text
stringlengths 166
589k
| __index_level_0__
int64 1
312k
|
|---|---|
ECE 112 Introduction to Infant/Toddler Lab Techniques
Up one level
Includes a classroom seminar and placement in an infant and/or toddler setting. The supervised placement provides you with the opportunity to observe, to practice appropriate interactions, and to develop effective guidance and nurturing techniques with infants and/or toddlers. The class includes topics from prenatal development through age two.
Recommended corerequisite: ECE 111.
Prerequisite: A grade of B or higher in ENG 060 or appropriate SAT, ACT or Accuplacer score.
Click arrowheads to expand or collapse contents
| 29,619
|
Removing tonsil stones doesn't have to be a surgical affair
SUMMARY: Extract: So you've got tonsil stones. Do you need to go ahead and have a tonsillectomy? The answer is almost certainly no.
Posted: March 7, 2012
If you occasionally discover that you've got tonsil stones in the back of your throat, it can be tempting to want to do something radical to make sure you never have them again. Occasionally, some oral health professionals suggest getting a tonsillectomy as a way to avoid suffering from these little, white, bad-breath-causing objects. But removing tonsil stones doesn't have to involve resorting to an operation.
In fact, all you really need is a good alcohol-free specialty mouth rinse and some patience. That way you can keep your tonsils, freshen your breath, eliminate tonsil stones and skip the surgery.
A recent issue of the Albany Times Union brought up the issue of when tonsillectomies are necessary. In an article written for the newspaper's High School section, senior Jennifer O'Connor described suffering from strep throat. She wrote that her tonsils have gotten quite large and folded, which perpetually gives her tonsil stones.
Having wrinkled, pocketed folds in the back of your throat is a condition called cryptic tonsils. "I read about it and I guess it’s a fairly common problem," O'Connor explained. "People that have this issue usually get their tonsils out, so I knew it was inevitable."
There's where she's wrong. It is quite true that cryptic tonsils can make it easier to develop small, white, sticky stones - also known as tonsilloliths - that can make breath smell awful. But people rarely get a tonsillectomy as a way of removing tonsil stones.
In fact, in general this operation has become less and less common. An article published in the Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences explained that the tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy (T&A) was once extremely common: "Between 1915 and the 1960s, T&A was the most frequently performed surgical procedure in the United States."
However, evidence for the utility of these surgeries declined. Whereas doctors once thought that the tonsils were the place where bacteria entered the body - "portals of infection," they called them - today, we know that these organs are a vital part of the immune response to pathogens.
So, yes, seriously infected tonsils may warrant surgery. But if you simply have chronic bad breath and tonsil stones, your best bet may be to take care of your oral health with specialty toothpastes, mouthwashes and mouth-wetting lozenges.
| 249,613
|
What is the true origin of the phrase 'one fell swoop'? Does the word 'honeymoon' really derive from an old Persian custom of giving the happy couple mead, a honey wine, for the first month after the wedding?
The rapid growth of the internet and the use of email has increased the circulation of (usually) false tales about the evolution of language. In this entertaining and fascinating new book on the origins of words and expressions, Michael Quinion retells the mythic tales that have become popular currency - the word 'posh' deriving from 'port out, starboard home' - and also tries to find and explain the true stories behind the origins of phrases. Quinion offers explanations of why and how stories about words are created, and how misunderstanding word origins - while usually harmless - can have serious consequences.
- Publication Date:
- 01 / 11 / 2004
- 133 x 206mm
| 272,589
|
People at the dawn of its history, has learned to cover the roof of the home of various soft materials. Today there are many types. Video of the installation of a soft roof shows how convenient it is to close the housing including a flexible and pliable materials. What are the options for arrangement of the soft roof? What is the technology of production of works on installation of a soft roof covering? These issues are given each interested in the opportunity to build the roof of his house with modern and beautiful roofing materials.
- 1 Video of the installation of a soft roof: advantages and disadvantages
- 1.1 the Installation of shingles (video)
- 2 Types of materials for the device soft roof
- 2.1 Installation of flexible tiles Shinglas (video)
- 3 installation of soft roofing: technology of stacking web materials
- 3.1 a soft roof (video)
- 4. the Device of soft roofs: the technology of packing of a piece of material
- 4.1 installation of the shingles with his own hands (video)
Video of the installation of a soft roof: advantages and disadvantages
From the name it is clear that this type of roofing is flexible and elasticity. To see and experience these qualities firsthand, just to touch or look at the video. Installation of a soft roof on complex roofs, because of these properties, often becomes the only possible one. Soft roofing materials and has many other advantages:
- the lack of complexity in the installation, do not need bulky equipment and a large number of workers;
- this roof itself is a waterproofing material, so extra layers are not needed at all;
- due to its low specific weight, greatly reduced the load on the structural elements of the roof that gives you the opportunity to save on other materials;
- ease of repair. In case of damage, changing only a small area;
- is no loud noise during rain, which is important for premises located on the attic floor;
- when the device soft roof, stacking technology is that the waste is almost gone;
- corrosion of such materials is not terrible, as they have no metallic component;
- the cost of some materials is not large.
This type of roof, like any other, has a number of disadvantages:
- the fire resistance of soft materials to weak, as is often their basis is bitumen. Increasingly this is true for roofing material and roofing. Modern technology has allowed to increase the fire resistance to acceptable performance;
- under a soft roof required the installation of a continuous sheathing, which increases the total cost of the works. The exception is Onduline, which is somewhat tougher than other materials, so its installation is possible and on the crate with a small gaps;
- weak thermal insulation properties, making the necessary insulation.
All these pros and cons in varying degrees is inherent in the different materials for the device soft roof. Technology laying all also different.
The installation of shingles (video)
Types of materials for the device soft roof
Materials for installation of a soft roof, there are the following main types:
- Asphalt mastic. Rarely used in private construction as mainly used for coating horizontal or slightly tilted surfaces.
- Polymer membrane. Made of polyvinyl chloride and other polymers. Glued to the prepared screed using sticking.
- Coating roll. There are self-adhesive, or requiring heating.
- Soft tile. The most popular and expensive material. Due to the variety of shapes and colors, gained a lot of popularity. Is piece product.
- Onduline. Similar to slate, ribbed sheet material of cellulose and bitumen. Has the properties of hard and soft roofing materials.
All these materials have completely different technology for laying a soft roof. Roof requires careful choice of the most suitable of them.
Installation of flexible tiles Shinglas (video)
The device soft roof: technology stacking web materials
To the roofing materials include: roofing material, roofing, stekloruberoid, Steklomash, stekloizol and ruberoid. All of them have similar production technology. On the basis of cardboard or fiberglass layer is applied asphalt mastic with polymer components. If the normal roofing material and roofing belonging to the first generation of materials, today, are not very popular due to the short (5 years) service life, the remaining are actively used in construction. Modern roll materials have several colors and 20 –year life. It helps to cover their roofs of industrial buildings, sheds and outbuildings.
Roll materials is not very convenient when the device soft roof. Technology styling too complicated and time consuming. It is important to remember that this type of materials can be stacked to the roof with a small (30 degree) slope. Before beginning the main work, make the alignment of the base, laying of waterproofing and vapor barrier, mastic and primers.
Gluing starts with the farthest corner from the lift to the roof. Material bonded to the base with mastic, which is heated by the burner. In the case of a self-adhesive coating is not required. Usually fit several layers, so that joints overlap subsequent layer. Their number depends on the angle of the roof. If the roof is flat or not tilted more than 5 degrees, it is necessary to do 4 layers, up to 15 degrees – 3 layers and more than 2 layers. Each layer of adhesive material, compacted with a roller.
A useful tip! If you find the process, air bubbles on the surface of the roof, they must be cut with a knife. After that, the place of the cut, press firmly until flow mastic.
The use of roll materials more than justified the construction of large industrial facilities or apartment buildings with flat roofs. For private housing the best fit to the roof of the soft tile.
A soft roof (video)
The device of soft roofs: the technology of packing of a piece of material
Soft or shingles represents the piece of the small size. Its length 1 m and width 33 cm with this all work on the installation can produce one person. Each canvas is divided into 4 parts in the form of various geometric shapes and is reminiscent of classic tile.
Before laying soft tiles preparing the base. Purlins must be continuous. It is often made from plywood or similar sheet materials. If necessary, the entire surface or in certain places that require special attention, fit carpet underlay under the soft tile. It is a special rolled material, contributing to additional waterproofing.
Laying sheets starting from the eaves. The main thing exactly to put on the first row, then it would be easier. The sheets are glued with mastic, and press on nails in places of perforation. At the final stage the ridge and the wind leaves. A typical representative of shingles is the soft roof Shinglas, a video installation which shows the simplicity of the operations, even on difficult roofs of private houses.
A useful tip! To lay shingles are best in hot weather. This promotes better adhesion of the material.
Whatever the soft roof of the piece goods, the use of underlay under the soft tile, insulation and vapor barrier is a necessary condition for its normal functioning.
Installation of the shingles with his own hands (video)
| 193,785
|
By MARY ELLEN LOWNEY
SPRINGFIELD - The northeast corner of the campus green at American International College is now a grim reminder of more than 11 million people killed in six genocides over the past century.
The memorial - 25,000 popsicle sticks planted in the grass - was created Monday night through this morning by 30 students aiming to raise awareness of some of history's more gruesome moments. It will remain in place into next week.
"It's important for us to build awareness of the issues facing the world," said freshman Darren A. James. "We get caught up in the local issues of our lives and forget to see the big picture."
But for junior Edina Skaljic, who coordinated the effort, the Genocide Awareness Week memorial is far more than a history lesson.
The 22-year-old is a genocide survivor, having lived through the Serbia-Bosnia war that resulted in the deaths of 200,000 Bosnians in the early 1990s. She looks back on the time as a childhood stolen.
"I had no childhood. Every single day, someone died. People dropped like flies around you," said Skaljic, whose parents and younger brother now live in Boston.
She lost a grandfather - he was burned alive - and several cousins to the war that officially went from 1992 to 1995, though the effects continued for years.
Skaljic said that shortly after Feb. 26, when the United Nations International Court of Justice acquitted Serbia of committing genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the Balkan war of the 1990s, she felt compelled to put genocide front and center on her campus and wherever she can.
"I was there. I saw what happened," she said.
Skaljic has spoken at American International College, as well as elsewhere, including Elms College in Chicopee, about her childhood and the horrors of genocide.
Today's event was sponsored by the AIC International Club, the Model Congress and the Young Professionals for International Cooperation, a student group affiliated with the U.N.
Students placed one stick for each 500 people killed in genocides since 1915. The holocaust section alone accounts for 12,000 sticks.
The memorial spans nearly a century, starting with the Armenian genocide at the hands of the Turks between 1915 and 1918, when 1.5 million Armenians were killed.
Students put colored popsicle sticks in the Darfur section, because the genocide there is ongoing. Since 2003, 450,000 have died in the ethnic conflict in the Darfur region of western Sudan.
"In Darfur, things can be changed. We can make it right. All these other places, it's too late," Skaljic said.
| 72,904
|
SOCIAL INSECURITY, PART 2….Every once in a while I feel like writing a post titled “Myths of Social Security.” Unfortunately, it would be about 10,000 words long, it would be really boring, and no one would read it anyway.
But sometimes I just can’t help myself. Last week Megan McArdle wrote a column about Social Security that basically said it was underfunded and we ought to do something about it. No argument there. I don’t have much patience for lengthy arguments about the “solvency” of the trust fund, but I certainly agree that over the long term Social Security needs to be properly funded.
On Tuesday, however, Megan followed up with a column that rehashes possibly the most tiresome conservative trope about Social Security ever invented: it’s a Ponzi scheme. Unless we have a continuing influx of youngsters to fund all the old people, the system is doomed.
Megan quite correctly says that the basic problem with Social Security is that as the baby boomers retire they will suck up a larger and larger portion of our national wealth, but then mysteriously suggests that this trend will continue forever until finally Social Security falls “off the cliff into insolvency.”
But here’s the truth. The graph on the right is straight from the 2003 report of the Social Security trustees and it shows how much Social Security is projected to cost for the next 75 years. The answer is simple: today Social Security allocates about 4% of the total output of the country to retirees, this increases to about 7% over the next 30 years, and then it flattens out.
4% of GDP is not a huge sum, and neither is 7%. As a country, we could afford to spend 7% of GDP on our retirees today if we needed to, and in 30 years we’ll be able to afford it even more easily. And if you prefer to think of it in terms of taxes, it means nothing more than gradually increasing the income cap on Social Security taxes from today’s $80,000 to about $300,000 by 2035 (adjusted for inflation, of course). It’s just not that big a deal.
I’m genuinely mystified by the legions of people who insist on perpetuating the myth of Social Security disaster. What’s the point? They can read graphs as well as I can, and they must know perfectly well that long term funding of Social Security is not that difficult a problem. So why the apocalyptic rhetoric?
Apparently it’s to scare everyone into thinking that we should scrap the whole idea of Social Security and move to private accounts. Megan makes a brave effort to wave her hands and claim that somehow it’s OK to allocate 7% of GDP to retirees as long as it comes from mandatory investments in private accounts instead of from federal taxes, but this is nonsense. We can either afford to divert that much of our output to nonworking retirees or we can’t. It doesn’t really matter where it comes from.
(And her claim that mandatory accounts increase national savings is purest moonshine. Trading a $200 billion deficit for an extra $200 billion invested in the stock market does us no good at all. If it did, then we could have a real Ponzi scheme in which the feds crank up the printing presses and give us all a bunch of money to invest. By and by, we’d all be rich!)
Bottom line: starting around 2010 or so we need to begin raising the income cap on Social Security taxes. In addition, we may want to raise retirement ages and cut back modestly on benefits in other ways. But we don’t need to do anything dramatic, and private accounts are mostly a matter of taste, not something that’s likely to change this dynamic in any serious way. After all, once the system got cranked up you’d have workers putting money into private accounts and retirees all withdrawing from private accounts. Net investment: about zero.
The chart above is as simple and clear as it can be. Social Security funding is not that big a problem, expenditures flatten out rather than going off a cliff, and the entire system can be maintained with modest benefit cuts and a gradual increase in the income cap. The folks who pretend otherwise are just trying to scare you.
NOTE: Medicare is a different issue entirely, and a discussion for another day.
| 227,118
|
International Mud Day
Mud is essential to the outdoors, and the outdoors mean fresh air and exercise. Mud is dirty, slippery and oh so much fun! And so what if we get a little dirty? Plenty of research has shown that coming into contact with a certain amount of bacteria is good for us, as it helps build up immunity, as opposed to living in a virtually sterile environment, which makes our bodies very vulnerable.
Benefits to mud play:
- Connection to the earth
- Nature play
- Social play
- Sensory input
- Good for physical & mental health
- Increases immunity
- Improves your mood
There is a reason why people pay hundreds of dollars for mud masks and baths at spas. So what are you waiting for? Let’s get dirty.
How to Celebrate International Mud Day
There are countless ways to celebrate International Mud Day, but all of them have one thing in common: you have to get dirty.
- mud sculptures or mud cakes.
- It’s easy to adjust the consistency of the mud you’re using by simply adding a little more earth or water, so it should be easy to make what you want to make, while enjoying plenty of carefree laughter and quality family time in the process.
- make a homemade mud pit using a blow-up pool, it's cheap and a very unique way to enjoy some mud.
- Create a mud kitchen for the children to experiment in
- Mud slip & slide
- Mud obstacle course
View more ideas by following the link:
After all, as American botanist Luther Burbank said,
“Every child should have mud pies, grasshoppers, water bugs, tadpoles, frogs, mud turtles, wild strawberries, acorns, chestnuts, trees to climb. Brooks to wade…bees, butterflies, various animals to pet, hayfields, pine-cones, rocks to toll, sand, snakes and hornets; any child who has been deprives of these has been deprived of the best part of…education.”
| 135,262
|
The Theraphi device works by producing a powerful bio-active field. Precise electromagnetic frequencies derived from hydrogen and phi-ratio harmonics are modulated and pass through a unique mixture of noble gases. The resulting super coherent plasma wave field restores order to the body's cellular regenerative system, reversing the entropy of the disease process.
Find out more from the following post: What is the "Theraphi Device"?
The Theraphi process is a holistic, non-invasive method during which the cells of the body are restored to a healthier state. The actual healing system is the body's own cellular regeneration system. Biological systems use longitudinal EM waves. The Theraphi system tailors these specific wave forms generating a rich information field. This kind of strong charge field is by definition simply the electrical opposite of swelling, cyst and tumour growth. It is also known for increasing circulation and sensation in areas where these have been limited or lost.
The first session takes between 45 mins and an hour with subsequent sessions with the Theraphi lasting approximately 15 minutes although this can vary depending on your needs however the actual time you sit in the bio-active field is only somewhere from 3 to 5 minutes.
Most people feel very relaxed and tranquil during a session. It’s recommended to think of a single intention during a session, generally focusing on overcoming whatever challenge you are facing. There is little question that our thoughts and emotions can affect our health, wellness or healing process in a positive or negative way. People who focus on a single intention repeatedly, tell us they feel rejuvenated, more mental clarity, happier and typically sleep better. Under normal recommended use, the Theraphi will typically cause no undesirable side effects. In some cases, there can be a detoxification effect, which is a confirmation that toxins are being released and discharged from the body. It is recommended that people increase water intake when utilizing the Theraphi. If you are healthy you may not have any physical reaction at all. However, reactions can vary from individual to individual.
Note: NO person should enter within the Theraphi field (within 4-8 feet) - who has any electronic device inside - or on their body. Additionally because controlled tests and studies are still being run, we cannot yet warrant the safety for persons with metal implants (even without electronics). However we HAVE had successful experiences with both stainless and titanium metal (NOT electronics) implants. We strongly recommend that any exposure for a person with metal in their body be done for a very short test period and discontinued is any discomfort is felt.
Be sure to drink plenty of water before, during, and afterwards. Consuming adequate amounts of water is extremely important to support any detoxification that may take place. In addition, you may benefit from getting extra rest.
It is also important to refrain from alcohol, or illegal drugs use 3 days prior to your sessions and for at least one weeks afterwards. Alcohol (or illegal drugs) all contain toxins that may interfere with the repair process taking place in the body and add to the load of any detoxification that may take place. If this is not possible, at least stop during the sessions themselves.
You are recommended to remove all outer clothing, the less the better and to wear only loose fitting natural fabrics (cotton, hemp etc). Note sweaters and fabrics which are fluffy - dissipate capacitance in a way which is not helpful here.
You should enter within the Theraphi field (within 4-8 feet) if you have any electronic device internal or external to your body. Please also carefully remove all metal from the body- if at all possible (belt buckles, metal wires in bras, jewelry etc.)
In general we cannot yet warrant the safety for persons with metal implants (even without electronics). We HAVE had successful experiences with both stainless and titanium metal (NOT electronics) implants. HOWEVER we strongly recommend that any exposure for a person with metal in their body be done for a very short test period and discontinued is any discomfort is felt.
Most people notice that the Theraphi process rapidly decreases or eliminates pain. Pain is simply a signal from the body for more energy. It's like when the workers run out of charged batteries, they aren't able to complete their work, so it builds up. They sit around with nothing to do maybe become grumpy and complain. However when you charge their tools, the complaining stops and they go back to work. First they have to get to the backlog of tasks that have piled up, so they need power support during this time. If you stop charging the tools before the work is completed, the complaining, that is the pain – will resume albeit at a reduced level.
| 31,724
|
Imagine you’re a nine-year-old boy, and you don’t have any bills to pay, no taxes to attend to, no wife at home, and all you want to do is play baseball all day, everyday.
You don’t want to be stuck in a classroom; you want to pitch a ball as fast as you can and make that batter sweat until he starts shaking. It’s the highlight of your day, and you finally arrive at the field after a long, boring day. The sun is shining bright outside and there’s no other place you’d rather be.
You go to your coach to report for practice, and he tells you something that breaks your heart, “You can’t play.” You stare at him for a moment in confusion and then ask, “Why?”
The answer, “You’re too good.”
Now, I’m sure that’s not the exact way that Jericho Scott’s story went down, but I know the reaction would be the same for anyone who was just told that you can’t participate in your favourite sport. We all know how guilty kids feel when they’ve done something wrong, but should you feel that same guilt for being too good?
Scott, a New Haven, CT native, was told that he pitched too fast and could no longer play in the Youth Baseball League of New Haven. His fastball, which reportedly reached speeds of up to 40 mph, supposedly frightened opposing batters. Because of this, and safety concerns, an extremely talented nine-year-old can’t play baseball with his team.
His story made news all over the United States and even made its way up to Canada, as media outlets all over published and televised the controversy. Protests followed and e-mails poured in, but Jericho Scott still wasn’t allowed to come back.
In the end, Scott’s parents were asked to move Jericho to the more advanced league that he also played fourth-string for, but the league denied a permanent move. So now, caught in a baseball purgatory, what’s next?
Instead of promoting a young talent like this, you throw him in this kind of situation, with media and lawyers sure to follow, and all the while all he wants is to play baseball. Should the league have the right to tell someone that they’re too good? I mean, you wouldn’t tell Tiger Woods to stop winning PGA Tours or Wayne Gretzky to stop scoring goals, would you?
I’m fully aware of the age of these children, but look at what’s now happened, fourth string? Fourth string for a kid who should be playing with kids his own age but is just too much for the league to handle, so he’s punished unreasonably because he can go where the others can’t. So he has to sit home and feel bad that he throws too hard? Something is wrong with this picture.
I thought that we lived in a society where you should be rewarded for your strengths, not benched for them. But it all comes back to the parents of the other kids. "My son doesn’t want your son to play because he throws too fast." "My son is scared of your son."
There are kids who are playing strictly for fun, and that’s absolutely okay as well, but I don’t hear about Jericho hitting anybody with a ball or being cocky that he's so good, so what’s the problem? Until he does something wrong, let him play.
If you want to punish someone, punish the rash decision-making of the league for not letting Scott play. He’s basically guilty until proven innocent, and at that age, he’s far too young to be exposed to these kind of real, politically-correct issue that normal people face daily.
By not letting Jericho throw a baseball, you’re slowly stripping away his childhood, a childhood that every single human being on this planet deserves to have, especially if they’ve done nothing wrong.
| 167,353
|
EDQUOTA(8) BSD System Manager's Manual EDQUOTA(8)
edquota - edit user quotas
edquota [-u] [-p proto-username] username | uid [...] edquota -g [-p proto-groupname] groupname | gid [...] edquota -t [-u] edquota -t -g
edquota is a quota editor. By default, or if the -u flag is specified, one or more users may be specified on the command line. If a numeric ID is given instead of a name, that UID/GID will be used even if there is not a corresponding ID in the /etc/passwd or /etc/group files. For each user a temporary file is created with an ASCII representation of the current disk quotas for that user. The list of filesystems with user quo- tas is determined from /etc/fstab. An editor is invoked on the ASCII file. The editor invoked is vi(1) unless the environment variable EDITOR specifies otherwise. The quotas may then be modified, new quotas added, etc. Setting a quota to zero indicates that no quota should be imposed. Setting a hard limit to one indicates that no allocations should be permitted. Setting a soft limit to one with a hard limit of zero indicates that allocations should be permitted on only a temporary basis (see -t below). The current usage information in the file is for informational purposes; only the hard and soft limits can be changed. On leaving the editor, edquota reads the temporary file and modifies the binary quota files to reflect the changes made. If the -p flag is specified, edquota will duplicate the quotas of the prototypical user specified for each user specified. This is the normal mechanism used to initialize quotas for groups of users. If the -g flag is specified, edquota is invoked to edit the quotas of one or more groups specified on the command line. The -p flag can be speci- fied in conjunction with the -g flag to specify a prototypical group to be duplicated among the listed set of groups. Users are permitted to exceed their soft limits for a grace period that may be specified per filesystem. Once the grace period has expired, the soft limit is enforced as a hard limit. The default grace period for a filesystem is specified in /usr/include/ufs/ufs/quota.h. The -t flag can be used to change the grace period. By default, or when invoked with the -u flag, the grace period is set for all the filesystems with user quotas specified in /etc/fstab. When invoked with the -g flag the grace period is set for all the filesystems with group quotas specified in /etc/fstab. The grace period may be specified in days, hours, minutes, or seconds. Setting a grace period to zero indicates that the default grace period should be imposed. Setting a grace period to one second indicates that no grace period should be granted. Only the superuser may edit quotas.
quota.user at the filesystem root with user quotas quota.group at the filesystem root with group quotas /etc/fstab to find filesystem names and locations
Various messages about inaccessible files; self-explanatory.
quota(1), quotactl(2), fstab(5), quotacheck(8), quotaon(8), repquota(8) MirOS BSD #10-current June 6, 1993 1
Generated on 2015-07-19 22:36:15 by $MirOS: src/scripts/roff2htm,v 1.80 2015/01/02 13:54:19 tg Exp $
These manual pages and other documentation are copyrighted by their respective writers;
their source is available at our CVSweb,
AnonCVS, and other mirrors. The rest is Copyright © 2002–2015 The MirOS Project, Germany.
This product includes material provided by Thorsten Glaser.
This manual page’s HTML representation is supposed to be valid XHTML/1.1; if not, please send a bug report – diffs preferred.
| 76,926
|
Donegal Refugee Resettlement Project
The worst humanitarian crisis of our time has seen more than 11 million people either displaced or killed since March 2011 and 4.8 million people registered with the UNHCR, having crossed borders in search of refuge from conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
The Irish Government is committed to receiving approximately 4,000 people through the Irish Refugee Protection Programme. This follows a decision in 2015 by the European Commission for member states to admit refugees as part of the UNHCR Resettlement Programme.
In Ireland, the process is facilitated by the Department of Justice following a selection and screening process in UNHCR camps. This screening includes health and education needs assessment with background security checks.
The resettlement team of the Office for the Promotion of Migrant Integration (OPMI), identifies and prepares receiving communities, working at a local level through the Local Authorities who have a role in community development and social inclusion.
In Donegal, A Refugee Resettlement Project is being co-financed by the European Commission under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund 2014-2020 and is supported by the Department of Justice and Equality.
Under the programme, 25 families will resettle in Donegal in two phases:
|Phase 1||September 2017|
|Phase 2||To be confirmed|
The families will undertake an initial language and orientation programme when they arrive in Ireland organised by the Department of Justice, before being resettled to County Donegal. As Programme Refugees who have been invited to Ireland, the refugees will have the same rights as Irish citizens to education, housing, health, social welfare and employment services.
The Donegal Refugee Resettlement Project
Donegal County Council has been requested by the Department of Justice and Equality to act as the lead agency supporting the resettlement of UNHCR Programme Refugees in Donegal.
The Department’s “Irish Refugee Protection Programme” (IRPP) is working through Local Authorities and local agencies in a number of counties to facilitate the integration and resettlement of refugees through this programme.
The Donegal Refugee Resettlement Project will support refugees who will be resettled in County Donegal.
The refugees will comprise families who are coming from UNHCR camps having been forced to flee their homes as a result of conflict.
Donegal County Council is managing the delivery of the project in Donegal.
Donegal Interagency Resettlement Working Group
The Donegal Refugee Resettlement Project will be steered and monitored by the Donegal Interagency Resettlement Working Group.
The Working Group includes representatives from Donegal County Council, HSE, ETB, An Garda Síochána, Department of Social Protection, Túsla, Department of Justice & Equality and Donegal County Childcare Committee.
Donegal Local Development’s Role
Donegal Local Development CLG (DLDC) will work in partnership with Donegal County Council and the Donegal Interagency Resettlement Working Group to support the implementation of the Donegal Refugee Resettlement Project in Donegal. DLDC will provide Resettlement Support Services for families, to support recently arrived refugees who will be resettled in Co. Donegal. This work will build on the experience of other Local Development Company’s nationally who have supported resettlement programmes across Ireland.
Two Resettlement Workers and an Intercultural Worker will implement the local Resettlement Programme in Donegal as part of a project commencing in July 2017 and running for a period of 18 months in total.
The overall objective of the programme is to ensure that refugees can settle into the community, can access services appropriately and build lasting relationships with the local community.
DLDC will manage the implementation of resettlement support services and the associated programme on behalf of Donegal County Council and in liaison with the Resettlement Interagency Working Group.
Resettlement Support Services
Resettlement support services will include, but will not be limited to the following:
- Supporting the inclusion of refugees in mainstream service provision.
- Assisting the refugees to negotiate the early months post resettlement.
- Providing information on local services and identifying and seeking to address any gaps particularly for non-English speaking clients.
- Assisting the refugees to access statutory services at a local level and other services required to facilitate normal day to day living.
- Establishing community based support networks.
- Recruiting and training volunteers to support and befriend the refugees in the long term.
- Supporting the refugees to adjust to a new community and culture.
- Setting up a range of targeted initiatives to assist the refugee adults and children to adapt to living in County Donegal.
- Organising after-schools club for teenagers and older primary school children.
- Guiding the refugees as they negotiate life in a new environment.
- Monitoring and recording issues arising, responses and challenges both for the service providers and the refugees – developing solutions for future learning.
- Ensuring that children can participate in local sporting activities with other children living in the locality.
- Arranging for interpretation services to ensure that service providers and refugees can have proper communication.
- Arranging for childcare to facilitate parent’s participation in English language and orientation training to enable them to better integrate with the local community.
- Linking refugees into local programmes, activities and community organisations such as football clubs, youth clubs etc.
- Mentoring the refugees so that they can manage their own lives by the end of the project.
- Other support services i.e. language interpretation, ant-racism training for host communities, supporting participation in activities.
For Further Information:
For further information on the Donegal Refugee Resettlement Project please contact:
Donegal Local Development CLG.
1 Millennium Court
Tel. 07491 27056
This project is co-financed by the European Commission under the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund and supported by the Department of Justice and Equality.
| 13,216
|
Do Not Cry
Do not stand at my grave and weep,
I am not there; I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain;
I am the gentle autumn's rain.
When you awaken in the morning hush,
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft star that shines at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry.
I am not there; I did not die.
(Though this is not credited on the printed version of this poem, it has since come to my attention that very probably the author is Mary Elizabeth Frye, and that the poem was written by her in 1932.)
Calligraphy and design
by Cari Ferraro 1994
Detail image below
Artist's edition digital print (card available here)
8 x 10-inch image, on 11 x 14-inch acid-free watercolor paper
| 217,597
|
The Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) is one of many anti-hunger programs facing cuts. This program, which primarily serves seniors 60 years and older, provides a monthly box of food to 604,000 individuals who earn less than $14,300 a year. The House of Representatives has proposed cutting this program by $38 million this coming year. If these cuts are made, approximately 150,000 people, mostly seniors, will lose their monthly boxes of food.
Right now, we have an opportunity to show Mr. Coleman and the other 603,999 individuals who receive CSFP that we haven’t turned our backs. On November 1st, the Senate will vote on the FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations Bill, which includes a provision to protect CSFP from being cut. Please call your Senators and urge them to pass the FY2012 Agriculture Appropriations Bill. You can find your Senators' names and their phone numbers here or dial the switchboard number: 202-224-3121. Together, we can create a hunger-free America where every senior has access to the nutritious food they need for healthy aging.
The Older Americans Act (OAA) is a key vehicle to provide support that keep older adults healthy, independent, and engaged in their communities. Since 1965, the OAA has funded programs and services such as nutrition assistance, caregiver support, transportation, and more.
After months of negotiations, Congress and President Obama have agreed on a package to increase the nation’s debt ceiling and cut the federal budget. What does the plan mean for seniors who are struggling to make ends meet? As with any compromise, there’s both good news and bad news.
In a June 23 opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, James Bovard suggested there is rampant fraud and abuse in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly Food Stamps). NCOA’s Nora Dowd Eisenhower, Vice President of Benefits Access, responds to Bovard’s accusations by pointing to the real problem: seniors who need the benefit are not getting it.
The fiscal year 2011 federal budget dealt a severe blow to Americans who are struggling with housing issues. Congress completely eliminated funding for the federal Housing Counseling program through the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD). Why does this matter to older Americans who are economically insecure? Because Congress also eliminated funding for HUD reverse mortgage counseling—a critical program that helps older homeowners find ways to stay in their own homes longer.
The Section 202 Supportive Housing for the Elderly program currently houses nearly 400,000 seniors throughout the country. Since 1959, Congress has funded the development of affordable apartment buildings for seniors, and these innovative communities have led the way in creating successful models of supportive, service-enriched, person-centered housing.
Yet after cutting this program's funding by 51% in their FY2011 budget, Congress is now considering whether to end the Section 202 development program while continuing to support those already residing in Section 202 housing.
This summer, Congress is under enormous pressure to find a way to reduce the federal deficit—and Medicaid has become a prime target for cuts. National advocacy groups are now coming together to protect this vital program for our most vulnerable citizens.
If you’ve visited the One Away website before, you’ve seen the stories and read the solutions we’re gathering to help the 13 million older adults who are living in or on the edge of poverty. But how will we transform these ideas into reality to improve seniors’ lives? One critical vehicle is the Older Americans Act (OAA).
| 262,944
|
Editors of any sort are murky characters. The can take our scary sentences such as,
Let’s eat Mom!
which implies we are ready to eat Mom and make it more civilized with a mere comma.
Let’s eat, Mom!
Here is another example:
- My heart beats true for the red, white and blue.
- My heart beats true for the red, white, and blue.
No doubt you were able to answer right away, depending what you learned in school. But the real answer is: it depends.
The comma before the “and” in the second sentence is known as the serial or Oxford comma. In certain circles, debate can get quite spirited as to whether or not that comma is needed. In her book “Eats, Shoots and Leaves,” author Lynn Truss writes, “There are people who embrace the Oxford comma and people who don’t and I’ll just say this: never get between these people when drink has been taken.”
Why do some insist that the serial comma must be included for clarity, while others think it does nothing but clutter up text with unnecessary punctuation? How can such a little squiggle cause such an uproar?
The following infographic details where the battle lines have been drawn. Which side are you on?
For a complete list of sources, please view the Infographic below. Click on the image to enlarge.
| 110,419
|
It hasn’t been a good year for bitcoin, the most famous cryptocurrency. In the last 12 months, its price has dropped from a record high of 20 000 dollars to meager 6300 dollars. Lots of people lost their money. Lots of people got sad — or annoyed: you probably remember that one friend who couldn’t stop talking about bitcoins for a few months. Maybe you were that friend.
Most people immediately jump to cryptocurrency when hearing the word “blockchain”. But this is not only about bitcoin. While blockchain technology began in finance, it has since expanded to other fields, including healthcare, manufacturing and data storage and has now been named one of the most promising technology trends by leading tech companies, such as Accenture and Gartner. In data storage, it provides the backbone for the so-called decentralized storage systems.
Blockchain technology in data storage
Blockchain consists of thousands of ledgers or documents saved across a connected network of computers. It is designed so that the documents are regularly updated and available at the same time. Decentralized storage systems work in a similar way: information is stored in a network of nodes or computers. The database of files isn’t stored in one centre. Instead, they are located on thousands of interconnected computers.
This provides several advantages. A centralized storage system is more prone to attacks and hacks from outside forces, and centralized service providers design their privacy policies in a way that allows access to personal files, posing an inside threat to your privacy. This is not possible with decentralized systems, as the files are saved on a vast network of computers. If one node is attacked, the whole system keeps working uninterrupted. The use of peer-to-peer (P2P) network and blockchain technology can also increase the speed available to user, as it is not necessary for all users to access one storage centre, usually located far away.
While pure blockchain models are often volatile and the technology is not mature enough for large scale use, hybrid P2P technologies have experienced many developments in the last years. These technologies combine the reliability of centralized networks and the scalability of decentralized ones. This allows fast download speed, unlimited traffic, participation of thousands of simultaneous users, no downtime in case of traffic spikes, reduced service maintenance fees, and the possibility of independent file exchange, meaning more privacy for the end user.
Currently, Files.fm provides two possible download options: traditional download from centralized server and beta version for downloading from P2P network using adapted torrent framework. In our community-powered library (read more here), users will be able to invest their computer’s free storage and network bandwidth to help expand the P2P network. The library will decide when to store a file on the user’s computer depending on the client’s performance — available storage, network, geographic location and other aspects. The users will be rewarded with tokens allowing them to buy private storage spaces or useful copyrighted files from the library.
Blockchain storage is immutable and difficult to search through, so Files.fm Library will store the files on a P2P network and use blockchain technology for the elements that would be improved by adding a tamper-free transparent ledger: intellectual property rights storage, usage statistics and rewards system.
Furthermore, the library will incorporate independent and direct payment system between its users, using the same blockchain technology.
Find more about the library:
Bitcointalk ANN thread: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=4949343
| 298,772
|
(C) The Dalai Lama argued that the political agenda should be sidelined for five to ten years and the international community should shift its focus to climate change on the Tibetan plateau. Melting glaciers, deforestation, and increasingly polluted water from mining projects were problems that “cannot wait.” The Dalai Lama criticized China’s energy policy, alleging that dam construction in Kham and Amdo have displaced thousands of Tibetans and left temples and monasteries underwater. He recommended the PRC compensate Tibetans for disrupting their nomadic lifestyle with vocational training, such as weaving.
Exiled Buddhist leader told US ambassador to India that ‘political agenda should be sidelined’ in favour of climate issues
The Dalai Lama told US diplomats last year that the international community should focus on climate change rather than politics in Tibet because environmental problems were more urgent, secret American cables reveal.
The exiled Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader told Timothy Roemer, the US ambassador to India, that the “political agenda should be sidelined for five to 10 years and the international community should shift its focus to climate change on the Tibetan plateau” during a meeting in Delhi last August.
“Melting glaciers, deforestation and increasingly polluted water from mining projects were problems that ‘cannot wait’, but the Tibetans could wait five to 10 years for a political solution,” he was reported as saying.
Though the Dalai Lama has frequently raised environmental issues, he has never publicly suggested that political questions take second place, nor spoken of any timescale with such precision.
Roemer speculated, in his cable to Washington reporting the meeting, that “the Dalai Lama’s message may signal a broader shift in strategy to reframe the Tibet issue as an environmental concern”.
In their meeting, the ambassador reported, the Dalai Lama criticised China‘s energy policy, saying dam construction in Tibet had displaced thousands of people and left temples and monasteries underwater.
He recommended that the Chinese authorities compensate Tibetans for disrupting their nomadic lifestyle with vocational training, such as weaving, and said there were “three poles” in danger of melting – the north pole, the south pole, and “the glaciers at the pole of Tibet”.
The Obama administration issued proposed guidelines Thursday for solar development on public lands in the West, a move that could speed renewable energy projects that have been mired in environmental controversy.
The detailed analysis, known as a Draft Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement, identifies 24 “solar energy zones” in six states that Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said would be most suited “for environmentally sound, utility-scale solar energy production.”
“We think it provides a common-sense and flexible framework through which to grow our nation’s renewable energy economy,” Salazar told reporters in a conference call.
Under the 10,000-page plan, which is now subject to public comment for 90 days, developers would have a higher level of confidence that they could receive federal permits establishing solar ventures in specific areas in states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah.
As it waits for Congress to decide whether to extend a key government incentive program, the solar industry revealed several reports on industry performance so far this year — and the numbers are looking healthy.
The Solar Energy Industries Assn., a major trade group, said that commercial solar customers in the U.S. installed 103 megawatts in the third quarter, a 38% boom from the same period in 2009.
Overall, more than 27,000 homes and businesses set up solar systems, according to the group, which partnered with GTM research. The average cost fell to below $6 a watt for the first time.
By the end of the year, the U.S. industry might surpass one gigawatt of installtions, between photovoltaic, concentrating solar power, and solar heating and cooling projects, the group said. So far, California is leading the pack, followed by New Jersey, Florida, Arizona and Colorado.
Globally, demand for just photovoltaics grew 196% to 10.6 gigawatts in the first nine months of 2010, according to the SolarBuzz research and consulting firm. In the third quarter, the industry pulled in $17.9 billion — a 74% increase.
Months before the BP disaster, some Congressional officials were pressing federal regulators behind the scenes about numerous safety concerns related to offshore drilling, potential oil spills and BP itself, but they complained that they were rebuffed, previously undisclosed documents show.
Congressional officials raised particular concerns about the safety of a second BP oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico and about regulators’ failure to spend millions of dollars approved for oil spill research, among other issues, according to e-mails between Congressional officials and regulators at the Minerals Management Service, as the agency was then known.
When officials at the agency told members of Congress in 2009 that they could not specifically respond to concerns about the potential for a “catastrophic” accident on a second BP rig off New Orleans, known as the Atlantis, some staff members were livid at what they viewed as stonewalling.
Chevron Corp., the second-largest U.S. oil company, plans to spend $4 billion to get crude and natural gas from its Big Foot discovery in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.
The field, which contains the equivalent of 200 million barrels of crude, is scheduled to come online in 2014, the San Ramon, California-based company said in a statement today. It will be capable of producing 75,000 barrels of oil and 25 million cubic feet of gas a day, the company said.
The discovery is about 225 miles (360 kilometers) south of New Orleans in waters 5,200 feet deep. This is Chevron’s second deep-water investment since an April explosion at BP Plc’s Macondo well off the Louisiana coast that caused the biggest U.S. offshore oil spill.
