4 |
Individual differences |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
Mythopoiesis is a neologism from the words "myth" and "poetry", literally meaning "of or relating to the making of myths". The word is rarely used in its noun form; normally one sees reference to mythopoetic authors. The word can be used to describe a general style of psychological self-help, largely inspired by the work of Joseph Campbell. Authors associated with it include Robert Bly and Clarissa Pinkola Estes. The related term mythopoeic (note the slight difference in spelling) is used to describe mythopoetic literature.
Characteristic of the mythopoetic movement was a tendency to retell fairy tales and engage in their exegesis as a tool for personal insight. Using frequent references to archetypes as drawn from Jungian, analytical psychology, the movement focussed on issues of gender role, gender identity and wellness for modern men and women. Advocates would often engage in storytelling with music, these acts being seen as a modern extension to a form of " shamanism" popularized by Michael Harner at approximately the same time.
Among its most famous advocates were the poet Robert Bly, whose book Iron John: A Book About Men was a best-seller, being an exegesis of the fairy tale "Iron John" by the Brothers Grimm.
The mythopoetic men's movement spawned a variety of self-help groups and workshops, led by authors such as Bly and Robert L. Moore. The self-help aspect of this movement was seen as something of a fad at the time. Nevertheless some serious academic work came out of this movement, including the creation of various magazines and non-profit organizations, such as the Mankind Project. It should be noted that the phrase "mythopoetic" was not, however, often used in women's groups to describe feminism-related mythopoetics, as the preferred term among many feminists was "women's spirituality."
As a self-help movement the mythopoetic movement did not take explicit stances on political issues such as feminism, gay rights or family law (such as the issues of divorce, domestic violence or [[child custody) preferring instead to stay focused on emotional and psychological well-being.
- Iron John: A Book about Men by Robert Bly (1990)
- King, Warrior, Magican, Lover: Rediscovering the Archetypes of the Mature Masculine by Robert Moore and Douglas Gillette (1990)
- Fire in the Belly: On Being a Man by Sam Keen (Bantam, 1991)
- Women Who Run With the Wolves: Myths and Stories of the Wild Woman Archetype by Clarissa Pinkola Estes (1992)
- Men and the Water of Life: Initiation and the Tempering of Men by Michael J. Meade (1994)
- Stephen Biddulph
- Robert Bly
- Joseph Campbell
- Clarissa Pinkola Estés
- James Hillman
- Douglas Gillette
- Sam Keen
- John Lee
- Michael J. Meade
- Robert L. Moore
- David Tacey
- William Irwin Thompson
- Marion Woodman
- Everyman Magazine
- Annual Minnesota Men's Conference with Robert Bly, Daniel Deardorff, & many others. Sept. 12-17, 2006
- The Mankind Project, a non-profit educational group focused on masculinity
- Mythopoetic mens movement
- Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, Founder: Michael Meade. Mosaic seeks to create cross-cultural alliances and mentoring relationships. | <urn:uuid:0098e39c-9e24-482e-ab71-55cf87f965bf> | CC-MAIN-2017-34 | http://psychology.wikia.com/wiki/Mythopoiesis | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-34/segments/1502886117874.26/warc/CC-MAIN-20170823055231-20170823075231-00179.warc.gz | en | 0.937434 | 763 | 2.96875 | 3 |
Maize Research Brief
Maize remains the staple food crop for majority of households. The AMRI-Katumani maize program was started in 1966 with mandate to develop maize varieties suited for drylands ecologies and therefore contribute to improved food security. Some of the outputs of the program over the years include development and deployment of the world famous Katumani Composite B (KCB), with desirable characteristics of early maturity and drought escaping. The program also carries out research on good agronomic practises for improved maize yields. The mandate region is challenged with various constraints which include unreliable rainfallranging 800-1200mm which is unevenly distributed, among other constraints. These lower the potential maize yields of estimated 3-5 tonnes per hectare to the recorded 0.5-2.0 t/ha. | <urn:uuid:3db5da7a-b83c-4a82-84ae-2dec3c3ca61c> | CC-MAIN-2019-09 | http://www.kalro.org/amri/?q=node/149 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-09/segments/1550247480472.38/warc/CC-MAIN-20190216125709-20190216151709-00214.warc.gz | en | 0.929154 | 161 | 3.53125 | 4 |
Category:de:Parts of speech
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
|Recent additions to the category|
|Oldest pages ordered by last edit|
German terms related to parts of speech.
|Top – A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Ä Ö Ü|
This category has only the following subcategory.
- ► de:Verbs (0 c, 4 e)
Pages in category "de:Parts of speech"
The following 31 pages are in this category, out of 31 total. | <urn:uuid:536a0af3-6e97-4ec7-bd1a-72fdb1ed3d4c> | CC-MAIN-2016-30 | https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Category:de:Parts_of_speech | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-30/segments/1469258918071.75/warc/CC-MAIN-20160723072838-00233-ip-10-185-27-174.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.763266 | 129 | 2.609375 | 3 |
The latest technology advances of data science and machine learning made them powerful business tools. Data Science-powered solutions can deliver actionable information that enables companies to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and customer satisfaction.
Data Science & Machine Learning
Data science is the practice of taking a set of information and drawing conclusions from it. Data analytics and data science go hand in hand, but they are not the same thing. Data analytics is a simple presentation and understanding of the data itself. Once you've begun to draw conclusions and make improvements, you've crossed into the realm of data science. While data science requires good investigation and analytics to be effective, it's primarily focused on using that data as a source of hidden insights to solve business problems.
As for machine learning, it concerns algorithms that depend on certain data, which is utilized for training and fine-tuning models or algorithm parameters. In its simplest cases, machine learning does not require scientific preparations or mathematical elaborations. It is more about using a dataset to train neural networks and finding the most appropriate mathematical or statistical algorithm that would fulfill the goals set forth by a business.
However, we can always think of more complicated cases, given the uniqueness of every software project.
Data Science & Machine Learning: areas of usage
Data science has a wide range of applications. It can be used to recognize purchasing patterns for a retail company or predict hardware failures in an expansive network architecture. Almost anything that produces a pattern or sequence, from retail habits to employee productivity, might reap benefits from data science. But the main question is: how exactly can data science be used in very particular use-cases?
Data science for the retail industry
The retail industry is already seeing solutions that involve data science to predict demand and sales, increase customer retention, and create pricing models. Advertisers make avid use of data science to target specific demographics and deploy marketing campaigns effectively. This kind of statistical data is particularly effective in web-based environments, where user engagement can be meticulously tracked on a wide scale with huge datasets.
Data science for anomaly detection
Product and service security can also be improved by data science. Identifying anomalous patterns in transactions, customer activity, or network traffic can increase threat detection and prevention, allowing for a more effective security profile.
Data science and computer vision for medical imaging
Data science and computer vision can be used to analyze such medical images as MRI, X-Ray, and ultrasound. Sophisticated algorithms are able to more accurately interpret extracted data from images and provide a better diagnosis.
There has been impressive progress in this area, and current technological constraints are mostly associated with hardware limitations in functionality and computational power.
Data science and recognition
Biometric recognition is one of the more publicized uses of data science and machine learning, and it is already taking advantage of huge datasets to teach software how to recognize faces, voices, and handwritten text. This can provide improvements to everything from biometric authentication to speech-to-text conversion.
Natural language processing
Language analysis using data science can be used to quickly scan knowledge bases for similar information, providing a method to search books, papers, and articles for relevant information.
How to integrate Data Science & Machine Learning into your software project
Any project looking to integrate data science into its process will need a certain quantity of data for subsequent analysis. The larger the dataset, the better the results. Projects in the early stage of development are unlikely to have a sufficient amount of working data to extrapolate from, unless the data is being provided from other sources.
Existing data services like Google Cloud AI, IBM Watson Machine Learning, or Microsoft Azure Machine Learning, provide machine learning tools that have already been subjected to enormous datasets. These services can be a useful but expensive alternative to developing your own machine learning algorithm. A handful of machine learning APIs and open-source developments for specific tasks already exist, and could be used to advance your own projects.
When used properly, data science is a powerful tool that can be used to advance a variety of business goals. At its core, data science is a simple analysis and interpretation of datasets that has been scaled up to be an enhanced method of planning for the future. With this in mind, data science can be used in nearly any sector of business to improve the value of products and services offered. | <urn:uuid:7e581965-704c-4c2e-9d94-979c078b46aa> | CC-MAIN-2019-39 | https://www.techdayhq.com/community/articles/how-data-science-and-machine-learning-deliver-businesses-value | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-39/segments/1568514573121.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20190917203354-20190917225354-00214.warc.gz | en | 0.915081 | 873 | 3.140625 | 3 |
The Limited Powers of Congress
Article I, Section 8, U.S. Constitution
One of the defining characteristics of the American government that makes it unique among the governments of the world is the mixture of federalism and nationalism in its Constitution. During the years between the Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 it became evident that the “Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union” under which the United States had operated for less than six years, was not adequate to meet the Confederation’s needs.
The three primary problems with the Articles of Confederation was the difficulty of raising revenue, inability to regulate interstate and international trade, and the absence of any mechanism for enforcing compliance with laws passed by the Continental Congress. The Philadelphia Convention of 1787 was called to address the deficiencies in the original agreement. It was decided by the delegates attending that the best course of action would be to rewrite the document.
At the time there were two schools of thought concerning the focus of a new Constitution. The federalists believed the new nation should have a strong central government with subordinate state governments, however, the anti-federalists feared that a dominant central government would lead to eventual tyranny and they were not willing to give up the state sovereignty favored by most citizens. The task for the framers was to devise a government with enough authority to function effectively while protecting the ability of the various states to run their own affairs as sovereign states.
The compromise arrived at was a Constitution granting the necessary powers to the central government for carrying out functions of a national nature, such as, national defense, issuing money and certain other functions that could not be adequately performed by the individual states and limiting the federal government to the specific powers delegated to it. The primary powers granted to the federal government are found in Section Eight of the First Article.
These powers include the power to levy taxes, borrow money and make laws necessary for carrying out the functions of government delegated to it by the Constitution. They are easily separated into the two categories of “general welfare” and “common defense”.
For The General Welfare:
- 1. Regulate International and interstate commerce (trade)
2. Laws pertaining to naturalization
3. Bankruptcy laws
4. Coin Money, establish its value
5. Set standards for weights and measures
6. Establish punishment for counterfeiting
7. Establish Post Office and post roads
8. Issue patents and copyrights
9. Establish Federal Courts
10. Govern District of Columbia
11. Purchase real estate for necessary buildings
For the Common Defense:
- 1. Define and punish Maritime and international Crimes
2. Declare War
3. Make rules for, and fund Military Services
This list represents the sum total of the functions the federal government is constitutionally authorized to do. The Constitutional limits on the powers of Congress is further emphasized in Amendment Ten of the Bill of Rights.
- “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
~Amendment 10, U.S. Constitution
Any taxes levied or laws passed for purposes other than those listed are unconstitutional and therefore unlawful. Following is the text of Article One, Section eight with comments on some of the controversial clauses.
Article I, Section 8: The Enumerated Powers
The introductory clause in Section Eight empowers Congress to impose taxes. The question of what is and is not a legitimate taxing power of government was a major factor leading to the Revolutionary War and eventually to the formation of the Constitutional government under which we now live. Under the Articles of Confederation which served as the Constitution for the central government of the original thirteen states from its ratification in 1781 to the formation of the new government in 1789, there was no way to enforce collection of taxes levied on the various states for support of the central government. Therefore, the government could not pay its debts and had difficulty financing the Revolutionary war. The inability to raise revenue created great hardships for General Washington’s Army. They often were without proper food, clothing or Arms.
Clause One: Introductory
- “The Congress shall have Power To lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common Defense and general Welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States;”
This clause establishes the purposes for which the federal government is empowered to lay and collect taxes; “To pay the debts” incurred by government, “provide for the common defense and general welfare.” The phrases “provide for the common defense and general welfare” are not separate powers, they are simply broad descriptions of the limited purposes for which the federal government is authorized to levy taxes.
The remainder of Section Eight enumerates the specific powers that fall into these two broad categories. Any taxes imposed by the government that are not necessary for carrying out these specific powers, other than those necessary for the administrative needs of government, are unconstitutional, unlawful and constitute a form of tyranny.
- “To borrow Money on the credit of the United States;”
This clause falls under the heading of general welfare, although the primary reason for borrowing money at the time, was to pay for the cost of defense. Although not specified in the Constitution, the Founders subscribed to the philosophy that debts should be paid by those incurring them. Thomas Jefferson believed it was immoral to take on public debt that could not be repaid during the lifetime of the generation in which it was incurred. According to his formula, a generation consisted of a period of nineteen years. The current policy of assuming debts that will fall on future generations would be roundly condemned by all the Founding Fathers.
- “To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes;”
The “Commerce Clause” is, by far, the one most frequently used by Congress and the courts to extend the tentacles of the federal government illegally into virtually every element of the U.S. economy. The original purpose of the clause was to insure free trade between the states. Prior to the Constitution, many states practiced a kind of “protectionism”, placing tariffs on goods imported from other states and otherwise hindering the free flow of commerce between states. For the first hundred years, from 1787 to 1887 the interstate commerce clause was understood to apply only to the buying and selling of goods between individuals and businesses in one state and those in another.
It was not until passage of the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887 and the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 that Congress began to involve itself in the intrastate commerce of the various states. According to the structure of the Commerce Clause, Congress has no more authority to dictate economic policy within the boundaries of a state than it does the domestic economic policy of foreign nations.
“Commerce“, as used in the Constitution and by contemporary writers of the time, had reference only to “trade” or “exchange of goods” and certainly did not apply to the design of products, the processes of manufacturing or the providing of services, as it is often used today.
Prior to the election of 1936, the Supreme Court routinely declared New Deal legislation based on the “Commerce Clause,” and passed during Roosevelt’s first term in office, unconstitutional. In 1937, by threatening to “pack” the court with more “progressive thinking” Justices, Roosevelt succeeded in intimidating the court to look more favorably on his progressive legislation. Since that time the federal government has expanded its power to the point where it is today.
- “To establish a uniform Rule of Naturalization and uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States;”
Early immigration and naturalization laws were based on the belief that “the right of expatriation is a natural and inherent right of all people, indispensable to the enjoyment of the rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” In 1924 legislation was passed imposing quotas on immigration from various countries in an effort to preserve the cultural makeup of America. Quotas generally favored immigrants from European countries. The law was repealed in 1965.
The general problems with current naturalization and immigration laws have to do with the liberals abandonment of the goal of assimilation and the massive number of immigrants entering the country illegally, overwhelming our social infrastructure. Attempts to encourage assimilation have been replaced in favor of multi-culturalism, bi-lingual education and multi-lingualism in official government documents and communications, leading to the “balkanization” of the American culture.
- “To coin Money, regulate the Value thereof, and of foreign Coin, and fix the Standard of Weights and Measures;”
- “To provide for the Punishment of counterfeiting the Securities and current Coin of the United States;”
- “To establish Post Offices and post Roads;”
This clause does not place Congress in the construction business, building roads and post offices. Early post offices in sparsely populated areas were often located in privately owned businesses, usually the general store or local tavern. Establishing post roads usually meant nothing more that the designation of existing roads as “post roads”. Such a designation gave the postal service the right-of-way in the use of those roads for transporting mail. Authorization to purchase or build post office buildings is found in the “other needful buildings” clause in number seventeen.
- “To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries;”
This clause, also in the general welfare category, limits federal government involvement in science and the arts to the issuing of copyrights and patents. The use of tax money for projects like NPR and the National Endowment for the Arts, are not constitutional expenditures. The same is true for R & D spending in non-defense related projects.
- “To constitute Tribunals inferior to the supreme Court;”
- “To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offences against the Law of Nations;”
- “To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;”
The granting of Letters of Marque and Reprisal refers to the custom, short of a declaration of war, of authorizing an agent of the issuing government to search, seize, or destroy assets or personnel of a foreign nation in retaliation for a violation of the “laws of nations”.
The use of Letters of Marque was ended by the Treaty of Paris in 1856, Reprisals against battlefield casualties, shipwreck survivors, prisoners of war and civilians, as well as certain buildings and property is now forbidden by the Geneva Conventions.
There is no language requirement for a declaration of war in the Constitution or statutes. In the war against Iraq, the declaration was given by Congress in a resolution authorizing the President, as Commander In Chief to use “all necessary force.”
Clause eleven also grants to Congress the power to make rules governing the capture and treatment of prisoners of war.
- “To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;”
- “To provide and maintain a Navy;”
- “To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;”
- “To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;”
- “To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;”
Clauses ten through sixteen all fall under the general category of “providing for the common defense” in Clause One. For the most part, they have not been a source of controversy, except for clause eleven giving Congress the power to declare war. There, the primary source of controversy is that there is no “mystical script” given by which Congress is expected to wield the power.
Clause Seventeen: General Welfare
- “To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the Acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings;–And”
Clause seventeen establishes a separate district (now District of Columbia) to serve as the seat of government and gives the exclusive legislative powers over it to Congress. By not establishing the seat of government within the territory of an existing state or providing it with an independent legislature the Founders recognize the advantages inhabitants and officials of the National Capital would have over those of the states. The act of granting voting membership to the District of Columbia in either the House of Representatives or the Senate would clearly be a violation of the intent of this clause.
Another important limitation imposed by this clause is on the purchase of land within the sovereign territory of individual states. Under this clause the federal government is empowered only to purchase land that is necessary for the erection of “needful buildings” necessary for conducting the activities authorized in the enumerated powers. All purchases require the approval of the legislature of the state involved.
The designation of private or state lands as National Parks, nature preserves, wet lands, and wilderness areas do not fall into this category, therefore are not among the powers granted by the Constitution. When the federal government claims for itself sovereignty over any land or natural resource within the territory of an existing state, that claim is unconstitutional.
Clause Eighteen: Concluding Clause
- “To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.”
This clause is commonly referred to as the “elastic clause” or the “necessary and proper clause”. It is used by opponents of the Constitution to expand the reach of the federal government into areas never intended by the Founders. Those who do so ignore the construction of the clause which clearly limit the laws authorized to those powers already enumerated in clauses one through seventeen (foregoing powers).
The phrase, “all other powers” refers to certain others, mostly administrative, found in other parts of the Constitution such as, the ratification of treaties, self-management of the membership and procedures of the two houses of the Legislature, confirmation of Executive appointments, the power of impeachment, etc. None of these miscellaneous powers affect the daily lives of citizens.
What is conspicuously missing from this list of Congressional powers are references to education, energy, natural resources, health care, and the multitude of other subjects over which the federal government has assumed control within the past century. | <urn:uuid:5aabe9cd-0c01-4df1-b3f4-44d3d1827234> | CC-MAIN-2022-05 | https://illinoisconservative.wordpress.com/congress/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-05/segments/1642320300624.10/warc/CC-MAIN-20220117212242-20220118002242-00366.warc.gz | en | 0.950089 | 3,317 | 4.0625 | 4 |
WELCOME BACK! 2017 will be a great year. The next 5 months will speed by and we will wonder where the school year went.
We have talked about real and pretend or fiction and non-fiction books. This book, Man on the Moon, is a non-fiction book. There are facts about the 1969 trip to the moon by astronauts Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong that the children will learn. Some of the vocabulary includes: space, gravity, astronaut, rocket, peaceful/calm and planet. The famous quote, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” is difficult for a 3, 4, or 5 year old to understand, but a good reminder that if you put your mind to something, amazing things can happen.
I will be reading Good Night Moon Click Here . This is one of my all-time favorite books. There are so many things to talk about with the illustrations in this book. We will talk about how the pages have a pattern, (color, black and white, color, black and white). We will talk about the things on the table, next to the bed, through the window and above the moon. These are those important vocabulary words that teachers use when giving directions. The repetition of phrases allows the children to “read” with you.
Here is a recipe for home made moon dough. This is a messy but fun activity to make with your child. Spending time talking and reading with your child are two of the best ways to develop strong language skills. Click Here
Don’t forget Surprise Bags and check out LANGUAGE ACTIVITIES AT HOME for our sound and poem.
One last thing. If you ant to feel good about your parenting decision to have your child in preschool, CLICK HERE This is a great read! | <urn:uuid:ec46711b-1427-48d5-8381-148c37f2bf03> | CC-MAIN-2018-34 | http://peggihughes.com/2017/01/05/week-18-man-on-the-moon-19-1217/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-34/segments/1534221209562.5/warc/CC-MAIN-20180814185903-20180814205903-00063.warc.gz | en | 0.940529 | 381 | 3.421875 | 3 |
In order for the immune system to protect the body against attack by foreign organisms, it must be able to distinguish between the body's own proteins (autoantigens) and proteins from foreign cells (foreign antigens ). When the immune system turns against autoantigens, thus attacking its own tissues, the resulting condition is an autoimmune disease.
Common autoimmune diseases include:
- • glomerulonephritis, which compromises the filtering ability of the kidney tubules
- • Graves' disease, which stimulates the thyroid to overproduce thyroid hormone
- • rheumatoid arthritis, which destroys joint tissue
- • myasthenia gravis, which interferes with nerve-muscle communication
- • multiple sclerosis, which destroys the fatty myelin coating of nerves
- • systemic lupus erythematosus, which attacks deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), causing widespread damage in kidneys, heart, lungs, and skin
- • juvenile onset (Type I) diabetes mellitus, which destroys the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas, resulting in inability to regulate blood sugar properly.
Theories of Autoimmunity
The cells involved in immune reactions are B lymphocytes (B cells), which develop in the bone marrow, and T lymphocytes ( T cells ), which develop in the thymus. Each lymphocyte carries a recognition site for a specific antigen and becomes activated when that antigen is encountered. During development, most of the lymphocytes that could recognize and destroy widely
It is not yet clear why these lingering, self-reactive lymphocytes do not trigger autoimmunity more often, or why autoimmunity occurs when it does. However, there is strong suspicion that infection may play an important role in genetically susceptible individuals. An infection causes the production of inflammatory chemicals. If these are present at the same time that a lymphocyte is presented with its autoantigen by an antigen-presenting cell, the combination could activate self-reactive lymphocytes that were not deleted during development. Destruction of body tissues bearing those autoantigens would follow.
In another possible process, termed "molecular mimicry," a foreign protein bears such similarity to an autoantigen that B cell antibodies or cytotoxic T cells specific for that foreign antigen cross-react with autoantigens, causing tissue destruction. Alternatively, the combination of a foreign antigen with a self-protein can form a new complex capable of activating appropriate T or B lymphocytes to destroy tissues containing the complex.
Patricia L. Dementi
Janeway, Charles A., Jr., Paul Travers, Mark Walport, and J. Donald Capra. Immunobiology: The Immune System in Health and Disease, 4th ed. New York: Elsevier Science Ltd./Garland Publishing, 1999.
Marieb, Elaine Nicpon. Human Anatomy and Physiology, 5th ed. San Francisco: Benjamin Cummings, 2001. | <urn:uuid:fee884ff-2077-46b7-991c-5cdf5624b231> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://www.biologyreference.com/Ar-Bi/Autoimmune-Disease.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320685.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20170626064746-20170626084746-00038.warc.gz | en | 0.905157 | 614 | 3.453125 | 3 |
The Ohio Buckeye, Aesculus glabra is native to Ohio and grows in the wild as an under story plant, but can tolerate sun. It prefers deep, rich and moist soil. It produces greenish-yellow flowers.
Ohio buckeye above and below.
Red Buckeye, Aesculus pavia is a small tree with dark green foliage and bright red flowers.
Related to the Buckeyes are Horsechestnuts. Aesculus x Carnea or Red Horsechestnut forms a beautiful tree with red blooms.
Aesculus hippohippocastanum or European Horsechestnut forms a large tree with white flowers.
But all produce our beloved buckeye fruit unless it’s Aesculus hippohippocastanum “Baumannii” or Double White Horsechestnut which produces no fruit. Which begs the question, is this tree a Buckeye fan or not? | <urn:uuid:d6fd3917-a954-4a06-b0f4-17df0dfa4708> | CC-MAIN-2018-51 | https://bygl.osu.edu/index.php/node/747 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-51/segments/1544376827639.67/warc/CC-MAIN-20181216095437-20181216121437-00024.warc.gz | en | 0.817145 | 198 | 2.625 | 3 |
Play these games for 2 year olds and learn colors, numbers and much more with The Blue Tractor! Play kindergarten learning games and get smarter! Learn and play! 📚🤓
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📲 Download toddlers games and let's start preschool education! Play kindergarten learning games! | <urn:uuid:181dcf9c-908e-400a-b3af-d21609ebc262> | CC-MAIN-2021-25 | https://www.mydownloadplanet.com/android/the-blue-tractor-funny-learning-game-for-toddlers/com.devgame.blue.tractor.games.children.learning/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-25/segments/1623487621273.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20210615114909-20210615144909-00227.warc.gz | en | 0.91074 | 555 | 2.796875 | 3 |
At common law a felony was a crime that led to forfeiture of the convict’s property. In contemporary American law, a felony is usually defined as a crime that is punished by death, or imprisonment in a specially designated place (prison or penitentiary) or for a designated period of time (more than one year). The attached article examines how that change came about, and fixes the time and place of the re-definition: New York in 1828, during a revision of that state’s statutes. The choice made by the revisors, a compromise between radical reform and adherence to the common law tradition, is placed in the context of two early 19th century reform movements: Codification of the common law, and the founding of the penitentiaries.
How felony is defined - creating more or fewer felonies - gains greater importance in light of the current concern over the collateral consequences of a felony conviction. Looking at how the line between felonies and lesser crimes was originally drawn can offer insight as to where it should be drawn today.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Tress on Felony in the Early American Republic
Will Tress, University of Baltimore School of Law, has posted Unintended Collateral Consequences: Defining Felony in the Early American Republic, which appeared in Cleveland State Law Review 57 (Fall 2009): 461-491. Here’s the abstract: | <urn:uuid:4a6bc6a1-d935-4179-afd4-32eae7fee56f> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://legalhistoryblog.blogspot.com/2009/12/tress-on-felonyt-in-early-american.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738661277.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173741-00155-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961156 | 288 | 3.296875 | 3 |
According to the Church historian, Eusebius, St. Luke, a Gentile, was born born at Antioch, Syria. He was a physician and, according to a legend, also a painter. One of the earliest converts to the Faith, he later became the missionary companion to St Paul. He accompanied Paul on part of his second and third missionary journeys, and attended during his Caesarean and Roman captivities. Little is known with certainty of his subsequent life. The Church ascribes the third Gospel to St. Luke. The Gospel shows that that its author was a person of literary knowledge, a physician, and a companion of St. Paul. The Acts of the Apostles is also ascribed to St. Luke. His artistic skill portrayed living characters and remained an
inspiration to painters for centuries. There is a steady movement of events from Nazareth to Jerusalem in his Gospel and from Jerusalem to Rome in the Acts.
FEAST DAY: October 18
PATRON OF: Painters and Doctors | <urn:uuid:9f876859-388b-428a-ba63-1c9fad5e69ee> | CC-MAIN-2017-39 | https://travismikhailblog.wordpress.com/2014/10/19/st-luke-evangelist-martyr-october-18/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-39/segments/1505818690016.68/warc/CC-MAIN-20170924115333-20170924135333-00094.warc.gz | en | 0.989844 | 207 | 2.828125 | 3 |
The pressure that the fluid in the eye places on the eyeball is called eye (or intraocular) pressure. Pressure that is either too high or too low can lead to vision loss.
Normal Eye Pressure
According to Glaucoma Research Foundation, normal eye pressure is usually between 10 and 20 mmHg (millimetres of mercury).
Low Eye Pressure
According to Duane's Clinical Ophthalmology, although low eye pressure (also called hypotony) refers to pressure below the normal range, the condition does not have a strict definition. In general, pressure of less than 6 mmHg can have adverse effects on the eyes.
According to Dr. Elliot Werner, most hypotony occurs as a side effect of eye surgery that causes a leak in eye pressure, but sometimes inflammation or poor blood flow can cause hypotony. A detached retina can also cause hypotony.
The main symptom of low eye pressure is decreased or distorted vision, although you may also experience pain.
Treatments for low eye pressure caused by surgery include patching, placing an oversized contact lens in the eye, injecting blood to promote scarring, suturing techniques or using a substance called viscoelastics to help reshape the front inner part of the eye. Treatment for chronic inflammation may be with topical and/or oral corticosteroids. | <urn:uuid:6cf1b7dd-2f59-4c9a-8189-426ddea019e3> | CC-MAIN-2019-47 | https://www.ehow.co.uk/facts_5882676_low-eye-pressure-mean_.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-47/segments/1573496668544.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20191114232502-20191115020502-00544.warc.gz | en | 0.925131 | 274 | 3.78125 | 4 |
Correctional administrators, known in many state corrections agencies as wardens, oversee the daily operations of state prisons and county jails. They are responsible for managing the facility's budget and personnel, as well as managing procedures to ensure the facility is secure. A 2008 report by the American Correctional Association found that administrators' roles have shifted over the years toward a greater focus on ensuring inmate security, as well as the safety of prison personnel and the surrounding community.
A correctional administrator, or warden, needs a broad set of knowledge and skills. Wardens should not only be knowledgeable of corrections and criminology, they also must lead hundreds of correctional officers and other employees, manage a budget and ensure a secure environment that keeps prisoners closely supervised. However, state budget cuts, an increase in dangerous inmates, rising expectations for rehabilitation, and difficulties in recruiting and retaining correctional officers have posed new challenges to correctional administrators, according to the ACA's 2008 report.
The chief duties of correctional administrators include administering safety and security procedures, managing human resources, managing critical incidents, managing the prison budget, fostering a healthy environment and presiding over the physical facility. The ACA notes this represents a shift from previous competency profiles in 1998 which cited human resource and budgetary matters first. Since then, safety and security procedures have become the chief responsibility of wardens.
Specific safety and security duties for wardens include approving security policies, assessing safety and security systems, managing internal investigations, managing prison intelligence operations, ensuring facility compliance with applicable standards and overseeing inmate classification systems. Human resource and budget duties include interviewing applicants, conducting staff development, promoting career advancement, compile budget requests, maintain staffing within financial constraints and set budget priorities, according to ACA.
Correctional employees, including administrators, operate in a dangerous environment where inmate assaults and more dangerous incidents, such as riots, are a threat. Managing critical incidents is a significant part of a warden's job. Duties include drafting and reviewing emergency plans, ensuring the readiness of response teams and implementing emergency plans when an incident arises.
- Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images | <urn:uuid:60971bfe-953d-48c9-87d2-47ff658aed26> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | http://work.chron.com/duties-correctional-administrator-17333.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257646176.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20180318204522-20180318224522-00339.warc.gz | en | 0.934786 | 419 | 2.75 | 3 |
The author was asked to write this book because of the large number of students who want to study exoplanetary science for the same reasons that exoplanets are so popular among the general public, because their interest has been aroused by science fiction and by the possibility of "answering some of humankind's most ancient questions about our place in the universe".
The treatment of this subject is aimed at students who have a good knowledge of physics, which of course includes the possession of the appropriate mathematical skills. Johnson's teaching method is based on the idea of describing the orbits of planets as circular rather than elliptical so that " . . . at the outset the focus should be on the basic physics rather than the detailed mathematics".
To illustrate the kind of work he does, Johnson gives us a description of a night spent observing a star catalogued as HD94834, in the constellation Leo. Modern observational astronomers spend far less time at the telescope than earlier ones, as the guiding of the telescopes, and recording images of stars and other data, are now done by computers. Just as much time, though, is spent planning the observing schedule, analysing the data obtained, and publishing the results.
Johnson's interest in HD94834 was because of the possibility of detecting planets orbiting it. He first started observing it in 2007, when its velocity appeared to be constant. In 2008 a decreasing velocity was detected, which indicated the presence of an orbiting planet. He goes on to show the reader (at least, the mathematically competent reader) how it is possible to work out not only the mass of the planet, but its distance from the star and the eccentricity of its orbit.
He then goes on to try studying the planets that transit their stars as viewed from Earth. This might seem to be just the detection of a slight drop in brightness as the planets transit them, but we are told that by taking repeated accurate measurements of transits it is possible to discover information about the physical characteristics of the planet, as well as information about its orbit. Johnson's work led to improvements in the accuracy of these measurements and there were further improvements resulting from the use of the NASA Kepler space telescope, which removed the distortions caused by viewing through the Earth's atmosphere.
A particularly interesting finding from the studies described in this book is the data obtained about the distribution of planet sizes. This shows that small planets of 1 to 2 Earth radii are an order of magnitude more abundant than giant planets, those bigger than 4 Earth radii. The finding that Earth-sized planets are common throughout the galaxy was confirmed by different kinds of surveys, and indicates that planets on which life might be possible are quite common.
This book will probably appeal most strongly to science students with an interest in recent developments in astronomy. -- John Harney | <urn:uuid:356be49c-37db-49ff-96b5-efb078194902> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | https://pelicanist.blogspot.com/2016/04/on-lookout.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549424088.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20170722162708-20170722182708-00595.warc.gz | en | 0.967891 | 567 | 3.796875 | 4 |
Thyroid - underactive
Hypothyroidism happens when your thyroid gland, located at the front of your neck, does not produce enough thyroid hormone (underactive thyroid). There are several types of hypothyroidism. The most common is Hashimoto's thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease where the immune system mistakenly attacks the thyroid gland. The disease affects both sexes and all ages, but is most common in women over age 60. Because the thyroid gland helps regulate your metabolism, low thyroid levels cause your body to slow down, affecting everything from appetite to body temperature. Symptoms can appear over time and can be hard to diagnose. Left untreated, hypothyroidism can cause serious health complications.
People who have hypothyroidism may be at increased risk for other chronic conditions including heart disease, arthritis, age-related macular degeneration, and cognitive impairment.
Signs and Symptoms
- Slow pulse
- Hoarse voice, slowed speech
- Goiter (caused by swollen thyroid gland)
- Sensitivity to cold
- Weight gain
- Dry, scaly, thick, coarse hair
- Numbness in fingers or hands
- Confusion, depression, dementia
- Menstrual problems
- In children, slowed growth, delayed teething, and slow mental development
What Causes It?
There are different kinds of hypothyroidism with different causes. In Hashimoto's thyroiditis, antibodies in the blood mistakenly attack the thyroid gland and start to destroy it. Post-therapeutic hypothyroidism occurs when treatment for hyperthyroidism leaves the thyroid unable to produce enough thyroid hormone. And hypothyroidism with goiter happens when you do not get enough iodine in your diet. In the developed world iodine is added to salt so goiter is rare, although it still happens in undeveloped countries.
What to Expect at Your Doctor's Office
Your thyroid gland produces two main thyroid hormones, T3 and T4. In addition, the pituitary gland produces thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), which helps control how much T3 and T4 the thyroid makes. Your health care provider will draw blood to measure TSH levels. When thyroid hormones are low, your body produces more TSH to increase production of thyroid hormones. Your doctor may also test your levels of T3 or T4.
Natural medicine practitioners may pay particular attention to levels of T3 hormone. T3 is the active form of thyroid hormone. Your thyroid gland makes some T3, but the body also converts T4 into T3. If you are unable to convert T4 to T3, your laboratory tests for T4 may be normal, but you still may have all the symptoms of hypothyroidism. Talk to your doctor about including T3 laboratory tests in your treatment.
Your health care provider will prescribe a synthetic thyroid hormone called levothyroxine (Levothroid, Synthroid, or Unithroid) that you will take daily. A natural dessicated thyroid hormone drug, made from the thyroid glands of pigs, is also available by prescription. Your doctor will want to adjust your dose over a period of several weeks, after regular blood tests to check the amount of thyroid hormone in your blood. Correcting hypothyroidism improves cardiovascular risk factors.
Complementary and Alternative Therapies
If you have hypothyroidism, you need conventional medical treatment. Nutrition and herbs can help support conventional treatment, but should not be used by themselves to treat hypothyroidism. Studies show, for example, that practicing yoga can help hypothyroid patients manage disease-related symptoms.Nutrition and Supplements
Following these nutritional tips may help reduce symptoms:
- Eat foods high in B-vitamins and iron, such as whole grains (if no allergy), fresh vegetables, and sea vegetables.
- Avoid overconsuming foods that can potentially interfere with thyroid function, including broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, spinach, turnips, soybeans, peanuts, linseed, pine nuts, millet, cassava, and mustard greens. These foods are healthful in general, so do not avoid them completely. Everything is reasonable in moderation.
- If you take thyroid hormone medication, talk to your doctor before eating soy products. There is some evidence soy may interfere with the absorption of thyroid hormone.
- Taking iron supplements may interfere with the absorption of thyroid hormone medication, so ask your doctor before taking iron.
- Eat foods high in antioxidants, including fruits (such as blueberries, cherries, and tomatoes) and vegetables (such as squash and bell pepper).
- Avoid alcohol and tobacco. Talk to your doctor before increasing your caffeine intake, as caffeine impacts several conditions and medications.
These supplements may also help:
- Omega-3 fatty acids, such as fish oil. To help reduce inflammation and enhance immunity. Omega-3 fatty acids may increase the risk of bleeding, especially if you already take blood-thinning medication. Ask your doctor before taking omega-3 fatty acids if you take blood thinners such as warfarin (Coumadin), or if you have a bleeding disorder.
- L-tyrosine. The thyroid gland combines tyrosine and iodine to make thyroid hormone. If you are taking prescription thyroid hormone medication, you should only take L-tyrosine under the direction of your doctor. DO NOT take L-tyrosine if you have high blood pressure or have symptoms of mania. Tyrosine may interact with Levodopa.
- DO NOT take an iodine supplement unless directed to by your doctor. Iodine is only effective when hypothyroidism is caused by iodine deficiency, which is rare in the developed world. Too much iodine can actually cause hypothyroidism.
Herbs are a way to strengthen and tone the body's systems. As with any therapy, you should work with your provider to diagnose your problem before starting treatment. You may use herbs may as dried extracts (capsules, powders, or teas), glycerites (glycerine extracts), or tinctures (alcohol extracts). People with a history of alcoholism should not take tinctures. Unless otherwise indicated, make teas with 1 tsp. herb per cup of hot water. Steep covered 5 to 10 minutes for leaf or flowers, and 10 to 20 minutes for roots. Drink 2 to 4 cups per day. You may use tinctures singly or in combination as noted.
Few herbs have been studied for treating hypothyroidism. More research is needed.
- Coleus (Coleus forskohlii). For low thyroid function. Coleus may interfere with certain medications, including some blood pressure medicines, nitrogylcern, and blood-thinning medications, such as warfarin (Coumadin). Talk to your doctor.
- Guggul (Commiphora mukul). For low thyroid support. Guggul may interfere with estrogen, birth control pills, and other medications. Guggul may have an estrogen-like effect on the body and may not be appropriate for people with certain hormone-related conditions. Talk to your doctor.
- Bladderwrack (Fucus vesiculosus). For low thyroid support. DO NOT take bladderwrack unless directed by your doctor. Bladderwrack contains iodine. Although lack of iodine can cause hypothyroidism, most cases of hypothyroidism in the developed world are not caused by iodine deficiency. In fact, too much iodine can actually cause hypothyroidism. Bladderwrack may also contain toxic heavy metals, interfere with pregnancy and fertility, and interact with blood-thinning medications, such as warfarin (Coumadin) among others.
Homeopathy may be useful as a supportive therapy.Physical Medicine
Contrast hydrotherapy (application of hot and cold) to the neck and throat may stimulate thyroid function. Alternate 3 minutes hot with 1 minute cold. Repeat 3 times for 1 set. Do 2 to 3 sets per day.Acupuncture
Acupuncture may be helpful in correcting hormonal imbalances, including thyroid disorders.
After you start on thyroid hormone replacement therapy, your provider will frequently monitor its effectiveness. It is especially important to have your thyroid levels tested during pregnancy, as your needs tent to increase by about 30% when you are expecting. Over replacement is common, and may increase the risk of other conditions, such as atrial fibrillation and osteoporosis.
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Bromfield S, Keenan J, Jolly P, McGwin G. A suggested association between hypothyroidism and age-related macular degeneration. Curr Eye Res. 2012;37(6):549-52.
Busnelli A, Somigliana E, Benaglia L, Sarais V, Ragni G, Fedele L. Thyroid axis dysregulation during in vitro fertilization in hypothyroid-treated patients. Thyroid. 2014;24(11):1650-5.
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Conrad SC, Chiu H, Silverman BL. Soy formula complicates management of congenital hypothyroidism. Arch Dis Child. 2004 Nov;89(11):1077.
Deyneli O, Akpinar IN, Mericliler OS, Gozu H, Yildiz ME, Akalin NS. Effects of levothyroxine treatment on insulin sensitivity, endothelial function and risk factors of atherosclerosis in hypothyroid women. Ann Endocrinol (Paris). 2014;75(4):220-6.
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Wu P. Thyroid disorders and diabetes. It is common for a person to be affected by both thyroid disease and diabetes. Diabetes Self Manag. 2007;24(5):80-2, 85-7.
Review Date: 4/27/2016
Reviewed By: Steven D. Ehrlich, NMD, Solutions Acupuncture, a private practice specializing in complementary and alternative medicine, Phoenix, AZ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. | <urn:uuid:9ab5daf9-d0c5-42f3-9084-262e0d423991> | CC-MAIN-2017-47 | https://www.stlukes-stl.com/health-content/medicine/33/000093.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934806426.72/warc/CC-MAIN-20171121204652-20171121224652-00280.warc.gz | en | 0.859542 | 3,241 | 3.40625 | 3 |
You may be among the many pupils who is searching for suggestions about how best to write article. There are a few things that you must learn whether you’re a student or a teacher.1 thing that you should remember is that when writing an article, your audience needs to realize your viewpoint.
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Second, when writing an article, try to incorporate a thesis statement. This announcement can be made in any area of the essay. The thesis statement will be created when you’ve gathered all of the info that is vital to confirm your viewpoint. In writing a thesis statement, keep in mind that it should stand alone. To put it differently, it should not be influenced by the rest of the essay.
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Article writing tips are also very helpful to people who wish to write a composition for cash. It’s possible to create a fantastic living writing essays, if you use the tips listed above. | <urn:uuid:e8e253b2-d4ac-4993-a1c9-e19fd1f03396> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | http://www.yildiznet.com/2021/05/12/suggestions-to-write-an-article-for-cash/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224646350.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20230610200654-20230610230654-00429.warc.gz | en | 0.946027 | 576 | 2.671875 | 3 |
Foundations are "non-governmental, non-profit organizations with funds (usually from a single source, either an individual, a family, or a corporation) and program managed by (their) own trustees or directors, established to maintain or aid social, educational, charitable, religious, or other activities serving the common welfare through the making of Grants" (the late F. Emerson Andrews, first president, The Foundation Centre, New York Center). Dwight MacDonald of the Ford Foundation coined a somewhat lighter definition: "A body of money completely surrounded by people who want some."
Generally, a foundation does not carry out a direct charitable activity but rather gives grants to operating CHARITIES for this purpose. Foundations are highly regulated, especially regarding the disbursement requirements to qualified donees. Money donated to a foundation becomes the property of the foundation and cannot be used for the personal benefit of the benefactor.
The Modern Foundation
Foundations have been known since the time of Aristotle; however, only since the nineteenth and twentieth centuries have they taken on particular importance. The most significant change may be that major foundations have begun to address the problems confronting humankind.
US-based foundations have often been recognized as forerunners seeking to confront the problems of modern society. Although the Rockefeller, Carnegie and Ford Foundations are often cited in this context, the fact is that there are foundations elsewhere in the world that began this work at a much earlier date.
As James Joseph, former president of the Washington, DC, based Council on Foundations, notes in The Charitable Impulse: "It would be a mistake to assume that the idea of civic duty has had national or cultural boundaries." He goes on to point out that "[a] new industrial elite - hard nosed but benevolent capitalists - emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Set in widely different cultures and with few obvious similarities except success in business, they began to parcel out their fortunes in a voluntary redistribution of their wealth. " Examples of industrialists involved in this "voluntary redistribution of wealth" included Lord Nuffield in England; Calouste Gulbenkian, who distributed a fortune in support of Armenian communities around the world; Jamsetji Tata in India, whose family was later described as the "Rockefellers of Asia"; and Eugenio Mendoza in Argentina.
Past and Present Canadian Foundation Benefactors
The downsizing of the roles of federal and provincial governments has focused more attention on philanthropic giving by individuals, corporations and foundations. It seems inevitable that in this environment Canadian foundations have found themselves increasingly in the spotlight.
In Canada a number of corporate leaders and families are identified with the foundations they established: J.W. MCCONNELL (St. Lawrence Sugar, Montréal Star), R. Samuel MCLAUGHLIN (General Motors of Canada), Samuel Bronfman (Distiller), Lord BEAVERBROOK (industrialist and press magnate), Kahanoff (Voyager Petroleum), Max BELL (Calgary businessman), John EATON (department store proprietor), John MOLSON (brewer) and Willard WESTON (food manufacturer) are a few of the more prominent families that have established philanthropic foundations. Among current corporate leaders are Edward Bronfman (investments), Peter Munk (mining) and Charles Bronfman (distiller) (see BRONFMAN FAMILY).
The Number and Financial Assets of Canadian Foundations
The 15th edition of the Canadian Directory to Foundations & Grants (Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, 2001) identified 1 372 foundations with assets just under $7.8 billion and grants to charitable organizations totalling $810 million. The geographic distribution of funds showed Western Canada had 29% of the population and received 27% of grant money; Ontario with 37% of the population received 43.7%; Québec had 25% of the population and received 28.3%; and Atlantic Canada possessed 9% of the population and received 1.1% of the grant money.
In 2003 the Centre reported that the distribution of the number of foundations across Canada also reflected the population of the region:
• 68% Central Canada (QC, ON)
• 23.1% Western provinces (AB, BC)
• 5.6% Prairie provinces (MB, SK)
• 3.3% Atlantic provinces and Territories (NL, PEI, NS, NB, YK, NWT, NU)
Canada's Major Foundations
The distribution of wealth is generally concentrated within a small percentage of Canada's foundations. In 2001, the top 100 foundations by assets accounted for 78% of the wealth of all the foundations and 55% of the grant funds. Collectively these foundations reported assets of $6 billion and of the remaining 1 272 foundations, 22% held 1.6 billion. Interestingly, a 1995 study by the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy reported that of the foundations it tracked, 80% of the grants were for less than $5000.
According to the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, by 2003 there were over 2290 active grant-making foundations in Canada and the 10 largest foundations included "public foundations." Public foundations receive the majority of their funds from a wide variety of donors rather than a single individual or family.
Types of Foundations
Individuals or families have established many of Canada's foundations, and in 2003 86% of Canada's foundations were created by families. Although the majority of family foundations had assets under $10 million, 11 of the top 20 foundations by assets were family or private foundations. According to the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy, the six largest family foundations (by grants) made grants totalling over $91 million (2002).
Formed in 1937, the J.W. McConnell Family Foundation, with assets of $527 million (1999), is one of Canada's largest family foundations, second only to the Vancouver Foundation in terms of its financial assets. Another example of a family foundation is the Richard Ivey Foundation. Established in 1947 in London, Ontario, by the late Richard G. Ivey and his son Richard M. Ivey, the third generation of the family is now active in the affairs of the foundation. In 1988 the assets were $15.9 million and by 2000 they were in excess of $74.7 million through a combination of investment growth and contributions by the family. The foundation has made grants totalling more than $57 million (2003).
The Chagnon Foundation Trust was established in 1988 to support the philanthropic activities of Le Groupe Vidéotron Ltée, which was owned by the Chagnon family. In 2000, after the sale of Vidéotron, the trust was restructured and became the Lucie and André Chagnon Foundation. The Chagnon family contributed $1.4 billion to the foundation to support projects that focused on early childhood development. Today, the private foundation partners with the Québec government to assist programs that improve the health of children in Québec. In 2011 the Foundation's annual endowment was $54 million, which, in partnership with the Québec government, funded three provincial projects that focus on children's health and wellbeing.
Areas of Interest of Foundations
The growth in the number of charitable organizations, the fact that computerization has facilitated the preparation of proposals to foundations, and the government cutbacks noted earlier are some of the factors that have resulted in foundations receiving a growing number of requests for funds. A consequence of this has been that foundations have sought to rationalize their granting policies. There has been a gradual move to more focused grant programs, particularly among the staffed foundations. However, there are still many smaller foundations whose giving is dictated largely by the interests of their benefactors. More focused grant programs tend to follow after the death of the benefactor, particularly in the case of the larger foundations.
