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Koo is considered a pioneer in the field of financial engineering, an application of technical methods, especially in mathematical and computational finance. For instance, in financial engineering, differential and integral calculus is used for calculating the prices of financial derivative products and for strategic hedging to minimize investment risk. In Korea, new light is being shed on Koo’s field of study after the government designated finance one of the five service sectors that the country would promote by offering incentives and cutting red tape. Koo, a regular contributor to top financial academic journals such as the Journal of Finance, served as an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis and at Pohang University of Science and Technology prior to moving to Ajou University. Koo majored in mathematics at Seoul National University and attended the university’s graduate school. He then received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas in Austin, also in mathematics. From Princeton University, Koo received a Ph.D. in economics. By Bae Hyun-jung (firstname.lastname@example.org)
Senate Bill No. 144 (By Senator Unger) [Introduced January 11, 2012; referred to the Committee on Natural Resources; and then to the Committee on the Judiciary.] A BILL to amend and reenact §20-2-37 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to allowing shooters who are in possession of a firearm in or near the woods to not have to possess a valid hunting license. Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia: That §20-2-37 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows: ARTICLE 2. WILDLIFE RESOURCES. §20-2-37. Display of license, etc., by persons in possession of hunting, fishing, etc., paraphernalia. (a) Any person having in his or her possession in or near the fields or woods, or about the streams of this state, any dog, gun, fishing rod or other hunting, fishing or trapping paraphernalia, shall, upon demand of any officer authorized to enforce the provisions of this chapter shall have authority to require any person who is hunting, pursuing, or in possession of game in or near the fields or woods or about the streams of this state to state his or her correct name and address, and shall exhibit for inspection: (a) (1) All applicable licenses and documents set forth in section thirty-six of this article; and (b) (2) all firearms and wildlife which he or she may have in his or her possession. (b) The mere fact that a person possesses a firearm shall not trigger the authority of subsection (a) but may be considered along with other evidence in a determination as to whether a person is hunting or pursuing game. (c) Nothing in this section may be construed as authorizing searches that violate article three, section six of the West Virginia Constitution or the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, nor may anything in this section be construed as effecting a waiver of these Constitutional provisions. NOTE: The purpose of this section is to better clarify the distinction between hunters and shooters in the field. It would allow shooters who are in possession of a firearm in or near the woods to not have to possess a valid hunting license. Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language that would be added.
Facial hair of any kind has long been maligned as being off-putting and creepy. But if you look back in time, some of the coolest, most respected people wore mustaches and beards. Great men like Martin Luther King, Jr. and even women like Frida Kahlo wore facial hair and they made it look great. But for some reason modern society has rejected the “Stache” and the longbeard. The mustache has been associated with stalkers or worse and I think that it stinks that a few bad apples have ruined the bunch for all stache wearers. Look if Burt Reynolds could wear one, why can’t I? Good news to all facial hair wearers and the people who love them, because there are people out there who actually appreciate us! On Monday, January 31st, The Bell House in Gowanus, Brooklyn hosted an event called “Beardfest & Stachebash 2011.” The Bell House is truly one of the best new venues in all of New York. With the amount of space they have, they can literally support events of any size. Once we found out about the event, we were instantly excited. Not only would facial hair of all kinds be accepted, but in fact, they’d be celebrated! The event was packed to the gills with facial hair related fun. The front lounge of The Bell House was filled with stands where people could sell their mustache related products, be it a pillow with a huge beard on it or fake mustaches for the non-stached to wear throughout the party so they could fit in. Speaking of the fake facial hair, it was quite funny seeing women walking around wearing either fake bushy mustaches, or ones that were drawn on. We even saw a girl with a full fake beard, that looked homemade. Now that’s commitment! The facial hair friendly were also able to rock out to music by a great DJ duo who were playing what they dubbed “Bro-Wave,” a comical selection of music that would be typical to the frat guy set. It was mostly 90′s fare, as I could hear Warren G’s”Regulate,” blaring over the speakers. On the way into the main room, one could stop and get their facial hair trimmed, styled, and even photographed for a major project by a local photographer. So much to choose from! The main space also known as the concert venue, was loaded with more facial haired gents than you could shake a stick at. Many of which were more than happy to take a picture for us and for your viewing enjoyment. I shit you not- it was like being at a ZZ Top convention as we walked through the main room. One of the best beards we saw was what I’d call a, “Two Year Job.” This refers to the amount of time it takes for a beard to grow about half way down one’s chest. That is a huge beard. The guy sporting this was very cool and backed up my two year theory. He also was able to fashion a great stache as well. I guess that’s double points? The beards we encountered really did run the gambit from the puffy, to the long and styled- much like Scott Ian from Anthrax would sport. The Mustaches were a whole other level of entertainment. The one I was wearing, what could only be described as a “70s style business man,” was nothing compared to some of the amazing flavor savers we saw. Some of our favorite staches were period pieces, meaning they were from certain eras of US history. These mustachioed gents wore turn of the century style clothes and wwo of them actually matched wearing top hats, and were literally the belles of the ball, since everyone wanted to be photographed with them. Each of these guys used wax on the ends of their mustaches in order to make it curl. This style is extremely retro and only seen on the most hardcore stache fan. The facial hair folk were not the only entertainment at the bash. The very talented women of Wasbassco Burlesque Review were in attendance for an eye-catching performance of what they dubbed, “Beardlesque”. Our favorite performance was a spirited rendition of, The Beatles’ “I am The Walrus,” performed burlesque style while the women, wore a Walrus mustache and long teeth. Please do yourself a favor and check out the Wasbassco Burlesque review whenever they are performing. They are regulars at The Bell House and their sister club, Union Hall. The Beardfest & Stachebash was a funny and hilarious way to spend a Monday night in Brooklyn, drawing in beard enthusiasts and normals alike. Hey, we also made some new hairy friends! Be sure to check out The Bell House’s calendar for future events just like this one. Grow a beard, it’s good for you! - Alan Smithee
The Creative Arts Music at Longacre is diverse, offering our pupils further opportunities to discover both their strengths and more importantly, their passions. All children, from Nursery to Form VI, have exposure to musical teaching by a team of professional specialists, a practising musician themselves as well as an experienced teacher. Children learn to play various percussion instruments in addition to undertaking formal tuition in recorder, violin, ukulele, flute and voice within their curriculum time, learn the principles of improvisation, composition, and public performance through class concerts. All pupils will learn to read and engage with music and discover the beauty of both traditional and contemporary music. Confidence is everything; having a go, taking part and losing oneself in the subject without pressure to be the very best. Longacre enables all pupils to perform in concerts; informal where all children are encouraged to participate to the formal concert, whereby our older pupils audition and perform at our highly enjoyable black tie evening. The majority of pupils enjoy individual music tuition with one of our specialist peripatetic music teachers from harp to clarinet, drums to electric guitar; the choice is phenomenal. Musical Theatre is loved by all ages at Longacre with some who simply wish to experience performance to Grade 5 pupils, taking the stage by storm! Pupils can dip their toe in everything and anything: choir, orchestra, rock bands, ukulele group, cello quartet. There is something for everyone and we encourage the children to experiment and explore the various musical opportunities available. Art at Longacre enables children to further engage with the world around them. We encourage our pupils to develop their creativity by exploring the visual, tactile and sensory qualities of materials and processes. Art provides an opportunity for children to express their individuality and experiment with media, colour, shape, pattern and texture, creating their own perspective of their environment. At Longacre Art enables freedom and a deeper understanding that we all perceive our surroundings differently. In Art there is no right or wrong, and thus it provides space for children to experience high levels of success. Children explore a vast array of media, from charcoal to millinery, from large scale acrylic on canvas to batique. There is something for everyone, delivered in an inspirational Art Studio. Visiting artists frequently add greater breadth and stimulation to the children’s work. In Design Technology, children learn how to think imaginatively and talk about what they like and dislike when designing and creating. They build on their early childhood experiences of investigating objects around them, exploring how familiar things work. Children design and make their own airplane with a functioning motor to a desk tidy that ties in perfectly with developing their organisation! Children learn how to think imaginatively and talk about what they like and dislike when designing and making. They build on their early childhood experiences of investigating objects around them. They explore how familiar things work and talk about, draw and model their ideas. They learn how to design and make safely and could start to use ICT as part of their designing and making. Children design and make their own airplane with a functioning motor and a desk tidy that ties in perfectly with developing their organization. Drama gives every child the opportunity to develop their confidence through collaboration and performance. Drama is key in developing confidence and self-esteem in addition to essential life skills such as presenting to an audience, interview practice and ‘working a room.’ Drama is taught by a specialist teacher in the Music and Drama Studio with one term of the curriculum designated to coverage of the LAMDA syllabus. Children are prepared for the appropriate examinations although these are optional. Longacre produces major productions every year with every child participating in a public performance annually. The productions feature children in various aspects of the Performing Arts, including singing, acting and dancing, with instrumental accompaniments performed by pupils and staff. Not all children are comfortable at the front of the stage so there are opportunities to create scenery, participate in lighting and sound production as well as directing and stage management. Previous productions include: Grease, Schools Will Rock You, Treasure Island, A Big Green Adventure, Early Years’ Nativity, Harvest Rock and musical versions of A Mid-Summer Night’s Dream and the Fiddler on the Roof. In addition to the productions, each class performs two class assemblies per year, one with another class of a different age group to which parents are invited. Visiting teachers give our pupils the opportunity to study for Musical Theatre examinations and pupils have performed at Guilfest.
October 5, 1949. Oliver Johnston Jr. The Headless Horseman The Merrily Song The film was originally to be called "Two Fabulous Characters." Cyril, Toad, Rat, Mole and two of the weasels from this film also make an appearance in the 1983 short, "Mickey's Christmas Carol." The Ichabod section of the film is one of the few times in a Disney film in which the bully gets the girl. The film won a Golden Globe in 1950 for Best Cinematography, Color. Mr. Toad: We'll go for a jolly ride! Rat: A new mania: motor mania. Narrator: Don't try to figure out a plan. You can't reason with a headless man. Brom Bones: Aw bopkins. Gadzooks. Take a look at that spook of spooks. DVD & Soundtrack DVD Bonus Features - Mr. Toad's Wild Ride Destination Trivia Game - "Lonesome Ghosts" Cartoon - "The Merrily Song" Sing-Along - THE LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW DVD Storybook Bing and Walt ride herd on The Headless Horseman! Two Tall Tales by the world's top story-tellers in one hilarious All-Cartoon Feature! When Mr Toad sees a motorcar for the first time, his trousers change color from grey to orange. When Ichabod is in bed writing, his shadow can be seen on the wall, but the shadow of the pen is missing. Reviews & Ratings
In our last Relationship Tuesdays, we looked at the aspect of love of God as Father through obedience, and how obedience to His commands is a recognition of His not only knowing but desiring what is best for us. Today we are going to look at demonstrating our love for God as our bridegroom or husband, which is another metaphor that God uses to describe His relationship with us throughout the Old and New Testament: “For your Maker is your husband--the LORD Almighty is his name--the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.” Isaiah 54:5 “As a young man marries a maiden, so will your sons marry you; as a bridegroom rejoices over his bride, so will your God rejoice over you.” Isaiah 62:5 “Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.” Matthew 9:14 And these are just a few examples. The entire theme of the book of Hosea is God as bridegroom, and how upset/jealous He gets when His people go after idols. And idols are not just dead images and statues that get set up and worshipped; idols are anything that takes any of your love away from God. He wants you to love Him with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength. (Read more about this idea in Flee From Idolatry) God basically equates anything less than loving Him with everything as adultery. So if we are supposed to see ourselves as the wife of God, we need to look at how a wife ought to behave toward her husband: Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Ephesians 5:22 Our role as the church/wife of Christ is one of submission. Submission shows love because it’s not a forced obedience; submission is willful/selfless obedience. Loving wives choose not to strive against their husbands and submit to their authority. Loving people choose not to strive against God and submit to His authority, just as Jesus submitted to the Father when He said, “not my will, but yours be done." (Luke 22:42) Wives choose to love their husbands not just more than they love other men but instead of loving other men. Likewise God wants us to love Him not just more than all other options, but instead of all other options. So we choose to trust and obey God, just as a wife chooses to trust and obey her husband. Next time we’ll be looking at Obeying our King.
Fannie Mae Loan Fees When conforming mortgages started defaulting en masse in late-2007, mortgage guarantor Fannie Mae created a loss-offsetting, fee-generating scheme dubbed "loan-level pricing adjustments". The concept was basic: For mortgage applicants with high-risk profiles, collect up-front payments to offset potential long-term losses. Similar to the auto insurance model in which younger drivers pay higher premiums, the riskier the applicant, the higher the fee. At the inception of the program, Fannie Mae defined "risk" as a combination of borrower credit score and home equity percentage. In general, lower FICOs and higher LTVs paid more costs. Effective April 1, however, Fannie Mae's definition of risk is expanded. By a lot. Fannie Mae's new loan-level fees now impact any conforming mortgage that meets any of the following criteria, with the exception of fixed rate loans of 15 years or less. - Up to 0.75% fee: Secured by a condo/co-op with less than 25% equity - Up to 0.50% fee: Features a junior mortgage (i.e. HELOC, HELOAN) - Up to 1.00% fee: Features interest only payment options - Up to 1.00% fee: Secured to a 2-unit property - Up to 3.00% fee: Is designated as "cash out" Each 1 percent in fees equals 1 percent of the borrowed amount. Therefore, a condo buyer with a $200,000 first mortgage and a $25,000 line of credit is subject to a mandatory 1.25% charge of $2,500, due at closing. However, it doesn't stop there. Fannie Mae has also adjusted its original FICO-LTV matrix so that nearly every applicant -- irrespective of credit score -- will face higher closing costs on their home loan. Mortgage rates may be falling, but the cost of financing a home is rising. Fannie Mae's latest announcement is its fifth risk-based pricing update in the last 15 months. It's likely it won't be the last, either. Therefore, if you're torn between to buy a home now or later, consider that the cost of waiting may outweigh the benefits of falling prices or falling rates. Posted by Bring the Blog on January 08, 2009 At Your Service, Melissa "The Mortgage Maven" Breeland 902 Savannah Hwy Charleston, SC 29407 Best Phone: (843) 991-6532 Fax: (843) 725-2363
To the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille for two contemporaneous exhibitions, one on the theme of contemporary artistic representations of the tower of Babel, and the other on the theme of ‘fables in the Flemish sixteenth century landscape’. The revelation, for me, in the Babel exhibition was a number of young Chinese artists (Yang Yongliang and Zenjen Du in particular) working particularly in sophisticated video installations, such as Infinite Landscape, which take and re-imagine old Euro-centric ideas and forms, such as landscape itself. Which brings me to the second exhibition. Leaving aside the fact that it was badly laid out, so that on a busy Sunday the crushes around the Bosches and the Breughels made ordered viewing impossible, this was also a rich and pedagogic experience. Landscape in painting developed out of a need to fill in the background behind the representations of saints, the nativity, and so on. The great Flemish artists turned landscape painting into an art form in its own right, as the many paintings in this exhibition illustrated. An unexpected discovery came in the basement of the museum, where there is a huge collection of eighteenth century scale models of fortified Flemish cities. Even without the two exhibitions, the visit to the museum would have been well worthwhile.
At Master Divers we have a lot of families coming to dive with us and it’s great fun – we love kids…! Parents are always surprised by the range of activities children can do and there really is a lot for their little water babies to enjoy. Swimming and Snorkeling If your little mermaids are still mastering the art of swimming then we can assist you in securing some fun swim lessons and snorkeling lessons in the swimming pool with a registered and certified teacher. Nicola teaches from 4 months upwards and gives private as well as group classes. Once children can swim and are comfortable in the water then they are welcome on the boat for some snorkeling too. We believe that everyone on our boat should be supervised so we provide and guided snorkeling experience no matter what your age. Snorkelers are accompanied by a guide, not just for safety but for fun as well as they can show you the bests spots and point out the cool critters too. Guides will also teach any participant skills and techniques to aid them in being more comfortable in their water exploration. Life jackets are a requirement we insist on for children. Diving – 8 and 9 yr olds. Once children are 8 years old they can do something that is called a Bubble Maker. Simply put this is a mini dive for mini divers ! We are allowed to take children to a maximum depth of 2m so they can explore the shallows of a calm bay or have fun in the pool. We have smaller equipment to make this manageable and fun. Kids who see their parents diving love this and it’s great fun. At 8yrs and 9 yrs old they can also take part in Seal Teams series of Aquamissions. Participants will learn buoyancy control, mask, regulator and equipment skills and techniques within the confines of a swimming pool. They can then progress to specialized underwater activities; learning about fish, the environment, navigation, using a torch and/or camera underwater – all still within the confines of a swimming pool. Diving – 10 yrs and older. At 10yrs old, children are more or less treated as adults and can take the Discover Scuba Diver Course, Scuba Diver Course or Open Water Course. There are some dives on the Advanced Course that 10 yr olds can do but one of the one of the mandatory dives is the deep dive which they cannot participate in until they are 12yrs old. The Discover Scuba is a great way to get children in the water and see if they like it. It’s fun, safe but not a certification so it doesn’t come along with a lot of theory or classroom time. If your family are not already divers then its a great thing to do together before deciding if this is a holiday activity that you want to pursue in the future. The Scuba Diver Course is essentially half of the Open Water Course and certifies any participant, no matter their age, to dive to a maximum depth of 12m when accompanied by a dive professional. This can be topped up to the full Open Water certification at any time in the future. The reason that this is such a great idea for kids is because as its half the Open Water course – it doesn’t cover the more complicated theory but gets them in the water and safely diving without over burdening them on what is their holiday from school too! They can complete their Open Water later when they are older on another holiday. At age 10 and 11yrs their maximum depth even if they were to take the full Open Water Course is 12m so in depth terms there is no advantage in going further until they are older. The Open Water Course can be taken from age 10 yrs but they are not allowed to go to the maximum depth of 18m until they are 12yrs. If they choose to take this course before 12yrs old then their depth limit automatically increases on their 12th birthday – there is nothing you need to do to certify this. Before choosing this course, please do read what we have counseled above regarding the Scuba Diver Course. The Advanced Course has restrictions based on each individual dive that participants choose. Mandatory dives are the Deep Dive and the Navigation Dive. A diver must be 12yrs to make the deep dive and the depth is restricted to 21m until they are 15yrs. Again once they turn 15yrs this depth limit automatically increases. 10 yr olds can complete the Fish Identification Dive, Photography Dive, Peak Performance Buoyancy Dive, Naturalist and Navigation. At the end of the day, you know your children best but we think diving should be fun and safe for everyone. There really is no harm in letting children just enjoy being in the water and seeing the fish and marine life. Leaving some of the more advanced skills and complicated theory until they are old enough to really grasp it is not a problem. There are many calm shallow bays for them to explore here. When they progress, they learn a lot not just about diving (remember there’s science in there too and they don’t even realize they are learning it!) but about self reliance, safety, precision, accuracy and the environment too. If you want any more information please mail us !