Representative Edward J. Markey this morning was chosen to be the top Democrat on the Natural Resources Committee, providing the Malden Democrat with a key role that he says will allow him to block the Republican agenda.
The committee deals with issues involving the environment, energy, and public land.
“In the next Congress, Republicans will attempt to short-circuit the laws that keep our water clean, our air clear and our public lands pristine, while giving short shrift to emerging clean energy technologies that can create jobs and clean up our environment,” Markey said this morning in a statement. “With my fellow Democrats on the Natural Resources Committee, I believe we can chart a course that will continue the progress we’ve made on creating energy jobs here in America, without sacrificing our nation’s natural heritage.”
Energy-themed trade groups can measure their level of influence with the next Congress to some degree by the amount of work they did over the past two years to pass global warming legislation.
Some lobby shops actively supported the Obama administration and its Democratic allies on Capitol Hill, sensing a golden opportunity to reshape the nation’s energy policy. Others played along, figuring it made sense to be at the bargaining table to shape a cap-and-trade bill as best they could.
But now that the proposal is dead, groups like the American Wind Energy Association and Solar Energy Industries Association must deal with the awkwardness of trying to work with the same Republicans who opposed their efforts to put a lid on greenhouse gases.
“They’ve been so associated with the environmental community and the Democrats,” said Mark McIntosh, counsel at Boyden Gray & Associates and a White House official from the George W. Bush administration. “From a strategy standpoint, it made sense prior to Nov. 2. As a result, though, they may find the atmospherics more challenging moving forward.”
| 260,612
|
IntroductionDo you know the word "LGBT"?
This site will introduce "LGBT", people who are in a situation that is socially mistreated.
The number of people who know the word LGBT is increasing.
It is also appearing in media such as TV programs.
This may surprise us how familiar this issue could be.
The purposeBy learning and understanding the correct knowledge of LGBT through this site,
we want to make environment that everyone is free from prejudice and discrimination.
Junior high school period is the first peak of young LGBT members to think about commiting suiside.
As we have to connect to our future, let's think about LGBT and learn more about LGBT.
Current statusLooking at the world, young people experience bullying in childhood at a rate of one-half to two-thirds of LGBT,
and one in three is refusing to go to school, dropping off or leaving school.
Many LGBT young people have been rejected by parents, driven out of their homes, and become homeless.
LGBT people are having a hard time because of prejudice and discrimination from the people around them.
Tweets by LGBTlovepeople
| 59,913
|
What is it? What do we mean by the method? Paper based communication is any information written typed out or drawn on paper. Written methods of communication include: written memos, reports and letters. Paper-based communication is a method which has documentary evidence. Its purpose is to provide information within or between companies without the aid of computers or internet access, although documents that are typed up and printed out also count as paper-based.
Why/how do we use it? Within companies paper based communication is used when writing reports and documents, although a lot of this is done electronically in the 21st century paper-based communication is still needed in certain situations. Sometimes reports need to be printed out or written to meet legal requirements, or so a signature or stamp can be added to the document. Sometimes it is used because either the initial sender or the receiver does not have access to other forms of communication such as email or radio.
Advantages... There is no need for equipment, just paper and a pen. There is no need for access to the internet, or radio, or mobile phones. Signatures and stamps can be added.
Disadvantages...Printing out on paper and the delivery of the letter or report may be costly. It isn’t environmentally friendly because of the use of paper and delivery. There is risk of mistakes such as the quality of spelling grammar and handwriting may cause problems. Typed reports may include “typos” and other mistakes. Delivery can take up to a few days unlike email, radio and phone calls which are instant.
What is it? What do we mean by the method? Screen based communication is any information displayed on screen. It includes television screens, computer screens, mobile phone screens, music players with visual displays and cinema screens. The purpose of this method of communication is to communicate information and ideas, usually to many people at once, by showing them something on a screen.
Why/how do we use it? Screen based communication is used to communicate information to large amounts of people at once; it is used within companies to communicate to members of staff via their computer screens or during presentations of ideas and information. It is also used worldwide on our television screens, businesses and organisations communicate worldwide through advertisements on our television screens and on news channels and documentaries.
Advantages... It can be very useful in presentations to present information to many people at once. Also a lot of information can be communicated at once.
Disadvantages... The information cannot be edited or changed easily once it is being communicated. The information may only be displayed for a short amount of time and is hard to find again after.
What is it? What do we mean by the method? SMS stands for Short Messaging Services, which is the communication of alpha-numerical messages up to 160 characters long between mobile devices. Its purpose is to provide mobile communication without having…
| 270,935
|
I was born in 1970 and 2010 really feels like I am living in the future now. Am I wrong or has the human race’s vision of the future not gone much further than what we thought up in the 80s? It seems all we can come up with now is the end of the world. I hope we make it to The Singularity and deep outer space. For now my New Year’s resolution is to make more music. 2009 was definitely my lightest as far as finished songs but that was a bit by design. I feel fresh and ready for new things.
“A singularity is a point at which an otherwise continuous mathematical progression becomes infinite, implying that all continuous extrapolation breaks down beyond that point. Technological singularity refers to the idea that technological progress would reach such an infinite or extremely high value at a point in the near future. This idea is inspired by the observation of accelerating change in the development of wealth, technology, and humans’ capability for information processing. Extrapolating these capabilities to the future has led a number of thinkers to envisage the short-term emergence of a self-improving artificial intelligence or superintelligence that is so much beyond humans’ present capabilities that it becomes impossible to understand it with present conceptions. Thus, the technological singularity can be seen as a metasystem transition or transcendence to a wholly new regime of mind, society and technology.” – Wikipedia.org
What’s your resolutions?
photo credit: Doxieone
| 292,918
|
Russian authorities are searching for 22-year-old Ruzanna Ibragimova, a “Black Widow,” who may already be in Sochi for the 2014 Winter Olympics. They believe she may have infiltrated the security President Vladimir Putin brags about on a regular basis.
She is the widow of a terrorist reportedly killed last year in a shoot-out with police, Ibragimova goes by the nickname Salima and has a 10-centimeter scar across her left cheek, Russian authorities said. She also walks with a pronounced limp and has a stiff left arm that doesn’t bend at the elbow, authorities said.
Black Widows reside in Chechnya, and their husbands died during previous terrorist attacks against Russian forces during the two Chechen wars. These women step up and take their husband’s or another close male relative’s place. Naida Asiyalova detonated a bomb on a bus in Volgograd in October, which killed six people and injured over 30 people. A suicide bomber blew up a train station in Volgograd in December, but there are mixed reports if the bomber was male or female.
On Sunday, ABC’s “This Week” aired an interview with Putin where he again promised the world their athletes and visitors will be safe despite the numerous terrorist attacks in surrounding cities. Three occurred in Volgograd, which is a major transportation hub between Moscow and southern Russia, and Stavropol. A few hours after the interview aired, terrorists from the Caucasus released a video and threatened a huge surprise for those in Sochi.
“We’ve prepared a present for you and all tourists who’ll come over. If you will hold the Olympics, you’ll get a present from us for the Muslim blood that’s been spilled,” they warn.
Female suicide bombers have been responsible for multiple attacks in Russia. In 2011, 35 people died in a bombing at the Moscow airport. Another group of female terrorists previously attacked the underground railway stations in Moscow in 2010, killing 35 people. In 2004, female bombers blew up two airplanes at the Moscow airport and killed 90 people. Another 130 people were killed during a three day hostage situation in 2002.
Doku Umarov, leader of the terrorist groups in Chechnya, released a video in July and asked his followers to make the Olympics their prime target in retaliation for Russia slaughtering Muslims when they conquered the Caucasus region in the 19th century. Chechnya leader Ramzan Kadyroz claims Umarov is dead, but there is no confirmation.
| 301,134
|
Steiny: Expeditionary Learning: Journeying Through Compelling Content
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
"Expeditionary learning" sounds deliciously exotic, like maybe what Marco Polo was doing or Dr. Livingston on a scientific exploration of the African jungle—fact-gathering treks through terrain that require shots and exotic transportation.
Heaven knows some students have a daily expedition riding Greene's bio-diesel buses from as far away as Westerly to the south, or super-urban Central Falls north of Providence. They arrive at the Greene campus out in Rhode Island's boonies after as much as an hour-and-a-half each way, but boast an attendance rate above state average. A donor gave the school the buses to support the Board's insistence on creating a diverse school available to urban students. (The current 9th grade class has 41 percent students eligible for subsidized lunch, up from the 12th grade's 9 percent. Word has gotten out.)
But Greene's expeditions are actually classroom voyages through topic areas, although working out in the field, outside, or off-campus is integral to the EL experience. These academic explorations are semester-long, in-depth examinations of an issue that integrate at least two core academic subjects. Greene has an environmental science focus, so one of those two is usually science. (Most EL schools are either science or arts-focused.)
For example, the 9th graders begin their high-school careers studying food in all its complexity. Greene's Vice Principal, Melissa Hall, says that the students start by reading the Omnivores Dilemma. "They write food journals (recording precisely what they eat); they study mass-produced food products versus local. What does organic really mean? They look at food over the course of time and food seasonality." Together, kids and teachers draw a 100-mile radius from the school site itself to figure out what's within that reach. What does it cost to bring local produce to table versus the price of transporting strawberries from Mexico? And what are the trade-offs of energy-intensive indoor farming in wintery New England, where nothing grows outdoors in the winter?
The EL philosophy
Greene's EL consultants work with the faculty to backwards-design such projects, so while kids pursue their hot topic, they're also learning the straight-up academic requirements, specifically of the Common Core. With students lured into questioning the food they generally take for granted, teachers make sure they test well, at least comfortably above state average.
A central idea of this approach is students "owning" their own learning. Every classroom has a copy of the 10 EL Design Principles. Number one, "The Primacy of Self-discovery," explains, "People discover their abilities, values, passions and responsibilities in situations that offer adventure and the unexpected." If kids aren't invested in their own learning, it's an uphill battle for the teachers. Head of School, Deanna Duncan, puts it this way: "Good teaching happens when the teachers themselves are engaged in learning." Turning the pages of a textbook is a tedious way to teach and learn.
Demona, an 11th grader from Providence, describes "expeditionary" this way: "They take a large topic and put it in English, science, history and get it to all come together. (The food project) makes you really aware of what you're putting into your body. I've changed my diet." She adds, "It's a really rigorous course. I did not feel prepared for the level of rigor here."
Putting their education to use
So these expeditions are the ultimate in hands-on learning. The originators of the approach wanted to infuse public education with the best practices of Outward Bound. While expensive, OB has had great success with getting disengaged kids out into the wilderness, where skills and courage they didn't even know they had rise to the surface. Prospective Greene students too must be willing to go camping, which has been a deal-breaker for some.
The academic expeditions always result in some sort of product that demonstrates—or not—that students actually understand the topic at hand. The food project culminates in an 8-course dinner that the 9th-graders prepare, only with local food (to the extent possible). Kids work with local suppliers, farmers, and chefs, bringing the real world to their learning. Preparing the dinner has become one of the weeklong courses called "intensives," learning experiences that happen in both the spring and fall. Intensives give the school a change to support the strong achievers' pursuit of a big project or personal passion, or to give struggling students the academic help they need to keep up in academically-rigorous classes. The dinner intensive is a plum project that motivates students to get their academic act together.
A growing trend
EL is growing quickly, with 32 schools in New England and many more elsewhere. Two-thirds of the EL schools are regular district schools; the rest are charters.
The Greene Board is thrilled with how EL is working out for their students. The reasons include EL's approach to school culture and climate, which I'll discuss next week.
Related Slideshow: RI Experts on the Biggest Issues Facing Public Education
On Friday November 22, the Hassenfeld Institute for Public Leadership at Bryant University, the Latino Policy Institute of Roger Williams University, the Rhode Island Association of School Committees, the Providence Student Union, and RI-CAN: Rhode Island Campaign for Achievement Now will host Rhode Island leaders in the public and nonprofit sectors for a symposium on "the civil rights issue of the 21st century, adequacy and equity and the State of Education in Rhode Island."
Weighing in on the the "three biggest factors" facing education in the state today are symposium participatnts Gary Sasse, Founding Director of the Hassenfeld Institute for Leadership; Christine Lopes Metcalfe, Executive Director of RI-CAN; Anna Cano-Morales, Chairwoman of the Board of Trustees, Central Falls Public Schools and Director, Latino Policy Institute at Roger Williams University; Tim Duffy, Executive Director, RI Association of School Committees; and Deborah Cylke, Superintendent of Pawtucket Public Schools.
"Provide a state constitutional guarantee that all children will have access to an education that will prepare them to meet high performance standards and be successful adults.
Bridge the gap between the educational achievement of majority and minority students. This will require the implementation of a comprehensive agenda for quality education in Rhode Island’s inner cities."
"Set high expectations and raise our standards across the state for anyone that contributes to the success of our students. From adopting the Common Core to discussing rigorous teacher evaluations, conversations around creating a culture of high expectations have to be at the center of the work."
"School facilities - with an aging infrastructure, underutilized buildings and the need to provide fair funding for school facilities for all public school students regardless of the public school they attend, this needs to be a top issue tackled by the RI General Assembly in 2014."
"Providing adequate funding is critical -- and there are going to be pressures on the state budget, which mean stresses to meet the education funding formula. With the predictions of the state's projected loss of revenue with the casinos in MA, education funding could be on the cutting board, and we need to ensure that it's not. Do we need to look at strengthening the language of the constitution to guarantee funding?"
"Issue one is quality. Your quality of education should not be dependent on your zip code. And the reality is, certain cities are distressed, or whose property values are not as high, I know each town has a different capacity to fund education. There's an absolute, clear relationship between the quality of public schools, and economic development of states. There's irrefutable evidence that quality public schools can make states more competitive."
"Issue two is equality. In West Warwick and Providence, the per pupil spending is around $16K. In Pawtucket it's $12.9. What's wrong with that picture? If I'm in charge of overseeing that my students are college ready, they need to be adequate funding. A difference of $3000 per pupil? We're talking in the tens of millions of dollars -- more like $25 million in this case. An exemplary school district is Montgomery County, MD -- they have roughly the same number of students, around 145,000 -- there's one funding figure per pupil. There's equitable funding for all kids."
"Issue three is Infrastructure. A critical issue is whether the state is going to lift its moratorium in 2014 for renovations for older schools, ore new construction. If that moratorium is not lifted, and those funds are not available, it is critical to us here in Pawtucket. The average of my schools is 66 years, I've got 3 that celebrate 100 years this year. These old schools have good bones, but they need to be maintained. These are assets -- and this is all interrelated with the funding formula."
- Julia Steiny: Common Core Standards Freak Out Chicken Littles
- Julia Steiny: If the CCSS Are Not Our Common Vision, What Is?
- Julia Steiny: Teach Real Algebra Instead of Wasting Time with Apps
- Julia Steiny: Computer Science is Critical Thinking on Steroids
- Julia Steiny: In US Schools, Incorrect Answers Are ‘Un-American’
- Julia Steiny: The Education Non-System Sets Kids Up for Failure
- Julia Steiny: Determined Parents Start a School for Atypical Kids
- Julia Steiny: It Takes Guts to Depict a Happy, Healthy Childhood
- Julia Steiny: The Season’s Message- Love Heals
- Julia Steiny: Digital Badges Bust Out of School-Defined Learning
- Julia Steiny: It’s Building Kids’ Vocabulary, Stupid.
- Julia Steiny: Toys “R” Us Uses Kids to Pimp Their Products
- Julia Steiny: Economy To Youth: Make Your Own Jobs
- Julia Steiny: Middle-school Puberty–The Elephant in the Classroom
- Julia Steiny: We Are Raising A Generation Of Slackers
- Julia Steiny: 2014 – When All Students Were Supposed To Be Equal
- Julia Steiny: Giving Thanks for What’s Left of Childhood Magic
- Julia Steiny: Public Admits Being ‘Clueless’ About Education
- Julia Steiny: What Is International Restorative Justice Week?
- Julia Steiny: A Smart Way To Engage Math-Haters
- Julia Steiny: High-Stakes Testing Works If Kids Go To School
- Julia Steiny: Recruiting Family Before Foster Care
- Julia Steiny: Bring Back The ‘C’ Grade
- Julia Steiny: If Only Congress Could Get A Divorce
- Julia Steiny: Stranded in the Land of Over-Stimulated Kids
| 13,252
|
SYDNEY, March 20 (Xinhua) -- China hopes Australia can confirm whether the two objects spotted by satellites are related to the missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 as soon as possible, said Chinese Ambassador Ma Zhaoxu on Thursday.
The Chinese government will continue to communicate and coordinate with Australia closely over the matter, Ma said in a telephone interview with Xinhua.
Ever since the Beijing-bound plane lost contact with air traffic controllers on March 8, the Chinese embassy has been closely monitoring the developments of the incident, and exchanged information for many times with the related departments of the Australian government, according to the Chinese diplomat.
The Australian government briefed the Chinese embassy in a timely manner on the two suspicious objects that had been found by satellites and possibly related to the missing plane, Ma said.
"China and Australia are in close contact over the matter," he added.
The Chinese embassy, which has activated an emergency response mechanism, will continue to communicate with Australia and do its best to handle the situation in line with the instructions of the Chinese government, he said.
Ma's remarks came after Australian authorities said earlier Thursday that two objects, with the large one about 24 meters long, have been spotted in the southern Indian Ocean on satellite imagery that might be related to the missing Malaysian jetliner.
China highly concerned about possible Australia MH370 find
BEIJING, March 20 (Xinhua) -- China paid great attention to Australia's possible findings related to missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said on Thursday.
Two objects possibly related to flight MH370 have been sighted by satellite in the remote southern Indian Ocean, Australian officials said Thursday. Full story
24-meter-long suspicious object sighted: AMSA
CANBERRA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said on Thursday that two objects possibly related to the missing Malaysia Airlines flight have been spotted, with the large one about 24 meters long.
"The objects are relatively indistinct. The indication to me is of objects that are of a reasonable size and probably awash with water and bobbing up and down over the surface," said AMSA official John Young.Full story
U.S. searching aircraft picks up radar signature of large object -- onboard reporter
CANBERRA, March 20 (Xinhua) -- A reporter on board a U.S. P-8 aircraft searching for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 said Thursday that the crew have picked up radar signals of a large object in the Indian Ocean possibly linked to the missing plane.
The radar is getting "hits of significant size" and the crew are trying to get visuals on hits, U.S. broadcaster ABC said in a tweet quoting correspondent David Wright.Full story
Australia identifies two possible objects related to search for missing plane: Malaysian official
KUALA LUMPUR, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak received a call from his Australian counterpart Tony Abbott at 10:00 am this morning, informing him that "two possible objects related to the search for" MH370 had been identified in the Southern Indian Ocean, Malaysian official said Thursday in a statement.
"The Australian High Commissioner has also briefed me on the situation," Hishammuddin Hussein, minister of defense and acting minister of transport of Malaysia, said in the statement.Full story
| 228,687
|
Research into Vaccines, Autism and Intestinal Disorders Published in the Lancet
"Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982."
For more information, call 703-938-0342
For Immediate Release
March 3, 1998
PARENT GROUPS AND VACCINE POLICYMAKERS CLASH OVER RESEARCH INTO VACCINES, AUTISM AND INTESTINAL DISORDERS
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Responding to newswire stories in which vaccine policymakers at the Centers for Disease Control and American Academy of Pediatrics attempted to discredit a study published in the Feb. 27 The Lancet reporting a new syndrome involving inflammatory bowel disease and autism in children following viral infection or MMR vaccination, the National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) called the attack on the British scientists "a threat to independent scientific research and the public health."
Two parent research organizations, including Autism Research Institute and Cure Autism Now foundation (CAN), who support research into all potential causes of autism, joined with NVIC in calling for independent studies conducted by non-governmental researchers into the possible link between vaccines and autism using a portion of the one billion dollars appropriated to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) every year to create, buy and promote vaccines. NVIC is also calling on federal health agencies to publish an article in the medical literature detailing the prospective case controlled clinical trials and other safety data used to license the live MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine and recommend a second dose of measles vaccine for all children.
The object of the attack by US vaccine policymakers were 13 British scientists, led by gastroenterologist Andrew Wakefield, M.D., who reported that they studied 12 previously normal children between three and 10 years old who developed severe intestinal disorders. Eight of the 12 children also developed behavior problems and developmental delays diagnosed as autism, with the parents or the child's physician reporting the health problems began soon after MMR vaccination. Five of the children had a history of previous reactions to vaccination before receiving the MMR shot that was associated with a marked deterioration in their health.
The team of British scientists, who have announced they have investigated more than 40 other cases of children suffering from the same syndrome, emphasized in the published study that they were not claiming to have proved a cause and effect relationship between MMR vaccine and the children's health problems. They are calling for more studies to resolve the question of whether persistent viral infection, either from natural disease or live virus vaccines, can cause disregulation in the absorption of diet peptides leading to chronic inflammation of the bowel and damage to central nervous system development in some children.
Federal public health officials and vaccine policymakers in the American Academy of Pediatrics quickly jumped on Wakefield and his colleagues and attempted to publicly discredit the study. In an editorial published in the same issue of The Lancet, federal health officials Robert Chen and Frank De Stefano charged that "vaccine safety concerns such as that reported by Wakefield and colleagues may snowball" when the public and the media "confuse association with causality and shun immunization."
The CDC officials discounted the study's importance and suggested the children's health problems following vaccination were "coincidental" and not caused by vaccination. This was followed by a Reuter's newswire story on Feb. 27 that quoted AAP physician vaccine policymaker Neal Halsey saying it was "highly inappropriate" for the British scientists to discuss a possible association between the children's health problems and measles or MMR vaccines in their study. A leading proponent of mandatory measles vaccination, Halsey conducted studies in the third world using an experimental high potency measles vaccine that were eventually halted after the discovery of an excess of number of deaths in girl children who had been given the experimental measles vaccine.
Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center, said that "for 15 years we have been hearing from parents and reporting to the government that children are dying and getting very sick after being vaccinated. It is tragic that vaccine policymakers in the government and the private sector would prematurely condemn independent clinical and basic science research which could lead to the identification of children perhaps genetically or otherwise at high risk of being injured by vaccines. The kind of cutting edge research that Dr. Wakefield has undertaken could lead to screening techniques and therapies for these children. We need more science and less stonewalling. Parents are outraged and they should be."
The incidence of autism and other chronic immune and neurological dysfunction in children has climbed dramatically in the US in the past 30 years. One in 1,000 children now diagnosed as autistic, making autism more prevalent among children than childhood cancer, multiple sclerosis or cystic fibrosis. Bernard Rimland, Ph.D., founder and director of Autism Research Institute and founder of the Autism Society of America, said "It is ludicrous to claim that the link between many cases of autism and vaccination is just coincidental. Dr. Wakefield's group has greatly expanded our understanding of one possible mechanism. The blunt truth is that some children are harmed by vaccinations. Research, not denial, is the proper response to this report."
Portia Iverson, founder and president of CAN, the Cure Autism Now foundation said "Approximately one-half of the hundreds of parents who call our office each month report that their child became autistic shortly after receiving a vaccination. While some of the criticism launched at Wakefield's preliminary results is valid in that, yes, the onset of epilepsy, autism and other developmental disorders often do occur at the same time vaccines are routinely given - isn't it the responsibility of the government to take a proactive position on behalf of these children rather than a defensive one? A more consumer protective response would be to conduct a scientific investigation that proves or disproves the association rather than to discredit the preliminary report of such an association and the reports by thousands of parents."
Although more than one billion dollars is appropriated by Congress every year to federal health agencies to develop new vaccines, buy vaccines and promote the use of vaccines, none of that money is used to fund independent, non-governmental researchers to investigate why and how some children develop serious health problems following vaccination. After the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 was passed, NVIC began calling for basic science research studies into the biological mechanism of vaccine injury and death as well as large controlled studies comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated children for all morbidity and mortality outcomes over time to answer basic science questions about vaccine-associated immune and neurological dysfunction.
The National Vaccine Information Center (NVIC) in Vienna, Virginia is a non-profit, educational organization founded in 1982 by parents whose children were injured or died following vaccination. The largest and oldest consumer vaccine safety advocacy organization, NVIC handles thousands of requests for information as well as vaccine injury reports every year and has 25,000 supporters in the U.S. and around the world. The Autism Research Institute founded in 1967 in San Diego, California conducts research and disseminates scientific information on autism and has the world's largest database on autistic children with more than 30,000 cases in 60 countries. Cure Autism Now foundation, headquartered in Los Angeles, California was founded in 1995 and has 15,000 supporters nationwide and is currently the largest non-governmental funding agency for biomedical research into autism.
The National Vaccine Information Center is a non-profit educational organization founded by parents of vaccine-injured children in 1982.
| 161,650
|
Hi! Remember me? I used to post stuff on this blog. I’m back!
If nothing else, sharing photos of my favourite Ottawa places keeps drawing me back to the blog. You know how much I love the Manotick Mill, right? But I almost forget sometimes that Manotick has another gem of a location hiding in plain sight, the Long Island Locks. I spent a blissful couple of hours poking around this morning in peaceful solitude of a late-winter snow flurry.
There’s a lot of history in this shot. The house you see is the lockmaster’s house, built in 1915 and currently occupied by Parks Canada. The arch dam you see sweeping toward you in the lower right corner is the stone arch dam, built and virtually unchanged since 1830, during the construction of the Rideau Canal. The locks themselves were also built around that time, under the supervision of Colonel By. At one time, a small village called Long Island Village flourished here, but it disappeared in the late 1860s and 1870s when Moss Kent Dickinson built his grist mill up river and began buying up lots on the west channel of the Rideau, establishing the village of Manotick. Andrew King wrote a great blog post last year about the lost village of Long Island.
Like all the locks in the Rideau Canal system, the giant wooden doors that manage the water flow through the locks are still cranked by hand. As I crept around and down the locks on this snowy morning, I held one thought clearly in my head: “Do NOT fall in. Whatever you do – do NOT fall in!”
It’s a long way down.
I took about 30 variations on these photos picture. I loved the ladders, the cranks, and the big-ass doors, to say nothing of the various textures. These two are keepers, I think. (Wouldn’t some of these make nice wall art? That’s what I was setting out to make as I was looking around.)
I like how this one is sort of abstract. It could be a macro shot a couple inches across, or it could be the ice shelf off Greenland. I like how the snowflakes sort of hint at stars, giving it an otherworldly vibe.
So while I don’t love snow in March, and I am pretty much done with winter, it is still lovely to know that a little fresh snow can turn something familiar into something quite beautiful. And I didn’t even get a good photo of the 115 year old swing bridge, or the weir that attaches Nicholl’s Island to Long Island.
It also reminded me what an awesome location this would be for family portraits. The snow won’t last forever – I’m sure I’m not the only one thinking ahead. Who wants to do outdoor portraits at the Locks this year? You know where to find me!
| 267,668
|
U.S. government debts may set new records, but investors should focus more on borrowing costs and growth rates.
There is no good time for a pandemic, but for the U.S. economy there are bad times and there are really bad times. If you want to feel a chill down your spine, just imagine “COVID-2008,” with a housing meltdown and a banking crisis on top of the lockdown and recession. Or consider the terror of “COVID-1980,” with inflation hitting 14% and the Fed’s tools severely restricted.
These are more than haunting visions that trigger an investor’s cold sweat; they are useful reminders of why even a few years of large U.S. deficits should—should—still be affordable. As any banker will confirm, the levels of a borrower’s debt are less important than the affordability of the debt. And affordability for the world’s largest economy depends as much on interest rates staying low as it does on America’s business model delivering more growth and innovation than its advanced economy peers.
First, some numbers. The federal budget deficit may hit 25% of GDP this year depending on the size of the next stimulus packages to get through Congress, rivaling the levels during World War II. Overall debt held by the public may jump another 20%, also matching wartime highs.
DEBT TO GDP (%)
Source: Bloomberg and Bank of England and IMF. As of July 23, 2020.
But debt as a share of the economy will not drop nearly as fast as it did in the 1950s and 1960s because growth will be slower and budgets won’t balance. We also entered this crisis with a structural budget deficit near 5% of GDP, and neither Republicans nor Democrats are running on reducing it anytime soon. Even after pandemic costs are addressed, the United States faces large bills over the next decade to rebuild creaking infrastructure, cover health and retirement costs of an ageing population and mitigate the effects of climate change.
U.S. DEFICIT TO GDP (%)
Source: Bloomberg. As of July 23, 2020.
An investor holding U.S. bonds may reasonably ask, “how long can this go on?” The base case should be that the United States may well sustain these debt levels for a long time. There may be higher risks and a drag on growth, but the chance of ignominious defaults or cascading bankruptcies is likely low.
Some prominent economists have warned that countries face a potential crisis when debt exceeds 90% of GDP, citing “eight centuries” of case studies. Others point to Japan, where debt surpassed the size of the economy in the mid-1990s and is now closing in on 250% of GDP, as an example of what is possible in a country with large domestic savings.
“The federal budget deficit may hit 25% of GDP this year depending on the size of the next stimulus packages to get through Congress, rivaling the levels during World War II. Overall debt held by the public may jump another 20%, also matching wartime highs.”
Most important for sustainability, of course, are low borrowing costs. In fact, for all its new borrowing through the crisis, the federal government’s interest payments were actually lower in the first nine months of this fiscal year (October 2019 through June 2020) than they were a year earlier as bond yields fell.
Rates will rise as the economy recovers, but there is little reason to believe they will spike sharply. This is the silver lining to “secular stagnation” from the combined headwinds of technology, globalization, demographics and more. Low growth and low returns have delivered what Sebastian Mallaby of the Council on Foreign Relations calls the “Age of Magic Money,” in which some large governments and their central banks can spend their way out of crises with little fear of inflation taking root.
DEBT SERVICE COSTS (NSA)
Source: Fred Data. As of July 23, 2020.
Note: Data only extends to December 31, 2019.
But it’s not just the cost of the debt that must remain low over the next decade. Crucially, it is trust in the borrower’s ability to repay. The math is not that challenging. If the economy gets back to just 1.5% growth, which is the low end of most forecasts, and the Fed delivers inflation close to its 2% target, nominal GDP growth would be 3.5%. If net borrowing costs remain at 1.5%, the debt ratio should shrink by about 2% per year.
If borrowing costs rise a little, then nominal growth will be higher, too. The greater immediate risk is that the Fed and Congress take their feet off the pedal before growth is firmly entrenched, but for now we’ll have to take Jay Powell at his word that he is “not thinking about thinking about” raising rates.
Beyond ability to repay, of course, America’s willingness to repay remains crucial, too. This may sound far-fetched after yet another crisis during which global investors flocked into dollar assets as the safest port in the storm. Amid the increasingly polarized election debate, it’s often easy to overlook the trustworthiness of boring legal and regulatory institutions. It’s also easy to forget the U.S. record of dynamism and innovation continue to deliver better long-term results than other advanced economies.
Recall that the United States lost its AAA rating from Standard & Poor’s in 2011 largely because of political dysfunction. Market confidence may be far more vulnerable to legal and regulatory institutions becoming politicized, election results that look tainted and a political class that ignores global responsibilities.
These are the trends that should worry investors far more than the size of this year’s deficit or next year’s debt.
| 192,727
|
You say tomato and I say tomatoes — lots of them. I grow dozens of varieties — from trusted heirlooms to exciting new cultivars — in shades of red, yellow, orange and even indigo. Here, I share my favorites and tips for making this delectable summer fruit last long after the growing season.
George and Ira Gershwin’s 1937 song “Let’s Call the Whole Thing Off” gets one thing right: “You like tomato and I like tomahto.” One of the most loved, used and grown fruits, the tomato is also one of the most versatile. It can be consumed raw — right off the vine — or chopped and sliced in myriad salads. It can be dried, oven-roasted, baked into tarts, puréed into soups, milled into sauces, squeezed into juice, cooked into ketchup or sweetened into jam. And it can also be frozen and canned to be enjoyed months later.
I learned about tomatoes and the art of growing them from my father. A backyard gardener, Dad grew an inordinate number of tomato plants on his fifth of an acre. And he somehow managed to grow impeccable, blemish-free 2-to-4-pound tomatoes in his fertile garden. His favorite variety was Big Boy, a hybrid Burpee introduced in 1949.
Today, in my garden, I experiment with new hybrids, old standbys and many heirlooms. I’m always searching for that perfect, amazing, juicy, edible, usable fruit that the Italians so aptly named pomodoro — or “apple of gold.” Like my dad, I too grow Big Boy, and also Better Boy, Early Girl, Beefsteak, Pink Brandywine, Green Zebra, Roma VF and Mortgage Lifter, as well as several smaller cherry- and pear-shaped types.
For the effort growing tomatoes requires, the rewards are, in my mind, stupendous! Just take a cellar of coarse sea salt with you at harvest time. Pick a few of your very best. Sit down (the ground will do), sprinkle them with salt, take a bite and enjoy the fruit of the gods!
FOUR WAYS TO PRESERVE
To get the most out of all the varieties I grow, I preserve tomatoes for use throughout the year. Here are four basic methods.
1. OVEN-DRIED TOMATOES
These add depth of flavor to any recipe. Use them straight from the freezer on pizzas and focaccias with your favorite cheese, or work them into pasta recipes.
Active Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 45 minutes
Yield: 2 quarts (about 30 slices)
6 large beefsteak or heirloom tomatoes (about 3 1/2 pounds), such as Pink Brandywine, Marbonne or Beefmaster, sliced crosswise into 1/2-inch slices
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
10 thyme sprigs
1. Heat oven to 250 F with racks in upper and lower thirds. Fit 2 parchment-lined rimmed baking sheets with wire racks. Divide tomato slices evenly between racks. Drizzle both sides with oil. Season with salt and pepper; scatter thyme over top.
2. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until tomatoes are dry (but not crisp) and wrinkled, about 3 1/2 hours. Let cool completely.
3. Transfer tomatoes to a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet; freeze until firm. Stack in airtight containers and freeze up to 1 year.
2. TOMATO PURÉE
Milling tomatoes makes a versatile base for soups, stews and sauces, like my simple marinara (for the recipe, visit marthastewart.com/marthas-marinara). Freeze the purée and you’ll be able to use it for up to a year. Milled tomatoes are the gift that keeps on giving.
Active/Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Yield: About 2 1/2 quarts
10 pounds ripe plum, vine-ripened, or Stone Ridge tomatoes, washed and cored
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1. BLANCH: Prepare an ice bath. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Score a shallow X in the bottom of each tomato with a knife, then place in boiling water for about 10 seconds. With a slotted spoon, transfer tomatoes immediately to ice bath.
2. PEEL: When cool, remove and peel tomatoes by gripping the skin between your thumb and the flat part of a knife blade, starting at the scored X.
3. SEED: Quarter tomatoes lengthwise and scrape out seeds with your fingers or a spoon. Reserve seeds and juice for Summer Tomato Water.
4. MILL: Pass tomatoes through a food mill fitted with a fine disk, removing pulp as it accumulates. Stir in kosher salt to taste. Portion into jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace, and freeze until ready to use, up to 1 year.
3. SUMMER TOMATO WATER
When milling tomatoes, don’t discard the pulp and seeds — instead, save them to make tomato water. Packed with concentrated flavor, tomato water captures the essence of this summer fruit, giving dishes from cocktails to soups a sweet boost. Add a splash to a martini for a refreshing twist on the classic. Or freeze it into ice cubes to enhance a Bloody Mary. Pour in a few spoonfuls to perk up a salad dressing or gazpacho.
Active Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 9 hours
Yield: Makes 1 cup
Pulp, seeds and juice reserved from Tomato Purée
1. Line a fine-mesh strainer with cheesecloth, and set it over a bowl or a large liquid measure. Add tomato pulp, seeds and juice and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. (Tip: For clear liquid, don’t stir the pulp.) Tomato water will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator, or it can be frozen and used throughout the year.
4. TOMATO CONFIT
Slow-cooking tomatoes in oil, garlic, and herbs intensifies their natural flavor and perfumes them with aromatics. Try varieties like Early Girl, Noire Russe and Better Boy.
Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
Yield: About 2 1/2 quarts
12 ripe medium vine-ripened or heirloom tomatoes, washed and cored (about 3 1/2 pounds)
3 basil sprigs
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced lengthwise (3 tablespoons)
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1. Heat oven to 350 F. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium-high. Prepare an ice bath.
2. Score a shallow X in the bottom of each tomato with a knife, then place in boiling water for about 10 seconds. With a slotted spoon, transfer tomatoes immediately to ice bath. When cool, remove and peel tomatoes by gripping the skin between your thumb and the flat part of a knife blade, starting at the scored X.
3. Combine tomatoes (cored-sides down), basil, and garlic in a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle generously with salt; drizzle with oil. Bake until tender, about 50 minutes. Let cool completely.
4. Transfer tomatoes with their juices to quart-size glass jars, leaving 1/2 inch of headspace. Freeze until ready to use, up to 1 year.
Questions may be sent by email to: firstname.lastname@example.org. Please include your name, address and daytime telephone number. Questions of general interest will be answered in this column; Martha Stewart regrets that unpublished letters cannot be answered individually. For more information on the topics covered in the Ask Martha column, visit www.marthastewart.com.
| 227,513
|
California officials have completed the grim task of collecting fish killed in last month's poisoning of a Sierra Nevada lake to exterminate the northern pike.
California Department of Fish and Game crews gathered nearly 50-thousand pounds of fish since September 21st, when 16-thousand gallons of a toxic chemical were poured into Lake Davis near Portola, California.
Northern pike - which wildlife experts believe were carried to Lake Davis by anglers from outside the state in the 1980s - decimated the lake's famous trophy trout.
California first poisoned Lake Davis in 1997 but pike reappeared 18 months later.
Department officials say they're hopeful the pike will be permanently removed this time.
Once the aquatic insecticide Rotenone dissipates, the lake and
its tributaries will be restocked with more than 950-thousand
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
| 200,679
|
Airlines around the world have followed a U.S. ban and suspended their services into and out of Israel following a rocket attack near the country's main airport. Despite the security concerns, Secretary of State John Kerry flew into to the country Wednesday on Air Force One, and former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg flew in on El Al.
Kerry planned to meet with the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian authority to help reach a truce between Israel and the militant Hamas group, which controls the besieged Gaza Strip.
Bloomberg announced his arrival in a late morning EDT tweet.
The arrivals came a day after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a 24-hour ban on U.S. flights to Ben Gurion after a Hamas rocket landed about a mile away. The agency on Wednesday extended the ban for another 24 hours to midday Thursday.
Following the Malaysia Airlines disaster, which saw a passenger jet shot down over Ukraine last week amid ongoing unrest on the country's border with Russia, airlines and passengers are growing more cautious about air travel safety.
A number of airlines have already diverted their flights across central and eastern Europe—a heavily used route for services to Asia—after the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17. Meanwhile, airport security on both sides of the Atlantic has been stepped up, with passengers now having to show that all their handheld electronic devices are fully functioning.
| 163,910
|
This article would greatly benefit from the addition of more images.
Leeches appear as small, fish-like creatures that seem to be based on the terrestrial medicinal leeches. They are usually white in color.
During the Resonance Cascade, Leeches were teleported to Earth, infesting the oceans. They seem to have endangered or caused the extinction of most earthly sea creatures. Indeed they are the only creatures commonly seen in the sea, while it seems that a few crabs remain. Some Earth creatures remain in inland bodies of water, where insects and frogs can be heard. Ichthyosaurs also seem to occupy freshwater bodies.
Half-Life and its expansionsEdit
Leeches make their first appearance in Half-Life in some of the flooded sections of the Black Mesa Research Facility after the Resonance Cascade. In addition to being teleported to Earth, they are kept in the Black Mesa Biodome Complex for study. They appear to have six eyes.
In Half-Life 2, they attack Gordon Freeman in a swarm (an attack similar to that of the terrestrial piranha) if he ventures too far into the ocean, to prevent the player to venture to the "end" of the map and force them to follow the proper path (much like the chopper in the video game Far Cry, for instance). Here the eye count is brought to only two.
Half-Life 2: Lost CoastEdit
In Lost Coast, Leeches behave like in Half-Life 2. Furthermore, the Fisherman reveals that Leeches are used as food. Since ocean fish are now very rare or extinct, the human occupants of coastal areas seem to catch and eat Leeches instead. He also states that their population is kept down by seagulls and that they ate most of the crabs.
Behind the scenesEdit
- In Half-Life, Leeches are minor enemies that do not cause much damage and can be easily killed. In Half-Life 2, they cannot be killed and will drain the player's health in a matter of seconds.
- The Ichthyosaur was originally intended to fulfill the role of keeping the player from venturing too far into the ocean. It can be encountered underwater in "
d2_coast_02", among others, in the playable Half-Life 2 Beta, although it is only heard, not seen, before the player dies.
- In Half-Life 2, if the player uses the console command "notarget" and goes venturing too far in the sea, the Leech will still attack the player.