Important Contributors to Canadian Society
Health, medicine, education, arts and culture, science, the social services, religion and other areas vital to society have benefited from the support of Canadian foundations. The changing pattern of government support seems likely to increase the importance and profile of Canadian Foundations. The hope is that other Canadians become involved in establishing and supporting philanthropic foundations either through community, family or other types of foundations. Richard M. Ivey, Honorary Chairman of the Richard Ivey Foundation, wrote, "The opportunity to preserve what is good on earth, to support what feeds the soul or stimulates the intellect, to encourage a talent or save an endangered species or keep alive the dreams and aspirations of others is not only a privilege but a sacred responsibility. For foundations, that responsibility is the source of incalculable satisfaction."
Established in the communities whose names they bear, these foundations usually receive their funds from the bequests of their citizens. In 1921 William F. Alloway gave $100 000 to establish the Winnipeg Foundation, Canada's oldest community foundation. Alloway described why individuals like him make such gifts: "I owe everything to the community. I feel that it should receive some benefit from what I have been able to accumulate." In 2001 Randall Moffat of MOFFAT COMMUNICATIONS provided The Winnipeg Foundation with $100 million, the largest gift (to date) ever given to a Canadian community foundation. By the end of 2001 the Winnipeg Foundation had granted more than $100 million.
In the past, many community foundations achieved only modest growth, with the notable exceptions of the Vancouver Foundation, established in 1943, and the Winnipeg Foundation whose accumulated assets exceeded $608 million and $564 million, respectively. In 2003 the Vancouver Foundation was Canada's largest community foundation and the fifth largest in North America. Established in 1955, the Calgary Foundation was Alberta's first community foundation; the foundation reported assets of $3.7 million in 1990 and had grown to $168 million by 2003. The Edmonton Community Foundation, founded in 1989, has shown fast growth and reported assets in excess of $144.4 million (2003). The South Saskatchewan Community Foundation was established in Regina in 1969 and was the first foundation of its kind in Saskatchewan. Since incorporating with $60 000 in assets the foundation has grown to more than $5 million in 2003.
Until recently it appeared that community foundations were destined to be a phenomenon of Western Canada: efforts to establish community foundations east of the Manitoba/Ontario border met with little success. This too has changed. There are sizeable foundations in Hamilton ($74 million), Kitchener-Waterloo ($35 million) and Toronto ($50 million). The T.R Meighen Foundation in New Brunswick and the Thomas Sill Foundation of Manitoba combined a pool of funds to encourage the development of community foundations in their respective provinces. In 1990 the top 10 community foundations reported assets of $367.5 million and grants totalling $28.4 million, and in 2000 their assets were reported as $1 159 billion with grants of $54 million.
According to the Community Foundations of Canada, the number of community foundations has more than quadrupled over the past decade - from 32 in 1990 to almost 140 in 2004. These foundations have granted more than $95 million to local charitable causes and hold more than $1.8 billion in assets.
Public opinion polls regarding attitudes toward companies have found that individuals are more likely to purchase products and services from generous rather than non-generous corporations. A 1998 national survey by the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy through its IMAGINE program found that 61% of Canadians said that corporations have a broad responsibility to contribute to society through charitable donations.
In part this has led some companies to pay more attention to charitable donations. Research in the 1970s found that only a handful of companies were giving 1% or more of their pre-tax income to charities, but by 2001 over 550 companies had joined the list of Caring Companies through the IMAGINE program. The Canadian Centre for Philanthropy established the IMAGINE program in 1988 to encourage and recognize giving and volunteering. The program recognizes companies that have committed a minimum of 1% of their pre-tax profits to charitable activity. By 1999, corporate donations as a percentage of corporate pre-tax profits were 0.93%. Since IMAGINE'S launch in 1988, corporate donations increased from $64,891,000 to more than $1.2 billion in 2001. To bring more attention and effective management to donations there has been increased interest from the business community in corporate foundations. Many companies have begun to realize that the establishment of a well-managed foundation can lead to greater public recognition for their giving. Advertisements for the Canadian Tire Foundation for Families are an example of a company combining public relations and philanthropy.
For many years corporations generally separated their philanthropic giving from their core business activity. This has changed significantly in recent years. There has been a trend for companies to support charitable organizations that align more closely with their business and strategic plans. PETRO-CANADA, for example, supports environmental organizations and BELL CANADA supports the Kids Help Phone. The Hudson's Bay History Foundation (see HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY) was established to advance the knowledge of, and inspire interest in, Canadian history. Donating to projects related to Hudson's Bay history is among its granting priorities; however, it should be noted that there is also the Hudson's Bay Charitable Foundation, which gives to general charitable purposes.
In addition, companies are using their marketing budgets to align with charities and develop partnerships. Chapters, for example, provides annual grants to the literacy program of Frontier College, and has donated books to the program, encouraged customers of Chapters and related stores to be literacy volunteers, and raised funds through in-store promotions and special events.
In 2000 the National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating reported that 67% of Canada's 6.5 million volunteers were employed, and of those volunteers almost one half (47%) had an employer that provided the employees with some type of support for their volunteer work. In 1990 the top 10 corporate foundations had assets of $35 million and granted $2.2 million. The 2001 Directory contained entries on 59 Canadian corporate foundations; the largest 10 reported assets of $520 million with $61 million awarded in grants.
Special Interest Foundations
Innovative approaches to establishing foundations have been taken in the medical and legal fields. When provincial governments replaced private medical insurance plans in Ontario, Manitoba and Alberta, doctors determined that the reserve funds that remained in the plans would be used to establish foundations instead of being distributed to doctors. The foundations now devote their funds to the medical field.
For example, the Physicians' Services Incorporated Foundation (Ontario) was established when doctors in the plan decided that the $16 million that was in their reserve following termination of the health plan would be used to establish the Foundation. Foundation assets in 1999 were $78 million and almost $3.6 million in grants were provided during that year. The real estate industry has established foundations in several provinces including British Columbia, Alberta and Ontario. The source of funds is the interest that accumulates from trust accounts that real estate agents are required to establish for trades in real estate; the earned interest is given to the foundations. In 1999 the British Columbia Real Estate Foundation gave grants totalling $2 million. The Ontario trucking industry has established the Ontario Trucking Association Education Foundation Inc. through funds from trucking companies who forgo Christmas gifts to customers, and the funds are provided as scholarships for higher education.
Service Club Foundations
Canada has a long tradition of service clubs. Over the years these clubs have collectively given millions of dollars to support the programs and services offered by charitable organizations. In 2001 the Directory identified 16 service clubs that established their own charitable foundations as a vehicle for raising and granting funds. One example is the Scottish Rite, established in 1998. This Charitable Foundation had $7.6 million in assets and granted $500 000 to the Canadian Association for Community Living. The Lions Foundation of Canada with assets of $6.7 million has granted almost $458 000. The Masons, Rotary Clubs and Kiwanis also have foundations (see FREEMASONRY). The Directory reported that in 2001 the top 10 service clubs, with assets totalling some $31.1 million, gave just under $2 million in grants.
While not meeting Andrews' definition of a foundation, but because they have taken on many of the other characteristics of a foundation such as having lay volunteer boards and granting programs, government foundations should be noted. The usual source of their funds is the sale of LOTTERY tickets at the provincial level.
The Ontario Trillium Foundation receives $100 million annually from government funding of Ontario's charity casinos. In 2000, it gave $84.5 million toward social services, environment, arts and culture, sports and recreation programs. The same year the Alberta Foundation for the Arts gave grants totalling over $8.2 million to individual performing, visual, and literary artists, filmmakers and arts organizations.
A study of foundation activities quickly identifies that staffed foundations generally have a different pattern of giving than non-staffed foundations. Staffed foundations often have defined fields of interest to which they allocate sizable grants, often for periods of three or more years. Their granting programs also tend to have a national, or at least a provincial focus, rather than being confined to a more modest geographic area. Many of them produce regular reports describing their areas of interest and examples of past grants. For this reason they also have a higher profile than their non-staffed counterparts and receive more requests for funds. There is also a greater emphasis on receiving progress reports and measurable results from the recipients of their funds. Information sharing between foundation staff and with their corporate counterparts is also increasing. | <urn:uuid:d3af1827-4994-43f7-b6c5-99648cf064ca> | CC-MAIN-2019-13 | https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/canadian-foundations | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-13/segments/1552912202433.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20190320150106-20190320172106-00245.warc.gz | en | 0.961669 | 3,626 | 2.828125 | 3 |
This video is called Shark Academy: Scalloped Hammerhead Sharks.
From Wildlife Extra:
The US National Marine Fisheries Service has recently listed four populations of scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini, under the American Endangered Species Act (ESA), because of severe threats posed by human exploitation.
“It’s sobering that we must begin adding shark species to the endangered species list,” said Taylor Jones, endangered species advocate for WildEarth Guardians, an American non-profit organisation.
“Our oceans are in serious trouble and this is only the first step toward protecting and restoring the ocean ecosystems that these amazing carnivores call home.”
Sharks are also accidentally caught and killed in the course of fishing operations targeting other species. In fact, experts consider fishing to be the greatest threat to the future of all shark species.
Most sharks, including the scalloped hammerhead, maintain oceanic ecosystems as apex carnivores. Ecosystem stability and biodiversity, the preservation of which is the main goal of the ESA, can suffer from the removal of this top predator.
Scalloped hammerheads can be grouped into six distinct populations distinguished by genetics, geography, and behaviour. The new listing rule protects the Central and Southwest Atlantic populations and the Indo-West Pacific populations as Threatened, and the Eastern Atlantic and Eastern Pacific populations as Endangered.
“The listing of the scalloped hammerhead is an important indication that the human exploitation of marine species has taken its toll,” said Michael Harris, Director of the Wildlife Law Program that was launched last year by the American organisation, Friends of Animals, to use environmental laws to protect wildlife and their habitats.
“In fact, nearly half of all marine species worldwide face the threat of extinction as a result of anthropogenic action, including destructive fishing methods, pollution, climate change and ocean acidification.
“It is about time that our government took action to protect hammerheads. Now they should do the same for the many species still awaiting review under the ESA.”
Listing under the ESA has proven to be an effective safety net for imperiled species. Proponents say the law is especially important as a bulwark against the current extinction crisis.
Due to human activities, plants and animals are disappearing at a rate much higher than the natural rate of extinction. Scientists estimate that 227 species would have become extinct if they had not been listed under the ESA.
Listing species with a global distribution can protect the species in the United States and help focus resources toward enforcement of international regulation and recovery of the species.
Tens of millions of sharks are killed every year — mostly for the sake of a bowl of soup — but conservationists hope that that the multibillion-dollar trade in shark fins will soon be more endangered than the sharks. Several trends are coming together — including high-profile pledges in China to swear off the traditional soup, to laws banning shark fins from menus, to new international export regulations that are due to take effect in September: here.
USA: Sharks in Cape Cod Town Draw Tourists, Flipping the ‘Jaws’ Script: here. | <urn:uuid:f08a1419-3ae0-49cd-a96c-27eb04810708> | CC-MAIN-2014-41 | http://dearkitty1.wordpress.com/2014/07/18/hammerhead-sharks-in-danger/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1412037663611.15/warc/CC-MAIN-20140930004103-00273-ip-10-234-18-248.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931702 | 651 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Washington actually felt injured by slavery:"I wish you would inform him [Isaac] that I sustain injury enough by their idleness, they need not add to it by their carelessness."
"The improvement of the blacks in body and mind, in the first instance of their mixture with the whites, has been observed by every one, and proves that their inferiority is not the effect merely of their condition of life." Thomas Jefferson: Notes on Virginia Q.XIV, 1782. ME 2:197
"I will say then that I am not, nor ever have been in favor of bringing about in anyway the social and political equality of the white and black races - that I am not nor ever have been in favor of making voters or jurors of negroes, nor of qualifying them to hold office, nor to intermarry with white people; and I will say in addition to this that there is a physical difference between the white and black races which I believe will forever forbid the two races living together on terms of social and political equality. And inasmuch as they cannot so live, while they do remain together there must be the position of superior and inferior, and I as much as any other man am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race." Abraham Lincoln.
During his administration, Woodrow Wilson imposed full racial segregation in Washington D.C. and hounded from office considerable numbers of black federal employees.
When a delegation of blacks protested these actions, Wilson told them that “Segregation is not a humiliation but a benefit, and ought to be so regarded by you gentlemen.”
President Wilson’s words were used in the early film; The Birth of a Nation.
“The white men were roused by a mere instinct of self-preservation… until at last there sprung into existence a Great Ku Klux Klan a vertiable empire of the South, to protect the Southern country.”
"I think one man is just as good as another, so long as he’s not a nigger or a Chinaman.” Harry Truman (1911).
“Southern segregationists are not bad people. All they are concerned about is to see that their sweet little girls are not required to sit in school alongside some big overgrown Negro.” President Dwight D. Eisenhower to Chief Justice Earl Warren.
“My Story about the PT 109 collision is getting better all the time. Now I’ve got a Jew and a Nigger in the story and with me being a Catholic, that’s great.” John F. Kennedy
“I’ll have those niggers voting Democrat for the next 200 years.” -Lyndon Baines Johnson to two governors on Airforce One.
"I have the greatest affection for them [blacks], but I know they're not going to make it for 500 years. They aren't. You know it, too. The Mexicans are a different cup of tea. They have a heritage. At the present time they steal, they're dishonest, but they do have some concept of family life. They don't live like a bunch of dogs, which the Negroes do live like." Richard M. Nixon [From the Nixon White House Tapes].
But I think out of all the Presidents mentioned, Teddy Roosevelt actually got it right:
"The negroes were formerly held in slavery. This was a wrong which legislation could remedy, and which could not be remedied except by legislation. Accordingly they were set free by law. This having been done, many of their friends believed that in some way, by additional legislation, we could at once put them on an intellectual, social, and business equality with the whites. The effort has failed completely. In large sections of the country the negroes are not treated as they should be treated, and politically in particular the frauds upon them have been so gross and shameful as to awaken not merely indignation but bitter wrath; yet the best friends of the negro admit that his hope lies, not in legislation, but in the constant working of those often unseen forces of the national life which are greater than all legislation." - Theodore Roosevelt. | <urn:uuid:cd0e7498-02c8-4ffe-9edf-25cf562490e0> | CC-MAIN-2020-29 | http://www.innercivilization.com/2010/02/presidents-celebrate-black-history.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-29/segments/1593655891884.11/warc/CC-MAIN-20200707080206-20200707110206-00419.warc.gz | en | 0.975198 | 861 | 2.71875 | 3 |
STD and HIV Resources for Providers
The STD/HIV Program has developed activities and resources to assist health care providers in the public and private sectors to integrate routine STD and HIV testing as a part of patient care. These activities will also help facilitate linkage to HIV specialty care for newly identified HIV infected patients, as well as discuss pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and help patients get it.
Appropriate health care settings for implementation of routine STD and HIV testing include:
- Hospital emergency departments
- Specialty care clinics (e.g., ob/gyn, TB)
- Community clinics (e.g., homeless, substance abuse)
- Inpatient care (e.g., labor and delivery)
- Correctional health care facilities
- Pediatric/prenatal care clinics
- Other primary care settings
The CDC estimates that 1 in 5 people infected with HIV are unaware that they are infected … and 54% of new sexually transmitted HIV infections in the US originate from HIV infected persons who are unaware of their infection.
CDC recommendations urge providers to include HIV testing as a routine part of health care for all patients 13 – 64 years of age regardless of their risk. Routine HIV testing ensures that:
- More people learn about their HIV infection
- Those who learn about their infection will benefit from earlier access to treatment
- There is a reduction in the risk of further transmitting HIV to others | <urn:uuid:1b8715f1-505a-4e10-9f9d-13f33fac81aa> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://www.smchealth.org/hivresources | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738660706.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173740-00099-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9493 | 292 | 2.953125 | 3 |
Lagoon plant EPC FRANCE Saint Martin de Crau
"There is a daily population of 300 migratory birds in season"
The lagoon of the Saint Martin de Crau was excavated during the construction of earth bunds around the deposits. The land of the Crau being particularly waterproof, rainwater accumulated to form a pond.
An eco-system was thus created and has existed for more than 100 years ans now allows natural treatment of more than one million m3 of waste water per year.
In addition to upstream / downstream mandatory chemical checks required by government authorities, nature itself shows a good balance by the presence of silver carp and migratory birds (teal, mallards, snipes, herons, flamingos...) with an average daily population of 300 in high season. This ecosystem is now well known and recognized by governments and EPC FRANCE constitutes a strong anchor for ISO 14001 Certification.
Siège social :
4, rue de Saint Martin
13310 SAINT MARTIN DE CRAU
Tél : 04 90 47 17 25 Fax : 04 90 47 08 06
Les nouveaux systèmes de tir Daveytronic® DT-OP et DT-OPW arrivent.
Exercices interactifs, quiz, EPC FRANCE dynamise ses formations. | <urn:uuid:735c9fa6-d25a-4c1a-8c1f-87689443688e> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | http://www.epc-france.com/article/sustainable-development | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891813608.70/warc/CC-MAIN-20180221103712-20180221123712-00366.warc.gz | en | 0.816299 | 278 | 2.609375 | 3 |
Nine of the Boys came from Tacovo, known as Tetsh in Jewish sources, Tecso in Hungarian, Tyachiv in Rumanian and Tacovo in Czech.
Tyachiv is situated in the region known before the war as Subcarpathian Ruthenia, near the border with Romania. Other towns in the region home to many of the Boys include Mukachevo, Uzhorod, Svaljus, Irshava, Berehove, Khust and Vynohradiv.
Until the end of World War I, Tacovo belonged to the Austro-Hungarian empire. During the period between the two World Wars it was part of Czechoslovakia. During World War II, it was occupied by Hungary. At the end of the war it became part of the Ukrainian republic of the USSR.
Jews have lived in the town since at least the 17th century. For a period, they were expelled from the region, until 1840 when the limitation on Jewish settlement in Hungary was revoked. The Jews of the region were among the poorest in Europe, many living in rural areas and working in agriculture.
Tacovo has always been an Orthodox community. In the 1870s a Jewish cemetery was consecrated and in 1880 there were 321 Jews. In 1895 the synagogue and next to it a prayer house were consecrated, as well as a yeshiva.
Until the beginning of World War I, the community steadily developed; in 1910 it numbered 839 Jews. During the war, many Jewish youths were conscripted into the army and a number of them fell in battle.
After the war, when Subcarpathian 'Rus was included in the new Czechoslovak republic, Jews from Moravia and Bohemia settled in the region. In the 1930 census, 1,431 (94%) of 1,525 Tacovo’s Jews declared themselves as Jews by religion as well as by nationality and 6% by religion only.
In 1941, there were 2,150 Jews in Tacovo.
Following the Munich Agreement in 1938, Czechoslovakia was divided up and Tacovo and the surrounding area were annexed by Hungary, being formally incorporated into Hungary in 1939. The town became known as Tecso in Hungarian.
The Nazis occupied Hungary in March 1944 and installed a puppet government. That government participated in the Holocaust.
Jewish people in Tecso were subjected to discrimination during the Hungarian occupation. Incidents of verbal and physical antisemitism became an everyday occurrence. Those who could not produce Hungarian citizenship were expelled, and in July 1941 about ten Jewish families were deported to Kamenets Podolski in Poland, where they were murdered by German and Hungarian troops.
Others were conscripted into work battalions of the Hungarian army. Most of them perished on the eastern front.
In March 1944, the Nazis invaded Hungary and occupied the Subcarpathian 'Rus, taking over control of Tecso from the Hungarians. In April, the Jews were forced to wear a yellow star and they were gradually divested of their possessions.
In May 1944, most of the Jews of the district were assembled in the ghetto of Mateszalka in what is now Hungary. About 5,000 Jews from Tecso and neighbouring villages were crammed into the ghetto with no chance of escape.
On May 24, 1944 the first group from the ghetto was sent to Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration and extermination camp in occupied Poland. On May 28, an additional 2,208 Jews were sent there, and most of them were murdered.
An estimated 85% of the Jews of Subcarpathian Ruthenia perished in the Holocaust. However, the fact that the Subcarpathian Jews arrived six months before the camp was liberated in January 1945, greatly increased their chance of survival.
Tecso was liberated in the autumn of 1944 by the Red Army. Immediately, Jews who had been in hiding returned to the town, as well as survivors from the eastern front and from the camps. About 20 families returned.
In 1945, Tecso became part of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic within the Soviet Union and became known as Tyachiv. However, the Soviet regime made Jewish community life impossible. Many Jews felt there was no future for them under Stalinism and most of the community left, migrating mainly to Israel and the Americas.
The synagogue building was turned into a sports club; the Talmud torah building served as the office of the government co-operative and the mikveh became a bath-house. The remaining members of the community prayed in a private home.
During the early 1970s, most of Tyachiv’s remaining Jews left for Israel. In the 1980s, the cemetery was renovated. At this time there were still six people of Jewish origin in the town.
At the beginning of the 1990s, there were two Jewish families living in Tyachiv.
Today, the town’s population is around 9,000. | <urn:uuid:dd084221-786d-4d1f-9cdf-f8dfdb85db85> | CC-MAIN-2023-40 | https://45aid.org/location/tacovo-czechoslovakia-now-tyachiv-ukraine/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-40/segments/1695233510130.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20230926011608-20230926041608-00586.warc.gz | en | 0.987837 | 1,053 | 3.328125 | 3 |
As we age, the risk that small blood vessels will start leaking into brain tissue increases, raising our risk of dementia, stroke, and Parkinson’s disease. New research reveals that people with multiple sclerosis (MS) also have these so-called cerebral microbleeds, and links them to increased physical and cognitive disability.
When Robert Zivadinov, a professor of neurology at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at University at Buffalo, realized that the risk factors for these age-related conditions overlapped, he and the Buffalo research team decided to study how small bleeds inside the brain affect MS.
“Our hypothesis was that there is increased prevalence of cerebral microbleeds in MS because progression of that disease is associated with increased likelihood of cardiovascular comorbidities, including hypertension, altered lipid metabolism, overweight/obesity, smoking and diabetes and migraine, all risk factors for cerebral microbleeds,” Dr. Zivadinov, the study’s first author, said in a press release.
The team gathered a group of 445 MS patients, and 45 persons experiencing clinically isolated syndrome — the first symptomatic episode before a definitive MS diagnosis is established. The study, titled “Cerebral Microbleeds in Multiple Sclerosis Evaluated on Susceptibility-weighted Images and Quantitative Susceptibility Maps: A Case-Control Study,” also included 51 patients with other neurological diseases, as well as 177 healthy controls. The article was published in the journal Radiology.
Patients and controls underwent both a clinical examination and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans that easily distinguish blood in the brain tissue. “We found that 20 percent of MS patients over the age of 50 have cerebral microbleeds compared to 7 percent of healthy controls,” said Ferdinand Schweser, the study’s senior author and an assistant professor of neurology at the UB medical school.
Among individuals with clinically isolated syndrome under the age of 50, cerebral microbleeds were common, present in 14% of patients compared to just 3% of healthy people.
Researchers also found that the numbers of microbleeds were linked to the severity of a patient’s condition. Particularly among MS patients, a larger number of cerebral microbleeds was often tied to more physical disability — findings that could not be explained by age, blood pressure (high), or brain volume.
“This is significant because it suggests that cerebral microbleeds are associated with increased physical disability in MS patients, independent of these additional risk factors for cerebral microbleeds,” Dr. Zivadinov said.
Neurospychological exams given 168 MS patients and 50 controls likewise showed that patients with more microbleeds performed worse on verbal learning and memory tests, as well as tests of visual processing speed.
“Those MS patients who have cerebral microbleeds are subject to developing more physical and cognitive disabilities earlier in their disease, and therefore monitoring them more closely might be appropriate,” Dr. Zivadinov concluded. | <urn:uuid:1967fa2c-7c56-4e5e-9ed8-38e0304840fa> | CC-MAIN-2017-04 | https://multiplesclerosisnewstoday.com/2016/06/22/20160617cerebral-microbleeds-in-ms-patients-linked-to-disability | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-04/segments/1484560281162.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20170116095121-00561-ip-10-171-10-70.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94612 | 627 | 3.0625 | 3 |
The Origins of REALNEO
Office of Citizen
Rest in Peace,
Excellent overview of Network Neutrality, from Wikipedia
Submitted by Norm Roulet on Sun, 06/04/2006 - 14:56.
Some trends affecting the debate are:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Net Neutrality)
Network neutrality is the ideal that network designs and operators should not discriminate between network applications. As no network is truly neutral, it's more an ideal than a design principle. The term was coined by Columbia University Law School professor Tim Wu to support a theory of network regulation rejecting the traditional open-access theory. According to Wu's view, the Internet is not a neutral network, having evolved to give data applications preference over those that require low latency and low jitter, such as voice and video. Regulations on Internet access networks must allow broadband operators to make reasonable tradeoffs between the requirements of different applications, and regulators should carefully scrutinize network operator behavior where local networks interconnect. See Network Neutrality, Broadband Discrimination in the Journal of Telecommunications and High Technology Law, Vol. 2, p. 141, 2005, specifically:
True application neutrality may, in fact, sometimes require a close vertical relationship between a broadband operator and Internet service provider. The reason is that the operator is ultimately the gatekeeper of quality of service for a given user, because only the broadband operator is in a position to offer service guarantees that extend to the end-user’s computer (or network). Delivering the full possible range of applications either requires an impracticable upgrade of the entire network, or some tolerance of close vertical relationships.
This point indicts a strict open-access requirement. To the extent open access regulation prevents broadband operators from architectural cooperation with ISPs for the purpose of providing QoS dependent applications, it could hurt the cause of network neutrality.
Law professor Susan Crawford, on the other hand, proposes open access (or unbundling) as a means of promoting network neutrality. Crawford defines net neutrality differently from Wu, insisting that networks should not recognize diverse application needs but rather provide only the transport service appropriate to the careful file transfer that was defined in the early 80s as the Internet's canonical application. According to Crawford's view, bits are bits and accurate timing of packet delivery is a form of anti-competitive discrimination that ultimately leads to corporate control of the public commons. Crawford argues that networking is a commodity, like electricity, best provided by the government.
In Wu's view of net neutrality, the network should adapt to the diverse needs of emerging applications, and in Crawford's view applications should conform to the network's traditional service structure.
Network neutrality has been expanded by others into a general theory of network operational architecture. It means that the network is operated under the three principles of neutrality: non-discrimination, interconnection, and access. The principles can apply to any network, but are generally ascribed to the Internet. They govern the operation of the network, not the content or business practices of the network operator. Inherent in the definition is that network operations are distinct from the content side. Network neutrality is one way to describe the operational architecture of the global Internet. Nearly every nation operating a portion of the Internet, often by default, has adopted some form of the neutrality principle, depending on its definition.
"Network neutrality" is a term used in legal and political theory, not in network engineering; it is not used in any of the 4500+ design documents (Requests for Comments or RFCs) that describe the Internet's architecture and operation. The closest analogy in network engineering may be the concept of transparency, a design goal that is met when the network delivers messages without delay, jitter, loss, and reordering. No packet-switched network is truly transparent, as the basic service model in packet networks depends on resource contention, congestion reduction, and queuing. Circuit-switched telecommunications networks are highly transparent as distortion is minimized by isochronous access methods and hop-by-hop error recovery. Packet networks apply a number of different methods of queue management and packet forwarding, some of them quite sophisticated and each "discriminatory" in some way. Circuit-switched networks avoid queuing by pre-allocating communication resources for each call in progress.
Non-discrimination means that all traffic over the network (typically or exclusively digital packets or bits) is treated the same by the network, including the traffic originating with the network operator. This principle of 'bit parity' means that all bits are treated as 'just bits', and no bit traffic is prioritized over other bits, and none is hampered or disabled.
Interconnection means that network operators have both a duty of interconnection and a right of interconnection to any other network operator. Networks must be constructed so that there are a reasonable number of accessible interconnect points; that traffic is carried to and from rival networks at reasonable rates; and that the network is built with sufficient excess capacity to accommodate the reasonably foreseeable traffic that may be presented at the head-ends or peering points. Without a right of interconnection, there is no network.
Access means that any end user can connect to any other end-user. End users may be people, but the term could also mean devices (modems, routers, switches) or even other networks. Access means that a piece of content, say, an email message, has a right to enter the network, and if properly addressed, be received by the other end user, even if said user is on another network. In other words, traffic can begin at any point on the network and be delivered to any other point.
Network Neutrality is a controversial theory of network design closely related to the end to end principle. Under this principle, a dumb network merely connects devices, and is insensitive to the needs of applications running on those devices. Contrast this with an intelligent network, for example an analog network, that distinguishes between the types of data carried on the network and treats each one differently due to the necessary differences between data formats.
Underlying the theory of the benefits of network neutrality is a belief that a neutral network promotes innovation (Schumpterian), or evolutionary innovation of information technology. In order to promote innovation, network service providers such as telephone and cable internet companies should not be permitted to dictate how those networks are used (i.e., not permitted to ban certain types of programs, to ban certain types of devices connecting to the network, or to favor carriage of traffic to certain web sites over others).
Network neutrality arguments have antecedents in other concepts in communications law, such as common carrier regulation and the "Computer Inquiries" approach. The contemporary use of the phrase "network neutrality" began in the early 1990s, and was first popularized by the European Union Information Society Bangemann Report, February 1993. The Bangemann Report recommended that network regulation require interconnection and interoperability. This was later expanded in the EU Convergence Green Paper into the concept of technological neutrality, which refers to the network architecture as well as a parallel regulatory regime. As originally proposed and understood, network neutrality describes a regime of very light regulation guided by simple and readily understandable operating principles. It is intended, and has been criticized, as a retreat from the sector-specific and highly intrusive regulation preferred by the existing telecommunication carriers.
The neutrality of the Internet may be a matter of historical fact, but none of the Internet's design documents mention it. Although there are many fine histories of Internet, Prof. Manuel Castells put the architecture of the Internet into historical and social context in his book, The Internet Galaxy: Reflections on the Internet, Business, and Society (2001) Prof. Lawrence Lessig tried to explain his ideas about network neutrality in Code and other laws of Cyberspace (1999), but the idea was really developed for the first time in his writing in 'The Future of Ideas' (2001).
Some of the arguments associated with network neutrality came into prominence in mid 2002, offered by the "High Tech Broadband Coalition", a group comprising developers for Amazon.com, Google, and Microsoft. However, the fuller concept of "Network neutrality" was developed mainly by legal academics, most prominently law professors Tim Wu and Lawrence Lessig and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Michael Powell, the first government official to endorse Network Neutrality. It is worth noting, however, that the ideas underlying Network Neutrality have a long pedigree in telecommunications regulation.
Proposals for network neutrality laws are generally opposed by the cable television and telephone industries, some network engineers, and some conservative and libertarian scholars including Christopher Yoo and Adam Thierer. Opponents argue that (1) network neutrality principles pose a danger to become the basis for more intrusive regulation of the internet, and (2) imposing such regulation will chill investment in competitive networks (e.g., wireless broadband) and deny network providers the ability to differentiate their services, and (3) that "network neutrality" confuses the unregulated Internet with the highly regulated telecom lines that it's shared with voice and cable customers for most of its history. According to this view, the Internet has succeeded in attracting users and applications because it has been an oasis of deregulation in the midst of a highly regulated telecom market. Critics of Internet regulation in the name of "net neutrality" also say the Internet is much less neutral than proponents claim, pointing to such practices as the Type of Service header in the IP Datagram, the practice of active queuing described in RFC 2309 and the existence of Integrated Services and Differentiated Services enabling Quality of Service over IP. They warn that sober policy formulation is impeded by emotional attachments to idealized notions of network architecture. According to this view, the Internet is still very weak at meeting the needs of real-time and multimedia applications, and its continued evolution is stymied by the efforts made by network neutrality advocates.
These views may be said to contrast with the historical development of network neutrality, which involves a retreat from intrusive regulation, and expanded investment in network construction, consumer and business subscriptions, and the technology sector which requires an open and neutral platform for its business model; they may also be said to more accurately describe the Internet as it has been and may become if not stifled by overly-zealous regulation.
History and current status of Congressional bill
In the late 1990s and early 2000s, consumers began to attach new devices to their internet connections, and use internet services that were not in existence in the mid-1990s. The reaction of many broadband operators was to impose various contractual limits on the activities of their subscribers. In the best known examples, Cox Cable disciplined users of virtual private networks (VPNs) and AT&T, as a cable operator, warned customers that using a Wi-Fi service for home-networking constituted "theft of service" and a federal crime. Comcast blocked ports of VPNs, forcing the state of Washington, for example, to contract with telecommunications providers to be sure its employees had access to unimpeded broadband for telecommuting applications.
These early instances of "broadband discrimination" prompted both academic and government responses. FCC Chairman Michael Powell in 2004 announced a new set of non-discrimination principles, which he called the principles of "Network Freedom". In a speech at the Silicon Flatirons Symposium in February 2004, Powell stated that consumers must have the following four freedoms:
As remarked upon by David Isenberg, Chairman Kevin Martin later modified these four freedoms to read:
Under pressure from the FCC and consumer groups, the broadband operators generally relaxed their most glaring restrictions on network usage. In early 2005, in the Madison River case, the FCC for the first time showed a willingness to enforce its network neutrality principles. The FCC imposed fines on a local telephone carrier that was blocking voice over IP service. As Michael Powell stated, "The industry must adhere to certain consumer protection norms if the Internet is to remain an open platform for innovation." That case however, is no longer a precedent, as the laws that it followed no longer apply.
By late 2005, network neutrality provisions were included in several Congressional draft bills, as a part of ongoing proposals to reform the Telecommunications Act of 1996. They would generally require internet providers to allow consumers access to any application, content, or service. However, important exceptions allow providers to discriminate for security purposes, or to offer specialized services like "broadband video" service.
On March 2, 2006 press release Democratic Senator Ron Wyden (Oregon) introduced the first comprehensive Congressional legislation to protect network neutrality, in the form of the "Internet Non-Discrimination Act of 2006"
On March 30, 2006 press release Republican Representative Fred Upton (Michigan) chaired a subcommittee hearing for a mark up of the Communications Opportunity, Promotion and Enhancement Act of 2006 scheduled for the week of April 4th.
In April 2006 a large coalition of political bloggers and citizen/consumer-oriented lobbying groups such as Free Press and MoveOn created Save The Internet, a political-action lobby endorsing network neutrality legislation. Within a week of its establishment, over 250,000 signatures were delivered to Congress in favor of a network neutrality law. Campaigns have also been launched by content providers (including Google, Microsoft, Yahoo! and Amazon.com) in support of neutrality and regulation ([Don't Mess with the Net]), and by service providers (including AT&T and Verizon) against it.([Hands Off the Internet])
On April 3, 2006 Congressman Ed Markey introduced an amendment to the Communications Opportunity, Promotion, and Enhancement Act of 2006 (COPE) that would have made COPE's existing neutrality provisions more strict. The Markey Amendment was defeated in committee by a vote of 34-22 with Republicans and some Democrats opposing, most Democrats supporting.
On May 1, 2006 Sen. Ted Stevens introduced the Communications, Consumer’s Choice, and Broadband Deployment Act of 2006. The Stevens Act directs the FCC to conduct a study of abusive business practices predicted by the Save the Internet Coalition and similar groups, but otherwise is free of network neutrality regulation.
On May 18, 2006 Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner [WI] and Rep. John Conyers [MI] sponsored the Internet Freedom and Nondiscrimination Act of 2006, also known as Sensenbrenner-Conyers Net Neutrality Bill. This bill says it is a violation of the Clayton Antitrust Act for broadband providers to discriminate against any web traffic, refuse to connect to other providers, block or impair specific (legal) content and says if a broadband provider gives priority to a particular type of traffic, it must give priority to all traffic of that type:
If a broadband network provider prioritizes or offers enhanced quality of service to data of a particular type, it must prioritize or offer enhanced quality of service to all data of that type (regardless of the origin or ownership of such data) without imposing a surcharge or other consideration for such prioritization or enhanced quality of service.
On May 25, 2006, the Sensenbrenner-Conyers Net Neutrality Bill was approved by the House Judiciary committee on a 20-13 vote along party lines. The bill was widely regarded as part of a turf battle between the Judiciary Committee and the Energy and Commerce Committee for the power to regulate the Internet. Congressman Adam Schiff, one of the Democrats who voted for it, said: I think the bill is a blunt instrument, and yet I think it does send a message that it's important to attain jurisdiction for the Justice Department and for antitrust issues.
Economics of network neutrality
A main argument in favor of network neutrality is that a discriminatory network distorts markets that depend on the network, and ultimately may slow national economic growth. For example, if a network favors search engine A over search engine B, A may become dominant even though B's technology is better. Similarly, if the network favors a usage of the network popular at a given time (say, Gopher, enormously popular in the early 1990s) that may slow the competitive arrival of a new usage (like the World Wide Web). In other words, a discriminatory network may "freeze" innovation (particularly application innovation) based on today's dominant applications. The link to national economic growth is as follows: many economists believe innovation is a major catalyst of economic growth, meaning that if a discriminatory network leads to less innovation, a country will grow more slowly. Opponents of neutrality regulation say this argument confuses a necessary form of discrimination, discrimination among packets with different latency requirements, with arbitrary discrimination between applications of the same type, and is therefore blind to network engineering requirements.
The arguments against network neutrality as a principle take three forms. The first and most common says that packet-level discrimination is absolutely necessary in order to provide Quality of Service on any packet network, and broadly-written regulations such as the Markey Amendment would ban it.
Another argument says that service bundling is necessary to encourage investment in the networks of the future. If a broadband carrier is, for example, allowed to charge more for a high-priority voice service when competing services such as Skype run at standard priority, the carrier's voice service will sound better, and this will limit Skype's appeal while increasing the carrier's revenue.
One response to this argument concedes that discrimination results in greater profit for broadband carriers -- but asks whether the costs in terms of application innovation are worth it. In the example, the operator is exploiting a bottleneck in the network to extend its monopoly from the network service to another sector entirely, in this case messaging applications. It also asks whether allowing discrimination is the best way to encourage network deployments. In other words, there may be less distortionary ways to encourage carriers to build out their network, such as using the tax code, or government funding.
Another argument against network neutrality relies on the economics of congestion. A neutral network is like a public good, leading to collective action or tragedy of the commons-like problems. Hence a provider may need to discriminate as between users or usage to ensure maximum network performance. For example, if some one use up too much bandwidth, this argument suggests, a network operator should be allowed to slow it down. The typical answer to this argument goes as follows. There may be more and less distortionary ways of managing bandwidth -- and blocking or disfavoring certain applications is more distortionary. A more neutral way of managing bandwidth is to manage bandwidth at the consumer side - i.e., to limit the users to, say, x gigabytes per month after which their transfer rate is reduced, instead of banning applications (systems of this type have been employed in other countries, e.g. Australia).
However, service providers in the U.S. have resisted these arguments, suggesting that they do not want to charge their users for using higher bandwidth, either because this might not be technically feasible or because it would be a major pricing change which might not be matched by competitors or accepted by the marketplace. Instead, service providers have been proposing to charge content providers to offset the higher bandwidth charges of the end users. This argument omits the fact that content providers already pay a service provider to host data on Internet for end users to consume.
It is possible that bandwidth limits aren't the central issue in this debate, but that latency is. Neutralists argue that charging for access to priority services amounts to "double taxation" If standard service goes for one price, and enhanced service for another, it is arguably consistent not to allow access to enhanced service to those who haven't subscribed to it.
The third argument is deregulatory. It says, network neutrality is a fine idea but will require government intervention, and intervention will invariably and inevitably lead to unintended consequences. This argument leads to a larger debate over whether government can ever act in useful ways, which is difficult to summarize. However, in response, some advocates of network neutrality have argued that FCC action alone is sufficient. Others argue that legislation will simply replicate common-carriage principles already long in place for many communications networks.
This argument can also be opposed on these grounds: Most high speed network providers are cable or telephone companies who are still granted local monopolies by the government. Government granted monopolies must be regulated because if the monopolies act improperly market forces don't exist to correct the behavior. Evidence for this can be found in the self-same telephone monopolies work to eliminate competitors from reselling access to their networks -- networks paid for with public funds. The networks regulated by the Markey Amendment are not monopolies, however.
Some trends affecting the debate are:
Network Neutrality proposals can take many forms. While all share some features, some of the specific proposals are:
Neutrality as law
In the United States, there are no laws that instantiate net neutrality as a telecommunications standard. Many advocates, however, have spoken loudly on its behalf. This, combined with worries over favoritism by telecoms, prompted Congress to begin hearings on the subject.
On February 7, 2006, Congress called upon prominent members of the technology industry to testify on behalf of the standard, including Vinton Cerf, the inventor of TCP/IP, and current Vice President and "Chief Internet Evangelist" at Google. In his testimony, he said, "allowing broadband carriers to control what people see and do online would fundamentally undermine the principles that have made the Internet such a success."
Advocates and opponents
Net neutrality was first proposed by legal scholars Lawrence Lessig, Tim Wu, Susan Crawford and others. Most of the major internet application companies are also advocates including IAC/InterActiveCorp, Ebay, Amazon, Yahoo!, Earthlink and especially Google. Software giant Microsoft has also taken a stance in support of Net Neutrality . Non-profits in support include Moveon.org, Consumer Federation of America, AARP , American Library Association, Public Knowledge, the Media Access Project, Free Press and others.
Some U.S. technology trade associations, including TechNet, have remained noncommittal on the issue. The U.S. financial sector has similarly remained neutral, though this may change as the heavily Internet-dependent banking industry considers the ramifications one way or the other .
Opposition to network neutrality comes from a number of areas. Some who support neutrality in principle fear the unintended consequences of government regulation of packet protocol queuing and forwarding algorithms. Some believe that network neutrality reads too much social significance into a selective reading of Internet history. And others believe increased Internet regulation would make telecoms less likely to invest in network upgrades, particularly in fiber-to-the-home.
Network neutrality regulation is strongly opposed by the Bell companies and by some major cable companies. They view non-discrimination as compelled speech prohibited by the First Amendment because they think that cases like Chesapeake and Potomac and even FCC v. Turner stands for the rule that Telcos and Cablecos are First Amendment speakers, and as such cannot be compelled to promote speech they disagree with. Cable operators, like Comcast have taken a somewhat mixed position -- they have repeatedly affirmed that they consider neutral networks desirable, but think regulation is a mistake. The Bells, on the other hand, have actively pushed for non-neutral, tiered networks. The telecommunications companies desire tiered networks in order to compete with the tiered services already provided by Comcast and other cable companies.
Past discriminatory access by ISPs
Below are examples listed by SaveTheInternet of past examples of abuses by ISP companies where they blocked rivals or unfavorable opinions about themselves.
Relevance of municipal wireless and other "third pipes"
Much of the push for network neutrality rules comes from the lack of competition in broadband services. For that reason, municipal wireless and other wireless service providers are highly relevant to the debate. If successful, such services would provide a third type of broadband access with the potential to change the competitive landscape. For similar reasons, the feasibility of broadband over powerline services is also important to the network neutrality issue. However, as of the Spring of 2006, any deployments beyond cable and bell service created little new competition.
Comparison with transportation
The arguments of network neutrality mirror those in transportation regarding free and toll roads. Toll roads are in principle able to provide a higher level of service in exchange for a higher cost. In particular, high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes allow users to pay a premium to achieve a higher speed, and have been criticized as being inequitable for doing so.
Verizon's CEO has argued that Google should not get a free lunch when it uses Verizon's lines. However, Google is not initiating the transaction. Instead, Google would be responding to a request initiated by a paying Verizon customer.
Comparison with first amendment speaker
The United States Supreme Court has ruled in Miami Herald Publishing Co. v. Tornillo that first amendment speakers may not be compelled to put someone else's speech on their platform. In Miami Herald it was a newspaper. Cable cos and Telcos want to assert a free speech right to avoid open access that common carriers are obligated to provide. If the access provider is a Telco, it would argue that the Chesapeake and Potomac case settles the matter for granting telcos free speech rights, but as they get right of way access for free, they may be obligated by local municipalities. This is why they are going to Congress to get federal preemption. This is truly a novel and interesting question of how to classify telcos and cable cos.
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Local perspectives on REDD
This paper presents the perspectives of stakeholders on REDD+ through several scientific publications and policy briefs citing case studies from Indonesia. It notes that local perspectives on REDD+ tend to differ from those at the international negotiation tables. To stakeholders living in tropical forest margins, the REDD+ debate is an additional complication in an already complex relationship with central governments and forest authorities. The report argues that the expectation of financial incentives for emission reduction has led to a debate on carbon rights which comes as an addition to the already complex layers of unresolved property rights.
Using case studies the paper shows a success story where stewardship agreements have led to conflict resolution over who controls the forests and forest margins. It also highlights the historical baggage of perceived injustice between state and local communities and the contest between national and provincial government authorities that complicates the debate on current efforts to mitigate climate change by emission reduction. It further presents a case that demonstrates a feasible way of containing and reducing transaction costs for the initial and subsequent phases of the processes of the REDD mechanisms. In another case study on social norms and their role on REDD+, the report indicates that villagers have a strong conservation belief system which operates by social norms. It concludes that setting up a market-based scheme such as Payment for Environmental Services (PES) should be done carefully by understanding the local dynamics and conditions for free and prior informed consent. The report makes
the following recommendations.
- Rules on agreements on stewardship in the forest margins need to be simplified for wider application.
- There is need to synergise REDD+ initiative with the needs of national and local development, making low carbon development a local initiative to meet local needs.
- Transaction costs need to be reduced to provide greater benefits for the real carbon players.
- To reduce complexity there is need to create a ‘superbody’ for REDD+, which will manage the REDD+ mechanism to overcome the vulnerability of REDD+ policy in which actors have various levels of leadership and power.
- To strengthen REDD+ policy support there is need to disseminate REDD+ knowledge to leaders to enable easy implementation. | <urn:uuid:c38d00dc-b249-43cb-a506-a62b518d4c0d> | CC-MAIN-2014-35 | http://www.eldis.org/go/display&type=Document&id=61247 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-35/segments/1409535920849.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20140909043216-00117-ip-10-180-136-8.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.936002 | 435 | 2.609375 | 3 |
After reading the article “Thinking literally’, I was tempted to look back at my own experiences to search for occasions when metaphors affected my way of thinking. For an instance, the Korean metaphor for ‘heading towards the wrong direction’ is ‘dropping into Sam-Chun estuary’ (삼천포로 빠진다) and English metaphor for that is “off the track”. Once when my essay strayed from the topic, my English teacher told me that I was going off the track. This implied certain possibility of my essay ‘coming back to the track’ again which encouraged me to edit it a few more times. However, when I told this to my mother, the reply was: “See, your essay is dropping into Sam-Chun estuary.”For a car which went off the track, it’s easier for it to change the direction and go on the track again; however if the car was to drop into the estuary, it seems hardly possible to get out again. Hence, I felt more depressed by what my mother have told me even though it meant the same thing as what my teacher had suggested.
Also, the metaphorical relation of mood and senses intrigued me. I’ve once heard that several coffee and ice cream franchises like Starbucks and Coldstone intentionally make their shop’s temperature a degree or two lower and place hard, wooden chairs in order to make customers leave faster. Also, Ivy League school’s study room like Brown University has hard, wooden furniture in order to keep students awake.
There are lots of similarities between various languages’ metaphors: in general, ‘warmth’ means friendliness and ‘coldness’ means rigidity. However, the minute difference of their expression changes the degree of meaning and creates difference in understanding. At North Korea where famine is prevalent, the proverb for considerate action is ‘Eat your crab with its legs off, even if it’s cooked(구운 게도 다리를
떼고 먹으라),’ whereas the proverb for relatively wealthy South Korea is ‘Tap the bridge before passing even if it’s made of rock(돌다리도 두드려보고 건너라).’ The language we use is same, but the way we express it varies according to the surrounding condition.
Therefore, I believe that the languages doesn’t necessarily change our way of thinking, but rather that different environment affects the linguistic expressions and creates difference in understanding. | <urn:uuid:d72b39ad-50cb-4cba-9c47-0bc23379f687> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://ericmacknight.com/ibtok/2011/10/thinking-literally-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218190234.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212950-00422-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964727 | 590 | 2.5625 | 3 |
For three decades, the Hubble Space Telescope has been our most powerful instrument for looking into deep space.
Then, on Christmas Day 2021, the James Webb Space Telescope was launched—an even more powerful, infrared instrument that could see things that were far out of reach of even the Hubble.