Special Issue "Mathematical Morphology in Geoinformatics" A special issue of ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information (ISSN 2220-9964). Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2016) Dr. Beatriz Marcotegui MINES ParisTech, CMM–Centre de Morphologie Mathematique, Mathematiques et Systemes, 35, rue St Honore, 77305-Fontainebleau-cedex, France Geoinformatics is the science dealing with the capture, analysis, interpretation, dissemination, and use of geographic information. Geographic information is extensively used in applications such as basic mapping, environmental management, transport and telecommunication or urban planning, agriculture management, climate change monitoring and many others. During the last decades, numerous new evolved acquisition systems have been developed. They provide an ever increasing amount of extremely rich data: Lidar systems, either aerial or terrestrial, hyper-spectral images with an increasing number of channels and improved resolution, among others. Automatic or semi-automatic processing techniques are required in order to extract semantic information from this data, useful to develop practical applications. Mathematical Morphology is a non-linear image processing technique, based on the set theory. It quantitatively describes image content in terms of shape and size, in an elegant mathematical framework. It has proven to be an extremely effective technique in many applications and in particular in geographic and geoinformatic applications. This Special Issue aims at providing a cutting edge vision of mathematical morphology advances for geoinformatics applications. Experimental and theoretical results are expected. Topics of interest for this Special Issue include, but are not limited to, the following: - Point cloud segmentation, classification. - Urban scene analysis and modeling. - Hyper-spectral image filtering, segmentation, classification - Land use cover - Change detection - Satellite-based geographical services: forestry monitoring, soil moisture, damage assessment, … Authors from academia or industry working in the above or closely related research areas are encouraged to submit original manuscripts that have not been published and are not currently under review by other journals. Prospective authors should submit the complete manuscript through the online system (http://susy.mdpi.com/user/manuscripts/upload?journal=ijgi). Dr Beatriz Marcotegui Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website. Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are refereed through a peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. ISPRS International Journal of Geo-Information is an international peer-reviewed Open Access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Julia 's curves are a family of mathematical curves (fractals) renowned for their beauties. This plugin is extremely simple : to track down an interesting curve, use the Julia control or press the Random button (that's all !). Besides, it allows endless zooming, to customize colours, and to save settings. New in version 1.1: The plugin now compute smooth colors in the exterior of fractal . This allows nicer results, especially when the Grad Period is decreased. The plugin offers better compatibility for Vista/ Win 7 users, especially when UAC is enabled. Remark: To reduce aliasing , in example above; we've generated fractal at big size, and then we've downsampled the result. Use of the Zoom Press the reset button to restore the default size. Select the zoom in tool (If it is not already made). Make a left click in the preview window, keep the mouse button pressed and slide the cursor. Delimit the zone which interests you and then release. (Illustration below, with the parameter Julia = 866). To cancel current selection, maintain the mouse pressed and move it outside the preview window. Then, press the X button. Remark: A much more simple use of the zoom tool consists in clicking directly . Julia World proposes colours by default. To modify them, you have to create in advance a gradient with the plugin Gradient Smithy. In the box gradient, choose option Custom and load the gradient with the Load button. Below, an example of customization: To personalize the gradient application, the plugin proposes also two parameters: Grad Offset: Exactly the same parameter as for the plugin Gradient Smithy. It remains directly accessible. Grad Period: represents the periodicity for which colours are repeated. All parameters can be saved in a single preset file, including the gradient.
Melton’s Gloucester House has been providing the elderly with wellbeing services since 1986, when it was officially opened by the Duchess of Gloucester. Now the centre which is supported by independent local charity Age UK Leicestershire and Rutland, has up to 400 people taking advantage of this vital community resource. Age UK Leicestershire and Rutland help the over 50’s with independent living in the community, financial concerns and difficulties, frailty, physical disabilities, mental health challenges, learning needs social isolation and loneliness. Gloucester House is providing outreach activities which allow staff to engage with those who need help in the most appropriate location for them, thus tackling some of the issues elderly people have, particularly social isolation and loneliness. Activities on offer include: Support for older people with mental health challenges including dementia and physical frailty. They give older people the opportunity to get out and spend time with peers and to enjoy social situations. They also provide much needed respite for carers. Falls awareness classes Classes are run to improve the confidence of older people after a fall and to give them the skills and knowledge to avoid falls in the future. These are run by Age UK Leicestershire and Rutland staff alongside occupational therapists. Mental health support Drop-in sessions are run to provide social interaction with others affected by mental health issues such as depression, anxiety and bipolar disorder as well as support and information from staff. Information and advice clinics Drop in sessions are run to help people access information and advice on matters which affect their quality of life such as benefit checks and entitlements. Dementia respite care Up to eight hours per week of respite care in individual’s homes helps relieve stress and demands on family members and helps avoid social isolation. Social activities and evening events The range of classes run at Gloucester House include Tai Chi, keep fit, new age curling and sequence dancing. Hair dressing and beauticians Affordable services in an accessible building for the individual. Community fundraising events These are run throughout the year and include occasions such as fetes. A Melton resident who is no longer feeling vulnerable, and is leading an active and full life with the help of Age UK Leicestershire and Rutland is John Walker. He said: “After having a wonderful life with my dear wife for 60 yers I realised after she passed away that I needed to find a way of meeting people and to find a way of combatting my isolation. His advice to others who may be feeling lonely but are nervous about the first steps towards joining a new group is: “If you are willing to come along to Gloucester House to have a look and take time to enjoy talking and listening to people there, you can make yourself a wonderful life.” l All are welcome at Gloucester House which is open Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm.
Before man became all-important in society, matrilineal societies (where property and other rights belong to women) were widespread. Over many centuries, the effect and values of a woman-dominated society lost its value to such an extent that matrilineal societies are today found in far and between places in the world amongst a few dispersed tribes. Here we are looking at the top such societies that still follow this tradition: Image Credit: en (dot) yunnantourism (dot) com Near the border with Tibet in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces in China, there exists a tribe of just 40,000 called Mosuo. While political decisions in the tribe are taken by men, almost everything else such as inheritance, business decisions and the final word at the dinner table are often found with women (who are called Ah Mi or elder female) in this tribe. Until just a few decades ago, they were a self-sufficient group who grew enough grains and cattle for their own needs. A unique feature of this tribe is that it does not have a word for ‘father' and even for ‘husband' as the concept of marriage does not exist in their tribe. Women have children through a concept called zou hun (walking marriages) in which the female raise the offspring they beget. Image Credit: zacharyhill1 (dot) blogspot (dot) com Before Europe found America and made it their own, the country was a cluster of different tribes. One such tribe was the Iroquois. They were an imperialist tribe that sought to have influence over as much land as possible. Iroquois were also matrilineal since women held all the property including animals and land from her family. She can also throw her husband by divorcing him and letting him go with just his possessions, while she kept the children. Hereditary laws are such that leadership and property are passed through the mother. Elderly women also hold veto power when it comes to selecting the chief of their clan. According to the latest survey in 1995, there were about 82,000 Iroquois living in the US and Canada. Image Credit: place4visit (dot) blogspot (dot) com This tribe inhabits the Sumatra region of Indonesia. The term Minangkabau is formed by joining two words, minang meaning victorious and kabau meaning buffalo, and has an interesting legend around its name. More importantly however, this clan places female power right on top. They are the world's largest matrilineal society today with a population of about eight million inhabitants. Boys are generally encouraged to leave house from the age of seven to live in a community center called surau to learn religious and cultural teachings. They are then encouraged to attain worldly knowledge and return to the clan to improve its working. One of the rare tribes that falls under the Islamic religion and practises matrilineality, the Minangkabau are a force to reckon with in the Indonesian society today. Image Credit: en.paperblog (dot) com In the far off North Eastern state of Meghalaya live the Garo, Khasi and Jaintia tribes and are among the last matrilineal societies in India. Their culture underwent a seismic change with the influence of Christianity, but the society still follows the female line of inheritance. The youngest daughter in a family, inherits the property while men are generally sent off to live with wife's family upon marriage. Although it is restricted to certain tribes today, matrilineal societies offer a view into a completely different way of life, where women hold the reins in the family. You may also like:
Hormonal Control of Estrus in Horses Estrous behavior may be undesirable in performance horses and can be suppressed in mares by administration of progestagens, either progesterone in oil (150–300 mg/day, IM) or altrenogest (0.44 mg/kg/day, PO). In the past, oral progestagen was preferable because of muscle irritation from the injectable preparation. However, progesterone in a biorelease vehicle is available by prescription from a compounding pharmacy. This preparation (1.5 g, IM) is administered once every 7–10 days. Treatment with progestagens for 15 days during the late transition season can advance the first ovulation of the year by ~10 days. Although these preparations suppress estrous behavior, they may not effectively suppress follicle growth and ovulation in cyclic mares. Ovulation may be synchronized in mares by administration of progesterone in oil (150 mg) and estradiol 17β in oil (10 mg/day, IM, for 10 days) with prostaglandin F2α (PGF2α; 10 mg, IM) administered on the tenth day. Progesterone plus estradiol in a biorelease vehicle is also available by prescription from a compounding pharmacy. Mares should come into estrus ~3 days after the end of treatment, and 85% of mares ovulate 9–13 days after the end of treatment. Estrus may be induced in diestrous mares (having a corpus luteum that is 5 or more days postovulation) by treatment with PGF2α (10 mg, IM) or cloprostenol (250 mcg, IM) to lyse the corpus luteum. Mares should return to estrus in ~3 days and ovulate an average of 9–10 days after prostaglandin treatment. The time to ovulation is variable, however, depending on the size of the largest follicle on the ovary at the time of prostaglandin administration. PGF2α causes numerous transient adverse effects in horses, including sweating, colic, and trembling. Greatly reduced doses of cloprostenol (25 mcg) also effectively induce luteolysis in mares while virtually eliminating the unwanted adverse effects of PGF2α. However, although widely used in mares, cloprostenol is labeled only for use in cattle. Prostaglandin causes luteolysis of a mature corpus luteum and so does not induce estrus in anestrous mares. Behavioral estrus may be induced in anestrous or ovariectomized mares by administration of estradiol 17β in oil (1–10 mg, IM) or estradiol cypionate (0.5 mg, IM). Mares should show estrus 12–24 hr after injection. This estrus is not associated with follicular growth and is not fertile. Treatment with estradiol cypionate is longlasting, but repeated or high doses may cause aggressive or defensive behavior when the mare is approached by a stallion. Treatment with estrogen in the presence of progesterone (eg, in a cyclic mare in diestrus) will not induce estrous behavior. Ovulation may be induced in mares with mature preovulatory follicles (>33 mm diameter) by administration of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), 2,500 IU, IV; by administration of a deslorelin implant, 2.2 mg, SC; or by administration of deslorelin, 1–2 mg, IM, in a biorelease vehicle. Ovulation is seen in 85% of mares within 48 hr, typically 36–42 hr after hCG or injectable deslorelin treatment or 40–44 hr after treatment with a deslorelin implant. Repeated use of hCG over a long period is associated with antibody formation and may decrease response to treatment; this has not been seen with deslorelin. Use of deslorelin in implant form has been associated with periods of anestrus in treated mares, especially if the corpus luteum of ovulation is lysed with prostaglandin. For this reason, many veterinarians remove the implant after ovulation is seen; this is easily performed if the implant is placed in the vulvar mucosa. Mares do not superovulate in response to equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG), and they do not respond well to follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) derived from other species, but they may be superovulated (average of three to four follicles ovulated) by treatment with equine FSH (no longer commercially available in the USA). GnRH given at 2–20 mcg/hr (by infusion pump) throughout ~10 days induced normal follicular growth and ovulation in anestrous mares; the larger dose induces superovulation (average of three follicles). Cyclicity has also been induced in anestrous mares by treatment with 200 mcg GnRH every 6 hr, 500 mcg GnRH every 12 hr, or by administration of a GnRH agonist, buserelin (10 mcg, SC), every 12 hr plus hCG (2,500 IU, IV) once a follicle has reached 35 mm in diameter. The dopamine receptor antagonist domperidone (1.1 mg/kg/day, PO) alone or in combination with GnRH (250 mcg, SC, qid) has also been used to stimulate follicular development in mares with quiescent ovaries.
Best-selling author Jeannette Walls shared life lessons she’s learned since the publication of her memoir "The Glass Castle" during her August 27, 2012, visit to Meredith College. "Telling the story of my childhood has changed my life," Walls said. "One of the lessons I’ve learned is that everything in life is a blessing and a curse – it’s up to you to choose which to focus on. The blessing of my childhood is that I grew up as a fighter and a scrapper. The curse of my childhood is that I grew up as a fighter and a scrapper." Walls, whose book was chosen as Meredith’s 2012 Summer Reading Program book, spoke at an informal afternoon Q&A and presented an evening lecture to overflow crowds. During both events, she mentioned how pleased she is that students are reading her book. "My secret bold ambition for my book was that students would read it," Walls said. She said she hoped that students might be inspired by her story, and be nicer to those who are different. "What you see in my story is a reflection of your story," Walls said. "I hope when you leave here you are thinking about your story, not mine." In "The Glass Castle," Walls describes growing up in the desert of the American Southwest and then in a West Virginia mining town with her three siblings and the brilliant, unorthodox, irresponsible parents who manage at once to neglect them, love them and teach them to face their fears. Walls discussed the process of writing her memoir, and the challenge of depicting her parents, who she described as "people with wonderful qualities but who were certainly not saints." Writing the first draft of her book took only six weeks, Walls said, but the rewriting process took five years, as she chose the parts of her life story to include. "Even though ‘The Glass Castle’ is non-fiction, we shape our truths … I included scenes that were important in shaping the person I became." Walls’ memoir has been a New York Times best-seller for more than four years, has sold 3.5 million copies in the U.S. alone, been translated into 22 languages, and is being made into a movie by Paramount. It was named one of the “Top 10 Books of the Decade” by Amazon, and has won numerous awards. Meredith’s Summer Reading Program is now in its fourteenth year. Fax: (919) 760-8330
Think of your CV as your personal advertisement to a potential employer. Here’s how to make sure yours stands out from the pile on their desk. When you’re writing your CV you should constantly be thinking, ‘is that relevant, and does it position me as a good fit for the job?’ The first step is to avoid vague buzzwords, like ‘hardworking’, ‘motivated’ and ‘driven’ (more listed below). Regardless of how true these may be, find an original way to represent your goals and motivations. A recruiter or hiring manager may only spend a few moments looking at your CV—so repeating phrases they’ve read a hundred times over will not put you in good stead. Relevance and personality are key. Under no circumstances should you lie on your CV. You will be found out. Clichés to avoid There are some words and phrases that have been so overused that employers have become immune to them and may dismiss your claim without substantiated evidence. Avoid these: - Team player - Communication skills - People management skills If you can’t resist including these skills on your CV, especially if they are a must-have for the role you’re applying for, do so, but always back it up with real world evidence. There’s nothing wrong with saying you have good people management skills, for example, but don’t leave it there; briefly state a time in a previous role when using your people management skills added something to the business. Stay away from using corporate jargon; it only makes reading your CV difficult. If your first job was a paper round, for example, don’t say you were a ‘media distribution officer’. It is always better to be clear and concise. Wordy descriptions don’t impress anybody. Tailor your CV to the role Keep a copy of the job specification close by and ensure that the specific skills required for the role are prominent on your CV. It’s also worth looking at the language used in the job ad or specification and researching the company’s values to get a better idea of what they expect from a candidate. You can also mirror their language—without simply copying what they have said, obviously—to show you’re in tune with what they’re looking for. Check and check again Finally, do not list “attention to detail” as a skill on your CV if it’s riddled with errors. Take extra care to ensure you’ve done a proper spell and grammar check. Proofread as many times as possible, because a poorly constructed CV might just cost you that interview.
As a developer, one of the tools that makes me more productive is a good text editor. While IDE environments are replete with a wide assortment of powerful editing tools, they often miss the mark on macro customization, binary (hex) viewers and the ability to edit large text files. More recently, my favorite IDE has been reminding me that text files outside my current project are being edited – which is an extreme nuisance. Fortunately, jEdit provides a wealth of text editing capability coupled with a competent BeanShell macro language. Unfortunately, on Mac OS these capabilities come at a cost – jEdit has historically been a tad fickle to configure for the Mac keyboard bindings. As luck would have it, jEdit 5.2 and later has simplified the keyboard configuration for Mac dramatically. The main issue is getting support for the Alt key, which Mac users press in combination with arrow keys for document navigation. While jEdit includes a Mac OS X keyboard map, one additional step is required to make this work with the Alt key. To setup jEdit on Mac with sane keyboard bindings the first step is to modify your startup BeanShell script. Copy the default startup.bsh script from Edit this file and add the following entries to the end: Debug.ALT_KEY_PRESSED_DISABLED = false; Debug.ALTERNATIVE_DISPATCHER = false; Launch jEdit and select Utilities / Global Options. Under the jEdit group select “Shortcuts” and change the keymap selection to “Mac OS X”. That’s it. Open a text file for editing and try some of the standard Mac OS key navigation sequences: \|Command + Arrow Right\|\|Move to the end of a line\| \|Alt + Arrow Right\|\|Advance one word to the right\| There are other combinations as well, but these give you a good starting point to confirm your setup. Obviously, if you are running jEdit on other platforms (Windows / Linux) you will want to use the keymap that matches your environment best.