List of appearancesEdit
- Half-Life (First appearance)
- Half-Life: Opposing Force
- Half-Life 2
- Half-Life 2: Lost Coast (Non-canonical appearance)
|Creatures||Alien Aircraft · Alien Controller · Alien Grunt · Barnacle · Boid · Bullsquid · Chumtoad · Gargantua · Headcrab · Houndeye · Ichthyosaur · Leech · Nihilanth · Protozoan · Snark · Tentacle · Vortigaunt|
|Headcrabs||Headcrab · Fast Headcrab · Gonarch · Lamarr · Poison Headcrab · Standard Headcrab · Headcrab Shell|
|Zombies||Zombie · Fast Zombie · Gonome · Poison Zombie · Standard Zombie · Zombine|
|Vortigaunts||Vortigaunt · Vortigese · All-Knowing Vortigaunt · R-4913 and X-8973 · Sweepy · Uriah · Victory Mine Vortigaunt · Vortigaunt Camp · Vortigaunt Shepherd|
|Flora and minerals||Crystal · Fungus · Healing Pool · Light Stalk · Trampoline · Tree|
|Weapons||Ceiling Turret · Hivehand · Sentry Cannon · Snark · Snark Mine|
|Technology||Healing Shower · Thumper|
|Creatures (cut)||Archer · Charger · Fast Walker · Flocking Floater · Kingpin · Mr. Friendly · Panther Eye · Sand Barnacle · Snapbug · Stukabat|
|Weapons (cut)||Black Hole Gun|
| 215,056
|
Some of the retirees who've fled their homes because of Hurricane Katrina may be wondering how they'll get their monthly Social Security check.
The Social Security Administration says it's working on a system to make sure that displaced elderly or disabled recipients are able to get their funds.
A spokeswoman says the agency will still send payments through direct deposit or by mail. But, she says if someone doesn't get their money, they can request an emergency payment from any Social Security office. And, because many people don't have access to a bank or their identification papers, Social Security is working on having checks delivered to temporary disaster centers.
Families receiving state aid from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama can access their money from certain ATM machines.
| 196,371
|
Adventure News - September 2010 - First Edition
|Incredible News is a free publication from Incredible Adventures.||Phone: 800-644-7382.|
We're Permitted to Trick Sharks
Thanks to a Sarasota, Florida elementary school art teacher, three new seal decoys have made their way to San Francisco, just in time for the start of the 2010 dive season. She magically transformed fabric and foam into floating shark bait.
Incredible Adventures holds a permit from the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary authorizing us to use decoys shaped like local marine mammals to attract great white sharks. Without such a permit, it's illegal to do anything to attract white sharks within Sanctuary waters.
The white sharks travel to the Farallones to feed on the area's large population of Elephant seals. We travel to the Farallones in hopes of witnessing one of these spectacular natural feeding events. (The technical term for them is "predations".) The seal decoys are designed to "trick" sharks into thinking they've found a defenseless seal meal and help increase the odds of seeing sharks near our shark cage.
As a reminder, our great white shark expeditions depart from San Francisco's famous Fisherman's Wharf on select weekend dates from September 25 through November 14. No dive experience is necessary and space is still available on several trips. The cost to get in the cage is $875. Viewing entirely from the boat is $375. For more info and a list of available dates, call or email Sheri.
The Good Ship Monaco
In our June newsletter, we wrote about our Director of West Coast Shark Operations, Greg Barron, and his quest to turn an old Monaco RV into a Tall Ship capable of sailing across the desert at this year's Burning Man Festival. We weren't kidding when we told you that Greg "Diver McGyver" Barron can build just about anything. With a lot of help from fellow shark team members and friends, he constructed a rolling piece of art. The after and before photos speak for themselves.
If you'd like to meet the one and only Greg Barron and see what he can do with a shark cage, book a San Francisco great white adventure.
Big Fun for Big Customers
If you happen to be a little larger than the average human, don't let that stop you from calling to inquire about an incredible adventure. We'll do our best to accommodate you. While some programs have strict height and weight requirements, many adventures don't. We've had some pretty tall and pretty wide customers over the years.
Favorite Email Comment of the Month
"This site is awesome!!! I found a new way to go bankrupt!!"
Funniest Free Press On Someone Else's Website
IA's car-crushing tank adventure was named "One of the 6 Things You Won't Believe Are More Legal Than Marijuana" on a popular humor website.
Random News & Reminders
Christmas decorations are already appearing on store shelves. We sell gift certificates. Hint, hint.
We can arrange a variety of fantasy military adventures, ranging from survival training missions to hostage rescue scenarios. Our HALO adventure, a military-style high altitude skydive out of Memphis, is profiled in this month's issue of GO Magazine, AirTran Airline's inflight publication.
We're on Facebook, like pretty much everyone else these days. You don't have to "Like" us on Facebook, but it would be really nice if you did and told all your friends to, too. Of course, if you really want to know what we're up to, you can just call us. Or send us an instant message. Or Skype us. Or email us. Unlike some companies, we think you should be able to find a live person when you have a question. (You can find our business hours on our website.)
800-644-7382 / 941-346-2603
Life is either an incredible adventure or nothing at all.
© 2010 Incredible Adventures, Inc. 6604 Midnight Pass Road, Sarasota, Florida 34242
| 87,758
|
Explosive shows and demonstrations
Bass Buzz Test at the Big Bang Fair
Dare you enter the Ming Rodulator?
Amazing interactive installations and performances
Hands On Education
Workshops for Primary, Secondary and Special schools
Training for professionals and students
High level skills-based workshops and training sessions for teachers, PGCE students and graduate-level students
Messy and Noisy Science!
Interactive Science Busking and demonstrations for public events
Waves, Music, Electromagnetism, Making, Circuitry, Sustainability & NOISE
Noisy Toys is all about having fun experimenting with sound:
- Workshops that involve creative thinking about science, music, technology and sustainability.
- Excitingly dangerous stage shows and demonstrations, stand alone, or part of our Interactive Installations.
- Science busking walkabout acts with our Audio Assault Buggy and Bass Station.
Check out our short videos here
Upcoming public events for 2016:
Download the new 2016 workshop pdf.
Big Bang Fair 2016 New show for 2016: Bass in your Face, performed by Steve Summers 16-19 March 2016, the Cone Stage, Birmingham NEC. Check out one of the short promo vids:
Bass Face vid3
Make Some Noise! In collaboration with Bradford's wonderful Media Museum, Steve Summers will be performing shows and running workshops in schools across Bradford in the run-up to the event on 19-20 March 2016
Make Some Noise
We Are the Robots- audio mix of live jamming during 2 days of workshops in February 2016 preparing for the Robot Orchestra, part of Manchester Science City 2016. Listen to the sound of an imaginary robotic world
Maker Faire UK, Back to Newcastle's centre for Life for demonstrations, Science Busking and other Noisy Mayhem with our Audio Assault Buggy and Bass Station.
Bass in your Face
Edinburgh mini Maker Faire & Jimmy's farm, details soon...
2 videos now online, more to follow soon (yes I know, the bass drive how-to is now overdue, sorry). Noisy Toys youtube
We are currently developing a public space at the ATC in Hebden Bridge where we will be hosting the Scavenger project and Making dangerous new Noise Machines. We are also working on a series of 'how to Make' short videos... watch this space.
| 21,920
|
Newt and the UN
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, onetime leader of the Republican Party’s bomb-throwing conservative wing, has become a staunchly moderate advocate of United Nations reform. Unlike his more fire-breathing party colleagues — such as Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman, who wants Secretary-General Kofi Annan to resign in the wake of the oil-for-food scandal — Gingrich is earning bipartisan plaudits for the well-received report on U.N. reform that he produced with former Senate Democratic leader George Mitchell of Maine. This month, addressing a panel hosted by the World Jewish Congress shortly before the General Assembly convened, Gingrich defended the U.N. passionately and urged America to play a leading role in what he described as a five- to six-year reform process. But he warned that for the world body to rebuild itself, it needed to acknowledge that it had profoundly failed on issues such as the condemnation of terrorism, defense of human rights and acceptance of Israel.
Iran vs. Iran
When recently elected Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that he would travel to New York to attend this year’s United Nations General Assembly, the Iranian opposition announced plans for a protest rally outside the U.N.’s glass tower. The hope was that several thousand protests would come. The hawkish president has been accused of playing a lead role in the 1979 Iran hostage crisis and the protesters expected broad sympathy. But the New York committee against Ahmadinejad, set up in late August, was more than just a channel for regime opponents. It had links to the National Council of Resistance of Iran, which in turn is linked to the Mujahedin e-Khalq Organization. The latter is listed by the State Department and the European Union as a foreign terrorist organization. Even though there has been talk of using Iraq-based MEK troops against Tehran — and despite the group’s role in exposing Iran’s secret nuclear activities — the Bush administration decided to shut down the Washington office of the National Council. Still, the organization has its American supporters in Congress. Two of them, Democratic Reps. Ed Towns of New York and William Clay of Missouri, gave speeches at the event, alongside some European lawmakers and exiled opposition figures. Sympathizers sported T-shirts and caps glorifying Maryam Rajavi, top leader of the MEK, and shouted “Ahmadinejad terrorist” while spokesmen urged regime change in Iran. “We want both the MEK and the NCRI off the terror list,” said Shirin Nariman, a spokesperson. “It will help unleash the democratic energy in Iran.”
One of the points of contention during the negotiations over a United Nations reform package was the so-called right of intervention to prevent genocide. The original reform document declared that the international community is responsible for protecting civilians from war crimes and genocide when governments cannot or will not provide such protection, but the language was watered down. The adopted text says that decisions will be made on a case-by-case basis rather than on principle. In addition to human rights advocates, one person who lamented the outcome was Rwandan President Paul Kagame. His country has become a symbol of genocide unfolding while the international community stood silent. Kagame told an audience at Columbia University this month that the world needed to set up a swift intervention mechanism to flesh out the vaguely worded U.N. document. Taking the example of the killings in the Darfur region of Sudan, Kagame urged world leaders to stop arguing about whether or not the killings constitute genocide and to start acting.
Wolfensohn Brings it On…
James Wolfensohn, former head of the World Bank and current international envoy to Gaza, is well known for his outspokenness. After weeks of low-key presence on the ground this summer to help ensure a smooth Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, he publicly urged both parties last week to get serious about negotiating the remaining sticking points. He was speaking during a debate with Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres and Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa during the Clinton Global Initiative, a mini “Davos on the Hudson” meeting convened this month to seek solutions to global poverty, climate change and religious strife. “The remaining problems in Gaza can be solved in three hours if the parties decide it,” Wolfensohn said, referring to disputes over border crossings, disposal of the rubble from settlements, and linkage between the West Bank and Gaza, as well as the reopening of the seaport and the airport in Gaza. “We’re ready to help, so get on it!”
Spain Promises Action
Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos, a former European Union special envoy to the Middle East, swears that this is not just another high-minded project that will end up as an empty promise. The so-called Alliance of Civilizations, sponsored by Spain and Turkey and endorsed by the United Nations, claims to be a performance-based approach toward promoting tolerance and dialogue, delineating steps that countries must take in the fields of education, culture and law. “We want a specific plan of action, obligations and responsibilities,” Moratinos told the Forward, adding that a high panel of experts is to deliver a report at the end of 2006. “No more talk. We need to undermine the fanatics by having Muslims themselves stand up.” The initiative, launched by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero after the deadly Madrid train bombings in March 2004, parallels a similar one started within the Muslim world by Jordan’s King Abdullah II. That plan aims at having senior theologians condemn terrorism and fight the use of religious edicts by terrorist groups to legitimize their activities
The Rabbi and Putin
Russia’s Chabad chief rabbi, Berel Lazar, plans to meet with President Vladimir Putin soon to raise the issue of Iran’s nuclear programs. Lazar, who was attending the American Jewish Congress dinner honoring President Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan, said that Western countries need to do a better job of explaining the Iranian situation to Putin. If they did, he said, the Russian leader would reconsider Russia’s nuclear cooperation with Tehran. “If the West engages him in the right way and gives him more credit, it would work,” said Lazar, who is known to be close to Putin. “He can be useful in many ways, especially in the Middle East, where Russia has some trust.” Asked whether he thought that the prosecution of oil magnate had anything to do with Jews, Lazar said it was “not a Jewish issue at all.” Khodorkovsky, who was indicted for tax fraud but claims he is being persecuted for his political ambitions, told Lazar 10 days before his arrest last year that he did not feel Jewish at all. “I believe it is both a business and political case,” the rabbi said.
France and the Jew(s)
In a symbol of changing times and diplomatic savvy, France this week bestowed its highest decoration, the Légion d’Honneur, on the American Jewish Committee’s executive director, David Harris, for his lifelong advocacy of justice and tolerance. At a special dinner Sunday night, Harris gave an emotional speech recounting his family’s ordeal in Europe before and during World War II. Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy used the occasion to describe France’s efforts to fight antisemitism, noting a nearly 50% drop in the number of antisemitic incidents in the first semester compared with the same period last year. Praising the improvement of relations between Paris and Jerusalem, he warned Syria to stay out of Lebanon. Harris bluntly told Iran that Europe’s patience was wearing thin on the nuclear issue.
| 291,830
|
(First published in Himal Southasian on 19 June 2012.)
The predominant emotion with which jingoistic Indians and Pakistanis view each others’ misfortunes is schadenfreude. They count each other’s conflicts and rebellions to keep score. The Indian will talk about sectarian violence in Pakistan, and the Pakistani will ask about the treatment of Dalits in India. The Pakistani will complain against Indian atrocities in Kashmir and the Indian will point fingers at Balochistan.
When I see such Indo-Pakistani interactions online, I am reminded of these words:
Dushman mare te khushi na karey
Sajna vi mar jaana
(Rejoice not the death of the enemy
The beloved may also die)
Those stark words are from Mian Muhammad Bakhsh’s most famous book of poems, Saiful Maluk. Bakhsh (1830-1907) was a Sufi pir and poet from Mirpur in modern-day Azad Kashmir, though his ancestors hailed from the Gujrat district in Pakistani Punjab. Known in Pakistan as Rumi-e-Kashmir, I learnt about Bakhsh from my friend Saqib Mumtaz who hails from Poonch on the Indian side of the Line of Control. A student in Delhi, Mumtaz grew up literally on the border which is not a border, watching Doordarshan and PTV alike, making him a bit of an Indian and a bit of a Pakistani.
Culturally, my friend feels close to Kashmir but also to Punjab. Bakhsh’s poetry sounds very Punjabi, but my friend tells me there’s a dispute over Bakhsh’s language. He wrote in Potwari (or Pothohari), Pahari and Punjabi, using words from different dialects so that everyone in his land could understand him, as they still do.
The dispute over which language Bakhsh wrote in should perhaps not be resolved. It is proof that the defining feature of the culture of his land is the intermingling of cultures. That, indeed, is also my culture. That is South Asia – our tongues and stories and folklore speak to each other, allowing a second-generation Punjabi ‘refugee’ like me to feel at home in north India.
I think about this, and then I think about the Indians and the Pakistanis, bearers of artificial identities barely 65 years old, who score points against each other on Twitter, and I wonder if the absurdity of their war ever strikes them? Do they wonder if the legacy of Mian Muhammad Bakhsh is Indian or Pakistani? When the Indian points to the plight of Pakistani Hindus does he realise, for even a moment, the pain of Indian Muslims? What do they think nationalism means for an Amritsari Sikh whose holiest shrines are in Pakistan? What does warmongering mean for a man in Karachi who has family across north-India? Do they not see the absurdity in taking hawkish positions regarding their own country while embracing the left-liberals and rebels of the ‘enemy’ country?
Hall of mirrors
The people have had enough of repression and political manipulation. They want freedom. They assert their right to self-determination. They say they were never a part of your map. They want to make their own map. They take up arms against the state. The state responds with brutal repression. Men in uniform march down, take over the streets, bazaars and dreams. They make people disappear. Catch and kill. Kill and dump. They even get rewarded for doing so.
That could well be the story of Indian-administered Kashmir, except it is the story of Pakistan’s Balochistan region. As an Indian, the events in Balochistan pain me, not least because they remind me of everything that my government has been doing in Kashmir in my name.
One would have thought the Pakistani state would have learnt lessons not only from East Pakistan but also from the many insurgencies in neighbouring India, some of which it has helped foment. Reading the news from Balochistan is surreal, because it seems to be a carbon copy of Kashmir in the 1990s: missing persons, impunity, rebel-held territories. Even the discourse around the violence is familiar. Just as Kashmiris insist Kashmir was never a part of India, the Baloch insist Balochistan was never a part of Pakistan. Both conflicts stem from the messy history of Partition and the princely states, with post-colonial India and Pakistan both treating their provinces even more heavy-handedly than the British Raj did. Just as Indians blame Pakistan for the Kashmir rebellion, Pakistanis blame India for Balochistan. Just as Indians blame a few ‘separatist’ leaders to suggest that the Kashmiri rebellion is not a popular one, Pakistanis insist the problem in Balochistan only has to do with three tribal sardars. Just as Indian point to the plight of the Kashmiri Pandits as an argument against azadi for Kashmir, the Pakistanis point to the killings by Baloch rebels of non-Baloch settlers in Balochistan.
There are of course many differences between Balochistan and Kashmir – to begin with, the territory of Balochistan is claimed only by one state, while Kashmir is claimed by two. Yet the Baloch will tell you how a part of Balochistan is occupied by Iran as well. The root cause of Baloch grievances is economic; in Kashmir it is political. Yet, both nationalists will tell you it’s all really about identity. The Kashmiris assert that they are different from ‘Indians’ and the Baloch assert that they are different from ‘Pakistanis’. Kashmiris assert that their Central Asia-influenced culture, of which their Islam is an element, sets them apart from north India. The Baloch insist on their secularism and do not subscribe to the notion that Islam binds them to the Pakistanis. The manner in which the two peoples articulate their struggles, and how the Pakistani and Indian states have decided that their only option is to militarily crush the rebellions, the similarities between the two conflicts outweigh the differences.
My Kashmiri friends don’t like Kashmir being compared to Balochistan. They point out that the status of Balochistan has never been disputed at the United Nations. For Kashmiris, Pakistan’s actions in Balochistan present a moral problem that is best avoided: how can we be counting on support from Pakistan while it does in Balochistan what India is doing in Kashmir? Looking at South Asia from Kashmir, this is not the first occasion that such questions have arisen: take, for instance, East Pakistan’s blood-soaked transformation into Bangladesh. Syed Ali Shah Geelani, the only credible and respected Kashmiri nationalist leader left, is said to have made it clear to Pakistan (albeit privately) on more than one occasion that it must put its own house in order in Balochistan. That, however, does not translate into supporting the Baloch people’s right to self-determination.
The Kashmiri feels that if he criticises Pakistan on the Balochistan repression, then Kashmiri would lose a friend in Pakistan. More importantly, this will be used by Indian nationalists to say that if Kashmir’s friend Pakistan can crush a “separatist” movement what was so wrong about what India did in Kashmir? This idea of tactical silence is not practised by Kashmiris alone: Indians practice it too, on the question of human rights violations in Kashmir, lest it be used by those who want Kashmir to not be part of India. And so, in nationalism’s hall of mirrors, our silences scream at each other.
For a variety of reasons, the people of Indian-administered Kashmir today overwhelmingly demand azadi – independence – rather than a merger with Pakistan. This change in aspiration has become so widespread that even S A S Geelani has replaced praise for Pakistan with demands for ‘azadi’ in his speeches. Yet there are still those in Kashmir who dream of joining Pakistan, and some of them say there is no problem in Balochistan, and that the crisis is all Indian propaganda. Within Pakistan, meanwhile, there are those on whom the parallels between Balochistan and Kashmir are not lost.
In February this year US Congressman Dana Rohrabacher introduced a resolution in the US House of Representatives endorsing Balochistan’s right to self-determination, causing much consternation in Pakistan. In Kashmir, S A S Geelani said the US should not interfere in Pakistan’s internal affairs. Baloch nationalists insist Balochistan is not Pakistan’s internal affair because Balochistan is not a part of Pakistan, and is illegally occupied. That refrain sounds very familiar to Indian ears, because India insists that whatever happens in Kashmir is India’s internal matter, while Kashmiri nationalists insist Kashmir was never a part of India. Thus, the great South Asian hall of mirrors keeps trying to fool us all.
When Rohrabacher explained his position in an article in the Washington Post, he wrote:
…every Pakistani ambassador to the United States for the past 20 years is well aware of my support for the Kashmiri people. Indeed, at the Feb 8 House subcommittee hearing on Baluchistan, I compared Baluchistan to Kashmir. In 1995, I introduced a resolution that stated in part: “a cycle of violence exists in Kashmir as a result of the Indian Government’s refusal to permit the people of Kashmir to exercise their right to self-determination.”
Rohrabacher’s clarification, however, did not receive much attention in the Subcontinent because it pleases neither Indians nor Pakistanis, not even Kashmiris. It only pleases the Baloch, who don’t have much of a voice in any media.
A South Asian tragedy
Kashmir and Balochistan are both part of the unresolved problem of nationalism in South Asia, but they are not alone. In contrast to the popular armed rebellion in Kashmir, the revolt of Indian Punjab in the 1980s was, by all accounts, never a popular one, though there was widespread disaffection with the Indian state amongst the Sikhs. Remnants of that disaffection came back to haunt India recently after the president decided not to forgive the death sentence of a Sikh citizen who assassinated Punjabi chief minister Beant Singh in 1995. Yet that was not the only high-profile assassination in India’s history. In 1984, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was killed by her own Sikh bodyguards. Her assassination was avenged through riots in Delhi and elsewhere, in which over 3000 Sikhs were killed. Leading members of Indira Gandhi’s own Congress party are accused of perpetrating those vengeful killings. So the Sikhs have a point: why will you not punish those killers of Sikhs, but hang Beant Singh’s killer? Such is nationalism: those who do not want a flag imposed on them seem to deserve no justice, only death.
In the Indian Northeast, the picture is even more complex. Some ethnicities and states have withdrawn their demands for secession from India, making some Indian analysts theorise that rebellions and insurgencies are like children who cry for attention, but are ultimately loving and loyal towards their parents. Other states and ethnicities still demand freedom from India, some insurgencies are coming to terms with the end of their struggle, and some still want greater autonomy within the Indian Union. Yet from Assam to Nagaland all rebellion, regardless of scale or kind, is crushed with the heavy hand of the Assam Rifles. The Northeast remains massively militarised. Many Indians know and understand what has happened in Kashmir, even if they don’t acknowledge it, but most don’t even know what has been happening in the Northeast.
The nature of the conflicts in the Northeast was mirrored somewhat in the two decades of conflict between a newly independent Bangladesh and the people of the Chittagong Hill Tracts. A peace accord in 1997 ended that insurgency, but the conflict isn’t entirely over even today. That conflict is only one example that India and Pakistan are not the only South Asian states to behave like empires.
Sri Lanka recently declared victory over the Tamil rebellion, yet the Sinhalese-dominated state sees no need for reconciliation. Victors don’t want reconciliation, only the arrogance of victory. There was talk of emulating the Sri Lankan strategy to crush the Maoist uprising in central India, but that talk has thankfully been put to rest, at least for now. While human-rights violations by Indian state security forces are reported almost every day – especially the indiscriminate targeting of those seen as ideologically sympathetic to Maoist politics – New Delhi has refrained from deploying the army. The army refuses to do the dirty job of crushing a rebellion unless it is granted impunity under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), and there is some noise in New Delhi that we can’t do that to ‘our own people’. That is only further proof that people on India’s peripheries – in the ‘disturbed areas’ of Kashmir and the Northeast where the AFSPA permits unspeakable state-sanctioned brutality – are not regarded as ‘our own’. In other words, the nationalist mainstream unwittingly admits that the people of Kashmir and the Northeast are not part of the imagined Indian nation.
The ‘happy’ state of Bhutan also proved itself capable of nationalistic cruelty when, in the 1990s, it expelled at least a hundred thousand of its own citizens because they were of Nepalese origin. Many of those people languish in refugee camps in Nepal to this day.
Such conflicts are not peculiar to South Asia. China’s actions in Tibet are well known, but few in South Asia are aware of the conflict in a place the Chinese call Xinjiang, and which its inhabitants – the Uyghurs – call East Turkistan. Some years ago I met a Uyghur refugee in Delhi. He tried to explain to me, amongst other things, that his home and its conflict weren’t as far away from South Asia as I thought. “It’s right here, behind Kashmir!” he exclaimed in broken Hindustani. I wondered about this way of thinking about geography. ‘Xinjiang’ is in China. East Turkistan is ‘behind’ Kashmir. The latter, my political scientist friend Nivedita Menon told me, is a post-nationalist way of thinking about the world. In this way of seeing, good old geography rather than man-made borders define us.
For those who cannot bring themselves to see through a post-nationalist prism and still insist on forging nationalism by the gun, here’s a question: Does militarily crushing a popular rebellion make it go away? By gunning down citizens who take up guns against the state, by incarcerating or killing citizens who dare to be ‘separatist’, do we solve the problem? Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse would perhaps answer that question in the affirmative, but all Sri Lankans should look seriously at the costs of what he has done. The authoritarian regime in Sri Lanka affects the Sinhalese and their democratic rights too.
Take the example of Kashmir. For a variety of reasons, the insurgency in Kashmir began to give way to what the Indian government called ‘normalcy’ by 2002. Indian analysts were still touting the arrival of ‘normalcy’ in 2006. In 2008, the Kashmiri people rebelled again, this time with stones and words and marches. The dispute was not over, the grievances remained, and the Kashmiris still wanted azadi. India allowed some expression of such opinions, but in 2010 decided enough was enough, killing over 120 protestors to put an end to mass demonstrations of people shouting, “Hum kya chahatay? Azadi!” (What do we want? Freedom!)
Every time Kashmir erupts, Indians go back to the old keywords – Pakistan, ISI, Islamism, paid separatists, etc – to deny any Kashmiri problem of India’s own making. Last summer in Kashmir I met a few young men who were born in or around the fateful year of 1990. They told me how they sometimes wake up in the middle of the night after having nightmares about the military ‘crackdowns’. I met a 14-year-old who spoke of avenging his father, who was left with debilitating mental illness after being tortured by Indian forces. His idea of revenge was to die pelting stones at the people wearing the same uniforms as those who took his father in.
I have sympathy for Indian military and intelligence officers who have the unpleasant task of administering an occupation in Kashmir while pretending that there isn’t one. Sanjay Kak, whose film Jashn-e-Azadi is a vital document of the Kashmir conflict, pointed me to the film Battle of Algiers, where French liberals ask their army not to commit human rights violations in Algeria. The army chief replies that the violations will cease, but only if France is ready to let go of Algeria. There is no such thing as a good occupation.
Indian analysts who talk of a ‘post-conflict’ situation in Kashmir today speak as if the occupation never existed. India is back to the old charade of peace talks, while the army refuses to allow the elected civilian government of Jammu & Kashmir to lift the AFSPA even from Srinagar, which sees no militant activity. The AFSPA effectively negates the fundamental rights granted by the Indian Constitution – yet more proof that Kashmir is treated as enemy territory.
As an Indian, I have learnt from Kashmir that the only thing sadder than crushing a rebellion is having to govern a crushed people. The Indian government has to administer an occupation while pretending that democracy is flourishing. As my Tamil friends in Sri Lanka tell me, reconciliation becomes well-nigh impossible after the human-rights violations required to break the will of a people. The people ask: after such knowledge, what forgiveness? It’s like the British trying to pretend the Raj was for India’s own good after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.
The analogy with British colonialism is neither rhetorical nor facetious. Mridu Rai, a historian of Kashmir, points me to a 1934 article by Jawaharlal Nehru in which he condemned the British Indian government’s repression of protests at Chittagong and Midnapur as part of the anti-tax campaigns of 1930. Nehru wrote:
It is a strange record, worthy of preservation for an incredulous posterity… large military forces are brought from distant places; they occupy territories in a way no alien army occupies the enemy’s land in wartime. They treat almost the whole population as suspect and force even young boys and girls to go about with cards of identity of various hues with photographs attached. They limit the movements of the inhabitants and even lay down the dress that must be worn. They turn out people from their houses at a few hours’ notice. They close schools and treat the children en bloc as enemy persons. Under various pains and penalties they force the people to welcome them publicly, and to salute the flag which has become the sign of humiliation to them. Those that disobey have to suffer heavily and to face reprisals.
A strange record worthy of preservation – indeed! How did we become what we once stood against? We have inherited from colonialism the evil of nationalism.
In Battle of Algiers, Algerian separatists go about killing French civilians – clearly, there is no such thing as a good rebellion either. All nation-states are formed and kept together by violence; this is as true of the occupier as it is of the rebel. In which case why should we privilege one upon another? The absurdity of the nation-state will dawn upon the world only if nation-states multiply like amoeba! A world full of smaller nation-states, rather than monstrously big ones, will be a world without Empires. Only then will nation-states become less overbearing than they are.
Poets as politicians
I am reminded of Bengali polymath Rabindranth Tagore’s lectures on nationalism. Tagore wrote songs for the Indian freedom movement, but he was critical of nationalism as he encountered it in his travels across the world before World War II. For Tagore, a nation was nothing more than a population coming together for an organised “mechanical purpose”, and yet he said this purpose became associated with selfishness, which can be a “grandly magnified form” of personal selfishness. It is ironic that one of South Asia’s greatest intellectuals was decrying the evils of nationalism just as so many South Asians were about to get such freedom that would only make us more nationalist.
Whether in Kashmir, Balochistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Tibet or East Turkistan, not to mention the quarrel between India and Pakistan, the common thread among South Asian conflicts is ‘mainstream’ majority’s refusal to admit that their blinkered nationalism remains unquestioned and unresolved. Admitting to any fault in nationalism is seen as an admission of the nation’s failure, and to deny existing failures we make sure our respective states succeed in repressing those who don’t identify with our respective flags. What do we need to rise above this grand collective manifestation of personal selfishness?
Nationalism is so much a part of our personal identities that, for many people, exposing it for what it is, seems like a personal insult. The arguments against the right to self-determination predictably follow. Writing in The Express Tribune, Pakistani columnist Ejaz Haider offers a typical example:
Balochistan is indeed Pakistan’s internal issue. Those who want Balochistan to secede from Pakistan will get the state’s full reply. That too, given how states behave, is a foregone conclusion. Hell, states don’t even let go of disputed territories and care even less about whether or not people in those territories want to live with them.
In response, political scientist Haider Nizamani gave three examples of nation-states readily parting with territory: the separation of Slovakia from the former Czechoslovakia; the Canadian government’s non-violent handling of the Quebec sovereignty movement, allowing a referendum which the movement lost by a thin margin; and finally, the impending Scottish referendum in 2014 to part ways with the UK, in response to which London isn’t sending soldiers to eliminate the Scottish Nationalist Party.
In the three examples Nizamani cites, many people seem to appreciate that the nation-state deserves to be nothing more than an organising, administrative principle. But how do we make South Asian people realise as much?
Aql ke madrase se uth, ishq ke maiqaday mein aa – Rise from the seminary of the mind, come into the tavern of love – wrote Sufi pir and poet Shah Niaz. The most powerful rendition I have heard of those words is by the Karachi-based qawwals Fareed Ayaz and Abu Mohammed. Arguably the best qawwals alive, they hail from Indian Hyderabad but have traditional roots in Delhi. When I met Fareed Ayaz in Delhi some months ago, he knew Old Delhi better than I did. Since he was 12 years old, he has visited India every year, often several times a year, except for years of war. Such is the spell-binding power of their music that it melts the barriers between India and Pakistan. “What is Sufism?” Fareed Ayaz asked me, before answering, “It is nothing but the love of humanity.”
Aql ke madrase se uth, ishq ke maiqaday mein aa – as I hear them sing these words and explain their import, their message strikes me as the best answer to our great problem. Our minds are conditioned to think of our nations as maps and flags rather than collections of actual people. If only we can love humanity rather than maps, we’d all be much happier.
What would be the implications of acting out of love rather than the dictates of the nationalistic mind? Solutions that seem fantastical – open borders, shared sovereignty, trade-driven integration, regional autonomy – will suddenly begin to seem possible and real if we can put our love of humanity above our love of abstract nationalism. This is not about creating an Akhand Bharat (‘Greater India’) but about the Akhand World we have divided with cartography and nationalist myth-making.
(This essay is dedicated to Ilmana Fasih, an ‘Indian Pakistani’.)
| 172,814
|
MOBILE, Alabama – Sitting at a black grand piano on a concert stage, Steve Dunn explains what goes into “orchestrating” a piece of music. Taking a score and adding woodwinds, percussion and other parts is a craft.
“It’s kind of like learning the tools in your toolbox,” Dunn said. “A master carpenter knows how to use them.”
Dunn, assistant professor of music at the University of Mobile, gestures toward a stack of sheet music on the piano. He didn’t compose the original piece, “For the Sake of the Call,” but he has written parts for a 50-instrument orchestra to go with it. The music will be played this Friday at Carnegie Hall, when Christian artist Steven Curtis Chapman makes his debut at the famous New York venue. (Chapman's also coming to north Alabama.)
In a way, it’s also Dunn’s Carnegie debut. “It’s nice to be able to say I have that,” he said.
Dunn, who isn’t traveling to New York for the event, is accustomed to working on music behind the scenes, often with deadlines looming. It’s the job of an orchestrator who’s also a professor with five to six classes to teach.
Sometimes, the work extends into the night. "I got (the Chapman score) on a Friday, and school started on Monday," he said. "It was a zoo."
Currently, Dunn has three music projects in the works. Besides the Chapman orchestration, which he wrote in five days, he is composing a piece for the university’s Honor Band, made up of high school performers, and he is writing the orchestration for a Cuban Baptist hymnal.
A Cuban hymnal?
“It’s a hymnal of music written by Cubans. I got invited to be an orchestrator,” he says. Pointing to the Chapman sheet music, he adds, “It’s more involved than this.”
The hymnal, he said, has a pronounced Latin flair. Other than the fact that a congregation will sing along, the music is nothing like what’s found on the backs of most church pews. “Tambourine is definitely in there,” he said.
As for the Honor Band piece, it’s entitled “Elegy,” and he wasn’t finished composing it as of Friday. The high school students chosen for Honor Band will get the sheet music on Thursday and perform it on Saturday. He describes “Elegy” as “hopefully, a beautiful, thoughtful kind of piece.”
“When they play it is when I find out if I actually got there or not,” he said.
Dunn says he writes or orchestrates music at home or in his office, sometimes at a keyboard. “Part of the challenge when you’re orchestrating is figuring out the arc of a song,” he said. “Is it going to start soft and build to a medium peak? You have to know what that arc is.”
In the case of “For the Sake of the Call,” he listened to the piece, a 1990’s hit, and considered his choices. “As I’m listening, I’m thinking, ‘I can add some woodwind lines…. This would be a nice place for French horn to come in.’”
Dunn, 53, his wife and four children spent more than 10 years in Birmingham, where he was with Shades Mountain Baptist Church in Vestavia Hills, before he took the university job 18 months ago. But he had lived in Mobile during his high school years, when he played in the band at Davidson High School and was drum major. His father, Rev. Sherrell Dunn, served as associate pastor at Dauphin Way Baptist Church.
During those years, Dunn wrote pieces for the school band and church orchestra. It was a natural for a boy who had felt called into the ministry at age 7 and had written his first instrumental arrangement in the eighth grade.
Dunn realized quickly that he wouldn’t become a preacher. “At about junior high, I came to understand that music was really where my gifts and passion were,” he said.
He attended Jacksonville State University, where he was also drum major in the band, and he went on to earn a master’s in church music from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and a master’s in music composition from the University of New Mexico.
Now he’s working with future teachers and directors at the Baptist college, expanding his music ministry call. He’s also director of Symphonic Winds at the Center for Performing Arts.
Dunn landed the gig for Carnegie Hall from Camp Kirkland of Nashville, who has been a mentor since high school. “He kept tabs on me as I went through college. He has been a mentor and encourager,” Dunn said. “He isn’t afraid to tell you straight up what you need to fix.”
Dunn says returning to Mobile feels as though “I’ve moved to a new place I’m familiar with,” he said. The family attends Shiloh Baptist Church, which is much smaller than the mega-churches where he has served in the past. But it’s a good fit.
“To be at a church that runs 350 is quite a shift,” he said. “It has been a great experience.”
| 295,313
|
Heralding the End of an Empire
When the Cold War ended, the glittery idea of a “new world order” came into fashion. Many envisioned a more cooperative, unified globe on the horizon. “Tolerance is the alpha and omega of a new world order,” said Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in June of 1990. He advocated troop cuts, anti-weapons treaties, one world economy, increased global trade, a global communal security structure—a sunshiny, join-hands-around-the-world future.
U.S. President George H.W. Bush evoked the theme when ordering troops to punish Saddam Hussein’s Iraq for attacking Kuwait. The Gulf War, he said, was a marvelous example of squashing the offensive use of force, promoting collective security, and cooperating among the world’s great powers. He used the phrase “new world order” no fewer than 42 times between the summer of 1990 and the end of March 1991. Critics saw it as ominous code for something else: unchallenged American global dominance. After all, the Soviet Union’s collapse had left the U.S. the last remaining superpower, towering over all other nations.
It was in this political climate that the Trumpet magazine launched in 1990. Remarkably, among all the forecasts we have made in our analysis of world events over two decades, perhaps the one that has appeared more frequently than any other is that the United States would weaken to the point of being completely eclipsed as a world power.
Demonstrating the Trumpet’s political neutrality, this forecast has remained constant through two Republican and now two Democratic presidencies. For most of these 20 years, it has been a stubbornly contrarian view.
Nevertheless, we have held it because it is guided by biblical prophecy, consistent with the understanding elucidated by Herbert W. Armstrong in The United States and Britain in Prophecy. That landmark book explains how not only the United States but also Britain and several other English-speaking peoples descended from the ancient nation of Israel. The tremendous material blessings these nations have enjoyed came about not because of the virtues of the people, but because God was fulfilling promises of such prosperity He had given to the patriarchs of Israel. Today we are witnessing the subsequently prophesied removal of those blessings because of the peoples’ disobedience to God.
Year after year the Trumpet has tracked evidence of this national decline in several areas, including the quality of leadership, foreign relations and diplomacy, the will to use military power effectively, political and corporate integrity, economic vitality, industrial capacity, character and morality, family stability, physical and mental health, race relations, education, and spiritual well-being. In all of these areas and more, poisonous seeds have been sown; poor choices have accumulated; sins have mounted—and the resulting prophesied curses have grown sterner.
In recent times—particularly amid the current financial crisis—the evidence has grown so overwhelming that this reality is now becoming accepted more generally: America is the incredible shrinking superpower.
Fighting a Losing Battle
One of Herbert Armstrong’s strongest assertions after World War ii was that “America has won its last war.” He based the statement on several prophecies that, in the days preceding Jesus Christ’s return, the mightiest military in the world would become enfeebled, stripped of strong leadership and willpower, and finally conquered.
Consider the military conflicts the U.S. has been involved in since. Though Korea and Vietnam enjoyed the support of “Second World” Communist-bloc nations, both were poor and technologically bankrupt—and still gave America fits. Cuba, Iran, Grenada, Libya, Iraq, Somalia, Serbia, Afghanistan—despite being minor powers, all have delivered a black eye to America in one form or another.
The Trumpet had only existed for a year when the Gulf War began in 1991. After a short ground invasion, the Bush i administration claimed victory in the war. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry strongly challenged that assessment.
“The truth is we won a battle in Kuwait. We did not win a war. The job was left unfinished,” he wrote in the May 1991 issue. “Saddam Hussein is still in power—even stronger in some ways—and has turned Iraq into a killing field. Isn’t [that] a sign we didn’t win the war? That we lacked the will to win as it says in Leviticus 26:19?” What the U.S. did was essentially kick a massive problem down the road. “This will probably plague and haunt President Bush and America for the rest of our lives!” he wrote. That prediction has certainly proved true in the 19 years since.
Mr. Flurry was most critical of how, after encouraging the Kurds and Shiites to rise up against Saddam Hussein, the Bush administration abandoned them. Hussein then restarted his murderous rampage against these peoples, creating a humanitarian disaster. Mr. Flurry called this “the greatest betrayal in U.S. history.” “President Bush’s ‘new world order’ has brought some of the greatest shame on our nation’s history!” he wrote. “American leaders say the U.S. has no UN mandate to interfere in Iraq on the refugees’ behalf. This statement alone shows that we lack the will to use our power for a just cause. And if the Iraqi refugee crisis isn’t a just cause, nothing is!”
The following judgment, written over 18½ years ago, has played out in America’s foreign policy to this day, when President Obama is announcing his exit plan from Afghanistan before even sending troops into battle: “America still fears getting bogged down in a Vietnam-type civil war in Iraq. Even after we had them almost defenseless! That is because God has broken the pride of our power—our will to win!”
Mr. Flurry’s statements were informed by God’s promise to a disobedient nation in Leviticus 26:19: “I will break the pride of your power.” He expounded on a similar prophecy later that year in the December 1991 issue: Hosea 1:5, which says, “And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the bow of Israel ….” “It is hard for our people today to accept the fact that our nations are going to be destroyed in the coming Tribulation. They say, How can this happen? We have our great military power to protect us!” Mr. Flurry wrote. “But God is going to ‘break’ our military power. The word bow refers to military might. … America and England have won their last war!”