You might think that it and the Hubble were destined to be rivals. But you know what? These two mighty devices can work together!
Proof of that was delivered recently by NASA, who gave us a unique look at the M74, also known as the Phantom Galaxy. Thanks to these gadgets, we're seeing triple of this spooky celestial swirl.
One image from Hubble ...
One from the James Webb ...
And finally, the two laid over each other!
Wow! What a spectacular set of images! But it brings up a question: Why are the images so different?
On different wavelengths
The Phantom Galaxy is 32 million light years from Earth. (A light year is the distance that light can travel in a year and is the main unit of measurement for the universe.) For a human, that is a very long ways away. But for both Hubble and James Webb, it's pretty close—both telescopes have ranges of several billions of light years.
So both instruments can see the galaxy very clearly. Then why is the Hubble image full of pink and purple stars with a glowing, hazy centre, while the James Webb version has crisp, clear gray arms and a sharp, brilliant blue core?
The answer lies in how differently each instrument sees the universe. They are each designed to read a different part of the spectrum of light. This image from NASA shows the full spectrum of light, as well as what part of it certain telescopes (including Hubble and James Webb) are able to see.
Hubble is mainly an optical telescope and sees visible light, a.k.a. what we see. This means that if you could somehow float outside M74, you would see something pretty close to what Hubble does.
But James Webb is tuned to infrared light—this is a type of light that is just 'below' what we can see. This gives it a window into a whole other range of light 'information' that Hubble doesn't have access to. In particular, it is able to peer into that mysterious centre of the galaxy that is only a blur to Hubble.
And when you combine the powers of the two instruments? You get a picture of absolutely jaw-dropping clarity.
Being tuned to infrared light is not what makes James Webb more powerful (or able to see farther into space) than Hubble. That superpower is all about mirrors!
Specifically, the mirror at the heart of each telescope. These mirrors capture light radiation and reflect it back in a focused way so that the instruments on board each telescope can process an image.
Hubble's mirror is wider than an adult human is tall. That's pretty big. But the James Webb mirror is nearly three times that width. It greatly increases its power, allowing it to see to the outer reaches of the known universe. Check out this video from NASA that shows the mirror side-by-side. | <urn:uuid:9aee8618-7c07-4417-80d0-2073035b0fd0> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://owlconnected.com/archives/hubble-james-webb-amazing | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224650201.19/warc/CC-MAIN-20230604161111-20230604191111-00599.warc.gz | en | 0.957456 | 649 | 3.59375 | 4 |
Etching of Vlademar Poulsen (1869-1942). Poulsen was born in Copenhagen, Denmark and worked for the Copenhagen Telephone Company. In 1898 he invented the Telegraphone; the first wire recording device and a forerunner of the magnetic tape recorder. Poulsen found that by pasing an electromagnet over a wire as he spoke into a connected microphone, the wire would become magnetised thus recording the sounds he made. He also worked to improve wireles transmision and in 1903, together with Peder Oluf Pedersen (1874-1941), developed the Poulsen arc generator, which was capable of transmitting continuous radio waves and enabled speech to be generated up to a radius of 150 miles. Published by the International Telecommunication Union. Dimensions: 230mm x 190mm.
© Science Museum / Science & Society Picture Library | <urn:uuid:7635d4d8-1e1a-4802-8030-fdd257a4f054> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://www.ssplprints.com/image/101778/valdemar-poulsen-danish-electrical-engineer-c-1920s | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218188553.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212948-00291-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933834 | 178 | 3 | 3 |
chemotaxis: see taxis.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
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See more Encyclopedia articles on: Biology: General | <urn:uuid:bd6877fa-c4bc-4257-8dcb-e1567f6e1258> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | http://www.factmonster.com/encyclopedia/science/chemotaxis.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398448389.58/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205408-00258-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.726233 | 121 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Pro: Put students on the right path
By: Samantha Neff
Almost everyone who enters college has different knowledge and skill levels.
Although college students are able to make important decisions for themselves, are they really in a position to decide what reading and math levels they are at?
Often, a passing grade is given in high school classes regardless of whether they have learned the curriculum or not. This eventually ends up hurting them more than benefiting because they haven’t actually learned the material to move up.
According to insidehighered.com, while high school graduation rates are high, “only around 38% of seniors in high school scored at or above grade level on its reading test in recent years.”
This is why it is critical that they are placed in their correct comprehension levels when entering college.
With the passing of Assembly Bill 705, these remedial students will be placed in transfer level classes where they are expected to gain the knowledge and skills that they are unprepared for. This can only drag them down in their educational process.
Mandatory placement tests for beginning college students have proven to be beneficial for their learning experience. According to an article by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, these tests help gather an idea on what kind of help someone might need.
“High school students may not come to college fully prepared, and the National Conference of State Legislatures reports that about 34% of public college and university students need at least one remedial class, while 43% of community college students do.”
Overall, students are far better off taking placement exams so they can receive the education they need.
Attempting to throw them into transfer level classes before they are ready simply so they can complete their education quicker is not going to be helpful for their future.
Con: Saving time and money
By: Maja Losinska
Students tend to be more successful in school when they are provided with opportunities.
Community college is intended to be an affordable way for people to get a higher level of education than high school while also serving as a bridge to transfer to a four-year university.
That’s where Assembly Bill 705 creates that occasion.
AB 705 allows students to fulfill their degree requirements by ensuring that they have access to college level transferable courses when they first enter a community college rather than wasting time taking remedial classes.
Instead of taking math and English placement tests, it uses high school grades as an indicator on whether a student is prepared. They get the chance to earn their degree and complete their requirements faster.
Remedial courses only hurts them by increasing the chances of them dropping out.
According to Student Success Scorecard, 70% of the student population are more likely to complete a certificate or transfer within six years if they are ready to be in college level courses, whereas only 40% finish in those amount of years if they are forced to take remedial courses.
It saves them time and money because it pushes them to finish in fewer semesters than prolonging their stay at a community college.
Assessment tests often do not provide accurate results, which some students may have suffered from. Many of them were under placed in courses because of their scores.
As a result, they’d have to take unnecessary prerequisites simply to work their way up to classes that actually matter in terms of being able to transfer.
College is supposed to provide everyone with an equal chance to get an education.
Students shouldn’t be held back because of a test that they had to take in the beginning of the year. | <urn:uuid:0de84549-852d-4562-84c4-a3a23304ea09> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://theroundupnews.com/2019/11/27/pro-con-placement-tests/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224644506.21/warc/CC-MAIN-20230528182446-20230528212446-00452.warc.gz | en | 0.966131 | 738 | 2.75 | 3 |
Which of the following is true?
A. The 3s level in hydrogen has a lower energy than the3d level in hydrogen.
B. The 4s level in multielctron atoms is equal in energy to the 3d level in multielectron atoms.
C. The 2s level in multielectron atoms has a greater energy than the 2s level in hydrogen.
D. The 2s level in multielectron atoms is equal in energy to the 2p level in multielecton atoms.
E. The 2s level in hydrogen is equal in energy to the 2p level in hydrogen.
The energy level is determined not only by n but also by l.
In atoms with a single electron (essentially the hydrogen atom), the energy of an orbital (and, consequently, of any electrons in the orbital) is determined exclusively by n. The n = 1 orbital has the lowest possible energy in the atom. Each successively higher value of n has a higher level of energy, but the difference ...
The energy levels of the atoms are investigated. The response is detailed and received a rating of '5/5' from the student who originally posted the question. | <urn:uuid:e90a4a29-fa8a-4f92-bf42-23037f6315d4> | CC-MAIN-2016-50 | https://brainmass.com/chemistry/modern-quantum-theory/energy-level-of-electrons-in-atoms-128736 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-50/segments/1480698540928.63/warc/CC-MAIN-20161202170900-00475-ip-10-31-129-80.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937922 | 249 | 3.328125 | 3 |
As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:
- ð, [Swed. bliga = to gaze, stare], to gaze; b. augum, Mirm. 70.
Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛒᛚᛁᚴᛁᛅ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements
➞ See all works cited in the dictionary
Works & Authors cited:
- Mirmants Saga. (G. II.) | <urn:uuid:8f77b954-cd0c-4628-8590-9a8e7de6390b> | CC-MAIN-2023-06 | https://cleasby-vigfusson-dictionary.vercel.app/word/bligja | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-06/segments/1674764499829.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20230130201044-20230130231044-00708.warc.gz | en | 0.846565 | 165 | 2.890625 | 3 |
The Celtic Wheel of the Year begins at Samhain (a Gaelic word pronounced ‘Sow-whan’) on 31st October/early November (31st April/early May in the Southern Hemisphere). For our Ancestors, their day began at dusk just as life started in the wombs of their womenfolk in darkness, seeds germinated underground before sprouting and Winter was time to dream before the activity of Spring. Our fore mothers knew this instinctively and celebrated this auspicious event gently easing into early Winter. Crone Goddess An Cailleach (On Kal-yack) is our guide for this Celtic Festival. This ancient festival which honours the death of the old and the birth of beginnings begins the Celtic New Year. Nowadays it has morphed into the modern celebration of Hallowe’en. You may remember or indeed currently love the excitement of dressing up and looking forward to the festivities. It is very healthy to celebrate death as our Mexican sisters know with their Day of the Dead. Here in our Celtic Isles we used to have a great understanding of the cycle of birth, death and rebirth. We knew innately that this was life in all its glory and like the seasons we accepted its inevitability.
Samhain, (a Gaelic word pronounced ‘Sow-whan’) is perhaps the most auspicious time in the Celtic Festival calendar. For our Ancestors, each day was perceived to begin at dusk with the coming of darkness. Therefore, the New Year was understood to begin in the period of gamos, thetime of more darkness than light. In the same way, the growing darkness of the early Winter was also understood to be the true start of the growing season, as seeds germinated in the earth. An Cailleach, the great Crone Goddess guides us as we gently enter hibernation time. Samhain has always been a natural time for reflection on Life and Death, on personal renewal and for celebration of the turning of the year and homage to those who have lived so that we have life today. Fires countrywide were lit to fortify our endurance in the coming darkness of Winter. This is the season to remember our loved ones who have died and celebrate their soul’s journey to the Otherworld. | <urn:uuid:711a9b96-f9b9-4d2d-af20-eba4d6d5cff4> | CC-MAIN-2023-14 | https://moonmna.ie/topic/samhain/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-14/segments/1679296945287.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20230324144746-20230324174746-00294.warc.gz | en | 0.967688 | 470 | 2.859375 | 3 |
Here is a list of recently published studies on children, media, and health which explore a range of topics:
- Examination of aggression in children with behavioural and emotional
difficulties associated with television viewing and video game playing.
- Examination of the use of breast cancer storylines in multiple primetime TV shows to reinforce health messages.
- Evaluation of leisure sedentary and active behavior in Scottish adolescents.
- Examination of sources of health-related information accessed by female college students with and without body image distortions, and the believability of those sources.
Biddle, S.J., Gorely, T., Marshall, S.J., & Cameron, N. (2008).The
prevalence of sedentary behavior and physical activity in leisure time:
A study of Scottish adolescents using ecological momentary assessment. Prev Med. Available Online November 11.
Hether, H.J., Huang, G.C., Beck, V., Murphy, S.T., & Valente, T.W.
(2008).Entertainment-education in a media-saturated environment:
examining the impact of single and multiple exposures to breast cancer
storylines on two popular medical dramas. J Health Commun. 13(8), 808-823.
Mitrofan, O., Paul, M., & Spencer, N. (2008). Is aggression in children with behavioural and emotional difficulties associated with television viewing and video game playing? A systematic review. Child Care Health Dev. Available online Nov 12.
Nustad, J., Adams, T., & Moore, M.
(2008). Health Information Sources Accessed by College Females:
Differences Between Body-Image Distorted and Non-Body-Image Distorted. Health Mark Q. 25(3), 241-253.
Paul, .CL., Walsh, R.A., Stacey, F., Tzelepis, F., Oakes, W., & Tang, A. (2008). Smoking in movies in Australia: who feels over-exposed and what level of regulation will the community accept? Health Promot J Austr. 19(3), 229-231. | <urn:uuid:ea46a970-2fae-45cc-a9be-6b4f9ed87921> | CC-MAIN-2020-45 | https://cmch.tv/research-wrapup-december-12-2008/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-45/segments/1603107911229.96/warc/CC-MAIN-20201030182757-20201030212757-00241.warc.gz | en | 0.84201 | 443 | 2.625 | 3 |
With the arrival of summer, people become acutely aware of exposure to the sun, the risk of skin cancers and the importance of the use of sunscreen. Skin cancer is the most common of all types of cancers in the USA and other developed countries. Worldwide, it accounts for more than 30% of all diagnosed cancers. Basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and melanoma are the most common forms of skin cancers, and malignant melanoma is the most dangerous of all of them. According to the American Cancer Society, approximately 96,480 new melanoma cases are expected to be diagnosed in 2019 and melanoma will be attributed as a cause of death for 7,230 people. It is estimated that one in five people will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.
May 2019 - Dr. Rath Research Institute
Thursday, 20 June 2019 17:25 | <urn:uuid:d8ab6e25-24b8-4ff8-aeed-15f3e5f1dd1b> | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | https://drrathresearch.org/latest-news/itemlist/date/2019/6?catid=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590347399820.9/warc/CC-MAIN-20200528135528-20200528165528-00593.warc.gz | en | 0.956794 | 174 | 3.125 | 3 |
Earl Mann was born on June 8, 1886 in Lyons, Iowa. He joined the army and fought in World War I in France and Germany. He was promoted to First Lieutenant of the Infantry, which was a rare accomplishment for an African American soldier at the time. While fighting in France, Mann was exposed to poison gas, and was brought back in 1918 to Fitzsimmons Army Hospital in Denver where it was expected that he would die. Amazingly, Mann recovered from the gas exposure and received an honorable discharge from the military.
Mann remained in Denver and received a job working as a clerk at the Denver Board of Water Commissioners in 1924. Later, he would become the Deputy Federal Marshall of the United States District Court in Denver. Mann ran for the Colorado state legislature as a Republican and won in 1942, becoming the state’s first black legislator elected in the 20th Century. He was elected to five consecutive terms in the state’s House of Representatives, and contributed to helping pass the open-occupancy bill that aided African Americans in Denver with housing opportunities.
Mann also wrote editorial columns for both the Denver Post and the Colorado Statesman. Earl Mann took a disability retirement for tuberculosis on August 9, 1951, and died in Denver in 1969. | <urn:uuid:01784e9e-db8a-456a-a2b9-2ead56d3aba2> | CC-MAIN-2019-26 | https://www.blackpast.org/aaw/vignette_aahw/mann-earl-1886-1969/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-26/segments/1560627998605.33/warc/CC-MAIN-20190618023245-20190618045245-00172.warc.gz | en | 0.990219 | 258 | 2.640625 | 3 |
(INDIANAPOLIS) - Indiana wildlife officials could remove the peregrine falcon from the state's endangered species list this summer after what wildlife officials say has been a successful recovery.
Nearly 300 nesting pairs of falcons are living in the upper Midwest today, just 50 years after use of the pesticide DDT eradicated the species east of the Mississippi River.
Wildlife experts say the birds' comeback is due in part to their adaptability.
Indiana Department of Natural Resources biologist John Castrale tells The Indianapolis Star the birds have traded traditional nesting sites in cliffs and bluffs along riverbanks for skyscrapers in cities like Indianapolis and South Bend.
The Indiana Natural Resources Commission will vote on removing the falcon from the list at its July 16 meeting.
Have a question or comment about a news story? Send it to firstname.lastname@example.org | <urn:uuid:0fb56ce9-dcf0-4da7-a526-2cc4fe2d3abe> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | http://www.wbiw.com/state/archive/2013/05/indiana-may-remove-falcon-from-endangered-list.php | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398447266.73/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205407-00323-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.898467 | 179 | 2.8125 | 3 |
On this page, you can find Astronomy Calendars including Lunar, Solar and Lunisolar Calendars. Find out more about the varieties of Astronomical Calendars here.
On this page, you can find a variety of Astronomy Calendars explained in detail and which list the occurrences of astronomic events from Lunar Phases to Solar Eclipses. Have a look at the Astronomical Calendars below to find out more about the most phenomenal natural events!
Lunar Calendar | Moon Phases
Based on the Moon Phases, the Lunar Calendar offers a simple and organized way of observing the changing Lunar Cycles. With Lunar Calendars for the upcoming years readily available, you can consult our selection of Moon Phase calendars to find out when a Full, Crescent or New Moon is going to take place.
Sun Calendar | Solar Calendar
The sun calendar or solar calendar is based on the time it takes for the Earth to revolve around the Sun. More commonly used as a means of measuring time, examples of common solar calendars include the Gregorian and Julian Calendar.
The Lunisolar Calendar is a way of timekeeping based on a combination of the Lunar and Solar cycles. Discover how the Lunisolar Calendar works as well as its application and influence over other well-known calendars.
Use the Eclipse Calendar to find out everything you need to know about the various types of Eclipses which occur when the moon and Earth form a line with the Sun. You can also have a look at the Eclipse Calendar to discover when and where future Lunar and Solar Eclipses will occur. | <urn:uuid:6a62b232-5e09-4a4a-bf00-ad2364b80901> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://calenworld.com/astronomy | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046149929.88/warc/CC-MAIN-20210723143921-20210723173921-00523.warc.gz | en | 0.892803 | 322 | 3.171875 | 3 |
Political correctness, standing for being just and fairness. A term intended to bring the avoidance of offense and insult towards people. This phenomenon of political correctness was formed to aim at being fair, broad-minded and sensible. People didn’t want to be offended by specific terms that marginalized a society. Neutrality is the preferred standpoint.
This is arguably, quite admirable. Most people would agree that it’s a harmless goal in life so that we could have less underlying derogatory comments.
Here’s an example of political correctness: “Jamie Foxx is an African-American singer.” The term African-American is used in preference for the word black and, the now considered offensive term, coloured.
Another famous example of political correctness is in regards to gender: “The meeting will start once the chairperson arrives.” Is it a woman or a man? We wouldn’t know, but it promotes equality and fairness after having deemed the original word of chairman as sexist. Manholes, mankind, firemen, policemen – all deemed sexist.
Political correctness and its initial intentions are thoughtful and has no ill-will. The concept of understanding the sensitivity of people’s race, gender, culture and religion is important. It’s genuinely nice to see a foreigner trying to be respectful of another person’s religion. It’s an ideal way to live life.
Yet in recent times, it has been blown out of proportions that we sometimes have to apologize for every single thing that comes out of our mouth. This concept of political correctness is often misused to suppress opposing viewpoints that absolutely have no ill intentions in the first place.
It has gone to that point where we have to revise the English dictionary to better suit the more politically correctness inclined society. Have you ever stopped to think that the word brainstorming is offensive? Well, a UK council has banned said term and replaced it with “thought showers” as the term brainstorming may offend epileptics.
Brown University performed a debate about campus sexual assaults. Attendees witnessing the debate who might find the topic upsetting and offensive were provided with “a safe space room” equipped with cookies, calming music, pillows, blankets, colouring books and puppy videos.
It’s 2017; we are all tiptoeing around “politically incorrect” land mines, having a higher probability to be called out by a political correctness police patrolling the area than any other years in the past.
Of course, no one should ever be deliberately offended. But being politically correct has been warped and is being misapplied so much that it has been doing more harm than good. We need to understand that there is a time and a place for everything, and that includes being able to be politically correct, and knowing when it’s time to just be frank and straightforward about a particular issue. | <urn:uuid:36c4b0f0-adf9-4d5b-b86b-6a79ef629e0b> | CC-MAIN-2018-39 | https://www.muslyfe.com/whats-the-deal-with-political-correctness/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-39/segments/1537267156857.16/warc/CC-MAIN-20180921053049-20180921073449-00346.warc.gz | en | 0.963266 | 597 | 3.28125 | 3 |
Probably one of the most common types of personal injury lawsuits involves a claim of negligence. Negligence describes a situation in which a person acts in a careless (or "negligent") manner, which results in someone else getting hurt or property being damaged. Negligence can often be a difficult area of law to define because it involves a legal analysis of the elements of negligence as they relate to the facts of a particular case. FindLaw's Negligence section provides introductory and in-depth information on negligence in personal injury cases. In this section, you can also find helpful summaries of state laws on negligence.
An Overview of Negligence
The law of negligence requires individuals to conduct themselves in a way that conforms to certain standards of conduct. If a person doesn't conform to that standard, the person can be held liable for harm he or she causes to another person or property. Sometimes the standard of conduct requires a person to act, so it's possible for the omission of an act to give rise to a negligence claim. In order to prove that a defendant was negligent, a plaintiff must prove the elements of negligence. The elements of negligence are: duty, breach, causation, and damages. Although this seems fairly straightforward, proving these elements involves a lot of legal knowledge and analysis.
Proving a Negligence Case
The first step of proving a negligence case is determining whether or not the defendant owed the plaintiff a duty. Generally, determining if the defendant owed a duty will depend on the circumstances surrounding the injury. For example, a driver owes a duty to other drivers on the road. Basically, that driver owes a duty to drive like a reasonable person. Whether or not a defendant had a duty to the plaintiff is a question of law that is ordinarily determined by the judge.
The next step is showing that the defendant breached his or her duty to the plaintiff. Generally speaking, a defendant breaches his or her duty by not exercising reasonable care in fulfilling the duty. For example, a driver that drives too fast is breaching his or duty to drive as a reasonable person. Whether or not a defendant breached his or her duty is a question of fact that is decided by the jury.
The third element of a negligence case that a plaintiff must prove is causation. Some people split causation into two separate elements: causation in fact and proximate causation. If you choose to leave both as one element, you still need to address both. Cause in fact is a simple test: "but for" the defendant's actions, the plaintiff's injury would not have occurred. Proximate cause, however, is a little more complicated because it relates to the scope of a defendant's responsibility. Basically, the scope of responsibility depends on if the harm to the plaintiff could have been foreseen by the defendant. In the event that the harm could not have been foreseen, the plaintiff fails to prove the element of proximate causation, and the defendant will not be liable for the injuries.
The final element a plaintiff must prove in order to prevail in a personal injury case based on a claim of negligence is damages. Damages refer to a legally recognized harm, which is usually physical injury or property damage. Basically, the defendant's breach of duty must have caused actual damages to the plaintiff in order for a negligence claim to succeed.
Hiring a Personal Injury Lawyer
Even if you believe that all of the negligence elements are present, it can still be difficult to make case and prevail in a lawsuit. If you or someone close to you has suffered an injury because of someone else's negligence, it's in your best interest to contact a personal injury lawyer to discuss your case. | <urn:uuid:308f8449-a8c7-40a2-9145-b7f786975f82> | CC-MAIN-2016-22 | http://injury.findlaw.com/accident-injury-law/negligence.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-22/segments/1464049275328.0/warc/CC-MAIN-20160524002115-00027-ip-10-185-217-139.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957335 | 744 | 2.578125 | 3 |
It seems so ironic - one of the supreme masterworks of music, which has enthralled legions of scholars and performers for ages, was meant to put its first audience to sleep!
The so-called Goldberg Variations of Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) is believed to have been a gift to a Count Kayserling, an influential musical devotee who had secured for Bach an appointment as official composer to the Saxon court. Beyond being a deep honor, the title provided Bach much-needed royal protection against the pettiness of his employers, with whom he rarely got along. From his earliest days as a church organist, Bach was faulted for confusing congretations with flights of invention rather than strictly accompanying their hymns. Throughout his career, he constantly railed against the inadequacy of the players and resources with which he had to work.
The Count suffered from bouts of insomnia and had hired one of Bach's finest pupils, the fourteen-year old Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, to play for him during his restless nights. To soothe the Count, Bach wrote this piece, formally entitled Aria With Diverse Variations for Harpsichord with Two Manuals, in 1741. In gratitude, the Count sent Bach 100 louis d'or, an extraordinary sum far exceeding his annual salary.
Bach clearly cherished the Variations himself, as they comprised one of only four volumes of keyboard works he published. Yet, while Bach was revered during his lifetime as a great organist who could brilliantly improvise an entire two-hour concert, his compositions were largely dismissed as the type of functional and disposable material which all performers of the time were expected to produce routinely for their own use.
We now acclaim Bach's art as the culmination of a millennium of musical development. Serious Western music began in the Middle Ages with Gregorian chant, a stylization of speech in which a bare melody imitated the verbal inflection of prayer. Chant was a continuous horizontal art, using a single note at a time. The first glimmer of change came around 1100 by adding another voice at the octave, fifth or fourth. Next, melodies were added above the foundation of a chant. Polyphony flowered as up to four independent voices competed for attention. By the 18th Century, the system had matured into an extraordinary profusion of forms, harmonies and rhythms.
Bach's Art of Fugue and Well-Tempered Clavier are often considered the apex of polyphony and the purest expression of his creativity. But perhaps the ultimate display of the full range of Bach's art, as well as the outlet for his deepest, most personal feelings is the Goldberg Variations. Like all great music, the key to understanding it lies in admiring its fantasy and ingenuity within formal restrictions - freedom within limits.
Bach begins and ends with a simple,
In between the canons
Bach never expected his music to survive him. Indeed, toward the end of his life polyphonic music like the Goldberg Variations, in which each voice was of equal importance, was already considered old-fashioned. Even his own sons were pioneering a new and simpler style of harmonized melodies which would form the basis for nearly all the music we now love. While Mozart, Beethoven and other professionals would become enthralled with the structural marvels of Bach's finely-crafted polyphony, the public relegated both the music and the harpsichord for which it was written to museums and ancient texts.
There they languished until 1903, when a young Polish pianist launched their revival. Through the remaining six decades of her life, Wanda Landowska tirelessly researched, taught, performed and crusaded for the harpsichord (in which strings are plucked with quills rather than struck with a padded hammer, as in a piano) and for authentic Bach, albeit through the filter of her own considerable ego. Her concerts were theatrical events, given from stages set as Baroque living rooms, as if to demand that audiences enter an antiquated world and meet her only on her own terms. Landowska also generated one of the great put-downs of all time – when a pianist dared to criticize her performance, she replied: That's fine - you play Bach your way and I'll play Bach his way!
Given her crucial role in restoring Bach to public favor, it's fitting that Landowska waxed the very first recording of the Goldberg Variations in 1933 (now on EMI 61008, coupled with a massively dramatic Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue). Unfortunately, the crude sound largely obscures the delicate texture and sparkling harmonics that give the harpsichord its distinctive flavor, a problem only partially cured in her 1946 remake (BMG 60919). Despite her fervent advocacy, and although a revelation in its time, Landowska's playing is dignified, reserved and somewhat stodgy and graceless, although charged with a compelling sense of humanism and commitment that remains deeply touching. Although the harpsichord is impervious to touch, producing the same volume and tone no matter how a key is pressed, Landowska compensates for the fixed dynamics by intensively coloring her tone through exploiting various registers of her custom-built instrument.
A second pioneer was another young pianist, Canadian Glenn Gould, who chose the Goldberg Variations for his sensational debut recording in 1955. In marked contrast to Landowka's deference to authenticity, Gould regarded Bach as ripe for modern exploration and realized his deeply personal vision of extreme tempos, huge dynamics and phenomenal technique on a concert grand. His album (on Sony SK 52594) still startles with its precision, crisp rhythms and dazzlingly clear counterpoint. Vibrant and exciting, yet deeply respectful of the inherent values of the source, it ushered in modern enthusiasm for Bach by combining the feel of a harpsichord with the romantic impulse and augmented resources of the piano - several variations are blindingly swift, while in the heart-rending 25th time nearly stands still, hanging on each poignant note. If portions seem a bit sterile and more inspired by the editing block than the human soul, a live 1959 Salzburg version (Sony SMK 52685), tempers the studio volatility with more feeling and atmosphere. One of Gould's final projects was a 1981 remake (Sony SMK 52619), in which his former fire and impulse cede to finely-graded dynamics, control and spirituality.
In the last half-century, the popularity of the Goldberg Variations has soared. A Japanese website having charmingly fractured English and the clever URL of www.a30a.com (get the pun?) catalogues 240 recordings (plus hundreds of reissues) on LP and CD, ranging from the traditional harpsichord or piano to arrangements for strings, organ, band and the Canadian Brass. If Bach could return after a quarter millennium, surely he would be astounded!
Of the several dozen renditions currently available, one of the most distinctive is by Rosalyn Tureck (DG 459 599), which contains a marvelous CD ROM feature of a score which can be printed or followed on screen and which compels appreciation for Bach's wondrous construction. In addition, a MIDI element lets you experiment with dynamics, phrasing, embellishments and tempos to craft your own performance (and learn the artistic value of these techniques in the process). As for Tureck's rarefied, magisterial performance, it's a throwback to Bach's culture, light-years removed from our present age of constant and immediate gratification. Her deliberate unfolding of a multi-layered masterpiece observes all repeats and consumes 91 minutes (Gould's ran 37!), charging every phrase with cosmic weight and emerging as a profound experience.
Equally personal is the 1968 recording by Maria Yudina (Philips 456 994), who played as she lived - an outcast religious dissident in Communist Russia whose irrepressible sense of freedom kindled her artistry. Sharing Bach's belief in music as a direct route to God, she plays every note with a gripping conviction and even adds her own embellishments. Yudina's Goldbergs combine enormously assertive and virile strength with startling dynamics and vast rhythmic elasticity.
Music this rich will continue to attract great artists and inspire great renditions in every generation. Among the most recent interpreters, Murray Perahia, from July, 2000 (Sony 88243), displays an exquisite sensitivity and breathtaking control, with every phrase beautifully shaped.
And for the rock generation, those in search of bolder Bach have Anthony Newman, whose bright, bold and insistent 1975 Columbia recording is larger than life, constantly pressing forward with unabashed virtuosity, its impact heightened by close miking for dense registration and immediate sound. Newman concludes not with a dutiful repeat of the aria but with a heavily embellished version that, as his notes observe, complete the monumental work "in the grand style that it so appropriately deserves." His sense of daring is reflected in the bizarre album cover by James Grashaw, which depicts a rainbow of notes issuing from the mouth of the composer, whose bust, in turn, is swallowed by a person, a beaver, a snake and a fish!
Still not convinced? To test the waters, you might try Christiane Jaccottet on Point 265011. Despite incorrectly labeled tracks, minimal packaging and a rushed and ineffective variation #25, and while lacking the vision and polish of the others, it sells for a pittance yet manages to convey the basic idea well enough.
Could I ever imagine these compelling records lulling me to sleep? Not in my wildest dreams!
Copyright 2002 by Peter Gutmann
For a note about the illustrations, please click here. | <urn:uuid:d73daf9a-5e4f-4bf2-b89c-1c30f0387bba> | CC-MAIN-2017-30 | http://classicalnotes.net/classics/goldberg.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-30/segments/1500549423629.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170721002112-20170721022112-00062.warc.gz | en | 0.960994 | 2,026 | 2.890625 | 3 |
A modest dish that combines humble ingredients with holy symbolism makes a special Mexican dessert beloved during Lent and at Easter.
It's capirotada, a simple bread pudding that forgoes the common egg-milk custard base that we all recognize. Instead, capirotada gains its moisture from a deeply flavored clove-and-cinnamon-spiked sugar syrup. Capirotada may also include dried fruits (such as raisins, chopped apricot or chopped dates), fresh fruits (such as banana or pineapple), nuts (such as pine nuts, slivered almonds or chopped walnuts) – but many families' versions include neither fruits nor nuts.
Like all bread puddings, capirotada's origins are ancient, dating to 15th century Spain or perhaps even earlier. In its earliest incarnations, capirotada was a Moorish-influenced sweet-and-savory dish. Bread pudding surely arose from kitchen economy, when bread going stale was rescued from ruin, but it originally wasn't a dessert dish. Rather, it was a sopa seca, a "dry soup," or a savory dish served at the beginning of a meal. Some versions of capirotada include tomato and onion, even today. This combination of what Westerners traditionally consider "sweet" spices – cinnamon and clove – with savory ingredients is commonplace in Moroccan cooking, for example.
Its constants, then, are the bread, symbolizing the body of Christ; the dark syrup, echoing Christ's blood; the cinnamon sticks, symbolizing the wood of the cross; the cloves, representing the nails used in the Crucifixion; and the cheese that cloaks the dish, suggesting the holy shroud. Beyond that, it seems, any amount of customization is allowable and acceptable.
Never miss a local story.
Bolillos, Mexican sandwich rolls, and piloncillos, cones of unrefined brown sugar, are widely available in supermarkets these days. Look for the bolillos in the bakery section; I often find piloncillos in the specialty part of the produce section. But if you can't find them, don't fret: A sturdy baguette and some dark brown sugar will substitute quite nicely.
Here's a basic capirotada recipe to get you started. Customize it as you wish, and enjoy your date with history.
Robin Mather is a freelance writer and editor, and the author of "The Feast Nearby," a collection of essays and recipes from a year of eating locally on a strict budget.
Prep: 20 minutes
Cook: 65 minutes
Makes: 6 to 8 generous servings
This very old, Spanish-influenced form of bread pudding has origins dating to the 15th century and perhaps earlier. It's a popular Lenten and Easter dessert in Mexico, where the bump of protein from the cheese during a meatless Lent may be welcome. Commonly eaten warm from the oven (or reheated), it's also good when eaten at room temperature or chilled, especially with a bit of crema, sour cream or heavy cream.
4 bolillos, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch slices, or 1 large baguette, sliced similarly
6 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups water
2 large piloncillos, or 1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
4 cinnamon sticks
8 whole cloves
1 cup raisins, golden raisins, dried cranberries, dried cherries or other dried fruit, optional
1 cup pine nuts, slivered almonds, chopped walnuts, chopped pecans or other nuts, optional
3 cups shredded mild cheese, such as Monterey jack, Colby, queso fresco or mild cheddar
1. Lay the sliced bread on rimmed baking sheets, and toast under the broiler until golden, 2 to 3 minutes, turning once. Brush slices on both sides with melted butter. Set the bread and any remaining butter aside while you make the syrup.
2. Place water in a large, heavy saucepan with a close-fitting lid. Add the piloncillos or brown sugar, cinnamon sticks and cloves. Over medium high heat, bring the mixture to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, 10 minutes. Remove from heat to cool slightly before straining out cinnamon sticks and cloves. Set the strained syrup aside.
3. Butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
4. Cover the bottom of the baking dish with buttered bread. Strew a third of the dried fruit, if using, and a third of the nuts, if using, atop the buttered bread. Scatter a cup of shredded cheese over all. Pour over 1/3 of the syrup; let stand, 15 minutes.
5. Repeat layers as needed to fill dish, allowing the syrup-drenched bread to stand for 15 minutes before adding another layer. If you have melted butter left over, pour it over the final, top layer before adding cheese. End with shredded cheese.
6. Heavily butter a piece of aluminum foil, and cover the filled baking dish. Bake, 30 minutes; uncover and bake until the cheese is browned and bubbly, 15 minutes.
7. Remove from oven; let stand 15 minutes before serving. Garnish each serving with crema, sour cream or heavy cream, if desired.
Nutrition information per serving (for 8 servings): 548 calories, 24 g fat, 14 g saturated fat, 61 mg cholesterol, 68 g carbohydrates, 42 g sugar, 16 g protein, 517 mg sodium, 1 g fiber | <urn:uuid:a6d32e10-1ab5-405a-b7e6-d1d8abe7ed0e> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | http://www.sacbee.com/food-drink/article203863029.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257644701.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20180317055142-20180317075142-00537.warc.gz | en | 0.902571 | 1,177 | 2.625 | 3 |
Mexico through Central America
This striking bird is about one meter in height and has a characteristic forward-curling, feather frill running down the back of its head and neck. In addition, it has a bulbous knob at the base of the bill which enlarges and brightens in color during breeding season.
The curassow is a large forest bird that forages for berries, seeds and fallen fruits along with insects, some smaller reptiles and mammals.
The Great Curassow is listed as vulnerable in its natural habitats. The wild populations are under threat from land fragmentation from logging roads, hunting pressures and habitat loss. | <urn:uuid:136a4cbf-5ad5-4e6d-9eb1-4ea2450c5130> | CC-MAIN-2019-04 | https://www.niabizoo.com/animals-habitats-details/great-curassow/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-04/segments/1547583659944.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20190118070121-20190118092121-00278.warc.gz | en | 0.93707 | 127 | 3.15625 | 3 |
How to Grow Your Own Berries
Blackberries can be trained to grow up a fence or trellis, which adds support to the plant's growth and adds a touch of color to your backyard.
Fresh berries are pretty expensive to buy because there's only a narrow window of time between harvest and decline. You can grow your own, however, and you'll love the fresh-off-the-vine flavor. Although they're considered a cool-season crop, berries are easy to grow in most parts of the country. Berry brambles love to ramble out of control, but with some extra care and attention, gardeners can tame even the most arduous vines.
County extension agent Chuck Ingels shares some advice:
There are two types of blackberries: the upright varieties grow vertically, and the trailing types send out horizontal runners. The trailing varieties like to set down roots and take off in the garden at the end of the growing season. In the fall, the terminal growth will grow into the soil and root to form a new plant, which may be a problem if you don't want plants all over your yard. To prevent unwanted roaming, Chuck suggests creating a plant barrier.
One such barrier is this in-ground device that reaches about a foot deep into the soil. Barriers may be made of concrete, redwood, plastic, stainless steel, or pretty much anything that blocks meandering roots. However, most home gardeners opt for easier methods of keeping berries in check, such as diligent hoeing and a thick layer of mulch.
Managing where these plants grow is one thing, but managing how they grow is another. Most varieties of blackberries bear fruit on 2-year-old shoots called floricanes.
Next year, this year's floricanes will be replaced by new shoots, primocanes. After they've fruited, the canes die back and should be cut down to make room for the new primocanes.
While that may sound complicated, it's easy to tell the difference between the old growth that requires pruning out, and the new growth that bears next year's berries. There is an exception to pruning brambleberries: for everbearing or fall-bearing types, cut those to the ground every winter.
Growing berries doesn't require a lot of space. All you need is a long, narrow section — for instance, along a house or fence. To build a berry trellis, Chuck recommends using a posthole digger. Blackberries grow taller than raspberries and need to be trained upward, so Chuck constructs a vertical trellis composed of two 8-foot-long 4x4s buried two feet in the ground and secured with a brace along the inside of the posts for stability.
Next, he evenly spaces three screw hooks between the brace and the top and along both sides of the post. Onto each hook, Chuck places a turnbuckle and strings galvanized wire from one side to the other, twisting the wire to secure it in place. The turnbuckle's screw pulls the wire taut.
For a raspberry trellis, you need less height and more depth. There are several ways to create the structure — placing one post in the middle with a cross arm or placing two posts about three feet apart.
Raspberries are semi-erect, which means that as they get taller, they need support. Ingels uses four 6-foot posts to form a 6-foot-long rectangle. Lengthwise, each post is strung together with wire through the turnbuckle so that the berries can neatly grow taller and wider. Black raspberries are another variety that's gaining popularity; their growth habit is almost identical to the blackberry types that feature long, trailing shoots.
Once your trellis structure is built, you're ready to plant. Generally, berries love organic matter mixed into the soil, but if you have only so-so soil, blackberries are your best bet. Remember to avoid planting too deep in the soil. Make sure you have a mound of soil so you're planting on a slightly raised area. This way, water can drain away from the plant. "It's really important that water doesn't sit in a hole around your plants because they'll rot," warns Ingels. When planting, space raspberries about 2-1/2 to three feet apart.
Once your plants start growing, it's important to differentiate between the old and new growth. During the first year, your plants may grow five to six feet; as it grows, tie it up along the trellis. "In fact, some years what I've done is tied a string down to the vine, and it'll then grow straight up the string to the wire," says Chuck.
With the summer-bearing types, train the flowering canes along the wires and encourage diagonal growth. Then the primal canes should have plenty of room and sunlight to grow vertically between the two wires.
Don't forget to train the new growth regularly or prune your brambles before they have a chance to ramble out of control. Water your berry plants well, add some organic mulch, and soon, tasty treats will be on their way.
These berries take some extra time and work in the garden, but the outstanding fruit will be your delectable reward. | <urn:uuid:9ac29d4b-12f0-497e-8aab-1219ce8b8a8f> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | https://www.hgtv.com/design/outdoor-design/landscaping-and-hardscaping/how-to-grow-your-own-berries | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794867311.83/warc/CC-MAIN-20180526053929-20180526073929-00637.warc.gz | en | 0.947593 | 1,106 | 2.828125 | 3 |
A GOOGLE Doodle animation has celebrated the news that Nasa astronomers have discovered seven Earth-like planets orbiting the same star.
The space agency’s announcement brings hope that scientists could find extraterrestrial life on one of the warm, rocky exoplanets.
What is Trappist-1?
Trappist-1 is the name of a red dwarf star — much smaller and cooler than our own Sun — around 39 light years away from us.
It is in the area of sky where the Aquarius constellation is visible.
Telescopes trained on the star detected dips in the light — telltale signs of a planet passing in front of our view.
It made it a strong candidate in the search for alien life.
What are exoplanets?
Exoplanets are planets orbiting stars outside our own solar system.
For centuries astronomers have predicted our Sun would not be the only star with a system of planets and millions of others would have formed in the same way.
But most are so far away and relatively dim that telescopes cannot observe them directly.
Instead scientists have to look for clues — such as tiny dips in the visible light or a "wobble" caused by a large planet's gravitational pull.
The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet came in 1992 and more were discovered in the years since using new techniques and better telescopes.
In May last year Nasa revealed it had found a further 1,284 new planets, more than doubling the number of known exoplanets in the universe to more than 3,500 - of which nine were believed to be habitable.
Until now the best chance for finding life was thought to be on a mysterious world circling our closest neighbour Proxima Centuari, just four light years away.
It is thought a fifth of Sun-like stars have potentially habitable planets the size of Earth - a total of 11 billion in our galaxy the Milky Way.
That could rise to 40 billion if you include planets around red dwarfs like Trappist-1.
What has Nasa found in the Trappist-1 system?
Early last year Michaël Gillon of the University of Liège announced the discovery of three exoplanets orbiting Trappist-1.
Since then further observations have come from Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope, plus telescopes in Chile, Morocco, the Canary Islands, Hawaii and South Africa.
They confirmed the existence of at least seven planets, and measured their vital statistics — their mass and diameter, their temperature and the size and duration of their orbits.
It is a record for the number of Earth-like, potentially habitable worlds in one star system.
The planets do not yet have names, but have simply been labelled Trappist-1b, c, d, e, f, g and h.
The star itself has only 8 per cent the mass of the Sun and is just slightly bigger than Jupiter, the largest planet in our Solar System.
Trappist-1 is much cooler than larger stars but all seven of its planets are close by — nearer than our own inner planet Mercury is to the sun — meaning at least six are in the "Goldilocks zone" where conditions are not too hot and not too cold for life.
Why are people so exciting about Nasa's Trappist-1 exoplanet announcement?
Rocky worlds in outer space have been detected before, but never so many of similar size to Earth in one star system.
Scientists are excited because at least three of the planets have just the right temperature for oceans on the surface.
Others could also have liquid water — essential for life as we know it.
The Hubble Space Telescope is already searching for atmospheres around the planets as a first step to check them out for clues that they are inhabited.
And the more powerful James Webb Space Telescope launched next year will peer at them in even closer detail.
Boffins may be able to detect chemicals that would be a sign of biological activity — proof aliens exist, even if there are only tiny beings similar to bacteria.
What are people saying about the Trappist-1 exoplanet discovery?
Michaël Gillon, who led the discovery team, said: "This is an amazing planetary system — not only because we have found so many planets, but because they are all surprisingly similar in size to the Earth."
Fellow researcher Dr Amaury Triaud, of the Institute of Astronomy, Cambridge, told The Sun: "There have been announcements before of planets that might be habitable, but we didn't have enough information to be sure that they were rocky, and so Earth-like.
"The difference this time is that we have the radius, the mass and an indication of the approximate temperatures of each of the planets, and will be able to study them in greater detail.
"We will be able to probe their atmospheres remotely from Earth, find out their climate, and eventually determine the chemical composition of the atmospheres.
"Life leaves a chemical trace within the atmosphere, so we hope one day to detect that too.
"Here we have the right target to start the search for life. It is the first one we have really, but instead of just one planet we have seven."
He added: "I'm convinced that if there is life there, we will have the chance to detect it within the next decade.
"So we could soon have an answer to one of the oldest philosophical questions — are we alone in the Universe — and that is quite incredible.
"For me this discovery is extremely exciting. I'm doing research because I want to find out how frequently life has formed in the Universe, and to be at such an advanced stage in our understanding of this, and to participate in the adventure, is great."
When are the next solar and lunar eclipses and how can I watch them in the UK? All you need to know
Nasa announces discovery of entire solar system which could be home to alien lifeforms
Nasa calls major news conference to reveal ‘discovery beyond our solar system’ that could aid quest for alien life
Bizarre Star Wars-style desert world orbiting Proxima Centauri, boffins discover
Planet orbiting Earth’s ‘closest neighbour’ Proxima Centauri could be home to ALIENS | <urn:uuid:c9018c57-0b96-4d02-a703-f0dc24f199fe> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/news/630042/what-does-the-exoplanet-discovery-mean-google-doodle-marks-nasa-trappist-1-announcement-all-you-need-to-know/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891807660.32/warc/CC-MAIN-20180217185905-20180217205905-00151.warc.gz | en | 0.945782 | 1,308 | 3.890625 | 4 |
At Fenway Middle College, a Boston alternative high school, the humanities course “Whose America Is It?” explores American society from pre-Columbian North America to the present from the point of view of the common person, using sources and approaches from history, literature, sociology, psychology, political science, and the fine arts. Students probe three periods–the discovery of America; the Industrial Revolution, and the Great Depression–to relate their challenges and struggles to the problems contemporary America faces. Sample questions for presentations include:
- Use microfilmed pages of the New York Times stock index to follow the stock of three actual companies through 1929-30. Using several graphs and charts, explain their growth or decline. Be prepared to explain how the stock market functions, and how or whether its collapse “caused” the Great Depression.
- Is territoriality an instinctive or a learned behavior? Support with specific examples from history, our readings, and your own experience.
- Explain the differences between two Native American tribes with respect to their systems of government, legal structures, religious practices, relations with other tribes, ideas about property and gender roles.
- With drawings, diagrams, or photos, compare the principles of steam power versus water power. Which are more effective in given situations? Which can do more work? What are the limitations of each?
- Using drawing and diagrams, explain the scientific principles that allowed a particular invention or a scientific innovation to “revolutionize” an industry. Then be prepared to discuss the effects of that invention on how or where people lived, worked, shopped, etc.
- Draw on scientific resources to explain what farming practices contributed to the “Dustbowl,” and how might that have been prevented. Which plants can grow in such dry soil, and what biological characteristics allow this? How can such considerations be of use today? | <urn:uuid:cfda9c14-3b8a-4876-9989-fc92c92984e1> | CC-MAIN-2022-27 | http://essentialschools.org/horace-issues/whose-america-is-it/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-27/segments/1656103034170.1/warc/CC-MAIN-20220625034751-20220625064751-00628.warc.gz | en | 0.912126 | 385 | 3.59375 | 4 |
The Pink Shell with Seaweed painting by Georgia O'Keeffe is an oil painting on canvas from 1937. The famous American painter is credited for his diversity in his intriguing painting and art perspectives and unique skills from other world-renowned painters.
The painting features different elements which she is known to implement in her style of painting. The primary style from this Pink Shell with Seaweed can be categorized as Precisionism.
The main elements recognizable in the painting include the sea snail with its distinct shell making it fit comfortably in the animal painting genre.
The visual image is clear with vibrant colors with contracts. The snail shell shows the use of gradients the colors implemented.
Set within the Pink Sweet Pease series, the painting has set itself apart from her other paintings through the simple design and popularity within the mainstream online media platforms. The name may contrast with the actual painting since the shell doesn't appear to be pink but lighter gradients. In contrast with the color of the painting, the name might represent an artistic form of expression.
The outer shell has a wide range of colors that shift dramatically in other places, while in different sections, the change is gradual and uniform. The outer edges seem orange and change to more peach colors as they move into most of the shell's surface. There are yellow color gradients in the middle of the outer curl of the shell. Before getting to the shell's inner circles, the color is much lighter and brighter than the other parts. Towards the inner parts of the shell curl, the color is deeper with an orange lining.
The background and base of the shell are somewhat different. The overall background is blue with different gradients, representing water I a pond since the snail is assumed to be a water snail. The green base where the shell is sitting may represent some of the natural water plants growing on the pond, so the snail has taken refuge.