By Nicholeen Peck Common Relationship Problems “Nicholeen, I feel really bad about saying this, but I really don’t like being around my sister.” a friend said to me one day. “She drives me crazy. I wish she could just make good choices for herself. It’s like she can’t see clearly at all.” my friend explained. “I really shouldn’t feel this way about her. She’s my sister. But, really all I do is bail her out of problems. Actually, that is usually when I hear from her; when she has a problem. What should I do? Is there any way I can help her get some sense? Or, should I just keep my distance from her?” This type of frustration toward a family member, neighbor or friend is common because we all see the world differently. Also, we are all motivated my different influences as well. People are motivated by social acceptance, physical need, purpose, power, the path of least resistance, their senses, logic, the Spirit, and impulse to name a few. What I mean is some people feel happy and comfortable when they are taking the path of least resistance, and some people feel happy and comfortable when they are working hard for a specific purpose. Since our view of happiness can differ from those around us, we need to be careful about judging other people’s choices. Sure, some of their choices may lead them to sorrow and even disaster, but they really are doing what they think will lead to happiness. They usually aren’t bad people. It is hard to see someone we love fail or go astray when we know a better way. But, it can happen to any of us. The important thing to remember is that it wasn’t our choice, it was theirs’. We don’t do them any favors by taking it personally and becoming emotional. In fact, we usually only damage our relationships when we do such things. The Anatomy of Relationships When I heard my friend share her feelings about her sister it dawned on me that there was something really simple my friend could do to make a big change in her relationship with her sister. She could choose to see her sister in a different way. Relationships do not always ‘take two’ like people always say. Each relationship has two distinct sides. Only, when the relationship is unified in love or in hatred do the feelings go both ways. Most often relationships are one sided. The way I feel about you could be totally different than the way you feel about me. A parent could love and nurture a child, but the child could feel the parent is annoying and want to disconnect from them. These kinds of relationship disagreements happen all the time. So that there is no confusion, it is worth saying that the parent in the situation above is bonding and creating a relationship, and the child is being selfish and trying to destroy a relationship. However, either way this is how they are choosing to relate to each other. For the sake of this discussion we will say that each of these people actually has a different relationship than the other person has. Over time, however, one person could persuade the other to transform their side of the relationship to match their own feelings. More simply, when there are two people, there are two relationships. When there are six people, there are 30 relationships. Each person in the group relates differently to each person individually. One person in a group of six people has five relationships. If we wanted to take this deeper, we could probably also say that each person has a relationship with, or way they see, themselves too. But, for this article, we won’t explore that dimension of this topic. Since we are all in charge of our side of all relationships, or the way we see people, then we can change the way we think about someone whenever we want to. Christ’s Perfect Example Ever since Moses received the ten commandments adultery has been recognized as a sin. So, it was no surprise that when Christ was living it was still considered as such by the Scribes and Pharisees. One day they brought a woman to Jesus who had been caught in the act of adultery. A very serious crime. It appeared that they wanted to trick Christ into not loving one of God’s children. Christ looked at the situation. He lowered himself to the ground where he was on the same level as the accused woman. Then he said, “He who is without sin, cast the first stone.” After shocking the aggressors he looked at the woman and touched her. He told her to “go and sin no more.” He trusted that she could. He loved her and healed her by taking her where she was and showing faith in her goodness and desire to change. He really understood her. Expose VS Heal The woman in this story was exposed by her accusers. They felt it was their duty to tell all where they found her and about her bad choice. They obviously felt this was a good way to change her heart. Obviously she felt ashamed. But, she also felt alone and broken. Really, she needed healing. How often do we think that exposing our friends and neighbors is the way to help them change? Does it work? No, they withdraw from us. What about if we expose them behind their backs? That is probably more common. Does it really help them change? Does it help us feel better? No, we only create more pain and loneliness for our own hearts. It is true that when a child makes mistakes, teaching needs to happen in order to keep them on the correct path, and to teach them cause and effect. But, how that teaching is done, the feeling the teaching carries, is the real concern. Correcting should feel safe. We should correct just like the Savior’s correction to the woman. He didn’t deny her sin, but he didn’t hate her for it either. He didn’t take it personally, or become emotional. He was calm, loving and understanding. And, He changed her heart. A Mighty Change of Heart The way we think of others when we see them fail is probably the most important part of helping change their hearts and leading them toward goodness. Also, our own hearts are also changed toward them. When we seek to understand them in their mistakes we actually grow closer to them and love them more. My friend’s heart was changed after we talked about exposing vs. healing. She said, “Nicholeen, I am going to really need to think about that. I don’t think it ever occurred to me that I’m not helping her heal.” Love and understanding is the key to helping our side of difficult relationships. When we deliberately change our own hearts, we can then inspire change in their hearts too. Learning Self-Government Changes Lives and Families Forever http://TeachingSelfGovernment.com
A conference records retention chart has been created to help local churches decide which records they needs to keep for the everyday business of the church, which records they no longer need, and which records need to be kept in the permanent historic records of the church. The information in the chart represents suggestions, not mandates; local churches must use their discretion to decide which records to retain or dispose of. It is recommended that records used in the everyday business of the church be kept for three to five years. This would include minutes, correspondence, reports, memos, financial records, and many others. After three to five years, these records are referenced less and need to be appraised for their continued value. Knowledgeable members of the church can use the retention schedule to sort the records. A particular record may not always be useful in the way its initial creator intended it but could later be of use in a different way. An example of this is the minutes of the church. Minutes should be kept for every meeting that takes place—board meetings, council meetings, women's meetings, youth meetings, Sunday School meetings, etc. Office personnel, boards, and members may use the minutes to record what has been done and said at meetings and refer back to them to see what needs to be done. They are initially used as an accountability tool. After years have passed, they instead become a window into the history of the church and significant events that took place. The records retention schedule also gives us permission to dispose of some records. For example, most detailed financial records can be tossed, but summary documents, statements, and audits should be kept. For a more in depth look at records retention please consult the "Guidelines for Managing Records of the Annual Conference and the Local Church" created by the General Commission on Archives and History. Many church records are now “born digital.” Board minutes are created on laptops; financial records are recorded in Excel spreadsheets or databases. While these technologies help us be more productive, issues surrounding the keeping of electronic records are complex. The General Commission on Archives and History document “Guidelines for Managing Electronic Records, 2013” explores many of these complex issues. Electronic records should be retained on the same schedule as paper records. If minutes are a permanent record of the church, then minutes created electronically are also a permanent record of the church and a plan should be created to retain them. For questions or additional information, contact Conference Archivist Kathy Spence Johnson (612) 230-6149. Minutes should be created by all boards, commissions, committees, and sub-committees. Minutes are a permanent record of the local church and should be retained by the secretary of the committee during their active life, about three to five years. When the minutes become inactive, they should be deposited in the local church archives. How to take minutes This task isn't reserved for secretaries only. Any person who attends a meeting may be asked to do this. Since the minutes will serve as an official record of what took place during the meeting, you must be very accurate. Here are some pointers to help master this skill: Before the meeting During the meeting After the meeting Given the technology available today, very few people hand-write minutes in a book with numbered pages. As the pen has given way to the computer, organizations need to find a way to print their minutes and keep the minutes on consecutive pages in notebooks or folders. A note of caution: When changes and corrections need to be made to minutes, there is a tendency to want to change the electronic document. This is not the correct thing to do. Changes to this month’s minutes are noted in the next month’s minutes, and the current minutes are kept in their uncorrected form as part of the permanent record. Those looking for information in the minutes should look at the following meeting’s copy of minutes for possible correction. Minnesota Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church
Buena Vista Sanatorium, overlooking the Mississippi River Valley. Photo used with permission of Wabasha County Historical Society. The Buena Vista Sanatorium opened in 1917 on a hill overlooking the city of Wabasha to serve residents of Wabasha County. Several patients came from neighboring counties, especially Winona and Olmsted. Beginning in 1921, Wabasha and Winona counties together operated the sanatorium. The sanatorium struggled financially throughout its existence because the 30-bed capacity did not generate enough income for upkeep and salaries. In 1927, 69 percent of the patients were "free pay," which meant their cost of care was paid by state aid of $5 per week. The cost of care per patient, per day, was $3.45 at that time. As one of several cost-saving measures, three nurses worked eight-hour shifts, with one-half day off each week and one day off each month. Assistance was requested from the Works Progress Administration to erect an additional building, but funding was denied because there was not a sufficient number of unemployed skilled construction laborers in the two counties to justify WPA support. One of the longest serving medical directors at Buena Vista was Dr. Russell Frost, whose grandfather founded the state's first anti-tuberculosis society in Willmar. Dr. Frost served an internship at Ancker Hospital in St. Paul, contracted tuberculosis and recovered, was on the staff at Glen Lake Sanatorium for a short time, and then worked at Buena Vista from 1928 to 1939. After a medical directorship in Louisiana, he entered the Navy during World War II and then returned to Minnesota, where he worked at the Veterans' Administration Hospital and at Glen Lake Sanatorium. Buena Vista's superintendents and medical directors worked within their limited means to provide occupational therapy and other supplemental services to patients. The sanatorium also supported the work of county nurses to identify and isolate tuberculosis in the early stages. Because Buena Vista accepted patients with only incipient or moderately advanced cases of tuberculosis, the ratio of deaths to admissions was relatively low. In 1956, the buildings were converted to the Buena Vista Rest Home, which has since closed. The site now consists of private residences. Sources: Buena Vista annual reports at the Minnesota Historical Society and Invited and Conquered by J. Arthur Myers, Webb Publishing, St. Paul, 1949. Additional resource: Wabasha County Historical Society
Let's face it, it's highly unlikely that all of those little LEGO pieces making their way into every corner of the house will ever be neatly sorted into little bins by shape and color. Even if you come close, it's inevitable that they're all going to be dumped in a pile in the middle of the floor. Fear not, help may finally be on its way. Here's a solution designed to work with the way kids actually play with their toys instead of trying to shoehorn everything into an adult's idea of organization. Thirty years ago, Sarah Kirk's grandmother gave her brother a handmade toy bag for his huge pile of LEGOs. After she had her own child, Sarah's mother redesigned that same toy bag and gave it to her son for his heaping pile of LEGO pieces. Now, three generations later, Sarah has launched a newly reinvented version of that same toy bag for the heaping pile of LEGO pieces in your life. When Sarah started Swoop Bags, she wanted to create a bag that was simple, well-made, and would make clean up time a little easier. With a modern design sensibility, she designed each Swoop to last using high quality cotton canvas and nylon cording. Swoop bags are durable, simple, colorful, and fun. The Swoop is the ultimate toy bag and playmat in one. It's ideal for small toys like LEGO, Playmobil, wooden trains, blocks, dolls, and more. The 44" diameter bags are made of 100% sturdy cotton canvas with durable, black nylon cording and metal grommets. So the big question: does it actually work? It definitely seems promising. I'm placing my order–I'll be sure to share the results. If anyone else decides to give it a go, please share your experiences as well! Available for $45 on the Shop Swoops website.
PROTECT OUR PARKS DON’T HURT THE TREES PLEASEMSPOTA is a leave only footprints, signals in the air and full contact logs event. Due to the invasive species our state is fighting we have a strict FREE STANDING / SELF SUPPORTING ANTENNAS ONLY policy. Antenna wires and ropes in trees can cause structural damage which leads to the spread of invasive species. Additionally that rope you use in park number one can carry disease to park number two and so on. There are a variety of options available such as surplus military support poles for wire antennas, Alpha Antenna, or Wolf River Coil products which do not require trees to function. Tree damage is not only a bad idea from nature’s standpoint but it could also result in citations being issued by Park Rangers. - Hemlock woolly adelgid Hemlock woolly adelgid was recently discovered in the western Lower Peninsula. This tiny sap-feeding insect is an invasive forest pest that has killed hundreds of thousands of hemlock trees in several eastern states. Officials are currently conducting surveys to assess the situation, but the presence of HWA and its potential impacts on hemlocks are of major concern. An important way to stop the spread is to use local firewood. - Oak Wilt Many state parks, recreation areas, state forest campgrounds and other state-managed land have been impacted by oak wilt. The deadly fungus can kill healthy trees within a matter of weeks. Oak wilt is spread by sap-feeding beetles, which are also known as “picnic beetles.” To help prevent the spread of oak wilt, do not move firewood and do not prune oak trees during the growing season. - Use local firewood The DNR reminds visitors to leave firewood at home to prevent the spread of invasive tree insects and diseases. Hauling firewood, even a short distance, from one part of the state to another is a common way for invasive tree insects and diseases to move to new locations, which is devastating to Michigan’s native trees. There are a number of things that visitors can do to help, including using local firewood.Please note that the DNR is looking at a number of options to prevent the spread of invasive tree insects and diseases, including a requirement that all firewood brought into the park must be purchased at the park or from a certified firewood vendor within a few miles of the park. - These are but a few of the invaders that Michigan is currently battling. To learn more about the battle click here.
Mustang MonthlyNews & Views Tires Made of Dandelions? Continental Tires of the Future Rubber from Russian Dandelions: Continental Tires of the Future Made from Dandelion Rubber Remember Henry Ford’s Fordlandia, a social experiment set in a tropical rubber tree plantation? This isn’t a silly April Fools Day prank, it’s true: the forward thinking ecologically concerned scientists at Continental Tire are embracing the flowering dandelion weed once used by hippies to make hallucinogenic wine into a key component to the future of tires. The team at Continental Tire looked to the dandelion as an alternative source of natural rubber. But before you start thinking you can harvest the dandelions from your lawn into a cash crop, think again. Continental isn’t using just any old dandelion but a specific Russian species. This is the only dandelion that can be used as an alternative source for natural rubber production. The roots of this dandelion species contain the natural rubber latex (the source for natural rubber used in tires), meaning supply will be steadier and easier to control leading to greater price stability. This crop is also much less sensitive to weather than the rubber tree. “In agricultural terms, dandelions are an undemanding plant, growing in moderate climates, even in the northern hemisphere, and can be cultivated on land not suitable for food production,” according to Dr. Carla Recker, who heads the Continental team involved in the development of this super material. “This means that rubber production is conceivable near our tire factories, for instance, and the significantly shorter transport routes would also reduce CO2 emissions.” Transporting rubber from South America or West Africa to North America and Europe for manufacturing is a long and costly journey that also contributes significantly to the output of CO2. If this part of the process can be consolidated to agricultural zones of the Americas and Europe, the economic and carbon emissions benefits would be a significant boon to the tire industry. This particular dandelion can thrive in a large part of the world. The growth cycle for the Russian dandelion is approximately one year. Conversely, the rubber tree has a long-life cycle, where the first harvest could start seven years after planting. Also of note, the dandelions Continental is working with were optimized without the use of genetic engineering. So how close is Continental to making tires produced from dandelions available to consumers? Dr. Peter Zmolek, director of research and development of passenger and light truck tires for Continental Tire in the Americas stated, “Our target is within the next five to 10 years. In the summer of 2014, Taraxagum tires were produced and tested under summer and winter conditions on our proving grounds in Germany and Sweden. The results were very encouraging and our continued development efforts are on track.”
Canberra ( / ˈ kænbrə/ or / ˈ kænb ɛ rə/) is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), 280 km (170 mi) south-west of Sydney, and 660 km (410 mi) north-east of Melbourne. A resident of Canberra is known as a "Canberran". The site of Canberra was selected for the location of the nation's capital in 1908 as a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne, Australia's two largest cities. It is unusual among Australian cities, being an entirely planned city. Following an international contest for the city's design, a blueprint by the Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin was selected and construction commenced in 1913. The Griffins' plan featured geometric motifs such as circles, hexagons and triangles, and was centred around axes aligned with significant topographical landmarks in the Australian Capital Territory. History Before European settlement, the area in which Canberra would eventually be constructed was seasonally inhabited by Indigenous Australians. Anthropologist Norman Tindale suggested the principal group occupying the region were the Ngunnawal people, while the Ngarigo lived immediately to the south of the ACT, The Wandandian to the east, the Walgulu also to the south, Gandangara people to the north, and Wiradjuri to the north west. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the region includes inhabited rock shelters, rock paintings and engravings, burial places, camps and quarry sites, and stone tools and arrangements. The evidence suggests human habitation in the area for at least 21,000 years. European exploration and settlement started in the Canberra area as early as the 1820s. There were four expeditions between 1820 and 1824. White settlement of the area probably dates from 1824, when a homestead or station was built on what is now the Acton peninsula by stockmen employed by Joshua John Moore. He formally purchased the site in 1826, and named the property "Canberry". The European population in the Canberra area continued to grow slowly throughout the 19th century. Among them was the Campbell family of "Duntroon"; their imposing stone house is now the officers' mess of the Royal Military College, Duntroon. The Campbells sponsored settlement by other farmer families to work their land, such as the Southwells of "Weetangera". Other notable early settlers included the inter-related Murray and Gibbes families, who owned the Yarralumla estatenow the site of the official residence of the Governor-General of Australia from the 1830s through to 1881. The oldest surviving public building in the inner-city is the Anglican Church of St John the Baptist, in the suburb of Reid, which was consecrated in 1845. St John's churchyard contains the earliest graves in the district. As the European presence increased, the indigenous population dwindled, mainly from disease such as smallpox and measles. Canberra has a relatively dry continental climate with warm to hot summers and cool to cold winters. Canberra experiences warm, quite dry summers, and chilly winters with heavy fog and frequent frosts. Snow is rare in the CBD but the surrounding areas get annual snowfall through winter and often the snow capped mountains can be seen from the CBD. The highest recorded maximum temperature was 42.2 °C (108.0 °F) on 1 February 1968. The lowest recorded minimum temperature was 10 °C (14.0 °F) on 11 July 1971. Light snow often falls only once or twice per year but is usually not widespread and quickly dissipates. Canberra is protected from the west by the Brindabellas which create a slight rain shadow in Canberra's valleys. Geography Canberra covers an area of square kilometres (314.3 sq. mi) and is located near the Brindabella Ranges, approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) inland from Australia's east coast. It has an elevation of approximately 580 metres (1,900 ft) AHD; the highest point is Mount Majura at 888 metres (2,913 ft). Other large hills include Mount Taylor, Mount Ainslie, Mount Mugga Mugga and Black Mountain. Economy In early 2010, the unemployment rate in Canberra stood at 3.9% which is substantially lower than the national unemployment rate of 5.3%. As a result of low unemployment and substantial levels of public sector and commercial employment, Canberra has the highest average level of disposable income of any Australian capital city. The gross average weekly wage in Canberra is $1,392 compared with the national average of $1, (November 2009). Governance Outside Canberra, the Australian Capital Territory has no settlements larger than a village. The Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly performs the roles of both a city council and territory government. The assembly consists of 17 members, elected from three districts using proportional representation. The three districts are Molonglo, Ginninderra and Brindabella, which elect seven, five and five members, respectively. ACT Legislative Assembly and the statue Ethos (Tom Bass, 1961) Demographics As of 2006, the population of Canberra was 323,056 people. The 2006 census showed that 1.2% of Canberra's population were of indigenous origin and 21.7% were born overseas. The largest group of people born overseas came from English-speaking countries, led by the United Kingdom and then New Zealand. Education The two main tertiary institutions are the Australian National University (ANU) in Acton and the University of Canberra (UC) in Bruce, with over 10,500 and 8,000 full-time-equivalent students respectively. Established in 1946, the ANU has always had a strong research focus and is ranked among the leading universities in the world and the best in Australia by The Times Higher Education Supplement and the Shanghai Jiao Tong World University Rankings. There are two religious university campuses in Canberra: Signadou in the northern suburb of Watson is a campus of the Australian Catholic University; St Mark's Theological College in Barton is part of the secular Charles Sturt University. Sport n addition to local sporting leagues, Canberra has a number of sporting teams that compete in national and international competitions. The best known teams are the Canberra Raiders and the Brumbies who play rugby league and rugby union respectively; both have been champions of their leagues. Both teams play their home games at Canberra Stadium, which is the city's largest stadium and was used to hold group matches in soccer for the 2000 Summer Olympics and in rugby union for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. The city also has a successful basketball team, the Canberra Capitals, which has won seven out of the last eleven national women's basketball titles. Canberra United FC represents the city in the W-League, the national women's association football league, and were champions in the season. Transport The automobile is by far the dominant form of transport in Canberra. The city is laid out so that arterial roads connecting inhabited clusters run through undeveloped areas of open land or forest, which results in a low population density; this also means that idle land is available for the development of future transport corridors if necessary without the need to build tunnels or acquire developed residential land. In contrast, other capital cities in Australia have substantially less green space.