The truth in this assessment was made even more plain after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. While much of the media was impressed with America’s military response, the Trumpet focused on how it actually confirmed the condemnatory prophetic view. After quoting Leviticus 26:19 in our November 2001 issue, we wrote, “America’s military power is unprecedented, but it lacks the will to use it. Look at what it took for us to finally do something! And even America’s show of retaliation has, thus far, been a cautious, coalition-conscious strike against a tiny group of Muslim extremists known as the Taliban—a governing body the rest of the world does not even recognize.
“But what about the string of terrorist acts that led up to September 11—those we did nothing about? The first World Trade Center bombing, the American base in Saudi Arabia, Khobar Towers, the embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, the uss Cole. Terrorists have been emboldened by America’s broken will in these instances. Years of skittishness over losing [a] single soldier in combat created a climate that ended up costing nearly 3,000 civilian lives in a single day.
“Now, after the most inconceivably brutal terrorist act imaginable, Americans seem unified in the fact that we had to respond militarily. What does God have to say about this? ‘[Y]our strength shall be spent in vain …’ (verse 20).” Sadly, this analysis was deadly accurate: Over 5,200 American lives and nearly a trillion dollars later, Iraq and Afghanistan both threaten to revert to being terrorist havens the moment the U.S. leaves them.
In the same November 2001 issue, the Trumpet focused on the fact that the U.S. wasn’t targeting the world’s number-one state sponsor of terrorism—Iran. In fact, Washington absurdly asked Iran for its help among a global coalition of anti-terrorist nations! “[W]e can see unequivocally that the terrorist snake will survive America’s aggression—head intact, and stronger than ever,” we wrote. “In plain terms, the U.S. is taking on the impossible task of prosecuting a war without offending the enemy! … While the U.S. wants to eliminate terrorism and is becoming much more aggressive in trying to do so, its efforts will fall short. It frankly does not have the necessary will to tackle the enormity of the problem!” True enough: In the more than eight years since, Iran has actually grown stronger.
After the U.S. stormed Baghdad in 2003 and President Bush proclaimed “mission accomplished,” the Trumpet continued to view events in terms of how they would play out in the long term. In November of that year, in an article called “Why We Cannot Win the War Against Terrorism,” Mr. Flurry wrote, “President Bush and Prime Minister Blair have courageously restricted Iran’s influence by toppling the governments of Afghanistan and Iraq. However, these are ongoing terrorist wars. We will still lose those wars if our nations don’t unite behind our leaders. That is almost certainly not going to happen.” Perhaps no issue has divided America and Britain more than these wars; today, even President Obama is alienating his base by sending more troops into Afghanistan. Terrorist enemies know they have nothing to fear from a nation so internally fractured.
Few events have confirmed the accuracy of biblical prophecy more than this protracted military campaign, where the world’s greatest military, sapped of will, is losing ground on several fronts against primitive bands of terrorists and spending its strength in vain. If only America would acknowledge it.
Breaking the Brotherhood
Another remarkable set of prophecies the Trumpet has highlighted are proving relevant: those centering on America’s alliances in our day. The Bible is clear that the modern nations of Israel—the U.S. and Britain primarily—will turn against each other and against the Jewish state called Israel (biblical Judah), in favor of sham alliances with other foreign states, particularly Germany. It also speaks of their isolation and abandonment by those nations—and ultimate betrayal at their hands.
Mr. Flurry discussed this in one of the Trumpet’s earliest editions. “God says the nation[s] of Israel [are] going to be attacked by their ‘lovers’—unless they repent (Ezekiel 23:9, 22),” the June 1990 issue said. “Their ‘loving’ relationship with Germany is a snare.”
Consider those words in light of America’s ambassador to Germany recently labeling Berlin “Washington’s most important ally.” This past December, Ambassador Philip Murphy called the U.S.-German relationship the most important of the past 60 years, saying, “We need strong partners—and nowhere are there better or more committed partners than in Europe. And Germany is the centerpiece of the European Union.” He certainly has that last part right.
But what a snub against Washington’s actual most important ally, Britain! That relationship, as well as the one with Israel, has turned extremely chilly during the Obama presidency, as the Trumpet has documented in recent issues. A shocking example occurred in November, during a visit to d.c. by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Caroline Glick reported, “It isn’t every day that a visiting leader from a strategically vital U.S. ally is brought into the White House in an unmarked van in the middle of the night rather than greeted like a friend at the front door; is forbidden to have his picture taken with the president; is forced to leave the White House alone, through a side exit; and is ordered to keep the contents of his meeting with the president secret” (Jerusalem Post, Nov. 13, 2009).
This shameful, despicable treatment poignantly fulfilled a prophecy we began to highlight in our March/April 2004 issue. “For many Arabs, the number-one reason to hate America is its support for Israel. As the U.S. war against terrorism continues to yield high bills, a steady body count and a booming crop of anti-Americanism worldwide, is it possible that Americans will begin to think, Why are we making ourselves such a target over that little country?” we wrote. “Prophecy suggests such an eventuality.
“In Zechariah 11:14 is a prophecy that God would ‘break the brotherhood between Judah and Israel.’ This may well refer to a future rift between America (biblical Israel) and the Jewish state (Judah). If America turned its back on the Jews, it would leave little Israel isolated and vulnerable.”
As that Trumpet predicted, the White House has taken to offending allies like Israel in hopes of currying favor with Muslim states in particular. But it is gaining no such benefit, even as it sacrifices hard-won, longstanding friendships. The net result is just as the Trumpet prophesied in our September/October 1992 issue, after a major United Nations conference. We wrote that the U.S. “has taken another giant step toward complete and total isolation from the countries which it has helped and befriended. The entire 23rd chapter of Ezekiel speaks of how biblical Israel and those who associate with her in this end time will be completely alienated from the rest of the world.” The article then quoted Jeremiah 30:12-14 and concluded, “This is what the United States is setting itself up for: abandonment by its political and financial lovers!”
While this prophecy hasn’t played out to nearly the degree that it will in the time just ahead, it is certainly unfolding on schedule.
It was these same biblical prophecies that informed Herbert Armstrong’s forecast, as early as 1945 and continuing until his death in 1986, that when the nations of Europe would unify as the Bible prophesies they will, Britain ultimately would find itself outside this continental alliance. In 1956, for example, Mr. Armstrong wrote, “The Germans are coming back from the destruction of World War ii
in breathtaking manner. Germany is the economic and military heart of Europe. Probably Germany will lead and dominate the coming United States of Europe. But Britain will be no part of it!”
Even in recent years as Britain appeared fundamental to the nucleus of the European Union, the Trumpet has followed this forecast, repeatedly prophesying of Britain’s inevitable exclusion from the German-led Continent. “The financial capital of Europe is rapidly shifting from London to Frankfurt,” we wrote in August 1999—anticipating the transformational changes occurring today. “Bible prophecy indicates that Britain will ultimately not be a part of the European Union. The British public reject the switch from pounds to euros,” a symbolic move that presaged Britain’s political separation. “Soon Britain will not be able to continue sitting on the fence, hiding behind its coveted euro opt-out clauses and veto powers,” the August 2000 issue said. “Britain will have to decide whether to be in or out.”
Informed by these prophecies, in the July 2000 issue the Trumpet began bringing to light a trend destined to balloon into a crisis: the encroachment of EU law on British sovereignty. “There is reason for concern. Already in several instances British law has been superseded by the rule of the European ‘big brother,’” we wrote. “Britons are slowly starting to wake up to the fact that becoming a signatory to the next EU treaty would not only erode their power to regulate their national economy, it would restrict the use of their military forces, impose Roman law over the top of British common law, and draw them into a European super-police-state,” the November 2000 issue stated. As this prophetic analysis projected, this question has become a bitter pill to the British electorate, and will likely contribute significantly to their returning a Conservative government to power in their national election this year. That in turn will likely accelerate Britain’s alienation from Europe—and hasten the treachery it is prophesied to be victimized by.
Where God Pins the Blame
The Bible traces the decline of the modern nations of Israel particularly to the leaders. “[T]he whole head is sick,” prophesied Isaiah. “[T]hey which lead thee cause thee to err, and destroy the way of thy paths” (Isaiah 1:5; 3:12).
For 20 years the Trumpet has tracked the disappearance of quality leadership within the governments, industries, educational institutions and families of the U.S. and Britain—a trend that is at its worst crisis point today (Isaiah 3:1-4). “It is so clear in many different areas that our society is disintegrating through lack of strong male leadership,” we wrote in April 1992. “De facto relationships, unhappy marriages, rising divorce rates, absent and/or neglectful fathers and now more and more absent working mothers—this is the environment that is at the root of our social disintegration,” that year’s May issue said.
Speaking of Isaiah’s prophecy, our April 1993 issue said, “This is a 2,700-year-old prophetic description of national suicide. It’s a graphic example of cause and effect, leading to national captivity! The cause is lack of strong, godly leadership. The effect is social, economic and military destruction.”
“For a nation to be great, it must have a great leader. Everything revolves around a strong leader who will lead the people to face the necessary sacrifices and hard truths,” Mr. Flurry wrote in January 2000. “Today our people want to hear ‘smooth things’ and ‘deceits.’ It’s the only way a leader can get elected.” The several U.S. elections since, including three for president, have revealed a steep slide even further down that dangerous slope. The American people “are too engrossed in self to ever have the will to remain a superpower,” Mr. Flurry continued. “It won’t be long before we have to face reality. We are a phony superpower waiting for disaster, if we don’t awaken.” What a lightning-bolt verdict! And how painfully true.
Even at that time, referring to specific issues like the Gulf War and the handover of the Panama Canal, Mr. Flurry made another prescient statement: “The American people are being bombarded with foreign-policy surrenders on the part of their leaders!” (ibid.). A decade later, these surrenders are accelerating. Evidence of the end of America’s reign as a superpower has become undeniable. The U.S. is fulfilling the Bible’s description of its decline in finer and finer detail, as is Britain.
This fact, while sad, should build our faith in the certainty of the ultimate outcome prophesied in Scripture and described in The United States and Britain in Prophecy. That outcome is that, while the immediate future will be grim, it will lead to the humiliation and ensuing repentance of these peoples! That is wonderful news.
The Bible’s prophecies—and the Trumpet’s proclamation of them—were given by God in advance to facilitate that repentance, even if only within individual readers at this time. That is the crucial underlying message of this 20-year review of the Trumpet’s biblically informed analyses.
Heed the warning today, turn to the God who issued those prophecies, before they are fulfilled—and that same Almighty God will fulfill His promises to protect you from the trials to come!
Those who respond to God’s calling today will actually have the opportunity to help Him usher in the real “new world order”—not an impractical dream of men, but the genuine and wonderful World Tomorrow that will spring to life after this tired age of man culminates in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ!
| 226,951
|
Please help to convey the importance of school to your student by making every effort to have your child to school every day and on time. If your child is going to be absent, please fill out the form below and submit it before 9:00am. If you would rather, you can always call our Attendance Line (720-561-5408) and leave a message (please do not use our regular phone line for attendance issues).
If you know ahead of time that your child is going to be absent for more than one day, please indicate this when filling out the form below. If you would rather, you can fill out a Pre-Arranged Absence form instead (See the School Forms page). If your child is not in school and we have not heard from you, we will make every effort to contact you so that all students are accounted for each day.
There are compulsory attendance laws for children 6 years old-17 year old. Poor attendance in elementary school can begin a habit that impacts students in middle and high school. It is important for children to be in school every day they are healthy and to be on time. While of course illnesses and family opportunities arise during the school year, please know that we truly expect to have your child in class, on time, every day.
The typical amount of absences for a
student in school year at our school is around 1-3 days in an entire year. A large percentage of our students miss zero days of school! If your child has missed five or more days of school this year, we ask that you simply consider this information and the 6 hours of instruction/activity that is missed when your child isn’t in school each of those days. The classroom is such a rich environment and we cannot recreate what happens on a daily basis. Most of the missed work isn’t able to be reproduced or made up outside of class time and can ultimately result in gaps in learning. Also, after an extended absence the "re-entry" phase can be difficult - we see children come back feeling a bit "lost" and can take an extra day or two to feel re-engaged in the classroom routines. We encourage you to take vacations over the summer, Thanksgiving, winter, spring breaks, and the long weekends available during the school year. Our goal is to provide a quality public Montessori education to our children and consistency and order are essential. Thank you for your consideration regarding attendance.
Once your child misses 5
days, you will receive a letter regarding attendance. At 10 missed
days, you will receive a letter requesting a meeting to come up with a
plan to improve attendance. This is in accordance with district policy
and Colorado State Compulsory Attendance laws. It is so important for
your child to be at school every day on time. Many children have a very hard time catching up when they have missed a
great deal of class. We are in class 172 of the school year. Our focus
is the success of your child.
We would like to ask that special efforts are made to make sure every child is in school September 24th – October8th. These are the Official Pupil Count dates for Boulder Valley School District. Our school is funded according to thiscount. The attendance of every student represents dollars during this count period.
| 113,856
|
Borough officials will discuss the launch of what they hope will be a bright future for several vast, deteriorating tracts in the North end of town during a kickoff meeting on Carlisle’s Urban Redevelopment Plan at 7 p.m. Monday at Borough Hall.
The community is encouraged to attend the meeting on the plan that’s aimed at creating “a unified vision for the redevelopment of the Northwest quadrant of the borough.”
The meeting is taking take place in partnership with the Cumberland County Planning Department. Carlisle Borough Hall is at 53 W. South St.
Empty industrial sites started littering the North end of Carlisle, when an automotive interior manufacturer, last operating under the moniker International Automotive Components North America, closed its massive plant in 2008.
Tyco Electronics was the next to go, shutting down its Carlisle manufacturing site on East Hamilton Street in 2009.
And in 2010, Carlisle Tire and Wheel deserted the borough and transplanted its operations to Tennessee.
Borough officials, who hope to attract economic development to the barren industrial wastelands the companies left behind, believe that since two of the properties were acquired by new owners, that the parcels will be redeveloped in the near future.
What type of development do you think would be suitable for this section of town — retail, residential, industrial or office — and why?
Tell us what you think.
| 290,662
|
Relax, public servants, CoA cuts not as bad as you think
The Commission of Audit has suggested slashing 15,000 jobs from the public service and making mandarins more efficient. But the recommendations are reasonable, and not as dramatic as they seem, writes governance expert Stephen Bartos.
The Commission of Audit estimates that its recommendations could lead to a loss of 15,000 Australian public service jobs. But that is less frightening for the public service than it appears.
Some are likely to arise from privatisations, which do not necessarily lead to job losses. For example, privatising the Defence Housing Authority would mean a change of ownership, but people will still be needed there to deliver housing to Defence personnel. While privatisation sometimes does lead to staffing reductions, it is not always the case.
Second, the government is not likely to accept all the recommendations. There may well be fewer job cuts than the commission recommends.
But most importantly, at least any cuts that come in the budget would be associated with specific initiatives, so public servants affected will know where they stand. There are good and bad ways to cut. The Commission of Audit sensibly rejects across-the-board efficiency dividends as a “blunt instrument” that has reached its limits.
Nevertheless, there are already public service cuts underway as a result of the past government’s additional efficiency dividends. Any further cuts will come on top of these, which will severely affect some agencies. Because the Commission of Audit is targeting particular types of cuts — for example, to Defence Force headquarters and executive-level staff — the Canberra economy would be hard hit (assuming, that is, the recommendations are agreed by the government and announced in the budget).
Some of the public service recommendations have been well foreshadowed in public comment — for example, cuts to the Defence materiel organisation and to climate change agencies, and mergers of a number of health agencies. Although there are new recommendations for abolishing or merging numerous Commonwealth bodies, many of those slated for abolition are committees or advisory boards where the main effects will be felt not by public servants by a very small number of board members.
Recommendations on e-government and transition to online service delivery could just as easily have been welcomed by the previous government. It is where all services, including public services, are heading. The Commonwealth lags behind states and other countries and has to pick up its game. Better online services can and should be implemented regardless of political preferences.
The report, especially in phase 2, includes numerous recommendations on improving public service performance.
Some of them are well overdue. The commission notes (recommendation 10, phase 2 report) that “there is no systematic evaluation of programmes at the Commonwealth level”. There used to be. All programs had to be evaluated and the evaluation reports published. That requirement was dropped in 1996; ironically, it might have been as a consequence of the Commission of Audit report back then. I have no inside information from that time, but have been told this was done on the logical (if impractical) rationale that every government service could be outsourced and therefore did not need evaluation. That is, the assumption was that contracting out would build in its own evaluation through tender assessment processes.
“Everyone claims to want better performance, but good intentions butter no parsnips.”
Return of evaluation would be a welcome improvement. Oddly though, the audit recommends that the reports be provided to the Department of Finance. Public accountability would be far greater if evaluation reports could be made public, or at the very least, to the Parliament.
This and other recommendations under the heading “public sector accountability and performance” will depend heavily on whether or not the public service itself takes them seriously.
Everyone claims to want better performance, but good intentions butter no parsnips. These chapters could have been written under any government of the last 30 years.
Public service performance only improves if ministers insist on it, are prepared to be held account for it in Parliament, and are supported in this by the senior leaders of the public service.
If the audit phase 2 report leads to strong resolution on the part of ministers to press for better performance, it will have done the country a service. An important question, though, is whether we will ever know. Alongside better performance information has to be transparency. The report suggests greater auditing by the Australian National Audit office of agency performance information, which will help, but lacks other specific recommendations on how to improve transparency.
There needs to be online publication of meaningful and digestible performance information, and willingness on the part of ministers and parliamentarians to interrogate public servants and pull them into line when performance is lacking. The Commission of Audit fails to address the incentives in our political system for both ministers and public servants to hide information on performance so as to avoid “gotcha” moments and negative headlines.
The phase 2 report also draws attention to the problem of “spans of control” (a bit of wonky HR jargon) that have led to public service departments becoming top-heavy with executives. As with performance reporting, it is worth identifying the problem, but the only way to fix it will be through better leadership by the public service itself. The suggested action (including “all portfolio secretaries and agency heads to prepare plans to improve management structures and spans of control for ministers within 12 months”) leaves implementation to internal processes within government. It seems that the commissioners exhausted their stock of tough and specific recommendations in phase 1 and left public servants to write most of phase 2.
The problem is that under current incentive structures the public service won’t make these changes of its own accord. The themes of better accountability, better performance, reduction of layers of management, better use of IT and better corporate services have all been around for years. If the public service had wanted to implement these for itself it could already have done so.
Ministers themselves will need to take action. They don’t have the capacity to manage departments. But they can insist on better performance reporting, enlist the public in the task by making that reporting more open, be prepared to accept the risks that come with change, and ask public service leaders who are resisting change to move on.
Most importantly, they need courage to stare down the negative headlines that will come. Change is never risk free. The major barrier to better public service performance in recent years has been ministers’ insistence that public servants make no mistakes. There is no way any manager, whether in the public or private sector, can guarantee they will make zero mistakes during a change to bring about better performance. A solution to the problem of ministerial timidity is beyond a commission of audit — it has to be up to the government of the day.
| 232,530
|
Child traffic deaths down in Iowa
This week is National Child Passenger Safety Week and officials say Iowa’s roads were safer for children in 2011 than they were the previous year.
In Iowa, six children under the age of 15 died in crashes in 2011. That compares to eight the year before. Forty to sixty Iowa children are also seriously injured in crashes each year.
While deaths are down, seat-belt usage is up to 94-percent. The Iowa Governor’s Traffic Safety Bureau is using National Passenger Safety Week as a reminder to parents to make sure their children are buckled up and are using car seats and booster seats properly.
In Iowa, everyone up to age 18 must wear a seatbelt and children younger than age 13 must sit in the backseat.
You can learn more about seatbelt safety rules and proper installation of car seats here.
| 250,383
|
A pingback is one of four types of linkback methods for Web authors to request notification when somebody links to one of their documents. This enables authors to keep track of who is linking to, or referring to their articles.
Zendesk provides an integrated on-demand helpdesk - customer support portal solution based on the latest Web 2.0 technologies and design philosophies. The product has an elegant, minimalist design implemented in Ruby on Rails and provides seamless integration of the back-end helpdesk SaaS to a company's online customer-facing...
Zendesk chat (formaly Zopim) is a web based chat application for online business owners, born out of frustration for existing Live Chat solutions. The Live Chat industry for web based customer sales and support is not new, and neither are the solutions – they have not evolved to adapt to web users behavior, and are usually dif...
Open graph description entity tag
A web page. Every web page is implicitly assumed to be declared to be of type WebPage, so the various properties about that webpage, such as breadcrumb may be used. We recommend explicit declaration if these properties are specified, but if they are found outside of an itemscope, they will be assumed to be about the page
A scheme.org entity that represents an organization such as a school, NGO, corporation, club, etc.
A scheme.org entity that represents a person (alive, dead, undead, or fictional).
A scheme.org entity that represents the most generic kind of creative work, including books, movies, photographs, software programs, etc.
A scheme.org entity that represents a blog post.
This page contains a meta robots tag which tells search engines and robots to index or not index the page.
| 283,887
|
Abstract or Description
The traditional distinction between the “front office” and the “back office” fails to align with contemporary technical services practice. Today, technical and public services personnel are equally involved in providing resources, services, and support direct to patrons, demanding communication, collaboration, and public service competencies library-wide. Drawing upon participants' experiences, this roundtable will discuss the importance of communication and referral skills commonly associated with reference and instruction to the delivery of effective technical services. Discussion questions include:
- What are the emerging points of contact between technical and public services, and technical services and patrons? What role has the ongoing transition to electronic resources played in changing or increasing these points of contact, and the need for technical services personnel to participate in their mediation?
- How do technical services personnel provide education, promotion, and support for library resources? What practices work well, and what can we do better?
- How does technical services’ participation in patron education and support impact technical and public services roles library-wide? Are traditional service models well adapted to emerging technical and public service practices?
American Library Association Midwinter Meeting
Mortimore, Jeffrey M..
"Embracing Technical Service's Public Service Role."
Library Faculty Presentations.
This work is archived and distributed under the repository's standard copyright and reuse license, available here. Under this license, end-users may copy, store, and distribute this work without restriction. For questions related to additional reuse of this work, please contact the copyright owner.
| 81,791
|
What makes a good father? We live in a country full of orphans and single moms, where many children grow up without a father. Either that, or fathers are away for long periods of time, have passed away or are generally unavailable as the demands of life swallow them. If one has never experienced a father, how is one to understand that God is a good father?
The fact that God is our father, was a novel thing for me. Scripture tells us that those who believe, have the right to become children of God. Which means that we are all brothers and sisters in Christ, with God as our good father.
“Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God – children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” (John 1:12-13)
Out of His love for us, He not only sent His son to die on the cross for us, but “adopted us” (Eph 1:5) into His family. For those of us who do not have a Father, He is our Father. As Father He is intimately involved in our lives.
Now as His children, He lavishes us with His love.
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” (1 John 3:1)
So what are the characteristics of a good father? I borrowed from the internet here, looking at the characteristics of a good earthly Father, and looking at how scripture describes our Father God.
- His love means that as father He wants to bless us, and so showers us with many good gifts. “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matt 7:11) (James 1:17)
- As Father, His love protects us. “‘Because he loves me,’ says the Lord, ‘I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.” (Psalm 91:14)
- As Father, His Love provides for us. “So do not worry, saying, “What shall we eat?” or “What shall we drink?” or “What shall we wear?” For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” (Matt 6:31-33)
- As Father, He always works for our good. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8:28)
- Our Father, has plans of a good future for us. “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
- Our Father, teaches us. “He guides the humble in what is right andteaches them his way.” (Psalm 25:9)
- Our Father disciplines us for our good. “‘My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.’ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father?… God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness.” (Hebrews 12:5-7, 10)
- Our Father gives spiritual leadership through this life and into eternity. “I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths.” (Proverbs 4:11) “For the Lamb at the centre of the throne will be their shepherd; “he will lead them to springs of living water.” “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”’ (Rev 7:17)
- Our Father provides an example to follow. “Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children.” (Ephesians 5:1)
- Our Father loves His Bride, the church. “How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume more than any spice!” (Song of Solomon 4:10)
His Love identifies us as His beloved. Since we know this love of God, we know who we are. However, there is one difference between a good earthly father and our Father God.
“As for God, his way is perfect: the Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.” (Psalm 18:30)
No earthly father can ever be compared to our heavenly father.
He is a good, good father.
Father, I can call you “Abba Father,” and your Spirit testifies with my spirit that I am Your child (Romans 8:15-16). Thank you for making me part of your family and caring for me as you do. You are a good Father and I am loved by You. Help me not to forget, that because You love me, you are intimately involved with my life. Help me to recognize Your goodness in my life.
| 199,064
|
Basil John Fletcher Simpson was the son of Francis Simpson and Catherine Gardiner. He was named after the first ancestor, Basil J.F. Simpson who emigrated from Edinburgh Scotland in the 1730’s. He was born in 1830 in Unity, Montgomery County, Maryland. He and his family resided in the small village of New London, Maryland. In 1858 he married Laura J. Nusbaum (1841-1914) and together they had 6 children – all but one reaching the age of maturity. Basil J.F. as he was know, was a pious and faithful servant of the Lord. He was the superintendent and teacher of the Central United Methodist Church in New London.
Basil worked as a blacksmith, wheelwright and also a cabinet maker, building coffins during the civil war. He passed away at a relatively early age in the comfort of his home. He is resting in peace at the Central Church Cemetery. The following is a copy of his obituary which appered in the Frederick News on 18 FEB 1899. It is interesting to note that all the newspapers state the year of his death and 1899, but his tombstone states he died in the year 1900. I would assume that the paper is correct as several of the family tombstones contain errors, mostly misspellings.
THE WORK OF DEATH
Basil J. F. Simpson
Mr. Basil J. F. Simpson, whose death at New London was briefly mentioned was aged 68 years, 11 months and 13 days. Death ensued from grip, the first atttack being about twelve years ago. Mr. Simpson was an honored citizen of New London for about forty years and a lifelong member of Central church, ofwhich he was a class leader for many years. His wife and four children survivehim. The children are Messrs.Ridgely, of near Frederick, Allen B., of Fort Seneca, Ohio, Mrs. John H. Albaugh, of Libertytown, and Mrs. Nelson Jones, of Montgomery county. The funeral took place last Saturday morning from, his late home, Rev.G. F. Farring officiating. Interment was made at Central chapel graveyard.
An interesting article appeared in the Frederick Examiner on 28 OCT 1858 that lends a little insight to the strong character and values that Basil possessed. It reads:
On the evening of Thursday, 7th inst., at New London, in New Market district, John H. Bevans, while laboring under an access of Mania a polu attempted to kill Mrs. P. Riggs, an aged lady, by cutting her throat. It seems that Bevans, excited by drink to madness, had previously assailed several persons with a drawn knife, out they managed to escape to places of safety, and upon coming to the house of Mrs. Rigss, he broke open the door chased out the family, consisting of females, and catching the old lady in the street, threw her down attempted to pinion her her hands under his knee, made one cut across her throat and was in the act of repeating his murderous blow when, when he was struck in the head with a stone thrown by Mr. Basil Simpson. He was immediately secured. Mrs. Riggs’ wound was dressed by Dr. T.W. Simpson of Liberty; but at last accounts was in a very critical condition. Bevans we learn, has been placed in St. Joseph’s Hospital, Philadelphia.
To the right is an 1858 map of New London, MD. You can see from the map and the Riggs, and the Bevans (Beavans) were neighbors. Basil Simpson’s inlaws, the Nusbaum’s also live on the same street. On the 1850 census, Daniel Nusbaum, Basil’s father in-law listed his occupation as a wheelwright. It is a natural assumption that Daniel taught Basil the same trade.
| 138,737
|
Physical-chemical properties of glacial tills, derived from felsic or mafic lithologies, were studied in the forest, treeline, and on tundra in western Finnish Lapland. Scots pine [Pinus sylvestris L.] dominated on felsic fells, but excess soil water content was found edaphically constraining for pine. Low soil electrical conductivity (ECa) and low Ca to Al ratios was found to constrain Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.]. The soil ECa positively correlated with soil Mg, Na, and Ca, but negatively with Al signifying the distribution of spruce to be associated with mafic lithologies. The limit of mountain birch [Betula pubescens ssp. Czerepanovi Hamet-Ahti] was below the conifer krummholz-zone. In winter, the treeline soil was unfrozen beneath the snowpack, whereas subzero temperatures applied to forest and tundra. In spring, soil water became available weeks before final melting of snowpack, while soil temperature (ST) increased notably above 0oC three weeks after the disappearance of snow. Early season ST was not attributed to elevation or aspect. Mid-season ST was highest on tundra. We contend that, instead of ST, water or N availability, winter winds, and spatial distribution of snow are crucial with regard to spreading of tree species on the studied fells.
Geological Survey of Finland, Rovaniemi, Finland 2:
Department of Geosciences, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland 3:
Geological Survey of Finland, Espoo, Finland 4:
Finnish Forest Research Institute, Rovaniemi, Finland
| 221,952
|
“It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” ~ Albert Einstein
Technology in Volleyball
Technology certainly is not the answer in volleyball, but Coach Rey believes in the competitive advantage it provides for a team. By no means does he claim to be a technological guru, maybe a little bit of nerd, but it is all self-taught. This website Coach Rey created using WordPress HTML and CSS with Dreamweaver and Fireworks software, a bit of cutting and pasting, but it certainly is not W3C compliant
Yes, these videos are a bit nerdy 😉
Besides website creation, Coach Rey enjoys intermixing technology and volleyball. At the University of Minnesota, Coach Rey utilized Data Volley and Data Video softwares for individual and team analysis, scouting, and statistical purposes. At Georgia Southern University he created a Google Group to organize the GSU Invitational Tournament. This is a great and simple tool that teams can take advantage of to better communicate. Coach Rey also created Georgia Southern University’s first HTML recruiting email that allowed prospective players to gain a better understanding of the Georgia Southern program. In addition, Coach Rey also used Google Video to post matches on the Internet for video exchange with other teams. This led to a proposal to the Southern Conference that hopes to utilize this technology for all teams.
Contact Coach Rey through many technologies: Gmail, text message, IM and Facebook, all which is uploaded directly onto his Blackberry.
| 257,321
|
Notes to Jean Baudrillard
1. For my earlier takes on Baudrillard, see Kellner 1989a; Best and Kellner 1991; Kellner 1994 and 1995, Chapter 8; and Best and Kellner 1997, Chapter 3. Other books on Baudrillard include Frankovits 1984; Gane 1991, 1992, and 1993; Stearns and Chaloupka 1992; Rojek and Turner 1993; Genosko 1994; and Butler 1999.
2. The year in parentheses here refers to the English translation of his work. By now, most of Baudrillard has been translated into English; see the bibliographies in Kellner 1989a and Butler 1999 for more detailed listing of his works than the bibliography above that cites his major works. A detailed online bibliography can be found in the Jean Baudrillard Bibliography in the Other Internet Resources section.
3. Semiology refers to studies of language and culture as a system of signs inaugurated by Swiss linguist Ferdinand de Saussure; on Baudrillard and semiology, see Gary Genosko, Baudrillard and Signs. Signification Ablaze. London: Routledge, 1994.
4. Guy Debord and a group of associates who formed a “Situationist International” called for the construction of situations, through which they meant alternative and oppositional modes of culture, behavior, and politics. They were extremely influential in the 1960s, influencing the May 1968 rebellions in France and diverse forms of cultural revolution throughout the world. They are experiencing an aftermath in many Internet sites devoted to their work and various cultural projects that replicate it; see, for example, the link to Situationist International in the Other Internet Resources section. For more on Debord and the Situationist International, see Best and Kellner 1997, and also Steven Best and Douglas Kellner, ‘Debord and the Postmodern Turn: New Stages of the Spectacle,’ Substance #90 (1999): 129-156.
5. In Simulacra and Simulation, Baudrillard writes: “To dissimulate is to feign not to have what one has. To simulate is to feign to have what one hasn't. One implies a presence, the other an absence. But the matter is more complicated, since to simulate is not simply to feign: ”Someone who feigns an illness can simply go to bed and pretend he is ill. Someone who simulates an illness produces in himself some of the symptoms“ (Littre). Thus, feigning or dissimulating leaves the reality principle intact: the difference is always clear, it is only masked; whereas simulation threatens the difference between ”true“ and ”false“, between ”real“ and ”imaginary“. Since the simulator produces ”true“ symptoms, is he or she ill or not? The simulator cannot be treated objectively either as ill, or as not ill.” (1994a, 3).
6. On Baudrillard and feminism, see Keith Goshorn, “Valorizing ‘the Feminine’ while Rejecting feminism? – Baudrillard's Feminist Provocations” in Kellner 1994: 257-291 and Victoria Grace, Baudrillard's Challenge: A Feminist Reading. London: Routledge, 2000).
7. To those who would deny that Baudrillard is a postmodern theorist and has nothing to do with the discourse of the postmodern (e.g. Gane 1991 and 1993), one might note that Baudrillard uses the concept of the postmodern in his books of the 1990s (Baudrillard 1994b: 23, 27, 31, 34, 36, 107, passim; and Baudrillard 1996a: 36, 70 passim). The Perfect Crime (Baudrillard 1996b) does not use the discourse of the postmodern per se, but makes ample use of his classic categories of simulation, hyperreality, and implosion to elucidate a new virtual order opposed to the previous order of reality, the murder of which is “the perfect crime” (see 16, 83, 125, 128, passim). And in the conference “Jean Baudrillard und die Kunste: Eine Hommage zu seinem 75. Geburtstag,” Baudrillard mentioned several times that radical transformations in art and culture were linked to fundamental “anthropological changes in the human being,” ruptures that which the term “postmodern” has been generally used to signify.
8. While many commentators have remarked on Baudrillard's obvious Manicheanism and nihilism, Dr. Jonathan Smith argues that skepticism is also a key aspect of Baudrillard's thought; see Smith 2004 (Other Internet Resources). Baudrillard's thought does contain a curious mixture of Manicheanism and Gnosticism that identifies with the principle of evil mixed with an ironic skepticism. The result of this mixture is a unique form of cynicism and nihilism which plays with philosophical and other categories, debunks standard philosophical theorizing and offers provocative alternatives. Yet Dr. Smith seems to miss the dimension of play and irony in Baudrillard's work, as well as his valorization of writing and the symbolic, in which writing and not forms of thought or philosophy are privileged as (see, for example, the section on “Poetic Transference” in Impossible Exchange (2001, pp. 111ff). Smith also goes astray by claiming that “pure appearance” is the key affirmative concept of Baudrillard's thought, whereas in fact he valorizes a whole set of categories delineating the accursed and despised poles of fundamental dichotomies such as appearance, illusion, meaninglessness, and evil).
9. See Jacques Derrida, On Grammatology (Baltimore and London: John Hopkins University Press, 1976) and T.W. Adorno, Negative Dialectics (London, Routledge, 1973).
10. See also on the collapse of Communism, see D. Kellner, “The End of Orthodox Marxism,” in Marxism in the Postmodern Age, edited by Jack Amarglio, et al. New York, Guilford Press: 1995: 33-41 and “The Obsolescence of Marxism?,” in Whither Marxism?, edited by Bernd Magnus and Stephen Cullenberg. London and New York: Routledge, 1995: 3-30.
11. For systematic studies of recent media spectacle, see Kellner 2003a and on the September 11 terror spectacle, see Kellner 2003b.
12. Baudrillard begrudgingly acknowledges in a later writing that the fall of the Berlin wall “signified something closer to an enormous repentance on the part of history” (Baudrillard 2000: 39). Political writings of the period are collected in Screened Out (Baudrillard 2002).
13. Jean Baudrillard, cited in Goldblatt 2001 (Other Internet Resources). Goldblatt reproduces the anti-French discourse of the right that was prevalent at the time.
14. Baudrillard, ‘This is the Fourth World War’, Der Spiegel, Number 3, 2002; see Baudrillard 2004 (Other Internet Resources) for a translation into English.
15. Jean Baudrillard, “La violence du Mondial,” in Power Inferno (Paris: Galilee, 2002), pp. 63-83; see Baudrillard 2002 (Other Internet Resources) for a translation into English.
16. Baudrillard, The Spirit of Terrorism, p. 32.
17. In other words, democratization, rights, and justice may be part of a highly contradictory and contested globalization. See D. Kellner, “Theorizing Globalization,” Sociological Theory, Vol. 20, Nr. 3 (November 2002): 285-305.
18. The inauguration in 2003 of a International Journal of Baudrillard Studies, however, indicates that there is a global coterie of Baudrillard scholars producing continued publications and reflections on his work; see the link to this journal in the Other Internet Resources.
19. Baudrillard distanced himself from the film and its vision of virtual reality in an interview by Aude Lancelin in Le Nouvel Observateur, June 2003; for a translation into English, see Baudrillard 2003 in the Other Internet Resources.
| 300,778
|
To get anything accomplished in our lives we must have a starting point. Once we get started we must continue the journey. I have noticed getting started can be extremely hard at times. When working with people and their finances everyone wants to have a monthly plan to get control of their money, but we can always find an excuse or something else to do instead of a budget. It can be the same in losing weight or even cleaning the yard. All of these tasks can look overwhelming before we start but we will never finish them if we don’t start. We know if we don’t start we will not finish, that’s obvious. But that still does not motivate us to start, so we have to be reminded. If you are doing a budget it can take about three months to get all of the kinks worked out. When we hear that we tend to want to not get started. Or we think we can’t do a budget until we get more money to work with. We must start where we are at with what we have. Doing a budget for the first time can be a little time consuming. Most of the time we don’t know how much we spend in certain areas, this is why it takes about three months to get a budget to flow. If you are married sit down with your spouse and go line by line and put in an amount for the areas that you will need to spend money on for the month. Don’t panic if you don’t have enough money to go in all of the item categories. Feel free to download a budget here for free. If you run out of steam the first time you sit down, don’t panic, just pick back up later and continue. After about three months you can do your budget in about 15 minutes. Now remember the next most important thing in this process is tracking what you actually spend. This can be a part that is hard to follow up on but it is vital to get your finances under control. If you don’t know how much you are spending you will all ways chase your expenses and guess how much you spend. I suggest you pick one day a week and enter all that you spend in your budget and that will let you know how much you have left in each category to spend each week. If you like you can save all of your receipts and go through them weekly. Remember to just get started! You will never finish if you never start. I will be doing a free budgeting 101 workshop this fall. Let me know if you are interested.
| 110,915
|
This is the Google Summer of Code 2009 project proposal page for James Legg. In the 2008 Summer of Code I wrote the Hugin Fast Preview window
Enfuse / Enblend Gimp Plugins
I would like to create Enfuse / Enblend Gimp plugins so that people can blend image layers with minimal visible seams directly in the GNU Image manipulation program.
Previously, a user would have to export each layer as a separate file and blend them on the command line. After the project's completion, a user should be able to have the same functionality directly in the Gimp. This would have the advantages of speed of use, as it removes several steps for the user; the ability to use Enblend and Enfuse in Gimp scripts; and the ability to consider blending like any other operation in the Gimp, with features such as undo, redo, and repeat last effect. A user interface will be created that allows the user to pick the options that are currently command line arguments. To demonstrate the plugins, I will create scripts that:
- 'enfuses' exposure stacks
- 'enfuses' focus stacks
- makes any texture a seamless image, similar the "Make seamless" plugin, however it will use Enblend to reduce visible seams.
If time allows, I could also create a Gimp plugins to do the job of nona and align_image_stack (with layered, unblended output, as the Gimp does not support high dynamic range images). Then I would create scripts for aligning and blending focus stacks or exposure stacks directly in the Gimp.
This project is based on this project suggestion
I have picked this idea as it would be useful for panoramic photography and seamless texture creation, both of which I do myself. I use Hugin and the Gimp, and such a plugin will be very useful for me as well as others.
I will work full time for the majority of Summer of Code. However, my final exams are at the beginning of June, so I intend to be revising for them, instead of coding, for the first three weeks. I will also need to take a couple of days off for my graduation and a family event.
This is a rough estimation as to how I spend the time:
- Weeks 1-3: revision (not coding).
- Week 4: Create the user interface for the Enblend and Enfuse plugins.
- Week 5: Write the part of the plugins that gets the required image information (e.g. image format, sizes of layers) from the Gimp, rather than a file.
- Weeks 6-10: Modify Enblend so that the source of the image data can be from the Gimp, and not just a file, and the result can be written back to the Gimp rather than written to a file.
- Weeks 11-13: Testing, bug fixing, and enhancements.
| 108,580
|
“Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”
— From “The New Colossus” by American poet Emma Lazarus, engraved on the Statue of Liberty
There’s nothing like a hunger strike to get your attention, such as the one staged by detainees at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma that began March 7.
Depending on who you believe, 1,200 prisoners (according to detainee advocates) or 750 of them (according to ICE) stopped eating, drawing national attention to their demands for the right to post bonds, an end to deportation for parents and citizens’ spouses, faster resolutions, better food, more pay for the work they do, cheaper food in the commissary, better treatment, and end to deportations altogether. If you ask for eight things, maybe you’ll get one of them — likely the smallest one.