It is possible to purchase versions of the ink Shell with Seaweed painting from different online stores with different sizes and quality. The painting is currently located in Georgia O’Keeffe Museum in the United States, owned by specific stakeholders.
The use of oil paint was a gamechanger for the painter due to the paints' new characteristics, which could create realism, such as the one seen in the Pink Shell with Seaweed painting. The painting also includes a certificate of authenticity for whoever owns the painting as well as the rights.
Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings are much more than they seem, and even with this painting, there is so much it represents and so always open to discussions. | <urn:uuid:023113b2-7725-4769-96af-71ec176dfb97> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | http://www.georgiaokeeffe.org/pink-shell-with-seaweed/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038863420.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20210419015157-20210419045157-00460.warc.gz | en | 0.970042 | 532 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Medical students who spend more time engaging in the arts may also be bolstering the qualities that improve their bedside manner with patients, according to new research from Tulane and Thomas Jefferson universities.
The study, published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, finds that students who devoted more time to the humanities in medical school had significantly higher levels of positive physician attributes like empathy, tolerance of ambiguity, wisdom and emotional intelligence while at the same time reporting lower levels of adverse traits like burnout.
“The humanities in medical school curricula have often been pushed to the side, but our data suggests that exposure to the arts are linked to important personal qualities for future physicians,” said senior author Marc Kahn, MD, MBA, MACP, the Peterman-Prosser Professor and Senior Associate Dean in the Tulane University School of Medicine. “This is the first study to show this type of correlation.”
Through an online survey, the team measured exposure to the humanities (music, literature, theater and visual arts), positive personal qualities (wisdom, empathy, self-efficacy, tolerance for ambiguity and emotional appraisal) and negative qualities associated with well-being (physical fatigue, emotional exhaustion and cognitive weariness) in 739 medical students at five medical schools across the country.
Those who reported more interactions with the humanities also scored higher in openness, visual-spatial skills and the ability to read their own and others’ emotions. Those with fewer interactions scored higher for qualities associated with physician burnout such as physical fatigue and emotional exhaustion.
“The fields of art and medicine have been diverging for the last 100 years,” said Salvatore Mangione, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine in the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and first author. “Our findings present a strong case for bringing the left and the right brains back together – for the health of the patient and the physician.”
Jefferson encourages student engagement in the arts and humanities to foster the essential skills related to healthcare including observation, critical thinking, self-reflection and empathy. The JeffMD curriculum, through the Medicine + Humanities Scholarly Inquiry track, is a formalized approach to embedding humanities into medical school.
Similarly Tulane offers an elective course in medical humanities as well as student programming and community service opportunities that engage the arts. Tulane’s Creative Premedical Scholars Program offers early acceptance to undergraduate honor students in arts and humanities majors. Slightly less than half of the school’s first-year class of students earned undergraduate degrees in liberal arts. | <urn:uuid:1256b5a6-acca-4208-a966-25d6c6ca7ef8> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://www.ghscientific.com/arts-humanities-medical-school-promote-empathy-inoculate-burnout/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038072175.30/warc/CC-MAIN-20210413062409-20210413092409-00234.warc.gz | en | 0.944375 | 529 | 2.546875 | 3 |
NEWS RELEASE, 9/5/96
A UC Berkeley professor who first brought health care to mothers and infants dies at the age of 96.
Berkeley -- Jessie M. Bierman, a pioneer in the field of maternal and child health, died of natural causes at the Carmel Valley Manor in California on Aug. 26.
She was 96.
A professor of public health at the University of California at Berkeley between 1947 and 1963, Bierman, a pediatrician, was one of the first in the nation to establish programs for delivering health care to infants and children, particularly in high risk communities.
She helped set up health delivery programs at the US Children's Bureau during the Great Depression and innovated with well-baby clinics in Montana which later became a model for the nation.
In the1950s, while on leave from her 20-year career at UC Berkeley's School of Public Health, Bierman carried her concern for the well-being of infants around the world, serving as chief of the maternal and child health unit for the World Health Organization.
Bierman also broke new ground in research, doing a classic study called "The Children of Kauai," which formed the basis for early childhood intervention programs that began in the 1960s. As the first population-based study to follow children from early pregnancy through 17 years of age, the study helped to delineate the respective roles of genetics and environment on child health. Bierman's work led to standards by which maternal and child health could be measured.
"Jessie Bierman had an unrelenting dedication to ensuring the health of future generations of children," said Patricia Buffler, dean of UC Berkeley's School of Public Health. "Those of us who knew and worked with her will always remember her leadership in education, research and service."
Born in Kalispell, Montana in 1900, Bierman graduated from the University of Montana in 1921 and earned a medical degree from the University of Chicago's Rush Medical College in 1926. She interned in pediatrics in San Francisco, later teaching at the then University of California School of Medicine.
Before her appointment as professor at UC Berkeley, Bierman headed up programs in child health at state departments of health in both Montana and California. Upon her retirement, Bierman was appointed professor emerita and she continued to direct the School's research in maternal and child health until 1967.
Among many honors, Bierman received the Martha M. Eliot award for exceptional health services to mothers and children, given by the American Public Health Association. She also received honorary degrees from the University of California and the University of Montana.
Perhaps her most unusual legacy, however, is a research vessel called the "Jessie B" which trolls Flathead Lake in Montana looking for ecological explanations for threatened species in the lake. Bierman, who had loved the lake since her youth, endowed a research chair at the lake's biological station where she first studied with her mentor, former University of Montana physics professor Morton Elrod. The professorship, set up by Bierman in recent years, will support ecological research at Lake Flathead.
Bierman is survived by her sister, Esther Bierman Simon, who resides at Carmel Valley Manor, and a niece and nephew, Kent and Susan Simon of Maui.
A memorial service was held Sept. 1 at Carmel Valley Manor. Graveside services will take place on Sept. 15 at the Conrad Memorial Cemetery in Kalispell, Montana.
Send comments to: email@example.com | <urn:uuid:38772955-040c-485f-b106-5d4ec6f0fdbe> | CC-MAIN-2017-51 | http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/96legacy/bierman.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-51/segments/1512948513784.2/warc/CC-MAIN-20171211164220-20171211184220-00152.warc.gz | en | 0.97122 | 732 | 2.65625 | 3 |
With the release of the Gillard Government's plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions we can finally compare the government's carbon price with the Coalition's Direct Action Plan. Two different policies with the same goal, to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by five per cent on 2000 levels by 2020. While large amounts have been written about a carbon price, relatively little attention has been given to the Coalition's policy.
The Coalition's Direct Action Plan is a competitive grant program under which people would submit proposals to the government on how they would reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and how much it would cost. A Coalition Government would then choose those reductions that cost the least and use taxpayers' money to fund them to do so. It would continue to fund projects up to the reduction target. The Coalition has committed $3.2 billion over the next four years to set up the Emissions Reduction Fund. In total, the Coalition claims the fund will be allocated $10.5 billion to 2020.
Much like the government's carbon price, the Direct Action Plan is not a new idea. Competitive grant programs like the Coalition's plan have been used extensively by governments in Australia as a way of trying to reduce emissions. Over $7 billion has been allocated over the past 10 to 15 years to competitive grant programs. We have a wealth of information on how effective these schemes have been in reducing emissions. The Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) and the Grattan Institute have reviewed competitive grant schemes in Australia and found that they:
Take far longer to achieve their objectives than originally planned
Achieve much less than expected
Cost far more than was budgeted.
As a competitive grant program direct action will likely suffer from two main problems. The first is it will be unable to produce the level of reduction that is required to reach the target. The Coalition would need to fund projects that will reduce emissions by 713 million tonnes by 2020. The Grattan Institute found that previous grants programs, many of which were run under the Howard Government, were only able to spend about 18 per cent of allocated funds after 10 years because they couldn't find enough projects. Given this, the Direct Action Plan is unlikely to achieve more than 18 per cent of its planned reduction.
Even if the Coalition were to somehow overcome the problem of finding enough emissions reduction projects and getting them to deliver on time it has a second, even larger problem: the cost. The amount of money set aside for the Emissions Reduction Fund is highly unlikely to be sufficient to buy the quantity of reductions that would be required to meet the five per cent target. If we use the average cost of abatement for competitive grant schemes that have been previously conducted in Australia then by 2020 the Fund would have to allocate around $100 billion. That is, on average, $11.1 billion every year to 2020, or put another way, $1,300 per household per year. This is far in excess of what the Coalition has budgeted for.
As part of its Direct Action Plan the Coalition proposes to offset 15 million tonnes of emissions from planting trees. To achieve this would require an area of 25,000 square kilometres and about 9,100 gigalitres of water, two and a half times the amount of water proposed to be bought back by the draft Murray Darling Basin Plan.
The Coalition plans to achieve 60 per cent of their emissions reduction from soil carbon. Soil carbon is currently a largely untested source of reduction. There are further issues to resolve around soil variability and the maintenance of the sequestered carbon over time. Due to uncertainties large scale use of soil carbon sequestration is a risky exercise. It requires further investigation and until the measurement methodology is resolved it seems unwise to rely on it as heavily as the Coalition does in its Direct Action Plan.
The Coalition's Emissions Reduction Fund would also require a large number of public servants to administer the tendering process. If we make the generous assumption that the average reduction in emissions per project is 25,000 tonnes then there would need to be about 28,500 successful projects to meet the target. If we assume four unsuccessful projects for every successful one then the number of projects assessed would be close to 150,000.
The public servants would need to have excellent up to date knowledge on all cutting edge technologies designed to reduce emissions as well as excellent knowledge on almost all production techniques currently carried out in Australia in order to accurately assess the applications. Given the wide range of possible projects the Emissions Reduction Fund could finance, grant applications are likely to be varied and dissimilar which would increase the time and cost of assessing them. How the Coalition would juggle the number of public servants needed with its commitment to reduce the public service is puzzling.
Past competitive grant schemes have come in at a cost of on average $140 per tonne. This is far more expensive than the proposed carbon price of $23 per tonne. The carbon price will also create a revenue flow that will be used to compensate households and emissions intensive trade exposed industries. The Direct Action Plan has no such source of revenue and would need to be funded from the budget.
There are many different ways to cut Australia's emissions. What economic theory brings to the development of climate change policy is some insight into how different ways of cutting emissions will affect the economy. What economists are consistently saying is that a price on carbon is the cheapest way to reduce emissions. So it is not surprising to find that after analysing the Coalition's Direct Action Plan we find that it is significantly more expensive than what could be achieved with a broad based carbon price. The Coalition's plan is an expensive approach funded from the budget and requiring a large number of public servants to administer effectively. Based on past experience it will take far longer to achieve much less than is planned at a much bigger cost. What's most ironic is that the Coalition's policy is a caricature of big government programs. It is not surprising then that the Coalition has been unable to find any economist that supports its direct action policy. It has also had great difficulty finding any business leaders to support it either.
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15 posts so far. | <urn:uuid:cff1199b-13f3-4c7a-90fd-00546c8a7ab6> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://onlineopinion.com.au/view.asp?article=12322 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882571086.77/warc/CC-MAIN-20220809185452-20220809215452-00416.warc.gz | en | 0.967826 | 1,269 | 2.8125 | 3 |
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A home internet connection and access to a smartphone, tablet or laptop computer is one of the first things you’ll need when going back to school this year. 52% of elementary and high school students will be attending classes virtually this coming fall, according to Burbio.
However, there’s a population of students without consistent access to vital technology. They’re getting lost in what’s being called the “homework gap.” Let’s take a look at the students most affected by tech integration into school curricula and what’s being done to close this chasm.
Who is affected by the homework gap?
In a recent analysis by Pew Research Center, kids ages 6 to 17 were surveyed to find out whether or not recent surges in technological adoption have helped close the homework gap. Unfortunately, findings show that certain demographics are more likely to have trouble completing their homework due to limited digital access.
- Black and Hispanic teens from lower-income households are most likely to face school-related problems due to limited internet access
- One out of four black teens say they are unable to complete homework because they don’t have reliable equipment or an internet connection
- 24% of teens with a family income of less than $30,000 per year do not have the necessary equipment or internet connection to complete assignments
The study found that one in 10 students unable to access the necessary equipment or internet connection to complete assignments must look outside the home. This additional barrier to attend online classes poses unnecessary health threats to students if they’re unable to complete work from home.
- 21% of black teens report needing to use public Wi-Fi on occasion to make up for the necessary resources not available at home
- 35% of teens, especially those in lower-income households, said they often complete homework assignments on cellphones
These findings come as a stark contrast to the results reported by non-minority households, especially those who earn over $75,000 per year. Only 4% of teens in this demographic do not have access to a home computer.
See below for a complete breakdown of the digital divide and how teens are compensating for a lack of access.
How are devices being used to do schoolwork?
According to a study by ACT Research & Center for Equity in Learning, students with access to multiple devices typically use them for school-related activities — checking grades, doing homework and establishing communication with instructors during off-hours. Take a look at how access to more than one device affects a student’s digital participation in school activities.
As student access to devices goes down, so does digital participation in all activities except “reading” and “school-related apps.” For these activities, access to only one device was more than sufficient when compared to having access to two or more.
Is anyone working to close the gap?
Internet service providers signed the pledge to Keep Americans Connected with initiatives directed towards low-income users and students without internet connections. AT&T, for example, will continue to waive data overage charges for subscribers through September. Xfinity has increased their standard monthly data limits for 1 to 1.2 TB.
A wide variety of providers are also offering discounted internet plans for first-time subscribers. With Connect2Compete, Cox is offering households with students K-12 internet service for only $9.95/mo.* Spectrum Internet™ Assist through Charter Spectrum is available for student households participating in public assistance programs like the Community Eligibility Provision can get speeds up 30 Mbps with no data limits.
Looking to finally connect for this back-to-school season? Learn more about how providers are helping students connect with discounted internet plans and tech equipment.
Last updated on 08/18/20.
Written by:Taylor Gadsden
Writer, Broadband & Wireless Content
Taylor is a veteran member of the Allconnect content team and has spearheaded a number of projects, including a data piece on the top fiber cities in the U.S. and a troubleshooting guide on how to connect your p… Read more
Edited by:Trey Paul
Editor, Head of Content
- FeaturedAmerica’s broadband divide: Where do we stand? Lisa Iscrupe — 4 min read
- FeaturedWhat is the digital divide? Ari Howard — 5 min read
- FeaturedHere are the latest student internet deals and tech discounts you can use now! Taylor Gadsden — 5 min read
Tuesday, July 27, 2021What is your state doing to address the digital divide?
Ari Howard — 17 min read
Saturday, July 24, 2021Harnessing the internet to keep your family and home safe
Ari Howard — 6 min read
Friday, July 23, 2021DISH opens website for wireless 5G service
Ari Howard — 2 min read | <urn:uuid:bbff708e-3a66-43bb-a2bf-ff574a8a4fd7> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://www.allconnect.com/blog/homework-gap | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046153791.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20210728185528-20210728215528-00234.warc.gz | en | 0.940201 | 1,036 | 2.859375 | 3 |
The long term effects of COVID-19 and the populations affected are still not yet fully understood. Despite the level of uncertainty still surrounding this virus, we do know two things: 1) individuals with comorbidities, i.e. preexisting medical conditions, are most at risk and 2) social distancing works. This is evident in a March 26 report released by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and a 2007 study of nonpharmaceutical interventions implented during the 1918-1919 pandemic. The corollary to these two facts is that the elderly who tend to have weaker immune systems or existing medical conditions and those who cannot effectively social distance are particularly susceptible. But how many of these individuals reside in Santa Barbara County? Moreover, where in Santa Barbara County are they?
The age distribution of Santa Barbara County is shown in the table below. Evidently, the age cohort mix of Santa Barbara County residents has remained largely unchanged over the past 5 years. The estimated median age of inidivuals in the county is roughly 34 years of age, roughly four years below that of the United States according to recent estimates from the Cencus Bureau. Still, Santa Barbara County has a large number of at risk persons. In fact, those aged 65+ amke up 15.6% of our population. According to the CDC 8 out of 10 deaths reported in the United States have come from this population.
Age is not the only concern. The population density, and in particular the number of persons per household, of Santa Barbara County is also key to understanding how any viral outbreak including COVID-19 is likely to affect our communities. Even with strict adherence to stay-at-home orders, it may be difficult for some in our community to effectively avoid interpersonal contact. If, for example, a household consists of only two individuals, then each household member only need be wary of one additional person's health. If instead the household consists of four individuals, then each member need be wary of three additional person's actions and/or health. A potential consequence of a high number of persons per household is that viruses have a greater potential to spread the more each member of the household leaves to shop, go to work, etc.
The graph below displays the distribution of household size for both North and South County. While both regions of Santa Barbara County have a high number one and two person households, North County has substantially more high density households. In fact, households containing more than four persons make up 22.0% of households in North County whereas they make up only 11.6% of households in South County. Of particular note is the relatively high number of 7+ person households in North County.
Related to the above concerns, is the fact that low income indivduals are likely to be impacted more substantially than other populations, both directly due to health concerns and indirectly due to things like hoarding. It is well known that the impoverished tend to have worse health outcomes than high income individuals. According to The Office of Disease and Health Promotion, those with low socioeconomic status, i.e. income level, education, and occupational status, are more likely to experience heart disease, diabetes, have higher rates of disability, and higher mortality rates. Moreover, financially constrained individuals are substantially more limited with respect to what types of groceries they can afford. Additionally, those who rely SNAP benefits may more limited with respect to food options: they cannot purchase prepared food if the grocery store shelves are empty. These concerns are particularly important given the extent to which grocery store stocks have been strained over the past several weeks.
The graph below shows the distribution of household income in North and South County. It also displays in red the income groups for which all members are below the federal poverty line for a household consisting of four individuals ($26,200). This cutoff is of course an underestimate of those that are financially constrained in relatively high cost of living areas. Both regions have roughly the same number of impoverished households as defined above. Evidently, however, North County has significantly fewer high income households relative to South County, with a much larger dropoff following the most common income group of $50,000-$75,000. | <urn:uuid:dbea5a78-93ab-4069-af12-8541b3a668f4> | CC-MAIN-2020-24 | https://efp.ucsb.edu/Pages/COVID19demographics.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-24/segments/1590348502204.93/warc/CC-MAIN-20200605174158-20200605204158-00260.warc.gz | en | 0.959828 | 854 | 2.890625 | 3 |
Great horned owls are the largest and most powerful of the common owls in Northeastern Ohio. They are found year round near streams in undisturbed woodlands with large trees for nesting and nearby open areas for hunting. They have also adapted to living in residential areas, where they may be seen hunting from chimneys or large trees. Their preferred habitat is rural areas with open fields interspersed with agricultural fields.
Great horned owls, like other owls, have eyes that are fixed in their socket. They cannot move their eyes up and down or side to side like humans. To compensate for lack of eye movement they can rotate their heads 270 degrees. This rotation enables the owl to see in many different directions. In addition to having an extra vertebrate to help with the neck movement, great horned owls have large yellow eyes that allow them to gather sufficient light to see well in low light conditions. They have an incredible sense of hearing, a trait which allows them to hunt at night. Their ears are located on the sides of the head. One opening of the ears is tilted upwards while the other is tilted downwards. The right ear is set higher up on the skull. This allows the owl to pinpoint exactly where the prey is located.
Great horned owls are thought to be the nocturnal equivalent to red-tailed hawks, doing most of their hunting at night. Like red-tailed hawks, great horned owls hunt by waiting on a high perch, listening and looking then swooping down on its prey. Anything that moves is unsafe from this owl. It will eat small prey such as insects or larger prey including cats, woodchucks and geese. This owl’s varied diet may include mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians. When weather conditions are bad it will eat carrion. Unlike red-tailed hawks, great horned owls are one of the few birds that can be identified by smell because they have a particular fondness for skunk.
Great horned owls are the earliest nesters. They inhabit abandon hawk, eagle, heron and squirrel nests. In autumn great horned owls determine their nesting territory by hooting in duet with their mates. A pair will roost together with the male later roosting just nearby until the young owlets fledge. Mating season of great horned owls occurs January-April, and is dependant not on air temperature but on the availability of food. It is believed that great horned owls mates for life or are monogamous. In the wild that could mean a pair could stay together for 15-20 years.
The two to three young hatch in late February and early March. By April the young are mobile climbing up and down tree branches but are incapable of flight. Adults will feed the young on the ground after they leave the nest. In mid-May they are able to fly and start hunting but still have much of their down feathers.
Want to help the great horned owl? Great horned owls are widespread and common. They adapt well to change and are thriving in most areas. While fragmented forests are advantageous to great horned owls, other more threatened birds may succumb to heavy predations by the owl. Urge landowners and nature groups to save large tracts of forest to help threatened birds. | <urn:uuid:486880fd-1121-42da-896b-d2c579bc57e5> | CC-MAIN-2015-18 | http://holdenarb.org/resources/Greathornedowl.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-18/segments/1429246633799.48/warc/CC-MAIN-20150417045713-00096-ip-10-235-10-82.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973928 | 688 | 3.765625 | 4 |
Paris. The King’s palace.
(King; Lords; Bertram Count Roussillion; Parolles; Lafew; Helen)
The King bids farewell to some Lords who are leaving to fight in the war between Florence and Savoy. Lord Lafew introduces Helena to doctor the King. She finally convinces the incredulous King to try her cure. If Helena fails, she is willing to be punished severely; but if she wins, the King promises to marry her to the man of her choice (except of royal blood). (212 lines)
Enter the King, with divers young Lords taking leave for the Florentine war, (Bertram) Count Roussillion, and Parolles. Flourish cornets.
Farewell, young lords, these warlike principles
Do not throw from you; and you, my lords, farewell.
Share the advice betwixt you; if both gain all,
The gift doth stretch itself as ’tis receiv’d,
And is enough for both.
’Tis our hope, sir,
After well-ent’red soldiers, to return
And find your Grace in health.
No, no, it cannot be; and yet my heart
Will not confess he owes the malady
That doth my life besiege. Farewell, young lords,
Whether I live or die, be you the sons
Of worthy Frenchmen. Let higher Italy
(Those bated that inherit but the fall
Of the last monarchy) see that you come
Not to woo honor, but to wed it, when
The bravest questant shrinks. Find what you seek,
That fame may cry you loud. I say farewell.
Health, at your bidding, serve your Majesty!
Those girls of Italy, take heed of them.
They say our French lack language to deny
If they demand. Beware of being captives
Before you serve.
Our hearts receive your warnings.
Farewell.—Come hither to me.
The King retires apart with some Lords.
O my sweet lord, that you will stay behind us!
’Tis not his fault, the spark.
O, ’tis brave wars!
Most admirable! I have seen those wars.
I am commanded here, and kept a coil with,
“Too young” and “the next year” and “’tis too early.”
And thy mind stand to’t, boy, steal away bravely.
I shall stay here the forehorse to a smock,
Creaking my shoes on the plain masonry,
Till honor be bought up, and no sword worn
But one to dance with! By heaven, I’ll steal away.
There’s honor in the theft.
Commit it, Count.
I am your accessary, and so farewell.
I grow to you, and our parting is a tortur’d body.
Sweet Monsieur Parolles!
Noble heroes! My sword and yours are kin. Good sparks and lustrous, a word, good metals: you shall find in the regiment of the Spinii one Captain Spurio, with his cicatrice, an emblem of war, here on his sinister cheek; it was this very sword entrench’d it. Say to him I live, and observe his reports for me.
We shall, noble captain.
Mars dote on you for his novices!
What will ye do?
Stay the King.
Use a more spacious ceremony to the noble lords; you have restrain’d yourself within the list of too cold an adieu. Be more expressive to them, for they wear themselves in the cap of the time, there do muster true gait; eat, speak, and move under the influence of the most receiv’d star, and though the devil lead the measure, such are to be follow’d. After them, and take a more dilated farewell.
And I will do so.
Worthy fellows, and like to prove most sinewy swordmen.
Exeunt Bertram and Parolles.
The King comes forward.
Pardon, my lord, for me and for my tidings.
I’ll see thee to stand up.
Then here’s a man stands that has brought his pardon.
I would you had kneel’d, my lord, to ask me mercy,
And that at my bidding you could so stand up.
I would I had, so I had broke thy pate,
And ask’d thee mercy for’t.
Good faith, across!
But, my good lord, ’tis thus: will you be cur’d
Of your infirmity?
O, will you eat
No grapes, my royal fox? Yes, but you will
My noble grapes, and if my royal fox
Could reach them. I have seen a medicine
That’s able to breathe life into a stone,
Quicken a rock, and make you dance canary
With spritely fire and motion, whose simple touch
Is powerful to araise King Pippen, nay,
To give great Charlemain a pen in ’s hand
And write to her a love-line.
What her is this?
Why, Doctor She! My lord, there’s one arriv’d,
If you will see her. Now by my faith and honor,
If seriously I may convey my thoughts
In this my light deliverance, I have spoke
With one, that in her sex, her years, profession,
Wisdom, and constancy, hath amaz’d me more
Than I dare blame my weakness. Will you see her—
For that is her demand—and know her business?
That done, laugh well at me.
Now, good Lafew,
Bring in the admiration, that we with thee
May spend our wonder too, or take off thine
By wond’ring how thou took’st it.
Nay, I’ll fit you,
And not be all day neither.
Goes to the door.
Thus he his special nothing ever prologues.
Nay, come your ways.
This haste hath wings indeed.
Nay, come your ways;
This is his Majesty, say your mind to him.
A traitor you do look like, but such traitors
His Majesty seldom fears. I am Cressid’s uncle,
That dare leave two together; fare you well.
Now, fair one, does your business follow us?
Ay, my good lord.
Gerard de Narbon was my father,
In what he did profess, well found.
I knew him.
The rather will I spare my praises towards him,
Knowing him is enough. On ’s bed of death
Many receipts he gave me; chiefly one,
Which as the dearest issue of his practice,
And of his old experience th’ only darling,
He bade me store up, as a triple eye,
Safer than mine own two, more dear. I have so,
And hearing your high Majesty is touch’d
With that malignant cause wherein the honor
Of my dear father’s gift stands chief in power,
I come to tender it, and my appliance,
With all bound humbleness.
We thank you, maiden,
But may not be so credulous of cure,
When our most learned doctors leave us, and
The congregated college have concluded
That laboring art can never ransom nature
From her inaidible estate; I say we must not
So stain our judgment, or corrupt our hope,
To prostitute our past-cure malady
To empirics, or to dissever so
Our great self and our credit, to esteem
A senseless help when help past sense we deem.
My duty then shall pay me for my pains.
I will no more enforce mine office on you,
Humbly entreating from your royal thoughts
A modest one, to bear me back again.
I cannot give thee less, to be call’d grateful.
Thou thought’st to help me, and such thanks I give
As one near death to those that wish him live.
But what at full I know, thou know’st no part,
I knowing all my peril, thou no art.
What I can do can do no hurt to try,
Since you set up your rest ’gainst remedy.
He that of greatest works is finisher
Oft does them by the weakest minister:
So holy writ in babes hath judgment shown,
When judges have been babes; great floods have flown
From simple sources; and great seas have dried
When miracles have by the great’st been denied.
Oft expectation fails, and most oft there
Where most it promises; and oft it hits
Where hope is coldest, and despair most fits.
I must not hear thee; fare thee well, kind maid,
Thy pains not us’d must by thyself be paid.
Proffers not took reap thanks for their reward.
Inspired merit so by breath is barr’d.
It is not so with Him that all things knows
As ’tis with us that square our guess by shows;
But most it is presumption in us when
The help of heaven we count the act of men.
Dear sir, to my endeavors give consent,
Of heaven, not me, make an experiment.
I am not an imposture that proclaim
Myself against the level of mine aim,
But know I think, and think I know most sure,
My art is not past power, nor you past cure.
Art thou so confident? Within what space
Hop’st thou my cure?
The greatest grace lending grace,
Ere twice the horses of the sun shall bring
Their fiery torcher his diurnal ring,
Ere twice in murk and occidental damp
Moist Hesperus hath quench’d her sleepy lamp,
Or four and twenty times the pilot’s glass
Hath told the thievish minutes how they pass,
What is infirm from your sound parts shall fly,
Health shall live free, and sickness freely die.
Upon thy certainty and confidence
What dar’st thou venter?
Tax of impudence,
A strumpet’s boldness, a divulged shame,
Traduc’d by odious ballads; my maiden’s name
Sear’d otherwise; ne worse of worst—extended
With vildest torture, let my life be ended.
Methinks in thee some blessed spirit doth speak
His powerful sound within an organ weak;
And what impossibility would slay
In common sense, sense saves another way.
Thy life is dear, for all that life can rate
Worth name of life in thee hath estimate:
Youth, beauty, wisdom, courage, all
That happiness and prime can happy call.
Thou this to hazard needs must intimate
Skill infinite, or monstrous desperate.
Sweet practicer, thy physic I will try,
That ministers thine own death if I die.
If I break time, or flinch in property
Of what I spoke, unpitied let me die,
And well deserv’d. Not helping, death’s my fee,
But if I help, what do you promise me?
Make thy demand.
But will you make it even?
Ay, by my sceptre and my hopes of heaven.
Then shalt thou give me with thy kingly hand
What husband in thy power I will command.
Exempted be from me the arrogance
To choose from forth the royal blood of France,
My low and humble name to propagate
With any branch or image of thy state;
But such a one thy vassal, whom I know
Is free for me to ask, thee to bestow.
Here is my hand, the premises observ’d,
Thy will by my performance shall be serv’d.
So make the choice of thy own time, for I,
Thy resolv’d patient, on thee still rely.
More should I question thee, and more I must—
Though more to know could not be more to trust—
From whence thou cam’st, how tended on, but rest
Unquestion’d welcome and undoubted blest.—
Give me some help here ho!—If thou proceed
As high as word, my deed shall match thy deed. | <urn:uuid:b96142fe-a0eb-4f4f-8d4c-45ca60c37f61> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | https://www.playshakespeare.com/alls-well-that-ends-well/scenes/335-act-ii-scene-1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738660158.61/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173740-00046-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.906959 | 2,737 | 2.625 | 3 |
This quiz addresses part of the requirements of the National Curriculum KS1 for children aged 5 and 6 in years 1 and 2 in Geography. Specifically it looks at maps, plans, atlases, GPS, Sat-Nav and other ways of representing and understanding the world. It is one of 50 quizzes to help you understand the world around you.
How do we know where things are? How do you find your way around? What if you were in a place you did not know? What would help you find out where you were? That’s why people draw maps to represent features around us. Simple maps are just plans whilst atlases show the entire world! You might draw a plan of your bedroom, or a route map of how you get to school. The next few quizzes are all about maps, plans and finding out about the world. | <urn:uuid:bf3e1619-dec2-4f99-bf63-c79122e448dd> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://www.educationquizzes.com/ks1/geography/maps-a-plan-of-the-world/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046154408.7/warc/CC-MAIN-20210802234539-20210803024539-00074.warc.gz | en | 0.968104 | 178 | 4.28125 | 4 |
In terms of definition, wheel alignment refers to the angle between your wheels and the body of your vehicle.
- Your car’s wheels are aligned by adjusting and altering the suspension of your vehicle.
- Your garage technician will optimally institute a set of tests to determine how much adjustments do your wheels actually require and then conduct the alterations accordingly.
- As per the Wheel Alignment Birmingham reports, car owners should have their cars checked for wheel alignment reports after every 10,000 kilometres.
- Moreover, if you happen to experience any kind of alarming changes in your car’s handling, then you should get your wheels checked for alignment.
Why is Wheel Alignment so Crucial for your Vehicle?
Your car earns its fair share of servicing every six months. This service amps up its driving, handling and grip areas, expanding its functioning to another level of tune-ups. But what was the last time you had your car’s wheels checked?
Misaligned wheels are not easy to spot; hence many people go around driving with them. However, they can be extremely hazardous to your car’s health as well as your safety. Here are a few points that highlight why aligning your car’s wheels is extensively crucial.
- Wheel misalignment and imbalances can pose a major threat to your safety. Misaligned tyres are known to create strong vibrations in your car’s steering wheel, thus risking your safety.
- Also, wheel alignments have been known to reduce the amount of wear and tear that a tyre generally experiences due to a misaligned wheel.
- Misaligned wheels cause unnecessary vibrations that can, in turn, strain your car’s suspension. An imbalanced wheel tends to wear down your car’s suspension.
- Wheels that are aligned tend to prolong your tyre’s lifespan.
- Poorly aligned wheels can cause aggressive and occasional tyre wear. This way, you will experience flat tyres and rapid changes in your tyre’s air pressure real quick.
- Improper alignments of wheels can mess up with their functioning and result in unfortunate road accidents.
- Accurately and adequately aligned wheels can overall optimise your car’s handling, stability, suspension and brakes. All in all, precisely angled wheels can improve the overall efficiency of your car’s tyre.
How to Identify if your car’s Wheels are Misaligned?
Misaligned wheels may be hard to spot, but they definitely indicate their presence through some basic telltale signs. So, if you ever notice the following symptoms, your car’s wheels may be misaligned. Here we go:
- If you experience sudden changes in your driving experience, this may be a symptom of a misaligned wheel. Wheels can skew over different over time resulting in a changed driving experience.
- Your steering wheel tends to appear off the centre point even when you are driving straight.
- You feel your vehicle is gliding off either right or left.
- Your tyre’s tread wear is excessively uneven.
- Strange squeaking noises from your tyres while making turns.
- Unusual vibrations in your car’s steering wheel.
- Wear and tear on the outer and inner shoulders of your tyre.
- You can also inspect your car’s tyres when you park it. If your car’s wheels appear straight while parking, then they are correctly aligned. However, if they seemed to be skewed either right or left, they may be misaligned.
- If your vehicle’s wheels turn out to be misaligned, it’s best you have the wheel alignment Birmingham angles called:
- Toe angle
- Camber angle
- Castor angle realigned by a car service.
It is important to restore the alignment to avoid any unprecedented vehicular breakdowns or catastrophic accidents. | <urn:uuid:10e82e41-4c65-48a0-8704-65607ff35f16> | CC-MAIN-2021-21 | https://theblogulator.com/what-exactly-is-wheel-alignment/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-21/segments/1620243991178.59/warc/CC-MAIN-20210516171301-20210516201301-00163.warc.gz | en | 0.921997 | 802 | 2.921875 | 3 |
The Department of Environmental Conservation is continuing to enforce a statewide burn ban through May 14.
The ban restricts residential brush burning in towns with less than 20,000 residents.
A statement from the DEC says open debris burning is the leading cause of wildfires in New York state. The risk is increased with temperatures climb and vegetation dries out, which can be augmented by a lack of green growth.
New York adopted tougher restrictions on open burning in 2009 to help prevent wildfires and reduce pollution emissions. The regulations allow residential brush fires in towns during most of the year but prohibit such burning in spring months when most wildfires occur.
Campfires using charcoal or untreated wood are allowed but should not be left unattended and must be extinguished after use. Burning garbage or leaves is prohibited year-round.
Fire department data for 2010-2013, showed a 56-percent reduction in wildfires during the burn ban period for these years as compared to the previous five years, according to the DEC statement. In addition, 80 percent of all communities across New York had a reduction in the number of fires as compared to the previous 10 years, the release says.
Violating the burn ban can incur a $500 fine for the first offense. | <urn:uuid:4a1a0085-097b-4bc5-a0bc-18c09cbf9ec6> | CC-MAIN-2016-18 | http://northcountrynow.com/news/dec-enforcing-burn-ban-throughout-st-lawrence-county-until-may-14-0112454 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-18/segments/1461860127878.90/warc/CC-MAIN-20160428161527-00034-ip-10-239-7-51.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948178 | 245 | 3.046875 | 3 |
Glutathione: The Key to Aging with Health and Vitality
What if we told you the fountain of youth was actually inside of you? Each cell of the human body carries a small, inconspicuous protein called Glutathione which holds the secret to maintaining healthy organ functioning, improved immunity, cognitive functioning and even youthful appearance.
It might seem a little far-fetched until you consider that the human body holds an incredible ability to heal itself from within. Every day your body is exposed to toxins in the air, in the water we drink and in the food we eat. It is also bombarded by prescription medications, over-the-counter (OTC) medications and cosmetic chemicals that we use every day. When it comes to cellular health and the natural environment around us, it really is a battle to stay healthy every day of your life. Glutathione and Immunity
Inside your cells, the glutathione molecule has a small but critical role. Glutathione is present as a molecule in every cell of your body, however it is the liver that produces the highest volume of the powerful natural antioxidant. When glutathione levels are adequate in the human body, certain health functions are optimized. This little known protein supports the following health benefits:
- Powerful anti-aging properties. Helps keep organs functioning efficiently, which has a number of effects on the appearance of the body including keeping skin, hair and nails nourished.
- Ramps up your energy by supporting the mitochondria.
- Helps prevent neurological decline including dementia, Alzheimer’s and other degenerative cognitive impairments associated with aging.
- Helps to protect your heart by reducing inflammation from free radicals.
- Removal of heavy metals and toxins is optimized. Helps reduce carcinogens within tissue and cells and may reduce the instances of certain types of cancer.
- Super charges your immunity making you more resilient to everything from common colds to chronic inflammation and disease.
Glutathione allows your body to heal itself from the inside out, detoxifying cells and improving your body’s natural functioning. As we age, our ability to produce glutathione reduces by about 10% every decade (according to some studies). Oral supplementation of Glutathione does not work, but providing your body with the essential nutrients it needs to produce Glutathione is an effective way to combat the decline of glutathione production with age. You can turn back the clock and support your health and wellness naturally and nutritionally with our Original Glutathione Formula™ from the research of our founder, Dr. Robert Keller. Restore your body’s ability to detoxify at the cellular level with OGF. Join our health and wellness community on Facebook for daily tips on wellness and fitness! | <urn:uuid:0c70d60d-7c27-4a32-852f-4e2ee1fb9d7d> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://blog.robkellermd.com/glutathione-key-aging-health-vitality/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320438.53/warc/CC-MAIN-20170625050430-20170625070430-00430.warc.gz | en | 0.942477 | 568 | 2.578125 | 3 |
THE NEW RIVER WETLANDS PROJECT
International Boundary and Water Commission (IBWC)
WHY IS IT INNOVATIVE?
The New River Wetlands Project is innovative because it uses constructed
wetlands in the desert to treat polluted surface water.
Although wetlands have
traditionally been nature's filters, over 90% of natural wetlands have been lost in
California, leading to loss of habitat and degradation of water quality.
have been constructed in the border region with the intent of restoring habitat, the use of
constructed wetlands for the main purpose of improving water quality is less common.
Typically, wetlands constructed to improve water quality have wastewater as their
A unique feature of the New River Wetlands Project is the use of surface water,
which requires sediment removal as a key aspect of treatment.
While research has
documented the effectiveness of wetlands in improving water quality in other parts of
North America, the Salton Sea region has a unique climate, with extreme heat (an annual
average daily maximum temperature of 88 degrees) and little precipitation (less than
three inches per year).
Localized testing was needed to evaluate the use of wetlands to
improve water quality in this region.
Other important aspects of the project are creation
of habitat for fish and birds, and educational outreach that has involved hundreds
students in classroom activities, field trips, and work days.
In early 1997, Desert Wildlife Unlimited, a local organization, looked for a
solution to the pollution problem.
This group worked with local, state, and federal
agencies to obtain grant funds.
Under the auspices of Desert Wildlife Unlimited, the
Citizen's Congressional Task Force on the New River was formed to develop the project.
The project has been implemented with participation from a variety of entities, including
Citizen's Congressional Task Force on the New River
Desert Wildlife Unlimited
Imperial Irrigation District
Bureau of Reclamation
County of Imperial
California Regional Water Quality Control Board
California Department of Fish and Game
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Geological Survey
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Salton Sea Authority
Water quality is impaired by the presence of high levels of suspended sediments,
nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus), selenium, and coliform bacteria.
suspended solids, and turbidity of the New and Alamo Rivers exceed objectives
established by the state Regional Water Quality Control Board, Colorado River Basin
The New and Alamo Rivers acquire these pollutants from agricultural drainage
and urban sewage, especially sewage from Mexico.
The concern is that pollutants carried
by the New and Alamo Rivers are degrading the Salton Sea, a saline lake in the Sonoran
desert located 40 miles north of the international boundary.
These two rivers account for
80% of the flow into the Salton Sea.
The Salton Sea is a vital link for migratory birds on the Pacific Flyway and is
considered the nation's most productive fishery.
Yet the Salton Sea's survival is at risk
due to increasing salinity, pollution, and decreased inflow.
Excessive nutrients, including
phosphates and nitrates from runoff of agricultural fertilizers and municipal wastewater
contribute to eutrophication of the Salton Sea, which has no outlets.
pollutants is one way to help preserve and restore the Sea.
Two pilot wetlands were constructed in 2000 to improve water quality in the New
and Alamo Rivers.
Monitoring of these two sites has been conducted since 2001.
The Imperial Wetland, located approximately 13 miles north of the international
boundary near Imperial, California, has 22.7 wet acres.
The source water is entirely
agricultural drainage from the Rice 3 Drain.
The site has two sedimentation basins and
four wetland cells in series, a capacity of 127 acre-feet, a flow rate of 6 cubic feet per
second (cfs), and retention time of 9 days.
The Brawley Wetland, near Brawley California, approximately 20 miles north of
the border, has 6 wet acres with a capacity of 21 acre-feet.
It treats water from the New
River. The wetland has one sedimentation basin and two wetland cells in series with a
flow rate of 1 cubic foot per second (cfs) and retention time of 7 days.
Flowing water enters the wetland where it settles into bottom sediments or is
subject to microbially-mediated reactions that may transform contaminants into volatile
or bioavailable forms or is incorporated into algae and plants.
When eaten by fish and
invertebrates, it goes up the food chain.
But eventually, these plants and animals die,
settling into the sediment. Over the long term, with sediment build-up, there is a
permanent sequestration of pollutants in the sediment.
Monitoring has been done for several years for the following parameters at
wetland inlets and outlets:
- water temperature,
- dissolved oxygen,
- specific conductance,
- barometric pressure,
- dissolved and total concentrations of organic carbon,
- nitrogen species (nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, and total
- total suspended solids,
- dissolved selenium,
- bacteria (total and fecal coliforms,
and E. coli),
- biological oxygen demand,
- total silica, and
Monitoring and analysis were done to characterize the removal of pollutants
from the two pilot wetlands to assist in developing designs for other wetlands in the
The long-term goal of the project is to develop sufficient wetlands along the New
and Alamo Rivers to decrease the amount of total suspended solids, nitrogen,
phosphorous, and fecal coliforms, and to increase the amount of dissolved oxygen in these streams,
therefore benefitting the Salton Sea.
WHAT MAKES IT UNIQUELY A BORDER CASE?
The New River originates in Mexico, flows through Mexicali, Mexico into
Calexico, California and through Imperial County before emptying into the Salton Sea.
The New River at the international border is considered one of the most polluted streams
in the United States due to sewage arriving from Mexico.
The river carries urban runoff,
agricultural runoff, and domestic and industrial waste from both countries.
the Regional Water Quality Control Board, New River flow at the border is about 150-
200 cfs, increasing to 600 cfs where it enters the Salton Sea.
The Alamo River also originates in Mexico about 2 miles south of the border.
is dominated by agricultural return flows from the Imperial Valley.
The Regional Water
Quality Control Board calculates flow at the border at 3-5 cfs, increasing to up to 1000
cfs at the Salton Sea delta.
The Salton Sea has important ecological connections with the Colorado River
Delta in Mexico.
Both are key stops on the Pacific Flyway, linked by the riparian
corridors along the Colorado, Hardy, New, and Alamo Rivers.
Over 400 bird species are
found in this region.
The New River Wetland Project is unique to the border region because it treats
water pollution arriving from Mexico and is part of a binational ecosystem.
Both the Brawley and Imperial Wetlands significantly reduced the amount of
nitrogen, phosphorous, pathogens (bacteria), and total suspended solids (sediment) in
Both wetlands removed over 90% of suspended sediments and pathogens
(measured as fecal coliform).
Over 100 bird species have been found at the wetlands.
MEASUREABLE REDUCTION IN POLLUTION
Water quality monitoring conducted from 2001-2007 is summarized in the tables
Imperial Site Water Quality Monitoring Summary (Averages)
January 2001 - April 2007
||Inlet || Outlet || %Change ||Qualitative
Total N (mg/L)
|Total P (mg/L)
|Fecal Coliform (MPN/100 ml) ||91,441 ||518
Brawley Site Water Quality Monitoring Summary (Averages)
|January 2001 - April 2007
Outlet || %Change ||Qualitative
|Total N (mg/L)
|Total P (mg/L)
|Fecal Coliform (MPN/100 ml) ||1.3 million ||547
The constructed wetlands provide the following benefits:
- Biologically and physically effective reduction of pollutants
- Outreach education available to all students in Imperial County
- Habitat for fish, migrating waterfowl, and a variety of other birds
- Recreational benefits such as hunting, fishing, bird watching, hiking, family outings.
Some bioaccumulation of selenium in invertebrates, fish, and bird eggs was
Organochlorine pesticides were detected in tissue samples from fish and
There is a need to further study the risk associated with bioaccumulation of
toxics on wetland species.
Over time, the rate of removal of phosphorus decreased.
unclear if this was due to year-to-year variations in loadings or other factors.
be monitored over the long term.
Attempts to increase flow through the Imperial site
beyond the design flow caused the wetland cell levees to be overtopped.
could not process the water fast enough to handle the increased flow.
There are concerns about water contamination from bird feces and muskrats
Although the wetlands were intended to attract wildlife, negative
impacts of wildlife on the wetlands themselves are an unintended consequence.
Differences in performance of the Brawley and Imperial sites provide guidance
for the design of future wetlands in the region.
These differences relate to the
effectiveness of treatment and operation and maintenance issues.
Pumps rather than
gravity were used at the Brawley site; due to the extra operation and maintenance
associated with pumping, designs and sites with gravity flow are preferred.
There is a need for further research as to why there is increased selenium retention
at the Imperial site as opposed to the Brawley site.
The reasons for this are unclear.
The effects of infiltration into groundwater at the wetland sites are not
Groundwater concentration data is needed to help understand these effects.
The New River Wetlands Project has demonstrated that wetlands with
sedimentation basins can provide highly-effective reduction of total suspended solids.
This suggests that wetlands can be used effectively to treat sediment-laden streams.
New River Wetlands Project brochure and website, www.newriverwetlands.com
Performance Evaluation of the New River Demonstration Wetlands, March 24, 2006.
Prepared for Citizen's Congressional Task Force on New River. Prepared by Tetra Tech,
Inc. in association with Wetlands Management Services. Available at:
Colorado River Basin Regional Water Quality Control Board,
Salton Sea Authority, http://www.saltonsea.ca.gov/ | <urn:uuid:d3ad07db-99fe-4fb0-99f7-8461ce0e5ec3> | CC-MAIN-2016-07 | http://ponce.sdsu.edu/brawley_imperial_wetlands_doc.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-07/segments/1454701152959.66/warc/CC-MAIN-20160205193912-00265-ip-10-236-182-209.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.884708 | 2,324 | 3.765625 | 4 |
In 1502, in the island of Santo Domingo, the Most Blessed Virgin was honored under the title of our Lady of la Altagracia, whose portrait had been brought from Spain by Alfonso and Antonio Trejo, brothers who were among the first European settlers of the island. When the brothers moved to the city of Higuey, they took the image with them. Later they offered it to the parish church so that everyone could venerate it. The first shrine was completed in 1572 and in 1971 the present Basilica was consecrated.
The scene of Jesus' birth is painted on a fine cloth. The Virgin, lovely and serene, occupies the center of the picture; she is looking with tenderness at the child who lies nearly naked on the straw of the manger. A blue cloak sprinkled with stars envelops her and a white scapular closes her garments in front. | <urn:uuid:3596379c-4474-4ba6-8a15-6cad21e4a89f> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | http://salesianity.blogspot.com/2013/01/our-lady-of-altagracia.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794865884.49/warc/CC-MAIN-20180524014502-20180524034502-00524.warc.gz | en | 0.982369 | 185 | 2.515625 | 3 |
|Ottoman–Safavid War of 1623–1639|
|Part of the Ottoman–Persian Wars|
Map of the Safavid state. The area of Mesopotamia, permanently lost to the Ottomans in 1639 is shaded.
|Safavid Empire||Ottoman Empire|
|Commanders and leaders|
Sultan Murad IV|
Hafız Ahmed Pasha
The Ottoman–Safavid War of 1623–1639 was the last of a series of conflicts fought between the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Persia, then the two major powers of the Near East, over control of Mesopotamia. After initial Persian success in capturing Baghdad and most of modern Iraq, the war became a stalemate, as the Persians were unable to press further into the Ottoman Empire, and the Ottomans themselves were distracted by wars in Europe and weakened by internal turmoil. Eventually, the Ottomans were able to recover Baghdad, and the signing of the Treaty of Zuhab ended the war in an Ottoman victory, with Mesopotamia remaining thenceforth in Ottoman hands, until lost in the aftermath of World War I.