DDGS is a bargain at $80/ton, says Steve Markham, Commodity Specialists Company, Minneapolis, MN. And the fact that this co-product of ethanol production is increasing exponentially means it will become even more price competitive as more plants come on-line. Pigs have not always been fed distillers grains with solubles — the dried residue remaining after the starch fraction of corn is fermented to generate ethanol and carbon dioxide. Improved fermentation technology and better dryers in today's new generation plants are producing a superior product, better suited for pigs. From one experiment to another over the last five years, University of Minnesota swine nutritionist Jerry Shurson became convinced the contemporary version of DDGS fits very well in swine diets. That work complete, he's moving into the next research phase — value-added properties that appear unique to DDGS. Results are preliminary, but Shurson's studies show that DDGS may have a positive impact on ileitis-challenged pigs when fed in combination with antibiotics. The research is an attempt to put science behind field reports which show that pigs suffering from gut health problems improve or maintain performance levels when DDGS is in the diet. “One theory is the high amount of insoluble fiber in DDGS (42% vs. 4.7% for corn and 13% for soybean meal) pushes feed through the digestive system faster, preventing pathogens from attaching to the gut wall,” says Shurson. “The other unique thing about DDGS is it contains a lot of spent yeast, which may have special nutraceutical properties.” “There seems to be something in DDGS that provides these additional benefits,” says Shurson. The next step is a joint project with South Dakota State University to look at the effect of DDGS on ileitis using a research protocol that simulates field conditions. As the industry moves toward applying manure based on a phosphorus standard rather than nitrogen, the value of ingredients like DDGS for swine will become much greater. Fermentation liberates the phytate phosphorus in corn, which makes phosphorus more available to the pig, says Shurson. At a typical 10% inclusion rate for grow-finish, 200 lb. of DDGS, plus 3 lb. of limestone, will replace 177 lb. of corn, 20 lb. of soybean meal and 6 lb. of dicalcium phosphate in a grow-finish diet. “The inclusion rate can go to 20%,” he adds. “With the higher amino acid digestibility values we've found in the DDGS, plus 80% phosphorus availability, we can go to higher levels of DDGS in grow-finish diets without compromising performance.” Levels over 20%, however, may reduce pork fat quality due to the 10% fat content in the DDGS. DDGS is suitable for sows as well. Gestating animals can receive up to 40% DDGS and lactating sows up to 20% in the diet. There are times when DDGS saves about $1/ton or more, depending on the price of soybean meal, corn and dicalcium phosphate, notes John Goihl, with Agri Nutrition Services, Shakopee, MN. The savings comes mostly from the 25% reduction in dicalcium phosphate. If phytase is also added, the need for inorganic phosphorus can be cut by 70%, adds Goihl, who gets calls on DDGS almost daily. Producers new to DDGS often feed a conservative 5% diet, which won't provide much impact for reducing inorganic phosphorus or reducing excreted phosphorus, says Shurson: “The 10% level makes more of a dent.” St. Peter, MN, producer Joel Anthony is taking the conservative approach. He starts feeding a 5% level to his feeder pigs as soon as they get off the truck. But a feed mill is Anthony's primary business, and he buys six to eight tons of DDGS a week from Heartland Corn Products, Winthrop, MN. Anthony added the bulk bin for DDGS when customers started requesting the product to combat ileitis problems. He paid $80/ton for the product in mid-July, but has paid more. Is there a price where he won't feed DDGS? “Certainly, economics is a factor. But we adjust diets more for health issues than cost,” Anthony notes. “The cost advantage over soybean meal is usually insignificant. The plants seem to price DDGS according to soybean meal and whatever the market will bear.” Goihl points out that there can be quality variations in the processing of DDGS, so it's best to buy from a consistent source. The University of Illinois is doing a massive sampling of plants to identify variations due to processing, he adds. Corn-buying quality standards are the same for an ethanol plant as for an elevator, Goihl says. “Producers concerned with mycotoxins should realize corn purchased from an elevator was purchased under the same standards and risks as corn purchased by an ethanol plant.” Markham's firm represents the newer mills that sell the quality of distillers suitable for swine. According to Markham, the amount of DDGS fed to pigs has soared — from 33,000 tons annually a few years ago to 88,000 tons today. Indicative of that increase is the expanding interest geographically. Fourteen new U.S. ethanol plants are coming on line this year in the Midwest, and several other producer groups are looking at building plants. Feeding that frenzy is the phase-out of competing fuel additive methyl tertiary butyl ether, or MTBE. Fourteen states have banned MTBE after the petrochemical was found in California's water supply. More will likely follow. Approximately 3.85 million tons of DDGS are produced annually in the U.S. Some is exported to the European Union for livestock feed, but by far, the primary market is domestic. Asian countries are taking notice, however. Shurson recently returned from a trip to Japan and Taiwan to educate producers and feed manufacturers on the merits of DDGS. He plans a trip to China this fall with hopes to tour the world's largest ethanol plant, still under construction. Minnesota ranks first in ethanol production. Fourteen plants use 130 million bushels of corn to produce one million tons of DDGS — 30% of the total in North America. “Many of our pork producers are corn farmers and many are tied in as shareholders to these ethanol plants,” Shurson points out. “It's a way of adding value to their products. Value is added to corn by producing ethanol. The co-product is run back through pigs to get a phosphorus benefit and maybe some health benefits. It's a pretty cool deal.” Producers looking for more information on the product should visit the University of Minnesota DDGS Web site at www.ddgs.umn.edu.
We may now understand the name Elokim which is the aspect of the divisions of the combinations of letters of thought. Elokim is the aspect of Gevurah (Concealment and restraint), as in the verse, “For a sun and a shield is Y-H-V-H Elokim”. In other words, the name Elokim conceals the name Y-H-V-H, which is the aspect of revelation, like the sun. According to Kaballah, the one hundred and twenty combinations of the name Elokim are the source of creation. It is therefore the name Elokim which represents the divisions and combinations of letters, thus concealing the holistic revelation of the name Y-H-V-H and bringing about the revelation of particulars. As explained above, the five Gevurot, the division of the letters, and the name Elokim, are all like “The protrusions of the seal”. They bring particulars into a state of revelation from the holistic thought of Chochmah, as explained above. In other words, this is the power to restrain the holistic thought, leaving particulars of it in a revealed state, similar to the protrusions of a seal. Now, as explained before, all these matters exist on different levels. This principle includes the name Elokim. The uppermost aspect of Elokim is in the essential thought of the essence of the Infinite Light. This name Elokim is the aspect of the Tzimtzum and concealment of the Ohr Ein Sof (The Infinite Light), leaving revealed only that which is necessary for creation, as explained before. Furthermore, as explained before, the entire purpose of the “lessening” of the light is for the purpose of revelation, and the entire light as it existed before Tzimtzum is contained within the Reshimu. It is specifically the name Elokim (The power of restraint) as it exists in the essence, which brings forth this particular line of creation, from the holistic “whole” of the Infinite Light. From this we understand the meaning of the first verse of the Shema prayer, “Hear oh Israel, Y-H-V-H Elokeinu, Y-H-V-H is one!” In other words, they are literally one and the same. As explained above, the essence of the Infinite Light before the Tzimtzum is an absolute singularity, and therefore these two powers are totally one and the same. This is not just in a way of a “unity of parts”, but rather in a way of an absolute essential singularity. The aspect of Elokim also exists on the level of the Primal Thought, after Tzimtzum. Here it conceals the holistic “whole” of the Primal Thought and desire, but brings forth particular revelations. The name Elokim also exists on the level of “Thought of Adam Kadmon”. Once again, it conceals the whole, but brings forth particulars. Following this is the aspect of Elokim of Atik and Arich etc. This continues until the aspect of Elokim of the five Gevurot of the divisions of letters in Binah and Leah etc. (We now gained insight into how to fulfill the commandment to “contemplate” G-d’s unity while reciting this verse. One contemplates how everything that exists, whether it is the highest level of the highest world or the finest detail of the lowest world, is absolutely bound up and sublimated within the ultimate unity and singularity of G-d, which is its source.)
Los Angeles International Airport is the largest and busiest airport in the Greater Los Angeles Area and the state of California, as well as one of the largest international airports in the United States. wikipedia Los Angeles is a sprawling Southern California city and the center of the nation’s film and television industry. Near its iconic Hollywood sign, studios such as Paramount Pictures, Universal and Warner Brothers offer behind-the-scenes tours. On Hollywood Boulevard, TCL Chinese Theatre displays celebrities’ hand- and footprints, the Walk of Fame honors thousands of luminaries and vendors sell maps to stars’ homes. Los Angelas has a Mediterranean climate with nearly no rain in summer. In August, the average high temperatures are 29 degrees Celsius (84 °Fahrenheit) and lows of 18 degrees Celsius (65.6 °F). Winters are mild, with average high temperatures of 20° C (68 °F) and lows of 9°C (48 °F) with some occasional rain. Things to Do: Los Angeles is as much a fantasy as it is a physical city. A mecca for face-lifts, film noir, shopping starlets, beach bodies, and mind-numbing traffic, it sprawls across 467 square miles; add in the surrounding five-county metropolitan area, and you've got an area of more than 34,000 square miles. So how can you see and do it all in one trip? The simple answer is you can’t. But that’s not a problem because we’ve hand-picked the 25 things you absolutely can't skip when you’re in L.A. Whether you fit these essential experiences into one trip or five, you’re guaranteed to love every single one.Read More - Cheap Flights - Flights to Los Angeles Finding a Cheap Flight to Los Angeles is Easy at NewEdenTravel. Just enter where you are flying from and the dates you want to travel and we will show every single discount flight to Los Angeles.
TSAWWASSEN (NEWS1130) – People in Tsawwassen not happy with five radio towers that could be relocated to Point Roberts are gathering for a protest at noon on Sunday. The organizer of the demonstration says those same towers have been the subject of several complaints in nearby Ferndale. According to Suzanne Rosser with the Point Roberts Conservation Society, the company wants to relocate the towers so that it can boost its wattage around the clock. She cites a litany of complaints from people who live near the towers in Ferndale. “It’s technically called blanketing interference. Ham radio operators have not been able to use their ham radios. People have been getting signals that bleed through their radios and TVs,” she explains. Plus, she says documents submitted in the company’s relocation application fail to consider the impact on the community of Tsawwassen, just north of the border. “Where they wish to erect their towers is a stone’s throw from the residents of Tsawwassen. It’s literally across the street. In all of their planning materials, they’ve eliminated the town of Tsawwassen.” The towers are meant to transmit the signal for KRPI Radio, which transmits Punjabi programming in the Lower Mainland. The protest is scheduled to take place at 1 Ave. & 56 St. in Tsawwassen at noon.
Queens: The Phagwah Parade, a popular local celebration among the Indo-Caribbean Hindu community is returning this year. Scheduled to be held on March 26, it will be hosted by The Federation of Hindu Mandirs at Richmond Hill. Participants will dress up in all white and throw colours at each other, much like the Hindu popular festival of Holi. It is supposed to symbolize the advent of spring and the defeat of the evil. Last year it took a turn on the path of controversy due to the simultaneous applications from two different organizations hoping to bag in the charge of the event. Unfortunately, NYPD was pressurized by the two competing applicants, which ultimately led to the cancellation of the parade. Referring to the celebration, parade organizer, Romeo Hitlall commented that the event is really crucial as it attracts a large number of people from all over the country. While another parade organizer, Naidoo Veerapen said, “We hope that all competing parties can see the value and benefit of us all having a great parade”. (Image Courtesy: youtube, Source Courtesy: NY1 News)
A school teacher has recorded a song to raise money for every life lost at Auschwitz, following a trip to the former concentration camp. Following a trip to Auschwitz with pupils last year, learning support assistant at Queen Alexandra Sixth Form College in North Shields, Ali Hain, decided to do something special. One of the Holocaust victims’ names stood out amongst the pile of suitcases on display in the infamous extermination centre, and Ali joined together with four of his A2 History students to conduct further research. The name was Klara Goldstein, and it was discovered she was held at Thersienstadt Concentration Camp before being transferred to Auschwitz and gassed only a matter of weeks before the camp was liberated by the Red Army. Ali, together with music tutor Mike Smith and sound engineer Andi Anderson, wrote and recorded a song about Klara Goldstein’s brief life and the capture the overwhelming emotional experience of visiting Auschwitz. The Rain reflects upon how humanity has not learnt the lessons of history given to us by the Holocaust. Ali wants to raise £15,000 for the Holocaust Education Trust, one penny for every life lost. Visit https://bandcamp.com/ to download the song.
La Grande Roue de Montréal (CNW Group/Société du Vieux-Port de Montréal) MONTREAL, April 6, 2017 /CNW Telbec/ - Starting this June, Montrealers and visitors to the city can soar to a unique vantage point between the city and the river on Montreal's Observation Wheel. Designed especially for our city, this new attraction, already under construction on Île Bonsecours in the Old Port, will generate significant tourism and economic benefits for the metropolitan region. Take a spin through the details - La Grande Roue de Montréal: the private company that designed and will operate this new major attraction - The highest observation wheel in Canada and third highest in the United States and Canada - Rising 60 meters above ground, with a view stretching 28 km - In operation year round, whatever the weather, from 10 am to 11 pm - 42 temperature-controlled gondolas that can seat 8 comfortably during three revolutions for a total of 15 minutes To watch the Wheel take shape in real time at the Old Port of Montreal, visit www.lagranderouedemontreal.com "The Old Port is a unique, must-see destination for visitors. With this new observation wheel, created through a major private sector investment on this federal site, we are once again at the forefront creating unique activities that complement Montreal's tourism offer." – Basil Cavis, Vice President, Old Port of Montreal "Montreal boasts a breathtaking panorama. It has one of the most beautiful observation wheel sites in the world, with the city rising between Mt. Royal and the St. Lawrence River." – Jeff Jorgensen, President, La Grande Roue de Montréal. "Whether it's sipping hot chocolate on a cold winter night 60 metres above ground or enjoying a glass of wine on a beautiful summer day, Montrealers who love their city and tourists eager to discover it will have a memorable experience on Montreal's Observation Wheel." – Jean Bérubé, Director, La Grande Roue de Montréal Given its positive impact on the city, Montreal's Observation Wheel project has received support from Tourism Montreal, the Chamber of Commerce of Metropolitan Montreal, the Palais des Congrès de Montréal, and the Société de Développement Commercial (SDC) du Vieux-Montréal. About the Old Port of Montreal For more than 25 years, the Old Port of Montreal has offered a variety of participatory, cultural and leisure activities as well as opportunities for scientific exploration at the Montreal Science Centre. Bordering a 2.5-kilometre stretch of the St. Lawrence River, the Old Port of Montreal is the most popular recreational and tourist site in Quebec, with six million visitors annually. PHOTOS AND VIDEOS Available for download at http://tbf.me/a/BmDslb: - Video showing the future site of wheel in 3D modeling - Drone footage and a 360-degree view from the top of the wheel at a height of 60 metres - 3D modeling images of the future Observation Wheel from three different angles, and the photo of a gondola SOURCE Société du Vieux-Port de Montréal For further information: Additional information and interviews: Jimmy Laforge, Phone: 514 283-7160, firstname.lastname@example.org
In a move that will likely make the Trump administration really happy, a major manufacturer is shifting jobs from China to the U.S. Foxconn, the company known for making iPhones and other big-name gadgets, plans to invest $10 billion in a production plant in the U.S — specifically somewhere in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana or Texas. The plant could create up to 50,000 new jobs. President Trump hinted at this deal in June while visiting Wisconsin for his "workforce development" tour. "Just backstage, we were negotiating with a major, major, incredible manufacturer of phones and computers and televisions," Trump said. "And I think they're going to give the Governor a very happy surprise very soon." And back in April, the Trump administration met with Terry Gou, Foxconn's chairman and the richest man in Taiwan. They talked about job creation, and specifically bringing manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. This deal would be a nice feather in Trump's cap, especially since other manufacturers are leaving the country. Carrier is reportedly laying off over 600 employees at its Indianapolis plant — even though Trump promised in December that the manufacturing jobs would stay. Ford also announced last Tuesday that manufacturing for the Ford Focus will move to China. During his presidential campaign, Trump said decisions like that were "disgraceful."
A wonderful fitness goal to have is to elevate your level of fitness. It can be intimidating, and if you are not someone who has ever exercised regularly, but fitness is attainable. The information below tips can assist you in reaching your fitness goals. You will find it easier to maintain a positive attitude if you enjoy your workouts since they are fun for you. You need not worry if the standard workouts don’t suit your lifestyle. Biking is a great way to improve their fitness. Biking is a great way to burn some exercise in and save some money on gas. You should plan on no more than an hour at a time. Muscle wasting happens within an hour after starting an intense workout. So make sure to keep these weight lifting to no more than 60 minutes. You are not going to get six pack by doing crunches. Exercises that work your abs only strengthen muscles, though they are unlikely to burn excess fat around the middle. Clean off any machines at your gym before you use it. Other people may not have cleaned up after themselves and left all types of germs behind. Many people believe that abdominals should be worked every single day. This is not the best option. Abs need rest periodically.You should strive to give your abs rest about 48 to 72 hours after you work them out. Make sure you are properly balancing workouts because the course of your workout. Working only your abs or the lower back or the ab muscles is a recipe for back pain.Working both out will solve this problem and ineffective workouts. If you want to look and feel great, consider making fitness a major goal in your life. If you do not enjoy exercising you might be very exhausted, but you can do it if you have some motivation. Try practicing the tips that you learned so you can reach the goals that you set for your fitness level.