The strike was inspired by family members and supporters who were protesting deportations outside the prison with signs reading “End human rights abuse” and “Don’t separate families.”
As of March 18, the number of strikers under medical observation had dwindled to two, and each of those had eaten occasionally, according to ICE public affairs officer Andrew Munoz.
“Several issues that have been brought to management’s attention are being addressed, including adding more items to the commissary list and exploring ways to reduce prices,” Munoz stated.
In another statement, ICE officials stated, “There have been no punitive actions taken against individuals who are participating in the protest,” meaning at this point, no forced feeding has occurred. If ICE’s medical staff thinks a hunger striker’s life or long-term health is at risk, it has to seek a court order before administering any involuntary feeding, according to the agency’s 2008 Performance Based National Detention Standards. If a court says it has no jurisdiction, or if a hospital refuses to force feed a prisoner, ICE “may consider other action if the hunger strike is still ongoing.” It doesn’t say what the “other action” would be. The ACLU has said it will provide legal representation to the detainees if ICE does pursue a court order to force feed.
The undocumented are good for business in so many ways. They provide cheap labor, they pay taxes for services they will never receive, and, when finally detained, they provide a profitable income for private prisons.
The Tacoma detention center is owned by the GEO Group, Inc., a billion-dollar corporation that calls itself “the world’s leading provider of correctional, detention, and community reentry services with 98 facilities, approximately 77,000 beds, and 18,000 employees around the globe.”
According to a March 12 Labor Notes interview with immigrants rights lawyer Maru Mora Villalpando of Latino Advocacy, GEO Group reportedly receives $120 to $160 per detainee per day. And according to several other news reports, detainees are fed either milk and potatoes, or milk and oatmeal, plus whatever they can purchase in the commissary, where items reportedly cost about $5 each, which apparently is equal to what a detainee earns working at the center in a week.
If true, it sounds like a pretty inexpensive and extremely bland meal to serve to a population comprising mostly Mexicans.
Stalling on immigration reform also translates into good money for GEO, which reportedly has friends in high places. According to a June 4, 2013 report by Lee Fang in The Nation, GEO Group promised “that it would not lobby in any way over the immigration reform debate.” A subsequent disclosure, reported Fang, showed that the Geo Group paid an “elite team of federal lobbyists” to influence comprehensive immigration reform legislation. This is not surprising. It’s just sad that this particular form of corporate greed is so dependent upon the suffering of those who weren’t lucky enough to be born in a land of plenty.
Immigration is such a complex, messy issue, with millions of undocumented people already here, most with tangled ties to both legal and illegal family members. Many have built American lives that may be meager, but are better and safer than in their home countries.
On the “Hunger Striker’s Demands” Facebook page, it states, “We believe that we deserve the opportunity to demonstrate that we want to be in this country legally and to contribute to this country.” Of course it makes sense that people born here get to be here, no questions asked, without having to demonstrate anything. That’s a birthright. But it won’t hurt to scoot over, just a little, inside our golden doors. (end)
| 271,210
|
Author’s Note: I humbly submit June’s edition of Cait Gordon’s 2020 Flash Fiction Challenge, featuring Parliament Hill as this month’s setting, the object is a pill bottle, and the genre is historical fiction – all in 1000 words. Thanks for reading and enjoy! Note: The city of Ottawa was founded as Bytown in the 1820s. Parliament Hill didn’t exist then as it is today, but the Barrack Hill Base did in its place.
Harold stood at the ship’s bow staring over the open water. The wooden dragon head, attached to the front, bobbed up and down in the rolls of the waves, and the rhythmic splashes of the oarsman echoed behind. The westward trek up the Ottawa River had been exhausting. With wind directly to their front, they couldn’t rely on their sail.
Harold’s long flowing beard and braided pig tails blew astern. At least his horned helmet stayed on his head. Content on his first journey, he dipped his fingers in a small leather purse attached to his belt and retrieved a small bottle, stopped by a cork. “Adrenal Nucleoprotein Tablets, take two a day.”
“Not sure what Colonel By will use them for. Too bad Doctor Smith came down with the clap. He would’ve loved the trip.” thought Harold.
A fortress on a hilltop signaled their arrival in Bytown. Harold bounded to the stern.
“Magnus,” he barked, “we’re within a league of Barrack Hill. Reduce speed for docking.”
Like Harold, Magnus wore a horned helmet and heavy furs, and yelled the order to the crew. The longboat slowed.
“What on…” yelled Harold. ”They fired a cannon at us!”
“There’s the entrance to the new canal,” Magnus replied. “It should shelter us from the fortress’ cannons. Crew, full speed ahead.”
Cannonballs rained on either side of the vessel.
“Magnus, know what these are for?” He showed him the pill bottle.
“Why should I care now? We’re in the heat of battle! Oarsmen! FASTER, like your life depended on it.”
After a tense minute, Magnus turned the helm hard to port and the crew slowed the ship gracefully into the inlet. Harold had never seen anything like it, but in the distance steps of the lock appeared that would take his ship down the canal. They needed to come to a dead stop because the lock-master had to lower their ship and open the gates to continue them their journey. He wasn’t around.
“Why did they shoot at us?” asked Harold.
Magnus hopped off the boat with rope in hand and tied the ship down to a cleat and ran to the front. A crewman tossed him a line and he repeated the process before returning.
“Maybe it was a mistake?” said Harold.
“They must’ve thought we were Americans attacking them,” said Magnus.
“Do we look like Americans?” said Harold pointing to his horned helmet. “Besides, the doctor told me he alerted Colonel By of our arrival.“
A bugle sounded from the top of Barrack Hill and a garrison stormed out of the fortress.
Magnus grabbed a two-handed axe. “Ha-ha! We’re in for it now! I’ve been waiting for this moment for nearly a year!”
“What?” said Harold. “When I signed up to join the North American Nordic Society last week, I didn’t think I’d be risking my life!”
“You’re not serious? We live for this stuff! A big part of what we do is historical re-enactments. Look at the men! They’re all primed and ready to go!” The crew had grabbed their axes. “Man, Doctor Smith must be regretting missing this! First one he’s missed in years!”
The crew charged off the ship and ran towards their assailants on the hill. Their blood curdling screams made Harold’s hair stand stiff on the back of his neck.
“Praise be to Odin!” Before Harold could reply back, Magnus leapt off the boat to join the others.
Harold stayed behind and observed the vikings and soldiers having a bally-good time fencing and sparring with their weapons. He never learned in history class of a Viking-British battle that involved muskets and axes, but it didn’t bother his shipmates. Next time, he’ll be sure to bring a weapon.
He fingered the pill bottle again. He had his mission. Nervous, Harold walked forward into the sea of clanging weapons with his hands in the air.
A soldier stopped his sparring. “Why aren’t you fighting?” he asked.
“I have something for Colonel By, may I see him?”
“He’s a busy man. What business do you have with him?”
“I have his Adrenal Nucleoprotein tablets from his doctor,” said Harold shaking the pill bottle, “who asked me to deliver it.”
“Doctor Smith not here? Too bad! He would’ve loved this! I’m Captain Johnson. We are all field engineers working on the canal project. This town is so boring that we welcome some fun from the Society. Hope you didn’t get too scared with our cannon welcome! We need some target practice, ha-ha.”
They walked up the hill together to the fortress. Johnson introduced Harold to Colonel By.
“Your pills sir, as prescribed by your physician.”
“Thank goodness,” said Colonel By. “With this bloody canal project, we’ve had so many delays and cost overruns, I thought I’d die of a stroke. You know, we built this thing to protect us from an invading American force. Doubt that’ll ever happen now. And my reward for my efforts? A nagging headache and missing all the fun outside.”
He read the instructions on the pill bottle and pulled the cork at the top of it without success. “Damn, can anyone open these things?” He smashed the bottle on the edge of a table and picked some pills in between the small shards of glass.
“Ah, much better,” the colonel said swallowing a handful. “Now, Harold. For giving me the relief from my aches and pains, how would you like to take your fine vessel I see tied in my lock on an inaugural sail down my canal tomorrow? Before it even opens up to the public.”
“I’d be honoured. Can I wear my horns?” said Harold.
“But of course, I too am part of the Nordic Society.”
The following morning, Harold, the crew, and Colonel By wearing his viking helmet, navigated the locks to begin their 200 kilometre trek to Kingston. The first of many voyages boaters would take along the Rideau Canal.
Viking Siege © 2020 Bruce Gordon. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission except in the case of brief quotations in critical articles and reviews. For more information, contact Bruce Gordon.
| 111,365
|
Haredi Rabbi Wants to Ban Traditional Fur Hats
Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim explains that the violent fur industry actually violates Jewish law Read More
Could wearing a streimel violate Jewish law? Rabbi Shlomo Pappenheim, the chairman of an anti-Zionist faction in the Haredi Israeli community, thinks so. He has called on Orthodox Jews to stop wearing fur, specifically streimels, PETA reports.
According to Rabbi Pappenheim, wearing real fur shtreimels, each of which may be made of up to 30 sables, minks, martens, or foxes, violates the Jewish law of tza’ar ba’alei chayim, which prohibits causing animals unnecessary pain. He even went so far as to say that flaunting real fur hats amounts to Chilul Hashem, or desecration of God’s name, since the cruelty of the fur industry is so widely known.
In 2010, Reggae star Matisyahu also came out against fur. He drafted a petition to the Knesset, insisting it ban the fur trade in Israel, an idea highly contested for years. But Matisyahu’s petition, unlike Pappenheim’s, left out streimels.
We’ll keep you posted.
| 131,134
|
No, this fragment does not provide evidence that Jesus was married. The comparatively late date of this Coptic papyrus (a seventh to eighth century c.e. fragment of a gospel perhaps composed in Greek as early as the second half of the second century) argues against its value as evidence for the life of the historical Jesus. Nor is there any reliable historical evidence to support the claim that he was not married, even though Christian tradition has long held that position. The oldest and most reliable evidence is entirely silent about Jesus’s marital status. The first claims that Jesus was not married are attested only in the late second century c.e., so if the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife was also composed in the second century c.e., it does provide evidence, however, that the whole question about Jesus’s marital status arose as part of the debates about sexuality and marriage that took place among early Christians at that time. From the very beginning, Christians disagreed about whether it was better to marry or to be celibate, but it was over a century after Jesus’ death before they began using Jesus’s marital status to support their different positions. Christian tradition preserved only those voices that claimed Jesus never married, but now another newly discovered writing, The Gospel of Philip, shows that some Christians claimed Jesus was married, probably already in the late second century.
From the moment the existence of the fragment was announced, some people doubted whether the fragment really is an ancient text and not a modern forgery, primarily because its contents are so unfamiliar or because they suspect someone might have an agenda to prove that Jesus was married or use the forgery to get rich. Scholars, however, use established procedures to determine if a papyrus is indeed an ancient document. They consider a variety of factors and weigh the evidence of the age and characteristics of the papyrus and ink, handwriting, language, and what historical context best fits the content.
In this case, King initially hand-carried the fragment to the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World, in New York, where it was carefully examined by the Institute’s director, the renowned papyrologist Roger Bagnall and by AnneMarie Luijendijk, a scholar of New Testament and Early Christianity from Princeton University. Two radiocarbon tests were subsequently done to determine the date of the papyrus. In the first test, performed by Gregory Hodgins at the University of Arizona, the sample size was too small and resulted in an unreliable date (to 404 to 209 b.c.e). A second test done by Noreen Tuross at Harvard University in conjunction with the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, however, produced a date of 659 to 859 c.e. Using a technique called micro-Raman spectroscopy, James T. Yardley and Alexis Hagadorn at Columbia University, determined that the carbon character of the ink matched samples of other papyrus that were dated from the first to eighth centuries c.e. In addition, microscopic and multispectral imaging made it possible to examine the fragment in far greater detail. These images provide a lot of information about the nature and extent of the damage and they helped to resolve a variety of questions about possible forgery. For example, if ink had pooled on the lower fibers of the front (recto), that would have shown the papyrus was written on after it had been damaged. Or if the alpha had overwritten a sigma in line four, then it would have shown that someone tampered with an ancient fragment that read “the woman” by changing it into “my wife.” No evidence of this kind is apparent, however. In short, the scientific testing provides no indication of modern fabrication (“forgery”), but does consistently offer positive evidence that the fragment as a material artifact is ancient.
In addition, questions were raised about two unusual uses of grammar. Here Ariel Shisha-Halevy, Professor of Linguistics at Hebrew University and a leading expert on Coptic language, was asked to consider the text’s language. He concluded that the language itself offered no evidence of forgery. King also found examples from a new discovery in Egypt that has the same kind of grammar, showing that at least one unusual case is not unique. While some experts continue to disagree about the other case, King notes that newly discovered texts often have new spellings or grammatical oddities which add to our knowledge of the Coptic language.
Some scholars also noted that the handwriting looked odd, which it does when judged by the standards of ancient professional scribes. But it fits within the lower standards of a large group of crude and idiosyncratic writings containing magical texts or school exercises. King concludes that “The general impression is the kind of handwriting expected from someone who has not progressed beyond an elementary level.”
A few people suggested that a forger could have created the fragment’s content by copying phrases from another ancient text, The Gospel of Thomas. But even if that were the case, it could have been done already in antiquity when such practices were widespread—even the authors of the New Testament Gospels of Matthew and Luke copied from the Gospel of Mark. The GJW fragment is similar to an ancient historical context. It is similar to other ancient gospels, and it fits well within the historical context of early Christian debates over whether women can be Jesus’s disciples or disputes about whether marriage or celibate virginity was the ideal mode of Christian life. Thus on the basis of the age of the papyrus, the type of ink, handwriting, Coptic grammar, and historical context, King concludes that it is highly probable that the fragment is an ancient text.
If ancient, this tiny, damaged fragment provides tantalizing glimpses into issues about family, discipleship, and marriage that concerned ancient Christians. The main topic of the dialogue between Jesus and his disciples is one that deeply concerned early Christians, who were asked to put loyalty to Jesus before their natal families, as the New Testament gospels show. Christians were talking about themselves as a family, with God the Father, his son Jesus, and members as brothers and sisters. The particular focus in the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife, however, is on women: his mother, Mary, his wife, and a female disciple. The disciples discuss whether Mary is worthy, and Jesus states that “she can be my disciple.” These signs indicate some controversy over whether women who are sexually active (mothers and wives) can be disciples of Jesus. Other early Christian writings defend marriage and reproduction against fellow Christians who think virginity and celibacy are required for all, or who argue that “women are not worthy of life.”
This gospel fragment provides a reason to reconsider what we thought we knew by asking what role claims about Jesus’ marital status played historically in early Christian controversies over marriage, celibacy, and family. The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife makes it possible to say that some early Christians believed that Jesus was married. This conclusion potentially has significant implications for the history of ancient Christian attitudes toward marriage, sexuality, and reproduction.
The real author of the gospel is not known and would likely remain unknown even if more of the text of the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife had survived. This remaining piece is too small to tell us anything definite about who may have composed, read, or circulated it except that they were Christians. Perhaps, like other gospels (such as the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and the Gospel of Philip), this gospel was attributed pseudonymously to one or more of Jesus’s closest followers, but that is only speculation. Its late date means that the author is not someone who knew Jesus personally.
The name, the “Gospel of Jesus’s Wife,” has been given to the fragment simply so that there is a way to refer to it. It is not possible to know whether the word “gospel” would have been part of the ancient title of the work to which this fragment belongs, or even if it had a title—many ancient Christian writings did not. The subject matter of the text is similar to other texts in the gospel genre, which depict Jesus in dialogue with his disciples. The genre of gospel includes all early Christian literature whose narrative or dialogue encompasses some aspect of Jesus’ career (including post-resurrection appearances) or which was designated as “gospel” already in antiquity. Two reasons for thinking of this fragment as a gospel are that 1) it presents a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples, and 2) it discusses discipleship in terms similar to select passages in other early Christian gospels, including the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and the Gospel of the Egyptians. The use of the term “gospel” here makes absolutely no claim to canonical status or to the historical accuracy of the content as such. This invented reference in no way means to imply that “Jesus’s wife” is the “author” of this work, is a major character in it, or is even a significant topic of discussion—none of that can be known from such a tiny fragment. Rather the title refers to the fragment’s most distinctive claim (that Jesus was married), and serves therefore as a kind of short-hand reference to the fragment.
The GJW fragment is a small piece of fragile papyrus, measuring only 1.6 inches (4 cm) in height by 3.2 inches (8 cm) wide, with writing in Coptic script on both sides. On one side there are eight incomplete lines of writing, and on the reverse side, there are six lines, but that side is especially badly damaged and the ink so faint that only three words and a few individual letters are still visible.
One very likely possibility is that a papyrus fragment that is this damaged came from an ancient garbage heap, like almost all of the earliest fragments of the New Testament, or it may have come from a burial site. Nothing is known about the circumstances of its discovery, but it had to have come from Egypt where the dry climate allows ancient writings to survive and because it is written in the Coptic form of the Egyptian language.
The text of the fragment is written in Coptic, the form in which the Egyptian language was written beginning in the early centuries c.e. when Egypt was increasingly becoming a vital center of early Christian activity. Coptic uses letters from the Greek alphabet as well as some letters from an older Egyptian script called Demotic. We know that a substantial part of the earliest surviving writings in Coptic were translated from Greek, so this fragment may also have originally been written in Greek, and was only later translated into Coptic for use among Coptic-speaking Christians.
Newly discovered papyrus writings like this one are often dated by comparing the handwriting with known examples, but this method has significant limitations, especially when considering writing that is not done by professional scribes. The Gospel of Jesus’s Wife fragment appears to have been written by writer with only an elementary education, who wrote with a nubby pen that didn’t let the ink flow well, causing uneven letters and blotting. Scientific testing of the papyrus with accelerated mass spectrometry radiocarbon determination and micro-Raman spectroscopy, however, places the date of the fragment around the seventh to eighth centuries c.e. and the ink is probably from this time period as well.
Although the newly found material fragment of the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife probably dates to around the eighth century, it may be a copy of an earlier copy in Coptic which had possibly been translated from a Greek copy. This means that the date of the material fragment is unlikely to be the date when the gospel was first composed; rather it indicates that the gospel could not have been composed later than the eighth century. How much earlier might the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife have been composed? Since it refers to Mary, Jesus and his disciples, it had to have been written after the first century c.e. It could date as early as the second half of the second century, because it shows close connections to other gospels which were written during that time, in particular the Gospel of Thomas, the Gospel of Mary, and the Gospel of Philip.
Nothing is known about the circumstances of its original discovery, but there are some clues about its modern history. The earliest documentation about the fragment is a bill of sale dated November 12, 1999, stating that the former owner had acquired six pieces of papyrus in 1963 in Potsdam (East Germany). Accompanying it is an unsigned, undated handwritten note indicating that a Professor Fecht (from the faculty of Egyptology at the Free University in Berlin?) believed it to be evidence for a possible marriage of Jesus. It now belongs to an anonymous private collector who contacted Karen L. King at Harvard Divinity School for help in identifying its contents.
Various previously unknown early Christian texts have come to light in the modern period. The most important of these in Coptic are the writings discovered in 1945 at Nag Hammadi, a book called the Berlin Codex discovered at the end of the 19th century, and the Tchacos Codex, which came to light in the early 1990s. They contain a wide variety of literature, such as The Prayer of the Apostle Paul, The Gospel of Thomas, The Gospel of Mary, and Thunder Perfect Mind, all available in English translation. These works are valuable in providing evidence for a fuller and more accurate history of the diverse forms, practices, and ideas held by Christians in the earliest centuries after the death of Jesus.
| 19,774
|
TDS Water Meter (DS TDS Meter: 0-50 ppm)
Every industrial, commercial, or natural source contains dissolved solids or salts. These impurities contribute to scale, corrosion, poor taste, and environmental pollution that endanger animal and plant life.
Two proven ways to measure such impurities. Our DS Meters™ provide fast, accurate, on-the-spot measurements of total dissolved solids (TDS) or conductivity. pDS Meters™ test conductivity or TDS, plus pH. Readings from their highly stable circuitry help assure product quality, prevent equipment damage and verify in-line instrumentation in a wide range of applications.
Unique Field-Tested Design
Our unique, durable, field-tested design has evolved over more than 40 years, making our instruments among the most reliable and popular of their kind in the world. They’re lightweight and compact, yet are also tough, with rugged, taut-band meter movements. Put our meters to the test. Even after years of rough field service, they’ll surpass your expectations of accuracy, reliability and simplicity.
| 217,945
|
The discovery of human remains in the bottom of a well leads to the reinvestigation of the case of a housewife who went missing during Orson Welles' radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds".
Did You Know?
This episode marks the 100th episode of the series. See more
When talking about the 'War of the Worlds' radio broadcast in 1938 the lieutenant says, "My wife and I heard it come over the car radio. All we could think of was to get back home to see our children before the final attack." Assuming he had married at the age of 16 and had 2 kids by the time he was 18, he would have to be 87 in the show's 2007 setting. However, he was merely reading a survivors account of the events from that night, just as Vera mentions a survivor driving all night across the country in a towel to see his fiancée. See more
Written by Glenn Miller
Performed by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra See more
| 138,515
|
Register now for free, or sign in with any of these services:
Want to set your local edition?
Select an edition for more focused local news coverage when you visit mlive.
Don't worry. You can change this setting at any time to another local edition.
Here is an Idea. The powers that be in the gas industry claim that gas stations do not make much on their markup of a gallon of gasoline. That their real profits are in what they sell inside the store. The fast food and snacks. While I do not buy it 100% face reality. People need gasoline to get to and from work, doctor, grocery store, drug store etc. What they do not need is the over priced coffee, pop, and snacks that they line up at the counter to buy.........oh and lets not forget the lottery tickets. So try this.............
DO NOT PURCHASE ANYTHING BUT GASOLINE FROM THE GAS STATIONS.
Simple? Yes. But will you pass up that lotto ticket, bag of chips, donuts, bottle of pop or energy drink? It is up to you. You cannot do much about the price of gas..........people have been talking about this or that for years. But what you can control is those extra purchases that get tacked on when you visit a gas station.
Buy those lotto tickets from a local restaurant/bar, or the grocery store, or a real bakery/donut shop.
Put the pressure on the gas stations for playing these gouging games with their customers. Lets see who blinks first.
Ever have one of those crotch rockets blow by you at speeds sometimes exceeding 100mph swerving from lane to lane and clearing cars they are passing by mere feet/inches? I have.........many times and always wondered what would happen if someone pulled out in front of them........maybe even way down the road a bit. Or if the swerving bike might get boxed in and come upon slowed or stopped traffic.
Makes you think........or should!
I was under the impression that the #1 reason for seeking a different source for the city's and county's water was to extricate Flint from the outrageous water price increases regularly handed down by the Detroit water system. Unless this latest blended plan is just a ploy to entice Detroit to either offer cheaper rates and/or reduce the rate of future increases this almost seems like a step backwards.
Flint either wants to remove itself from the Detroit price increases or it doesn't.
Flint either has the means to pay for other options going forward if it does remove itself from Detroits control or it doesn't.
And if it doesn't either its citizens and the area goes dry of water or else it continues to get its water from its drug dealing style provider Detroit.
No matter the option chosen rates will go up. That is a certainty. How much and to whom the moneys are submitted remain the question of the day.
Instead of making up fairy tail fantasys of the world he sees through his dollar sign glasses it would be nice if ol mittens would come up with the reality of his past tax returns. The guy is a habitual liar and at every turn tries to hide the truth about his ill gotten fortune. And tagging along is the little wife who lives in her own dream world where 'I don't think that we are rich'. Hopefully come november the electorate won't be out of touch with reality when they see this carney barker for what he is.........a FRAUD of the first class and so far removed from the average Joe that he has absolutely no knowledge of the reality that the rest of us live each and every day.
Vote your own self interests and not some made up stuff from the republican party talking heads and vote NO MITT in November !
re: Everything can be done voluntarilly by two or more concenting people WITHOUT the force and coercion of government.
Talk is cheap !
Just where are these 2 hypothetical individuals going to come up with a drilling rig to drill this hypothetical well without the 'Force and Coercion of the Local Gov't'? And if you think that a licensed well driller is going to pull into town without the proper license to drill within the city limits and without pulling permits from the county (inspection?) and put his business at risk.......I think once again your suggestion it is just a bunch of hot air.
That said, I do agree that the cost of water in Flint and Genesee Cty got way out of hand a long time ago and isn't getting any more reasonable. That is the price you pay to the Detroit water 'drug-dealer' in this 'protection/water supplying' scheme along with the local gov'ts who add in their own charges.
There are solutions besides detroit and hypothetical drill baby drill. The original Flint river back up water system is one and the Pt Huron Water line the other. They both have been talked to death. By now we know the options and supposedly the costs. All that is left is to decide on one and to take the bitter medicine.
Either that or sit around day dreaming about you and your neighbor grabbing picks and shovels and digging your own wells. GET REAL !
A decent COLLEGE QB who like so many 'promising' sparty qb's in the past will do nothing in the NFL. Only looking through slappy green and white glasses do you see greatness for this ordinary pro qb prospect. The guys that make it their business to know these things spoke passing on him in earlier pick opportunities. Name the past big time qb successes in the pro's that came out of that qb factory NOT in e. lansing? Just a bunch of also rans that fizzled out rather quickly. Eventually, and it will be sooner than later he will end up on the long bench in Detroit as a 3rd string back up to a backup in the hopes of Lion mgmt to fill a few empty seats with slappy sparty faithfuls hoping to see their once promising qb do great things for the local team. And then his ??promising?? career will come to an abrupt end, way sooner than later and he will end up as an assistant coach at moo U.
We have seen this movie play several times before and this is no exception.........and neither is cousins.
You know the saying......"If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it must be sheriff bobs re-election slush fund..........or something like that"..........thank you taxpayers and thank you seniors.
Still waiting for the other site 'the don' promised to the seniors and retirees years ago to materialize. Oh thats rite.......don was running for election at the time. We all know what that got us don't we. Another of 'the dons' promises was the race track/entertainment facility at Mt. Morris/I75 exit. No roaring of race car engines but once the zoning change was accomplished plenty of noise from the semi trucks that have turned the site into just another cement recycling gravel/sand pit. And how many more years will we be treated to this eyesore?
One lesson most have learned........when the don, his wife or their business mouthpieces make promises.........turn around and run in the other direction............. as fast as you can.
The 'World Famous' gourmet White Castle Slider gets my vote over far inferior importers anytime. They should close all the Sonics and Ralleys and replace them with White Castle franchises. Now that would be a win, win !
re: Can you just see 5000 kids on their motorcycles tearing around the grounds
Shoot first (from the hip) then ask questions later.
Since you missed the target by a mile on the premise for the event, I can only assume that the rest of your post is nothing but wild projections with no basis in fact whatsoever.
Just when was it in this country that the lost art of listening (reading comp.) was lost? It seems that with the internet has come the 'need' to speak ones voice whether or not one has the facts or even cares to get the correct ones.
No apology expected.........fire away
Hmmm.........jail over crowding again. Let me guess..........either Bob or Dan must be running for re election once again. Or maybe both.
haglund only shifts away from the hard right positions of republican business and the chamber of commerce hardliners when the actions talked about would threaten the profit picture of business. Otherwise he is entrenched in the business and cc position. Just read his past rantings and see for yourself.
Calling haglund a dem or progressive on any labor/business issue is like calling night day.
Great news. Now maybe king???? can go about the business of finding a REAL JOB and supporting the child that he says he is fighting the fights for after taking a paternity test and failing.......or passing, depending on how you look at it.
The post above was in reply to
Danielle March 19, 2012 at 5:16PM
$175 a year * 3 cars would amount for a savings of of over $25,000 over my lifetime. Why do we have this law?
A whopping $25,000 over your lifetime.
Me thinks you need to check out the cost of hospitalization these days. You don't need to seek info from a person who was critical in an auto accident or maybe permanently disabled. Just ask one of your friends or acquaintenes who went through say a stroke or heart attack what the daily cost of their hospital stay was and then rehab costs. Never mind after care.
I don't think you have a clue. As one who has been there with a loved one. Take my $175 a year and give me the coverage. The savings just isn't close and the coverages you would opt for way to little in the event of an accident.
Or would you wish the taxpayers to pick up what your no fault unlimited lifetime coverage would pay now?
Think about it good because these are life or death decisions...........Don't be fooled by the insurance lobby who wants ever rising profits at ever lower liabilities to them.
The problem was not palin. She was just some opportunist tool that the repub party choose to sway favor with the female voters. Enough so to swing the election to a faltering McCain. No the real problem in this picture is that our bought and sold politicians would be party to the rich trying to pull off this scam and put someone so evidently inept in the second highest office in this country one heart beat or lack of one away from the presidency. That is the real travisty of palin. The saving grace of it is that a little over half of the voting populace saw through the sham and voted for the other guy.
Thank you repub party for shining a light on our flawed system.
An old friend of mine who is a paramedic fireman once told me "If we can keep you in your vehicle if you are involved in an accident so that your body doesn't end up on the pavement, in a ditch or in the trees, in MOST cases your chances of surviving an auto accident or surviving with much less damage to your body go up considerably". That once your body leaves the confines of your vehicle your odds of survival go down greatly. He said that from personal experience at way too many accident scenes that those riding unrestrained, without seat belts on and with doors unlocked usually fare much worse than those who are strapped in and with doors locked.
My prayers are with the kids and their family's.
I'm a UofM fan, that being said..... I can't believe a MSU fan would make comments about Tom Izzo like this.
I can. It is a known fan that most sparty fans are slappys.
GO BLUE !
© 2014 MLive Media Group All rights reserved (About Us).
The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of MLive Media Group
| 65,624
|
Host City: Salt Lake City, United States
Date Started: February 9, 2002
Date Finished: February 24, 2002
Participants: 468 (312 men and 156 women) from 16 countries
Youngest Participant: Kim Martin (15 years, 349 days)
Oldest Participant: Igor Larionov (41 years, 68 days)
Most Medals (Athlete): 126 athletes with 1 medal
Most Medals (Country): Canada and United States (2 medals)
The two rinks used for Olympic ice hockey in 2002 were both completed in 1997. The E Center has been the home of the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL since then, but is also regularly used for other sports. The Peaks Ice Arena is situated in the Salt Lake suburb of Provo. Once again both men’s and women’s tournaments were conducted. The women’s field was increased to eight teams, separated into two pools of four teams each. The top two teams in each pool advanced to semi-finals matches, with the winners of those matches, the United States and Canada, playing for the gold medal, which went to Canada.
The NHL once again closed down league play for two weeks so all the world’s best players could compete in Salt Lake City. The format was the same as in 1998 to accommodate the players and the league. Six nations (Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden, USA) were seeded into the final round-robin pools, so that their players could arrive a few days later. Preliminary pools of four teams advanced one team each to the final pools, in this case Belarus, as in 1998, and Germany. The final pools were only seeding pools as all eight teams moved on to a single-elimination medal tournament. The big story of the tournament was that Canada won the gold medal, for the first time since 1952.
| 121,381
|
My purpose is to explore factors of the Renaissance that determined women’s selfhood in Montaigne’s Essais. I argue that the shift into modernity is responsible for the loss of women’s autonomy as well as the anxiety experienced by men regarding their power as well as their potential. Montaigne and Renaissance discourse defines women only by their bodies (sexual organs) and I explore the elements that established biological essentialism. This paper exemplifies comparative literature in the sense that it combines literature, theory, and art for the purpose of creating a well-researched examination of the root causes for why women were villainized and oppressed in the Renaissance era. I utilize feminist theory to discuss embodiment, which my argument defines as women being inseparable to their biological roles and the loss of their economic autonomy by way of them losing their property rights. Another aspect of embodiment in which I use is the loss of women midwives to male physicians, which calls for men to establish women’s reproductive rights, furthermore, trap them inside the narrow male definition of woman. Paradoxically, women are embodied due to sexist power dynamics, but feared for their possible demonic powers. The fear of witchcraft in women is due to men’s fear of castration and the tension that women will take away men’s power. Art theory from the Renaissance integrates cultural attitudes towards women’s bodies on a vast scale. This research paper is an exercise to examine the history of women’s selfhood.
"IN BETWEEN REALMS: THE SEARCH FOR FEMININE SELFHOOD IN THE ESSAIS OF MONTAIGNE,"
Comparative Woman: Vol. 1:
1, Article 5.
Available at: https://repository.lsu.edu/comparativewoman/vol1/iss1/5
| 232,937
|
The hydrogen fuel cell ferry being built in Scotland is a “game-changer” and is the “next logical piece in the jigsaw puzzle”, Ferguson Marine Engineering chief naval architect Chris Dunn told delegates at this year’s Interferry conference.
The shipyard is building the world’s first hydrogen fuel cell ferry, with hydrogen harvested entirely from renewable sources. It led a European consortium in a bid for EU funding support to pave the way for building and launching the ferry. Known as Hyseas III, it will operate around Scotland’s Orkney Islands, which are producing hydrogen in volume from renewable energy, which the ferry will electrolyse and thus use as fuel cells. Mr Dunn said the excess heat created would be used to power other parts of the vessel.
Hydrogen is already being used in the Orkney Islands at ports to cold iron, so “this is the next logical piece of the puzzle, moving from quayside to ship and completing the zero-emission cycle,” said Mr Dunn. He added “As far as disruptive technology goes, I believe this is a game-changer.”
The vessel will be delivered in 2020, with steel cut around October next year.
Speaking about the project risks, Mr Dunn highlighted a major one being that there are no prescriptive rules governing building a hydrogen powered ferry – currently the IGF code is being used which is not particularly appropriate because it is aimed at gas-powered vessels. Therefore, a risk-based alternative design process has to be used. While Mr Dunn said this was “good” it was also “entirely unpredictable”.
Another challenge is storing the hydrogen in the vessel. Mr Dunn said that while not heavy, even compressed hydrogen takes up a lot of volume at 350 bars. However, the company has overcome this to create a hull shape that can address fuel storage challenges.
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges is passenger perception – they think it is dangerous and that hydrogen is expensive to create. But Dr Dunn said “These problems are not insurmountable”.
Summing up why he wanted to share the project at Interferry’s conference, he said “When facing regulators we need as much power and presence as we can. We believe this is a viable technology and we want to share it with as many people as we can.”
Bron: Marine Propulsion
| 239,193
|
A vulnerability has been discovered in VLC media player, allowing for the remote execution of arbitrary code.
|Package||media-video/vlc on all architectures|
|Affected versions||< 0.8.6c|
|Unaffected versions||>= 0.8.6c|
VLC media player is a multimedia player for various audio and video formats.
David Thiel from iSEC Partners Inc. discovered format string errors in various plugins when parsing data. The affected plugins include Vorbis, Theora, CDDA and SAP.
A remote attacker could entice a user to open a specially crafted media file, possibly resulting in the execution of arbitrary code with the privileges of the user running VLC media player.
There is no known workaround at this time.
All VLC media player users should upgrade to the latest version:
# emerge --sync # emerge --ask --oneshot --verbose ">=media-video/vlc-0.8.6c"
July 28, 2007
July 28, 2007: 01
| 38,497
|
Internships in English
Your skills in English prepare you for a wide range of jobs, and majors are encouraged to seek out internships in many different fields. Internships can help you figure out your career goals and prepare you for important decisions ahead. They provide valuable networking opportunities, pre-professional experience, and substantial enhancement to a resumé. Students who are declared English majors have access to a variety of internship experiences. They can propose external internships and apply for internal internships offered exclusively through the English Department. They can also arrange a teaching internship with a member of the English Department faculty. You should speak with an advisor or one of your professors for help in finding a suitable and rewarding internship.
Students are encouraged to approach potential organizations and businesses outside of the English Department about external internships. See here for a list of previous external internships and current faculty recommendations; you’ll find opportunities in law offices, advertising agencies, radio and television stations, newspapers, and public-relations firms, among others. Arts and Sciences Career Services (http://ascs.indiana.edu/), 625 N. Jordan (812-855-5234), also maintains external internship listings through its Career Link service. External internships can be taken at any time, but since they often involve work away from campus, most students pursue them during the summer term and very often in or near their hometowns.
Credit for External internships
The English major whose external internship involves skills appropriate to the English Program may qualify for academic credit in English Y398: Professional Practice in English. The number of credits (1-6 hours) is dependent on the work requirement of the internship (3 credit hours is worth approximately 150 hours per term or 10 hours of work per week). Y398 is graded S/F, and it is repeatable once for a total of six hours. To be eligible, the English major must have completed 12 credit hours in English at the 200-level or above, including L260, must be in good academic standing, and must have the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies in English.
Credit for Y398 is arranged only in advance of the internship activity. An application for credit requires a description of the internship activity submitted by the employer and identification of the person responsible for supervising the activity. Students are required to keep a reflective journal throughout the internship, to be checked by the Director of Undergraduate Studies at the middle and end of the semester. The grade is awarded only after receipt of an evaluation form completed by the internship supervisor and an internship report prepared by the student. If you are interested, email a letter of application and the provider’s description of the internship to: IU English Internship Program, Department of English, c/o Jody Hays (email@example.com).
Internal internships are coordinated through the Department of English and awarded competitively. English majors are notified of specific opportunities in advance of the deadline for each competition and must submit a letter of application and supporting materials for each internship in which they are interested.
Teaching internships provide opportunities to participate in planning a course and lecturing or leading classroom discussion. To apply, a student must first approach a familiar faculty member and make a proposal — typically, though not necessarily — for a course the student has already taken with that instructor.
Credit for all internal and teaching internships
The English major awarded an internal or teaching internship is eligible to enroll for 1-3 hours of credit in English L498: Internship in English. The course is graded S/F, and is repeatable once. A total of three credit hours in L498 may count toward the major; these credits do not count toward distribution requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences. The English major must have at least a 3.0 College and major GPA, must have completed 12 credit hours in English at the 200-level or above, including L260, at the time the internship begins, and must have the approval of the Director of Undergraduate Studies in English. Students are required to keep a reflective journal throughout the internship, to be checked by the Director of Undergraduate Studies at the middle and end of the semester. The final grade for L498, S/F, is awarded only after receipt of an evaluation form completed by the internship supervisor and an internship report prepared by the student. (In the case of students who receive Honors College internship grants, this report may be a copy of the report required by the Honors College.)
Students awarded IU editorial or teaching internships can compete for teaching and non-teaching internship grants from the English Department's Culbertson fund ($300 maximum) and the Hutton Honors College. Information about the Culbertson grant opportunity will be available through Undergraduate Studies in English after internship selections are confirmed. Information and application forms for the Hutton Honors College Grant are available at http://www.indiana.edu/~iubhonor/hds/pei.php. Recipients of these grants are required to submit a report on the internship experience to the appropriate funders at the end of the term. Students selected for summer 2016 internships must submit completed applications for Hutton Honors grants by Friday, March 11, 2016. Students selected for fall 2016 internships must submit completed applications for Hutton Honors grants by Friday, March 25, 2016.
| 210,856
|
Reliable UDP networking library
Servers in ENet are constructed with enet_host_create(). You must specify an address on which to receive data and new connections, as well as the maximum allowable numbers of connected peers. You may optionally specify the incoming and outgoing bandwidth of the server in bytes per second so that ENet may try to statically manage bandwidth resources among connected peers in addition to its dynamic throttling algorithm; specifying 0 for these two options will cause ENet to rely entirely upon its dynamic throttling algorithm to manage bandwidth.
When done with a host, the host may be destroyed with enet_host_destroy(). All connected peers to the host will be reset, and the resources used by the host will be freed.
Clients in ENet are similarly constructed with enet_host_create() when no address is specified to bind the host to. Bandwidth may be specified for the client host as in the above example. The peer count controls the maximum number of connections to other server hosts that may be simultaneously open.
ENet uses a polled event model to notify the programmer of significant events. ENet hosts are polled for events with enet_host_service(), where an optional timeout value in milliseconds may be specified to control how long ENet will poll; if a timeout of 0 is specified, enet_host_service() will return immediately if there are no events to dispatch. enet_host_service() will return 1 if an event was dispatched within the specified timeout.
Beware that most processing of the network with the ENet stack is done inside enet_host_service(). Both hosts that make up the sides of a connection must regularly call this function to ensure packets are actually sent and received. A common symptom of not actively calling enet_host_service() on both ends is that one side receives events while the other does not. The best way to schedule this activity to ensure adequate service is, for example, to call enet_host_service() with a 0 timeout (meaning non-blocking) at the beginning of every frame in a game loop.
Currently there are only four types of significant events in ENet:
An event of type ENET_EVENT_TYPE_NONE is returned if no event occurred within the specified time limit. enet_host_service() will return 0 with this event.
An event of type ENET_EVENT_TYPE_CONNECT is returned when either a new client host has connected to the server host or when an attempt to establish a connection with a foreign host has succeeded. Only the "peer" field of the event structure is valid for this event and contains the newly connected peer.