Starting in 1514, for over a century the Ottoman Empire and Savafid Persia were engaged in almost constant warfare over control of the Caucasus and Mesopotamia. The two states were the greatest powers of the Middle East, and the rivalry was further fueled by dogmatic differences: the Ottomans were Sunnis, while the Safavids were staunchly Shia Muslims of the Qizilbash sect, and seen as heretics by the Ottomans.
After the Battle of Chaldiran eliminated Safavid influence in Anatolia, during the war of 1532–1555 the Ottomans conquered Arab Iraq, taking Baghdad in 1534 and securing recognition of their gains by the Treaty of Amasya in 1555. Peace lasted for two decades before another war began in 1578. It ended with the Treaty of Istanbul in 1590, with a clear Ottoman victory: the Ottomans occupied Georgia, Yerevan, and even the former Safavid capital, Tabriz. The Persians were hard pressed, as the Ottoman advances were combined with an attack by the Shaybanids into Persian Khorasan.
The new Persian Shah, Abbas I, reorganized his army, raising the new ghulam infantry in imitation of the Janissaries, and bided his time. In 1603, he launched an offensive that retook Tabriz, Azerbaijan and Georgia. The Ottomans, distracted by wars with the Habsburg Monarchy in Europe, failed to offer effective resistance. After a successful conclusion of the War against the Mughals, feeling encouraged by the internal turmoil within the Ottoman Empire that followed the murder of Sultan Osman II, Abbas resolved to attack the Ottoman possessions in Iraq.
The Shah's opportunity came with a series of rebellions in the Ottoman Empire: Abaza Mehmed Pasha, the governor of Erzurum, rose in rebellion, while Baghdad had been since 1621 in the hands of an officer of the Janissaries, the Subashi Bakr, and his followers. Bakr had sought his recognition as the local pasha from the Porte, but the Sultan had ordered Hafız Ahmed Pasha, the governor of Diyarbakir, to intervene. Bakr then turned to Abbas, who sent troops to Bakr's aid. To forestall a Persian capture of Baghdad, Hafız Ahmed quickly restored relations with Bakr, who in turn returned to the Ottoman allegiance. In response, the Persians besieged Baghdad, and took it on 14 January 1624, with the aid of Bakr's son, Muhammad. The fall of the city was followed by the massacre of a large part of its Sunni inhabitants, as the Shah endeavored to transform Baghdad into a purely Shiite city.
The fall of Baghdad was a major blow to Ottoman prestige. Ottoman garrisons and the local tribes began to defect, and the Persians soon captured most of Iraq, including the cities of Kirkuk and Mosul and the Shia holy shrines of Najaf and Karbala, which the Shah visited. In 1625, Hafız Ahmed Pasha, now Grand Vizier, marched to retake Baghdad. Despite a "scorched earth" policy ordered by the Shah, the Ottoman army reached Baghdad and invested it in November on three sides. The Ottoman assaults on the city managed to penetrate the outer fortifications, but failed to take the city before the arrival of a relief army under Shah Abbas. The Ottomans then withdrew within their strongly fortified camp, and continued to prosecute the siege. In response, Abbas decided to intercept Ottoman supply convoys. This strategy bore fruit: the Ottomans were forced to risk an attack on the Persian army, which was repulsed with heavy losses, and on 4 July 1626, the Ottoman army lifted the siege and withdrew to Mosul.
In 1629, the Ottomans, under the new and capable Grand Vizier Gazi Ekrem Khüsrev Pasha, and having secured peace with the Habsburgs, mustered their forces for another offensive. A severe winter, including floods, made operations in central Iraq impossible, however, and Khüsrev turned his army east, invading Persia proper. On 4 May 1630, he routed the Persians under Zainal Khan Begdeli Shamlu in battle at Mahidasht near Kermanshah and proceeded to sack the city of Hamadan. Khüsrev Pasha then turned back towards Baghdad and besieged it in November. However the siege had to be lifted soon, as the onset of another heavy winter threatened his lines of communication. In the wake of his withdrawal, the Persians re-established their control of Iraq, and subdued the rebellious Kurdish populations. The next few years saw constant raiding and skirmishes, without either side claiming any decisive advantage. Shah Safi sent a peace delegation to the Ottoman court, but the new Grand Vizier, Tabanıyassi Mehmed Pasha rejected its demands. The Caucasian front of the Persians flared up again in 1633, when the restless Georgian kingdoms of Kartli and Kakheti, which, under the rule of King Teimuraz, defied Safavid sovereignty. In 1634, Rustam Khan, a Georgian convert, was sent by the Shah to subdue them. Teimuraz was defeated, but managed to escape to safety in Imereti. He would however manage to restore himself on the throne of Kakheti in 1638, and even win Persian recognition of this fact.
In 1635, in a conscious effort to emulate his warrior predecessors, Sultan Murad IV himself took up the leadership of the army. The Ottomans took Revan (on 8 August) and plundered Tabriz. The victorious Sultan returned in triumph to Constantinople, but his victories were short-lived: in the spring of the next year, Shah Safi retook Revan and defeated an Ottoman army. Renewed Persian peace proposals failed, and in 1638, Murad IV himself led an army against Baghdad. The city fell in December after a siege of 39 days, effectively restoring Ottoman control over Iraq, and peace negotiations began soon after.
The Treaty of Zuhab, concluded on 17 May 1639, finally settled the Ottoman–Persian frontier, with Yerevan remaining Persian, and Iraq ceded to the Ottomans. Mesopotamia, which had formed an important part of various Persian empires from the time of the Achaemenids, was irrevocably lost. The peace established a permanent equilibrium of power in the region, and despite future conflicts and minor adjustments, the frontier postulated by the treaty remains to this day the western border of Iran with Iraq and Turkey.
- Finkel (2006), pp. 104–105
- Finkel (2006), pp. 125, 135
- Holt, Lambton & Lewis (1978), p. 338
- Faroqhi (2006), p. 47
- Holt, Lambton & Lewis (1978), p. 339
- Finkel (2006), pp. 203–205
- Cooper (1979), p. 631
- Finkel (2006), p. 205
- Savory (2007), p. 89
- Savory (2007), p. 90
- Roemer (1989), p. 283
- Roemer (1989), p. 284
- Cooper (1979), pp.631–632
- Roemer (1989), p. 286
- Finkel (2006), pp. 215–216
- Roemer (1989), p. 285
- Finkel (2006), p. 217
- Cooper (1979), p. 634
- Cooper, J. P. (1979). The New Cambridge Modern History, Volume IV: The Decline of Spain and the Thirty Years War, 1609–48/59. CUP Archive. ISBN 978-0521297134.
- Faroqhi, Suraiya (2006). The Cambridge History of Turkey: The Later Ottoman Empire, 1603–1839. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521620956.
- Finkel, Caroline (2006). Osman's Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire 1300–1923. London: John Murray. ISBN 978-0-7195-6112-2.
- Holt, P. M.; Lambton, Ann K. S.; Lewis, Bernard (1978). The Central Islamic Lands from Pre-Islamic Times to the First World War. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521291356.
- Newman, Andrew J. (2006). Safavid Iran: Rebirth of a Persian Empire. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 9781860646676.
- Roemer, H. R. (1986). "The Safavid Period". The Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 6: The Timurid and Safavid Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 189–350. ISBN 0521200946.
- Savory, Roger (2007). Iran Under the Safavids. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521042512.
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).| | <urn:uuid:b69312cc-ddbe-4ed5-8373-b296c64a39bf> | CC-MAIN-2022-05 | https://military-history.fandom.com/wiki/Ottoman%E2%80%93Safavid_War_(1623%E2%80%931639) | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-05/segments/1642320300573.3/warc/CC-MAIN-20220129062503-20220129092503-00036.warc.gz | en | 0.928874 | 2,237 | 3.65625 | 4 |
QUESTION: Why should the Midland Valley Bridge have been saved rather than demolished?
What follows are four broad reasons, with some details included… A very short answer, however, is that the bridge was unique in many ways, and had a unique story that many wished to continue and be a part of!
- Historic Reasons
The bridge was legitimately historic, not only with respect to key Tulsa history (even including the founding of River Parks), but to Oklahoma history. Claims that the bridge had lost its historic value prior to its demolition were mistaken (or fabricated). Let’s go through a few related points:
Nathan Holth wrote, in January 2021, “Metal truss bridges in Oklahoma have been demolished at a staggering rate. This bridge today stands out as increasingly rare due to its long, multi-span configuration.” Mr. Holth, author of Chicago’s Bridges, works with the Historic Bridge Foundation and runs HistoricBridges.org. Unfortunately, we have now lost this increasingly rare and historic bridge, which could instead have been embraced and preserved as a valuable local asset. More from Mr. Holth in this article and this article.
Michael Wallis, the acclaimed Tulsa author and member of the Oklahoma Historians Hall of Fame, stated in his December 27, 2020 Tulsa World letter, “I still believe there is a place for the old bridge. We cannot save everything, but we must preserve at least examples of our past.” He also wrote, “At one of our sessions, I told some of my fellow committee members that perhaps we should reconsider removing the pedestrian bridge, if only because of its historic significance.” Bridge committee member Juan Miret similarly wrote, in part, “Connecting the West side to the amazing Gathering Place is fantastic. And keeping our history, saving our current bridge, is exciting and necessary.” See more here.
Tulsa scholar J.D. Colbert wrote in January 2021, “…the bridge visually connects us to Tulsa’s earliest days.” The bridge had a historic link to Tulsa’s founding citizen Tuckabatche, a Medicine Man who walked the Trail of Tears in the 1830s and who later granted the easement to the Midland Valley Railroad. We have not only lost this real-world visual tie to our past, but have lost the definitive architectural link between present-day Tulsans and a founding citizen of Tulsa. Please read the following document by Mr. Colbert, in which he explains the bridge’s historic importance to Tulsa:
Also see Mr. Colbert’s supportive statement here.
2. User-Friendly Reasons, Especially Shade
The bridge was shaded—it had built-in shade, using the authentic railroad ties, as was originally and cleverly suggested by the accomplished Memphis architect Roy Harrover, who designed the Memphis International Airport among other achievements (adding another element to the Midland Valley Bridge’s history). This built-in shade made it one of the most pleasant pedestrian bridges in the United States (or world); many people would regularly make time to enjoy being at the bridge, sometimes for hours (sitting, walking back and forth, etc.), even in the hot summer. The new bridge, however, likely will NOT have permanent shade. See this Public Radio Tulsa article with the following comment by Councilor Patrick: “That, to me, is really sad that there’s not going to be any shade. You’re not going to have a lot of people that are going to want to sit out there in the middle of Oklahoma summers without any shade.” Quality of life at the River Parks WILL be affected, it appears, like it or not…
3. To SAVE and BETTER USE Public Funds
Many millions of dollars in public funds could have been saved by keeping and renovating the original bridge instead of demolishing it and building new—by all hard evidence available (e.g., the actual engineering documents). The savings ratio? Over 50%—possibly over 70%. See this article. Also see Myths 2 and 3 in this article.
4. Ongoing Public Demand and Ethical Reasons
Many people (including some members of the City government) WANTED to keep the bridge going and to share it with their KIDS as well as with FUTURE generations. This public demand continued right up to the demolition, as did incoming bridge petition comments and signatures. Needless to say, many people are now quite unhappy about the demolition and will remember this for years to come. Tulsans should have been given a fair choice about keeping the bridge (at the very least), which they were NEVER given, contrary to what you may have heard. Instead, the public was lied to about what the engineers actually said about this bridge; the public was even told that there was NO real choice and that the bridge HAD to be scrapped (when, in reality, the bridge clearly was judged capable of rehabilitation in the engineering documents). The bridge’s condition (as written about by the actual HNTB engineers), as well as the estimated repair costs to keep the bridge going, were unquestionably misrepresented to the public—multiple times over a span of several years. It was highly unethical for the City of Tulsa to demolish the bridge on such a false basis. There is some important information related to this point (and other pertinent points) in this article. Once you have carefully read that article, and possibly some of the other material on this site, the reasons for much of the strong language used in this June 2021 Letter to the Editor may become clear… (Especially keep in mind that the public was literally BLOCKED from talking to the City Council about any of this at a regular meeting multiple times, in violation of the Council’s written rules, which indicated citizens could place items on a regular meeting’s agenda. The City clearly had things to hide related to this issue. But we already knew that…)
QUESTION: But didn’t Tulsans vote to have the original Pedestrian Bridge, the Midland Valley Bridge, removed or demolished?
No. Never. Tulsans were simply not given a legitimate choice about the Midland Valley Bridge. Tulsans were, rather, told that the bridge is “impossible” to salvage, that it “has to come down,” or that it would not be cost-effective to preserve, etc. (If any bridge in this discussion is not cost-effective, however, it’s the far more expensive Gateway…) Tulsans were led to believe that expert engineers had condemned the bridge as “structurally unsound,” such that it was “new bridge or no bridge [at all].” Wrong, wrong, wrong. See Myths 1 and 2 as well as Myth 6 in this article, for starters. Also, see this June 2021 reply to the Tulsa World, after the World ran an editorial (after demolition had already started) once again suggesting that it was “new bridge or no bridge”—despite the definitive evidence to the contrary which has come out since the bridge petition was written in November 2020.
QUESTION: How much money was transferred away from the Midland Valley Bridge (once it was officially “condemned” by the City) and put into, for lack of a better description, the “New Bridge Fund”?
Possibly over 12 million dollars, it appears. A Tulsa World article (from July 20, 2018) states, “The city is using three funding sources to pay its share of the project: $7.7 million from the Improve Our Tulsa capital improvements program; $4.7 million from a federal TIGER grant; and $15 million in Vision Tulsa sales-tax revenue.” The Improve Our Tulsa and TIGER grant funds referenced in that quote were, in the past, intended (at least by and large) for the Midland Valley Bridge, but later were transferred away to the “New Bridge Fund” (while, remember, the public was being told the original bridge “just can’t be salvaged,” etc.). Is this the ultimate reason the City deliberately chose to demolish the original bridge, so certain parties could instead use these existing public funds to help pay for a “pet” project that will possibly financially benefit certain members of those parties?
Below: (1) A picture and caption from a July 14, 2013 City Hall Report regarding the capital improvements package, and (2) a chart from the Tulsa World (September 10, 2014, page A6) including information about the TIGER grant, both referring to the Midland Valley Bridge…
HAVE A DIFFERENT QUESTION? LET US KNOW! Although we may be SLOW! | <urn:uuid:ac0f0187-6cc8-42a3-88d4-d8d440181a46> | CC-MAIN-2021-31 | https://pedbridge.com/bridge-q-and-a/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-31/segments/1627046153791.41/warc/CC-MAIN-20210728185528-20210728215528-00624.warc.gz | en | 0.973114 | 1,825 | 2.71875 | 3 |
An overview of English language knowledge in the perspective of academic research writing - impact, challenge and implications
English is the language that builds your odds of finding a decent line of work in a worldwide organization inside your nation of origin or for looking for some kind of employment abroad. It's likewise the language of global correspondence, the media and the web, so learning English is significant for mingling and diversion just as work.English is the authority language of 53 nations and spoken by around 400 million individuals across the globe.
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June 14, 2021
Copyright (c) 2021 Royal Book Publishing
Details about this monograph | <urn:uuid:abf1b47b-f731-4600-a109-7e5b8afaa22f> | CC-MAIN-2023-23 | https://royalbookpublishing.com/index.php/royal/catalog/book/165 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-23/segments/1685224645810.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20230530131531-20230530161531-00228.warc.gz | en | 0.903939 | 143 | 2.828125 | 3 |
I have put together a brief summary of resources and ideas for content and literacy that I believe could be useful at all grade levels. Here they are with links:
Teaching about the Election 2016
These are 2 good places to begin:
Dealing with Controversial Issues
Civil Discourse In The Classroom (booklet may be downloaded) and lesson plans for election 2016
More Lessons for teaching about the elections and civics sites:
Teaching Tolerance Election 2016 – ideas for all grade levels
From New York Times
From now until November, we’ll be offering regular election teaching resources, including lesson plans, Student Opinion questions, contests and an updated version of our four-part election unit. Find the most evergreen posts on our regularly updated Election 2016 Teaching and Learning Homepage.
PBS Election Central – An Educational Guide to the US Elections
All kinds of lessons aligned to the standards for all grade levels.
Center for Civic Education
Lessons for all grade levels particularly on voting and citizenship; also has a newsletter.
MA Center for Civic Education (the local contact for the national one above)
Lesson plans (all grades) and online resources – particularly helpful with teaching about some of the issues that have come up during the elections.
Center for Information Research on Civic Learning and Engagement
Lots of interesting resources and opportunities for student research.
Content Literacy Opportunities:
Focus on argument:
· Students view video clips – either campaign speeches or ads
o Analyze for content by researching validity of claims
o Analyze for appeal – ethos, pathos. logos
o Analyze for audience appeal (what audience?) (from the work of Kelly Gallagher)
· Students write the speeches they would like to hear from the candidates.
· Research issues – work in teams to develop debate arguments for each side.
Focus on Questions:
Engage your students in thinking about the value of voting and decision making. The Better Questions Better Decisions Voter Engagement Workshop offers a simple, easy to implement, nonpartisan lesson for middle school and high school educators who are teaching the importance of the elections and voting process. Learn more and download the workshop resources.
Letters to the Next President, recommended by International Literacy Association (ILA),
provides issues that young people care about – geared to high school students.
I hope these sites and ideas will be helpful as you plan for this very exciting election season! | <urn:uuid:03f3454d-690d-4dec-ae1d-1fe17d6b11b7> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | http://literacyplate.blogspot.fr/2016/08/teaching-about-election.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463608984.81/warc/CC-MAIN-20170527171852-20170527191852-00400.warc.gz | en | 0.914876 | 499 | 3.90625 | 4 |
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What are bitcoins?
Bitcoins are the unit of currency of the Bitcoin system. A commonly used shorthand for this is “BTC” to refer to a price or amount (eg: “100 BTC”). There are such things as physical bitcoins, but ultimately, a bitcoin is just a number associated with a Bitcoin Address. A physical bitcoin is simply an object, such as a coin, with the number carefully embedded inside. See also an easy intro to bitcoin.
Alice is far away from Bob and wants to buy his Alpaca socks. In return, she wants to send him a dollar. A dollar bill is a piece of paper which is very easy to create (by those who can), but which is accepted by people in exchange for valuable products and services in the real world, such as the socks Alice wants to buy. One simple thing Alice can do is put a dollar bill in an envelope, mail it to Bob, and then wait for Bob to send the socks to her.
The creation of coins must be limited for the currency to have any value.
New coins are slowly mined into existence by following a mutually agreed-upon set of rules. A user mining bitcoins is running a program that searches tirelessly for a solution to a very difficult math problem whose difficulty is precisely known. The difficulty is automatically adjusted regularly so that the number of solutions found globally, by everyone, is constant: an average of 6 per hour. When a solution is found, the user may tell everyone of the existence of this newly found solution, along with other information, packaged together in what is called a "block".
Blocks contain 50 bitcoins at present. This amount is an incentive for people to perform the computation work required for block generation. Roughly every 4 years, the number of bitcoins that can be "mined" in a block reduces by 50%. Any blocks that are created by a malicious user that do not follow this rule (or any other rules) will be rejected by everyone else. The result is that no more than 21 million bitcoins will ever exist.
Because the mining incentive to put forth the computational power to create blocks will eventually diminish, miners will some day instead pay for their hardware and electricity costs by collecting transaction fees. The sender of money may voluntarily pay a small transaction fee which will be kept by whoever finds the next block. Paying this fee will encourage the miner to include the transaction in a block more quickly.
Originally posted by mee30
You need to research yourself my friend. All the info is out there. You can simply google "what is bitcoin" and the same goes for all your other questions.
When I did a serch for it I got too many sites telling me the same vague explanation. | <urn:uuid:1cef2d55-633e-4037-938d-13b7832d77b3> | CC-MAIN-2016-40 | http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread854719/pg1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-40/segments/1474738660916.37/warc/CC-MAIN-20160924173740-00055-ip-10-143-35-109.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960408 | 608 | 3.71875 | 4 |
Although snoring is very common, most people don’t know how it happens, why it happens, or what effect it has. If you or a loved one snores frequently, it’s important to truly understand the facts, so you can seek treatment for the issue or offer your support to others. Here are 10 of the most important facts about snoring:
It’s common to snore, but it’s not healthy
Almost everyone snores occasionally, and a large portion of the population snores three or more times per week. About 40 to 50 percent of men and 20 to 30 percent of women snore regularly. However, this doesn’t mean it’s healthy.
Irregular breathing during sleep occurs when the back of the mouth collapses, which narrows the airway, disrupts the air flow, and causes the soft palate and uvula to vibrate against the back of the throat. Although this is common, it’s not normal.
If you snore, it likely affects the quality of your sleep. People often wake up frequently because of disruptions in the air flow, even if they don’t remember in the morning. You may also have trouble getting enough deep sleep. Lack of sleep causes excessive drowsiness, headaches, memory issues, difficulty focusing, irritability, and a variety of other symptoms.
People who snore may also be at an increased risk of developing heart disease. The irregular breathing may cause the arterial walls to thicken, which increases the chances of a stroke.back to menu ↑
It can have many causes
There are many biological factors and lifestyle habits that cause snoring. If your soft palate is naturally lower and thicker than normal, the airway might be narrowed, which can cause vibrations. Nasal problems, like a deviated septum or chronic congestion, are another common cause. Some people simply have a narrower airway than normal and are at a greater risk of experiencing irregular breathing problems.
Sleep deprivation is one of the most common causes of irregular breathing. Your throat normally relaxes when you sleep, but if it relaxes excessively, it can cause vibrations. When you finally sleep after being sleep deprived, it’s likely that your throat will become too relaxed. Alcohol consumption can cause or worsen the problem as well because it relaxes the throat muscles excessively.
Men are more likely to snore more than women for biological reasons. Men’s voice boxes sit lower in the throat than women’s and are more likely to partially block the airway and cause vibrations. Women’s voice boxes are more likely to completely obstruct the airway, causing them to wake up.
Being overweight or obese also increases the risk of irregular breathing because the excess weight on the throat could obstruct the airway. It also increases the likelihood of obstructive sleep apnea, which often causes people to snore.back to menu ↑
You may have inherited the problem from your parents
One study used data from over 3,000 men between 54 and 74 years old. All of the subjects reported that they snored regularly and had their own bedroom because of the problem. Based on the questionnaire, researchers found that a family history was very common.
About 70 percent of people who snore regularly report having at least one family member who snores as well. Many of the biological or anatomical causes of irregular breathing could be inherited.
In another study, researchers evaluated the frequency at which 700 one-year-olds snored. About 15 percent of the children snored three or more times per week, and children with at least one parent who snored with three times as likely to snore as other children.back to menu ↑
As you age, you become more likely to snore
Although people of all ages snore, older people are more likely to snore than younger people. According to Rafael Pelayo, a sleep specialist, this mostly happens because of weight gain. Many people put on weight as they age, especially around the neck. Loss of muscle tone is also common with aging.back to menu ↑
It can be harmful for children as well
The problem is more common in adults than children, but when kids snore, it can have very harmful effects. Surveys and data show that about 10 to 12 percent of kids snore at least three times a week. However, the percentage might be much higher if parents don’t notice the problem.
Kids may snore for many of the same reasons as adults. However, there may be other causes that only affect kids. Many children have enlarged tonsils or adenoids, which can obstruct the airway.
Like excessive drowsiness affects adults at work, it can also affect children in school. It causes concentration and memory problems, and kids might have a hard time focusing in class and completing their work.
Sleep disorders often go unnoticed in children. Many kids who snore or have other sleep disorders are misdiagnosed with ADHD or other behavioral or learning disabilities. This prevents them from getting the proper treatment, and the problem can continue for years.back to menu ↑
Sleep apnea is very common in people who snore.
About 30 percent of men and 20 percent of women who snore have sleep apnea, and most people with sleep apnea snore. Sleep apnea causes the breathing to stop temporarily during sleep, sometimes hundreds of times per night.
If you have sleep apnea, you likely wake up frequently throughout the night when you stop breathing. You may not notice or remember most of these episodes. However, some people with sleep apnea sometimes remember waking up suddenly and feeling short of breath.
Sleep apnea prevents you from getting adequate or restful sleep. It causes a variety of side effects and can seriously diminish your quality of life. It can also put you at risk for major illnesses, like heart disease, high blood pressure, and liver problems.
Anyone who snores regularly should visit a doctor to discuss the possibility of sleep apnea. When the condition goes untreated, it affects your health, happiness, and relationships.back to menu ↑
A snore is usually between 30 and 100 decibels.
The average volume of a snore is 38 decibels, which is about the volume of a quiet conversation. However, snores can be much louder than that. The loudest snore ever recorded was 120 decibels, which is the same volume as an emergency vehicle’s siren.
Regular exposure to sounds above 75 or 80 decibels can cause hearing damage. If you snore loudly every night, it could be affecting you and your partner’s hearing abilities.back to menu ↑
If you snore, it may affect your partner.
Many of the harmful effects of snoring occur because of lack of quality sleep. If the partner of a snorer is frequently woken up by the noise, they’ll also experience these effects. When both people in a relationship feel exhausted and irritable, it can cause serious relationship issues.
About 95 percent of snorers report that it bothers their partners. Many bed partners of snorers report getting less than five hours of sleep per night and visiting their doctor more than partners of non-snorers. Some couples even have to sleep in different rooms because the noise is so loud.back to menu ↑
You may be able to reduce how much you snore with lifestyle changes.
If you usually lie on your back, try sleeping on your side instead. This can reduce the amount of pressure on your throat and help keep the airway open. Propping up your head with an extra pillow or raising the head of your bed could help, too.
If you’re overweight or obese, losing weight could reduce how much you snore. Avoid drinking alcohol less than two hours before you go to sleep, and make sure you follow a regular sleeping schedule and get enough sleep.
If you snore for allergy-related reasons, change your pillowcases regularly and dust off your ceiling fan. Allergens in your bedroom may be worsening the problem.back to menu ↑
In severe cases, doctors can provide treatments.
If you have sleep apnea, your doctor can give you a CPAP machine to regulate the pressure in your airway and keep the space open. A CPAP is a mask that fits over the nose or mouth and blows air into the airway.
You may benefit from oral appliances, which are mouthpieces that keep your mouth and jaw in a position that prevents obstruction of the airway.
In very severe cases that aren’t helped by other treatments, doctors may recommend surgery to remove excess tissue from the throat. Some people have their uvula removed, which can prevent the airway from being blocked. | <urn:uuid:7da2d089-485b-4f1c-afd8-b6f41d56e328> | CC-MAIN-2018-22 | https://getbestmattress.com/10-important-facts-snoring/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-22/segments/1526794864572.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20180521235548-20180522015548-00479.warc.gz | en | 0.959185 | 1,810 | 3.453125 | 3 |
What causes are muscles to hurt so badly?
Our muscles work under two conditions: anaerobic (without oxygen) and aerobic (with oxygen). Our bodies prefer to work under aerobic conditions where we have plenty of oxygen feeding our muscles. When our bodies require oxygen faster than it is delivered working musc7les generate energy anaerobically. The byproduct of anaerobic exercise is lactic acid. The more quickly lactic acid is produced the more quickly our muscles burn and fatigue. When skiing or riding it is easy to stay in an anaerobic condition – we ride the chair lift up and ski/ride as fast as possible back down. Our bodies are not moving slow enough for aerobic energy conversion. Our muscles work at an oxygen deficit.
Muscle soreness experienced 24-48 hours later is Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. This is due to small tears in the muscle and connective tissue resulting from eccentric contraction – lengthening muscle groups. For every muscle that is contracted, the opposing muscle eccentrically contracts. Skiing/riding strains muscle groups primarily due to the intensity in which we participate.
Why does sports massage work?
It is as simple as it sounds. Massage increases blood circulation bringing oxygen and fresh nutrients to muscles and removes metabolic waste. Oxygen and nutrients help repair damaged cells in our muscles which speeds muscle recovery. Massage in combination with drinking electrolytes and water will give you the best advantage to play it again the next day! | <urn:uuid:6c3e7c19-e996-469c-a47b-a1b619564ca5> | CC-MAIN-2021-10 | http://www.summitmassagestudio.com/blog/archives/11-2014 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-10/segments/1614178381230.99/warc/CC-MAIN-20210307231028-20210308021028-00077.warc.gz | en | 0.937928 | 304 | 2.96875 | 3 |
the key to protecting your cat’s health
There are a number of serious viral diseases kittens and cats are at risk from. However, they can easily be protected from most of these diseases by a simple vaccination program.
Cats are often quite mobile, sometimes roaming the whole neighbourhood during the day and it is likely that your pet will come into contact with infections present in unvaccinated kittens and cats.
Vaccinating is a cost effective way of protecting your cat or kitten against potentially fatal diseases and the possible high costs involved in their treatment.
The following infectious diseases can be vaccinated against:
This is a highly contagious viral disease in cats and can spread very rapidly. Kittens and young cats under the age of 12 months are most susceptible.
Symptoms are often depression, vomiting, bloody diarrhoea, marked dehydration and severe abdominal pain. If pregnant cats contract the disease, their babies may be born with co-
The virus is very tough and can survive in the environment for long periods of time. Survivors of this disease become carriers for some time and can still infect other cats.
Feline Respiritory Disease (Cat flu)
This disease complex is often caused by either the calicivirus or the rhinotracheitis virus. It can infect cats of all ages and is spread very easily by coughing and sneezing onto other cats.
The symptoms are sneezing, nasal discharge and weepy eyes, limping, depressed appetite and ulcers on the tongue and/or eyes. Some of these signs can last for many weeks and cause significant discomfort.
This disease complex commonly occurs in multi-
The above 3 mentioned viral diseases (Enteritis, Calicivirus, Rhinotracheitis) are most commonly vaccinated against, and grouped together they are often know as an F3 Vaccination.
Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (Cat AIDS-
This virus causes an infectious disease in cats similar to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV infection –
It is mainly transmitted through bite wounds during cat fights, but can also be passed on through saliva when sharing food bowls. A mother infected, can also pass it on to her babies while pregnant.
The symptoms can be obscure, but often manifest themselves as fevers and mild anaemias, but as time progresses and the cat’s immune system weakens, more significant signs are seen (mouth ulcers, chronic abscesses, lymph node cancers, behaviour changes and much more).
As it is only identified with a blood test, it may often remain undetected in cats for years. The best time to vaccinate is from kitten stage onwards on a yearly basis.
Adults can still be vaccinated, but need to undergo a blood test first, to ensure that they are not already carriers. | <urn:uuid:21e87ad7-ab48-4dab-a12b-27f37e3f021f> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | https://www.petfocus.com.au/pet-information/information-for-cat-owners/information-on-cat-vaccinations/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891812758.43/warc/CC-MAIN-20180219171550-20180219191550-00287.warc.gz | en | 0.938682 | 575 | 3.59375 | 4 |
We are going on another nutrition exploration, and we are going to focus on Iron.
We are specifically going to talk about, why iron is important, what kind of functions it does inside of the body, the differences between the types of iron that are in our foods, and the last, we’re gonna be talking about the best vegan sources of iron.
We will also give you some recipe inspiration towards the end.
Without further ado let’s go ahead and dive into iron.
What Iron is and Why it’s important?
Iron is a mineral and it is arguably one of the most important for our body.
It’s also one of the minerals that a lot of people are deficient in or at least has a higher probability of being deficient in, especially if you follow a plant-based diet.
Iron is responsible for the production of haemoglobin in our bodies, and haemoglobin molecules are there to transport oxygen throughout our system.
Most of them can be found inside of our blood, and that’s where a lot of the iron is stored. About 60 to 70% of the iron in our body is found in our haemoglobin molecules.
Other places that iron is found inside of the body are things like our liver, our kidneys, and some of our other organs, and basically, it just lives there so that the haemoglobin can pull from those storage areas if it needs any extra.
Types of Iron
So there are two main forms of iron.
- Heme iron
- Non-Heme iron
Heme iron, which is more easily absorbed by the body is found in animal products.
So about, heme iron is about 10 up to 30% absorbable.
Whereas non-heme iron, which can be found in plant-based sources, is less absorbable, maybe about 8 to 10%. So that means if you are following a plant-based diet, you’ll have to be a little bit more careful about your iron, and getting inadequate amounts of iron and also ensuring that you’re absorbing iron.
So, if you are at all wondering if you’re deficient in iron, the only thing that we can recommend is that you need to get a blood test done.
Visit your doctor and have a blood panel done, and that will give you a sense of where you fall in the range.
Now let’s talk about the best vegan sources of iron.
Best Vegan Sources of Iron
Soybeans are beans, and also the base of a lot of plant-based protein options, for those of us who are following a plant-based diet.
Things like tofu, tempeh, edamame, those are all forms of soy, also soy milk and that is a really good way to get in some extra iron.
The one thing to keep in mind if you are somebody that consumes soy is that you wanna make sure that you’re buying organic and non-GMO varieties, just is a little bit easier on your digestive system. These are easier for your body to absorb and digest and just healthier for the overall world and your own health in general.
Molasses is a natural sweetener, but it is also, surprisingly high in a lot of minerals.
Molasses is that kind of dark, rich chocolatey flavour almost that you get in things like gingerbread.
Molasses is easy to find at almost every single grocery store. We suggest you buy an organic one but you can choose whichever one you want, and surprisingly it is high in iron.
Lentils and beans, in general, are great sources of iron and of course also plant-based protein.
What I love about lentils is they are incredibly versatile and there is a ton of different varieties.
So you can choose everything from green or brown lentils, which are kind of the more traditional lentils.
Black lentils or French lentils which are smaller and they have a little bit of a more, almost nutty, kind of crunchy texture, they’re awesome in salads. You can look for something like a red lentil which is more along the lines of a split pea, it kind of turns to mush as you cook but it’s so delicious in curries.
So lentils are an amazing source of iron, but also a really great source of protein and there are so many ways to add them into your diet.
The almighty quinoa. You guys know that I’m a fan of using quinoa pretty much every which way, and just like lentils, quinoa is incredibly versatile.
Not only can you find it in the whole seed form, so adding it into salads or things like that. Quinoa flour is also incredibly versatile. It can be used in pretty much any form of baked good that you want.
Quinoa flour has also been used in gluten-free pasta. So you might even find quinoa pasta at your grocery store, that’s another way to get quinoa into your diet, and of course, there are also quinoa flakes, which you can also use in a lot of your baking things like cookies, and granola, even just like a hot breakfast cereal.
Quinoa is a great source, not only of iron but also of protein and fibre. It’s a complex carbohydrate so it digests a little bit more easily in the system and it’s also high in a few other trace minerals like magnesium, manganese, and phosphorus.
Pumpkin seeds are admittedly are not something that I honestly eat all that much. Although I know that they are incredibly nutrient and mineral-rich, they’re probably one of the most mineral and nutrient-rich seeds out there.
So they’re a really great thing to incorporate into your diet, I just personally kind of forget about them, even though I always have them in my cabinet.
You can just do something as simple as sprinkling them on top of your salad or top of your oatmeal. You can also add them into your smoothies and they are a great source of plant-based protein.
They’re full of healthy fats and also full of things like iron as well as a few other traces of minerals. So pumpkin seeds are something that I definitely recommend that you pick up the next time you’re at the store.
Just keep it in your pantry to like use here and there as a simple way to get in a little bit of extra iron into your plant-based diet.
Another ingredient that I use a lot in my cooking, pretty much all the time every week. Love chickpeas, everything from hummus to crispy chickpeas on top of the salad. Soups with chickpeas, blending them up to use in baking.
I think chickpeas are one of those beans that are just incredibly versatile. I don’t find that they have as strong of a taste like the other beans.
Chickpeas are kind of mild, they’re high in protein, high in fibre, and again, also very high in iron as well as a few other traces of minerals, including calcium.
I was doing some research online and I was looking for some of the highest sources of iron in the plant-based diet.
I get surprised to come along Swiss chard because I don’t feel like Swiss chard makes many lists, although it is a very healthy ingredient.
Swiss chard is great because not only it is the highest green source of iron. So in the greens world, it has the highest source of iron, but it’s also kind of mild in terms of flavour unlike kale or things like collards or some of the more spicy greens like mustard greens.
I would say that chard is more taste-wise, along the lines of spinach.
Easy to incorporate into things like smoothies. You can saute it and it’s absolutely delicious, with like some olive oil, lemon and garlic.
You can stir it into salads, you can chop it up finely into ribbons, toss it into your salads or you could add it into a tofu or egg scramble.
There are no end of ways to use Swiss chard, and it’s also just incredibly good for you and it tends to be a little bit on the cheaper side versus something like kale.
So maybe next time you’re at the store, try picking up a bunch of Swiss chard instead of kale Or spinach, which is our next one.
Spinach is my one true love when it comes to greens, I buy spinach every single week. Spinach is fabulous, and you will love the taste of spinach.
You can use spinach in many different ways like –
- Adding it into your smoothie bowls.
- Putting it on sandwiches, you will love sauteing it.
Actually, spinach is one of those things that you can use in probably a million different ways. Even just blending it up into like a green muffin or something like that. It is so easy to use and incredibly healthy.
Of course, spinach is high in protein and fibre which is great, packed with chlorophyll, which is great for detoxifying.
It’s also high in calcium, it’s high in iron, of course. Like I said it doesn’t have much of a taste, so it’s incredibly like, versatile in terms of how you wanna use it.
So, if you’re not already on the spinach train, hop on because spinach is fabulous.
Tahini can be used in salads dressings, it’s an amazing thing to just drizzle on top of roasted sweet potatoes, you can stir it into a dip, you can use it in smoothies, you can use it on top of toast.
It is so good, and it has such an awesome flavour too. If you’ve never tried tahini it isn’t quite a sweet as something like almond butter.
Figs are great, not only are they just delicious like they are sweet.
Dried figs specifically are high in iron, and you luckily can find dried figs at pretty much every single grocery store.
My personal favourite way to eat figs, which might sound a little bit weird, is honestly just to take one dried fig, spread it with a little bit of peanut butter, maybe if I have some chia jam in my fridge, do a dollop of that on top of it, and eat it like peanut butter and jelly sandwich.
It’s honestly so good, I know it sounds a little bit weird but they are such an awesome snack.
Figs are also really nutritious. They’re super rich in fibre, and they’re great for digestion. They also have some natural sugars in them, So they’re a little bit energizing, which is really great, and in addition to all of those amazing properties. They’re also high in calcium and they’re high in iron.
So, they’re one of those things that you could just throw in your bag, bring with you on the way to work or just while you’re travelling.
Or you could chop them up, throw them into a salad, or like a quinoa salad or something like that. There’s a lot of different ways to eat figs.
That is our list of the 10 best vegan sources of iron. I hope you enjoyed this article.
If you have any questions for me, definitely leave them in the comments down below. | <urn:uuid:2005a6ca-b68f-467c-88fb-3b0a31e598ab> | CC-MAIN-2021-17 | https://healthyfiy.com/iron-rich-vegan-foods/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2021-17/segments/1618038078021.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20210414185709-20210414215709-00577.warc.gz | en | 0.957828 | 2,433 | 3.09375 | 3 |
The case of Putah Creek: Conflicting values complicate stream protection
Increasing human demands for water in California have led to a decline in the diversity and abundance of native aquatic organisms, including valuable salmon and steelhead. Declines worsen during drought years, a fact demonstrated in 1989 when lower Putah Creek dried out in the third year of the state's most recent drought. That year, the Putah Creek Council (a local environmental group), UC Davis and the City of Davis joined forces to purchase more water from the Solano Irrigation District, thereby saving the fish that had survived in a few isolated pools. Since then, these parties and numerous others have filed lawsuits to establish rights to the waters of Putah Creek. While legal questions about these water rights remain to be settled, the events surrounding Putah Creek underscore the need for communities and irrigation districts to develop long-term water policies that recognize environmental needs in the context of California's frequent droughts. Such problem-solving will depend on balancing the conflicting value systems of different groups of water users.
As Putah Creek dried out during a recent drought, the people of Davis bought water to save the surviving fish.
Water is California's most limiting resource: Much of the state is semi-arid and 20% of the land receives less than 5 inches of rain per year. Paradoxically, the state uses nearly a quarter of the water delivered to consumers annually in the United States. Water is essential to the cities, farms and industries that make California prosperous; to the lakes and streams that make the natural environment so attractive to humans; and to the rich variety of endemic aquatic species.
An average of 60% of California's total available water (34 million acrefeet delivered yearly) comes from surface flow and 40% is taken from groundwater. In 1985 California allocated 80% of this developed water supply to agriculture, 16% to urban areas and only 2% to wildlife and recreation, according to the California Department of Water Resources.
Because water is a limiting resource in California, it is subject to intense competition among users and all too often seems to be in short supply. As early as the 1890s, San Joaquin Valley farmers wrangled over water, often guarding their ditches from each other with shotguns. Today, the natural environment receives much less water than it did before the agricultural industry developed.
This fact has contributed to the dramatic decline of California's native fish. Of the 113 native fish taxa — species, subspecies and distinct runs of anadromous fish — more than 70% are either extinct, listed as endangered or in serious decline (fig. 1). (Some of this decline is also due to introductions of exotic game and nongame fish.) The declining fish include all of the state's anadromous species (those which migrate from the sea to breed in fresh water) such as Chinook salmon, coho salmon and steelhead trout, which are important to fisheries (see sidebar, p. 74 ). Increasing numbers of California's fishes are being listed or proposed for listing as endangered, intensifying water conflicts and often pitting fishermen and environmentalists against farmers and urban water developers.
These disputes reflect how values shift in society, as communities reevaluate the priorities they've assigned to water use. In some cases, society has favored allocating a greater share of California's water to environmental needs (see sidebar, p. 77 ). A case in point which has yet to be resolved is the dispute over the waters of lower Putah Creek, which flows through the UC Davis campus.
Putah Creek, a refuge
Putah Creek originates high in the Coast Range near Mt. Cobb in Lake County and winds its way east into Berryessa Reservoir. Lower Putah Creek (below Berryessa Reservoir) flows through approximately 30 miles of rich agricultural land in Yolo and Solano counties before terminating in the Yolo By-pass, a large flood-control channel that drains into the Sacramento River. While nearly every scrap of land around lower Putah Creek is cultivated or urbanized, the creek itself has a thin border of cottonwoods, sycamores, willows and other riparian plants.
The creek and its riparian vegetation are a refuge for wildlife that is otherwise rare or declining in the region including the giant garter snake, the valley elderberry longhorn beetle, the northwestern pond turtle and Swainson's hawk. During the spring and fall, the bushes along the creek are rich with migrating warblers and sparrows. Wood ducks raise their broods in the large, shaded pools of the creek.
Putah Creek also contains a large number of fish species. While the majority of these are introduced game fish, the creek still supports remnants of the once-abundant Central Valley native fish. Both these stream fish and the anadromous fish that historically spawned in the creek were a source of food for the Patwin Indians who lived in the region prior to 1850 where the UC Davis campus now stands.
Putah Creek changed dramatically in 1948 when the Secretary of the Interior authorized plans for the Solano Project. The impetus for the Solano Project was that Solano County felt its prosperity rested on an adequate and dependable source of water. The project's goal was to provide water to the newly created Solano Irrigation District (SID), which supplies the rich agricultural lands, as well as the military, industrial and urban area of Solano County. The project was also designed to provide a measure of flood control.
The Solano Project consists of two major parts: the main water-storage structures are Berryessa Reservoir and Monticello Dam, and the diversion structures that send water south to Fairfield and Vacaville (Solano Diversion Dam and the Putah South Canal).
Today water is collected behind Monticello Dam during the rainy season and is released down a 10-mile stretch of stream as needed to the Solano Diversion Dam. Water from the diversion dam is both transferred southward through the Putah South Canal and released downstream into lower Putah Creek according to a monthly schedule. The downstream release schedule is exactly the same every year, except in years of low rainfall (and low inflow into Berryessa Reservoir) when releases are reduced. During most years, the amount of water allocated for the lower creek is only about 10% of the water diverted down the Putah South Canal—although during periods of high rainfall—spills over the diversion dam can increase the downstream flows.
In addition to having reduced flows as the result of the diversion, the amount of water in lower Putah Creek has been reduced by groundwater pumping in the region. The combination disrupted the creek's natural hydrologic cycle. Historically, during the hottest summer months the lowest reaches of the creek often lost surface flow and isolated pools formed. However, groundwater provided these pools with substantial cool-water recharge, thereby maintaining the integrity of the entire native stream community.
Unfortunately, the current hydrological regime allows portions of the creek to dry completely during drought years that formerly supported pools and short stretches of surface flow. Notably, in the summer of 1989, which was the third consecutive year of the latest drought, most of the water released by the Solano Irrigation District was removed by the pumps of streamside farmers or sank into the streambed, replenishing groundwater.
As lower Putah Creek dried out, fish died in large numbers. Herons and egrets congregated along the shrinking pools, feasting themselves on stranded fish. Later that summer, most of the creek dried up. Miles of dry channel were littered with the decaying bodies of fish, crayfish and tadpoles, while hardy catfish struggled to survive as isolated pools became smaller and smaller. Eventually only a few large, deep pools remained.
The fish in these large pools were saved when the Putah Creek Council, a local environmental group, joined UC Davis and the City of Davis to purchase more water for the creek from the Solano County water agency. The water purchased was just enough to keep the pools from drying out or stagnating to the point where the fish would die.
The wrangling over lower Putah Creek's water continues to this day and epitomizes the people-versusfish water-use conflicts throughout California.
Water disputes like that over Putah Creek and the seemingly intractable disagreements they pose are often the result of fundamentally different worldviews. Historically, many Californians have seen water largely as a resource to support mining, agriculture, urban development and other activities. This view is reflected in the names of California's principal water agencies: the Department of Water Resources and the Water Resources Control Board.
In this view, water is seen as a commodity to be bought and sold, and the emphasis is economic. For example, agriculture values water mainly for its role in producing crops to meet market demands and industry values water mainly for manufacturing and producing goods. The view of water as a commodity is implicit in terms such as “water rights” and “water uses.” When water is thought of this way, certain conclusions follow: water should be used to produce the greatest gain for the greatest number of people; water can be bought, sold, moved and partitioned; and water can be used as currency.
While this monetary interpretation of water is not fundamentally wrong, a number of alternative viewpoints extend water's value beyond economic considerations. One of these views is that water has value for maintaining natural ecological processes. To fully appreciate this view, it is necessary to examine the role water plays in natural ecosystems, especially aquatic and riparian systems. Fish and other aquatic organisms obviously require water because that is where they live. But the issue is more complex than simply providing aquatic organisms with adequate amounts of water. Other aspects of water are also essential such as the quality of the water and the yearly pattern of flows.
For example, the flows of Central Valley streams are highly variable from year to year because the amount of winter rain is irregular. However, in a given year the basic seasonal pattern of flow is fairly predictable: high flows occur in the late winter and early spring, and low flows occur in late summer and fall. The fish native to Central California evolved under these demanding hydrologic conditions and therefore are uniquely adapted to thrive there. These fish have fairly narrow spawning windows that are timed to the high flows created by rainfall or snowmelt. They also have fairly long lives so they can survive through dry years and spawn again during wet years.
When the flow regime is altered, especially when the spring flows needed for spawning are eliminated, the native fish tend to disappear and be replaced by fish such as carp and green sunfish that were introduced by humans for food or other reasons.
Besides being essential for aquatic organisms, water is necessary for riparian ecosystems. Water helps break down dead organic material, mediates the process of nutrient exchange in soils and is required for plant and animal growth. When most of the water is removed from aquatic and riparian ecosystems, they change dramatically and often disastrously. The evidence for this includes the dead riparian forests along streams in the Mono Basin from which the water was diverted, the sediment and erosion problems in the Trinity River watershed and the diminished fisheries of the Sacramento-San Joaquin estuary.