Chick Embryo Wins Popular Vote in Nikon Small World Competition October 16, 2008 A chick embryo captured the public’s attention and its votes in the 2008 Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition. The public chose the image, captured by Tomas Pais de Azevedo of Lisbon, Portugal, as its favorite image for recognition as the Popular Vote winner of this year’s competition. Pais de Azevedo is a biology student currently enrolled in a master’s course on evolutionary and developmental biology. Voters chose Pais de Azevedo’s image from the 115 finalists featured at http://www.nikonsmallworld.com/. Nikon recognized the image alongside the other winners of this year’s competition at an event at the Astor Center in New York City on October 15th. Additionally, Nikon recognized Dr. Sharona Even-Ram of Hadassah University Hospital, Ein Kerem in Jerusalem, Israel, who received second place in the Popular Vote for an image of a cluster of neurons differentiated from embryonic cells. Both Pais de Azevedo’s and Even-Ram’s images were also named Images of Distinction. “The Popular Vote engages a broad audience of scientists and non-scientists alike and gives everyone the ability to serve as judges,” said Lee Shuett, executive vice president, Nikon Instruments. “These images showcase the tremendous beauty and detail that can be captured as part of the scientific process.” Founded in 1974 to recognize excellence in photography through the microscope, Nikon Small World is the leading forum for celebrating the beauty and complexity of objects seen through the light microscope. The 2008 winning photographers were recognized last night at the Astor Center in New York City. Nikon also unveiled the complete gallery of winning photomicrographs set to tour science and art museums across the nation beginning October 24th. Images are also available in the Small World calendar, which can be purchased at http://www.nikonsmallworld.com/, and in an online gallery featured at the same location. ABOUT THE NIKON SMALL WORLD PHOTOMICROGRAPHY COMPETITION The Nikon Small World Photomicrography Competition is open to anyone with an interest in photography. Participants may submit their images in traditional 35mm format, or upload digital images directly at http://www.nikonsmallworld.com/. The first and second of 20 prize winners will receive a selection of Nikon products and equipment worth $3,000 and $2,000 respectively. For additional information, contact Nikon Small World, Nikon Instruments Inc., 1300 Walt Whitman Road, Melville, NY 11747, USA or phone (631) 547-8569. Entry forms for Nikon’s 2007 Small World Competition may also be downloaded from http://www.nikonsmallworld.com/. ABOUT NIKON INSTRUMENTS INC. Nikon Instruments Inc., world leader in microscope and advance digital imaging technology, is committed to providing its customers with quality products for bioscience research and industrial applications; high-performance semiconductor wafer handling and inspection equipment, and advance high-speed, vision-based and optical measuring tools. For more information, visit the Nikon Web site at http://www.nikoninstruments.com/. Product related inquiries can be directed to Nikon Instruments at 800-52-NIKON.
Archive/File: imt/tgmwc/tgmwc-09/tgmwc-09-79.03 Last-Modified: 1999/12/6 DR. STAHMER: I have no more questions. THE PRESIDENT: The witness may retire. DR. STAHMER: As next witness, I call State Secretary Paul Koerner. Witness PAUL KOERNER took the stand and testified as follows: BY THE PRESIDENT: Q. Is your name Paul Koerner? A. Yes. Q. Will you repeat this oath after me: I swear by God the Almighty and Omniscient that I will speak the pure truth, and will withhold and add nothing. (The witness repeated the oath.) THE PRESIDENT: You may sit down if you wish. DIRECT EXAMINATION BY DR. STAHMER: Q. Witness, which official post did you hold before the capitulation? A. I was State Secretary in the Prussian State Ministry. Q. In this capacity were you one of the Reichsmarschall's close collaborators? A. Yes. Q. When did you first meet the Reichsmarschall? A. In 1926. Q. When were you selected by him to collaborate? A. At the end of 1939. Q. In what capacity? A. I became his secretary. Q. When were you taken over by the Civil Service? A. In April, 1933. I am sorry; the previous date was 1931. THE PRESIDENT: The translator said the previous date was 1931; which date was 1931? DR. STAHMER: In 1931 he first came into contact with Goering and became his private secretary. In 1933 he entered the Civil Service. BY DR. STAHMER: Q. Which office was given to you? A. I became State Secretary in the Prussian State Ministry. Q. What do you know about the institution of the Secret State Police, the Gestapo? A. In the first months after the seizure of power, the Secret State Police evolved from the Political Police Department 1-A. Basically, the Political Police Department remained, it was only reorganised under the name Secret State Police. Q. What was its range of activities? A. Its main task was to watch the enemies of the State. Q. Did you know about the establishment of concentration camps? A. I know that at that time concentration camps were established. Q. What purposes did they serve? [Page 10] A. They were supposed to receive enemies of the State. Q. What do you mean by "receive"? A. Elements hostile to the State, mainly Communists, were to be concentrated in these camps. Q. And, what was to be done with them there? A. They were to be taken into protective custody, and, as far as I remember, they were also to be re-educated, so that later on they could be incorporated into the community of the people. Q. Do you know anything of the treatment meted out to the inmates? A. As far as I know, the treatment was always good. Q. Did you ever hear anything about unauthorised concentration camps? A. Yes; in 1933, in various places, unauthorised concentration camps were established. Q. By whom? A. I remember that one was established in Breslau by S.A. Gruppenfuehrer Heines; and one in Stettin. Whether there were any others, I do not know. Q. In Stettin? Who was it in Stettin? A. I think it was Karpfenstein, but I cannot say for certain. Q. And what became of these camps? A. When the Reichsmarschall heard about it he had them dissolved because they were established without his permission. Q. What was the Reichsmarschall's attitude when he heard of complaints? A. Oh, he always followed them up immediately. Q. Do you know of any ease where he took specially strong measures? A. Yes, I can remember the case of Thaelmann. Q. What happened in this case? A. It had come to the Reichsmarschall's knowledge that Thaelmann had not been treated in the way the Reichsmarschall wished. He immediately followed the matter up and had Thaelmann brought to him. Q. Who was Thaelmann? A. Thaelmann was one of the leaders of the Communist Party and a Communist member of the Reichstag. Q. And how did the Reichsmarschall speak to Thaelmann? A. He had him brought into his office and asked him to tell him exactly why he had made a complaint. Q. And then. A. Thaelmann was very reticent at first, because he feared a trap. When the Reichsmarschall spoke to him in a humane manner, he realised that he could speak freely. He told the Reichsmarschall that on several occasions he had not been treated properly. The Reichsmarschall promised him immediate redress and gave the necessary instructions. Also he asked Thaelmann to notify him immediately if it happened again. In addition he ordered that any complaints made by Thaelmann should be passed on to him. Q. Do you know how long the Reichsmarschall was in charge of the Gestapo and the concentration camps? A. Until the spring of 1934; I believe it was March or April. Q. Under whom did they come then? A. By order of the Fuehrer, they came under the control of Reichsfuehrer Himmler. Q. What do you know about the events in connection with the Roehm revolt on 30th June, 1934? A. That a Roehm revolt was planned I heard when I was with the Reichsmarschall in Essen, where we attended the wedding of Gauleiter Terboven. During the wedding festivities Himmler arrived and reported to the Fuehrer. Later the Fuehrer drew the Reichsmarschall aside and told him in confidence of Roehm's designs. [Page 11] Q. Do you also know what be told him? A. I can only say that what Himmler told the Fuehrer was also brought to Goering's knowledge. Q. Do you not know any further details? A. No, I do not know any further details, but I think that is sufficient. Q. What instructions did Goering receive? A. The Fuehrer instructed Goering to return to Berlin immediately after the wedding festivities, and went himself to Southern Germany to investigate these reports personally. Q. When was this wedding? A. As far as I remember, it was two days before the Roehm putsch. Q. Do you know whether, on the day after the Roehm putsch, the Reichsmarschall was with Hitler? A. No. The Reichsmarschall was in Berlin. We returned to Berlin the same evening. Q. On the day after the Roehm putsch, of 30th June, i.e., on 1st of July? A. The Reichsmarschall was in Berlin. Q. Do you know whether there was a conversation between him and Hitler? A. Yes. I remember that the Reichsmarschall drove to the Reich. Chancellery to report several things to the Fuehrer. In particular, the Reichsmarschall had heard that on this occasion also innocent people might have, or rather had, fallen victims. Therefore, he wanted to ask the Fuehrer to stop the whole action immediately. Q. Was that done? A. Yes, that was done. Q. In what way? A. After the report of the Reichsmarschall, the Fuehrer himself issued an order that no further unauthorised actions should take place, that the action was over, and if any guilty people were still found they would be brought before the ordinary courts, which would decide whether or not they should be proceeded against. Q. Do you know whether the Reichsmarschall had anything to do with the action against the Jews during the night of 9th November, 1938? A. No, the Reichsmarschall had definitely nothing to do with it and had no inkling of it. Q. How do you know? A. Because I was with the Reichsmarschall on 9th November in Munich - he was always there on that day. The same evening we went to Berlin. Had the Reichsmarschall known anything about it, he would certainly have told me or those who were with him. He had no inkling. Q. When did he find out about it? A. Shortly before he arrived in Berlin or at the Anhalter Station in Berlin. Q. Through whom? A. Through his adjutant. Q. And how did he take this news? A. He was furious when he received this report, because he was strongly opposed to the whole action. Q. And what did he do about it? A. He got in touch with the Fuehrer immediately, in order to demand that this action be stopped at once. Q. What were your tasks within the framework of the Four- Year Plan. A. I was Chief of the Office of the Four-Year Plan. Q. What were your tasks? A. The management and supervision. Q. How did the Four-Year Plan come about? When and how did it start? [Page 12] A. The official Four-Year Plan was announced in October, 1936, but its origin goes back to the food crisis of 1935. In the autumn of 1935 the Reichsmarschall received the order from the Fuehrer ... THE PRESIDENT: Witness, try not to go quite so fast. It is very difficult to get the translation. THE WITNESS: Yes, Sir. A. (continuing): In the autumn of 1935, the Reichsmarschall received the order from the Fuehrer to secure food for the German people, since the food situation was serious because of the bad harvests of 1934 and 1935. At the time we were short of at least 2,000,000 tons of bread, grain, and several hundred thousand tons of fat, which had to be procured by some means or other. The Reichsmarschall solved this problem satisfactorily, and this led the Fuehrer to ask him for suggestions as to how the entire German economy could be made proof against crises. These suggestions were worked out in the first half of 1936 and by midsummer were submitted to the Fuehrer. These suggestions gave the Fuehrer the idea of a Four-Year Plan, which he announced on Party Day, 1936. On 18th October, 1936, the Fuehrer issued a decree appointing the Reichsmarschall Trustee of the Four-Year Plan. Q. What were the aims of the Four-Year Plan? A. As I said before, to make German economy proof against crises. The main tasks were to increase German exports as much as possible, and to cover any deficits as far as possible, particularly in the agricultural sphere, by increased production. Q. Did the Four-Year Plan also serve rearmament? A. Of course, it also served the rebuilding of the German Wehrmacht indirectly. Q. Did the Four-Year Plan also provide for employment of labour? A. Yes. The Four-Year Plan provided for the appointment of a General Plenipotentiary for the Employment of Labour. The former President of the Reich Labour Office, President Syrup, was appointed General Plenipotentiary. Q. When was he appointed? A. That was at the beginning of the Four-Year Plan, in the autumn of 1936. Q. What were his particular tasks? A. He had to regulate the employment of labour and thus put an end to the great muddle on the labour market. Q. How long did Syrup remain in office? A. Syrup left in the spring of 1942 for reasons of health. Q. Who became his successor? A. His successor was Gauleiter Sauckel. Q. Who appointed Sauckel? A. Sauckel was appointed by the Fuehrer. Q. And what was his job? A. His main job as General Plenipotentiary for the Employment of Labour was to regulate labour. Site Map · What's New? · © The Nizkor Project, 1991-2012 Home · Site Map · What's New? · Search Nizkor
Process is self contained environment meaning it got its own basic resources importantly own memory space. For communication between processes we need interprocess communication (sockets, pipes etc) provide by operating system. Most implementations of JMV runs as single process. Java application can create multiple or additional processes by using java.lang.ProcessBuilder object. Threads exists within process and every process has at least one thread. Thread share process’s resources that includes memory, open files etc; hence creating new thread requires few resources. Threads sometime called as lightweight process. Each thread is associated with instance of class Thread. Their are two strategies of Thread 1. Manual – Control thread creation and management by instantiating Thread each time application want to perform asynchronous task 2. Executors – Separate thread management from application by passing tasks to Executor. Defining and starting a thread 1. Provide Runnable object – Implement Runnable interface which defines a single method run() 2. Subclass Thread class – Extends Thread class. It will be wise to implement Runnable interface instated of extending Thread class. Coz we can extend other classes if required if we implement Runnable interface but we can not if we extend Thread class. Thread.sleep(long miliSeconds) causes current thread to suspend execution for specific time. Sleep timings are not guarantied to be precise as it depends on facilities provided by underlaying operating system. Ref: Java SE tutorials
\|King Henry VIII\| Royalty (28-Jun-1491 28-Jan-1547) SUBJECT OF BOOKS John Bowle. Henry VIII: A Biography. Little, Brown. 1964. 316pp. G. R. Elton. The Tudor Revolution in Government: Administrative Changes in the Reign of Henry VIII. Cambridge University Press. 1953. 465pp. Carolly Erickson. Great Harry: The Extravagent Life of Henry VIII. New York: Summit Books. 1980. 428pp. Karen Lindsey. Divorced, Beheaded, Survived: A Feminist Reinterpretation of the Wives of Henry VIII. Boston: Addison-Wesley Longman. 1994. 231pp. Diarmaid MacCulloch (editor). The Reign of Henry VIII: Politics, Policy, and Piety. Macmillan. 1995. 313pp. Beverley A. Murphy. Bastard Prince: Henry VIII's Lost Son. Stroud, Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing. 2001. Kenneth Pickthorn. Early Tudor Government: Henry VIII. Cambridge University Press. 1951. 564pp. Richard Rex. Henry VIII and the English Reformation. St. Martin's Press. 1993. 205pp. Jasper Godwin Ridley. Henry VIII: The Politics of Tyranny. New York: Viking Press. 1985. 473pp. Alison Weir. Henry VIII: The King and His Court. New York: Ballantine Books. 2001. Neville Williams. Henry VIII and His Court. New York: MacMillan. 1971. 269pp. Below are references indicating presence of this name in another database or other reference material. Most of the sources listed are encyclopedic in nature but might be limited to a specific field, such as musicians or film directors. A lack of listings here does not indicate unimportance -- we are nowhere near finished with this portion of the project -- though if many are shown it does indicate a wide recognition of this individual. - NNDB [link] - Encyclopaedia Britannica Online [link] - Wikipedia [link] - Library of Congress Name Authority [link] - Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th Edition - Chambers Biographical Dictionary, 5th Edition (p.696) - A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature (p.186) - Benet's Readers Encyclopedia, 4th Edition (p.462) - The Oxford Dictionary of Music (p.399) - Harper Encyclopedia of Military Biography (p.328) - Baker's Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, 8th Edition (p.416) - Hutchinson Paperback Dictionary of Biography (p.231) - Concise Biographical Dictionary of Famous Men and Women (p.291) - Who's Who in Europe, 1450-1750 (p.146) Do you know something we don't? Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile Copyright ©2016 Soylent Communications
\|Hecataeus of Miletus\| Born: fl. 5th c. BC Birthplace: Ionia, Greece Died: fl. 5th c. BC Location of death: Ionia, Greece Cause of death: unspecified Race or Ethnicity: White Nationality: Ancient Greece Executive summary: Periegesis and Genealogiai Hecataeus of Miletus, (flourished in the 6th-5th century BC), a Greek historian, son of Hegesander, lived during the time of the Persian invasion. After having travelled extensively, he settled in his native city, where he occupied a high position, and devoted his time to the composition of geographical and historical works. When Aristagoras held a council of the leading Ionians at Miletus, to organize a revolt against the Persian rule, Hecataeus in vain tried to dissuade his countrymen from the undertaking (Herodotus v.36, 125). In 494 BC, when the defeated Ionians were obliged to sue for terms, he was one of the ambassadors to the Persian satrap Artaphernes, whom he persuaded to restore the constitution of the Ionic cities. He is by some credited with a work entitled Periegesis, or Travels Around the Earth, in two books, one on Europe, the other on Asia, in which were described the countries and inhabitants of the known world, the account of Egypt being especially comprehensive; the descriptive matter was accompanied by a map, based upon Anaximander's map of the earth, which he corrected and enlarged. Another work of Hecataeus was the Genealogiai or Historiai, a systematic account of the traditions and mythology of the Greeks. He was probably the first to attempt a serious prose history and to employ critical method to distinguish myth from historical fact, though he accepts Homer and the other poets as trustworthy authority. Herodotus, though he once at least controverts his statements, is indebted to Hecataeus not only for facts, but also in regard of method and general scheme. Do you know something we don't? Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile Copyright ©2014 Soylent Communications