An event of type ENET_EVENT_TYPE_RECEIVE is returned when a packet is received from a connected peer. The "peer" field contains the peer the packet was received from, "channelID" is the channel on which the packet was sent, and "packet" is the packet that was sent. The packet contained in the "packet" field must be destroyed with enet_packet_destroy() when you are done inspecting its contents.
An event of type ENET_EVENT_TYPE_DISCONNECT is returned when a connected peer has either explicitly disconnected or timed out. Only the "peer" field of the event structure is valid for this event and contains the peer that disconnected. Only the "data" field of the peer is still valid on a disconnect event and must be explicitly reset.
Packets in ENet are created with enet_packet_create(), where the size of the packet must be specified. Optionally, initial data may be specified to copy into the packet.
Certain flags may also be supplied to enet_packet_create() to control various packet features:
ENET_PACKET_FLAG_RELIABLE specifies that the packet must use reliable delivery. A reliable packet is guaranteed to be delivered, and a number of retry attempts will be made until an acknowledgement is received from the foreign host the packet is sent to. If a certain number of retry attempts is reached without any acknowledgement, ENet will assume the peer has disconnected and forcefully reset the connection. If this flag is not specified, the packet is assumed an unreliable packet, and no retry attempts will be made nor acknowledgements generated.
A packet may be resized (extended or truncated) with enet_packet_resize().
A packet is sent to a foreign host with enet_peer_send(). enet_peer_send() accepts a channel id over which to send the packet to a given peer. Once the packet is handed over to ENet with enet_peer_send(), ENet will handle its deallocation and enet_packet_destroy() should not be used upon it.
Peers may be gently disconnected with enet_peer_disconnect(). A disconnect request will be sent to the foreign host, and ENet will wait for an acknowledgement from the foreign host before finally disconnecting. An event of type ENET_EVENT_TYPE_DISCONNECT will be generated once the disconnection succeeds. Normally timeouts apply to the disconnect acknowledgement, and so if no acknowledgement is received after a length of time the peer will be forcefully disconnected.
enet_peer_reset() will forcefully disconnect a peer. The foreign host will get no notification of a disconnect and will time out on the foreign host. No event is generated.
A connection to a foreign host is initiated with enet_host_connect(). It accepts the address of a foreign host to connect to, and the number of channels that should be allocated for communication. If N channels are allocated for use, their channel ids will be numbered 0 through N-1. A peer representing the connection attempt is returned, or NULL if there were no available peers over which to initiate the connection. When the connection attempt succeeds, an event of type ENET_EVENT_TYPE_CONNECT will be generated. If the connection attempt times out or otherwise fails, an event of type ENET_EVENT_TYPE_DISCONNECT will be generated.
| 164,530
|
The U.S. government, sometimes referred to as the “federal” government, has decided that a number of activities are criminal. These federal crimes are typically very serious and are tried in federal courts under special federal rules of procedure. Some examples of federal crimes include the use of biological weapons, acts of civil disorder, kidnapping, and racketeering, just to name a few. If you are accused of a federal crime, you should enlist the services of a federal crime lawyer who works with these federal laws and understands the federal courts and their procedures. This lawyer will be familiar not only with the elements of the crime you are charged with, but also with the defenses available to you.
| 236,417
|
Common Needs: Building and Retaining the Talent
Tuesday, 12 August
3:45 - 5:30 pm
Room 406 AB
Theme: Professional Development and Education
What do CG professionals want from their jobs? Money? Creative freedom? Training and growth? Benefits? Loyalty?
When entertainment became a driving force in the SIGGRAPH community, employers were in the driver's seat. People were hungry to just be in front of a box in a decent facility. Working on a "cool show" meant more than money to many people. Over the last 10 years, facilities have been through their ups and downs; large production houses are being challenged by commodity hardware and costs have been holding salaries steady. Meanwhile, interactive entertainment has become a significant industry, with more people working there than in visual effects and feature animation. Factors such as cheaper talent from abroad are also playing key roles in how companies compensate and retain the top talent.
The larger facilities started in-house training departments to help their artists keep pace up with their rapidly evolving tools, in addition to growing their talent. Has this approach worked? The animation houses encourage artistic freedom by supporting employees who want to make short films on ther own time. On the other hand, games and interactive companies emphasized their stability, benefits, and stock options to attract and retain talent.
This roundtable examines these trends and explores what CG professionals want as employees. How can they work with facilities and studios to create environments in which both groups are loyal to each other? How can companies treat employees well and stay in business?
| 244,683
|
James Hansen: Would you buy a used temperature data set from THIS man?
That’s the title of James Delingpole’s must-read article in his blog in the UK Telegraph.
Before we get too worried about NASA’s latest stamping-its-little-feet claims that the world is getting hotter it is it is it IS, let us first remind ourselves why we should trust their temperature records slightly less far than we can spit.
Then let’s have a closer look at the character and motives of the man in charge of NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), Dr James Hansen. Last year, he was described by his former course supervisor at NASA, Dr John Theon, as an “activist” and an embarrassment.
Thanks James, we really wanted an excuse to use this image of James we made. In our offices, we like to call it Mr. Sunshine.
Possibly related posts:
| 212,388
|
The Saluda Dam
(officially the Dreher Shoals Dam
, commonly referred to as the Lake Murray Dam
) is an earthen embankment dam
located approximately 10 miles (15 km) west of Columbia, South Carolina
on the Saluda River
. Construction on the dam began in 1927 and was completed in 1930. The purpose of the dam is flood control
and water supply. At the time of its completion, the Saluda Dam was the world's largest earthen dam, creating the world's largest man-made lake, Lake Murray
. In 2005, construction on a 213 ft. tall roller-compacted concrete dam
was completed at the toe of the original dam in order to mitigate an earthquake-caused dam failure.
The SC 6
highway crosses over the dam and is used as a fast connection between the towns of Lexington, SC
and Irmo, SC
. The yearly football game between rival Lexington High School
and Irmo High School
is often called 'The Battle of the Dam'.
The original Saluda Dam is a 7,800 ft. long, 213-foot-high earthen-embankment dam. The dam contains a 2,900 ft. long emergency spillway
controlled by six steel tainter gates
. The back-up dam located at the original dam's toe and is a 2,300 ft. long, 213-foot-high roller-compacted concrete
dam. Rock-fill embankment sections also exist on the south and north ends of the back up dam, making a total length of 5,700 ft.
The hydroelectricity power station
consists of concrete five vertical Francis...
| 127,190
|
Vision for Empowerment is a series of inspirational photography workshops that provide education and empowerment to women living in disadvantaged parts of the world. Vision for Empowerment is a project facilitated by photographer Sarah Annay, who has partnered with Her Future Coalition, a nonprofit based in Kolkata, India that offers education, shelter, and job opportunities to survivors of human trafficking and at-risk women and children.
The goals of Vision for Empowerment are:
- To provide art therapy for women and to use photography as a medium to share their visual narrative with the world
- To focus on portraits that empower and promote positive body image
- To create new opportunities for women living in poverty and introduce them to visual arts & design
- To employ women in photography, a male-dominated industry in Kolkata and most of West Bengal. We are currently planning a job program with Her Future Coalition.
To learn more or provide assistance for future workshops:
| 126,893
|
2012 In the News Archive
Highlights of recent media coverage of NC State, as well as its faculty, staff and administrators. (Links to online stories provided where available.)
You may be surprised by what’s living in your navel, NBC News, Dec. 14, 2012. According to a new research the skin in study participants’ belly buttons contained an average of 67 different species of bacteria. Rob Dunn, biology, featured.
Study offers insight into converting wood to bio-oil, PHYS.org, Dec. 14, 2012. NC State University research provides molecular-level insights into how cellulose breaks down in wood to create “bio-oils” which can be refined into any number of useful products. Vikram Seshadri and Phillip Westmoreland, chemical and biomolecular engineering, featured.
Study offers insight into converting wood to bio-oil, R&D Magazine, Dec. 14, 2012. New research from North Carolina State University provides molecular-level insights into how cellulose breaks down in wood to create “bio-oils” which can be refined into any number of useful products. Phillip Westmoreland and doctoral student Vikram Seshadri, chemical and biomolecular engineer, featured.
Cybersecurity Outlook for 2012: Crimes will be Higher in Volume and in Complexity, Proformative, Dec. 14, 2012. If C-level executives were brought together and asked to discuss bring-your-own-device policies, cloud computing and mobile access to company data and content, the first words uttered would most likely relate to security. Xuxian Jiang, computer science, featured.
Noon Report, KFYR-TV, Dec. 13, 2012. Peggy has officially been accepted into a prestigious research program at North Carolina State University, to develop a mini-size prosthesis, similar to the size of a human finger.
HexaTech wins $2.2m ARPA-E contract to develop smart-grid power semiconductor technology, Semiconductor Today, Dec. 13, 2012. HexaTech Inc of Morrisville has received a $2.2m award from the US Department of Energy Advanced Research Projects Agency. HexaTech was spun off from the Department of Materials Science at NC State University in 2001. Zlatko Sitar, material science engineering, featured.
C.M. Williams: Determining economic feasibility a challenge, News & Observer, Dec. 13, 2012. Simplified but fair overview of issues and challenges related to implementing new swine waste-management systems in North Carolina. C.M. (Mike) Williams, poultry science, featured.
Should I Buy a Fake Christmas Tree or a Real One?, Mother Jones, Dec. 12, 2012. The Christmas tree custom we know today is said to date back to the 1500s, when Lutherans in western Germany would hang wafers on their trees on December 24th to celebrate the religious holiday of Adam and Eve. Jill Sidebottom, forestry & environmental resources, featured.
In the focus: Researchers Reveal Structure of Carbon’s ‘Hoyle State’, Innovations Report, Dec. 12, 2012. A North Carolina State University researcher has taken a “snapshot” of the way particles combine to form carbon-12, the element that makes all life on Earth possible. And the picture looks like a bent arm. Dean Lee, physics, featured.
G.O.P.’s Full Control in Long-Moderate North Carolina May Leave Lasting Stamp, New York Times, Dec. 12, 2012. With a Republican newly elected as governor and a Republican-controlled legislature, North Carolina, long a politically moderate player in the South, will soon have its most conservative government in a century. Steven Greene, political science, featured.
Researchers find fossil of a turtle that was size of a Smart car LA Times, May 18, 2012. Excavating in a coal mine in Colombia, paleontologists have discovered the fossil of the world’s largest turtle, a 60-million-year-old specimen nearly 8 feet long — the size of a Smart car. Edwin Cadena, Dr. Dan Ksepka, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.
NCSU scientists help discover fossil of prehistoric turtle in Colombia, N&O, McClatchy, et al. May 18, 2012. A team of paleontologists including scientists from N.C. State University has discovered the fossil remains of a new species of dining table-size freshwater turtle that apparently lived side-by-side with the 50-foot snakes and super-size crocodiles that they had found earlier in the same Colombian coal mine. Edwin Cadena, Dr. Dan Ksepka, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.
Car-sized turtle found in Colombian Coal Mine, Discovery, May 18, 2012. Remains of an enormous turtle, which was the size of a Smart car, have been unearthed in a Colombian coal mine. Edwin Cadena, Dr. Dan Ksepka, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.
Humongous Volkswagon-sized turtle fossils discovered Christian Science Monitor, May 18, 2012. A turtle the size of a small car once roamed what is now South America 60 million years ago, suggests its fossilized remains. Edwin Cadena, Dr. Dan Ksepka, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.
Huge turtle was Titanoboa’s neighbor, Wired, May 17, 2012. The Age of Dinosaurs ended about 66 million years ago. Edwin Cadena and Dr. Dan Ksepka, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.
NC State scientists discover ancient, giant turtle WRAL, May 17, 2012. Paleontologists with North Carolina State University reported on Thursday their findings after seven years of study of an ancient, giant species of turtle. Edwin Cadena and Dr. Dan Ksepka, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.
Turtle Fossil Found In Colombia Suggests Carbonemys Cofrinii Was Size Of Small Car, Huffington Post, May 17, 2012. Paleontologists are reporting some big news–literally. Edwin Cadena and Dr. Dan Ksepka, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.
Smart Car Sized Turtle Roamed Colombia, LiveScience, May 17, 2012. A newly discovered ancient turtle the size of a Smart Car roamed ancient South America 60 million years ago, scientists say. Edwin Cadena and Dr. Dan Ksepka, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.
NCSU Professor Honored By New Zealand for Disaster Mission, News & Observer, May 16, 2012. An N.C. State University professor has been honored by New Zealand for helping the island nation during its worst peacetime disaster, recognition that has come after more than 30 years. Dr. John Williamson, horticultural science, featured.
Fact Check: Republican Governors Begin Attack on Dalton, WRAL, May 15, 2012. Walden points out that there is little that governors – or presidents – can do to influence short-term economic figures. Dr. Michael Walden, agricultural and resource economics, featured.
Life Stories: Tom Quay Protected Birds and Nurtured Students, News & Observer, May 14, 2012. During his 32-year tenure at NCSU, Quay directed 53 graduate students to their master’s and doctorate degrees, leaving a legacy as a beloved mentor as well as a strong researcher and academic. Tom Quay, emeritus professor of zoology, featured.
Seeing Red and Loving It at N.C. State University Commencement, News & Observer, May 13, 2012. Graduates robed in red gathered at the PNC Arena in Raleigh on Saturday morning to celebrate their degrees as the 125th class from N.C. State University in front of a packed stadium of supporters.
Rivers Shines for N.C. State Graduates, News & Observer, May 13, 2012. The 5,236 graduates were the main reason for N.C. State’s commencement ceremony at PNC Arena on Saturday morning but Philip Rivers stole the show.
N.C. State Incubator Helps Get Student Ventures Off the Ground, News & Observer, May 12, 2012. Even as they prepare to graduate Saturday, some of the first students to use N.C. State University’s “Entrepreneurs Garage” are about to spin off a small wave of fledgling businesses they dreamed up and honed there. Dr. Tom Miller featured.
N.C. State Student Makes Headwear Line for Cancer Patients, News & Observer, May 10, 2012. When N.C. State student Jessica Ekstrom interned with the Make a Wish Foundation, she never dreamed it would lead her to become an entrepreneur.
10 From Area Win N.C. State Park Scholarships, Charlotte Observer, May 10, 2012. Ten students from the Charlotte area, including six from Mecklenburg County, have been named winners of this year’s Park Scholarships from N.C. State University.
N.C. to Add Marriage Amendment to Its Constitution, News & Observer, May 9, 2012. North Carolinians think of the state as progressive, but that’s within the context of the rest of the South, said Andrew Taylor, a political scientist at N.C. State University. Dr. Andrew Taylor, political science, featured.
Wild Horses’ Fate in Outer Banks Lies in Preservation Clash, New York Times, May 8, 2012. The continuing study of feral animals, financed jointly by the federal Fish and Wildlife Service and North Carolina State University, is intended to measure the effect of hogs and deer in addition to horses. Dr. Chris DePerno, forestry and environmental resources, featured.
N.C. State/UNC Project Explores External Devices for Mobility Impaired, News & Observer, May 7, 2012. This is what observation looks like in the Physiology of Wearable Robotics laboratory in Raleigh, a joint project of the Department of Biomedical Engineering at NCSU and UNC-Chapel Hill. Drs. Greg Sawicki and Dom Farris, biomedical engineering, featured.
A Farmer’s New Scourge: Swarming, Wild Swine, News & Observer, May 6, 2012. Researchers from N.C. State University have found several diseases in wild pigs here, including the discovery, announced two weeks ago, that many are harboring bacteria that cause brucellosis, a disease that can sicken people and cause spontaneous miscarriages in pigs. Dr. Chris DePerno, forestry and environmental resources, featured.
Tomato Plant Compound Finds Herbicide Role, Horticulture Week, May 4, 2012. A chemical produced by wild tomato plants has accidentally been found to be a potent herbicide. Drs. Mike Roe and George Kennedy, entomology, featured.
NCSU and French Business School to Offer Luxury Management Degree, Chicago Tribune, May 3, 2012. N.C. State University is teaming up with a business school in France to offer a new graduate program designed to prepare students for careers in high-end fashion and other luxury goods and services.
Facebook Is Pretty Much Like the Rest of the World, The Atlantic, May 3, 2012. Does the Internet foster new kinds of social connections, or does it simply reflect the biases and trends that we know from the offline world? Amanda Traud, biomathematics, featured.
American Design Students Service Learning With Kofi Boone in Ghana, Huffington Post, May 2, 2012. North Carolina State University design students collaborated with batik artists in Cape Coast to develop new products to extend their market, especially children’s clothing. Kofi Boone, landscape architecture, featured.
Should Colleges Earn Money From Prepaid Student Debit Cards? Time.com, May 1, 2012. Beginning this summer, for example, North Carolina State University will offer a hybrid ID-prepaid debit MasterCard in conjunction with U.S. Bank.
Dalton Takes Big Lead in Primary Battle, News & Observer, May 1, 2012. A week before the election, Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton appears to have taken command of the Democratic primary for governor, overwhelming his opponents with a well-funded TV advertising campaign. Dr. Steven Greene, political science, featured.
N.C. Gubernatorial Candidates Say Tax Reform a Challenge, Associated Press, April 30, 2012. North Carolina’s candidates for governor are all for some kind of tax reform – a buzzword for more than a decade that has yet to translate into profound changes for a revenue system that has stayed mostly the same since the 1930s. Dr. Roby Sawyers, accounting, featured.
N.C. State Lawn Advice Now Available As App, News & Observer, April 30, 2012. N.C. State researchers may work in labs – but the efforts of their turfgrass program extend all the way to your lawn.
Raleigh Startup to Design Website for Democratic Convention, News & Observer, April 29, 2012. Think of Business Empire Consulting as the brash newcomer that nominated itself for the job – and won. Former students Bryan Young, Matt Laster and Brandon Blair, featured.
Video Game Conference is Strictly Business, WRAL, April 26, 2012. North Carolina State University graduate Josh Fairhurst is a lead designer and programmer at Mighty Rabbit Studios. Alumnus Josh Fairhurst featured.
Solar Panels Cause Clashes With Homeowner Groups, Associated Press, Bloomberg Businessweek, et al. April 25, 2012. Roughly two dozen states now forbid or limit homeowners or local governments from banning solar panels, according to a database run by North Carolina State University.
Space-Station Rendezvous Set to Spur Research Push, Nature, April 25, 2012. When it comes to doing science on the International Space Station (ISS), the laws of gravity have been flipped: what goes up mostly stays up. Dr. Imara Perera, plant biology, featured.
Diesel Cars Make a Comeback in the U.S., Scientific American, April 24, 2012. Gone are the days of riding in the family station wagon, inhaling smelly, sooty fumes from a noisy diesel engine. Dr. Chris Frey, civil, construction and environmental engineering, featured.
To Find Diversity Hot Spots, Follow the Ants, New York Times, April 24, 2012. For years, scientists tracking global patterns in biodiversity have focused on the distribution of plants, birds and mammals to identify areas that are conservation priorities. Benoit Guenard, biology graduate student, featured.
With Agroforestry, Woodlands Can Also Yield Crops Such As Mushrooms, Leaks, Associated Press, Washington Post, et al. April 24, 2012. Forest farming can be an attractive option for property owners who want to earn more from their land without cutting timber. Dr. Jeanine Davis, horticultural science, featured.
Restaurant Racism Revealed, Daily Mail (UK), April 23, 2012. Most people would like to believe that racial discrimination is becoming increasingly rare and unacceptable in mainstream society. But a new study suggests that African-Americans still face subtle prejudice in at least one area of life – dining out. Sara Rusche, sociology, featured.
NCSU to Restructure Two Colleges in the Sciences, News & Observer, April 20, 2012. N.C. State University will retool two colleges, shifting degree programs, faculty and students from one to the other to create a new College of Sciences. Chancellor Randy Woodson and Provost Warwick Arden featured.
Hydropower threatens Andes–Amazon link, Nature, April 19, 2012. Out of some 151 dams proposed for the Amazon river system, more than half will sever the connectivity between the Amazon lowlands and headwaters in the Andes mountains, according to the latest study. Dr. Clinton Jenkins, biology, featured.
Senate Republicans Block Debate On Buffet Rule, Morning Edition (NPR), April 17, 2012. On the eve of Tax Day, Senate Republicans voted to block a measure that would have made mega-investor Warren Buffett and millionaires like him pay at least a 30 percent tax rate. Dr. Steven Greene, political science, featured.
Genes From Undersea Creature May Help Crops Prosper, News & Observer, April 16, 2012. The bottles of amber liquid perched on the bench in Dr. Amy Grunden’s research lab at N.C. State University don’t look like much. Dr. Amy Grunden, microbiology, and Dr. Wendy Boss, plant biology, featured.
Downloading Apps to Your Smartphone Carries Risk, News & Observer, April 16, 2012. Half of all mobile subscribers – 49.7 percent according to Nielsen research – now own smartphones, compared to 36 percent at the same time last year. Dr. Xuxian Jiang, computer science, featured.
NCSU Entomologist Fred Gould Wins UNC System Award, News & Observer, April 14, 2012. N.C. State University insect researcher Fred Gould has won the UNC system’s award for the faculty member who has “made the greatest contributions to the welfare of the human race.” Dr. Fred Gould, entomology, featured.
Rainwater Harvesting: Recycling a Precious Resource, NOAA Research, April 13, 2012. “More and more, individuals and communities are thinking about sustainable water use,” says Gloria Putnam, N.C. Sea Grant coastal resources and community specialist.
Forensic Software Determines Race And Gender Based On Skull Measurements, Gizmag, April 12, 2012. For some time now – whether by using computers or clay – forensic scientists have been able to make three-dimensional reconstructions of the faces of the deceased, based on the contours of their skulls. Dr. Ann Ross, anthropology, featured.
N.C. State Hosts Its First Fashion Week, News & Observer, April 12, 2012. Paris. New York. Milan. N.C. State? The university has something in common with the world’s most fashionable cities this week by hosting its inaugural fashion week. Nancy Webster, textile and apparel technology and management, featured.
Misguided Science Policy? The Scientist op/ed, April 10, 2012. Our recent study of the political dynamics surrounding the recent site-selection process for the Department of Homeland Security’s National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility suggested that using public meetings may actually promote policy choices that are dramatically opposed to public preferences. Dr. Andrew Binder, communication, featured.
Triangle Drivers Wince As Gas Prices Rise, News & Observer, April 10, 2012. Michael Walden, an economist at N.C. State University, says these lifestyle changes are chipping away at the economy. Dr. Michael Walden, agricultural and resource economics, featured.
NC State Researcher Finds More Efficient Way To Cool Devices, Looks To Cut Costs Too, Engadget, April 9, 2012. Does your electronic device have you a bit hot under the collar these days? Dr. Jag Kasichainula, materials science and engineering, featured.
Why Statistics?, Science, April 6, 2012. Popular media and science publications sound the drum: “Big Data” will drive our future, from translating genomic information into new therapies, to harnessing the Web to untangle complex social interactions, to detecting infectious disease outbreaks. Dr. Marie Davidian, statistics, featured.
NCSU Researcher Warns of Easter Health Risks, Associated Press, WRAL, etc., April 6, 2012. A North Carolina State University researcher says parents getting ready for Easter holiday activities should be careful that their children aren’t putting themselves at risk for salmonella. Dr. Ben Chapman, family and consumer sciences, featured.
New Treatments to Save a Pet, but Questions About the Costs, New York Times, April 6, 2012. Two years ago, Mike Otworth’s 10-year-old chow, Tina, was given a diagnosis of lymphoma. The prospects were grim. Dr. Steven Suter, clinical sciences, featured.
Panel: To Safeguard Food Imports, It’s Not Just About Inspections, NPR, April 4, 2012. Locavores, a word with you. Local food may be gaining traction in all kinds of ways, but a report out today from the Institute of Medicine serves as a stark reminder of just how globalized our food system truly is. Dr. Jim Riviere, population health and pathobiology, featured.
University Study Suggests Circle Hooks Catch Fewer Fish, Field & Stream, April 3, 2012. A few years ago, the National Marine Fisheries Service mandated the use of circle hooks when trolling natural bait in Atlantic billfish tournaments. Paul Rudershausen, biology, featured.
N.C. State’s Bell Tower Finally Gets Its Bells, News & Observer, April 3, 2012. Though it will be some time before the sound of real bells echo from N.C. State University’s Bell Tower, the campus landmark took a step closer to that reality Monday. Chancellor Randy Woodson and alumni Matt Robbins and Jay Dawkins, featured.
Honeybees Self-Medicate with Anti-Fungal Resin, Discover, April 2, 2012. Beekeepers would love to get rid of propolis, a sticky substance made of resins that bees use to line their hives, because it makes it hard to pry hives open. Dr. Michael Simone-Finstrom, entomology, featured.
Bees Self-Medicate To Fight Off Fungus, LiveScience, March 31, 2012. When they get sick, bees raid their own “medicine cabinet,” researchers have found. Dr. Michael Simone-Finstrom, entomology, featured.
N.C. State University Finally Has Real Bells For Tower, News & Observer, March 31, 2012. More than 90 years after construction began on its iconic Bell Tower, N.C. State University finally has bells for it. Alumnus Matt Robbins featured.
NCSU, Right-Sizing, News & Observer, March 31, 2012 op/ed. Perhaps there’s no better example than the way leaders at N.C. State University have re-examined issues of size, structure and mission.
NCSU Slowing Growth, Aiming for More Graduate Students, News & Observer, March 29, 2012. NCSU’s enrollment grew nearly 20 percent in the decade ending in 2010, but university leaders began throttling back and now plan to increase the number of students more slowly – to about 37,000 by 2020. Dr. Warwick Arden, provost, featured.
N.C. State Senior Wins Lumberjack Competition, News & Observer, March 29, 2012. The N.C. State senior went through the log in the underhand competition like a man possessed to force the stock saw-off. Victor Wassack, senior, featured.
NCSU’s Caldwell Fellows Celebrate 40th Anniversary, News & Observer, March 26, 2012. One hundred years after the birth of John T. Caldwell, the former N.C. State chancellor’s impact can still be felt among the Wolfpack nation.
N.C. State Discovery Lets Investigators Learn a Body’s Sex From Bones, News & Observer, March 26, 2012. However, new research from investigators at N.C. State University, published in the Journal of Forensic Sciences, shows it’s actually possible to determine biological sex using tiny bones known as the tarsals, the bones that comprise the ankle, heel and rear part of the arch of the foot. Dr. Troy Case, anthropology, featured.
Basketball Physics: The Anatomy of the Free Throw, Popular Mechanics, March 23, 2012. Frenzied March Madness basketball games often come down to a maddening exchange of free throws. We asked the experts how to get the mechanics and angles for a perfect free throw. Drs. Larry Silverberg and Chau Tran, mechanical and aerospace engineering, featured.
NCSU Wolfpack Fans Reveling in a Fresh Addition to Their Basketball Tradition, News & Observer, March 23, 2012. As Derick Brown sat with friends in a Cary pizza restaurant and watched N.C. State University’s basketball team ease ahead of Georgetown, an odd feeling began to grow.
Android Ads Could Attack, Study Warns, Technology Review, March 19, 2012. Ad libraries, bundled with free apps, could sniff data and even install malicious software. Dr. Xuxian Jiang, computer science, featured.
Researchers Find Privacy and Security Holes in Android Apps with Ads, Ars Technica, March 19, 2012. A team of researchers at North Carolina State University have found that many of the libraries used in free Android applications to display in-application advertisements also pose a threat to privacy, and can be used by attackers to get past Android security. Dr. Xuxian Jiang, computer science, featured.
Your Smart Phone May Be at Risk, Say Researchers, Triangle Business Journal, March 19, 2012. North Carolina State University technology researchers have found privacy and security risks in 297 smart phone applications, something they say raises “concerns.”
Power Play for Wind, N&O, March 19, 2012 op/ed. Centennial is about public and private partnerships, but it’s also about exciting research.
Free For All, ESPN The Magazine, March 19, 2012 edition (subscription only). With a little help from psychology, physics and Rick Barry, even the worst shooters from the charity stripe can start making their throws count. Drs. Chau Tran and Larry Silverberg, mechanical and aerospace engineering, featured.
GOP Field Finds Itself Star-Crossed, Variety, March 17, 2012. The Romney campaign must have thought it looked good on paper: comedian Jeff Foxworthy personifies blue-collar voters, is in tune with Southerners and as a standup comic, could surely smooth over some of the more awkward edges of Romney’s outreach to voters in the Deep South. Dr. Michael Cobb, political science, featured.
Tiny Particles Send a Message for the First Time, Christian Science Monitor, MSNBC, et al., March 15, 2012. For the first time, scientists have used neutrinos – the exotic fundamental particles that routinely pass right through Earth – to send a message through the ground. Dr. Dan Stancil, electrical and computer engineering, featured.
For the First Time, a Message Sent With Neutrinos, Popular Science, March 15, 2012. In a major step for truly wireless communications, scientists have figured out how to send a message with neutrinos, transmitting a single word through 780 feet of bedrock and translating it at the other end.
NCSU, Service Leader, N&O, March 14, 2012 op/ed. Now comes an unmistakable sign that when it comes to public service, NCSU is definitely a leader of the pack.
NC State 1 of 5 Colleges to Win Top Award For Student Service, N&O, March 13, 2012.Every year the students, faculty and staff at N.C. State University help pack hundreds of thousands of meals to try to end world hunger – and stuff thousands of runners with Krispy Kremes to raise money for sick children.
NCSU Produces Hybrid Dogwood That Can Withstand Disease, N&O, March 8, 2012. The native dogwood tree and its iconic spring blossom are under attack by two diseases, one of which goes by the ominous Latin name destructiva. Dr. Thomas Ranney, horticultural science, featured.
Obama To Propose Tax Credits, Grants For Alternative-Fuel Vehicles Bloomberg March 7, 2012. President Barack Obama will propose expanded tax credits and community research grants to make alternative-energy cars and trucks more attractive to buyers, White House officials said. Dr. Andy Taylor, political science, featured.
GOP Sees Obama Running Scared In North Carolina Charlotte Observer, et al. March 7, 2012. As President Barack Obama returns to North Carolina on Wednesday following visits by his wife and several Cabinet members, Republicans see the trips as a sign of the administration’s growing fear that he’s going to lose a key battleground state where his political backing is suffering. Dr. Andy Taylor, political science, featured.
El Paseo: The Incredible 5,000-Mile Journey of Saul Flores Independent Weekly March 7, 2012. Five thousand miles. Three months of walking, hitchhiking, sleeping on the ground and in hiding places. Student Saul Flores featured.
ADHD Over-Diagnosed In Youngest Kids In Class Fox News March 6, 2012. The youngest children in their school grade are more likely to be diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) than their slightly older peers in the same grade, a new study finds. Dr. Melinda Morrill, economics, featured.
What is a Data Scientist? Forbes March 5, 2012. The future of data science in the enterprise will be extremely bright if a few key things happen. Dr. Michael Rappa, Institute for Advanced Analytics, featured.
Prehistoric penguin pieced together, N&O, March 5, 2012. After roughly 25 million years, the “diver who returns with food” has it together. Dr. Dan Ksepka, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.
What We Say Here: an American Regional Dictionary Explores the Power of Place, Chronicle of Higher Education, March 4, 2012. Can a person fall in love with a dictionary? If the work in question is the Dictionary of American Regional English, which has just published its fifth volume, Sl-Z, the answer appears to be yes. Dr. Walt Wolfram, English, featured.
NCSU Students Digitize Bargains in Durham-based Venture, N&O, March 4, 2012. A startup that originated at N.C. State University is putting a 21st century twist on the coupon books that community groups sell as fundraisers.
Raleigh science teacher connects students with lessons, N&O, March 4, 2012. Of all the props one might employ when striving to interest young girls in science, Laura Bottomley prefers a shoe. Dr. Laura Bottomley, engineering, featured.
UNC Leaders’ Message: NC’s Future Depends On Your Support, N&O, March 4, 2012. As the UNC system enacted a controversial tuition increase last month after a 15.6 percent state budget cut, the bad news just kept coming. Chancellor Randy Woodson featured.
State Students Launch ‘Fast Wolf’ Rocket, N&O, March 3, 2012. With $2,500 in globally sourced funding raised Friday via Internet “crowdsourcing” and a payload designed to suck climate-changing carbon from the sky, the N.C. State entry in NASA’s university rocketry contest could scarcely be more hip.
Giant Penguin, CBC’s Quirks and Quarks, March 3, 2012. Since the 1940′s, fossil evidence of a previously unknown species of penguin has been turning up in New Zealand. Dr. Dan Ksepka, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.
Clues To Sex Revealed In Foot Bones LiveScience, March 1, 2012. The bones in our feet offer subtle clues to our sex, and researchers have devised a way of determining whether a person is male or female just by analyzing measurements from seven foot bones. Dr. Troy Case, anthropology, featured.
Democrats’ Primary For Governor To Be Short And Sweet News & Observer, March 1, 2012. The Democratic primary for governor may closely resemble a traditional British election – a brief campaign season, relatively austere electioneering budgets, and stingy television advertising. Dr. Andy Taylor, political science, featured.
Consumers Quick to Spot and Ignore Deceptive Ads LiveScience, BusinessNewsDaily Feb. 29, 2012. When it comes to sniffing out deceptive advertising, consumers are savvier than many marketers give them credit for. Dr. Stacy Wood, marketing, featured.
World of Warcraft may boost seniors’ cognitive ability: study CBS News Feb. 29, 2012. If Grandma’s favorite game is bingo, it may be time for a change. A new study suggests that the popular online role-playing game World of Warcraft may keep aging brains sharp. Drs. Jason Allaire and Anne McLaughlin, psychology, featured.
Scientists reconstruct ‘elegant’ giant penguin that lived in New Zealand 26 million years ago Washington Post, AP, et al. Feb. 29, 2012. It was a slender bird, with long wings and a spear-like bill to catch swift ocean prey. Dr. Dan Ksepka, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.
World of Warcraft May Protect the Aging Brain Forbes Feb. 28, 2012. There are claims that video games can be bad (and good) for the development of young minds. But what about the elderly and the problem of age-related decline?
World of Warcraft Could Give Your Grandparents’ Brains A Boost io9, Feb. 28, 2012. Next time you sit down to play some World of Warcraft (WoW), consider having a parent or grandparent take a crack at it, instead — new research shows that the MMO can actually boost cognitive functioning in older adults. Drs. Jason Allaire and Anne McLaughlin, psychology, featured.
Giant Prehistoric Penguin was Bigger than an Emperor Scientific American, Feb. 27, 2012. Scientists have reconstructed the skeleton of a prehistoric penguin species, and found that its body was unlike any previously known penguin. Dr. Dan Ksepka, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.
Giant Prehistoric Penguins Revealed: Big but Skinny National Geographic, Feb. 27, 2012. Scientists finally have the skinny on two extinct species of giant “svelte” penguins that lived in New Zealand 25 million years ago, a new study says. Dr. Dan Ksepka, marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, featured.
Playing ‘World of Warcraft’ Boosts Spatial Ability and Focus in Adults The Atlantic, Feb. 27, 2012. The game improves cognitive functioning in older players because it requires multitasking and extensive use of brain-based skills. Dr. Anne McLaughlin, psychology, featured.
Gaming Grannies: ‘World of Warcraft’ Improves Cognitive Abilities LiveScience, Feb. 23, 2012. Playing a popular online game may improve some older adults’ abilities to focus their attention, a new study suggests. Drs. Jason Allaire and Anne McLaughlin, psychology, featured.
Should You Still Choose Nuclear Engineering As A Career? IEEE Spectrum, Feb. 23, 2012. Despite Fukushima, nuclear engineering still promises a stable career. Dr. Yousry Azmy, nuclear engineering, featured.
Can Playing World of Warcraft Make You Smarter? L.A. Times, Feb. 23, 2012. World of Warcraft, the world’s most popular multiplayer role-playing game, can definitely help you kill time, but can it also make your brain work better if you are of relatively advanced age? Drs. Jason Allaire and Anne McLaughlin, psychology, featured.
To Kill Parasites, Fruit Flies Self Medicate With Alcohol PBS NewsHour, Feb. 22, 2012. Infected fruit flies turn to alcohol to self medicate, a new study shows. Dr. Robert Anholt, biology and genetics, featured.
Changes In Weather Add To Birds’ Marital Woes New York Times, Feb. 20, 2012. Marriage, infidelity and divorce: These intimate matters are familiar to humans. But oddly enough, birds deal with them as well. Dr. Carlos Botero, genetics, featured.
Farmer’s Market Genetics Charlotte Observer, News & Observer, Feb. 20, 2012. In 2002, N.C. State genetics professor Trudy Mackay was thinking about how to fill in questions left unanswered by studies of the human genome. Dr. Trudy Mackay, genetics, featured.
A Molecule That Can Help Antibiotics Kill Superbugs Discover Magazine (blog), Feb. 17, 2012. Bacteria that have evolved defenses against antibiotics are something of a disaster waiting to happen.
Brad Miller Won’t Run For N.C. Governor News & Observer, Feb. 17, 2012. U.S. Rep. Brad Miller of Raleigh said Thursday that he would not seek the Democratic nomination for governor, becoming the latest political figure to bypass the race after Gov. Bev Perdue’s surprise announcement that she would not seek re-election. Dr. Steven Greene, political science, featured.
In Uncertain Climates, Birds Will Sleep Around MSNBC, Feb. 16, 2012. When climate is shifty and unpredictable, birds are more likely to sleep around. Dr. Carlos Botero, genetics, featured.
UNC, NCSU Researchers Lead Effort To Breed Special Lab Mice News & Observer, Feb. 16, 2012. Scientists in the exploding world of genetic research needed not just one better kind of mouse, but hundreds. Dr. David Threadgill, genetics, featured.
Obama Outraises Republican Rivals in Two-Thirds of States USA Today, Feb. 15, 2012. President Obama has outraised his Republican rivals in two-thirds of the country, including battleground states such as Pennsylvania and North Carolina considered crucial to his re-election prospects, a USA TODAY analysis shows. Dr. Andrew Taylor, political science, featured.
Compound Reinvigorates Classic Antibiotics In Fight Against New Superbacteria Popular Science, Feb. 15, 2012. A new drug compound can recharge a class of antibiotics used to fight superbug bacteria, improving the antibiotics’ effectiveness 16-fold. Dr. Christian Melander, chemistry, featured.
Amid Shortages, Rules Force Hospitals To Trash Scarce Drugs MSNBC, Feb. 15, 2012. Mounting shortages of crucial drugs are creating a new dilemma for the nation’s hospital pharmacists, who say they find themselves caught between following government rules for storage and safety — or throwing away vital and lifesaving medications. Gigi Davidson, clinical pharmacy services, featured.
Braille Comes Unbound From The Book: How Technology Can Stop A Literary Crisis The Guardian (UK), Feb. 14, 2012. Apple is at the vanguard of a push behind technology that’s helping old-fashioned Braille replace text-to-speech audio for the blind – and it couldn’t have come at a more critical time. Dr. Peichun Yang, electrical and computer engineering, featured.
Heavy Lift for Obama in North Carolina National Journal, Feb. 14, 2012. If President Obama is hoping to pull off a repeat performance of his surprise 2008 win in North Carolina, he’ll have to supply the star power all on his own. Dr. Steven Greene, political science, featured.
Feeling In Control Boosts Brainpower in Elderly LiveScience, Feb. 13, 2012. When the world seems like its spinning out of control around you, your brain takes a hit, new research suggests. Dr. Shevaun Neupert, psychology, featured.
Meet Jason Bivins State of Things, Feb. 13, 2012. Jason Bivins grew up during the punk movement of the 1980s, rejecting the mainstream and staring in confusion at Reagan’s America. Dr. Jason Bivins, religious studies, featured.
Endangered Bird Benefits From Discovery Of Cockroach Love Call Audubon, Feb. 13, 2012. Call it a grand romantic gesture: When a lady cockroach is in the mood, she broadcasts a far-reaching chemical signal to the interest of any and all available males.
Indoor Ecosystems Science, Feb. 10, 2012. The microbial ecology of buildings gets a boost from a foundation and researchers trying to better understand the invisible communities in our homes, hospitals, and workspaces. Dr. Rob Dunn, biology, featured.
Tests Find Mold, Fecal Bacteria In Children’s Lunch Boxes WRAL, Feb. 9, 2012. Parents wouldn’t serve their children peanut butter and jelly with mold or a ham sandwich with a side of fecal coliforms, but those combinations are popping up in lunch boxes, according to a 5 On Your Side investigation with North Carolina State University. Dr. Lee-Ann Jaykus, food, bioprocessing and nutrition sciences, featured.
Android Botnet Exploits Gingerbread Root Access InformationWeek, Feb. 9, 2012. The mobile malware state of the art continues to improve, as demonstrated by the emergence of a new Android threat that’s been dubbed RootSmart. Dr. Xuxian Jiang, computer science, featured.
North Carolina State Rolls Out Experimental Open Source WiFi Network Campus Technology, Feb. 9, 2012. North Carolina State University’s Centennial Campus has implemented one of the country’s first large-scale, outdoor, experimental wireless networks using open source software. Dr. Rudra Dutta, computer science, featured.