Water: alternative views
Water plays a vital role in California's environment. Community actions such as the 1989 purchase of water for drought-stricken Putah Creek indicate that some Californians now recognize the value of intact ecosystems. We rely on functional ecosystems for the continued health of our land, air and water, which in turn benefits human health and well-being.
A second alternative to viewing water as a commodity is to value streams and rivers for their educational potential. For example, lower Putah Creek is an important educational asset to UC Davis. Each year hundreds of students visit the creek on class field trips and to conduct research projects. UC Davis students from urban settings often receive their first introduction to wildlife along the banks of Putah Creek.
A third viewpoint is to value streams and rivers for their nonconsumptive recreation such as boating, swimming and wildlife viewing. Such activities are becoming increasingly popular. Recent U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service surveys have shown that adult Americans engage in nonconsumptive wildlife-related recreation twice as much as they participate in fishing and hunting. Maintaining Putah Creek as a living stream was so important to the Putah Creek Council, the City of Davis and the University that they were willing to pay for the additional water to keep the creek and its inhabitants alive, even though this water would not directly generate income.
A fourth viewpoint is to value streams and rivers for aesthetic reasons. People can value a stream and its surroundings simply for its beauty and charm. In a 1993 survey by Times-Mirror Magazines, two-thirds of Americans indicated that environmental protection is more important than economic development. Aesthetic values of the environment are increasingly of fundamental importance in the personal philosophies of many people.
Aesthetic values can include valuing qualities inherent to organisms and ecosystems as advocated by wildlife biologist Aldo Leopold. Some people express a profound respect for other creatures and intact watersheds, and they value encounters with native species and functioning ecosystems such as living creeks. They often want to have this experience available not only for themselves but for their children and grandchildren.
Contrasts in worldviews and conflicting values can block communication between parties involved in water disputes. At times, it appears that environmentalists and water resource advocates are speaking different languages. It is often as difficult for water resource advocates to be sympathetic to environmental concerns as it is for environmental advocates to appreciate the resource values of water. The dialogue breaks down and lawsuits result. For example, the fate of Putah Creek has been entangled in the legal system for close to 5 years. There is still no answer to the main question of how much water is needed downstream.
Resolving water conflicts like the Putah Creek dispute seems destined to be a protracted legal process. Whatever the specific outcome, if we as a society acknowledge the value of preserving natural environments, then we must develop better long-term policies for water allocation that take into account California's frequent droughts, which occur an average of 3 years in every 10.
Competition among water users will increase as population grows. The question of whether or not Putah Creek will survive and thrive as a living representative of our natural waters will have to be balanced with increasing public demands for more food, goods and space. In the end the solutions will come down to a question of balancing conflicting values. | <urn:uuid:895f717f-78d2-4a4c-88c8-e0139a92be11> | CC-MAIN-2022-40 | https://calag.ucanr.edu/Archive/?article=ca.v049n06p73 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-40/segments/1664030335491.4/warc/CC-MAIN-20220930145518-20220930175518-00264.warc.gz | en | 0.960713 | 2,995 | 3.21875 | 3 |
Summary: The speed at which light travels through a vacuum, about 186,000 miles per second, is enshrined in physics lore as a universal speed limit. Nothing can travel faster than that speed, according freshman textbooks and conversation at sophisticated wine bars; Einstein's theory of relativity would crumble, theoretical physics would fall into disarray, if anything could. Two new experiments have demonstrated how wrong that comfortable wisdom is.
By JAMES GLANZ
The speed at which light travels through a vacuum, about 186,000 miles per second, is enshrined in physics lore as a universal speed limit. Nothing can travel faster than that speed, according freshman textbooks and conversation at sophisticated wine bars; Einstein's theory of relativity would crumble, theoretical physics would fall into disarray, if anything could.
Two new experiments have demonstrated how wrong that comfortable wisdom is. Einstein's theory survives, physicists say, but the results of the experiments are so mind-bending and weird that the easily unnerved are advised--in all seriousness--not to read beyond this point.
In the most striking of the new experiments a pulse of light that enters a transparent chamber filled with specially prepared cesium gas is pushed to speeds of 300 times the normal speed of light. That is so fast that, under these peculiar circumstances, the main part of the pulse exits the far side of the chamber even before it enters at the near side.
It is as if someone looking through a window from home were to see a man slip and fall on a patch of ice while crossing the street well before witnesses on the sidewalk saw the mishap occur--a preview of the future. But Einstein's theory, and at least a shred of common sense, seem to survive because the effect could never be used to signal back in time to change the past--avert the accident, in the example.
A paper on the experiment, by Lijun Wang of the NEC Research Institute in Princeton, N.J., has been submitted to Nature and is currently undergoing peer review. It is only the most spectacular example of work by a wide range of researchers recently who have produced superluminal speeds of propagation in various materials, in hopes of finding a chink in Einstein's armor and using the effect in practical applications like speeding up electrical circuits.
"It looks like a beautiful experiment," said Raymond Chiao, a professor of physics at the University of California in Berkeley, who, like a number of physicists in the close-knit community of optics research, is knowledgeable about Dr. Wang's work.
Dr. Chiao, whose own research laid some of the groundwork for the experiment, added that "there's been a lot of controversy" over whether the finding means that actual information--like the news of an impending accident--could be sent faster than c, the velocity of light. But he said that he and most other physicists agreed that it could not.
Though declining to provide details of his paper because it is under review, Dr. Wang said: "Our light pulses can indeed be made to travel faster than c. This is a special property of light itself, which is different from a familiar object like a brick," since light is a wave with no mass. A brick could not travel so fast without creating truly big problems for physics, not to mention humanity as a whole.
A paper on the second new experiment, by Daniela Mugnai, Anedio Ranfagni and Rocco Ruggeri of the Italian National Research Council, described what appeared to be slightly faster-than-c propagation of microwaves through ordinary air, and was published in the May 22 issue of Physical Review Letters.
The kind of chamber in Dr. Wang's experiment is normally used to amplify waves of laser light, not speed them up, said Aephraim M. Steinberg, a physicist at the University of Toronto. In the usual arrangement, one beam of light is shone on the chamber, exciting the cesium atoms, and then a second beam passing thorugh the chamber soaks up some of that energy and gets amplified when it passes through them.
But the amplification occurs only if the second beam is tuned to a certain precise wavelength, Dr. Steinberg said. By cleverly choosing a slightly different wavelength, Dr. Wang induced the cesium to speed up a light pulse without distorting it in any way. "If you look at the total pulse that comes out, it doesn't actually get amplified," Dr. Steinberg said.
There is a further twist in the experiment, since only a particularly strange type of wave can propagate through the cesium. Waves Light signals, consisting of packets of waves, actually have two important speeds: the speed of the individual peaks and troughs of the light waves themselves, and the speed of the pulse or packet into which they are bunched. A pulse may contain billions or trillions of tiny peaks and troughs. In air the two speeds are the same, but in the excited cesium they are not only different, but the pulses and the waves of which they are composed can travel in opposite directions, like a pocket of congestion on a highway, which can propagate back from a toll booth as rush hour begins, even as all the cars are still moving forward.
These so-called backward modes are not new in themselves, having been routinely measured in other media like plasmas, or ionized gases. But in the cesium experiment, the outcome is particularly strange because backward light waves can, in effect, borrow energy from the excited cesium atoms before giving it back a short time later. The overall result is an outgoing wave exactly the same in shape and intensity as the incoming wave; the outgoing wave just leaves early, before the peak of the incoming wave even arrives.
As most physicists interpret the experiment, it is a low-intensity precursor (sometimes called a tail, even when it comes first) of the incoming wave that clues the cesium chamber to the imminent arrival of a pulse. In a process whose details are poorly understood, but whose effect in Dr. Wang's experiment is striking, the cesium chamber reconstructs the entire pulse solely from information contained in the shape and size of the tail, and spits the pulse out early.
If the side of the chamber facing the incoming wave is called the near side, and the other the far side, the sequence of events is something like the following. The incoming wave, its tail extending ahead of it, approaches the chamber. Before the incoming wave's peak gets to the near side of the chamber, a complete pulse is emitted from the far side, along with a backward wave inside the chamber that moves from the far to the near side.
The backward wave, traveling at 300 times c, arrives at the near side of the chamber just in time to meet the incoming wave. The peaks of one wave overlap the troughs of the other, so they cancel each other out and nothing remains. What has really happened is that the incoming wave has "paid back" the cesium atoms that lent energy on the other side of the chamber.
Someone who looked only at the beginning and end of the experiment would see only a pulse of light that somehow jumped forward in time by moving faster than c.
"The effect is really quite dramatic," Dr. Steinberg said. "For a first demonstration, I think this is beautiful."
In Dr. Wang's experiment, the outgoing pulse had already traveled about 60 feet from the chamber before the incoming pulse had reached the chamber's near side. That distance corresponds to 60 billionths of a second of light travel time. But it really wouldn't allow anyone to send information faster than c, said Peter W. Milonni, a physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory. While the peak of the pulse does get pushed forward by that amount, an early "nose" or faint precursor of the pulse has probably given a hint to the cesium of the pulse to come.
"The information is already there in the leading edge of the pulse," Dr. Milonni said. "You can get the impression of sending information superluminally even though you're not sending information."
The cesium chamberhas reconstructed the entire pulse shape, using only the shape of the precursor. So for most physicists, no fundamental principles have been smashed in the new work.
Not all physicists agree that the question has been settled, though. "This problem is still open," said Dr. Ranfagni of the Italian group, which used an ingenious set of reflecting optics to create microwave pulses that seemed to travel as much as 25% faster than c over short distances.
At least one physicist, Dr. Guenter Nimtz [[umlaut over u]] of the University of Cologne, holds the opinion that a number of experiments, including those of the Italian group, have in fact sent information superluminally. But not even Dr. Nimtz believes that this trick would allow one to reach back in time. He says, in essence, that the time it takes to read any incoming information would fritter away any temporal advantage, making it impossible to signal back and change events in the past.
However those debates end, however, Dr. Steinberg said that techniques closely related to Dr. Wang's might someday be used to speed up signals that normally get slowed down by passing through all sorts of ordinary materials in circuits. A miniaturized version of Dr. Wang's setup "is exactly the kind of system you'd want for that application, Dr. Steinberg said.
Sadly for those who would like to see a computer chip without a speed limit, the trick would help the signals travel closer to the speed of light, but not beyond it, he said. | <urn:uuid:d978b131-703c-4214-a80e-3f6b51df47c2> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.ufoevidence.org/documents/doc1099.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936463340.29/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074103-00103-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957114 | 1,992 | 3.265625 | 3 |
Many women turn to strict workout routines and diets to lose weight quickly. At times they are motivated by a desire to improve their health, at others by unrealistic "thinspiration" images. Too rigorous a regimen can wreak havoc on a woman’s health and can prevent her from achieving weight loss and fitness goals, so it is important to find balance in both diet and exercise.
Strict Dieting and Metabolism
Restricting calories reduces resting metabolism and decreases voluntary and involuntary movement throughout the day. In his book “Good Calories, Bad Calories,” Gary Taubes addresses this phenomenon. Although severe calorie restriction can produce limited initial weight loss, he concludes that the body responds to dieting by reducing energy expenditure. If you’ve ever felt unusually cold when you’re dieting, you have experienced this effect firsthand. Generating body heat is one of the “cost-saving measures” the body takes to reduce energy expenditure. Even more detrimental, even when calorie intake returns to normal, the metabolism does not recover immediately and may not recover at all, according to Taubes.
Strict Dieting and Fitness
Building lean muscle mass -- a goal for many women who engage in a strict workout routine -- requires consuming more calories than are expended. If you aren’t eating enough, your body will not have the raw materials to repair and build muscles. This contributes to lackluster results and increased susceptibility to injury.
Consuming too few calories can also impair cardio workouts. Runners call it “bonking,” that moment when you hit the proverbial wall and can no longer complete your workout. Calorie restriction or specific macronutrient restriction is one of the chief contributors to your body calling it quits midway through your workout.
Strict Dieting and Mood
Strict dieting produces negative effects on mental well-being as well. In the famous Minnesota Semi-Starvation study, 36 men were put on a reduced calorie diet of 1,500 calories per day for six months. A daily intake of 1,500 calories is hardly what we would call “starvation” today; in fact, even lower numbers are prescribed for many women’s diet plans. During that time, most of the subjects reported severe emotional distress, including depression, hysteria and hypochondriasis. Extremely low carbohydrate diets have a similar effect.
A Balanced Approach
Consider a more balanced approach to dieting and fitness. Determine the number of calories needed to fuel your workout and yield gradual weight loss -- one to two pounds per week -- then enjoy a wide range of whole foods, including complex carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats. Restrict processed foods, particularly white flour and other refined grains and all sweeteners, which offer nothing in the way of nutrition and contribute to insulin production and fat storage. Also, ensure that you are well-hydrated, drinking 64 to 96 ounces of water daily. Proper hydration also contributes to healthy weight loss.
Increase your exercise volume gradually: 10 percent each week is a good progression for improving your fitness level. Make sure you take rest days at least once or twice per week. | <urn:uuid:9abd4058-45c7-4a79-911b-eaffa82dd584> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://www.livestrong.com/article/436236-strict-workout-routine-diet-for-women/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917121869.65/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031201-00468-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93478 | 644 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Common Misperceptions About Obesity in All Age Groups
Because weight is such a critical health issue, Wake Forest Baptist Health offers special programs serving every age range. Experts from those fields each share three key issues that they encounter.
Joseph Skelton, MD, director of the Brenner FIT program serving children who are overweight and their families. The program, one of the first in the nation of its kind, recently celebrated its fifth year.
- The majority of kids who have a problem with weight before puberty will continue to have problems after puberty.
- Although much attention is focused on poor children in urban areas, families living in rural areas often have trouble accessing fresh fruit and vegetables.
- Structured sports can contribute to problems. A Wake Forest Baptist study showed that on average, children in Little League had three meals a week interrupted by sports, something that often results in consumption by children and parents of unhealthy snacks before or during games and fast food after.
Adolfo "Fuzz" Fernandez, MD, medical director of the Bariatric Surgery Program for adults who choose to have weight loss surgery.
- It is not easy to lose weight, and overweight people should not be stigmatized as being lazy.
- Most meal portions are way too large, especially fast food restaurants, many of which are more than 1,000 calories. "A meal should not be 1,000 calories.''
- In order to fix problems on a large scale, government will have to consider cutting subsidies to big companies that allow them to offer bad food at inexpensive prices. Food that is unhealthier might need to become more expensive.
Barbara Nicklas, PhD, professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine, J. Paul Sticht Center on Aging and Rehabilitation
- Older people face different challenges when trying to lose weight, such as a lower metabolism, lifelong eating habits and chronic diseases that may limit physical activity.
- People who are overweight and obese when older are more at risk for chronic conditions, such as arthritis and dementia. This provides a different motivation for older people to maintain a healthy weight.
- Many medications taken by older people are "weight-gain promoting.'' Physicians should make sure their patients are aware of that and help them learn what they can do to become more mindful of their calorie intake and their lower resting metabolism. | <urn:uuid:f60d56ae-efc7-4afa-84d0-6f129a19d9d4> | CC-MAIN-2017-47 | http://www.wakehealth.edu/Weight-Management-Center/CC/Common-Misperceptions-About-Obesity-in-All-Age-Groups.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-47/segments/1510934804666.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20171118055757-20171118075757-00780.warc.gz | en | 0.966155 | 475 | 3.03125 | 3 |
Today’s grandparents are health conscious both for themselves and their families. A big problem with many foods is hidden sugar and artificial sweeteners. Linda Martyak of Honolulu, Hawaii, states, “Cooking for my grandsons is a precious honor. Since I want them to love Mima’s cooking, I plan dishes that are kid friendly, taste great and are healthy. I already keep minimal snack foods and avoid sugary cereals.”
While some sugar in one’s diet is fine, too much can cause health issues such as obesity, energy highs and lows, diabetes and dental problems. Dietitian Sharon Baker, R.D., L.D., suggests, “Simple sugars found in soft drinks are empty calories, and I would recommend trying to have children and adults stick to water, milk or low-sugar beverages (look for less than 15 grams per serving).”
Some of the worst culprits of high-sugar foods or artificial sweeteners are children’s yogurt or yogurt with fruit, energy bars, cereal bars, cereal and soda. Also be careful about low-fat yogurt; it usually contains aspartame. Some healthy snack suggestions are hummus with vegetables, peanut butter on an apple, plain yogurt with fresh fruit, cheese, nuts, whole-grain cereal. Great sweetening alternatives are cinnamon and fresh or frozen fruit.
Sticking to an all-natural diet and keeping sugars in check will contribute to a healthy lifestyle for you and the grandkids. Moderation is the key, and nothing is more fun or tastes as good as cooking with Gran and Granddad!
A sugar by any other name…is still sugar!
Don’t be fooled when you see these ingredients on food labels-they are sugar.
fruit juice concentrate
• American Heart Association guidelines: for women, consume no more than 100 calories (6 tsp.) of added sugar daily; for men, 150 calories (9 tsp.) [http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4471].
• Nutrition and sugar intake calculator for children: [http://www.mypyramid.gov/mypyramid/index.aspx].
• Healthy recipes for families:
• Ideas and recipes especially for kids: [http://www.annabelkarmel.com/]. | <urn:uuid:003e554e-26fc-4d88-9002-350b64536b68> | CC-MAIN-2014-41 | http://www.grandmagazine.com/news/2010/05/hidden-sugars-confusing-food-labels-disguise-a-multitude-of-sweet-sins/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2014-41/segments/1410657114926.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20140914011154-00306-ip-10-196-40-205.us-west-1.compute.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.867783 | 488 | 2.734375 | 3 |
Work at Home Medical Coding Tips
Tips for Working at Home or Office
Medical coding plays a vital role in the health care industry. Medical coding is assigning codes to procedures, diseases, and injuries which help insurance companies know how much to reimburse for services. The numbers describe the diagnoses and the procedures performed on the patient. Medical coding was developed to distinguish and identify different reasons for getting health care. Medical coding is applied to both administrative and clinical procedures.
Purchase Quality Equipment
Choosing the right equipment is important for a medical coder and a decision that should not be taken lightly. Pick a quality chair that has good back support. A quality chair may be pricey, but it will reduce the chance of developing chronic pain while working. Purchase a keyboard designed to decrease the chance of muscle strains and other medical problems. The Environmental Health and Safety program from NC State University explains to choose furniture designed to improve performance and decrease injuries by adjusting the work equipment to the body's size. Purchasing quality equipment while performing medical coding will be worth it in the long run.
Medical coders should be detailed and work well with numbers. Administrative skills are necessary such as processing and reviewing claims. Medical coders contact insurance companies and medical providers for additional information on a claim. Computer skills and data entry are necessary in medical coding. Coders are required to have knowledge in software programs because. Medical coders need good listening, math, and reading skills. Medical coders need good vision to view their computer screen close-up. Educational requirements include a high school diploma and completing an accredited medical coding program. Medical coders know the anatomy and physiology of the human body, as well as diseases.
The standard words and phrases used in identifying medical diagnoses and procedures are known as medical terminology. Medical terminology is based on roots in Greek and Latin languages and is used in medical coding. Because medical professionals use medical terminology in patient charts and dictation, it is important to learn and understand the terms and roots of the words.
A Silent Work Environment
Working in a silent environment is necessary to ensure that your work is accurate and precise. A noisy environment can interfere with the power to create excellent work. If you work in an office where noise is a problem, tell a supervisor. If you have a home office, make it free from distractions. Do not have things in your office that will distract you. Concentration is a must if you are working at home or in an office.
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Phishing attacks have become more rampant than ever before. You might receive innocent looking e-mail from your Bank, asking for your credit card number or any other piece of sensitive information – but what you may not realize is that the e-mail could have come from a hacker. Once you share your personal information, before you even realize it, money disappears from your bank account. So, how does one identify phishing emails?
Before we tell you some simple ways to identify a phishing email, let’s first understand what these fraudulent emails are and why hackers love them.
What Are Phishing Emails?
Phishing emails are fraudulent messages sent by criminals in an attempt to steal your password, bank account numbers, credit card numbers and any other sensitive information they can get away with. Phishing e-mails target both individuals and businesses to gain access to their valuable assets. These emails typically come with a link to a form where you can fill in your personal or business information, and once the user fills up the details, they get sent directly to the criminals. In some cases you don’t even need to hit submit or send the fraudulent form, the criminal can receive the information as you type it in, almost in real time.
The phishing email looks legitimate and often the users are duped into opening such emails. the recipient is then tricked into clicking on the malicious link enclosed in the mail which may lead to revealing of sensitive information or installation of malware or freezing of the system. The phishing attack can have devastating effects, in case of individuals, it can be unauthorized purchases, withdrawals, fund transfers, etc.
For corporates, the fraudsters may send such emails to get a foothold on corporate networks, this may also include some employees being compromised to bypass the security perimeters. An organization that succumbs to phishing attacks may have to bear severe financial losses besides declining market share, consumer trust, and reputation.
How To Identify A Phishing Email?
Here are some simple ways to identify if the email received in your inbox is a scam or not.
An email that asks for personal information
Hackers can go at any length to ensure that their email imitates the original. However, when this authentic-looking email requests for information that you typically don’t expect, then it’s the biggest giveaway that the mail is not from a trusted source. Information such as login credentials, PIN (personal identification number), bank or credit card number are never asked by banks over email. Do not reply or click on any links and you may also contact that bank/organization directly to confirm if any such information was requested by them.
Beware of threatening or urgent language in the subject line
Invoking a sense of urgency is one of the most common tactics of a phishing attack, for instance-“your account has been suspended”. Do not reply to such emails.
Never open a suspicious attachment
If you get an unexpected attachment in the email, do not open it even if you think it is genuine before scanning it with antivirus software. Since it could be a malicious URL or Trojan which can lead to the installation of malware or virus on your device or network.
Check the email address of the sender
At a glance, the email addresses look genuine but if you check closely you may find a bogus variation intended to make it appear original. For instance- mail.airbnb.work instead of Airbnb.com.
Content is often poorly written
This is one of the simplest ways to identify a phishing email. Check the body of the message for grammatical or spelling mistakes since emails from legitimate companies are constructed by professional writers and are exhaustively checked for errors.
The bottom line is that phishers are extremely smart at what they do. Just because an email consists of brand logos, seemingly valid email address, and language does not mean it is legitimate. So even if it looks remotely suspicious do not open it.
As the phishing attacker uses technology to commit the attacks, there are technologies to protect against the phishing attacks. For instance, Office 365 by default offers a range of security features against phishing attacks besides some additional offerings such as ATP anti-phishing. Similarly, Sophos offers an anti-phishing toolkit and can help the users at each point in the attack chain. With Sophos, users can be educated and tested through automated attack simulations.
Besides that, Swordphish and modusCloud are also some of the software that provides anti-phishing help.
Robust Phishing Protection From ReviveYour Computer
ReviveYourComputer offers a combination of tools and technology to counter phishing attacks, including preventative measures, policies and procedures, and user security training. Protecting your and your client’s information is of the utmost importance. If your organization is struggling to get ahead of phishing attacks then contact us.
We work to protect you, so that you can focus on what’s important, growing your business! | <urn:uuid:b8dd8d7c-8052-438d-b405-e007e5fa4e90> | CC-MAIN-2019-43 | https://www.reviveyourcomputer.com/phishing-emails-a-serious-threat/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2019-43/segments/1570986703625.46/warc/CC-MAIN-20191020053545-20191020081045-00441.warc.gz | en | 0.936602 | 1,026 | 2.65625 | 3 |
Prior to the approach of Buddhism, there was a created culture of Hinduism in India and Taoism and Confucianism in China. Be that as it may, with the development of Buddhism a social transformation occurred in nations, for example, China, Korea, Japan, Tibet, Mongolia. In the huge breadth of Southeast Asia and the Far East, the way of life of Buddhism gave a ground-breaking catalyst to the otherworldly advancement of these nations by advancing shared combination and reestablishment. A solitary perspective has showed up all through this space. Alongside Buddhism the mainstream sciences from India such language structure, prescription, cosmology and soothsaying were spread. All countries joined the human progress of India, China, Japan and considered writing, painting, showy craftsmanship and engineering.
Buddhist engineering assumes a significant job in overall culture. The genuine instances of Buddhist's perfect works of art are the stupa in Sanchi and Sarnath in India, the Bodnathu stupa in Nepal, the brilliant stupa in the Shwedagon in Myanmar. A stupa is a three-organize structure comprising of a half circle body and an umbrella-like upper part. This development was meant to give a spot where individuals could come and make their contributions to Buddha (Dong, 2005). As indicated by the legend, the initial eight stupas were raised after the incineration of the collection of Buddha Shakyamuni. As around then there were eight districts in India, the cinders were partitioned into eight sections and set in these stupas. After some time, these stupas transformed into multi-layered structures, possessing huge zones with expansions.
With the spread of Buddhism in Southeast Asia and Far East nations, stupas and pagodas were fabricated, yet additionally various sanctuaries and religious communities, great cavern and shake sanctuary edifices. One of the instances of Indo-Buddhist design is the acclaimed Borobudur sanctuary buildings in Indonesia and Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
Sanctuaries in Buddhism are the focal point of strict life (Dong, 2005). All factions and customs occur there. The distinction in the types of sanctuaries in various nations is a result of the decent variety of societies and blending with nearby cliques, conventions, convictions and development forms. Buddhist sanctuaries doesn't just have different structures, yet additionally the most surprising sizes from various structures with private houses to immense sanctuaries. There are whole urban areas with many sanctuaries and several official structures.
Every one of the sanctuaries have various basic highlights. The prevailing fascination of Buddhist sanctuaries is Chinese style rooftop with bended edges. The great complex contains an overlaid hipped rooftop and is encompassed by a fence in the state of a customary square shape. On every one of the four corners of the fence there are kaleidoscopic stripes of texture with otherworldly messages, which serve to shield the religious community from malice powers.
On the two sides of the fence there are extended lines of petition wheels, loaded up with supplication writings. In the upper piece of the rooftop, particularly in Nepal, eyes on every one of the four sides of the pagoda are painted. Adherents, before entering the cloister, must circumvent the fence and pivot the drums. It is accepted that one turn of the drum is equivalent to perusing of the considerable number of petitions that are inside. At that point the devotee enters the religious community door, which is typically painted red and with painted winged serpents. On the two sides of the door, there are statues of divinities, the benefactors of the four sides of the world who watchman the religious community. From the entryway to the passage of the primary sanctuary, there is a street spread out of white stone, called the 'high way'. This street is utilized by lamas and during the serious services on vacations.
Accomplishments in design added to the improvement of expressions. Cloisters and sanctuaries required an enormous number of sculptural pictures of Buddha's and Bodhisattva's. In any piece of the existence where a Buddhist sanctuary is raised, one can watch grand and rich models. They are normally made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, wood and delineate various characters from Buddhist history. Buddhism allowed specialists a chance to make an exceptional universe of Oriental workmanship.
For quite a long time Buddhist cloisters have been a focal point of culture for the nations of the Far East. Whole ages of artists, craftsmen, and savants looked for and discovered motivation in Buddhism. They commended and magnified its ideological qualities and added to the spread of this religion in different nations. The libraries of Buddhist religious communities contain inestimable fortunes of composed culture. The priests duplicated and proliferated these original copies and added to their conveyance all through the world.
On account of the treatises of the Buddhist standard, the individuals of Southeast Asia and Tibet made their very own letters in order based on the Indian. Chinese hieroglyphic composing came to Korea and Japan alongside Buddhism. The specialty of proliferation of writings was first brainstormed by the priests of China with the assistance of sheets with symbolic representations cut on them.
The craft of reproducing gardens likewise created affected by the thoughts of Buddhism. Buddhist priests reared immense nurseries and forests around their religious communities. The region around the sanctuary was a blooming, green and bright region.
The craft of tea development and tea drinking likewise began in Buddhist religious communities (Britannica, 2018). Tea darlings accept that tea drinking gives mental fortitude and thought, capacity to tranquilly think and reason. The Chinese are certain that when you drink tea, you can discover the route to reality. Celebrated tea services in the East are related with Buddhism and owe their beginning to this specific religion.
Buddhism is described by metaphorical reasoning, similitude and similar assignment. To demonstrate the story in word and activity by utilizing mimicry, the development of hands and feet, is the pith of the Buddhist theater. The exhibitions were spread even before Buddhism, however with the appearance of the new religion, the Chinese show was loaded up with new importance and inhaled the life into theaters of Japan, Tibet and Mongolia.
To close, Buddhism impacted numerous nations in Southeast Asia, Far East and Central Asia. It has assumed a colossal positive job in the otherworldly, good and social advancement of society. Fields that were impacted the most are engineering and expressions. Also, Buddhism joined different religions by making a typical culture, customs, composing, reasoning, showed science and its own type of dramatic craftsmanship. | <urn:uuid:1a43cb89-46a9-44e1-ae9f-c8577b2b8a3a> | CC-MAIN-2023-50 | https://edubirdie.com/examples/the-impact-of-buddhism-on-architecture-and-arts/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2023-50/segments/1700679100769.54/warc/CC-MAIN-20231208180539-20231208210539-00846.warc.gz | en | 0.951452 | 1,374 | 3.421875 | 3 |
David Huycke’s Granulation Series
The history of the metalworking technique known as granulation stretches back some 5,000 years, to when ancient goldsmiths in Egypt and the Eastern Mediterranean began fusing tiny ornamental gold balls onto jewelry surfaces using a painstaking invisible soldering process. It was used to decorate the rings of the queen of Ur in the Bronze Age, perfected by the Etruscans in the 7th century BC, and resurrected in 1933 by a jewelry maker looking to copy pieces from the British Museum’s collection. Yet only when the contemporary Belgian silversmith David Huycke began experimenting with the obscure technique in 1996 did it feel like granulation had finally evolved — beyond the realm of fussy antique jewelry and into the world of modern design. For Re-Thinking Granulation, Huycke’s show of granulated vessels and atomic sculptures on view now at the design museum Z33 in Hasselt, Belgium, he’s worked on a blown-up scale and forsaken the idea of ornamentation in favor of letting each object’s form grow organically from the process used to make it. It takes an expert with years of practice to be able to pull off this kind of metalwork — Huycke’s been at it for 30 years — but we were so taken with the idea of putting a modern spin on a forgotten ancient technique that we figured our readers could learn something from hearing the project’s backstory. We interviewed Huycke about the Z33 show, and how he managed to drag granulation into the 21st century.
What properties did granulation promise for goldsmiths in ancient times? What did it afford them that other techniques didn’t?
The fact that they used little spheres to decorate surfaces — mainly of gold jewelry — isn’t a coincidence. When a piece of metal is heated until its melting point it automatically takes the form of a sphere, through the cohesion and capillarity of the liquid metal. The same phenomenon exists with every liquid; think about a drop of water, or mercury, for example. That property gave the ancient goldsmith the possibility to make, quite easily, thousands of identical forms. The ancient technique of granulation also uses a very specific metallic binding process, one that doesn’t use traditional hard soldering. Instead they used copper oxide, which has a lower melting point, as a surface-binding agent. So when the whole piece is heated, only the surface of the metal will melt while the core stays solid. It allowed them to make metallic seams between the granules that were nearly invisible with the naked eye.
Closeup of “Pearl Spheres”
Was it a particular object from the past that caused you to want to explore granulation in your project? What work was particularly inspiring to you in this genre?
There wasn’t one object that influenced me. The first time I came in contact with granulation was when the German Association for Goldsmiths Art organized an exhibition and competition in 1996 where they asked artists to find new ways to use the technique. Since I’ve always been interested in difficult techniques and I have an ambivalent attitude towards ornamentation — and since at the time I was mainly making vessels — I tried to build a bowl solely with granules, so the little spheres would form both the structure and the artistic impression of the piece at the same time. The structural use of granulation and its application in larger-scale silverwork turned out to be two important innovations in the field. But when I developed the very first objects in the series I only knew a little bit about the process.
What were your first experiments like? And what aspects of the technique did you struggle with?
The bowls I sent in for that exhibition — the “Pearl Spheres” — were my first experiments. And amazingly this very difficult technique didn’t seem so difficult at all. In hindsight I think I got very lucky that day. The major struggle had to do with the fact that I wanted to make large objects with little particles and without a supporting base, as in traditional granulation: One of the objects, “Fractal Piece” [top], consists of more than 10,000 granules, which takes a huge amount of work and is very fragile.
Can you explain the granulation process? How exactly did you make the “Pearl Spheres” bowls?
First I had to make the granules themselves from small identical parts, then I electroplated them with copper, which is necessary for the reaction soldering process I explained above. I put the granules in a fireproof concrete mold and fuse them with a flame [above] — not the whole object at once, but maybe 10 by 10 granules each time. The object grows bit by bit like that. When the copper-plated granules are heated, the surface melts while the core of the metal stays solid, and the fusing is done in a few critical moments. Heating them too long makes them melt into each other, but not enough and you end up with seams that are too fragile. When I leave the surfaces of my objects black with oxidized copper, it gives them more of a sculptural character: Black silver can be seen as dirty, like unused silver that hasn’t been polished, so it makes it clear that the objects are not supposed to be functional. The white objects, on the other hand, have been pickled to take the copper oxide away.
Obviously you weren’t employing granulation in the traditional ornamental sense, but the objects you produced with the technique still have a very distinct aesthetic quality. What choices did you make about their form?
With “Pearl Chaos,” I tried to create a certain level of disorder in a system that tries to re-organize itself constantly. When single silver spheres — or in this context, granules — of an identical size are placed on a two-dimensional surface, they order themselves in a simple hexagonal pattern that can go on endlessly. When the same spheres are put on a three-dimensional surface, in a bowl for example, this straight linear rhythm is disturbed; straight lines become curved and the pattern evolves in a new, more complex order. This is a kind of self-organization, a process in which the internal organization of a system increases in complexity without being guided by an outside source. This is what we see in the ordering structures in a lot of plants. It’s also one of the reasons why throughout the history of the art of granulation, you always see the same patterns, based on the honeycomb — these patterns aren’t necessarily a signature of time or place, which ornament usually is. It seems paradoxical, but it was much more difficult and time-consuming to create chaos than to make a nice rhythmic pattern.
One half of your resulting objects don’t necessarily use granulation, but attempt to express the idea of granulation in an abstract way. What was that process like?
During this research it became clear that granulation not only had a technical quality, it also had a lot of conceptual and poetical qualities, too. So the second group of objects used granulation as subject matter and focused on its identity. The objects made within this framework extremely magnify the whole micro world of granulation and its technical, functional, formal, and conceptual features, presenting them as metaphors for more universal ideas. For example, the crucial moment of granulation — when the spheres melt together and fuse — is explored in “Kissing Bowls,” in which two black silver spheres push against and appear to pass through one another to create a new dynamic form. I particularly like the kissing imagery because it’s the basic expression of constructive granulation, and it shows the poetry of techniques and mathematics.
Can you talk about your use of scale in this project? You’re working with millions of tiny objects, and building them into larger objects that seem like tiny particles blown up with a microscope. Was that an intended effect?
This was an idea I discovered when I first made a sphere built up from little spheres: it’s a fractal quality where each part is identical to the whole. I used that idea to make the object “Fractal Piece,” where small granules are made into larger spheres that are in turn constructed into a spherical object. This object could be used as a part again to make an even bigger sphere, which could then be a part in another bigger sphere — you could go on and on. I tried to visualize this idea in the movie “Digital Fractal Piece” that I made with the artist Ken De Keyser. Is was definitely an intended effect, and the whole idea of fractals is also part of chaos theory, a modern science that’s inspired my work a lot: Fractal theory, developed by the French-Polish scientist Benoît Mandelbrot, was considered a new kind of geometry that allowed us to see order, whereas in most cases, Euclidean geometry could only distinguish chaos.
“Kissing Spheres #2”
A view of the exhibition at Z33
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A man born with great leadership quality and also have bravery and honor is known as America’s first President, a humble gentleman, and a great general, but how did he enhance himself as a man of this stature? George’s code answers this question with a new innovation about his historical and the astounding book that formed him.
This is done by Austin Washington, who is great-nephew of George Washington’s.
Most George fans have overheard of The Rules of Civility” and well-read that this directed our first President. But that’s not the book that truly made George who he was. In George’s Code, Austin Washington discloses the secret that he revealed about George’s past that clarifies his true model for conduct, leadership, and honor. An example that we could all use.
The Education of George Washington presents “the first acknowledged clue to the creation of the young George Washington’s character”. Called one of the “most methodically researched books about George in 200 years”, and covering the most revolutionary discovery in 200 years, it is both” insightful and Delightful. Reward readers in today’s attention-deficit and fast-paced world.”
The first president of America Washington received his schooling at Appleby School in England. Father of George’s die when he was eleven vetoed this son. His father’s old friend, and later enemy, Rev. Jonathan Boucher, said that “George, like most people there about at that time, had no schooling than writing, reading and accounts which he was taught by a condemn servant whom his father acquired for a schoolmaster” but Boucher prospered to include so many imprecisions in his account of George, that even if this account were not definitely deceitful in several points, it could be rejected as valueless.
But who knows that in future he become the first president of America. Because of his uniqueness, bravery, and leadership quality he able to achieve his aims. And the same qualities of George Washington fostered in Austin, in imitation of the disregarded man who was his hero.
If you want to more about America’s first president then education of George Washington is an amazing historical read with some humor in it.
You found yourself turning the pages, not knowing what would be next. Washington’s life took many turns and twists during his whole life. I found it surprising that the author, Austin found a record that was authored in George Washington’s own hand. The record had been over looked for centuries by historians. The record tells accurately how George Washington transformed from a poor boy into a great leader of America.
There are some facts about great Politian of America:
- He is the only president to have been unanimously elected by the Electoral College
- He was the only president inaugurated in two cities
- George established the tradition of a cabinet of advisors
- He was strapped for cash during his presidency
- George signed into law the first copyright law
- The first Thanksgiving Proclamation was issued by President Washington
- He set precedents for the social life of the president
- He vetoed only two bills while President
- George’s Farewell Address has continued to have resonance over time
- George’s second inaugural address is the shortest ever delivered | <urn:uuid:a8ad8e1c-de4c-4e6d-b1da-8d22d5a90ffb> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | https://aboutgeorgewashington.wordpress.com/tag/george-washington/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257651820.82/warc/CC-MAIN-20180325044627-20180325064627-00043.warc.gz | en | 0.982113 | 699 | 3.03125 | 3 |
In November we held Water Safety Week at Fulton Swim School where we encouraged the children to wear a pair of pyjamas for their usual swimming lesson, our teachers wore Christmas themed pjs and we got to play with life jackets and pretend to fall in the water. All tonnes of fun for the kids in the water with an important underlying theme - learning how to be safe in water and how to save their own life!
During this week we had some fantastic conversations with family members who wanted to learn how they too can reinforce at home what we were teaching their children. There was lots of interest and great questions from parents and caregivers about how to go about teaching their children how to be safe in and around water from a young age.
This blog post is an outline of what was taught during water safety week and how you can adapt each message to suit your child’s age and development, just as we do in our swimming lessons!
Fulton Swim School’s “DO THE FIVE” Method
At Fulton Swim School we have a ‘do the five’ method which teaches your children to count off the five most important things to remember when they are around water and before they go swimming.
Firstly as adults, always supervise your child around water. We have a 3 second rule when they are in or near water where you check on them every 3 seconds. A child slipping under water or getting into trouble happens incredibly quickly. Our teachers at Fulton Swim School see every child in their swimming lesson every 3 seconds while teaching.
“It’s important to always stay with your child and watch them whenever they’re near water – even when they can swim. Supervision means constant visual contact with your child and keeping them within arm’s reach at all times. You should be in a position to respond quickly, whether you’re at the beach or the swimming pool, near dams, rivers and lakes, or at home near the bath or spa” - Raising Children Blog
When teaching your child about the importance of always being supervised in water, encourage them to think critically about where you are in relation to where they are. At a young age, children have less awareness of others than adults but it is something that is developing! A fantastic way to create awareness about themselves in their environment is by using questions.
Here are some examples you can use:
Can mum/dad/your name see you from where I am?
Have your child stand next to you and look at the water from your perspective so they see what you see.
Can you see me from where you are in the water?
Before they get excited about swimming show them where they are allowed to swim and have them check they can see you at all times
Is there anywhere you think I might not be able to see you?
Especially when outdoors if there are corners or blind spots where you are swimming. Have your child point out where supervision isn’t possible if they go there.
2. Learn to swim
The best way we can enable our children to be safe in water is to teach them how to swim. Children are their own first response when they are in water and learning how to swim gives them more confidence and the ability to instinctively keep themselves safe should the need arise. As Olympic Gold Medalist Rowdy Gaines says, ‘supervision around water is always critical but what’s especially important to note is there is an 88% reduction in drowning risk for children if they learn to swim.’
In addition to learning formal swimming strokes, we teach your children survival swimming strokes in their lessons. There are important differences in these when using them to get out of trouble in water, even for adults! We strongly encourage you to practice these with your child when taking them swimming as it reinforces what they are learning in lessons.
Survival swimming strokes (age and swim level appropriate)
- Kick and paddle (from 6 months old through to early primary age): teaching children to move their arms and legs to get themselves to the side of a pool to hold on or to surface and back float.
- Doggy paddle (for those learning the beginning stages of freestyle): teaches children to swim with their heads up so they can breath, see and navigate their way to the edge of water
- Survival breaststroke (for full length swimmers through to adults): using circular motions with the arms and legs and head up so they can see and breath. This survival swimming stroke uses the least amount of energy which is important if it’s needed for a longer period of time. It also allows the child to breath and see where they are going to get to safety.
- Back float (every age): this is the resting stroke. Always teach your child that they can float on their back at any point if they are tired and call for help.
3. Search for hazards
This is another way to teach your child to develop awareness of their surroundings and what might create a safety concern for them in water. This can be practiced even if your child isn’t going swimming and you’re just near the water (when walking past a beach or lake).
The types of hazards we encourage children to search for are; water depth, current, big waves / rips, floating debris, boats, surfers etc. Great water safety activities for your children are to stand near water and ask them to identify what might be a hazard or danger to them if they went near it.
Water depth is one of the biggest hazards for small children. If your child is too young to understand what hazards are, one of the ways to begin encouraging this awareness is to have them enter a pool safely by holding onto the side and not letting go until their feet touch the floor.
4. Never swim alone
Another important message taught to your child during water safety week was to never swim alone and is one we strongly encourage families to reiterate. This goes hand in hand with always being supervised in and near water. This is a message to teach your child from a very young age by saying things such as; ‘not without mummy or daddy’ or ‘wait for me to say yes’. Having your child wait for permission to do things such as turn on a tap, climb into their bath or enter a swimming pool will teach them to think twice before entering water even as they get older.
At Fulton Swim School this is integrated into our lessons every week with your child. We teach them to wait for the teacher’s permission to enter the pool even if they are nearby, as well as things such as going to the deep end, diving, or going beyond where their level swims to in the pool.
5. Learn first aid
Time Magazine suggests parents learn basic rescue techniques and CPR so that they are able to respond in case of a water emergency. “Kids like to play when they’re in the water, you need to watch them when they’re going under, make sure they’re coming up to the surface.” If you have a swimming pool or plan on taking your children to swim where there are no qualified lifeguards on duty it is even more important that you have the skills to respond in a water emergency.
When teaching this to your children we teach them how to help someone else that is in trouble in water. The first and most important lesson is they are to never jump into water to help someone else as they too can get into trouble. We encourage children if they see someone struggling in water to find an adult or lifeguard immediately.
When teaching your children how to both ask for help in water and to also recognise someone in trouble the hand signal is one arm straight in the air and calling for help. Waving in the water can be easily misinterpreted.
Always being supervised, learning to swim, searching for hazards, never swimming alone, and learning how to help others are the five most important things you can teach your child about water safety. These five points are integrated into all our swimming lessons at Fulton Swim School and as your child gets older or their swimming ability increases we adapt to ensure they continue to learn the best way to keep themselves safe in water.
If you have any questions about teaching your child any of these messages you are more than welcome to ask us at the pool! | <urn:uuid:653fcef0-2948-47e0-838b-6a8c25378177> | CC-MAIN-2022-21 | https://www.fultonswimschool.co.nz/blog/17-12-2020/the-five-most-important-things-to-teach-your-child-about-water-safety/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-21/segments/1652662522309.14/warc/CC-MAIN-20220518183254-20220518213254-00235.warc.gz | en | 0.974497 | 1,717 | 2.8125 | 3 |
Professor Timothy James has received a $550,000 three-year grant from the National Science Foundation for his project, “Unveiling the diversity and ecological role of the obligate parasitic fungi in phylum Cryptomycota.”
According to James, “This project will investigate the biodiversity and ecological role of a new group of fungal parasites known as Cryptomycota. Cryptomycota are notable because they are the most ancient divergence on the fungal tree of life, are known almost exclusively as environmental DNA signatures rather than cultures or fruiting bodies, and are potentially all endoparasites growing obligately inside host cells. Because they are not amenable to cultivation, very little is known about the group, other than they are particularly ubiquitous in aquatic environments. This project will attempt to further our understanding of the true diversity and habitat specialization of the group using molecular methods such as metagenomics and single cell genomics. By fractionating the environment we hope to discern more precisely upon what Cryptomycota may be feeding.
“Understanding Cryptomycota diversity is also of great importance because their phylogenetic diversity may be as great as the rest of the fungi,” he said.
Together with collaborators, James recently sequenced the genomes of two species of Cryptomycota growing in the lab in association with their hosts, a water mold parasite Rozella allomycis and an unnamed Daphnia parasite.
“These data resolved the placement of the group as the earliest branch on the fungal tree of life and showed that the Cryptomycota includes the enigmatic group microsporidia parasites. However, almost nothing is known about the host associations of the remaining Cryptomycota or their ecological roles.
“As common parasites in aquatic and marine ecosystems, knowledge of the diversity and ecological role of Cryptomycota will be fundamental for understanding nutrient cycling and control of host population dynamics. Moreover, it is likely that Cryptomycota may also infect humans, livestock, or animals of conservation concern but have remained undetected to date.”
The project is in collaboration with the Joint Genome Institute of the Department of Energy.com.vignette.as.client.exception.ApplicationException: 11/29/2015 14:29:08:149, Error 11 (FinderError), Message 026-150-0011: Error finding object(s)... ref ((V) type=ref ((V) type=ref ((V) type=objecttype(null) ) ) ) | <urn:uuid:95998d2d-6359-4b93-90ea-e3ddb56e22da> | CC-MAIN-2015-48 | http://www.lsa.umich.edu/eeb/news/ci.550knsfgrantforjamestounveilearlyevolutioninfungalkingdommon19may2014_ci.detail | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-48/segments/1448398459333.27/warc/CC-MAIN-20151124205419-00222-ip-10-71-132-137.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.92115 | 522 | 2.640625 | 3 |
Memory Loss or Cognitive Decline–Worried about Alzheimer’s Disease?
The memory circuits of the brain for immediate memory are very specific. They lie deep in the brain and involve the hippocampus. Alzheimer’s Disease, as well as Frontotemporal Lobar Degeneration and other dementias causing memory loss, like stroke and inflammation resulting from the remote effects of cancer elsewhere in the body, involve these deep areas of the brain. But these circuits must have the proper “voltage,” or attention input, to function properly. Only when these structures are “awake” and we’re alert (sleep problems play a critical role in this), and the nerve cells in these structures are functioning well, can they help the other areas of the brain lay down more lasting memories. They do this by changing the way networks of nerve cells in the brain fire and signal each other. This is how we remember names, events, faces, and other things we all need to remember.
When an abnormal process involves the laying down abnormal amounts of phosphorylated tau protein to form neurofibrillary tangles in nerve cells, these abnormal structures can disturb the functioning of these nerve cells, wherever they are in the brain. Depending on where they occur, and other abnormal structures they are sometimes associated with, memory loss can be a part of Alzheimer’s disease, Frontotemporal Lobar degeneration, Multisystem Atrophy, Lewy Body Disease, and other diseases we neurologists broadly classify as dementias. Where in the brain these abnormal structures have destroyed nerve cells and led to “atrophy,” or shrinkage of the brain, will determine what abnormal behaviors are associated with memory loss.
There are many reversible causes of memory loss or cognitive decline, and it’s important to check for each one, even if a disease like Alzheimer’s Disease is present. Only in this way can a person maintain as much quality of life for as long as they can.