Name ID 27 Matthiessen, Peter The Tree Where Man Was Born Page Number: 161 Extract Date: 1972 Ngurdoto, like the famous Ngorongoro, is extinct, and both have the graduated bowl known as a caldera, which is formed when the molten core of a volcano subsides into the earth and the steep crater walls fall inward. Ngorongoro was unknown to the outside world until 1892, and not until early in this century did the white man find this smaller caldera to the east of Meru. Mount Meru Game reserve contains big and small game of similar character to that found on Mount Kilimanjaro. Lions are numerous. Momela Farm: a privately owned farm on the Eastern slopes of Mount Meru, thickly forested and dotted about with small lakes, Momela accommodates visitors interested in seeing wild game. ... Reputed to have more rhinoceros to the square mile than any other part of the world. Turner, Kay Serengeti Home Page Number: 154 Extract Date: 1958 Bernard Grzimek and his son Michael, were invited by the Board of Trustess, at their own expense, to carry out an aerial count of the plains animals in the Serengeti; to plot their main Migration routes; and to advise on the proposed new boundaries of the Park. At first the Grzimeks had contemplated buying, as a game sanctuary, part of Momella in Tanzania - a beautiful farm, owned by a German named Trappe. The farm was set amongst forests and lakes at the foot of Mount Meru and overlooked Mount Kilimanjaro to the east. It was a paradise for game, and is now a National Park, 42 square miles in extent. Professor Grzimek sought the advice of Colonel Peter Molloy, the Director of Parks, who suggested that the money be used for a research project in the Serengeti. Just outside Arusha the delightful crater lake of Duluti offers good fishing and bird watching. More beautiful still, 20 miles away, is the Arusha National Park, a tranquil retreat established in 1960. Within its 46 sq. miles it has three distinct areas: the Mount Meru crater, the Ngurdoto Crater, and the five Momella lakes. The Momella Wildlife Lodge is on the edge of Arusha National Park. ... The main building was once the home of John Wayne and Hardy Kruger, who used the house while making the adventure film Hatari, and later developed it as a hunting lodge. Within the 46 square miles of the park, which was known as the Ngurdoto Crater National Park until 1967, are to be found three distinct areas: Ngurdoto Crater, the Momella Lakes and the rugged Meru Mountain. ... this is a park with a difference, as unlike another wildlife area in Africa as it is dissimilar to the National Parks of Europe or America. Reuter, Henry J. Official Touring Guide to East Africa: 1967 International Travel Year Page Number: 074 Extract Date: 1967 Having offered this famous trio of Parks, northern Tanzania is by no means done with the tourist. Arusha sits in the shadow of 14,979 ft Mt, Meru, and high up on the mountain is what Sir Julian Huxley has described a "little gem among National Parks." The Ngurdoto Crater National Park is only 20 square miles in area, and has an interesting history. In the last century, it was a battle ground for rival groups of Masai. Then, in 1907, a German family called Trappe acquired a vast farm on the top of the mountain which, precipitous on one side, is relatively gently sloping on the other and houses a series of lakes in its volcanic depressions. The Trappe family used the land for ranching for many years. In the 1914-18 war, as Germans they were classified as enemy aliens and the land was confiscated, The whole family moved to South Africa and worked and saved, and later moved back into their old homestead, having purchased back: the 5,000 acres on top of the mountain. The late elder Mrs. Trappe was a lady of great character. She was the first and only woman to become a professional hunter in East Africa. In 1960 a large part of the Momela estate was made into a game sanctuary. Other members of the family still live in the area. The Crater National Park is truly a gem. A road has been built to enable the visitor to drive around the lakes, and along the crater rims there are beautiful lockout posts in the forests at which the visitor can picnic and gaze down on the wildlife. For its area, the Park has more than its share. It is a haunt of large numbers of rhino and hippo; elephant and buffalo frequently cross the trails; giraffe and waterbuck are common and the area is also the haunt of lions, leopards, wild dogs and a host of small game. Vesey had for some years experimented with an electric fence along the boundaries of the small Ngurdoto National Park (now called Arusha Park). Jonathan Muhanga had tried one at the boundary of Manyara with Mto-wa-Mbu, but it was David Stevens Babu who got it working. Turner, Myles My Serengeti Years Page Number: 197 Extract Date: 1972 In early 1972 I relinquished command of the Serengeti Field Force, and handed over to a citizen Warden. For a few months more I stayed on in an advisory capacity before finally leaving for my new posting in the Arusha National Park. Since I left, 33 non-citizen Rangers and NCO’s of the Field Force have been replaced by citizens, leaving a gap in experience which will be hard to fill. Turner, Kay Serengeti Home Page Number: 202a Extract Date: 1972 transferred to Arusha National Park "Modern conservationists portray national parks as part of a common world heritage and as essential components of sustainable development. The rules of new 'commons', however, often abrogate existing common property rights. After nearly three hundred years of continuous use, the Wameru people have been denied access to the forests and grasslands of Mt. Meru by the creation of conservation zones. This paper examines the nature of the continuing social conflicts which have resulted from the criminalization of local people's use of the commons. It pieces together the historical use of the area now enclosed by the park, investigates local people's interpretation of and response to the state-initiated regulations, and concludes with the implications for sustainability of the accepted model of national parks in Tanzania and elsewhere." The starting point for the new face of Arusha Page Number: 4 Outside Arusha, mainly off the road to Usa River which is halfway between the town and Kilimanjaro International Airport, a number of new facilities have opened. These vary between those that are open for a drop-in meal to those that are strictly for residents. These facilities provide an ideal escape from the bustle of Arusha and have the added merit of being close to Arusha National Park. They are well worth exploring by tourists and business people who are stuck in Arusha awaiting their next appointments. Moivaro Coffee Plantation Lodge is the nearest eating place outside Arusha. It is about twenty minutes by vehicle from the Clock Tower. The atmosphere is relaxing and ideal for a family outing from Arusha. The main thatched building which faces Mount Meru, also encompasses the dining room and there is a swimming pool, massage parlour and curio shop. Another facility close to Arusha is Safari Spa that advertises "Polo in the African sun" and has over 40 horses. Polo is played on the pitch adjoining the spa while "bush polo" is played near Lake Manyara for the richer clients who like to "rough it" in a luxury tented camp. Safari Spa has a restaurant for residents only. Next on the Moshi Road comes the Mountain Village that has recently been taken over from a tour operator by Serena Hotels, Tanzania’s premier tourism group. The Dik Dik is located located further along just off the Moshi Road int he foothills of Mount Meru near Usa River. Both are open for drop-in meals. Just beyond the Dik Dik is the residents-only Ngare Sero. Set in lush gardens with crystal-clear springs and mountain streams, the lodge marries a renovated 1900s German home with today’s comforts. It has 200 bird species, trout fishing, Colobus and Sykes monkeys he owner, Mike Leach, also rehabilitated the Arusha Boma. Ngare Sero is highly recommended. Further along the main Moshi road on the way to Kilimanjaro International Airport comes Mount Meru Game Lodge, just across the Usa River which gives its name to the settlement. Today, the internationally noted game sanctuary contains fewer animals and eventually these will give way altogether to birds that already exist in abundance. Professional hoteliers have been appointed, and the lodge and food are definitely improving. Directly across the main road is Rivertrees, a charming new addition to the several "escapes" found around Arusha. It has comfortable, self-contained rooms, excellent country food for residents, walks, birdlife, scenery, small mammals and safari prospects that combine to make this a perfect retreat. On the right just before the Arusha National Park, and despite its misleading name, is MBT (Mountain Bird Trophies) that is a snake-park and chameleon-breeding farm. While many visitors tend to be squeamish about snakes in Africa, around 70 per cent are non-venomous and the guide at the snake park will help you tell one from the other. The chameleons are particularly fascinating, ranging from the giant to the pygmy. Internet Web Pages Extract Date: 31 July 2004 A PARTY of sixth-formers has been robbed at gunpoint while on a trip to Tanzania, it emerged today. The nine pupils, from Wheatley Park School in Oxford, had passports, cash and valuables taken by a group of six men on motorcycles who held up a bus travelling in the Arusha National Park. None of the teenagers were hurt during the incident. They were accompanied by a teacher from the school and a representative from World Challenge, a company which organises expeditions for schools. The Foreign Office tells travellers heading for Tanzania that "armed crime is increasing" and warns of "isolated but serious attacks involving expatriates and visitors". John Mitchell, education spokesman for Oxfordshire County Council, today said: "Oxfordshire County Council has confidence that all its schools make judgements about trips abroad with great care. Fortunately, incidents such as this are extremely rare and, fortunately, nobody was hurt." The robbery took place on July 31 between the towns of Moshi and Arusha, near Mount Meru, a 15,000ft peak near Mount Kilimanjaro which the party was intending to climb. The trip was organised by London-based World Challenge, which was behind just under 300 expeditions for around 3000 students from schools across the UK this summer. Extract Author: Emanuel Martin Page Number: 2008 12 16 Extract Date: 16-Dec-2008 I have read through your webpage, and became attracted with the information especially the one related to farming and wildlife conservation activities in Arusha region during the pre independence era of Tanganyika. However I would like to ask you if you have any knowledge regarding the presence of lions in the current Arusha National Park and the surrounding areas. In case your answer is Yes, I would then kindly request you to fill in my questionnaire which I will send it to you after receiving your email address. Otherwise, I am a student doing a research on finding factors regarding local extinction of lions in Arusha National Park. Thank you for your time and considerations!
As President Bush was appearing at a news conference on Tuesday night, the two leaders of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks were not behind closed doors dissecting intelligence documents. They were sitting at a CNN studio here waiting to go on ''Larry King Live.'' One of them, Thomas H. Kean, the former New Jersey governor who is the commission's chairman, said he and his colleagues were so determined to be credible with Americans that they decided early on to conduct themselves in a very public manner. ''We made a conscious decision, and part of it was under strong pressure from the families, to make this commission as transparent and as visible as possible,'' Mr. Kean said in an interview. But Democrats and Republicans alike have raised concerns about the degree to which commission members are discussing their deliberations on television and, even, in newspaper columns -- to the point that they are spinning their views like the politicians that many of them are. Americans can hardly turn on a television or pick up a newspaper these days without seeing or reading about a member of the commission. From the Fox News Channel to ABC to newspapers including The Wall Street Journal, panel members have been providing a running commentary about the investigation as it unfolds, sometimes drawing blunt conclusions months before the final report is to be published in late July.Continue reading the main story The accessibility of the commissioners to the news media, not to mention the openness of their views, is a departure from similar independent commissions of the past. Its members' openness troubles some officials here, who say they worry that it is giving the panel an edge that will taint its conclusions -- especially when coupled with what some have called a partisan tone to members' questions at the hearings here. The two independent panels that Sept. 11 commission staff members say they consider to be most similar in their charge to this one are those that investigated the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the bombing of Pearl Harbor, both of which worked largely out of public view. Senator Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, a Republican who worked as a lawyer for the Warren Commission, which investigated the Kennedy assassination, said in an interview this week that it had operated like a jury. ''When a jury goes out, you don't give a report in midstream on what you're doing, expressing opinions,'' Mr. Specter said. In the case of the Sept. 11 commission, he added, ''Speaking so freely to the press while they're in midstream tends to politicize it when they come to their conclusions.'' Former President Gerald R. Ford, who was a member of the Warren Commission, echoed that view. ''I think they could do a better job if they were less public-relations related,'' he said. ''I think it will have an adverse impact on their report.'' One commissioner, Bob Kerrey, has written two newspaper opinion pieces, including one for The New York Times on Sunday in which he asserted ''9/11 could have been prevented.'' Another commissioner, Richard Ben-Veniste, said on CNN last week that before the attacks ''we had some very useful intelligence.'' ''It was not utilized effectively to protect us,'' Mr. Ben-Veniste said. At times, commissioners have appeared on competing television networks at the same time. Some have gone on several networks in the course of a single day, to predict the direction of testimony that is to come or to analyze it -- sometimes to disagree with it -- afterward. Late last month, John F. Lehman, a Republican commissioner, said of Richard A. Clarke, the former counterterrorism official who has said the Bush administration did not take his warnings about terrorism seriously before the attacks, ''I think he has a credibility problem.'' Last week, Jamie S. Gorelick, a Democrat on the commission, was asked if she agreed with testimony from Mr. Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, that there was no piece of evidence that ''would have led to connecting all of those dots.'' Ms. Gorelick said on CNBC that she did not. ''There are dozens of pieces of information which, if they had been brought to one table,'' she said, ''you have to believe we would have had a shot at preventing this.'' On Wednesday night, Ms. Gorelick agreed to an appearance on ''Hardball'' on MSNBC to address a call for her resignation from the panel by Representative F. James Sensenbrenner Jr., Republican of Wisconsin, who appeared on the program to discuss charges that her work for the Justice Department in the Clinton administration posed a conflict. Such accessibility has come to the delight of news producers. ''It's refreshing that the principals in a really important moment in American history are available, and they're usually not,'' said David Bohrman, the CNN Washington bureau chief. Yet even one of CNN's commentators, the conservative Tucker Carlson, cited on ''Crossfire'' on Wednesday what he said were Mr. Ben-Veniste's appearances on at least six programs over the course of the last five days and said, ''He's destroying the credibility of these proceedings.'' For his part, Mr. Ben-Veniste said, ''Our chairman has encouraged us to discuss the open work of the commission, because a large part of our function is to inform the public.'' Mr. Kean said the panel had closely studied the work of the commissions that examined the Pearl Harbor attack and the Kennedy assassination and concluded that their secrecy did not serve them well -- particularly in the case of the assassination, about which conspiracies still abound. ''Those other commissions failed in many ways,'' Mr. Kean said. ''They were sometimes not looked on as credible.'' Dr. Loch K. Johnson, a professor at the University of Georgia, said Mr. Kean's commission was conducting itself more like Congressional investigative committees -- like the ones that looked into the Watergate break-in and the Iran-contra scandal -- which have traditionally been far more open, and partisan, than their independent counterparts. The Sept. 11 commission has come under attack from conservatives in the last two weeks, in particular, for what they say has been undue criticism of the Bush administration. Those assertions concern more than the members' public appearances; they take issue with the members' questioning of witnesses. As part of its posture, the commission has taken the unusual step of releasing several interim staff reports about the progress of its inquiry that point to missed or ignored clues. The New York Post published a front-page editorial titled ''National Disgrace'' on Wednesday, criticizing as ''sewn from whole cloth'' a staff briefing paper that the newspaper said ''paints a picture of alarm bells going off throughout Washington in the months before 9/11.'' Last week, Senator Mitch McConell, Republican of Kentucky, charged from the Senate floor that the commission, made up of five Democrats and five Republicans, had ''become a political casualty of the electoral hunting season.'' Mr. McConnell did not respond to requests for comment. The senator's remarks helped to persuade the commission leaders to urge their colleagues to tamp down any partisanship at the hearings, people close to the panel said. But that did not stop Mr. Kerrey, a former Democratic senator from Nebraska, who said: ''Mitch McConnell is the Republican whip of the Senate and he's accusing us of being too partisan? He can go to hell for all I'm concerned.'' Mr. Kerrey said the tough questioning and the television and print appearances had helped shake loose information from the White House that would not have otherwise been released. Acknowledging that, Ivo H. Daalder, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who was on President Bill Clinton's national security staff, said that since this is an election year, ''the commission ought to be well aware that too much public exposure will feed suspicion by those who are already so inclined of the commission's political motivation.'' Mr. Kean said even if he wanted to avoid the news media, it would be next to impossible in the age of the major 24-hour news networks. ''People are going to be talking about us anyway,'' he said. ''We would rather have the commission talking about us rather than talking heads.''Continue reading the main story
President Barack Obama seems to have fallen short on economic and immigration promises he made to Latino voters before he was elected. Still, his approval ratings among Latino voters increased to 70 percent after falling as low as 57 percent in June 2010 in a Gallup poll, according to La Opinión. In 2008, Obama garnered 67 percent of the Latino votes, according to La Opinión. The same poll also concluded that Latino voters would not automatically vote for Obama. Only about 43 percent said they would vote for him next year. “There is no doubt that Obama has the ability to win the Latino vote, and he still has solid support within the community,” Matt Barreto, a political science professor at the University of Washington, told La Opinión. “But when it comes to whether they will vote for him for sure, Latinos show a margin of doubt.” Barreto is also a pollster for Latino Decisions. During his campaign Obama promised some sort of immigration reform that would legalize the millions here illegally and passage of the DREAM Act, which grants some students and military hopefuls a pathway to legal residency. Neither has happened. The same poll also found that only 9 percent of Latino voters said they would vote for a Republican candidate. Another 8 percent said they might vote for a GOP candidate. “I think the most interesting story here is how badly the Republicans are faring with Latinos,” Gary Segura, a political science professor at Stanford University, told La Opinión. “It is as if Latinos are not pro-Democrat, but rather anti-Republican.” Five hundred Latino voters were polled in January and February 2011 in 21 states where 95 percent of registered Latino voters live. The margin of error is +/-4.38 percent.