Canine Cancer Studies Yield Human Insights ABC News, Feb. 8, 2012. Some of the most promising insights into cancer are coming from pet dogs thanks to emerging studies exploring remarkable biological similarities between man and his best friend. Dr. Matthew Breen, veterinary medicine, featured.
Researchers Get CPUs and GPUs Talking, Boost PC Performance by 20 Percent Engadget, Feb. 8, 2012. How do you fancy a 20 percent boost to your processor’s performance?
Blue May Run For Governor News & Observer, Feb. 8, 2012. State Sen. Dan Blue of Raleigh said Tuesday that he is seriously considering seeking the Democratic nomination for governor. Dr. Andrew Taylor, political science, featured.
Researchers Boost Processor Performance By Getting CPU and GPU to Collaborate Ars Technica, Feb. 7, 2012. Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a technique to take advantage of the “fused architecture” emerging on multicore CPUs that puts central processing units and graphics processing units on the same chip. Dr. Huiyang Zhou, electrical and computer engineering, featured.
Chips With Collaborating CPU and GPU Lead To Faster Processors Gizmag, Feb. 7, 2012. Want to get your computer to run faster? Well, consider its graphics processing unit (GPU) and central processing unit (CPU). Dr. Huiyang Zhou, electrical and computer engineering, featured.
Evolving Android Malware Shows How Evil Apps Will Evade Google’s Scans Forbes, Feb. 6, 2012. Just a few days after Google announced new safeguards against malicious apps in its Android Market, one researcher is already offering a helpful reminder that the mobile malware cat-and-mouse game is just getting started. Dr. Xuxian Jiang, computer science, featured.
CentMesh Aims For First Open-Air Wi-Fi Network News & Observer, Feb. 6, 2012. Final preparations are being made in Raleigh for what will be one of the nation’s first open-air, large-scale experimental Wi-Fi networks. Dr. Dennis Kekas and Dr. Rudra Dutta, computer science, featured.
Centenarian Keeps Her Mind Sharp With Nintendo DS ABC News, Feb. 2, 2012. Nintendo has a new and enthusiastic, if unexpected, spokesperson in 100-year-old Kathleen “Kit” Connell of Thornliebank, Scotland. Dr. Anne McLaughlin, psychology, featured.
Dipole Hunt Stuck In Neutral Nature, Jan. 31, 2012. Discovered 80 years ago this month, the neutron is famous for what it lacks: electric charge. Dr. Paul Huffman, physics, featured.
Cat’s New Knee an Ortho-PET-ic Innovation ABC News, Jan. 28, 2012. A photogenic 20-pound orange tabby was resting comfortably in an intensive care unit today following pioneering replacement of a cancer-weakened knee by veterinary surgeons at North Carolina State University whose work could advance the field of human prosthetics. Dr. Ola Harrysson, engineering, and Dr. Denis Marcellin-Little, veterinary medicine, featured.
Obama Could Benefit In North Carolina With Democratic Gov’s Decision To Not Seek Re-Election Associated Press (Washington Post, etc.), Jan. 27, 2012. The key battleground state of North Carolina is still within President Barack Obama’s grasp, despite Democratic Gov. Beverly Perdue’s surprise decision to drop her re-election campaign. Drs. Andrew Taylor and Steven Greene, political science, featured.
North Carolina’s Governor Won’t Run Wall Street Journal, Jan. 27, 2012. North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue said Thursday she wouldn’t seek re-election, an unexpected development that could complicate Democrats’ efforts to hold on to the governor’s mansion and President Barack Obama’s chances of carrying the swing state in November. Dr. Andrew Taylor, political science, featured.
Tubby tabby gets revolutionary new knee joint Associated Press, Jan. 27, 2012. Because Cyrano weighs more than 20 pounds, amputating his cancer-weakened leg was out of the question. Drs Ola Harrysson, engineering, and Denis Marcellin-Little, veterinary medicine, featured.
Dem NC Governor Faced Tough Re-Election Fight Associated Press (Atlanta Journal Constitution, etc.), Jan. 26, 2012. Gov. Beverly Perdue said Thursday she will not seek re-election because she fears a fight with Republicans over public education would become too political. Dr. Steven Greene, political science, featured.
Carbon Nanotubes Bend And Stretch And Still Conduct IEEE Spectrum, Jan. 26, 2012. It seems the most desirable characteristic for electronics at the moment is flexibility, at least as far as nanotechnology research is concerned. Dr. Yong Zhu, mechanical and aerospace engineering, featured.
Elastic Conductors Made From Carbon Nanotubes Gizmag, Jan. 26, 2012. Whether it’s touch-sensitive skin for robots, clothing made from smart fabrics, or devices with bendable displays, stretchable electronics will be playing a large role in a number of emerging technologies. Dr. Yong Zhu, mechanical and aerospace engineering, featured.
Cat Will Undergo Knee Replacement Surgery at NCSU News & Observer, Jan. 26, 2012. Veterinarians and engineers at N.C. State University have collaborated on innovative medical procedures since 2005, when Dr. Denis Marcellin-Little performed the world’s first surgery to give a cat artificial leg implants that fused together with living bone tissue. Drs. Denis Marcellin-Little and Ola Harrysson featured.
Forensic Anthropology Gives Voice To Unidentified Remains Scientific American, Jan. 21, 2012. Bone-hunters and anthropologists typically guard their fossils as priceless specimens. Dr. Ann Ross, anthropology, featured.
How the Financially Disorganized Can Budget and Save CNBC, Jan. 18, 2012. The very idea of making a budget, much less adhering to one, can overwhelm the chronically disorganized. Dr. Carolyn Bird, 4-H youth development and family and consumer sciences, featured.
‘Open Science’ Challenges Journal Traditions With Web Collaboration New York Times, Jan. 16, 2012. For centuries, this is how science has operated – through research done in private, then submitted to medical and science journals to be reviewed by peers and published for the benefit of other researchers and the public at large.
Online Shoppers Are Rooting for the Little Guy New York Times, Jan. 15, 2012. Giant e-commerce companies like Amazon are acting increasingly like their big-box brethren as they extinguish their small competitors with discounted prices, free shipping and easy-to-use apps. Dr. Michael Walden, agricultural and resource economics, featured.
EagleCam Captures Hatchlings in Nest News & Observer, Jan. 14, 2012. Thousands of people watched two eagles hatch in a nest near the top of a tree at Jordan Lake this week. Dr. Ted Simons, biology, featured.
Ways To Empower Kids To Take Charge Of Their Health USA Today, Jan. 11, 2012. Sure, you can stock your fridge with nutritious snacks and offer a good example when it comes to exercise, but recent studies suggest that, just like grown-ups, kids need strong internal motivation (not micromanagement) in order to get fit. Dr. Jason Bocarro, parks, recreation and tourism management, featured.
Fuel Your Moving Body N&O, Jan. 11, 2012. There’s no shortage of information out there about what to eat to maximize the benefits of your workout. Dr. Jackie McClelland, 4-H youth development and family and consumer sciences, featured.
NCSU Spinoff develops online homework service N&O, Jan. 10, 2012. Helping students with their homework, it turns out, can be big business. WebAssign, Centennial Campus, featured.
Jogging is less tiring than brisk walking HuffPo U.K., et al, Jan. 9, 2012. If taking up running is one of your New Year’s resolutions but you haven’t quite managed to get started, you might be pleased to hear that a gentle jog is less tiring than a power walk. Dr. Gregory Sawicki, biomedical engineering, featured.
Prototype System Removes Air Pollutants and Generates Heat for Livestock Barns GizMag, Jan. 5, 2012. If you’ve ever so much as stepped into a chicken or swine barn, you’ll know that they can be very, very smelly places. Dr. Sanjay Shah, biological and agricultural engineering, featured.
NC State Economist Looks Back on 2011 North Carolina News Network, Jan. 2, 2012. Now that 2011 is behind us, how will it be remembered on the economic front? Dr. Michael Walden, agricultural and resource economics, featured.
Old NCSU Chancellor Home to Get New Use News & Observer, Jan. 2, 2012. Gregg Museum of Art and Design director Roger Manley looks forward to the time when he won’t have to email elaborate maps and aerial photos to direct visitors to the museum in the heart of N.C. State University’s campus.
| 172,104
|
JIUQUAN, China — A rocket carrying two Chinese astronauts blasted off Wednesday from a base in the country’s desert northwest, returning men to orbit just two years after Beijing joined the exclusive club of spacefaring nations.
The mission, reportedly due to last up to five days, is an effort by the communist government to declare its status as a rising world power with technological triumphs to match its rapid economic growth. Chinese space officials say they hope to land an unmanned probe on the moon by 2010 and want to launch a space station.
China is only the third country to launch a human into orbit on its own, after Russia and the United States.
The Long March rocket carrying astronauts Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng in the Shenzhou 6 capsule lifted off at 9 a.m. from the heavily guarded Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert. Shenzhou means “divine vessel.”
In a sign of official confidence, the communist government broke with the military-run space program’s usual secrecy and showed the launch live on state television.
Images of Fei and Nie in their cockpit as the craft roared toward orbit were broadcast live to hundreds of millions of Chinese television viewers.
“Feeling pretty good,” Fei said in the first broadcast comment from the astronauts, or “taikonauts.”
The capsule entered its preset orbit 23 minutes after launch, the government announced.
State television showed Chinese President Hu Jintao watching the liftoff from a command center in Beijing, while Premier Wen Jiabao was on hand at the launch base.
“We await your triumphant return! Goodbye!” a technician at mission control told the astronauts minutes before the liftoff.
Wen hailed the launch: “The Shenzhou 6, which has attracted worldwide attention, has successfully launched.”
The manned space program is a key prestige project for China’s ruling Communist Party, which hopes that patriotic pride at its triumphs will help shore up the party’s public standing amid frustration at official corruption and social problems.
In Beijing, hundreds of people gathered on a plaza outside the main train station to watch the launch on a giant television screen. Some clasped their hands in anxiety as the rocket surged skyward.
“The Shenzhou liftoff brings pride to our divine land, pride to our Chinese people, pride to our country and pride to humankind,” said one man, who would give only his surname, Zhu.
In Shanghai, students at the elite Xiang Ming Middle School cheered when the rocket separated successfully from the spacecraft, raising hand-painted signs that read, “My heart takes flight.” Some fired off congratulatory e-mails to the space program.
“It’s a very great day for our country,” said Seymour Lee, 15. “It feels like we’ve been waiting 50 years for it.”
In a show of the growing gap between rich and poor in China, however, peasants working on farms less than an hour’s drive from the launch pad merely shrugged when asked about the space mission.
“I don’t know anything about such things,” Ju Guixia said as she used a knife to cut down cotton blossoms in freezing weather.
Riskier second mission
The mission by Fei and Nie, both former fighter pilots, is expected to be longer and riskier than the 2003 flight, which carried one astronaut and lasted just 21½ hours.
The government has not said how long the latest flight will last, but news reports say it could be up to five days. The official China News Service said Wednesday the capsule was expected to orbit the Earth 80 times before landing in China’s northern grasslands.
Wen, the premier, visited Fei and Nie before dawn in their quarters at the Jiuquan base and called their flight a “glorious and sacred mission,” the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
“You will once again show that the Chinese people have the will, confidence and capability to mount scientific peaks ceaselessly,” Wen said, according to Xinhua.
Wen insisted ahead of the launch that China’s aspirations in space were strictly peaceful and that it opposes deploying weapons there.
Xinhua said that during their flight, the astronauts will take off their 22-pound spacesuits to travel back and forth between the two halves of their vessel — a re-entry capsule and an orbiter that is to stay aloft after they land.
Fei’s and Nie’s identities were not announced until early Wednesday, hours before their flight. Xinhua said the astronauts — known in Chinese as yuhangyuan, or “travelers of the universe” — were picked from a field of six finalists.
Nie was one of three finalists for China’s first space mission in 2003 but lost out to Yang Liwei, who became a national hero.
Foreign reporters were barred from the launch base near the former Silk Road oasis of Jiuquan. A handful of Chinese reporters were allowed to be on hand for the liftoff, but authorities at the last minute turned back Hong Kong reporters who had been invited to attend.
The Chinese reporters were warned that they might be ordered to hand over film or video — a possible image-control measure in case anything went wrong. Other reporters who tried to get near the base were stopped at roadblocks up to 50 miles away.
The Shenzhou capsule is based on Russia’s workhorse Soyuz, though with extensive modifications. China also bought technology for spacesuits, life-support systems and other equipment from Moscow, though officials say all the items launched into space are Chinese-made.
China has had a rocketry program since the 1950s and fired its first satellite into orbit in 1970. It regularly launches satellites for foreign clients aboard its giant Long March boosters.
© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
| 138,976
|
I'm looking for a really good C/C++ developer environment, I've herd Dev-C++ is pretty good, any other suggestions, also don't use fancy words to try and convince me, I'm a very n00bish programmer, and have only worked in Liberty BASIC and HTML, so I don't know what stuff like object oriented means. thanks, please provide some reasons and links
What is the best C/C++ developer environment?
Microsoft Visual Studio Express editions are free downloads, and have most of the features you'd want to learn C and C++.
And if you ever want to move on to more serious development, you'll already know your way around the most popular tools.
Reply:I just started to fool around with C and C++ again. I am predominantly a JAVA developer. I use CodeBlocks which I find to be very good and intuitive for beginners. It's lightweight too. cprogramming.com and cplusplus.com should give you good tutorials to get started. C is really low level, you will need to understand how the internals of a computer works before you can claim you know C. Pay attention to memory (allocation), pointers, etc.
My vote is CodeBlocks, type it into google and download it. I would recommend Visual Studio for Visual C++ but that is a heavy and costly IDE that is for down the road, when you do professional development in Windows.
| 208,404
|
I have studied analysis and design techniques, on and off, since I was in graduate school. The concept of Extreme Programming (XP) is the most radical, and delightful, that Ive seen. You can find it chronicled in Extreme Programming Explained by Kent Beck (Addison-Wesley, 2000) and on the Web at www.xprogramming.com. Addison-Wesley also seems to come out with a new book in the XP series every month or two; the goal seems to be to convince everyone to convert using sheer weight of books (generally, however, these books are small and pleasant to read).
XP is both a philosophy about programming work and a set of guidelines to do it. Some of these guidelines are reflected in other recent methodologies, but the two most important and distinct contributions, in my opinion, are write tests first and pair programming. Although he argues strongly for the whole process, Beck points out that if you adopt only these two practices youll greatly improve your productivity and reliability.
| 296,262
|
Forget Rs 3 lakh crore that Jaitley claimed would be "extinguished" due to demonetisation, the banned notes that didn't finds their way back to the banks - provisionally - account for just Rs 16000 crore.
"The fact that the bulk of SBNs [specified bank notes Rs 500 and Rs 1,000] have come back to the banking system shows that the banking system and the RBI were able to effectively respond to the challenge of collecting such a large number of SBNs in a limited time", the Finance Ministry said. Within four months, bond traders realised that the impact of demonetisation would be limited and bond yields rationalised.
"The real object of demonetisation was formalisation, attack on black money, less cash currency, bigger tax base, digitisation, a blow to terrorism", Jaitley said.
"The prime minister's missile on tax evasion missed the target", said Pankaj Revri, president of the market association. First was what the media expected that the black money will not come back into the system. In January, the government made a decision to use data analytics to identify people whose deposits didn't match their known sources of income.
The RBI's balance sheet also says that in 2016-17 the cost of printing currency was Rs 7,965 crore.
He said Modi had promised to unearth black money and end corruption, terror funding and counterfeit currency. The Congress said RBI's report was proof that demonetisation had "utterly failed".
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley immediately held a press conference to defend the decision taken by the government over demonetization, after the figures were released by the RBI. The cash ban prompted the central bank to print new currency, reducing its profit and cutting annual dividend payout to the government by half.
Gandhi, whose term ended in April this year, was among the 8-10 people aware of the plan to invalidate old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes on November 9, 2016.
The RBI's annual report highlights that the trail of deposits of specified bank notes into bank accounts "may provide valuable information to the revenue authorities in tracing unaccounted money". "The Reserve Bank figures yesterday exposed the falsehood propagated by the government", he said. "Create more friendly tax administration which encourages people to file tax returns and use various other tools such as cash transaction tax and suspicious transaction reporting to detect cash transactions".
Sharma wondered what the note ban decision had achieved as 99 per cent of the money had been returned, and accused the prime minister of "changing the narrative" on the issue. After the note ban exercise, he had told India Today in an interview: "It is a big mistake, both in terms of its objective of dealing with corruption as well as the objective of one rapid jump of getting into a cashless economy". Though Jaitley claimed that "terrorist and Naxalite financing stopped nearly entirely due to demonetisation", he or the Modi government have failed to provide any evidence substantiating this claim so far.
According to the report issued by the RBI, for the financial year, 2016-17 now total of 3285 million notes of 2000 are in circulation, worth the value of 6571 billion rupees and 5882 million notes of 500 are in circulation worth the value of 2941 billion rupees.
Historic flooding caused by Harvey knocked one-fifth of the nation's refining capacity offline, according to S&P Global Platts. That includes the biggest USA refinery, Motiva's Port Arthur facility, which can handle more than 600,000 barrels a day.
Spectacular dancers will complement the spectacular dance of any composition, leaving an unforgettable impression in your memory. A special chic to the club is given by colorful and incendiary performances, over which a professional choreographer works.
France's President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday he will visit Israel next year amid a new French peace push in the Middle East. Mr Macron argues the measures are needed to introduce greater flexibility in France's rigid labour law to encourage hiring.
In addition, from the year 2018 GRC’s cryptocurrency rate is expected to grow due to its social usefulness and relevance. In order to do this, you need to have a considerable amount of money, a special financial education and a special license.
Roger McKnight, senior petroleum analyst with En-Pro International Inc., said he has never seen such a big price increase. On Thursday in NY , the price of a barrel of crude oil for delivery in October rose USA $1.27 at closing, to U.S. $47.23.
There were even reports that Chelsea had tried to sign Llorente , but nothing materialised before the English deadline last night. Llorente , a World Cup victor with Spain, scored 15 goals last season as Swansea successfully avoided relegation.
Tips casino players online You need to understand the difference between traditional casinos and online casinos. Still, the main goal, anyway, is to get a prize and the opportunity to become rich without putting an effort.
While Luke will probably have a key role to play in the new movies, it’s certain the new actors will dominate the storyline. He felt he needed to know what all those years have done to Luke even if the material doesn’t get told in the actual movie.
Odion Ighalo opened the scoring for the Eagles before Mikel made it 2-0 close to the end of the first half. The Cameroonians came out blazing in the second half, substitute Choupo-Moting leading the charge.
| 183,441
|
1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows : Two lives, one nation and a century of art under tyranny in China [Paperback]
A FAMILY STORY AND THE TALE OF A NATION.
Ai Weiwei - one of the world's most famous artists and activists - weaves a century-long epic tale of China through the story of his own life and that of his father, Ai Qing, the nation's most celebrated poet.
'Engrossing...a remarkable story' Sunday Times
Here, through the sweeping lens of his own and his father's life, Ai Weiwei tells an epic tale of China over the last 100 years, from the Cultural Revolution to the modern-day Chinese Communist Party.
Here is the story of a childhood spent in desolate exile after his father, Ai Qing, once China's most celebrated poet, fell foul of the authorities. Here is his move to America as a young man and his return to China, his rise from unknown to art-world superstar and international rights activist. Here is his extraordinary account of how his work has been shaped by living under a totalitarian regime.
It's the story of a father and a son, of exceptional creativity and passionate belief, and of how two indomitable spirits enabled the world to understand their country.
'A story of inherited resilience and self-determination' Observer
'A majestic and exquisitely serious masterpiece about his China... One of the great voices of our time' Andrew Solomon
'Intimate, unflinching...an instant classic' Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition
- S$27.95 Online Price
- S$25.15 Kinokuniya Privilege Card Member Price
- Availability Status : In stock at the Fulfilment Centre.
- Usually dispatches around 3 to 5 working days.
- Retail store and online prices may vary.
- Delivery time required depends on your selected option.
domestic delivery FREE Shipping on orders over S$50.00
While every attempt has been made to ensure stock availability, occasionally we do run out of stock at our stores.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
- Watercolor Life :...
- S$38.97 Online Price
- S$35.07 KPC Member Price
- The Boy, the Mole...
- S$33.25 Online Price
- S$29.92 KPC Member Price
- How to Draw Anyth...
- S$21.40 Online Price
- S$19.26 KPC Member Price
- Final Fantasy Xiv...
- S$62.04 Online Price
- S$55.84 KPC Member Price
- Lost Ocean : An I...
- S$24.84 Online Price
- S$22.36 KPC Member Price
| 119,743
|
CBSA and Montreal port dip toe into blockchain to tug shipping into digital age
By The Canadian Press
MONTREAL — The Canada Border Services Agency and the Port of Montreal have signed on for a trial run of a technology that aims to streamline freight shipping using the power of blockchain.
By The Canadian Press
The federal customs agency and the country’s second-biggest port said they’re dipping their toes into a digital database that functions as a “distributed ledger,” sharing and syncing up data from ocean carriers, ports and wholesalers from Singapore to Peru.
But tugging the shipping world into the digital age could incur headwinds, as data sharing depends on co-operation among competitors and security remains an open question, experts say.
The new technology was developed by International Business Machines Corp. and A.P. Moller-Maersk Group, a Danish shipping container giant.
“Essentially, it’s designed to modernize the shipping industry,” said Manav Gupta, an IBM cloud computing expert and author of “Blockchain for Dummies.”
“When you have a container ship leaving, let’s say a port in Mombasa and going to a port in North America, it can pass through 30 regulatory bodies and port bodies, and all of the interaction currently is paper-based.”
The digitized platform, called TradeLens, aims to replace that paper trail with electronic scheduling, clearance and billing while tracing containers more precisely.
“The maritime industry faces rising cargo volumes and growing market demands. TradeLens is a powerful tool to modernize work processes and cut red tape,” said Jack Mahoney, president of Maersk Canada.
Since TradeLens was launched in August, more than 90 organizations have come on board, including the ports of Halifax, Singapore and Rotterdam, the container carrier Pacific International Lines and customs authorities in Australia and the Netherlands.
Global collaboration among competitors could be key to maximizing the benefits of a blockchain-fuelled platform.
“That’s the only way that it’s going to take off,” said Inma Borrella, who leads the blockchain research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Transportation and Logistics.
Paper documentation is more prone to error and risk, but forms part of established supply chain habits in a creaky industry, she said.
“Ocean freight in particular is very slow in tech adoption. So that is one of the barriers.”
“There’s interest. All of these companies are exploring the technology. But the return on investment is still not clear,” Borrella added, highlighting TradeLens as the biggest effort so far to wrangle stakeholders into a single machine-learning system.
Pairing competitors could be tough, but smoother dispute resolution is one potential outcome, with a single, shared record of the cargo’s path from castoff to docking clarifying who is responsible in the event of cargo damage or loss.
“What blockchain can provide is a single version of the truth,” Borrella said.
Product bundling is another path to efficiency, said her colleague Maria Jesus Saenz, who leads research into digital supply chain transformation at the MIT centre.
Companies such as Pepsico, Kimberly-Clark and Procter & Gamble, whose products often share retail destinations, have already taken advantage of data-sharing to achieve up to 30 per cent savings on logistics, according to her research.
“The flows can be bundled very easily, because they have the same nodes in their networks,” she said, pointing to shared containers and transport resources.
Questions still swirl around security. On the surface, blockchain software appears more immune to human error than paper documents. But cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, which helped hatch blockchain technology, have been hacked over the past decade.
“It’s still a concern, definitely,” Saenz said. “The question is if it is 100 per cent protected or not. I am doubting that.”
The length of the pilot project with CBSA and the Montreal port has not been finalized, IBM said.
“The end result may be a faster and more reliable national supply chain, which could positively impact Canada’s economic output,” said CBSA president John Ossowski.
“We are convinced that joint work on a global scale is part of the key solutions to achieve a better flow of information and goods for the benefit of clients and partners,” said Sylvie Vachon, chief executive of the Montreal Port Authority.
– Christopher Reynolds
News from © Canadian Press Enterprises Inc., 2018
| 193,336
|
Fishing Concerns at Kings Navy Yard Park in Amherstburg
A expanded fishing area at Kings Navy Yard Park in Amherstburg was well utilized this summer but there were some concerns and complaints.
Councillor Don McArthur says the town heard from residents who were not happy to see anglers gutting fish at the park and leaving hooks on the grass.
He says residents also voiced concerns about some anglers using the park's bushes to relieve themselves instead of using a portable toilet at the park or the park's restrooms.
"Before we did this administration sort of warned us against it and said 'look people come in the park and there's hooks in the grass, they urinate in the bushes, this and that,' so they were doing it anyway, says McArthur. "So they did it again when we had fencing up."
Courtesy of visitwindsoressex.com
McArthur says it was the first year the town placed temporary fencing (300 feet) at the park for anglers.
"This year we said let's expand it, put up fencing that might solve some of those problems and in addition it might bring more tourists into town and it will be a positive economic impact," says McArthur. "We surveyed the businesses after this and there was really no appreciable positive economic impact that they could point to."
McArthur says moving forward he would like to see more fishing derby's at the park.
"Our downtown business owners they say they have a real tough time getting people into Amherstburg on a Tuesday night, on a Wednesday night so maybe we could do that if we had more fishing derby's," says McArthur. "You could close the park down for short periods of time, that solves the people getting hooked, this and that and it would bring people downtown especially locals so they can their waterfront, there's a really pressing need for that in this town."
McArthur says the town was trying to attract more tourists to the area.
The cost of the program was about $2,800.
Council will discuss the issue in March to see if the program will continue in the summer of 2020.
| 216,459
|
Starting a trucking business is a great business since it is in demand. I have been thinking for some time now. Regardless if you are an entrepreneur or a truck driver, starting a trucking business must have caught your imagination also. As it stands, the trucking industry is one of the biggest businesses in the world. Hauling business and even logistics is a billion dollar business with an insatiable market. This is because transporting goods across long distances has become an important industry. No matter the industry you find yourself, you must transport bulk goods to and fro (both raw and finished goods). That makes the haulage industry a very lucrative one.
How to Start a Trucking Business Plan (Hauling and Logistics)
Now if you are interested in knowing how to start a trucking business; you have come to the right place because I will be sharing some tips to help you succeed in this field. Your journey to starting a trucking business begins here.
1.Choose a niche
The trucking industry is very broad and to succeed in it, you must select a niche. Will you be engaged in transporting bulk goods or would you be leasing trucks to businesses in the transport industry? Will you outsource your truck to a trucking company or would you rather put your truck on a hired purchase?
Are you going to haul short or long distance? If you are to go into transportation; will you haul solid or liquid goods? These are the questions you must answer before setting out to start your own trucking business. In this article, I will focus on how to start a trucking business with respect to the transport industry; haulage to be precise.
The next thing you will need to begin your journey in the trucking industry is capital and you are going to need lots of it. Trucking is capital intensive and arguably the bloodiest part of starting a trucking business. Your start-up capital will largely depend on the size of the fleet you are intending to own. Are you going to buy new trucks or used trucks? There are two ways with which you can get your trucks; you can either purchase them outright or get them on lease. Another option is to look for subcontractors. While the initial investment is quite huge, you can easily get it back if you make the right management decisions.
3.Rules, regulations and insurance
Rules and regulations is the second point you must consider when starting a trucking business. There are different licenses and permits that must be filled up, which includes state registration and permits. To know what rules you’ll have to comply with, it is greatly recommended that you do your research or ask for help from someone familiar with the rules. Another important factor you must consider before starting a haulage business is insurance; which will cover the truck and the goods being transported.
4.Your management strategy
The fourth factor to look into when starting a trucking business is your management strategy to handling payload and clients. A good management team is very essential to running a successful trucking company. Your management team must be experienced in the transport industry; especially with truck management. Another important aspect of running a trucking business is your accounting process. You can buy an accounting software your business to make things easier.
5.Your services to client
What types of goods are you planning to transport? Will you haul solid, liquid or gaseous substance? Are you going to haul durable goods or perishable goods? Each type of freight has their set of requirements, so it would be best that you decide on this before you even open shop. The types of cargo you will be able to carry will determine the type of clients you will work with. And speaking of clients, you’ll need to present yourself well to get the hauling contracts you need.
No matter how big or small your business is; your outlook matters, so don’t neglect working on image and brand. Present your services, the cost of providing the services, and other added advantages or benefits that you think can make them sign up with you. Once you get the contract, give them quality service so that they’ll be enticed to keep coming back.
Challenges of starting a trucking business
Aside the issue of capital, the trucking business is management intensive. Another challenge militating against the success of trucking businesses is bad roads. The issue of bad roads results to unnecessary repairs, maintenance and accidents/hazards. The last but not the least challenge of starting a trucking business is getting good drivers. The “face” of your company is highly dependent on the type of drivers you employ, so make sure your hire drivers that are fit for the job. Check their references and background; and make sure that they’re not taking any illegal drugs. Hiring a terrible driver or being involved in an accident is going to be a disaster; not only to the finances of your company but also to your brand image, so recruit wisely.
As a final note, this is all the advice I can provide for now on how to start a trucking business. The trucking industry is quite a tough terrain to break into but the reward is worth it.
For inquiries on JAC Light Duty / Heavy Duty Trucks you may call 0917.447.4068
| 119,305
|
The World of Pearls
Today most pearls are cultured on pearl farms where a piece of material is inserted into each oyster or mussel in order to create a pearl. This technique can be done for both salt water and fresh water varieties. While they may look similar, salt water and fresh water pearls are very different in the chemical structure. Also the salt water varieties because of the delicate balance of salt water ecosystems are often times harder to grow and need to be done in protected lagoons. Fresh water pearls on the other hand are easier to culture outside of the natural environment and for this reason don't have any chance of creating imbalances in natural habitats. All of our jewelry uses fresh water pearls.
Here are a few interesting pearl facts:
- Cultured pearls can take 2-5yrs to mature.
- The saltwater pearls do not come from any clam or oyster that we eat; in fact they are quite inedible.
- A natural matching strand of found pearls can fetch upwards of $100,000.
- Pearl culturing was not invented until 1916 by a group of Japanese scientists.
- Pearls come in many different shapes and sizes from round, oval, flat, oblong, and teardrop.
- Pearls are the birthstone for June.
We love pearls and a lot of our jewelry makes use of them, occasionally as a full strand but usually just to highlight and enhance the piece with that wonderful luster that pearls create. Here are a few of our favorites:
| 124,210
|
What Our Portrait Says About Being Jewish Today
Friday, October 4, 2013
By: Rabbi Jeremy Gerber
A lot of people have been weighing in on the Pew Research Center's newest survey, "A Portrait of Jewish Americans,” and many are pretty unhappy with the findings.
Some interesting and provocative facts from the study:
- It was conducted across the country from February 20-June 13, 2013, and based on interviews of 3,475 Jews.
- Roughly one in five Jews (22 percent) now describe themselves as having no religion.
- Sixty two percent say being Jewish is mainly a matter of ancestry and culture, while just 15 percent say it is mainly a matter of religion.
- Among Jewish respondents who have gotten married since 2000, nearly six in 10 have a non-Jewish spouse.
- About a third (35 percent) of all U.S. Jews identify with the Reform movement, while 18 percent identify with Conservative Judaism, 10 percent with Orthodox Judaism and 6 percent with a variety of smaller groups, such as the Reconstructionist and Jewish Renewal movements.
- About three in ten American Jews say they do not identify with any particular denomination.
- Ninety four percent of U.S. Jews say they are proud to be Jewish.
- A puzzling statistic: 34 percent of respondents said you could believe Jesus was the Messiah and still be Jewish.
- My favorite statistic: 42 percent said that having a good sense of humor was essential to their Jewish identity!
Of course, these are only some of the conclusions from the study, you can find the whole thing online.
Though I understand why many people are dismayed by these findings – a professor of mine from the Jewish Theological Seminary even called them "grim" – I think we need to put them in perspective. Obviously, a major statistic is that 94 percent are proud to be Jewish! More than anything else, this study shows us that the face of American Judaism is certainly shifting and changing. It’s important to just acknowledge that, regardless of whether we think it’s good or bad.
I’m honestly not sure it’s a good use of our time to place value judgments on whether we like what we’re reading or not. The Pew Research Center’s findings are a tool to help us move forward, to consider (and reconsider) how we approach members of the Jewish community today, affiliated and unaffiliated.
Rabbi Steven Wernick of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism said in response to the study: “As we settle into the 21st Century, we must learn what to take with us and what to leave behind as the realities of a new era dawn on us. This moment is key; it is our great, transformative 'reset' button.”
I absolutely agree. The world is changing at an unimaginably rapid pace, and we have no choice but to keep up. And why shouldn’t this be true of the Jewish population as well? It can be tempting to wring our hands and lament one fact or another from this study. But what would be the point? Instead, let us focus on the opportunity that it presents — an opportunity to get to know ourselves, and each other, a little bit better.
Incorporating some important realizations from these findings will only make us stronger and wiser, and allow us to continue to improve as a community and as individuals. I think 100 percent of us can agree with that.
Rabbi Jeremy Gerber presides over Congregation Ohev Shalom, a Conservative synagogue in Wallingford.
| 41,473
|
According to ancient legend, the name “Pindaya” is derived from the word “Pinguya” (meaning: to catch the spider). There was once a giant spider to live in the cave. However, that spider was killed by bow by a prince after capturing the princess of that country into the cave. From then, the place was named Pindaya.
Only 100 kilometers from Inle, Pindaya cave is ranked top “must – visit” to foreign tourists, especially those from European countries.
Located in the mountain that is 1,200 meters above sea level, the cave is characterized by hundreds-year-old banyan trees, spreading and covering an enormous space along both sides.
Interestingly, the stunning Pindaya cave looks like a temple from a distance. The path leading to the entrance of the cave is roofed so that visitors do not get wet in rainy days or get burn in hot day. Visiting the inside of the cave, you definitely see a significant number of the gilding and lacquering Buddha statues of various sizes. How amazing!
There is one thing interesting that visitors can travel by the elevator to reach the entrance of the pagoda and need to take off their sandals on the stairs when wandering around the pagoda. The gate of the pagoda definitely captures the attention of tourists by unique design and eye-catching souvenir stalls running along both sides. Legend has it that there are 8,000 Buddha statues in the cave that are built by the donation of Buddhism followers all over the world. Therefore, there is inscription describing the donation of the owner at the bottom of each statue. Stepping onto the cave, you are able to explore the whole cave thanks to luminescent brick – tiled trails that are very safe for visitors and “anti-slip” carpet spreading at the main path. Significantly, if you want to hold panoramic views of the whole cave and thousands of Buddha statues, you might climb up to the peak of the cave.
Reaching the second layer of the cave, you would probably be “overwhelmed” by the airy space and the collection of thousands of the Buddha statues. These statues are alternately arranged with stalactites in the cave. Thus, they contribute to creating the sparkling look that promise to grasp the eyes of visitors right they set foot in. In other words, you might not “take your eyes” off them during your whole trip. In addition, the inside of the cave is also decorated with white lights so that visitors could observe and admire the statues easily. The stalactite connecting the ceiling of the cave to the ground along with the water dropping from that ceiling accidentially provide tourists with amazing feeling. Moreover, there is also an area to be surrounded by of Buddha statues and a Dhrma Wheel (Dharmachakra, the symbol in Buddhism) in the front, which, according to the local residents people, can bring about good luck if they go around 7 times. The entrance fee to Pindaya cave is US $ 3 per person and more 300 kyats for capturing photos.
It’s worth mentioning that the locals do not burn incense in the cave, they offer fresh flowers instead. As a result, almost businessmen around the pagoda sell souvenirs instead of diverse offerings that are sold in front of the temple in Vietnam.
To meet the growing needs of visitors, the airy and “eyes – catching” restaurants followed traditional offers typical dishes of Myanmar at reasonable prices.
| 44,393
|
35 pages matching Abies concolor in this book
Results 1-3 of 35
What people are saying - Write a review
We haven't found any reviews in the usual places.
The Physical Setting
Key to Series Habitat Types and Phases
Other editions - View all
15 Tree Abies concolor Abies lasiocarpa activity appendix average basal area Berberis repens biomass canopy Carex caribou conifer crown deer Department of Agriculture diameter disturbance effects environmental estimates factors Forest and Range Forest Service gambelii growth and yield habitat type height Idaho inches increased infested Intermountain Research Station inventory Juniperus Juniperus scopulorum keyword lodgepole pine measurement mining Montana mortality mountain pine beetle National Forest northern Ogden overstory PAMY percent cover permanent plots phase Physocarpus malvaceus Picea engelmannii Pinus ponderosa population Populus tremuloides potential predicted production Prognosis Model projection Pseudotsuga menziesii PSME Range Experiment Station resource response Ribes montigenum roads Rocky Mountain sampling SASC serai shrub shrub components slope soil stand density study area SUCCESSION YEAR Figure Succession year Species surface Symphoricarpos oreophilus Table timber tion U.S. Department undergrowth variable plots vegetation version 5.0 volume Wasatch Plateau waste embankments wildlife
| 28,782
|
Time proportion power generator for Node-RED
A Node-RED node that generates a time proportioned output from a linear input.
Run the following command in the root directory of your Node-RED install
npm install node-red-contrib-timeprop
Given a required power value in msg.payload in the range 0.0 to 1.0 this node generates a time proportioned 0/1 output (representing OFF/ON) which averages to required power value. The signal is output in msg.payload. It uses a configurable cycle time, so if, for example, the period is set to 10 minutes and the power input is 0.2 then the output would be on for two minutes in every ten minutes.
Cycle time - This is the cycle time of the time proportioned output as described above.
Actuator dead time - This can be used to specify the time (in seconds) that the actuator or other device takes to respond when told to go from ON to OFF or vice versa. The algorithm allows for this and will not ask the device to open/close for too short a time, in order to avoid it being told to open and then close again before it has responded to the first request. If the time to switch on is different to that switching off again then add the two times together and divide by two to get the value to enter. Set this to 0 to disable this feature.
Trigger period - This tells the node how often to determine what state the output should be set to. I generally set this to about 1% of the cycle time, so for a 10 minute cycle time I would set this to around 6 seconds.
Invert - This allows the output to be inverted, so that a 0 output indicates full power, and 1 indicates no power. This is useful if, for example, the output is connected to an active low signal such as that used to drive a relay connected to a GPIO pin on a Raspberry Pi
| 171,750
|
for music synthesizers.
This module is the analog implementation of some basic logic elements. Instead of dealing with binary inputs, the "logic" is applied to whatever voltages are present on the inputs. When the AND element is fed several voltages, the output will equal the the lowest input voltage. The NAND output will be the inversion around 0 volts of the AND output. When the OR element is fed several voltages, the output will equal the the highest input voltage. The NOR output will be the inversion around 0 volts of the OR output. Apparently the AND and OR functions are the same thing as "peak" and "trough" on old Serge synthesizers, though they are implemented somewhat differently.
How to use this module:
Connect the inputs to several voltage sources feed the outputs to a module that requires a CV input. Unused inputs will automatically set themselves to a voltage where they will not interfere with the operation of the logic elements. The modules have an operational range of +/-10V.
A little on how it works:
The schematic of the Analog Logic. There are minor differences between this diagram and the earlier version, notably with the output buffers.
The elements along the left side of the schematic are essentially "perfect diodes", that is diodes with a voltage drop of 0 volts. For the OR/NOR module, the diodes are forward biased, while for the AND/NAND module they are reverse biased. Pull down resistors on the inputs of the OR/NOR module set any unused inputs to the lowest voltage possible, so that those inputs will not affect the output. Pull up resistors pull any unused inputs of the AND/NAND module to the highest possible voltage for the same reason.
In both modules (AND/NAND and OR/NOR), the next op amp is wired as a voltage follower, to buffer the voltage from the combined inputs. Following that are traditional unity gain inverting buffers, the first giving the inverted outputs and the second giving the non inverted outputs for their corresponding modules. There is a trimpot in series with each of the output buffers, allowing the modules to be precisely trimmed for 1/V per octave on at least one of the inputs.
Two transistors wired as emitter followers give the (approx.) +10 volt and -10 volt levels as used elsewhere in the circuit.
The component overlay. Connections can be determined from the circuit diagram.
Note that the VER1.2 board has the following issues:
Before you start assembly, check the board for etching faults. Look for any shorts between tracks, or open circuits due to over etching. Take this opportunity to sand the edges of the board if needed, removing any splinters or rough edges.
When you are happy with the printed circuit board, construction can proceed as normal, starting with the resistors first, followed by the IC sockets if used, then moving onto the taller components.
Take particular care with the orientation of the polarized components, the electrolytics, diodes, transistors and ICs.
When inserting the ICs in their sockets, take care not to accidentally bend any of the pins under the chip. Also, make sure the notch on the chip is aligned with the notch marked on the PCB overlay.
Ideally, the diodes should all be matched for voltage drop, so all inputs can be set to track 1/v per octave. I did not do this on my prototype, instead selecting one input to be accurate, and accepting the others as they came, as they were only being used for varying LFO voltages, or other voltage sources for which any variation could be trimmed out elsewhere.