Sometimes, detailed neuropsychological testing has to be done to find defects in our thinking, or what we call cognitive function. Some of these tests are very specific to memory. Others involve personality testing and other functions of the brain. Imaging of the brain with MRI can show areas of degenerated nerve cells. PET scans can show areas of plaque accumulation in Alzheimer’s Disease. The circuitry of the brain can be tested to show if any abnormal electrical activity is occurring to disturb memory function. Blood work can be carried out to see whether any electrolyte abnormalities, vitamin deficiencies, or inflammation is occurring. Sometimes spinal fluid testing can be carried out to determine levels of degeneration.
Much is being learned about dementia through research. We at the RNI carry out clinical trials on dementia through our Research Center, including trials in Alzheimer’s Disease.
But at the RNI, our primary focus is on improving the quality of life for every single patient. To do this we have to be as sure as we can be about the correct diagnosis, and we need to make sure other factors, called comorbidities, are not making clinical symptoms worse.
If you have memory loss, don’t wait.
New Patients seen in 3 days.
The role of neuropsychological evaluation in diagnosis and quality of life
Neuropsychological evaluations not only test memory and other cognitive functions, they can suggest how a person can make real life decisions every day, and how much help they need in decision making, driving, and relating to others.
Neuropsychological evaluations involve three factors:
- Testing must be completed in a supportive and positive environment
- One-on-one feedback must be given, and results explained in understandable terms
- A plan for intervention and coping with difficulties must be provided
All this may take a while. The testing part of the evaluation typically takes 3-4 hours to complete. A feedback session is then scheduled, where results are reviewed and suggestions for intervention offered with the patient and, if appropriate, the caregiver.
Why a neuropsychological evaluation might be useful for you or a loved one
- find possible problems with brain functioning
- help to identify other cognitive or mental health issues
- define brain-related strengths and weaknesses
- guide treatment for a person’s personal, educational and/or professional needs
- document possible changes in a person’s functioning over time
What is a neuropsychological evaluation?
A neuropsychological evaluation typically involves assessment of a person’s brain functioning with a group of standardized tests. These functions (e.g. memory, learning) form the necessary building blocks for successful living in an individual’s daily life.
How long will a neuropsychological evaluation last?
Most testing sessions are pretty detailed and can last up to 3 – 4 hours, though sometimes it doesn’t take that long.
What tests are used?
Standardized tests are used to assess the following:
- Emotional functioning
- Achievement skills
Scheduling is easy at the RNI. Even though it’s good to have a neurological exam to help identify problems ahead of time, neuropsychological testing with Dr. Winsby can be scheduled by any provider when that person think it’s appropriate. Questions about insurance coverage can be answered as well. To schedule a neuropsychological evaluation with Dr. Wimsby at either the Northland or Lenexa offices, please call 913-894-1500. | <urn:uuid:4215b7c8-1ec6-4bbc-990e-56b1eabde192> | CC-MAIN-2017-26 | http://www.neurokc.com/alzheimers-disease-and-memory-loss-and-dementia-and-neuropsychological/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-26/segments/1498128320040.36/warc/CC-MAIN-20170623082050-20170623102050-00506.warc.gz | en | 0.913581 | 1,134 | 3.078125 | 3 |
Scientists Create the Invisible Man?
Well, not exactly. But a team of neuroscientists has created the perceptual illusion of having an invisible body, and shown that the feeling of invisibility changes our physical stress response in challenging social situations.
The power of invisibility has long fascinated society, and inspired the works of many great authors and philosophers. This includes well-known literature such as the myth of Gyges' ring in Plato's dialogue The Republic and the science fiction novel The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells. And let's not forget Harry Potter's invisibility cloak.
And while these ideas are the work of fiction, recent advances in materials science indicates that invisibility cloaking of large-scale objects, such as the human body, may soon become a reality.
In this latest study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, the Swedish team describes a perceptual illusion of having an invisible body, bringing us one step closer to the dream of invisibility. The study examined the illusion experience in 125 participants, all wearing a set of heat-mounted displays. To evoke the feeling of having an invisible body, the researchers touched the participant's body in various locations with a large paintbrush while, with another paintbrush held in the other hand, they exactly imitated the movements in mid-air in full view of the participant.
"Within less than a minute, the majority of the participants started to transfer the sensation of touch to the portion of empty space where they saw the paintbrush move and experienced an invisible body in that position," lead author Arvid Guterstam explained in a statement. "We showed in a previous study that the same illusion can be created for a single hand. The present study demonstrates that the 'invisible hand illusion' can, surprisingly, be extended to an entire invisible body."
But was this illusion actually real? To demonstrate that it was, the researchers would make a stabbing motion with a knife toward the empty space that represented the belly of the invisible body. The participants' sweat response to seeing the knife was elevated while experiencing the illusion but absent when the illusion was broken. This suggests that the brain thought the threat in empty space was a threat directed toward one's own body.
Until now, it was unknown how invisibility would affect our brain and body perception.
"We found that their heart rate and self-reported stress level during the 'performance' was lower when they immediately prior had experienced the invisible body illusion compared to when they experienced having a physical body," added Guterstam. "These results are interesting because they show that the perceived physical quality of the body can change the way our brain processes social cues."
This research could potentially bring us one step closer to making the "Invisible Man" a science-fiction reality.
For more great nature science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN). | <urn:uuid:158299a5-09c4-435b-a0c8-e5aa28c07653> | CC-MAIN-2018-13 | http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/14289/20150423/scientists-create-the-invisible-man.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-13/segments/1521257647153.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20180319214457-20180319234457-00021.warc.gz | en | 0.946251 | 591 | 3.625 | 4 |
Providence: With the tandem of increased outdoor activities and increased tick populations, the Department of Health (HEALTH) has partnered with other state agencies to urge Rhode Islanders to check for tick bites as the first line of prevention against Lyme disease when enjoying and working outdoors.
HEALTH, the Departments of Environmental Management (DEM) and Transportation (DOT) are working together to provide Lyme disease and tick bite prevention trainings for seasonal staff and other outdoor workers, and to place education posters at state facilities and public recreation spots, including DEM trailheads, parks, and fishing spots. The URI TickEncounter Resource Center facilitated the HEALTH-sponsored trainings.
"As we spend more time outdoors, any increase in the tick population is of concern," said Department of Health Director, Michael Fine, MD. "While we have observed higher numbers of deer ticks over the past two years, our primary care system is well-equipped to care for people who may need treatment for Lyme disease. Early diagnosis and treatment are important, but reducing exposure to ticks remains the best defense against Lyme disease and other tick-borne infections," he said.
Additionally, HEALTH has launched a new media campaign to encourage Lyme disease awareness and tick bite prevention. The theme of this year's campaign is Repel, Check, Remove. "It only takes one bite" radio ads will run across Rhode Island throughout spring and summer—along with print, online, ferry, and RIPTA bus ads in Jamestown, New Shoreham (Block Island), and other southern Rhode Island communities where more Lyme disease cases have been reported.
"The Department of Environmental Management is dedicated to providing families with fulfilling outdoor experiences," said DEM Director Janet Coit. "At the same time we promote experiencing the great outdoors and help families learn how to latch onto nature, we have to help them learn now to keep nature from latching onto them, via ticks. We've learned that we need to take several approaches to deal with this concern, including partnerships, public education, and deer population control. Our joint effort with the Departments of Health and Transportation to offer training sessions and tick prevention education information to the public will help spread the word about the many dangers involving ticks and how to prevent tick bites."
"We were happy to partner with HEALTH and DEM to bring vital Lyme disease education and training to our workforce as well as to the public," said RIDOT Director Michael P. Lewis. "Their health and safety is our highest priority, and we are committed to providing the resources people need to protect themselves while working and recreating outdoors."
Tick populations are increasing in nearly every area of the state. All Rhode Islanders should take steps to improve their "tick literacy" and protect themselves from tick bites.
- Wear long pants and long-sleeve shirts when outdoors. Wear light-colored clothing. Tuck pants into socks so that ticks do not crawl under clothing. - Check yourself and your family daily for ticks, especially if you spend a lot of time outside in grassy or wooded areas. Don't forget to check your pets, too, and use products that rapidly kill or repel ticks on pets. Deer ticks, the kind that carry Lyme disease, are often small (poppyseed-sized) in their nymphal (immature) stage. -Consider wearing tick-repellant clothing when going outside in tick habitat and treating your yard with tick-killing insecticides. - If you find a tick, properly remove it with tweezers. Tick removal within 24 hours of attachment can prevent Lyme transmission.
Lyme disease is caused by bacteria that spread through the bite of an infected tick. Symptoms of new onset Lyme disease can include a "bullseye" rash anywhere on the skin, facial or Bell's palsy (loss of muscle tone on one or both sides of the face), severe headaches and neck stiffness due to meningitis (inflammation of the spinal cord), pain and swelling in the large joints (such as knees), shooting pains that may interfere with sleep, and heart palpitations and dizziness due to changes in heartbeat. Anyone with symptoms of Lyme disease should contact their healthcare provider. | <urn:uuid:982797e4-54b0-4f04-869d-677807749a76> | CC-MAIN-2017-17 | http://www.ri.gov/press/view/21763 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-17/segments/1492917122886.86/warc/CC-MAIN-20170423031202-00460-ip-10-145-167-34.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95691 | 849 | 2.546875 | 3 |
There are many good examples of how packaging can be produced so it pollutes less, but like with straws and all sorts of other utensils, disposable products are just not the right solution. The environment is unnecessarily burdened every time new packaging is produced. The RE-ZIP packaging is produced with care for both the environment, people and animals, and every time they are reused, the environment is spared from single use packaging.
RE-ZIP originates from a concept that we in Denmark have been familiar with since 1942, which is the predecessor to the current deposit system for bottles. RE-ZIP’s circular packaging can similarly be reused several times, with customers returning them, by simply throwing it through the letter slot in one of the many red mailboxes around Denmark or at the post office.
We are accustomed to sorting single use packaging into the cardboard container – but even the most responsibly produced recycled packaging has barely any CO2-reducing effect compared to the production of new packaging, as the process for recycling is very energy-heavy.
That is why RE-ZIP offers circular packaging which is reused several times before it is recycled. By reusing our packaging, your web store can save on packaging costs, increase customer retention, and provide your customers with a sustainable alternative to single-use packaging with a monetary incentive to return, reducing CO2-emissions by up to 87% compared to single-use packaging.
though the material is recycled, a portion of the material is wasted. Furthermore, it takes large amounts of oil and electricity to collect, process, and transport waste between the various plants which refine the material and produce new packaging.
For this reason, it is better to reuse packaging again and again before it is recycled. This is why RE-ZIP operates under the principle reuse before recycle.
RE-ZIP wants to do its part in achieving the UN’s SDG goals. Of the 17 goals set by the UN, RE-ZIP contributes to 2 of them. For a detailed insight, please see the text below.
RE-ZIP has developed its own infrastructure and software that upholds it, which is simple and economically accessible, so that small, as well as large companies, have the opportunity to offer their customers a sustainable and circular shipment.Also,
RE-ZIP entered into a partnership with PostNord in November 2019, which means that the RE-ZIP packaging is now available in approx. 200 selected post offices. Thus, circular shipping is not reserved for webshops but is made available to private consumers, who want to make a difference for the environment.
From the beginning, RE-ZIP’s primary purpose has been to create an alternative to disposable packaging and contribute to sustainable e-commerce, without being waste is either not recycled or must go through a CO2-heavy process before it can be used again.
With just 10 circulations, CO2 emissions are reduced by 88 % compared to disposable packaging, which is why recyclability is the basic idea behind RE-ZIP. The vast majority of RE-ZIPs ends up being used over 30 times before finally returning to the RE-ZIP warehouse, where they are used in various upcycling projects. | <urn:uuid:f1eeaa80-59e8-4d80-b54a-a97103c25477> | CC-MAIN-2022-33 | https://re-zip.dk/en/environment/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2022-33/segments/1659882570765.6/warc/CC-MAIN-20220808031623-20220808061623-00049.warc.gz | en | 0.956977 | 668 | 2.765625 | 3 |
Metabolic syndrome is a group of health problems characterized by the presence of elevated blood pressure, increased levels of triglycerides, high blood sugar, excess body fat around the waist, and obesity. If it’s left untreated, it can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. Usually, treating metabolic syndrome involves targeting individual risk factors and modifying lifestyle practices.
Now, a team of researchers at the University of Trento found that the syndrome, which affects more than 35 percent of patients more than 50 years old in Western countries, could be treated with Ibrutinib, a drug used to treat some cancers.
The research group at The Microsoft Research - University of Trento Centre for Computational and Systems Biology. Silvia Parolo, Pranami Bora, Lorena Leonardelli, Enrico Domenici. Image Credit: Alessio Coser
Existing drugs to develop new ones
The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, emphasizes how science and medicine work to provide treatments for health problems that are considered difficult to manage. Metabolic syndrome, since it involves a cluster of various health conditions, can be a challenge to treat. New drugs can be developed from old ones, and these drugs can provide therapeutic effects for other diseases, too.
The researchers, who came from two teams, one from Cosbi, the Microsoft Research at the University of Trento Center for Computational and Systems Biology, focusing on big data and IT, and the other one from Cibio Department, which focuses on genomics and biology, wanted to investigate the connection between diseases and pharmacological effects at the molecular level.
They studied information from existing drugs and their molecular properties. From there, Cosbi designed an algorithm to determine if these drugs can be utilized for other health problems. They used this algorithm to see if some of these drugs designed for specific illnesses can be used for hard to treat conditions.
Using drug positioning
Drug positioning is a method that has been used in the past. Today, technology has evolved and became more effective. It can now aid in the fast and efficient analysis of large data to achieve results.
The algorithm has searched for new therapies to treat metabolic syndrome, a health condition that heightens the risk of cardiovascular disease, including heart disease, heart attack, and stroke, and type 2 diabetes.
With the use of the new algorithm, the team determined that mutated genes are responsible for alternations in the body of a person with metabolic syndrome. Then, they searched for already approved substances and ingredients that could interrelate with the networks the genes make in the liver, muscles, and adipose tissue.
Cancer drug shows promise
They found that a drug called Ibrutinib, which was originally developed to treat certain conditions, particularly B-cell tumors, including Waldenström macroglobulinemia, B-cell tumors, and chronic lymphocytic leukemia. The drug is used as an inhibitor of Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK).
To confirm the efficacy of the drug, the team validated the computational analysis of zebrash larvae. The researchers wanted to see the response to the drug. They found that the drug has limited the impact of obesity caused by consuming a high-diet. Further, the drug was successful in limiting the inflammatory condition tied to high lipid levels in the body.
The researchers reiterated that using previously approved drugs for other conditions makes it possible to find treatment while skipping the long and tedious stages of drug approval. The drug has already passed clinical trials and approval from regulatory agencies.
“Our data are just a start and more in-depth studies, and clinical tests are required, but they demonstrate that combining experience in big data analysis and the ability to develop models for biological validation can boost drug repurposing research,” Maria Caterina Mione, head of the research team at Cibio department, said.
What is metabolic syndrome?
Metabolic syndrome is a cluster of health problems that, when joined together, increase the risk of cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes. It has become a social problem over the past decades, mainly due to the consumption of a high-fat diet, foods high in added sugars, and having a sedentary lifestyle.
Usually, the disease affects people more than 50 years old, about 30 percent of the male population, and approximately 35 to 40 percent of women.
Metabolic syndrome becomes a diagnosis in people with a waist circumference of at least 37 inches among European men and at least 31.5 inches among European women. In Asians, the waist circumference in men is 35.5 inches and 31.5 inches in women.
Also, people have metabolic syndrome if they have an elevated blood pressure of more than 140/90 mmHg, increased triglyceride levels and low high-density protein (HDL) levels, poor blood glucose level control, and a higher risk of developing blood clots.
Misselbeck, K., Parolo, S., Lorenzini, F. et al. A network-based approach to identify deregulated pathways and drug effects in metabolic syndrome. Nat Commun 10, 5215 (2019) doi:10.1038/s41467-019-13208-z, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-019-13208-z#citeas | <urn:uuid:d01b83dc-c992-4c96-a4d3-4afb173bd61a> | CC-MAIN-2020-40 | https://www.news-medical.net/news/20191118/Cancer-drug-shows-promise-in-treating-metabolic-syndrome.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2020-40/segments/1600400202686.56/warc/CC-MAIN-20200922000730-20200922030730-00272.warc.gz | en | 0.929431 | 1,100 | 3.65625 | 4 |
The Mariana Trench was the deepest known point on Earth.
The Mariana Trench was located south of Tokyo and east of Manila. It was believed to be at least eleven kilometres deep. At the bottom, the pressure was a thousand times greater than at the surface, capable of crushing any normal surface life.
In the late 1950s, twin submarines were built to investigate the the Mariana Trench; the Guernica was assembled in Spain and the Trieste in Italy. In 1959 Sam Doyle and Henry Goddard were sent down in the Guernica. The Guernica was scuttled, Sam was infected with the parasite and Henry was killed. The government covered up the incident and claimed the submarine was lost at sea.
In 2009, Sam had run out of memories and the parasite wanted a new host. The parasite made a call for help that was heard across the world. When the Torchwood Three team came to investigate, it attacked their submarine and planned to infect them next. They were able to escape the parasite using the sunk Guernica, but it was still able to infect Carlie Roberts. The parasite was killed when the Guernica rose too high, depriving it of the hydrogen sulphide in needed. (AUDIO: Submission) | <urn:uuid:f0313c7a-61eb-4a9d-97a1-664b02e48dd1> | CC-MAIN-2016-44 | http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Mariana_Trench | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2016-44/segments/1476988718840.18/warc/CC-MAIN-20161020183838-00408-ip-10-171-6-4.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986759 | 258 | 3.671875 | 4 |
In 2007, all three of the foreign owned horse slaughter plants in the United States were shut down under Texas and Illinois state laws. The two Texas based plants, BelTex in Dallas and Dallas Crown in Kaufman, were closed in February when the 5th District court ruled that a 1949 law against selling horsemeat was valid and in force.
The last remaining plant, Cavel International in DeKalb, Illinois, was closed in mid-September of the same year under a new state law making horse slaughter illegal.
Much has been written about the impact of these closings on equine welfare, abandonment and other issues. Groups in favor of reinstating horse slaughter have consistently claimed that "eliminating the slaughter option" had a severe negative impact on equine welfare, but the trends in slaughter since the US plants closed show this is impossible.
In 2008, a study was done by EWA researchers that looked at the relationship of slaughter to abuse in the period immediately following the closing of the plants. That paper found that there was not in fact a measurable nationwide increase in the number of cases of abuse and neglect between the closings and the end of the study period (March of 2008).
The paper did, however, demonstrate that there was a link between the number of equine abuse and neglect cases and the level of unemployment in Illinois. In its conclusions, the paper warned that, if the economy continued to slip deeper into recession, there could in fact be a negative impact on equine welfare.
The purpose of this paper is to document the trends in slaughter since the closing of the US plants. It is not the purpose of this paper to replicate the findings from the earlier study, but simply to make available updated information about slaughter rates and horse meat market trends.
The US based plants were hardly taken by surprise when ordered closed. The two Texas plants had been fighting for their existence for some years. The Dallas Crown plant had also been operating under a TRO (Temporary Restraining Order) after the Kaufman Board of Adjustments had ordered them closed for pollution and sewer violations. The Cavel plant had similarly been in violation of its sewer discharge limits for some time. And all three plants were facing a removal of federal meat inspectors.
As a result of these prolonged battles, the parent companies of all these plants had made arrangements to move their slaughter operations over the borders to Mexico and Canada. The graph Total US Equines Slaughtered shows just how quickly the slaughter industry shifted its operations.
The red line is the total number of American horses slaughtered domestically and through export. The blue line shows domestic slaughter and the orange and green lines show exports to Mexico and Canada respectively.
The time between January 2006 and December 2009 will be divided into four separate periods based on the conditions facing the industry.
During the first period, ending in February of 2007, all three plants were slaughtering horses. The trend had been upward since 2002 when total slaughter had been as low as 78,000.
The second period is that between the closing of the Texas plants and the closing of the final plant in Illinois. After the Texas plants closed there was a dip in the overall slaughter of American horses, but Canadian and Mexican exports quickly rose to fill the void.
By the time the Cavel plant closed in mid-September, exports had made up for the loss of production from the Texas plants. The Velda Group, owner of the Cavel plant, had made arrangements to have their slaughter operations move to the Natural Valley Plant in Saskatchewan, Canada.
As a result of this seamless shift in operations, exports to Canada rose almost simultaneously with the drop in US slaughter during October of 2007. This transition brought total slaughter numbers back to the pre-closing levels within an even shorter period than had happened with the Texas plants.
During the third period, between the closing of Cavel in September of 2007 and the Wall Street debacle a year later, slaughter remained more or less the same as it had been before the closings. In 2008 a total of 134,059 horses were slaughtered, making it the second highest year since 1995.
Following the Wall Street collapse, the number of horses being exported began to drop. For those who contend that slaughter serves as a relief valve for getting rid of excess horses, this should give one pause for thought. The trend is exactly the opposite of what would be needed with fewer horses being slaughtered as the economy declined and owners were placed under more economic strain to care for their horses.
The graph Change in Slaughter Over Previous Year shows this trend. The year-over-year comparison shows declining but positive growth until the last quarter of 2008. By the second quarter of 2009, slaughter began a strong downward trend which lasted through the end of the year.
The Natural Valley Farms (NVF) plant went into receivership in late summer of 2008 and its operation was taken over by Velda Group who had until that time been contracting with the plant. At the beginning of 2009, the plant was shut down by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. This action followed repeated violations and warnings from the CFIA. When it closed, NVF had sustained a loss of approximately $42 million, leaving the residents of the area only a severely contaminated site to show for the investment.
The timing of the NVF closure coincided with the beginning of the decline in horse slaughter and it might seem obvious that the one was the result of the other. However, this is not the case because the other plants in Canada had adequate reserve capacity to fill the gap. More definitively, the same trend happened in Mexico where there was no such closing. The net drop for 2009 was 20% for Canada and 19% for Mexico.
The reduction in demand for American horses was in fact caused by a reduction in demand worldwide undoubtedly caused by worsening economic conditions. The graph Canadian Horse Meat Exports shows this trend. The red line represents the total exports of Canadian horse meat and corresponds to the scale on the left. The other lines represent exports to specific countries and correspond to the scale on the right of the graph.
It is clear that Canadian exports of horse meat rose rapidly between 2006 and 2008 as a result of production being shifted from the US to Canada. But starting in early 2009 the trend reversed dramatically, resulting in fewer American horses being imported into Canada.
While Canadian horse meat exports to Belgium were the most significantly reduced, Switzerland and even Japan showed a downward trend. Only exports to France remained stable, and that is not likely to continue as horse meat consumption in France is declining.
Trends following the closing of the US plants show several unmistakable relationships. First, horse slaughter is clearly driven by demand and not by the number of available horses or even the slaughter capacity.
The reason that capacity is not a factor is simply that there are a large number of underutilized small and medium-sized slaughter facilities that can easily be converted from slaughtering cattle to slaughtering horses. Many of these facilities are standing idle because they are not capable of competing with the largest cattle slaughter operations.
Secondly, during hard economic times the demand for horse meat decreases while the supply of low priced horses is increasing. This means that horse slaughter is useless as a means of controlling surplus horses because it encourages their production in good economic times only to decrease its demand for them in hard economic times.
Finally, growing concerns over drug residues in American horses have caused the EU to impose stricter regulations on the traceability of slaughter horses. It is unclear whether this has yet to be an influence on the importation of horse meat from Canada, but it is inevitable that it soon will be.
Starting in July of 2010, the EU will require that health records be presented for all horses slaughtered for export to the EU. These records must show that no prohibited drugs have been administered to these horses within 6 months. In three years, this requirement will be escalated to require that all slaughtered horses be electronically tagged from birth to provide lifetime records of their medications.
These restrictions will make American horses virtually ineligible for slaughter for the EU market unless raised specifically for slaughter. A proposed electronic tagging system that would have met the EU requirement (NAIS or National Animal Identification System) has been so unpopular in the US that the program was recently shelved.
Therefore, claims that the closing of the slaughter plants in the US was somehow responsible for declining horse prices or increased neglect are clearly and demonstrably false.
USDA weekly domestic slaughter:
(Since the two plants in Texas and one in Illinois ceased operation in 2007 due to state statutes these numbers have been zero.)
USDA weekly exports to Mexico:
USDA monthly exports to Canada and Japan:
CFIA Annual horse meat exports from Canada: | <urn:uuid:16e2c2d9-fc45-4cf9-a6bd-40fd9258f971> | CC-MAIN-2017-13 | http://www.harnesslink.com/News/Horse-slaughter-trends-from-2006-2009-78382 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-13/segments/1490218189686.31/warc/CC-MAIN-20170322212949-00520-ip-10-233-31-227.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974832 | 1,763 | 2.53125 | 3 |
Pakistan Independence Day will be celebrated on the 14th of August at the High Commission of Pakistan, Its a national holiday in Pakistan, commemorating the day when Pakistan achieved independence and was declared a sovereign nation, following the end of the British Raj in 1947. Pakistan came into existence as a result of the Pakistan Movement; the Pakistan Movement aimed for creation of an independent Muslim state by partition of the north-western region of the Indian subcontinent and was led by All-India Muslim League under the leadership of Muhammad Ali Jinnah.
PAKISTAN INDEPENDENCE DAY
PAKISTAN RESOLUTION DAY
Pakistan Resolution Day will be celebreated on the 23rd of March at the High Commission of Pakistan. Pakistan Resolution Day is a national holiday in Pakistan to commemorate the Lahore Resolution of 1940 and the adoption of the first constitution of Pakistan during the transition of the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on 23 March 1956 making Pakistan the world's first Islamic republic. Republic Day parade by the armed forces is a common celebration for the event.
Kashmir Solidarity Day will be observed on the 5th of February at the High Commission of Pakistan. It has been observed each year since 1990 in Pakistan as a day of protest against Indian control of part of Kashmir. It is a national holiday in Pakistan. Kashmir Day was first proposed by Qazi Hussain Ahmad of the Jamaat-e-Islami party in Pakistan in 1990. Pakistan considers Kashmir as the core issue, between India and Pakistan, leading to three wars and devoting a major portion of their national incomes to defense budgets. World leaders have stressed the need to resolve the Kashmir dispute between India and Pakistan to avoid an eventuality that may cause a catastrophe in the region. Kashmir is the nuclear flash point of South Asia, surrounded by three nuclear powers.
UPCOMPING EVENTS AT THE HIGH COMMISSION
Copyright © 2012 Pakistan High Commission Nairobi. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by Lazy Web Designs | <urn:uuid:522ee553-791e-4ba1-8e28-22e3de4326fb> | CC-MAIN-2017-22 | http://pakhc.or.ke/events.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2017-22/segments/1495463608669.50/warc/CC-MAIN-20170526163521-20170526183521-00236.warc.gz | en | 0.936542 | 405 | 3.015625 | 3 |
The partition of the Indian subcontinent was a wound inflicted upon the living body of one of the oldest civilisations on earth. A civilisation that was rich in art, architecture, music, literature and other forms of human culture... its cultural diversity was its greatest beauty. The pain still remains and has left an indelible scar upon millions of people.
Birth pangs of Pakistan
“There is no real connection between these two unrests, labour and Congress opposition. But their very existence and coexistence, explains and fully justifies the attention, which Lord Irwin gave to the labour problems.”
London Times, 29 January 1928
“Now a situation had arisen where we were becoming greater supporters of partition than Jinnah. I warned Jawaharlal that history would never forgive us if we agreed to partition. The verdict would be that India was divided not by the Muslim League but by Congress”.
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (1888-1958)
As explained in the previous chapter, the end of the Second World War unleashed a revolutionary wave in its aftermath. Not only in the advanced capitalist countries, but also in countries like China, the red storms were raging across continents. They were threatening Imperialism and the capitalist system on a world scale, with an unprecedented ferocity.
This was perhaps the biggest movement of the oppressed masses in human history. This was an enormous awakening of the colonial peoples of China, Africa, the Middle East, Indonesia, India, and Pakistan. This was an inspiring movement in which countless millions of former colonial slaves rose against their masters, fighting for their national emancipation. The reasons why all Marxists supported the colonial revolution are obvious: it was a revolutionary movement, a blow against imperialism, it aroused the masses and advanced the class struggle.
If the intense struggle for independence in the Indian subcontinent had run its course, it would not have stopped at overthrowing the direct rule of British Imperialists and gaining national liberation; it would have advanced to socio-economic liberation by overthrowing capitalism and the feudal remnants of the British Raj. This would have put the existence of capitalism on a world scale in serious jeopardy. Hence, in connivance with their local political toadies, the Muslim and Hindu elitist leaders promoted, projected and indoctrinated by British Imperialism, were used to subvert this movement on ethnic and religious lines. The Stalinist leaders of the CPI played no less horrendous a role in this disastrous outcome.
Ted Grant (1913 - 2006) in the fore-ward to the book "Partition Can it be undone" by the author in July 2001, wrote,
"The partition of the subcontinent into Pakistan and India was a crime carried out by British Imperialism. Initially, British Imperialism tried to maintain control of the whole of the subcontinent, but, during 19461947, a revolutionary situation erupted across the whole of the Indian subcontinent. British Imperialism realised that it could no longer contain the situation. Its troops were mainly Indian, and they could not be relied on to do the dirty work for the imperialists".
The Partition of the Indian subcontinent led to the largest transmigration of mankind in modern history. It was also the bloodiest migration: at least one million innocent souls perished and about 16 million crossed borders. This was how the 200 years of direct British colonial rule ended in India. It ended with the same policy with which it had begun divide and rule!
The first scientific, and perhaps the most correct, analysis of the colonisation of India and perspectives of its development was written by Karl Marx even before the British formally took over India after the War of Independence of 1857.
Marx, in his writings of that period, explained the economic and social basis of British colonisation and its impact on future developments in India. On 22 July 1853 he wrote:
"(...) if we knew nothing of the past history of Hindustan, would there not be the one great and incontestable fact, that even at this moment India is held in English thraldom by an Indian army maintained at the cost of India? England has to fulfil a double mission in India: one destructive, the other regenerating the annihilation of the old Asiatic society, and laying the material foundations of Western society in Asia. Arabs, Turks, Tartars, Moguls, who had successively overrun India, soon became Hinduised, the barbarian conquerors from primitive cultures, by an eternal law of history, were conquered themselves by the superior civilisation of their subjects. The British were the first conquerors superior in culture, and therefore, inaccessible to Hindu civilisation. They destroyed it by breaking up the native communities, by uprooting the native industry, and levelling all that was great and elevated in the native society. The historical pages of the British rule in India report hardly anything beyond that destruction. The work of the regeneration hardly transpires through a heap of ruins. Nevertheless it has begun. The political unity of India, more consolidated then it ever was under the great Mughals, was the first condition of regeneration. That unity imposed by the British sword will now be strengthened and perpetuated by the electric telegraph. The day is not far distant when, by combination of railway and steam vessels, the distance between England and India measured by time will be shortened. The ruling classes of Great Britain have had till now but an accidental transitory and exceptional interest in the progress of India. The aristocracy wanted to conquer it, the moneyocracy wanted to plunder it, and the milliocracy to undersell it .... Nowhere more than in India, do we meet with such social destitution in the midst of natural plenty, for want of the means of exchange .... The profound hypocrisy and inherent barbarism of bourgeois civilisation lies unveiled before our eyes, turning from its home, where it assumes respectable forms, to the colonies where it goes naked .... Did they not in India, to borrow an experience of that great robber, Lord Clive himself, resort to atrocious extortion, and simple corruption could not keep pace with their rapacity?"1
Throughout the Raj, resistance continued in varying forms. Peasants participated in upsurges. Individual folklore heroes attacked the British forces and were termed bandits by most western historians. Apart from the Afghan wars, no period was without some form of challenge to the rule of the Raj. Later on, in the twentieth century, we witness the proletarian struggle of the soldiers' and sailors' revolts in the armed forces against direct imperialist domination.
The British educated Indian politicians set up Congress. According to Collins and Lapierre:
"A dignified English civil servant founded Congress in 1885. Acting with the blessing of the Viceroy, Octavian Hume had sought to create an organisation which would canalise the protests of India's slowly growing educated classes into a moderate, responsible body prepared to engage in gentlemanly dialogue with India's English rulers."2
During the First World War, Congress fully collaborated with British Imperialism.
In criminal silence, they acquiesced to the hangings of members of the Gadar Party, which represented the militant youth who had taken up arms against the British. In the 1915 and 1916 sessions, Congress paid its respects and gratitude to the British governors who were in attendance.
In 1939, in one of his last writings on India, Leon Trotsky (1879- 1940), the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution (1917) in Russia along with Lenin wrote the following:
"The Indian bourgeoisie can never lead a revolutionary struggle. It is the slave of British capitalism and fully reliant on it. It has gone mad in its quest to protect its properties. It is terrified of the people. It wants to come to an agreement with British imperialism no matter at what price. It is singing lullabies of hopes of reforms to the masses. The leader and prophet of this bourgeoisie is Gandhi. He is an artificial leader and a false prophet". 3
Gandhi was awarded the medal of Kaisar-e-Hind by Lord Harding, viceroy to India from 19101916. When the Mountbattens travelled to London for the wedding of Princess Elizabeth to their nephew Prince Philip in 1947, whom they had brought up since childhood, Gandhi manifested his affection for them with a touching gesture. Packed into their York MW 102, along with ivory carvings, Mughal miniatures, the jewels and silver plates offered to the royal couple by India's former ruling princes was a wedding gift to the girl who would one day wear Victoria's crown: a teacloth made from yarn that Gandhi had spun himself.
On 15th January 1948 Gandhi also stressed the ownership rights of the capitalists and landlords. He said:
"I will never be a participant in snatching away the properties from their owners and you should know that I will use all my influence and authority against the class war. If somebody wants to deprive you of your property you will find me standing shoulder to shoulder with you." 4
Jinnah was no less anglicised. His habits, lifestyle, dress and attitude were much more British than those of the Muslims of the subcontinent he claimed to represent. He actually never contemplated a total break with the British. In April 1947, in his negotiations with Lord Mountbatten, Jinnah said:
"I do not care how little you give me so long as you give it to me completely. I do not wish to make any improper suggestion to you, but you must realise that the new Pakistan is almost certain to ask for dominion status with the British Empire."
Such was his passion for Partition that in August 1946 he vowed: "We shall have India divided or we shall have India destroyed". Here Jinnah had made a complete u-turn, however: at an 'oyster dinner', held in 1933 by Cambridge student Rahmat Ali at London's rather non-Islamic Waldorf Hotel, to propose a country called Pakistan, for Muslims, he laughed at the idea. He later described it to the Joint Select Committee of the British parliament as "only a student's scheme, chimerical and impractical". 5
Christina Lamb, in her 1980s book Waiting for Allah, wrote the following:
"In fact, were Jinnah alive today, he could be flogged under Pakistan's strict Islamic laws. A cold nationalist who disliked connecting religion and politics and who, right up to mid 1930s, claimed he was an Indian first and Muslim second, Jinnah saw in the Mullahs' slogans the route to safeguard both his own future and that of the Muslim entrepreneurs and landowning elite."
Jinnah's break with Congress was not on a communal basis, but was the outcome of tactical differences. Separatism was still a decade away, though the path towards it was already being carefully prepared by the colonial state.
As London began to feel the pressure of agitation, it became clear that some form of self-rule was essential to forestall social upheavals and revolutionary outbreaks. In 1932, Sir Theodore Morrison, a former principal of the staunchly loyalist M.A.O (Mohammadan Anglo Oriental) College in Aligarh, wrote an influential essay in support of separatism. He developed a mystical theme which was to become the leitmotif of Muslim communalism:
"The Hindus and Muslims were two distinct nations, as different from each other as any two European nations; Muslim civilization could not survive under an 'alien' government especially a democratic government which tended toward standardization of citizens; the Muslims should rest assured that they were not alone in their concern for the preservation of their characteristic civilization".6
The principle of separate electorates for Muslims had already been accepted and was to play a major role in institutionalizing communal politics in India; but the demand for Pakistan, a separated Muslim state, was only to become meaningful in 1944-6, both for the leaders of the Muslim League and for the sections of the Muslim masses. Those who argue that the notion of Pakistan was contained in the 'fact' that the Muslims were a 'distinct community' are simply re-writing history. If the question is posed: 'When did the Muslims become a distinct nation?' it would be impossible to elicit a common answer from the communal historians.
Apart from the Shi'a-Sunni divide, there were numerous other currents which defined themselves as reformers or defenders of orthodoxy. They argued amongst themselves on questions of theology.
Some theologians were in the pay of the British and wrote sermons on command. Others backed the Congress and declared in favour of a 'composite nationalism'. Others still argued for a universal Islamic republic, and refused even to consider the notion of Islam in One Country. This was the view of Abul-Ala Maududi, who founded the Jamat-i-Islami in 1941 to oppose the secular nationalism of his declared rivals, the Deoband Group, and the aims of the Muslim League. Maududi accused Jinnah of being motivated 'by the worldly socio-economic interests of the Muslims' rather than by religion. He insisted that:
"Not a single leader of the Muslim League, from Jinnah himself to the rank and file, has an Islamic mentality or Islamic habits of thought, or looks at political and social problems from the Islamic viewpoint ... their ignoble role is to safeguard the material interests of Indian Muslims by every possible manoeuvre or trickery." 7
The decisive turning point for the national liberation struggle came with the advent of the Bolshevik revolution in October 1917 in Russia. A whole cross-section of activists and leaders in the national liberation struggle were inspired by the mighty events that were taking place in Russia.
Poets like Iqbal called Marx: "A prophet with a book [Capital] but no prophet-hood".
The impact on youth was tremendous. The formation of the Hindu Socialist Revolutionary Army (H.S.R.A.) was the main expression of this radicalisation. The heroic deeds of Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev, Raj Guru and B.K.Dutt, although ultra left, were actions of youth seething with revolt against the British tyranny. Unable to find a Marxist road to independence and revolution, they resorted to armed struggle.
Some of the militants of the H.S.R.A shot and killed an assistant superintendent of police, John Poyants Saunders, on 8 April 1929. Two young men were arrested for throwing bombs at the treasury benches of the central legislative assembly in Delhi. One of them was Bhagat Singh. Most of the youth arrested went on hunger strike in prison. Jatin Das, a young man, is believed to have died during an attempt to feed him forcibly after he had completed sixty-three days of fasting.
The trial of Bhagat Singh and those of the other accused men, gained enormous publicity throughout India, and a mass base started to form around this radical left trend. The case was much discussed in society, and such was the sympathy for the accused that witnesses started turning hostile to the prosecution. Even a British policeman refused to identify Bhagat Singh as a person present at the time of the murder.
Bhagat Singh's trial lasted five months. Judgement was pronounced on 7 October 1930. The popularity of these radical youths and their assertion of left ideas in the movement for national independence sent shock waves through the bourgeois leaders in the movement.
A British visitor to India, C F Andrews, wrote in 1932:
"The scene in India at the present time is that of the Roman Empire nineteen hundred years ago. There was the same vast order outwardly maintained. But within this area of apparent calm a surging, heaving ferment had suddenly begun to appear like volcanic lava cracking through the surface of the soil. Men call it the national movement."
British rulers continuously imprisoned and released Congress leaders including Gandhi, prompting the media of colonial India to give extensive coverage of the sacrifice, courage and commitment of Gandhi and other bourgeois leaders. British ruling class used Gandhi in a manipulative manner to quell the rising tide of the left and derail the class struggle.
Reaction from within Congress, however, was also intense. Dr Subhash Chandra Bose, a leading figure of the leftwing in Congress, told Congress supporters that: "Between us and the British lays an ocean of blood and a mountain of corpses. Nothing on earth can induce us to accept this compromise which Gandhi has signed". Wherever Gandhi went, youth with red flags met him with angry questions, sometimes he was even manhandled. At the All India Congress meeting in Karachi, the main slogan chanted was "Gandhi's truce sent Bhagat Singh to the gallows!"
On the day of Gandhi's visit to Lord Irwin (19 March 1931), Bhagat Singh and his comrades, encouraged by their friends, sent a letter to the viceroy. In that letter, instead of asking for clemency, they asked the viceroy to treat them as prisoners of war and to have them shot rather than hanged. Four days later the four were hanged at Lahore central prison. Bhagat Singh's prison diary makes very interesting reading; in it he described the evolution of his ideology and thoughts while languishing in his death cell. He renounced individual violence, but condemned Gandhi's non-violence. He put forward the proposition that a socialist revolution in the Indian subcontinent was the logical conclusion of the liberation struggle. It should have been the responsibility of the Communist Party of India to unite, develop and take forward the left currents that inevitably develop in every struggle for national liberation. If the Communist Party of India (CPI) had been based on Marxist methods and perspectives, the whole course of history would have been differentand the tragedy of Partition averted.
The Communist Party
The Communist Party of India (CPI) was founded at the Kanpur communist conference of 2628 December 1925. It was convened by Satyabhakata and the chairman of the reception committee was Hasrat Mohani. Comrade Singaravelu delivered the presidential address. The first nucleus was set up in Berlin in 1919, and an organisation in the name of Indian communists was established in Tashkent USSR in December 1920. Manabendra Nath Roy, the main theoretician of the party who was in exile, played a leading role in affiliating the CPI to the Third International.
The Kanpur communist conference brought together various left groups across India. The main leaders were Muzaffar Ahmed from Bengal, Shaukat Usmani from the United Provinces, S. A. Dange from Bombay, Abdul Majeed from Lahore and representatives from other regions of the subcontinent. Nearly three years earlier, on 27th April 1923, a circular from "Inquilab" Office, Railway Road, Lahore, was sent to twenty-five prominent leftist leaders, with the aim of forming a new political party. It was signed by comrades Ghulam Hussain and Shamsuddin Hassan. The rising tide of the workers' struggle and the interest in communist ideas that swept through the wider layers of society terrified the British imperialists.
Communists, right from the beginning, had to work under clandestine conditions, whereas the leaders and parties of the bourgeoisie worked more or less in connivance with the British rulers.
The regime instituted several cases against the CPI, two of which gained mass publicity. The first was the Kanpur Bolshevik conspiracy case, which took place in 1924. The main accused was Manabendra Nath Roy, who was convicted in absentia. Eight other leading members of the CEC (Central Executive Committee) of the CPI were arrested: Shaukat Usmani, M Singaravelu Chettair, S A Dange, R C L Sharma, Muzaffer Ahmed, Nalini Das Gupta, Maula Baksh and Professor Ghulam Hussain. The prosecution case lodged on behalf of the Crown made a mockery of British democratic values:
"The accused are charged under section 121A with conspiracy to establish a branch organisation of the communist international throughout British India with objective to deprive the King Emperor of the sovereignty of British India..."
Eventually, only four of the accused were convicted: Muzaffer Ahmed, Shaukat Usmani, SA Dange and Nalini Gupta (Roy's emissary from Berlin); they were sentenced to four years of rigorous imprisonment.
A centre was set up in Tashkent to train and send cadres to India to spread communist ideas. Most of these communists, known as Muhajirun, were arrested as they filtered into India from the North West Frontier at the end of 1922. Except for one or two, the rest abandoned Communism. In spite of the setbacks, however, communist groups had sprung up in major cities throughout India: Madras, Bombay, Lahore, Karachi, Calcutta and parts of the United Provinces.In the first two decades of the twentieth century, two major upsurges occurred in the mass movement against the British Raj. The first wave was in the period 19191922, and then a second more militant upsurge began in 19261927. These were the first major strike waves of the Indian proletariat, which was making its mark on history. When the Simon Commission landed in Bombay in February 1928, it was greeted by nationwide strikes. Unrest was growing among the industrial proletariat, and, from 19281929, 209 strikes took place compared with 129 in 1927. A mass general strike led by the textile workers was held in Bombay. This textile strike caused the shutdown of fifty mills and lasted from 26 April to 6 October, 1928.
In the Bardoli district of Bombay state, the peasants went on a campaign of non-payment of taxes. At the steel works of Tata Limited, staff dismissals and wage decreases led to a strike that lasted five months. The workers of the Eastern Railway Company at Liloolah were locked out for four months. From the North Western Railway (NWR) to the South Indian Railway (SIR), the railway workers went on strike in almost all sectors of the huge Indian railway network. An increase in the armed struggle also occurred, and in December a bomb explosion wrecked parts of the train in which Viceroy Irwin was travelling. Not surprisingly, Gandhi, Nehru and the Congress condemned the attack.
Chronic unemployment and deteriorating conditions created enormous discontent and turmoil amongst peasants, workers, and the educated youth. In the northwest frontier the conflict became more violent. According to the Simon Commission report, between 1858 and 1922, British troops carried out seventy-two expeditions against rebellious tribesmen in the this region.
In Gujurat, at the end of June, a movement for the non-payment of rent and revenue began. In Bengal, a student movement developed and semi-guerrilla insurgency increased.The Communist Party led these struggles. The British imperialists were terrified of this red threat. They used the Indian national bourgeois leaders to distract the movement and started a new wave of repression against the Communist Party. This culminated in the infamous "Meerut Conspiracy Case" in 1929. This was similar to the Kanpur Bolshevik conspiracy and aimed to crush the CPI's leadership. Thirty-one leaders of the CPI were arrested on 20 March 1929, after the preparation of an elaborate dossier by the state's secret agencies against active communists. The trial of the Meerut conspiracy case began in June 1929. Not until 16 January 1933 did the trial court conduct its hearings and sentenced all but four of the accused to terms of imprisonment varying from three years to life. Phillip Spratt and Benjamin Frances Bradley, who had come from England to India to work for the CPI, were sentenced to transportation for ten years. The Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court dismissed all the appeals, but the sentences were reduced and by the autumn of 1935 all the prisoners were released. During the trial, the accused had been able to evoke considerable national sympathy by exploiting anti-British feelings in the nationalist movement. The Indian bourgeoisie retaliated and formed a defence committee including Motilal Nehru as chairman and Jawaharlal Nehru as a member. The accused took advantage of the opportunity provided by the trial to propagate communist ideas. The Chief Justice observed:
"They took an inordinately long time in reading out well-prepared statements, which the court had to take down word for word. In most cases they had nothing more than an exposition, on an elaborate scale, of the doctrines of communism, its tenets and its programme."
After the Meerut trial began, attacks were launched against the Girin Kamgar Union... the textile union of Bombay. The government not only arrested the communists and the leading trade unionists but also appointed a Riots Enquiry Committee and a Strike Enquiry Committee, with the intention of removing all communists from leading positions in trade unions throughout India. The Whitley Royal Commission on Indian Labour was also appointed and arrived in India in October 1929. The "Manchester Guardian" reported that the real aim behind this commission was to repress the communists. On 25 October 1929 it wrote:
"Experience of the past two years has shown that the industrial workers in the biggest centres are peculiarly malleable material in the hands of unscrupulous communist organisers naturally, and this is one of the circumstances which give such importance to the recently appointed commission on Indian labour."
Although the Giri Kamgar union was forced to call off the textile strike, more strikes broke out in other parts of the country. The tinplate workers in Jamshedpur took strike action, while the strike of oil and petroleum workers in Calcutta and dock workers in Karachi threatened the supremacy of the Raj.
The question arises as to why the Communist Party could not take the lead in spite of the sacrifices and struggle of its workers. One of the explanations that most Stalinists tend to give is that repression was the main cause of the failure of the CPI to take charge of the situation. The Meerut Conspiracy Case is cited often as an example. It is true that repression does damage an organisation and leads to serious setbacks. A Marxist organisation has to be able to built solidarity and support out of repression, both nationally and internationally. Some of the CPI leaders of the time accepted this position. Soumy Endranath Tagore in his pamphlet "Historical development" wrote,
"Nothing made so much propaganda in India for communism as did the Meerut conspiracy case. The entire attention of political India was focused on this case and hundreds of radical youth were drawn to the Communist Party because of it. There was also a good bit of propaganda in the international press. One can say with justice that the Meerut conspiracy case placed communism on a sure footing in India."
The Programme of The Communist International, which was adopted at the second congress and published in September 1920, had stated:
Tendencies like Gandhi's in India, thoroughly imbued with religious conceptions, idealize the most backward and economically most reactionary forms of social life. They see the solution of the social problem not in proletarian socialism, but in a reversion to these backward forms, preaching passivity and repudiating the class struggle, and in the process of the development of the revolution they become transformed into an openly reactionary force. Gandhi's is more and more becoming an ideology directed against mass revolution. It must be strongly combated by communism.
The zigzags and right and left turns of the Stalinist Comintern resulted in the defeat of several revolutions, as well as some important revolutionaries, throughout the world.