Uber compromises with Zip car for the ride-sharing technique Since the ancient days of our world, the people are using some vehicle to move from one place to another place. The network of this process is known as transportation service and there is so many transportation services is available in the world. Nowadays the transportation service of Uber is dominating the world by its efficient features. Comparing with the other service, Uber reveals some new techniques in the transportation. It has the advanced techs of friend locators and snaps chat filters with the mobile app which is related to the transportation service. Through the internet connection, we can access this service for booking the tickets and getting the details about the journey. Recently it has implemented the new tech of ride-sharing or car-sharing in this transportation service. That is tied up with another transportation service of Zip car which is headquartered in America. These two services are combined together and introducing some advanced features and specifications in the transportation service for the forthcoming generation people. Let we have a detailed explanation about this technique of transportation service. How are these compromising? Uber have received some uniquely featured vehicle from the transportation service of Zip car. This will be very useful to the drivers who are all working in the Uber transportation service. This contract is additionally combined with the Avis budget service which is providing a vehicle to rent. Because the transportation service of Zip car is a subsidiary of the Avis budget group. This process is mainly useful to the ride-hailing or car-sharing technique which is followed by the Uber now. The ride-hailing service reduces the traffic issues and fuel consumption of a particular vehicle. This ride-sharing technique is initially achieved in the country of Boston. According to the recent survey, there is 54 percent of a vehicle in the transportation service are working under this technique. Zip car technology has established some offers to the vehicle which is to be ready for the car-sharing. This process is looking for the commuter’s satisfaction and this is an exclusive process for Uber drivers. It is compatible with the payment i.e. there is an availability of direct payment in the driver’ account. Then the drivers in the transportation service of Uber are very skilled in driving. Due to those reasons, the transportation service of Uber and Zip car is compromising each other with the transporting vehicle. In the current scenario, it is in the progress and after a long time, if any modification has to be made, we can have those too. Uber’s SUV charge is less for the larger vehicle and little bit maximum for the smaller vehicle. Uber is getting some transportation vehicle from the Zip car and processing in 45 countries around the world. Whatever the time, this transportation service is available for the commuter and we can access and contact with it through online mobile app only. By using the vehicle from the Zip car, the drivers of Uber are acting like riders. With respect to the time and Commitment, the transportation service of Uber allows different projects with it. There are most of the benefits are available in the Zip car transportation as follows, There is no necessity of paying an amount for insurance, gas and other transportation-related expenditures. While comparing with the Uber transportation service, Zip car provides more efficient performance in the transportation. It has the ability to bring pet animals, ice creams and flu shots while traveling. This process gains the transportation charge of $20 to $30 for a single trip. It is really tremendous and it has some indispensable features to follow while having a voyage. Uber drivers and Zip car organization have a better understanding of specific commitments. The self-driving vehicle is available in this transportation service for the commuter’s convenience. Zip car is one of the most ride-hailing companies in the world which contains the hundreds of focal point. If we once make a membership with this transportation service, we can have a number of travels within the world anywhere. Exchanging the vehicles within these two services are achieved with the payment of an online transaction. Sidelining the other transportation service The specification of Uber with Zip car dominates the other services by its performance. After getting a vehicle from the transportation service of Zip car, that is prolonged and the Uber can return the vehicle at anywhere. It is not like a vehicle for leasing and these vehicles are supporting the other transportation services. The Uber driver can have an ability to lease the vehicle in hourly basis with the help of zip car to pick up the commuters. The minimum charge for the driver ranges from $12 to $14 per hour with an additional fee of $7 per month. This method is economically feasible by every driver who is working in the Uber transportation service. In the contract, there is a representation for an organization that the Uber should call on more drivers and in turn, it will lead to giving access to more rides for the people. Uber has certain tricks to implement its strategy in the transportation service. In fact, it introduced so many advanced features which are related to the current technology. This process exhibits the mutual benefits to the commuters as well the transportation service. Zip car introduces the new kind of transporting vehicle to attract the drivers who are all working there. It parks 20 sedans at the transportation service of Uber which is currently using the ride-hailing tech at the level of maximum. Car-sharing service of Zip car is signed with the transportation service of Uber to satisfy the commuters and drivers. This deal is similar to the mobility services which can adopt with any kind of projects in the transportation. Zip car technology provides the efficient performance to the commuters who are all contacting with it through online. This can be achieved with the self-driving cars too for the process of transportation. This is an automotive service which performs the projects in a perfect manner. There are so many advanced features are available in this car-sharing deal towards the commuters. We should have a proper knowledge about it and we should make use of these techniques in the transportation service. It has been efficiently performing the desired project in a specific time management. In the day to day life, every person is looking for the easiest tech which will reduce the time and work. For our betterment in a particular work towards the transportation, we can prefer it as per our wish. This concept will be very useful for the upcoming generation’s person who wants to perform the critical task or longer travel. As per the current technology, this car-sharing deal will support the commuters to have a happy journey. Eventually, we have to know that the car-sharing tech of Uber with Zip car is efficiently achieved in the transportation. Then it will fulfill the commuters need towards the travel and idea about the route especially the destination. There is no more new service to beat the performance of Uber which is currently combined with Zip car for the car-sharing deal.
The number has gone up from 103 to 169 in four years, said Forest Minister Patangrao Kadam. The tiger population has gone up from 53 to 69 in Tadoba, and from 30 to 35 in Melghat, Kadam said. In Sahadyri-Sindhudurg, there are 21 tigers, Nagjira-Navegaon - 20, Bor - 12, Pench and other reserves - 12; from a total of 20 in 2006, he said. Maharashtra ranks after Uttarakhand in terms of increase in the tiger population, followed by Assam, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, the minister told the House. The tiger-census was carried out in three phases last year, adding that across the country, number of tigers has gone up from 1411 (in 2006) to 1706.
Rana, a 50-year-old Chicago businessman, is accused of helping his childhood friend, Headley, to scout targets for the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) for the Mumbai attack that killed 166 people, including six Americans. The trial began with the jury selection process at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse. A total of 100 jurors filled out the questionnaire and will be questioned by US District Court Judge Harry Leinenweber tomorrow in what is supposedly the most important terrorism trial ever to be held here. After the jury is finalised this week, the opening arguments of the case will be presented by both sides. Rana with his gray beard and hair and wearing spectacles was accompanied with his attorneys Patrick Blegen and Charlie Swift. "It is the beginning of jury selection and jurors are filling out the questionnaire even as we speak," Blegen told reporters here. "It''s the best way to select a jury," he added. The questionnaire jurors will fill out has more than 60 questions. It will ask questions about Islam, and jurors'' feeling about Islam. Swift said that since 80 per cent of Americans distrust Islam, Rana needed fair jurors. "There is only one verdict the jury will reveal - not guilty," Rana''s attorney, Charlie Swift said. Swift said that the jury needed people who are ethnically and racially diverse, men, women, young, old, who could put aside their prejudice and biases. "People hailing from India, Denmark and Pakistan would most likely be disqualified," Blegen said. Blegen said that Rana was handling the ongoing trial as best as he can. "Mr Rana is very nice and polite and is handling a difficult situation with grace and much better than I''d be handling it," Blegen said. Blegen said that jurors who can put aside emotions and can rule based on faith and logic were needed. Headley is also likely to testify at the trial and will reveal how he planned to carry out the Mumbai attacks. While Headley pleaded guilty, Rana has not. Headley, Rana's old friend from military school in Pakistan, claims that two years before terrorists struck the Indian port city of Mumbai, he began laying the groundwork for the attack, financed by USD 25,000 from an officer in Pakistan''s powerful intelligence service. Rana, on the other hand, said that he was duped by Headley. Blegen said that the conviction rates are high for Rana, he could overcome it. "A lot of revelations will come forth and and will come to light during the trial," Blegen added. On April 25, in a second superseding indictment, US prosecutors charged four additional men, all Pakistani residents, in the 26/11 terror attacks that left 166 dead, including six Americans. Headley, who was originally Daood Gilani, changed and anglicised his name in order to carry out the carnage without disclosing his Pakistani identity. Rana, who had served as a doctor in the Pakistani Army Medical Corps, before he migrated to Canada, is also accused in plotting an attack with Headley on a Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten that published cartoons of Prophet Muhammad. Rana, who was indicted by a federal grand jury under 12 counts on February 15 last year for planning the attacks, providing material support to LeT to carry out the attacks and guiding Headley in scouting targets in Mumbai in the process, is set to go on trial in Chicago tomorrow. Arrested in Chicago over the Mumbai attacks, Rana had claimed that he provided "material support" to 26/11 terrorists at the behest of Pakistani government and ISI. If convicted, Rana faces a possible life sentence.
The 16-member National Defence Council, that is convened only in times of emergency and when the country is under threat, has not been in session since former President Hosni Mubarak's ouster. Closely after issuing a constitutional document that gives sweeping powers to the military and is being seen as an instrument of 'power grab', the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF) announced today that the NDC is being revived. The council, that is to be headed by the President, has 11 military men on it and only five civilian leaders including parliamentary speakers, the foreign minister, and the finance minister. The announcement comes at a time when the country's leading political force, the Muslim Brotherhood, has charged the military of orchestrating a soft coup, following a court ruling that dissolved the recently-elected parliament. With concerns mounting over possible public unrest, the US urged Egypt's military to move swiftly on plans to transfer full power to an elected civilian government and suggested failure to do so would prompt a review of US ties, which includes billions of dollars in military and civilian aid. The Brotherhood, meanwhile, called the people to return to the streets to protest against what it calls a "coup" by the ruling generals. Independent daily Al-Shorouk said 10 of the members of the National Defense Council would be SCAF members, and a complementary constitutional declaration stipulates that they will continue in their positions without change until the new constitution is drafted. With the military minimising the president's authority and usurping legislative powers in the absence of the parliament, a major confrontation seems to be brewing between the ruling Army and pro-democracy activists, who led last year's landmark uprising against the autocratic rule of Mubarak. Many feel the gains of the public revolution have been nullified by the military takeover. Even as they voted to elect their first-ever democratic president, Egyptians were disenchanted with the state of affairs. Analysts see the SCAF tightening its grip on power as a coup against the January 25 Revolution. "These (constitution amendments) are the continuation of a series of moves, taken by the SCAF on its way to a military coup, using both the law and judicial bodies," Khaled Fahmy, chair of the history department in the American University in Cairo (AUC) was quoted as saying by Al Ahram. According to the March 2011 constitutional declaration, the president will head the National Defense Council which specialises in methods of defending the country and its safety. The winner of the presidential run-off, who will be the Egypt's first democratically elected president, will officially be announced on June 21, though Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party has already claimed victory for its candidate Mohammed Mursi. "The council meeting will be void unless an absolute majority of the members attend," the military council stated. It said the decisions of the council would be according to "the absolute majority of its attending members". The statement went on to say that the council has the right to "call to the session whoever it might find useful based on his information or experience, including deputy ministers or others," but such individuals would not be allowed to vote during the council meetings. The new president will now be sworn in by the Supreme Constitutional Court instead of the lower house of the parliament.
Is the holy institution or the man in it, is of much relevance today? One of the greatest spiritual leaders in the history of the world, the Dalai Lama has not been successful as a political force. A veteran foreign correspondent of a US-based newspaper had once rightly said that the Dalai undoubtedly is a charismatic leader but at the same time, is a poor political strategist. He had shown great courage in taking on one of the most powerful states in the world but instead of pressing for an unorthodox diplomacy of back-channel talks with the Chinese authorities to achieve his political end, the Dalai chose a road which did not and would never have given him the desired results. Just engaging in fruitless talks with Beijing and canvassing support for a pro-Tibet idealist movement actually led to nowhere for the leader. "The Hollywood strategy just did not work for the Dalai Lama," experts said. The Dalai Lama remains a symbol of great faith for the Tibetans even as speculations are rife that after Tenzin Gyatso, there could not be a successor for the institution and Beijing is just waiting for the road to end. It might name a docile successor which would remain loyal to its order once Gyatso becomes history. US too move away That the Dalai Lama has been losing its relevance, at least among the pragmatists, became evident in 2009 when Barack Obama, who had just taken over the US Presidency then, declined to meet the spiritual leader, putting his idealist supporters quite in a shock. But Obama knew very well that keeping good terms with China was more important for geopolitical and economic reasons rather than extending ideological support to the Dalai Lama. Such a stance, a superpower and a democratic state like the USA became increasingly evident since the 2008 financial crisis for Washington had understood that China would play an important role to global economic reality and to make the latter work in a responsible manner, the US leadership could not afford to take an anti-China stance for an issue like Tibet. Tibet is very important for China National unity has been a central idea of China's national identity. The Chinese authorities leave no stone unturned to ensure that the internal unity of the country remains unharmed and practice regular shuffling of the country's military district chiefs and ensure that no form of regional or economic sentiment, which could endanger the country's territorial integrity, ever emerges. It is hence no wonder that Beijing harbours special concern for Tibet, a region inhabited by ethnic minorities and historically controversial. The Tibetans have not accepted the Chinese authority and have protested demanding independence of 'Greater Tibet', which would not only comprise autonomous regions of Tibet but also the neighbouring Chinese territories that were inhabited by Tibetans. In 2008, a year before the 50th anniversary of the 1959 Tibetan uprising, the Tibetan protesters started a massive agitation to draw the world's attention for that year's Olympics was hosted by Beijing and the latter softened its stand temporarily to let the storm pass. But the Tibetans, who had Dalai Lama's envoys to talk with Beijing, did not witness any substantial happening for they were divided on specific points to speak on. Ideas lacked pragmatism while strategy was blunt China had asked the Tibetan representatives to present their version but the Dalai Lama's concept of autonomy for Tibet, which he had been advocating since the late 1980s, could not have been accepted by Beijing ever. The Tibetan government-in-exile wants a new self-governing territory comprising areas inhabited by ethnic Tibetans which is quite a share of the entire Chinese territory, restrictions on non-Tibetans entering the Tibetan areas and power on all issues inside the Tibetan, barring defence and foreign relations. China clearly views the 'Great Tibet' idea of the Dalai Lama as a politically-motivated one, something which would only fuel more internal turmoil. On the other hand, the Dalai Lama can not afford to backtrack from his claim, which could mean betrayal with his own followers. The deadlock has led to some of the exiled Tibetans demand absolute independence from China. The Dalai Lama-led movement suffered from the leadership's lack of precision again when it started criticising China for its human rights abuses in the Tibet. This strategy, too, seemed to have lost appeal among the majority Chinese who saw an anti-Han feeling taking shape. India, too, has decided to move away from the earlier positions it had held on Tibet. In 2003, the Vajpayee-government of India had recognised Tibet as a part of China in lieu of the latter confirming its recognition of Sikkim as a part of India. The Tibetan leadership erred in not engaging China in a dialogue with reference to a simplistic concept of autonomy. Flirting with the idea of ethnic separatism would never have earned it any concession from China. The Dalai Lama's Tibet of dream should have been a moderate one for it is absolutely irrational to expect that he would succeed in effecting some of kind of territorial manipulation for a region which he had fled over 50 years ago, not taking into account the changed ground reality. Or otherwise, it will be increasingly projected that the Dalai Lama is trying to split the country. Dalai not a politician But the Dalai can not be blamed for these drawbacks for he is not a trained and cunning politician. A noted US author has rightly said that religious leaders are not equipped to play the political game and rather 'peace', 'love' and 'forgiveness' are their favourite terms. In case the situation really calls for a hitting back, such people mostly remain silent. The Dalai has also been following this path of late. Nevertheless, the Dalai Lama, irrespective of his failure as a political leader, continues and will in the future, enjoy the high moral ground in the public mind. Here, the Dalai Lama is lucky for many other political leaders in the world who have fought similar battles against mighty undemocratic regimes, have had to pay hard price. The 14th Dalai Lama has served as a courageous symbol of a resistance against a totalitarian regime and he will remain a bright chapter of history in days to come. His divinity and universal appeal will eclipse the mundane political failure.
Dakar (Senegal), Dec 2: The World Health Organization has sharply revised down its tally of Ebola deaths in Liberia, after a jump of more than 1,000 in the death toll there. The UN health agency said late yesterday that 3,145 people in Liberia had died from the disease, which is also hitting neighboring Guinea and Sierra Leone hard. Figures published on Friday put the death toll at 4,181, a jump of more than 1,000 deaths from two days earlier. Spokesman Tarik Jasarevic said today that the Friday toll mistakenly included non-Ebola deaths. The agency has said data from the outbreak has been difficult to get and there have been big swings in the numbers, as cases are reclassified or backlogs cleared. The latest data show 5,987 people have died in the three worst affected countries.