To match diodes, try connecting them in series with a 10k resistor across 10 to 15 volts, and measuring for identical drops across the diodes themselves. It would be best to use the same supply and resistor for all measurements, and try to do all measurements at the same temperature. Avoid handling the diodes while testing them to prevent body heat changing their temperature. Note: I did not do this for my module, so this is untried. Alternatively, you could use the diode test function present on most digital multimeters.
If you are going to match your diodes, it would be worth the extra effort to hand-match the 10k resistors too.
Diodes and resistors need only match each other within each gate. There is no need for the OR/NOR parts to match the AND/NAND parts.
When assembly is complete, the trimpots can be adjusted so that the output voltage on each module accurately tracks one input of the corresponding module. This is to counteract the attenuation of the input networks. It would be possible to substitute the input resistors for 1k, and the pull down and pull up resistors for 1M, for less attenuation though as this is countered by the gain in the later stages, it is not really an issue.
Euro and Frac rack builders can cut off the mixer section of the VER1.2 board if required.
The value of the pot used in the processor will affect the response of the pot. The pot itself MUST be linear. Other values of pot will vary the degree of the curve. For example, a 50k will be slightly anti-log.
This is a guide only. Parts needed will vary with individual constructor's needs.
If anyone is interested in buying these boards, please check the PCBs for Sale page to see if I have any in stock.
Article, art & design copyright 2001 by Ken Stone
| 138,022
|
Ruby On Rails Exploit Used To Build IRC Botnet
(1) Rails and Ruby was virtually unheard of until 2007-2008 and definitely was not in mainstream use until that time.
(2) This vulnerability has nothing to do with "cryptographic key"; it is related to the fact that default YAML parser allows serializing/deserializing and executing arbitrary Ruby code (including objects) and ActiveSupport didn't properly sanitize the input.
Apple Announces iPhone 5
The API doesn't give developers that capability.
It does. iOS 6 has Auto Layout system.
Apple Offers Nano-SIM Design Royalty-Free
It takes a pair of scissors and about a minute to cut your old full-size SIM and make it a "micro-SIM". Not sure about US (I'm guessing you're from US), but in most other countries you can replace your old SIM with micro-SIM for free.
Apple To Require Sandboxing For Mac App Store Apps
You don't ask Apple for anything. You just declare what your application needs from OS to function.
Ever heard of Android? Works the same way.
HTC Becomes Highest Shipping Smartphone Vendor In the US
Just curious, where is this 70% share coming from? I see different stats here.
The (Big) Problem With RIM
The PC was the IBM PC, and they were just as closed as Apple.
Are you aware that first IBM PCs included commented BIOS assembly source along with their documentation?
Study Compares IQ With Browser Choice
I use lynx. Does this make me a God?
Oracle Thinks Google Owes $6.1 Billion In Damages
Looks like you're either mistaken or lived under a rock. Most mobile apps devs speak Objective-C now and it has been this way for quite some time.
Franken Bill Would Protect Consumers Location Data
If you're talking about Angry Birds on Android, "coarse location data" is AdMob requirement.
Pandora App Sends Private Data To Advertisers
You are asking an advertising company that developed Android to provide API to subvert advertising? Good luck with that...
MESSENGER Enters Orbit Around Mercury
Not having an atmosphere will actually make temperature regulation much harder - without convection to cool suite off there will be a problem with excessive heat, esp. on Mercury.
Apple Handcuffs Web Apps On iPhone Home Screen
This is incorrect. When certificate expires, you (as developer) lose the ability to upload app update, but the app itself will sit in store forever.
Ask Slashdot: Is There a War Against Small Mail Servers?
Sorry to hear that, but you are a 0.01% minority. Almost all mail that is coming from ADSL or cable netblocks is spam. I also have run my mail server for many years but I run it on a colocated server, and I've always (and I suspect many other admins) blocked everything coming directly from ADSL. Sorry, but the time for setup is long gone, get a cheap VPS and be done with it.
The Death of BCC
if you're fighting with a friend and want to let your BFF know what's going on as you send your frenemy a nasty messsage
Wtf does that even mean? Who is frenemy and what's "messsage"?
Man Mines Facebook For Security Questions, Nabs Nude Photos From Email
in this case, shouldn't 16 year old girl's life be destroyed instead, because it is she who is producing and distributing child pornography on the internet?
Google Pushes New Chrome Release, Pays $14k Bounty
Sorry, but this is just a lame excuse. OSX allows app to listen for shutdown notifications - just don't do an update if your app is terminating because of system shutdown. I'm sure Windows and KDE/Gnome have similar mechanisms.
Apple Passes $300B Market Cap, 2nd In the World
WoL over WiFi appeared only on recent models though.
WikiLeaks, Money, and Ron Paul
No, your interpretation is wrong as well as wired translation. Corect English idiom of Putin words would be "pot calling the kettle black".
The Software That Failed To Compete With Windows
Actually, the first release of NT was 3.0, but it only existed for a few months before 3.5 came out. I remeber running 32 bit version of Visual C++ 1.52 on it.
Mount Everest Gets 3G Service
Don't worry, there's always K2 and Denali.
wumpus188 hasn't submitted any stories.
wumpus188 has no journal entries.
| 257,389
|
Florida-based Educa Vision Inc. (EVI) designs, develops, publishes, and distributes a broad range of Haitian-related educational materials for use in Haiti, United States, Canada and the Caribbean area. The materials are available in several media including books, posters, charts, computer programs, audio/video tapes, CD-ROM, iPhone and iPad Applications, Kindle and Nook e-books. Some are bilingual; others are in English or Haitian Creole or in French. EVI is contributing select publications to dLOC.
Additionally, EVI provides a broad range of integrated services such as curriculum development, users' manual and training packages to organizations. Areas of experiences are: K-12 education, curriculum development, teacher’s training, Public Health, distance education, informal education, adult education, environmental education, animators' manual, micro-credit packages, library development, educational video production, etc.
The focus of Educa Vision is the Haitian regardless where s/he is geographically. EVI has more than 1000 titles. It has strength in Language arts, science, social sciences and mathematics. Additionally it has a wide range of public health education materials ranging from, nutrition, STD prevention, high blood pressure, diabetes... to elephantiasis.
The company founder, Féquière Vilsaint is Haitian born. He started the company in 1991 while still a researcher at the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology department of the University of South Florida (USF), in Tampa, FL. Three years later he left USF to devote his resources to expand EVI. EVI core staff is supplemented by professionals with a wide range of expertise.
To make a valuable contribution to the body of Haitian-related educational materials, by publishing materials that connect culturally and linguistically to the students, teachers, administrators, service providers and community leaders.
- New York Board of Education School
- Dade County Public Schools
- University of Florida
- Center for Disease Control (CDC)
- Librarie La Pléiade
- Ministère de l'Education / Sec. d'Etat à l'Alphabétisation.
- University of the West Indies
- Université du Québec A Montréal
- … And more
Educa Vision has received awards from different institutions, including Haitian Studies Association, Brown University Conference in 2010, Library of Congress 2011.
For more information about Educa Vision Inc., please visit www.educavision.com or call 954 968 7433.
| 86,718
|
In 1994, Angela Berners-Wilson became the first woman to be ordained as a Church of England priest.
Angela Berners-Wilson spent nine years as a parish priest
The move came after centuries of male domination and decades of debate.
More than 10 years later, as a new debate rages about whether women should become bishops, she speaks about her experiences.
Angela had wanted to become a priest since her final year of university, when she became sure of her vocation.
On graduating, she entered the Church of England and became a deaconess in 1979 and of deacon in 1987 - the highest post then available to a woman.
But until 1994, she was unable to fulfil her vocation to be come a priest - a dream she spent 15 years campaigning to achieve.
After her ordination in a ceremony along with 31 other women, Angela, now 50, was made rector of a country parish in north Wiltshire, where she initially faced some resistance from her parishioners.
She says: "It was a very traditional place and looking back now, it's amazing that they accepted me.
"Some of them found it quite strange to have a woman priest to start with - I think the Royal British Legion members were the hardest to convince.
"But once they got used to me, they started to appreciate my work and most people accepted me. There were one or two die-hards who did not."
Things have changed considerably since Angela was ordained, with women now making up about a quarter of Church of England priests.
She said: "There are so many of us now, it's no longer exceptional to find a woman priest."
Even so, she says there are still some parishes around the country which still oppose women priests.
Angela is now in a new post as university chaplain and ecumenical team leader at the University of Bath.
Before the rules changed to allow the ordination of women, Angela became a deacon - the highest position then open to women within the Church.
She worked as a chaplain at Bristol University, where her colleagues supported of her desire to become a priest.
She said: "They were very pro-women priests, as was the Bishop of Bristol, so they were very supportive, but it has not been the same for women in many other parts of the country.
"Ironically, the church which was chosen for me to have my licensing ceremony for my current job in Bath was St Mary's Bathwick, which is in benefice with another church, St John's which is one of those which still refuses to have anything to do with women priests."
Angela agrees with those who think the Church should let women become bishops, if that is where their vocation lies.
She says: "If you're allowed to be ordained a priest, then the right women should be allowed to be bishops.
"People are called to these roles, it's a vocation, not just a job, so it's not something you aspire to, but it's seems wrong to me to be ruled out just because of your gender.
"I think the Church should be the first place, not the last place to recognise all God's children."
However, she says the controversy must not be allowed to get out of control.
She said: "It's a great privilege to be a priest. I wouldn't want the argument about women bishops to deflect from the real mission of the Church.
"But I'm looking forward to being invited to the ordination of the first woman bishop in this country - whoever she may be."
| 64,310
|
A. inflation rates exceed normal levels.
B. government takes a less active role in economic matters.
C. an economy’s ability to produce is destroyed.
D. output and living standards decline.
ANSWER: D. output and living standards decline.
question 1. The term “recession” describes a situation where:
Axplanation: Recession is defined by economists as two consecutive quarters of negative gross domestic product (GDP) growth in an economy. GDP is the measure of the final value of all goods and services produced in an economy for a given period. Therefore, when GDP growth is negative, output or productivity in an economy declines. At the same time, per capita GDP is a measure of living standards in an economy. When per capita GDP declines due to negative GDP growth, it indicates a relative decline in living standards in the economy
Definition for recession : Recession is a slowdown or a massive contraction in economic activities. A significant fall in spending generally leads to a recession.
Recession meaning:a period of temporary economic decline during with trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identifiedby a fall in GDP in 2 successive quarters.
| 44,140
|
is a classification used in epidemiology
to describe a small, localized group of people or organisms infected with a disease. Such groups are often confined to a village or a small area. Two linked cases of an infectious disease are usually sufficient to constitute an outbreak. Outbreaks may also refer to epidemics
, which affect a region in a country or a group of countries, or pandemics
, which describe global disease outbreaks.
When investigating disease outbreaks, the epidemiology profession has developed a number of widely accepted steps. As described by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
, these include the following:
- Verify the diagnosis related to the outbreak
- Identify the existence of the outbreak: is the group of ill persons normal for the time of year, geographic area, etc.?
- Create a case definition to define who/what is included as a case
- Complete descriptive epidemiology: describe outbreak with respect to time, place, and people
- Develop a hypothesis: what appears to be causing the outbreak?
- Study hypothesis: collect data and perform analysis
- Refine hypothesis and carry out further study
- Develop and implement control and prevention systems
- Release findings to greater community
- Common source (Point source)
- Continuous source
- Behavioral risk related
Outbreak legistlation is still in its infancy and not many countries have had a direct and complete set of the provisions ,
. However, some countries do manage the outbreaks using relevant acts, such as public health law
| 184,845
|
A Verray Parfit Gentle Knight
How Miguel de Cervantes, an aging veteran of Spain’s wars, created the blueprint for modern literature
Amid the celebratory hullaballoo marking the quadricentennial of Shakespeare’s death, it is worth remembering that 400 years ago another writer died, one whose greatest work also transformed literature and created a new way of seeing the world.
On publication in 1605, El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha became an international bestseller and brought Miguel de Cervantes, an aging, crippled veteran of Spain’s wars, fame and fortune after years of moderate artistic success, financial loss, imprisonment and disillusionment. Readers delighted in the picaresque scrapes and adventures of Cervantes’ comic double-act: Don Quixote, a humble nobleman whose obsession with chivalric romances has deluded him into thinking he is a knight errant; and Sancho Panza, his dumpy, trusty squire who is “a little short of salt in the brain-pan”. The book was such a hit that Cervantes sent his characters out on fresh sallies in a sequel ten years later. Both volumes became one classic, an imperishable cornerstone of Western culture, and a source of pleasure and inspiration for generations of readers and writers.
Chiming with the anniversary of Cervantes’ death comes a book on him and his famous creation. The Man Who Invented Fiction is not a traditional biography of Cervantes. In his introduction, William Egginton, a professor of literature at Johns Hopkins University, explains that his book explores Cervantes’ life in order to demonstrate how the author achieved his “innovation”. “I hope to cast a new light on what fiction is,” Egginton writes, “and to show how it was that Miguel de Cervantes came to invent it.”
Much of Cervantes’ life consisted of encountering and surmounting hard knocks, and weathering the debilitating fug of desengaño, or disappointment, which plagued late-16th-century Spain. His father was hounded by creditors and eventually jailed, which resulted in a childhood spent largely on the move and blighted by poverty and dishonour. Egginton’s early chapters depict an adolescent Cervantes seeking solace by writing poetry.
However, the book truly takes off when he trades his native Spain and relative peace for Italy and war. He participates in great battles, makes treacherous voyages and suffers many injuries, including the permanent loss of feeling in his left hand. Egginton argues that Cervantes’ later fiction is shot through with ambivalence towards war: a deft seesawing whereby a character is seen lauding or enacting individual deeds of valour while in the same breath condemning the practice of warfare and skewering the state for its merciless treatment of soldiers.
Cervantes was held captive for five years in Algiers (during which time he made four unsuccessful escape attempts) and later wound up in jail in Seville. According to Egginton, both internments provided valuable first-hand material to draw on for Don Quixote. Cervantes’ stinking cell in Seville exposed him to the wild stories and perspectives of numerous rogues and outcasts. Algiers engendered the intercalated “Captive’s Tale”. Egginton goes on to make the convincing claim that while capitalising on the traumatic memory of his captivity to create fiction, Cervantes was in turn using fiction as a means of helping himself overcome that trauma. What’s more, in writing invented stories to deal with his personal pain, “Cervantes was inaugurating a particularly modern use of literature.”
Just as insightful as the passages describing how Cervantes’ art imitated his life are the sections on that blueprint for modern literature, Don Quixote — what Egginton calls “the world’s first full-blown work of fiction”. We hear how Cervantes honed, subverted and repurposed what went before: refining Rabelais’ comic-timing and range, eschewing the fantastic worlds of More and Erasmus for familiar terrain, and fleshing out characters into three-dimensional figures (“Boccaccio’s characters end at the limits of what they can see; Cervantes’ characters begin there”). Don Quixote set a template for satire by parodying previous literary styles and bucking contemporary Spanish Golden Age conventions. In addition, its stories-within-stories, sly authorial intervention and other self-referential nods and winks single it out as not only the first case of fiction but also metafiction.
But Egginton’s main claim — or at least the point he returns to most — in support of Don Quixote as the first modern novel concerns the book’s clash between ideals and reality — a clash, he believes, which is “now sewn into the fabric of everything we recognise as fiction”.
If there is fault to be found in this otherwise illuminating and engaging study it is in Egginton’s blanket praise for his subject. He is firmly in the Harold Bloom camp, quoting the American critic’s gushing admiration (Don Quixote is a novel that “contains within itself all the novels that have followed in its sublime wake”) and joining him, and all fans of the book, in referring to it as “the Quixote”. He lists its other cheerleaders — Goethe, Flaubert, Faulkner, the Nobel Institute — but mentions only one naysayer, Cervantes’ contemporary rival, Lope de Vega.
Nabokov is banished to the notes at the end of the book to seethe his discontent in small print, which is a shame as his objections are valid. For him, Don Quixote is a “very patchy haphazard tale”. It certainly can be. But then few 1,000-page tomes are blemish-free. The narrative is punctuated with wearisome longueurs, scrappy episodes and pointless tangents, and in places we get a distinct impression that Cervantes is making everything up as he goes along. Many readers are daunted by the book’s age, length and style and don’t touch it. Others, like Martin Amis, get to the end but highlight its “one fairly serious flaw: that of outright unreadability.”
The same cannot be said for The Man Who Invented Fiction. Though lacking critical balance, it remains neatly poised between rigorous analysis and breezy accessibility (at one juncture Egginton compares pastoral verse with Barry Manilow). Egginton reminds us that Don Quixote is a seminal book, one that simultaneously laid the foundations for the novel and tore up the rulebook. With luck, he will encourage those who haven’t made the journey to embark on it and those that have to set out again. By doing so, we may come to agree with the book’s endearing and enduring hero: “He who reads and travels sees and learns.”
| 176,078
|
As problems with long-term offshore contracts, such as growing turnover and diminishing quality, become more pronounced, captive offshore operations—in which a company opens its own offshore subsidiary—are gaining favor. The captive model gives a company complete control over offshore operations and, by eliminating the middleman, can boost savings. In fact, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu found that among financial services companies, captive operations appeared to be more capable than offshore contracts of improving savings and quality over time
Some companies may choose to go the captive route from the get-go, but more often than not it’s a model they develop after working with an offshore vendor for a few years. Some offshore vendors even offer a “build-operate-transfer” model that allows a company to purchase the offshore center from the vendor after a specified period of time.
But the captive model isn’t right for everyone. If your offshoring needs are small, it wouldn’t make much financial sense to set up an offshore subsidiary. Similarly, if you want to outsource a particular technology that an offshore vendor has spent years building a practice around, you might get better performance from the vendor than you would from your own captive operation. But if you’re going to have 2,000 workers offshore or have specialized needs, a captive center is often a better option.
Some companies, like Lehman Brothers, end up splitting the difference with a hybrid model, setting up their own offshore subsidiary and supplementing that with offshore vendor relationships. Last February, Lehman CIO Jonathan Beyman set up a captive center in Mumbai, India, that is focused on very high-level work such as developing and maintaining Lehman’s proprietary software. It’s the kind of work Beyman isn’t comfortable handing off to a third party, particularly when turnover is such an issue. “Hopefully we’ve set up an organization where that’s not as much of a problem,” Beyman says. And in the captive center, “IT and industrial engineers can get together and figure out how to redesign business processes and solve things that are not purely technical problems, but social problems.”
The captive center currently employs 300 people and is scheduled to grow to 600 by the end of the year. But Lehman continues to maintain outsourcing relationships with Indian vendors Tata Consultancy Services and Wipro, which have a total of 400 workers attached to lower-end projects, such as QA testing and infrastructure support, for the financial services firm.
| 139,240
|
Provides Free Educational Field Trips and Camps to students throughout the Northern Virginia Area.
Provides Free Resources to teachers, parents, and students to further children's successful educational experience.
Promotes higher level learning, hands-on experience, outside field activities, technology, and a participatory approach to education.
A unique educational experience with an emphasis on creating a Safe, Educational, and FUN environment to learn!
Reaches over 10,000 children each year!
| 28,833
|
for National Geographic News
The fossils of hobbit-like humans discovered on the Indonesian island of Flores in 2003 may have been severely malnourished modern humans, a controversial new study suggests.
The hypothesis is the latest in a string of diseases proposed to explain the small-bodied fossils.
The scientists who originally discovered the remains hailed them as representing a heretofore unknown species, Homo floresiensis, that lived at the same time as modern humans 18,000 years ago.
Since then researchers have squared off against each other, poring over skeletal traits, regional histories, and the medical literature to argue for or against the unique-species designation.
Peter Obendorf of RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia, decided to enter the fray after noticing the hobbits looked similar to people with a disorder of the thyroid gland called cretinism.
Cretinism can cause dwarfing and mental retardation, and is related to nutritional deficiencies, primarily a lack of iodine.
"Very quickly I found there were some quite surprising similarities between the dwarf cretins and these little people of Flores," Obendorf said.
Disease of the Week?
Among the key similarities are a particular type of arrested bone growth that leads to shorter but thicker bones, a twisting of the arm bone, and certain features in the wrist and skull.
The findings are based on a comparison of images and descriptions of the Flores remains with previously published data on dwarf cretins.
Obendorf and colleagues Charles Oxnard from the University of Western Australia and Ben Kefford at RMIT University did not study the original hobbit fossils.
Their analysis was published Wednesday in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
| 104,119
|
iPcSoundListener Struct ReferenceThis is the sound listener property class. More...
Public Member Functions
|virtual iSndSysListener *||GetSoundListener ()=0|
|Get the sound listener. |
Detailed DescriptionThis is the sound listener property class.
There can really be only one listener at any moment. It represents the listener (i.e. player of the game).
This property class supports the following actions (add prefix 'cel.action.' to get the ID of the action and add prefix 'cel.parameter.' to get the ID of the parameter):
- SetDirection: parameters 'front' (vector3), 'top' (vector3).
This property class supports the following properties (add prefix 'cel.property.' to get the ID of the property:
- front (vector3, read/write): front direction.
- top (vector3, read/write): top direction.
- position (vector3, read/write): position.
- distancefactor (float, read/write): distance factor.
- rollofffactor (float, read/write): rolloff factor.
- headsize (float, read/write): headsize.
Member Function Documentation
|virtual iSndSysListener* iPcSoundListener::GetSoundListener||(||)||
Get the sound listener.
The documentation for this struct was generated from the following file:
Generated for CEL: Crystal Entity Layer by doxygen 1.4.7
| 294,966
|
The kitchen is often the heart of most people’s homes. It can be a gathering place for family and friends. When you think of other homes you visit, what is the room you picture first? Most likely the kitchen. And in our house, it is the place where I spend A LOT of my day – making meals, doing dishes, talking on the phone, supervising homework and reading mail. As a focal point of our house, one of my goals this Spring, is to declutter my kitchen. Henry David Thoreau said, “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say let your affairs be as two or three and not a half of hundred or a thousand.” It is my hope to make our kitchen more functional, organized and simple. Want to do the same? Consider the following ideas. (I have been recently inspired by Organized Simplicity: The Clutter-Free Approach to Intentional Living by Tsh Oxenreider – an amazing book!)
Members to ListPlanIt will find the lists they need to clean and organize every room in the house in Home Management. Not yet a member? Join today and get organized.
Commit Yourself to the Task • Once you have decided to declutter your kitchen, set a date on the calendar to do it. It probably is best to get the most you can done in one or two days, so pick a pair that are relatively free. Then wake up that day with a good attitude, ready to WORK. It will be two busy days, but will feel good once you are done!
Visualize Your Goal • Before you start, picture your kitchen. What do you love about it? What do you wish you could change? How can you make those things a reality? Do you want more counter space? Easier to reach pots? A place for incoming mail? What are your main purposes of your kitchen? Family hang-out? Food prep? Paper organizer? Artwork and photo display? Let this goal guide how you declutter and organize the kitchen.
Calculate the Value of Each Item With 2 Questions • In the Organized Simplicity book, Tsh uses a quote by William Morris, “Let nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”. • As you look at each item in your kitchen calculate its value with two questions… • IS THIS USEFUL TO ME (US) ? • IS THIS BEAUTIFUL TO ME (US) ? • If the answer is “no” to both questions, put it in a box (see next item) • If the answer is “yes”, then by all means keep it and enjoy it! • NOTE OF WARNING: Remember that you are not the only one in your family. Consider your family when you ask these questions as well. A shed snakeskin might not be useful or beautiful to me, but is a prized possession to my 6 year old son!
Label a “SELL” Box, a “GIVE” Box and a “MAYBE” Box • These are the boxes for the things that you have decided are not useful or beautiful to you. However, what is cluttering up your kitchen could be very beautiful and useful to another family. • The “SELL” box is for all those things that you are going to sell at your yard sale. If you are not planning on having one in the near future, change this to a “DONATE” box. • The “GIVE” box is one I really like. You know that hot pink plate from Aunt Gertrude that you have never used because you hate the color? Put it in the “GIVE” box to pass on to your friend Hannah because you know she loves the color hot pink. For me, it feels good to give away those things I want to keep for the wrong reasons. I like knowing they are going to a good home. • Put things in the “MAYBE” box when you are really torn what to do with them. Label the box with a date three months from now. Store it in the basement or garage. If after the allotted time, you have not dug through the box looking to use one of the items, sell the items or give them away. They are just cluttering up your life!
Try the Sticker Test • Not sure if one of your many kitchen gadgets is REALLY useful? Organized Simplicity recommends that you put a sticker with today’s date on it somewhere on the appliance. Look at that sticker the next time you use it. If it is more than three months, it is not something that you use regularly. It is cluttering up your kitchen- get rid of it!
Clean • Begin to declutter by emptying the dishwasher and cleaning and putting away all dirty dishes in the sink. Really scrub the countertops and sink. Polish up your stovetop and clean your oven. Wipe down your cabinet doors. Sweep and wash your floor. Wipe down all your small appliances. Your kitchen should be shining! YEAH!
Declutter Your CounterTops • Remove everything from your countertops. And I mean everything. Put them all aside in a different room. • Value the worth of each item with the ideas from above. • Move all “valuable” items back into your kitchen. Store everything you do not use on a daily basis in a cabinet or out of sight. • You will have more counterspace now and less visual clutter!
Tackle Your Refrigerator • First of all, strip down everything off the front and sides of your refrigerator and put them aside. • Only put back up the most useful and beautiful. Do you really call the pizza place on a regular basis or could you toss out their advertising magnet? I tuck all my “informational magnets” (like pediatrician’s office, poison control, power company, etc) on the side of my fridge facing my cabinets. You cannot really see them unless you look for them and my husband, babysitter and I know where they are if they need them. • Now take everything out of the refrigerator. • Toss away anything you can recognize or that isn’t sealed well. • While everything is out, clean the interior with baking soda and warm water (remove shelves and clean with soapy water if possible). • Reshelve good food, organizing it as you go. • Do the same with the freezer. As you put things back in the freezer, make an inventory (find ListPlanIt‘s Refrigerator and Freezer Inventories in Home Management) of what is in there and hang it or store it somewhere nearby for future menu planning.
Inspect Your Pantry • Remove everything and sort in a separate location. Canned vegetables, baking goods, spices, etc. • Discard anything that is expired or open and not properly sealed. • Wipe down pantry shelves and add liner if you don’t have one already. • Restock your pantry considering what you use on a regular basis. Consider all members of you family. I just changed where we keep cereal to a lower shelf so my 7 year old can get it out in the morning and pour breakfast for herself and her siblings. • If you have a lot of multiples, make an inventory and post it inside the door (find ListPlanIt‘s Pantry Inventory in Home Management). Then you will know what you have already.
Explore Your Cabinets and Reaquaint Yourself With Every Drawer • Empty all cupboards and cabinets and put in one spot. • Clean out all drawers and shelves. • Calculate the VALUE of each and every pot, pan, utensil and dish. Do you really need 5 salad bowls? Find lids for every container that has one or get rid of it. • Put everything back in logical places, again considering how often you use each thing. I know I use the impossibly high cabinet above our refrigerator to house my seasonal kitchenware…lobster crackers, St. Patrick’s Day plates, 4th of July glasses and valentine molds.
Celebrate! • Take time to celebrate your enormous feat! WOW! What an accomplishment!
In what ways have you decluttered your kitchen this spring? Or what are your kitchen decluttering plans?
This eBook is a journey that begins on September 16, and leads you day-by-day toward a peaceful and meaningful holiday season. This manual is 150 pages of holiday tips and ideas, reminders, and activity suggestions.
| 173,182
|
[JURIST] The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) [organization website] Monday urged the Filipino government [press release] to revisit the controversial 2007 Human Security Act [press release], saying that "many voices are apprehensive" about the anti-terror legislation. Critics say the law defines terrorism too loosely and gives government authorities too much latitude to restrict civil liberties. The law, which was signed [JURIST report] by President Gloria Arroyo in March and is scheduled to go into effect on July 15, allows police to detain suspected terrorists for three days without charges, and also allows the house arrest of suspects released on bail.
The CBCP, the official organization of the Catholic episcopacy in the Philippines, is highly influential as nearly 81 percent of the Filipino population is Catholic. In March, a United Nations human rights expert urged [statement; JURIST report] the Philippines to amend or repeal the anti-terrorism law because it allows house arrests without strong evidence of guilt and transfers the power to review detentions to the executive branch instead of an independent judicial body. AFP has more.
| 236,975
|
In this Nov. 16, 2018 photo, Mark Toepfer, a 58-year-old from Pinellas Park, reflects on the state's election while at the beach in St. Petersburg, Fla. Toepfer wondered why the state has so many problems counting ballots this year. (Photo: AP)
Mark Toepfer came to this spit of sand on the Tampa Bay shore to soak up the sun, drink a beer and maybe do a little fishing — not to talk about elections.
But talk he did when asked for his thoughts on whether Florida, as a judge recently put it, is “the laughingstock of the world” when it comes to voting.
“We’re the only state that has problems year after year,” the shirtless 58-year-old said, shaking his head. “Why is it like this? Is it the people in charge? Are our machines not like other states’ machines? Fraud? Incompetence? It’s hard to say.”
With races for US Senate and governor still undecided, the state’s latest recount only adds to its reputation for bungling elections. To much of the world, vote-counting confusion is as authentically Florida as jam-packed theme parks, alligators on golf courses and the ubiquity of Pitbull (the Miami rapper, not the dog).
Florida’s history of election woes dates back to 2000, when it took more than five weeks for the state to declare George W. Bush the victor over Vice President Al Gore by 537 votes, thus giving Bush the presidency. Back then, punch-card ballots were punch lines. Photos of election workers using magnifying glasses to search for hanging chads and pregnant chads symbolized the painstaking process.
There are no chads this year, but there are plenty of cracks about flashbacks to the Bush-Gore contest. And, just as in 2000, the Republican candidates in the contested races have declared themselves winners and asked for the recount to stop.
Add to this a litany of other voting problems: Palm Beach County’s machines went on the fritz during the recount due to age and overwork. The electricity went out in Hillsborough County during a machine recount and resulted in an 846-vote deficit. Broward County missed the state deadline to turn in recount results by two minutes.
Those glitches led US District Judge Mark Walker to ask why state officials have repeatedly failed to anticipate problems in elections.
“We have been the laughingstock of the world, election after election, and we chose not to fix this,” he said. Walker is presiding over one of several election-related lawsuits that have been filed since Nov. 6.
On Friday, election workers in all 67 counties began recounting by hand about 93,000 ballots that were not recorded by voting machines.
The entire spectacle drew late-night TV jokes. Ally Hoard, Broward county native and writer on “Late Night With Seth Myers,” was merciless in a video clip.
“How will Florida handle this recount? Not great,” she said. “Florida is a mess. The people are confused and the system is corrupt.”
But some others, like 74-year-old Dunedin resident Mary Sanders, said the “laughingstock” comment, and all the jokes, are unwarranted.
“I don’t think that now that I live here,” the New Jersey transplant said. “I guess I’m becoming more pro-Florida.”
Sanders, a volunteer with the League of Women Voters, spent Thursday in a windowless room at the Pinellas County election supervisor’s office with dozens of other observers, watching officials scrutinize ballots. She said the world doesn’t see the normal side of Florida during times such as this.
“Here in Pinellas County at least, it’s been a very well-run election,” she said. Indeed, the recount there has been run like clockwork, with election officials giving tours of the ballot warehouse and handing reporters detailed agendas of daily activity.
Paul George, a Miami historian, isn’t so certain about Florida’s reputation, or as charitable as Sanders.
“We’re a joke,” he said.
George thinks part of the problem is that, to some degree, people come to Florida to start over. The traditions and habits they had elsewhere aren’t the same in the Sunshine State.
“It’s different here,” he said. “If you’re back home in, say, Ohio, you know the people at the precinct.”
And the state has many new citizens, he said, along with confusing ballot designs. Or perhaps, he mused, election drama is something intrinsic to Florida.
“Are you aware of what happened in 1876?” he asks, with mirth in his voice.
That’s when the US had a hotly contested presidential election. The winner wasn’t certain until March 2, 1877. Democrat Samuel Tilden won the popular vote, and Republican Rutherford B. Hayes won the Electoral College. Allegations of fraud abounded.
Votes from three states were disputed. Which state had problems?
“MORE TROUBLE IN FLORIDA,” read an Associated Press headline from Jan. 6, 1877.
| 2,323
|
The day after Donald Trump won the election to become the President of the United States there was an outcry heard across the country that the Electoral College should no longer exist. On Nov. 9, 2016, protests erupted and demand for recounts began.
Trump won the Electoral College votes by a slight margin, 290 of 538; the minimum needed to win is 270. On the other hand, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by 2.83 million, according to US Weekly on Dec. 11.
What Is the Electoral College?
The authors of the documents founding the country included the process for electing the president. The “Federalist,” also known as the “Federalist Papers,” is a series of 85 essays published in New York newspapers between Oct. 1787 and May 1788. Although the authors were anonymous and the pen name Publius was used, the actual writers were James Madison, John Jay, and Alexander Hamilton.
The purpose of the “Federalist Papers” was to notify the people of the political process set aside in the United States Constitution. Essays 68 and 69, written by Hamilton, cover the manner set up for electing the United States president and the character required to hold the position.
Read more on Guardian Liberty Voice
By Cathy Milne
| 40,893
|
Six must-see art works in this year's Mohawk-Hudson Regional
Several works of art worth a look at this year's Mohawk-Hudson Regional
Published 5:37 pm, Thursday, August 9, 2012
The 2012 Artists of the Mohawk-Hudson Region is much like a small art fair. While the more than 70 works by 28 artists reflect the range of contemporary art being created within a 100-mile radius of Albany, the show's overall lack of coherency makes it an uneven and meandering journey.
Much of the art is bunched together by individual artist, further accenting its fair-like qualities. Galleries and dealers assemble objects this way to promote singular works at the expense of a deeper organizational strategy that could underscore art in a broader cultural context. Arguably the exhibit's strongest element is its inclusion of a number of lesser-known artists, but the quality is uneven.
Some paintings, prints and installations selected by juror Nato Thompson of Creative Time in New York City are impressive, but they are equally matched by some that fall flat. Written by Thompson, the exhibit essay's title, "Occupy Everything," sums up its broad, all-embracing, and ultimately disorientating, idea.
The exhibit is most rewarding if you focus on individual works.
2012 ARTISTS OF THE MOHAWK- HUDSON REGION
When: Through Sept. 8; hours: Tuesday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.,
Where: University Art Museum, University at Albany, 1400 Washington Ave., Albany
Info: 518-442-4035; http://www.albany.edu/museum
Here are six to see:
Untitled series. (2011) Mandi Coburn: Made with ink on Yupo paper, biomorphic forms swirl in and out of focus. Fine hues drip and congeal to form ethereal microscopic landscapes. Guided by a gifted drawing hand, Coburn unlocks our imagination with a subtle dialogue about quantum mechanics and the essence of life.
''Into the Woods.'' (2011) Tatana Kellner: Seven clipboards hang on a wall with ticks — taken from the artist's dog — sealed against them by plastic. The installation ruminates on our place in nature and the intersection of scientific knowledge, observation and progress.
''Mysticeti.'' (2010) Collin Boyd: Dangling from the ceiling, the wildly twisted miniaturized whale carcass constructed from typical construction materials — felt, foam, fiberglass and wood — triggers thoughts of extinction, sustainability and evolution. With its side ripped apart, it's also about survival and demise in a predatory environment, suggesting the current economic climate and the Earth's degradation.
''Signature.'' (2008) Abe Ferraro: Known for his art-making performances, Ferraro's iconoclastic installations have become a staple in the region. In this case, Ferraro, in his typical Dadaist vocabulary, takes aim at egos, authenticity and authorship by reproducing his signature again and again with different colors and designs through the spirograph's randomness.
''No sound, clustered notes unravel.'' (2012) Pamela Wallace: With globes hanging in the balance, an intriguing array of materials — iron, plaster, beeswax, graphite, wires, sewing pins and string — creates an ancient calendar charting the heavens and a delicate weight and measures system as if maintaining equilibrium in a chaotic world.
''Identity Politics''; ''Essentialism''; ''NOTES, A Pleasure Exertion, All His Own Rules for Living.'' (2009) Alana Sparrow: This triptych's delicately assembled collages, filled with subtle vignettes about gender roles, belie their rather potent themes. Constructed with digital and archival prints, they're much like comic strips in design and acerbic in tone, but with a gravitas that makes them art to be reckoned with.
Tim Kane is a freelance writer in Albany.
| 85,145
|
Status of Indian women
WOMEN AND DEVELOPMENT The Indian Experience: Mira Seth; Sage Publications Pvt. Ltd., M-32, Market I, Greater Kailash, New Delhi-110048.
THIS BOOK is a comprehensive and analytical account of women's development programmes since India's Independence. Replete with comparisons from around the world, it discusses the status of Indian women from a variety of angles such as historical, social, economic and political. The author, Dr. Mira Seth, is a civil servant by training, a development professional by practice, and an art historian and advocate of women's rights by inclination.
The historical and cultural survey undertaken in chapter one shows that the inheritance of the Indian woman has depended on the religion, region, caste and class in which she was born. Chapter two presents a study of the development of policies, planning and articulation of their rights and status in independent India. The author opines that the process of policy making and planning is a continuous one and the success of this endeavour would finally be judged when full gender equality is achieved in all development programmes of the country.
The next chapter deals with the crucial issue of the ``girl child'', addressing it in the context of a skewed sex ratio, child mortality indices, nutritional status, and the opportunities for self-development available to her.
The efforts of the government as well as voluntary organisations in the field of women's education are discussed at length in chapter four, and placed in the context of achievements in other developing countries.
Dr. Seth states that inadequate share of women in education is affecting their status in all walks of life. In chapter five the health programmes of women are evaluated. The glaringly unequal employment opportunities available to them in spite of the several government employment schemes are analysed in the next chapter.
In this context, the author suggests a conceptual framework for a National Employment Policy to ensure economic self-reliance. The abysmal situation with regard to crimes against women, which handicaps them in gaining access to development opportunities, is dealt with in the next chapter.
In the concluding chapter, the author states that ``in these challenging times leadership will go automatically to positives leaders and women have to emerge as agents of social, political and economic change in our society. If they continue to indulge in the whiny rhetoric of victimology and being perceived as complaining, pleading agitators asking more for themselves they arouse resistance and confrontation among men who perceive them as a menacing force... Women themselves do not want confrontation but justice.''
They have to play their cards subtly and with determination to make the 21st century a woman's century. Her words could be prophetic in nature, considering the silent revolution of self-help-groups formed by women from the rural, marginalised poor, that is shaking the very foundations of traditional, male-dominated rural life, both economic and social.
Whether they themselves are aware of it or not, women have truly woken up from the deep slumber of centuries-old oppression.
Send this article to Friends by
| 100,107
|
[Nawab Isa Khan's] Tomb at Tatta
Photographer: Houghton, William Robert (1826-1897)
Medium: Photographic print
Photograph of Nawab Isa Khan’s tomb at Tatta in Sindh, taken by Capt. William Robert Houghton in 1858. This image is part of an album documenting notable tombs at the necropolis at Tatta, which Houghton photographed at the request of the Government of Bombay.
Nawab Isa Khan Tarkhan II (died c.1644) was a governor of Sindh, appointed by Emperor Jahanghir following the annexation of the state by the Mughals in 1591. His mausoleum is built of buff-coloured stone carved with elaborate and exquisite tracery and stands in the centre of a square courtyard surrounded by a high stone wall. This is a general view of the building, showing the high plain dome which crowns a pillared verandah. The tomb is part of a great necropolis, reputedly the largest in the world, which lies on the plateau of the Makli hills, a limestone outcrop to the west of Tatta. The necropolis contains over a million graves, including the mausoleums of Sindh’s rulers. The Nawab's mausoleum is the most imposing structure on the hill and is designed in the tradition of Islamic funerary architecture.
| 270,567
|
Tc-99m tetrofosmin is rapidly taken up by myocardial tissue and reaches its maximum level in approximately 5 minutes. About 66% of the total injected dose is excreted within 48 hours after injection (40% urine, 26% feces). Tc-99m tetrofosmin is indicated for use in scintigraphic imaging of the myocardium under stress and rest conditions. It is used to determine areas of reversible ischemia and infarcted tissue in the heart. It is also indicated to detect changes in perfusion induced by pharmacologic stress (adenosine, lexiscan, dobutamine or persantine) in patients with coronary artery disease. Its third indication is to assess left ventricular function (ejection fraction) in patients thought to have heart disease. No contraindications are known for use of Tc-99m tetrofosmin, but care should be taken to constantly monitor the cardiac function in patients with known or suspected coronary artery disease. Patients should be encouraged to void their bladders as soon as the images are gathered, and as often as possible after the tests to decrease their radiation doses, since the majority of elimination is renal. The recommended dose of Tc-99m tetrofosmin is between 5 and 33 millicuries (185-1221 megabecquerels). For a two-dose stress/rest dosing, the typical dose is normally a 10 mCi dose, followed one to four hours later by a dose of 30 mCi. Imaging normally begins 15 minutes following injection.
| 25,724
|
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.