After Roy's return from the China mission in 1927 he had fallen from Stalin's grace. He was eventually expelled from the Comintern in 1929.
In spite of mistakes, the CPI still maintained a considerable base, mainly because of its links with the heritage of "October 4". In 1936, the railway strike paralysed the British Empire in India. It had an important impact on the newly emerging proletariat in other sections of industry. In 1938, with the slogan of a "Workers Socialist Republic", the CPI was able to mobilise 50,000 workers in Calcutta. It was able to lead a massive strike under the slogan "Government of Workers and Poor Peasants". Similarly, a new wave of class struggle had forced the CPI leadership to move further left. In the 1938 Kissan Sabah [Peasants' Conference] of the CPI, more than 500,000 poor peasants had registered for attendance. In 1939, the resolution passed by this conference strongly criticised Congress Ministries of Home Government. The resolution demanded the full political freedom and independence that could be obtained only under the rule of the people.
The Communist Party was banned until 1937. In Maharashtra and the United Provinces, thousands of members of the CPI were put behind bars. In Bengal and Punjab, they were subjected to atrocities and torture. In Sholapur, four leaders of the Communist Party were hanged; these included one main trade union leader. In Malabar, the workers of the Communist Party were subjected to constant repression. In Madras, several workers were hanged.The changes and zigzags in the policies of the Moscow bureaucracy influenced the policies of the CPI leadership. The policy of "defence of the fatherland" severely dented the clear class perception of the revolutionary struggle among the activists of the CPI.
At the beginning of the Second World War the CPI launched an intensive anti-war campaign. It called it an imperialist war, and the CPI was in the forefront of anti-war and anti-British agitation. This was a golden chance for the CPI to present itself as a revolutionary alternative to the masses. At the start of the anti-war campaign, the CPI took the courageous step of organising mass strikes against the war. The first ever anti-war workers' demonstration in the world took place in India on 22 October 1939 with a one-day protest general strike; 90,000 people participated. The main slogans of the demonstration were: "Defeat This Treachery against the Human Race!", "Down with the Imperialist War!", "Long Live the Freedom of India!" etc. The British colonialists increased state repression and thousands of CPI workers were put into jail during this anti-war agitation. Congress was polarised, and a number of leftist groups, including those around Dr Subhash Chandra Bose, identified with the CPI. In the 1939 convention, Bose defeated Gandhi in the election for President of Congress, thus creating a strong possibility of forming a United Front with the left wing of Congress. This would have led to a formidable force of the left which, with a correct Marxist programme and methods, could have led to a socialist conclusion of the national independence movement.
Degeneration of the Left leadership
While the process of left unity on the basis of the anti-war and anti-British policy of the CPI was forging ahead, changes in Moscow's policy struck a devastating blow.
The Stalinist compromise with British and American imperialism forced the CPI to change its attitude towards British imperialist rule. In 1942, Comrade Khushi Mohammad, a CPI leader, spoke at a mass rally in Azamgarh, in United Provinces (now Uttar Pradesh). He was at the height of a fiery, anti-imperialist speech when he was passed a note that had just been brought by a messenger from the CPI's high command containing strongly worded instructions from Stalin the capitulation had begun. After he glanced at the note, he made a U-turn in his speech. He retreated from his staunch anti-imperialist position and said that as British democracy had formed an alliance with fatherland Russia, the main thrust of agitation and struggle had to be directed against the fascists (Germany and Japan) and not the democratic allied governments, including Britain.
The CPI paid a heavy price for this opportunistic turn. Apart from its attitude of appeasement towards the British, it started to develop a conciliatory attitude towards the national bourgeois leadership. In reality, large sections of the CPI were absorbed into Congress. At the same time, its reversal of previous policies led to a head-on clash with Bose and other left wing tendencies inside and outside Congress. The CPI cadres who were in Congress were moving to form a block with liberal socialists like Nehru and social democrats like Jay Parkash Narayan. Nehru, like Gandhi, was used as a tool of the British to control the workers' and the peasants' upsurge and to subvert the radicalisation of the youth.
In some instances, CPI even cooperated with the bourgeois nationalist leaders at the heart of the movement, instead of aiming to develop the movement on class lines to break the stranglehold of the bourgeois leaders. The preliminary draft thesis on the National and Colonial Question, drafted by Lenin, was presented to the Plenary Session on 28 July 1920 at the second Congress of the Communist International. It stated:
"The Communist International must enter into a temporary alliances with bourgeois democracy in the colonial and backward countries, but should not merge with it, and should under all circumstances uphold the independence of the proletarian movement even if it is in its most embryonic form..."
The CPI cadres should have exposed the real class interests of Nehru and Gandhi to the toiling masses.
Their main aim should have been to recruit the socialist youth and militants who were in Congress into the CPI and create a mass movement of the workers and peasants to put an end to imperialist rule. That should have been the real revolutionary course of the struggle a class war!The change in the CPI's position on the war created disillusionment amongst the masses and confusion and apathy in the party ranks.
Gandhi launched the "Quit India" movement on 8 August 1942. Like his previous manoeuvres, it was passive in character and did not threaten the British rule or the colonial structures. It aimed to water down the militancy of the struggle and at the same time consolidate and perpetuate the bourgeois leadership and ideology of the national liberation struggle.Stalin had abolished the rudimentary organisation of the Third International to appease Churchill and Roosevelt, but he was still calling the shots in the CPI's policy and actions in India. The imprisoned CPI leaders started a secret correspondence with the British rulers from their jails. They were laying their "voluntary services" at the doorstep of the colonial rulers. They were offering to put up resistance against Congress activists and "fifth columnists" who were still active in the struggle against the Raj. Dange, the general secretary of CPI at the time, wrote a letter to the Viceroy, Lord Wavell, pledging the services of the Communist Party in the war effort. The CPI leadership not only isolated itself from the ever-rising tide of the national liberation movement, but also frustrated and disillusioned its own cadres and members.
In this period, while thousands were being hanged, lashed, tortured and imprisoned, leaders and activists of the CPI were being released from prisons. The ban on the party was lifted, and CPI publications started getting funds from the British Colonial government.
Ironically, the first congress of the CPI was held in this period of collaboration with the British in 1943. During this period the party was trying to stop strikes, restrain youth from going on demonstrations and soldiers from deserting. As a result of this betrayal, the mass reaction against the CPI was enormous. It became so severe that CPI offices were attacked. Ranadive, the CPI ideologue of the 1940s and 1950s, confessed: "The voice of the CPI was reaching deaf ears. They had never been so isolated from the masses".
The crucial test for the CPI came during the Second World War. At the outbreak of the war, the Indian communists opposed any support for Britain and France and argued that India's freedom should not be compromised by any deals with the occupying power. Their opposition to the war led to widespread arrests of party leaders on a national, provincial, and local level, but it also brought them closer to the left wing of the Congress.
A minority of party leaders, among them K. Damodaran of Kerala, opposed the thesis developed by Moscow that the war had now been transformed into a 'Peoples War', and accordingly that the duty of communists everywhere was to support the Allied war effort. The CPI fell into line and became a virtual recruiting agent for the British authorities, but those communists who opposed the new line were not released till much later.
In August 1942, when congress launched its 'Quit India' movement, the Viceroy responded by unleashing a new wave of repressive measures. Congress leaders and activists were now being locked in prison cells which had only recently been vacated by CPI inmates. Many decades later Damodaran revealed in an interview how damaging the consequences of the CPI's servile compliance with Stalin's dictate had been:
"There is a view developed by some of the apologists for the 'People's War' line which argues that the CPI gained a lot of support as a consequence of 'swimming against the stream'. I do not subscribe to this view. Of course the party took advantage of the legality granted to it by British imperialism to gain new members and increase its trade-union strength, but the point is that it was swimming against the stream of the mass movement and was to all intents and purposes considered an ally of British Imperialism; it became respectable to be a communist. Many young communists joined the British army to go and 'defend the Soviet Union' in Italy and North Africa. Some of them rapidly shed their 'communism' and stayed in the army even after the war and not to do clandestine work. It is true that the membership of the party increased from about 4,500 in July 1942 to well over 15,500 in May 1943, at the time of the First Party Congress. However, most of these new members had no experience of any militant mass struggle or police repression, but only the peaceful campaign conducted by the party to 'grow more food', 'increase production', 'release national leaders', 'form a national government' and 'defend the Motherland' from a Japanese invasion which never came; strikes were denounced as sabotage. On the other hand, the growth of the Congress and its influence after the 'Quit India' struggle of August 1942 was phenomenal. Millions of men and women, especially the youth, were attracted and radicalized by the struggle, which was considered as a revolution against imperialism they branded the Congress Socialists, and Bose's followers and other radicals who braved arrests and police repression, as fifth columnists and saboteurs. In reality the CPI was isolated from the mainstream of the nationalist movement for the second time within a decade. In my view the party's policy virtually delivered the entire anti-imperialist movement to the Congress and the Indian bourgeoisie on a platter. At the time, if the CPI had adopted a correct position the possibility existed of winning over a sizable and influential section of the Congress to communism: 'On my release from prison I experienced the wrath of the left-wing nationalists who used to chant 'Down with supporters of British imperialism' at our meetings. So swimming against the stream when the stream was flowing in the right direction resulted in drowning the possibility of genuine independence and a socialist transformation. We were outmanoeuvred and outflanked by the Indian bourgeoisie." 8
CPI's position during the war was untenable on all counts. It created a sharp divide between party activists and the base of the nationalist movement.
The CPI thesis on the war brought it closer to the Muslim League.
It was the League's growth that was to provide an opportunity for the CPI to make another major strategic error. Instead of providing its supporters with a trenchant critical analysis of all brands of communal politics and offering an alternative, the CPI, in the words of its theorist Adikhari: "began to see that the so-called communal problem, especially the Hindu-Muslim problem, was really a problem of growing nationalities". It was during the 'People's War' years (1942-5) that the CPI, forced into the same political camp as the Muslim League, first discovered the intricacies of the national question. A resolution, 'Pakistan and national Unity', was passed by the Enlarged Plenum of the Central Committee in September 1942 amidst opportunist politics and theoretical confusion. It took as its starting-point Stalin's insufficient definition of a 'nation', went on to develop a completely false analogy between India and Tsarist Russia, and drew the conclusion that the Muslims constituted a national minority which should be granted the right of self-determination. 9
The CPI leaders failed even to refer to the classical definition of a nation within the Marxist tradition. To have done so would merely have revealed the political distance they had travelled over the years. For Marx and Lenin alike, neither a common language nor a common culture constituted the basis of a bourgeois nation. The latter was a synonym for the modern state. Religion merely expressed the separation of an individual from the community as a whole, and could not constitute the basis for a community.
This was a time when the CPI should have swum against the stream of Muslim communalism; but their approach of 'national unity in the holy defence of our Motherland' against 'pitiless and powerful enemies' (the Japanese) made any application of Marxist politics impossible. The politics being effectively applied became ipso facto the only possible politics. It was only after the conclusion of the war that the CPI altered its position, this time on the urging of R. Palme Dutt, a leader of the British Communist Party. Dutt argued in 1946 that Pakistan was based on Religion and not on nationality. The CPI obligingly changed its position and denounced Pakistan as a plot between British imperialism and 'Muslim bourgeois feudal vested interests'. Many Muslim communists, however, were slow to catch up with this change in line, and found themselves in 1947 still members of the Muslim League, which they had been instructed to enter by the Stalinist leadership in order to help the 'progressive' elements against the landlords.
One of the oldest living 'communists' from Sindh and a former member of the CPI Sobho Gianchandani explained the situation from this turn at the time. In a recent interview comrade Sobho said,
"In 1943 Communist Party switched sides and started supporting the British. The Communist Party all over the world had changed its stance on the war: from being viewed as an imperialist war, it had now become the people's war. A meeting was arranged to sell the new idea to the students. The Communist Party sent Muqeeb-ud-din Farooqi, Sajjad Zaheer and Mian Iftikhar to do the job.
Addressing the students, Farooqi, the secretary of the Communist Party of Delhi, a gentleman from Delhi University, told the students not to feel betrayed and that the world was changing and, they [the Communist Party] with it. The Sindhi comrades, who had grown up in revolutionary times, were shocked at hearing that they were being asked to support the British.
While the leadership of the Indian Communist Party abided by this reversal, they were unable to convince some of the students of the wisdom of their choice. I came to the conclusion that when thousands of students were prepared to go to jail, I couldn't back out, so I resolved to join them against the British". 10
Defiance and Revolution
In the 1940s, a revolutionary blizzard swept across Asia and the world. In India, 1946 was the year of revolution. It began with a mass movement that forced the British rulers to release the leaders of INA (Indian National Army) who were imprisoned in Indian jails facing charges of treason. The massive popularity of INA at that timed revealed that the masses had no sympathy for the non-violence and passivity of Congress. After the Second World War, there was enormous ferment and tumult in the British army. The British soldiers and young officers, exhausted from the war, led widespread revolts from Hong Kong to Egypt. At the same time, the mass upsurge was unstoppable and gained momentum day by day. In the countryside, the sleepy hamlets and small towns had been awakened by these winds of change and the end of imperialist rule was in sight.
On 1 March 1946 a soldier's revolt occurred in the military barracks at Jabalpur, and on 18 March the Gurkha Sepoys deployed at Deradoon revolted against the regime. The unrest among the Indian officers manifested itself in many incidents in the army and the air force.
One of the most spectacular episodes of the revolt against the British Raj was the uprising of the sailors of the British Indian Navy in 1946. On 18 February the sailors of the British Indian Navy battleship HMS Talwaar, posted to the Bombay harbour, went on strike in protest against the bad food and poor conditions.
Although at first it was a peaceful hunger strike, signs of an imminent and much bigger rebellion against the British rulers were evident. On 19 February, the sailors announced the strike to the naval personnel stationed in the fortress and to those in the naval barracks. They took over the naval trucks, boarded them, hoisted Red Flags and started patrolling the city of Bombay. They invited the masses of the city to join in the struggle they had started. As a result, anti-British imperialist sentiments started to spread like wildfire throughout the region.
On the evening of 19 February 1946 increasing numbers of naval personnel joined this revolt. The Union Jacks on most of the ships of the Royal Indian Navy in the Bombay harbour were torn down, and the rebel sailors hoisted Red Flags along with the flags of the political parties involved in the struggle for independence.
Within 48 hours, the British imperialists were faced with the largest ever revolt of their naval units. The message of this rebellion started to spread by word of mouth and then over the radio (the radio station had been taken over by the rebels) to military garrisons and barracks across India. Some of the sailors' leaders broadcast the message of the uprising, as well as revolutionary songs and poetry, round the clock. The revolt spread to 74 ships, 20 fleets and 22 units of the navy along the coast. These naval stations included Bombay, Calcutta, Karachi, Madras, Cochin and Vishakapatam. On 20 February only ten ships and two naval stations were not in complete revolt.
In the beginning, this revolt was considered to be spontaneous, but that is not completely true. On the evening of 19 February, a strike committee was formally set up. Signalman M S Khan and petty officer telegraph operator Madan Singh unanimously were elected president and vice president of the committee. Both of them were under the age of 25 years. One was a Muslim and the other a Sikh: this was a conscious act to reject the religious divide being fed into the liberation movement by the native bourgeois leaders and their British masters.
Apart from the other tasks on the strike committee agenda, it was also agreed to involve the political parties in this movement and to gain their support. The CPI lost the leadership of the independence movement because of its disastrous policy of supporting the British imperialists. At that time, the Indian bourgeoisie and their leaders were negotiating a settlement with the British. They were as hostile as the British to any revolutionary upsurge at this delicate juncture in the history of the subcontinent.
Gandhi outrightly condemned the uprising of the sailors, while the CPI leaders even lost the opportunity to link this naval revolt with the strikes taking place in the textile industry, on the railways, and in other industrial sectors throughout India. Likewise, leaders like Subhash Chandra Bose were unable to connect this movement with the revolts taking place in the British Indian army. Chandra had gone too far in launching the Indian National Army to fight British forces under the auspices of the reactionary Japanese regime!
Congress and the Muslim League were afraid that revolutionary and class struggle ideas would penetrate into the movement they had done so much to tear apart along religious lines. In spite of this betrayal and the contemptuous attitude of the national bourgeois leaders, the revolutionary momentum of the uprising continued unabated, and the whole country was filled with the echoes of the slogan "long live the revolution!"
The passions and sentiments of these slogans resonated throughout the whole of Bombay. One of the poets of the era, Josh Malihabadi, wrote enthralling verses like:
"My task is my growth; my name is martyr. My slogan is revolution, revolution, revolution."
On 21 February, British shock troops opened fire on the sailors as they came out of their barracks in the Bombay fortress. This provocation changed a peaceful uprising into an armed rebellion. Armed clashes occurred between the British elite troops and the rebellious sailors throughout the day. On the first day, one death was reported in Bombay, but on the second day 14 sailors were martyred in Karachi. The industrial workers who had joined the revolt with the sailors were subjected to brutal attacks by the British forces.
On 22 and 23 February 25 sailors and workers were martyred by the imperialist forces. According to some eyewitness accounts, on 21 February, it seemed that the oppressed masses of the whole subcontinent had risen up in a revolutionary movement against British rule. In these events, the revolutionary strike committee had shifted its command to the Narba fleet. The sailors now aimed the barrels of their guns at ships and targeted British Naval installations and command centres on the coast. Sirens were sounded from all ship decks. The sailors announced through loud speakers that they would destroy the British military bases and installations to defend their comrades in the cities and in the harbour if the British dared to attack.
The British government in London was in shock. The British Labour Prime Minister, Clement Atlee, ordered the uprising to be crushed. The commander of the British Indian Navy, Admiral Godfrey, ordered the rebellious sailors to "surrender or perish". One of the stalwarts of the Indian National Congress, Sardar Vallabhbai Patel, openly came out on the side of the British, denouncing the uprising and supported the imperialists' ultimatum. In this uprising, the national leadership of India, both Hindu and Muslim, became allies of the British imperialists. This exposed their real class character and their collaborationist role in the saga of transition from British to native rule after independence.
Meanwhile, British fighter aircraft were carrying out sorties over the rebellious fleet. In such conditions, Sardar Patel made the following infamous statement:
"Only a small band of insolent, hot headed and insane youngsters are trying to get involved in politics through these acts, when they have nothing to do with politics." 11
Isolated, desperate, and disillusioned by the treacherous role and attitude of the national leadership towards the uprising, M S Khan proposed surrender to the strike committee. The 36-member committee, however, rejected this plea. Several tense hours passed. The mainstream national leadership intensified its efforts to isolate the naval uprising from the mass movement for independence that was surging across the subcontinent. Demoralisation started to set in among the members of the strike committee.
Another session of the committee started in the early hours of 24 February on HMS Talwaar. By now it was evident that surrender was the only option. At 0600 hours on 24 February 1946 black flags were raised to announce surrender. In its last session the strike committee passed a resolution which became the last message of the revolutionary sailors to the toiling masses of the South Asian subcontinent. The resolution stated:
"Our uprising was an important historical event in the lives of our people. For the first time the blood of uniformed and non-uniformed workers flowed in one current for the same collective cause. We, the workers in uniform, shall never forget this. We also know that you, our proletarian brothers and sisters shall also never forget this. The coming generations, learning its lessons, shall accomplish what we have not been able to achieve. Long live the working masses. Long live the Revolution." 12
After the Revolt
After the surrender most leaders and activists of this uprising were prosecuted, imprisoned and executed in spite of their surrender. On 15 March the rebellious sailors of the Royal Indian Navy who were still imprisoned started a hunger strike. The nationalist bourgeois leaders refused to raise any protest. The nationalist parties, masquerading as upholders of independence, also made no protest.
In the early 1980's there emerged in India a school of history that goes by the name of Subaltern Studies. Inspired by the writings of the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci, these historians denounced both the Cambridge and the nationalist schools since both assumed that nationalism was a product of elite action and had no place in it for the independent political actions of the subaltern classes (rural peasants or urban workers). The documents aim was to highlight the actions of the men and women from the subaltern classes, and their remarkable resilience against the British between November 1945 and February 1946.
The display of Hindu-Muslim unity, students and workers protests against the trial of prisoners of the Indian National Army (INA), and the heroic strike of the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) from February 18 to 23, were marked by massive solidarity actions in Calcutta, Bombay and Karachi. Order in Bombay city could be restored only after the killing of 228 civilians, while 1,046 were injured in the aftermath of the mutiny. The RIN Mutiny shook the Raj to its very foundations, and it was probably no coincidence that the British Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, announced on February 19 1946 the decision to send a Cabinet Mission to India. This event was the single most contributory factor in hastening the process of independence.
The mutiny was the culmination of the erosion of imperial authority, but curiously this incredible feat has been erased from history. After Independence, many of the RIN Muslim mutineers came to Pakistan in search of a new identity, but their hopes were shattered as they were not considered suitable for re-employment in the then Royal Pakistan Navy (RPN). The fate of their counterparts in India was no different. Nonetheless, in 1973, the government of India accorded official recognition to the ex- personnel of RIN who participated in the mutiny, and granted them freedom fighters' pension.
How surprising that the official history, both in India and Pakistan, has seldom commemorated the RIN Mutiny no doubt the attitude of the Congress and Muslim League leadership had been lukewarm if not hostile. The treatment meted out to the mutineers by Congress and Muslim League leadership. S. K. Patil and Chundrigar, presidents of Congress and Muslim League respectively displayed a rare unanimity in 'offering the help of volunteers to assist the police'. Patel argued that 'discipline in the army cannot be tampered with, we will want an army even in free India'.
"Even Gandhi thought that the sailors had set 'a bad and unbecoming example for India. A combination of Hindus, Muslims and others for the purpose of violent action is unholy.' Jinnah told the RIN men: 'If they would adopt constitutional, lawful and peaceful methods and apprise him fully of what will satisfy them, he would assure that their just grievances are redressed'". 13
Interestingly, Aruna Asaf Ali disagreed with Gandhi and said in a rejoinder, 'it would be far easier to unite Hindus and the Muslims at the barricade than on the constitutional front'. Sarkar supports this view and notes that 'if the British had been forced to give up tentative plans for holding onto political power, the logically opposite scenario of radical united mass actions forcing an unqualified imperial retreat also did not materialise.'
The documents, particularly those related to Captain Abdul Rashid Day (14 Punjab Regiment) disturbances and the RIN strike, vividly illustrate the 'restraining role' of the national leadership. Political parties had opposed the disturbances for the very good reason that they were about to assume power and had no wish to inherit rebellious and undisciplined armed forces. In this volume excerpts from the statements of the top leadership of both the Congress and Muslim League have been kept minimal, as they are easily accessible and highlighted in various other documents.
These documents, probably for the first time, provide a unique insight and rare glimpses into the labour and peasants' movements. The year 1946 witnessed remarkable and unprecedented labour unrest, and it also saw the beginning of several powerful movements. This volume contains 250 documents pertaining to labour and kissan affairs, extracted from various sources and some private papers. One is amazed to note the range of participation which extended from sweepers, miners and railway workers, to white-collar post office and bank employees, as well as the military establishments. Railway and postal workers all over India were on strike and a mob of 80,000 stormed ration centres in Allahabad. These strikes were ruthlessly suppressed at the time.
The documents illustrate the central role of the communists in the labour movements in 1946. However, documents relating to the peasant movements have a somewhat distinct time frame and character. Apart from some scattered items from Punjab, the United Provinces and Bihar, the bulk of the documents refer to the Tanjore, Ramnad and Malabar regions, the agitation of the Warli tribals in Bombay, and the beginnings of the Tebhaga movement by sharecroppers in Bengal demanding a two-third share of the crop, instead of one-half, from rich farmers.
At this point the author notes that 'communist predominance in all these movements was even clearer than in the case of labour, and once again left-led agitations emerged as a potential, never fully-realised, and yet memorable and moving alternative to Stalinist leaders.'
Nevertheless, 'the nationalist leadership's choice of the path of compromise, and the eventual acceptance of Partition as a necessary price' was made at the cost of millions of displaced people and innumerable sacrifices.
This episode stands out, however, as one of the greatest chapters in the history of the struggle for independence from British rule. Although the uprising was defeated, the movement showed the British what lay ahead. As a direct result of this uprising, the British Prime Minister, Clement Atlee, announced that the British would leave India before June 1948. Such was the blow inflicted on the confidence of the British rulers that they were forced to beat a retreat. The British, in connivance with the native bourgeois leaders, hastened the process of Partition along ethnic and religious lines. After this episode they were determined not to leave the subcontinent united in any form whatsoevereither as a confederation or with any political superstructure they may have envisaged before these revolutionary events. The British policy of divide and rule thus came into play.
The details of this glorious uprising remain unrecorded both in India and Pakistan, just as several similar events and great episodes have yet to see the light of day. Rising generations of youth and workers have the task of carrying out the message and aspirations of the sailors' strike committee of the February 1946 uprising.
The mass upsurge jolted the CPI leaders and the impact of the uprising was enormous. The leadership was under pressure to do something; there was enormous ferment within party ranks, full-timers, and the youth. The CPI called a general strike in Bombay, which paralysed the city. When the armed personal carriers were sent to crush the protest the workers put up barricades to stop their advance, and street battles broke out throughout the city. In three days, more than 400 people were killed and hundreds were injured in clashes with the state forces.
On 19 March, a strike wave penetrated the police force throughout the major centres of the country. At Allahabad, the police went on a hunger strike. The Delhi police joined them on 22 March. On April 3, 10,000 police personnel in Bihar joined the strike movement. Soon the workers also joined this mass wave of strikes. On 2 May 1946, the workers of the North Western Railway went on strike, then, on July 11th, more than 100,000 postal workers started an all-India strike. Industrial workers across the subcontinent joined the movement with massive strike action. The whole of India was engulfed in these mass uprisings, revolts and strikes. The British were losing control over the armed forces. The first to come to the rescue of the imperialist Raj were the political leaders of all religions.
This revolutionary outburst spread alarm throughout the Congress leadership; the president of Congress between 1939 and 1946, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, thought that it was not the appropriate time for direct action: "we must watch the course of events and carry on negotiations with the British Government".
"(...) what has happened clearly demonstrated how anti-social elements in a vast city like Bombay exploited a situation. Our freedom is near at hand today. We have all the virtues for winning our freedom, but I confess we lack discipline, which is essential in a free country." 14
In February 1946 outbreaks occurred in Calcutta and Madras. A serious uprising at Karachi was suppressed with considerable loss of life, and many casualties occurred among the revolutionary sailors and soldiers. In a telegram to Whitehall, London, Auchinleck said: "...if you don't grant them independence in three days they will take it by force". India's chief of staff, General Lord Ismay, who had been Winston Churchill's chief of staff from 1940 to 1945 and a veteran of the subcontinent in the British Indian army, stated: "India was a ship on fire in mid-ocean with ammunition in her hold." The question he asked Lord Mountbatten was whether they could get the fire out before it reached the ammunition? Because of the revolutionary ferment throughout the subcontinent, it was obvious that the British imperialists would not be able to leave behind a united India. India had to be divided. Again, during the movement of 1946, Hindu and Muslim soldiers fought shoulder to shoulder. More than half of the armed forces personnel were Muslims. Rejecting sectarianism, Muslim soldiers, navy sailors and air force personnel fought alongside their Hindu brothers. Muslim and Hindu workers jointly set up barricades during the Bombay strike. In Calcutta and other cities, Hindus and Muslims launched a united movement and demonstrations for the release of the INA personnel of all faiths. The Red Flag was the symbol of the mass uprisings that had spread throughout the subcontinent. Although the leadership wavered, thousands of CPI workers and young full-timers were burning with the desire to march on the road of socialist revolution.
The condition and frustration of the CPI activists and young full-timers is portrayed in some of the literary writings of that period. The liberal novelist and literary critic Khushwant Singh, in his famous novel on Partition, Train to Pakistan, described the state of mind of CPI full-timer Iqbal Singh, who had been sent from an advanced urban locality to the hamlet of Manomarja near the new Indo-Pak border:
"Lying on a cot in the courtyard of the village Sikh Temple, gazing at the stars he thought: 'Everyone, Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Congressite, Leaguer, Akali or communist was deep in it. All that was needed was to divert the kill and grab instinct from communal channels and turn it against the propertied classes. That was the proletarian revolution, the easy way.' To his anguish, the party bosses would not see it in this light."15
A workers' movement on a class basis and a proletarian revolution was the only way out of the communal frenzy unleashed by the Partition. The ingredients of a proletarian revolution were there, but they lacked leadership; when the custodians of the proletariat err in such times, generations have to suffer.
A revolutionary or a pre-revolutionary situation does not last forever. Mass movements and uprisings move in ebbs and flows. Once a movement ebbs, the reaction in society comes to the fore.
As the movement ebbed in the subcontinent and the revolution was betrayed, the impoverished masses suffered the consequences. With the exit of the CPI from the leadership of the national liberation movement, the political representatives of the Indian bourgeoisie took over.
If the truth be told, the Indian bourgeoisie never fought a freedom struggle. They actually negotiated and bargained the struggle of the masses with the British rulers. They wanted direct rule in their own hands. The British could not hold on to power. As the movement surged ahead, mass revolts and desertions occurred in the British armies.
Winston Churchill and his Conservative Party faced a humiliating defeat in the first post-war elections in Britain; anti-war sentiment had had a strong impact on the electorate. On 26 July 1945 the results of the British national elections were announced. Labour, under the leadership of Clement Attlee, won a sweeping victory, winning 388 seats in the British Parliament. The British government now had no choice but to quit India.
The Labour administration, in spite of its reformist posture, was as committed as the Tories to the continuation of capitalist rule in what would become the former colonies of the Empire.
Attlee's choice of Lord Mountbatten (a grandson of Queen Victoria) as India's last Viceroy made it clear that the Labour government would continue with the same policies as its Tory predecessors.
The British Empire and its political representatives had no fixed plan for how to leave India. Like all rulers, on one hand, they were afraid of a revolution, and on the other, they wanted to avoid anarchy. Both outcomes would have hindered and disrupted the profit system and endangered the properties and assets of the ruling elites. They therefore tried to effect a peaceful transition. They sent several missions from Whitehall to develop a feasible plan that would ensure the continuation of the capitalist rule and imperialist plunder. One of these missions was the Cabinet Mission sent to India in 1946.
The Cabinet Mission Plan
The Cabinet Mission arrived in India in early May and on 16 May the 'Cabinet Mission Plan' was published: the central government would be responsible solely for defence, foreign affairs and communications. It divided the subcontinent into three zones: A, B and C. Section B would include Punjab, Sindh, NWFP (North Western Frontier Province) and British Baluchistan. A majority of Muslims would be in this area. In section C, which included Bengal and Assam, the Muslims would have a small majority. It was thought that this arrangement would give assurance to the Muslim minority and satisfy all the legitimate fears of the Muslim League. At first, Jinnah was opposed completely to the scheme; the Muslim League had gone so far in its demand for a separate independent state that it was difficult for it to retract its stance. Azad, president of Congress, was in favour of accepting the proposal. The Muslim League council deliberated for three days before coming to a decision. On the final day, Jinnah seemed to favour acceptance of the plan. He told the council that the scheme was the best that they could hope for and, as such, he advised the Muslim League to accept it. The council voted unanimously in its favour. This in reality meant a retreat from Partition. The acceptance of the Cabinet Mission plan, both by Congress and the Muslim League, was an important event in the history of the liberation movement of India.
On 26 April 1946 Azad issued a statement that proposed Nehru's name for the coveted post of Congress President and appealed to Congress that they should elect him unanimously.
Nehru was accepted unanimously. The Muslim League Council had accepted the Cabinet Mission plan, as had the Congress working committee. However, it needed the approval of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). It was thought that this would be a formality as the AICC always had ratified the decisions of the working committee. Accordingly, a meeting of the AICC was called at Bombay on 7 July 1946. After an intense debate, a vote was taken, and a resolution of acceptance was passed with an overwhelming majority. On 10 July 1946 however, Nehru held a press conference in Bombay in which he made an astonishing statement. Some press representatives asked him whether the passing of the resolution meant the AICC Congress accepted the plan in total, including the composition of the interim Government. Jawaharlal Nehru in reply stated that Congress would enter the constituent assembly: "completely unfettered by agreements and free to meet all situations as they arise". In reply to another question, Nehru said emphatically that Congress had agreed only to participate in the constituent Assembly and regarded itself free to change or modify the Cabinet Mission plan as it thought best.
This change of heart on Nehru's part made it impossible to avoid Partition on a bourgeois basis forever. This sudden turn by Nehru exposed the narrow-mindedness of the Indian bourgeoisie and the secretive forces that were working behind the scenes, bent on partitioning the subcontinent. Obviously those forces were afraid that in an undivided India, the threat of class struggle and revolutionary upheavals against capitalism and imperialist domination would remain very much alive and vibrant. The extent to which Lady Edwina played a role in coaxing Nehru into this remains a secret of history. Now this love affair has been exposed in Alex von Tunzelman's book Indian Summer, published in 2007. Cate Blanchett plays Edwina Mountbatten in the film on this book to be released in 2009.
The Muslim League had only accepted the Cabinet Mission plan under duress. Naturally, Jinnah was not very happy about it. In his speech to the League council, he had clearly stated that he recommended acceptance only because nothing better could be obtained. His political adversaries started to criticise him by saying that he had failed to deliver his promises. They accused him of having given up the idea of an independent Islamic state.
Nehru's statement had been a complete surprise and Jinnah immediately demanded a complete review of the whole situation, asking Liaquat Ali Khan to call a meeting of the League Council to discuss this demand. Now that the Congress president had declared that Congress could change the scheme through its majority in the constituent Assembly, this left the minorities at the mercy of the majority. Jinnah felt that Nehru's declaration meant that Congress had rejected the Cabinet Mission Plan and that, because of this, the Viceroy should call upon the Muslim League, which had accepted the plan, to form the government.
Jinnah was a man of towering vanity and he took Congress's action as a personal rebuke. The former apostle of HinduMuslim unity became the unyielding advocate of Pakistan.
Collins and Lapierre describe Jinnah in "Freedom at Midnight",
"A more improbable leader of India's Muslim masses could hardly be imagined. The only thing Muslim about Mohammed Ali Jinnah was his parents' religion. He drank, ate pork, religiously shaved his beard each morning and just as religiously avoided the mosque each Friday. God and the Koran had no place in Jinnah's vision of the world; his political foe, Gandhi, knew more verses of the Muslim Holy Book than he did. Jinnah had been able to achieve the remarkable feat of securing the allegiance of the vast majority of India's Muslims without being able to articulate more than a few sentences in their traditional tongue, Urdu".16
Jinnah had only scorn for his Hindu rivals. He labelled Nehru a Peter Pan, a "literary figure" who "should have been an English professor, not a politician", "an arrogant Brahmin who covers his Hindu trickiness under a veneer of Western education". Gandhi, to Jinnah, was "a cunning fox", "a Hindu revivalist." Jinnah never forgot the sight of the Mahatma in his mansion, stretched out on one of his priceless Persian carpets with his mudpack on his belly.
On 27 July 1946 the Muslim League Council met in Bombay. Jinnah in his opening speech reiterated the demand for Pakistan as the only course open to the Muslim League. After three days' discussion, the Council passed the resolution rejecting the Cabinet Mission Plan. It decided to resort to direct action for the achievement of Pakistan.
Azad and several leading members of Congress were perturbed by this new development. The Congress working committee met on 8 August 1946 and Azad pointed out that if they wanted to save the situation they must make it clear that the statement of Congress at the Bombay press conference was Nehru's personal opinion, and did not conform to the decisions of Congress. Nehru responded that it would be embarrassing to Congress, and to him personally, if the working committee passed a resolution maintaining that the statement of the Congress President did not represent the policy of Congress.
Commenting on these events, Azad, in his book India Wins Freedom dedicated to "Jawaharlal Nehru, friend and comrade", attributed the tragedy as follows:
"This was one of the greatest tragedies of the Indian History and I have to say with the deepest regret that a large part of the responsibility for this development rests with Jawaharlal. His unfortunate statement that Congress would be free to modify the Cabinet Mission Plan reopened the whole question of political and communal settlement. Mr. Jinnah took full advantage of his [Nehru's] mistake and withdrew from the League's early acceptance of the Plan."17
Nehru, again according to Azad:
"Within a month of Mountbatten's arrival in India, Jawaharlal, the firm opponent of Partition had become, if not a supporter at least acquiescent to the idea. I have wondered how Jawaharlal was won over by Lord Mountbatten. He is a man of principle but he is also impulsive and amenable to personal influences. I think one factor responsible for the change was the personality of Lady [Edwina] Mountbatten. She is not only extremely intelligent but has a most attractive and friendly temperament."18
In his book Azad had this to say about Gandhi:
"But when I met Gandhi again, I had the greatest shock of my life to find that he had changed. He was still not openly in favour of Partition but he no longer spoke so vehemently against it. What surprised and shocked me even more was that he began to repeat the arguments which Sardar Patel had already used. For over two hours I pleaded with him, but could make no impression on him."19
In the same book he describes the role of Patel: "It would not perhaps be unfair to say that Vallahbhai Patel was the founder of Indian Partition."
"I was surprised when Patel said that, whether we liked it or not, there were two nations in India. He was now convinced that Muslims and Hindus could not be united into one nation. It was better to have one clean fight and then separate, than have bickering everyday. I was surprised that Patel was now an even greater supporter of the two-nation theory than Jinnah. Jinnah may have raised the flag of Partition, but now the real flag bearer was Patel".20
The AICC met on 14 June 1947. Congress, which had always "fought for the unity and independence" of India, was considering an official resolution for dividing the country.
Gandhi intervened in the debate, appealing to the members to support the Congress Working Committee by accepting the resolution moved by Pundit Pant. When the resolution was put to the vote, only 29 voted for Partition while 15 voted against.
Even Gandhi could not persuade more members to vote for the Partition of the country!
In the meeting of AICC, the members from Sindh vehemently opposed the resolution. They were given all kinds of assurances. In private discussions they were told that if they suffered any disability or indignity in Pakistan, India would retaliate on the Muslims in India. This implied that both in India and Pakistan, hostages would be held responsible for the security of the minority community in the other State. This was a barbarous idea and could only escalate racial tensions.
Slaughter of the innocents (The aftermath of Partition)
Acharya Kripalani, who was president of Congress at this time, realised the danger of these implications and understood that once such a feeling was allowed to grow, it could only lead to oppression and the murder of Hindus in Pakistan and Muslims in India. The rivers of blood, which flowed after Partition on both sides of the new frontier, had their origins in this concept of hostage and retaliation.
It was decided that the Indian Dominion would come into existence on 15th of August 1947. The Muslim League decided that Pakistan should be constituted a day earlier on 14th of August.
On 14th of August Lord Mountbatten went to Karachi to inaugurate the Dominion of Pakistan. He returned the next day, and at midnight on 15 August 1947 the Indian Dominion was born. Once again, according to Azad: "If a united India had become free, there was little chance that the British could retain her position in the economic and industrial life of India".21
The two new states were born amidst slaughter and bloodshed. Thousands of years of religious, ethnic and communal harmony was shattered in a matter of days as families were uprooted from their ancestral towns and villages; whole trainloads of people were killed in the carnage. The dawn of 14th of August 1947 had turned red, not with revolution, but with the blood of millions of innocent oppressed people. Blood spilled by the reactionary madness of religious bigotry. The magnitude of the carnage stunned even those who had been the main advocates of Partition.
The most brutalised regions were Punjab and Bengal. The irony is that the first two papers of the Communist Party of India came out in Punjabi, Kirti (Worker) from Amritsar and in Bengali, Langal (Plough) from Calcutta. Yet the workers and peasants of Bengal and Punjab suffered the biggest massacre of Partition. The stiletto of Partition drenched in the poison of communal hatred had pierced two nationalities right through the heart.
Between August and September 1947, Punjab was a living hell. This was a cataclysm without precedent, unforeseen in magnitude, unordered in pattern, and unreasoned in its savagery.
Collins and Lapierre narrate the episode in Freedom at Midnight as follows:
"The gutters of Lahore were running red with blood. The beautiful Paris of the Orient was a vista of desolation and destruction... In nearby Amritsar, broad sections of the city, its Muslim sections, were nothing but heaps of brick and debris, twisting curls of smoke drifting above them into the sky, vultures keeping their vigil on their shattered walls, the pungent aroma of decomposing corpses permeating the ruins. Everywhere the face of the Punjab was disfigured by similar scenes."22
Robert Trumbull, a veteran correspondent of the New York Times wrote in the issue of 12 September 1947:
"Death by shooting is more merciful than to be beaten to death with clubs and stones and left to die, their death agony intensified by heat and flies.
Horror had no race, and the terrible anguish of those August days in the Punjab was meted out with almost biblical balance... an eye for an eye, massacre for massacre, rape for rape, blind cruelty for blind cruelty.
For tens of thousands the trains became rolling coffins. Like a ship's prow cutting through a heavy sea, the train rolled through the mass of scrambling humans choking the platforms, crushing to a pulp of blood and bone the hapless few inevitably pushed across its path. In a concert of tears and shrieks, the crowd would throw itself on the doors and windows of each wagon. There were periods of four and five days at a stretch during which not a single train reached Lahore or Amritsar without its complement of dead and wounded. Along the roads, the refugees plodded dumbly forward, eyes and throats raw with dust, feet bruised by stones or searing asphalt, tortured by hunger and thirst, enrobed in a stench of sweat, urine, and defecation." 23
These Hindu, Muslims and Sikhs were innocent illiterate peasants whose only life had been the fields they worked. Most of them did not know who a viceroy was, were indifferent to Congress Party and the Muslim League, and had never bothered with issues like Partition or boundary lines. They were unaware of the freedom in whose name they had been plunged into despair.
Their haggard faces turned to the blazing sky to beg Allah, Shiva, the guru Nanak, for the monsoon that refused to come. The human debris left behind was gruesome. The forty-five miles of roadside from Lahore to Amritsar became a long, open graveyard.
As in every conflict since the dawn of history, the tragedies and atrocities of Partition were accompanied by an outpouring of sexual savagery and rape. The Sikh's tenth guru specifically instructed his followers against sexual intercourse with Muslim women in an attempt to prevent what happened in the Punjab. The Sikhs ignored the guru's admonishment and gave free rein to their fantasies, falling upon Muslim women everywhere; this resulted in the legend that Muslim women were capable of particular sexual prowess. During Partition the rulers of India and Pakistan were more concerned about the division of assets than the agonies of the Hindu, Muslim and the Sikh masses. In terms of the distribution of armies, assets and wealth, they exhibited meanness and greed.
Each dominion was extremely interested in owning the gaudiest symbols of the imperial power which had ruled them for so long.
Partition was a wound inflicted upon the living body of one of the oldest civilisations on earth. A civilisation that was rich in art, architecture, music, literature and other forms of human culture... its cultural diversity was its greatest beauty. The pain still remains and has left an indelible scar upon millions of people. Partition was one of the most counter-revolutionary events in recent history. More than half a century later, one question is asked throughout the subcontinent can Partition be undone? The famous Punjabi poet Ustad Daman summed up the agony of the people on both sides of the Frontier in the verses below.
Devastated through these Freedoms
Are you and so are we;
The redness of the eyes is telling
Wept you have, a lot
And weeping we have been too!
(Translated from Punjabi)
Barbaaad Ainah Azadian Toon
Hoey Tusee ve Ao
Hoey Ase vee Aaan
Akhiaan di laali pai dasdi Ae
Roaey Tusee vee Ao
Roaey Asee vee aan
|<< 2. A Revolutionary Epoch||Contents||4. A Failed Start >>|
1 Published in the “New York Daily Tribune” No. 3840 of 8th August 18532. Freedom at Midnight, p. 58
2 Trotsky writings 1939, p. 169
3 Times of India, 16 January 1948
4 Partition can it be undone? Lal Khan, pp 26, Indian Edition published by Aakar
5 Books 2001
6 Sir John Cumming (ed.), Political India, Oxford, 1932
7 P. Hardy, The Muslims of British India, Cambridge, 1972
8 K. Damodaran, 'Memoirs of Indian Communism', New Left Review no. 93, London,
10 Pakistan and National Unity, Bombay, 1944
11 Newsline (Karachi), October 2008, p.82
12 Mazdoor Morcha, Faridabad, July 1978
13 ibid. p.12
14 Lal Khan, Partition Can it be undone p. 57
15 Azad, India wins Freedom, p. 61
16 p. 50, paper back Edition TB1 1989
17 p. 127
18 p. 170, (Orient Longman Edition) 1988
19 Ibid. p. 198
20 ibid. P. 203
21 ibid. p. 201
22 pp. 224, 209
23 pp. 359, 360 | <urn:uuid:f6c35934-d4b0-464c-ae17-62ce51b5d9a8> | CC-MAIN-2018-09 | http://www.marxist.com/pakistans-other-story-3.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2018-09/segments/1518891812756.57/warc/CC-MAIN-20180219151705-20180219171705-00710.warc.gz | en | 0.974046 | 17,287 | 3.78125 | 4 |
Find the Latest Resources in Education Today
3 approaches to online assessments
Sacramento-area school districts have spent millions of dollars in the past two years upgrading their broadband connections and buying computers and other technology so thousands of students can simultaneously take the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, which will replace the former pencil-and-paper STAR test.
The computerized assessments will measure how well students grasp the new Common Core standards, a set of national guidelines that California and 44 other states have embraced as the next big shift in teaching. Common Core stresses critical thinking, problem solving and the use of technology.
The arrival of these standards – and the accompanying assessments – have put the purchase of computers at the top of every district’s priority list. The Legislature boosted the effort by making $1.25 billion available this school year for computers, bandwidth and training. School districts also passed bonds, dipped into their general funds and used federal technology dollars.
A recent survey by the Sacramento County Office of Education found that 86 percent of the districts in the county say they’ll be ready to test students with computers at all their schools in 2014-15, said David Gordon, county schools chief. Overall, 75 percent of the state’s school districts say all of their schools will be ready for the computerized exam.
That doesn’t mean all students will have a computer of their own, however.
Terry Kritsepis, assistant superintendent of information education technology at Sacramento City Unified School District, said the district and most others around the state will roll computer-filled carts, known as COWs, or computers on wheels, from class to class. The COWs also will be used for instruction throughout the year.
After buying 6,372 computers, Sacramento City Unified now has enough to test all its students in a 10-day window, Kritsepis said.
School internet access varies across the county. San Juan Unified has installed a wireless access point in every classroom and continues to install access points to increase capacity. Folsom Cordova Unified has internet access at each school site but is still working on installing wireless at five of its schools.
Sacramento City Unified has had high-speed internet access at all of its schools for at least the last three or four years, but the system hardware needed updates, which are ongoing.
“In some cases they were held together with tape and bubble gum,” said Gabe Ross, district spokesman at Sacramento City Unified. “There weren’t enough switches or wireless routers for all the campuses, and in some cases, wiring wasn’t always inside the walls.”
Twin Rivers Unified enlisted 3,000 of its students to test its broadband capacity and to give students a chance to try out the new exams. Hagginwood Elementary fourth-grader Juliesha Thompson clicked on lawn chairs on the left of her computer screen and dropped them one by one onto the yard displayed on the right. Her goal: move 27 chairs onto the grass.
The district’s technology staff, meanwhile, monitored the district’s broadband to see how it was holding up under the pressure of so much traffic.
The test of the system showed the district is ready to handle thousands of students taking the computerized test at once. Technicians at each school and a wall of computer monitors at district headquarters showed that all the schools’ internet connections were working.
“I feel pretty good about where we are,” Zeman, said, as she watched a group of students testing the system.
Some parents are concerned that some children, especially younger ones not as familiar with technology, may be at a disadvantage in the testing. Despite the high number of schools statewide that say they will be ready for the assessment, only 60 percent are teaching keyboarding skills to students this year.
“This is an area we are working on,” Ross said, of teaching keyboarding skills. “It’s not something we will have before field testing.”
A state-mandated field test of the system started in March. Between March and June, tens of thousands of local students in grades 3-8 and 9-11 will go online to take exams that include multiple-choice and essay questions. Students will need to drag and drop answers, and work with graphs and charts. | <urn:uuid:1689fe0c-909e-4dd3-8e81-e871661da16b> | CC-MAIN-2015-11 | http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/03/10/districts-online-assessments-837/3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2015-11/segments/1424936459277.13/warc/CC-MAIN-20150226074059-00267-ip-10-28-5-156.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961401 | 899 | 2.953125 | 3 |
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