Pili nut is a slender oily nut, with a crunchy and mild flavor. They belong to the Burseraceae family. Pili nut is one amongst the 600 other species of this family. Table Of Content Pili Nut Scientific Name The scientific name for Pili Nut is Canarium Ovatum. Its name ‘Canarium’ is derived from a local name ‘kenari’ in Molucca isles of Indonesia. Pili Nut Description Pili is an evergreen deciduous tree that stands 20m tall. They have odd pinnate leaflets with compound leave. They flower frequently however the fruit ripens after a couple of years. The flowers are at the foliage axils of a young shoot. The arrangement of flowers on a female tree is approximately 7 cm long with 6 to 7 greenish yellow flowers and on a male tree of about 10cm long with almost 18 flowers. The ripe fruit has a thick black skin. The nut is enclosed in a hard shell that is enclosed in a greenish pulp. The slender nut has a length of about 2 to 2.5 inches and a diameter of about 3 to 4 inches. Picture 1 – Pili Nut Pili Nut Range Pili nuts are native to the Philippines. They are grown in parts of Malaysia and Indonesia too but only Philippines produce them commercially. In Philippines, they are grown in the Bicol region at the rainforest of Mt. Bulusan. There are other parts of the Bicol region where it is grown, such as Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Albay, Catanduanes, Masbate and Sorsogon. Pili Nut Origin Cultivation of Pili nut started from the tropical rainforest of Philippines. The ancient people of Philippines gathered the nuts which were growing wild in the forest and boiled them to make it edible. Gradually the native people started growing them domestically for food. Pili Nut Growing Pili is a tropical tree that requires a well drained, deep and a fertile soil. Warm temperature and a well distributed rainfall is the ideal weather condition for the tree to grow well. They cannot withstand frosty weather condition or even low temperature. The seeds germinate after 40 to 50 days. The old seedlings can be used as stock for plant propagation. Pili Nut Harvesting Harvesting of the nut is done from May to October; June to August is the peak season. The nut is de-pulped from the fruit, cleaned and dried. The moisture level should be 3 to 5 % during de-pulping. The nut enclosed in the hard shell can be stored for at least a year at a moisture level of 2.5 to 4.6 %. Pili Nut Cultivators The only pili nut cultivator in Hawaii is ‘Poamoho’. ‘Mayon’, ‘Oas’ and ‘Katutubo’ are the three cultivators in Philippines. Pili Nut Uses - Pili nut kurnel has a mild crunchy, nutty flavor when roasted. The taste resembles that of a roasted pumpkin seed and some even consider its flavor superior to that of an almond. They can be roasted, boiled or even grounded into a powder. They can be used in making cakes, chocolates and ice creams. - Edible oil is extracted from the nut. This light yellow colored oil is often considered a substitute for olive oil. - The fruit pulp and the young shoots of the plant are used t make pickles, flour, sauce or a puree. - The shoots are also used to make salads. - The fruits pulp can be eaten with seasoning or simply boiled which tastes like sweet potato. - The oil extracted from the pulp can be used as a substitute for cotton seed oil in manufacturing soap and other products in industries. - The oil is used for pharmaceuticals and cosmetic industries - The shell is often used as a fuel. - The shell is also used as manure for growing orchids and anthuriums. - The shell s also used for manufacturing fashion accessories. - The wood is used to make furniture. Pili Nut Nutritional Value Nutritionally, the pili nut is rich in - Fats and protein - Glycerides of Oleic and Palmitic acids Pili Nut Recipe There are several delicacies which can be made, using pili nut. - Pili chocolate crunch - Pili tart - Pili butter spread - Crispy pili - Spice greaseless pili - Pili kisses - Pili empanaditas - Sugar coated pili - Pastillas de pilli - Pili candy - Pili bar - Pili cake - Pili brittle Pili Nut Health Benefits There are several benefits provided by the organically processed pili nuts. They are as follows: - Pili nut contains Omegas which has an important role in the functioning of brain. They are essential for maintain a healthy heart and also prevents cardiovascular diseases. - Regulates blood sugar level as the nut contains the eight essential amino acids. - The amino acids also help in the producing hormones, development of muscle tissues and regulate energy in the body. - It helps in maintaining health skin and bones and detoxifies liver. - Pili nut has the highest magnesium content than any other nut. Magnesium maintains healthy bones, skin and nerves. - Pili nut is rich in Vitamin E which is essential in promoting strong immune system, maintains the cholesterol level and heart diseases. Pili Nut Future Prospect Cultivation of pili nuts are done commercially only in Philippines. Few areas in the Bicol region produce pili nuts hence there is a vast potential yet to be harnessed. Difficulty in the propagation in the production of pili nut is the major concern that needs to be adhered to. It has high export potential in the foreign market. The demand for pili nut for its edible uses and also by the spa industry has led to high demand; however, the supply of the nut is low comparatively. Therefore an organized pili grower and processor should be tapped to produce and supply fresh pili nuts. Pili Nut Pictures Here are some of the pictures of Pili Nut. - by Bebaychna Rai - November 24th 2011
Translations of Kural in different languages பிற மொழிகளில் திருக்குறள் “No translation can convey any idea of its charming effect. It is truly an apple of gold in a network of silver” (In his introduction to the Kural in German) The Tamil classic, Thirukkural (Sacred Couplets), has been translated into many major languages of the world. Attributed to Thiruvalluvar, who probably lived during the 2nd or 3rd century A.D., the Kural (as it is often referred) occupies a leading place amongst the wisdom literatures of the world. The popularity of the Kural amongst all ancient Tamil literatures can be judged from the fact that the next most translated work in Tamil comes no where near the Kural when compared to the number of times and number of languages the Kural has been translated. The Tamils believe that the Kural has been translated into most languages, next only to the Bible and the Qur’an., There are other texts with similar claims of having been translated several times in many languages. The Hindus claim that their most popular scripture the Bhagavad Gita is the second most widely translated book after the Bible. It has been translated into at least 24 languages [] and probably more. The Chinese claim that their classic Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu is the world’s most translated Book. Victor Mahir, a translator of Tao Te Ching, had this to say: “Next to the Bible and the Bhagavad Gita, the Tao Te Ching is the most translated book in the world”. Ninety one different translations of Tao Te Ching in 15 different languages (35 translations in English alone) are available at a single website on the net []. The Confucian Analects (Lun Yu) attributed to Confucius has also been translated to many languages. The Confucian Publishing Co. Ltd has presented this Confucian Classic in 26 languages of the world on the internet []. The Qur’an has been translated into 47 languages [] and the Bible into 303 languages [] and many translations of these scriptures in different languages are available on the net. Dhammapada, the most popular of all Buddhist sacred texts, must have also seen several translations. Like the Baghavad Gita, the Kural is a product of India, the home of at least 14 officially recognized languages. Naturally they have been translated into many of these 14 languages. The Kural has seen more than five translations in some of these languages (like Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Sanskrit and Telugu). The Chinese in their country have only two languages to deal with and therefore the claim of Tamils that the Kural has been translated into most number of languages, next only to the Bible and Qur’an, is not a tall one. According to one source of information, the Kural has been so far translated, either in parts or in full, into 80-90 languages.[6,14] The Tao Te Ching has to be the most translated, but not necessarily in a diversity of languages like the Kural and Gita. The Kural differs from the above sacred texts in two respects: Firstly, it does not have the backing of any religious community to promote its translations into many languages. The Kural has therefore been translated mainly because of its poetical merit and strong ethical content. Secondly, all these sacred texts except the Bible are much smaller in size than the Kural. When compared to the Kural which has 1330 cryptic couplets of two lines each, the Tao Te Ching has 81 poems of varying sizes, the average coming to 10-12 lines per poem. The Analects has 499 sayings, Dhammapada has 423 verses and the Gita 700 slokas. Translators obviously find translating smaller works like Tao Te Ching, Analects and also the Kural easier when compared to larger works. Translating the Kural At least the moral values which are integral to the Kural never get lost when properly translated. Over the last three centuries, numerous scholars have taken the task of translating the Kural into various languages. It has now been translated into all major languages of the world like French, Latin, Polish, Russian, Swedish, German, Japanese, Dutch, Czech, Finnish, Malayan, Burmese, Korean, Chinese, Singhalese, Italian, Urdu, Arabic and at least eight Indian languages. Notable exceptions appear to be Assamese, Thai, Tibetan, Greek, Afrikaans, Turkish, Hebrew, Mangolian, Persian and Irish. If the claim that the Kural has been translated into 80 languages is true, then some of these languages might have also been covered. Considering the fact that Tamil is a classical language of great antiquity, Tirukkural (திருக்குறள் =Sacred Verses) must have been translated into the classical Greek language too. As of now, I have only the following translation of a couplet to offer in Greek. Translations of the same couplet has been presented in other languages also below (Note: Translations in German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Chinese, Korean and Japanese have been done with the help of Google's translation option). "Πώς μπορεί κάποιος, που τρώει τη σάρκα άλλων για να How can one command Tiruvalluvar, Sacred Verses: 251 தன்னூன் பெருக்கற்குத் தான்பிறி தூனுண்பா திருவள்ளுவர், திருக்குறள்: 251 Тируваллувар, Священные стихи: 251 Tiruwalluwar, Tirukkural: 251 Comment celui qui mange la chair d’un autre être animé, Qui ut sua caro pinguoscat, alienas carnes comedit quinam eum viveutibus lenitatem et clementiam exercere dicetur? Tiruvalluvar, Tirukkural: 251 Tiruvalluvar, Verses Sacred: 251 माँस-वृद्धि अपनी समझ, जो खाता पर माँस । कैसे दयार्द्रता-सुगुण, रहता उसके पास ॥ तिरुवल्लुवर, तिरुक्कुरल: 251 كيف يكون احد رؤوفا ورحيما إن يأكل الحيوانات لا زدياد شحمه ودسمه فى جثـتـه وجسمه تروولوور- الأبْيـَاتُ المـقـدّسَــة -251 Wie kann er zutreffendes Mitleid üben, das das Fleisch eines Tieres ißt, um sein eigenes Fleisch zu mästen? 그는 어떻게 그 자신의 살을 살찌기 위하여 동물의 살을 먹는 진실한 연민을 실행해서 좋은가? Tiruvalluvar, 신성한 운문, 251 The Kural was popular in the neighbouring country Sri Lanka (the Ceylon) even before it was officially translated. S. Maharajan in his book on Tiruvalluvar (Sahitya Academi) mentions about Dr. Xavier S. Thani Nayagam who produced the earliest record of a non-Indian use of Thirukkural. This is found in the Fernao de Queyroz’s “Conquest of Ceylon” in which the Franciscan Missionary Fra Joam de Vila Conde, in a religious debate at the court of Bhuvanaika Bahu of Kotte, Ceylon (1521-1551) cited the Kural in support of the doctrines which he preached: “Read, one of the books you have which you have maliciously hidden, composed by Valuer (evidently Valluvar) a native of Melipur (Mylapore) and the contemporary of St. Thomas. There you will find the union of the Trinity, the Incarnation of the Son, the Redemption of Man, the cause of his fall, the remedy for this faults and miseries and finally the preservation of his state”. The fact that the missionary cited the Kural may be true but none of us would agree with what he said of the Kural for it never mentions about Trinity, Incarnation, Redemption or Fall! The first translation of the Kural into a European language was that of C.J. Beschi of the Society of Jesus (1700-1742) who translated the Kural into Latin. Interestingly the first translation of Dhammapada to a European language was also in Latin (by Dr. Fausboll), but this happened only in 1855! A Latin translation of Bhagavad Gita appeared only in the year 1823 by Schlegel. The first translation of the Kural into English (as selections) happened in 1794 by Kindersley (Extracts from “Ocean of Wisdom”) only nine years after the first English edition of the Gita appeared. The Kural was translated into German by A.F. Cammera in 1803 and into French by Ariel in 1848, just two years after the Gita was translated into French by Lassens. It is interesting is to compare this with the history of translating Bhagavad Gita. It was first translated into English in 1785 by Charles Wilkins. It was translated into Latin in 1823 by Schlegel, into German by Von Humbolt in 1826, into French by Lassens in 1846 and into Greek by Galanos in 1848. However, the first ever Indian work translated into an European language appear to be a selection of 200 slokas of Bhartrihari into Dutch. Some of the well known translations in English include those by G.U. Pope, W.H. Drew & John Lazarus, V.V.S. Iyer, K. Srinivasan, C. Rajagopalachari and P.S. Sundaram. Some of these English translations and many others' are now available on the net. Some important translations of Tirukkural in English on the internet It spite of its translation into more than 30 languages of the world (perhaps into 60 or 80 languages as mentioned before), hardly any translations – other than in English – are available on the net. The only complete translation of the Kural in a foreign language other than English available on the net is Russian []. The idea here is to present the Kural in all the major languages of the world including all the Indian languages. The most difficult part in this exercise is procuring copies of the Kural that were translated during first half of 20th century. Many of them are out of print and subsequent editions have not been produced. In some languages like English, Malayalam, Telugu, Bengali and Kannada new translations continue to be produced every year, while in some like French, Latin and Urdu new editions or reprints of the old translations are published. However for many other languages like Marathi, Chinese and Sinhalese, the only source is the old publications available in libraries. Some languages like Fijian, French, Japanese, Russian and Polish have seen newer translations. The translations being presented here are not necessarily the best ones available in that respective language. In most cases there is no choice as it is difficult to obtain more than one translation for comparison. Another hindrance is my lack of knowledge in languages other than Tamil, English and to some extent Malayalam. There is no choice in the case of Arabic, Punjabi, Finnish and Konkani as the Kural has been translated into only once in these languages. I have given preference to translations in verse, but the Kural has been translated only in prose in many languages (like Arabic, Konkani, Marathi). Before we proceed to the different translations, a word of caution about translation of any classic. The Kural contains maxims of mandatory ethics and at least the message does not get lost if properly translated. What about its poetic excellence? Kamil Zvelebil, the renowned Czech Tamil scholar had this to say: “It is almost impossible to truly appreciate the maxims of the Kural through a translation. So if you know Tamil, click here to view the original couplets along with interpretation in modern Tamil Mahapatra, R. 1999. Translations of Tirukkural into English and other Indian languages – some aspects. In: On Translations. International Institute of Tamil Studies. Pp 51 Ramasamy, V. 2001. On translating Tirukkural. International Institute of Tamil Studies, Tharamani, Chennai. Pp 29 R.L. Wing, 1986. (Translator). The Tao of Power. Double Day, New York. Page 10 Mair, V.H. 1990. Introduction and notes for a translation of the Ma-wang-tui manuscripts of the Lao Tzu (Old Master). Sino-Platonic Papers, 20. (http://spp.pinyin.info/abstracts/spp020_lao_tzu.html ) S. Jayabarathi of Project Madurai. A short introduction to Thirukkural. http://www.tamilnation.org/literature/kural/Jayabarathi.htm Reviewer Jmh. 1992-1998. Fringe Ware, Inc. for the book Tao Te Ching by Lao Tse, translated by Stephen Mitchell. Padmanabhan, S. Thiruvalluvar. Released on the occasion of unveiling of the 133 feet high statue of the immortal bard Thiruvalluvar. Kanyakumari Historical and Cultural Research Centre, Nagercoil and Dakshinaa Publishing House, Chennai.60 pages. Maharajan, S. 1979. Thiruvalluvar: Makers of Indian Literature. Sahitya Academi. P 22. Ramasamy, V. 2001. On translating Tirukkural. International Institute of Tamil Studies, Chennai. Pp 30 Dr. Harichanda Kvairatna, 1980. Oriental Institute, Batapola, Sri Lanka. (http://www.theosociety.org/pasadena/dhamma/dham-hp.htm) Kamil Zvelebil, 1973. The Smile of Murugan of Tamil Literature of South India. P. 169 Sampath Kumar, 2004. Indological similarities in Tirukkural and Telugu literature. In: இக்கால உலகிற்குத் திருக்குறள். Part III. Editor: S. Krishnamoorthy. International Institute of Tamil Studies. 165-172 . Tandon, R. 2005. Preface. Sringarashatakam. Rupa and Co. pp xi-xv Route your comments & suggestions to the author through this address. Purpose of this site I What is new here? I Forthcoming topics I I Comparative Religion I Gospel of Vivekananda I I Kural in 30 languages I Mathematical in Kural I Introduction to the Kural I
What does Seraphin mean? The meaning of Seraphin is "burning one". Seraphin is generally used as a boy's name. It consists of 8 letters and 3 syllables and is pronounced Se-ra-phin. The Given Name Seraphin Seraphin is a great choice for parents looking for a more unique name. A name fit for a child full of greatness and spirit, a little seeker. Seraphin has no variant spellings. In contrast, the year before less than 5 boys were given the name. Less than 5 girls were given the name. Want to see how Seraphin sizes up? How it compares to some other names? Then check out the Seraphin Name Popularity Page. Seraphin Related Names It may all be in the numbers. The numbers that make up your child's name. Numerology may give you some insight. Children named Seraphin are often good-natured and witty but most of all they are read more >> Seraphin Name Fun Then just follow the diagram below.
What does Winnie mean? The meaning of Winnie is "holy reconciliation". Winnie is generally used as a girl's name. It consists of 6 letters and 2 syllables and is pronounced Wi-nnie. The Given Name Winnie Winnie is quite a memorable name and a welcome find. Attractive yet refined, the name is a great blend of character and flair. An enchanting name that will be beloved by parents. Some famous bearers of this name include: Winnie the Pooh. In contrast, the year before it ranked 1,190 in baby name popularity for girls with 212 occurrences. Less than 5 boys were given the name. Want to see how Winnie sizes up? How it compares to some other names? Then check out the Winnie Name Popularity Page. Winnie Related Names - Winnie the Pooh ~ Winnie-the-Pooh character Winnie Name Fun Then just follow the diagram below.
Three times after swimming in three different oceans (Atlantic, Med, Caribbean) I have what I assume were severe allergic reactions: badly swollen feet, lips, and throat, and multiple severe oral ulcers. The first incident led to an emergency referral for suspected Stephens-Johnson syndrome, though this turned out to be incorrect. But it was that severe -- I was unable to swallow for a week, treated with Prednisone. Since then, the next two occurrences were less and less severe, but still debilitating. Is this a reaction to an algal toxin or something similar? Since the reaction seems to be getting less intense with each exposure, is this an indication of decreasing sensitivity to whatever allergen is the cause? Has anyone heard of anything similar?
IPC to eliminate need to classify athletes at a Paralympic Games The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) has adopted a `zero classification' policy in an effort to minimise the number of athletes who need to be classified in the final days leading up to or during a Paralympic Games.The IPC aims to achieve its objective of `zero classification' by working with each International Federation to invest in and implement a comprehensive pre-Games classification programme, spread over the entire qualification period. This policy was successfully introduced in Sochi and will now be carried over to the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Classification is unique to Paralympic sport and determines which athletes are eligible to compete and how they are grouped together for competition. Its aim is to minimise the impacts of impairments on a relevant sport and ensure that winning is determined by skill, fitness, power, endurance, tactical ability and mental focus, the same factors that account for success in sport for able bodied athletes. Dr. Peter Van de Vliet, IPC Scientific and Medical Director, said: "The ultimate aim of this policy is to totally eliminate the need to classify any athlete at a Paralympic Games, as such last minute decisions are not fair for any of the parties involved, especially the athletes who have trained for years to reach the Games. "At a Paralympic Games we want all attending athletes to focus 100 per cent on competition and not worry about their classification. "We hope to achieve this by working with International Federations to increase the number of classification opportunities so that all athletes who might qualify for a Paralympics are seen by classification panels in the final lead-up to the Games and not at the Games themselves." Under the new policy only athletes with sport class status `Confirmed' or `Review + Fixed date 2017' will be eligible to participate at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games. Since the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, when one in four (25.6 per cent) athletes was classified at the Games, the IPC has gradually reduced the number of athletes who have needed to be evaluated at the summer Games. At London 2012 just one in 14 (7.1 per cent) athletes needed to be classified at the event itself. Likewise at the Winter Games, the number of athletes classified at the Games has been reduced from 76 at Torino 2006 to just one at Sochi 2014. Van de Vliet added: "At Sochi 2014 we nearly achieved our aim of having zero classification and hope at future Games to ensure that this is the norm. "This new policy implies that each International Federation has to take responsibility on the development of a long-term event and classification calendar. Only by taking this long-term approach will we achieve our ultimate objective."
A patient suffering from pneumonia required a bedside bronchoscopy in a California hospital. In order to provide sedation for the procedure, the physician performing the procedure requested a dose of Versed. Although the actual dosage requested was not recorded, the nurse gave the patient 2 milligrams via IV and, a minute later, another 2 milligrams. The maximum published dose for Versed is 1.5 milligrams over no less than 2 minutes. Because of the bedside scenario and the verbal order for medication, the nurse was required by hospital policy to repeat back the order. He did not, so there was no opportunity for the physician to realize the error. Within a few minutes, the patient stopped breathing and was administered CPR. However, the patient never regained consciousness and died nine days later. We can look at this issue within a Cause Map, a visual root cause analysis that addresses all the cause-and-effect relationships that resulted in the issue being investigated. The analysis begins with the impacted goals. In this case, the patient safety goal is impacted due to the patient death. The failure to follow hospital policy regarding repeat back of verbal orders is an impact to the compliance goal. The patient services goal is impacted by the overdose that was administered. The overdose resulted in extra care required for the patient, an impact to the labor goal. As a result of the issue, the hospital was fined $50,000 by the California Department of Public Health. (Click here to read the report, which was used to create this blog.) Beginning with an impacted goal and asking “Why” questions adds more detail to the analysis. In this case, the overdose occurred due to the need for Versed and the larger than ordered dose. The larger than ordered dose resulted from a miscommunication between the physician, who ordered the Versed, and the nurse, who administered it. The nurse did not repeat back the order as required, and the physician did not request a repeat back. Although the requirement was apparently for the person receiving the order to repeat back, patient safety is everyone’s responsibility. Pausing the procedure to ask for a repeat back would have likely saved the life of this patient. Not mentioned in the analysis was the conditions under which the order and procedure were performed. Clearly ability to hear was a concern. A study published in May of 2013 determined that background noise in the operating room can result in difficulty in communication between team members, not only by affecting team members’ ability to hear each other, but could also impair an individual’s ability to process auditory information. Other studies have found that other environmental factors can impact medical errors. Specifically, one study found that most medication errors were more likely to occur when the previous 30 minutes were hectic and involved staff member distraction. It is unclear how much of a role the environment played in this case. The hospital involved in the issue focused efforts on ensuring hospital policies were re-emphasized. While this is a typical response in this type of situation, the training efforts must ensure that the importance of the policies is emphasized, possibly by using lessons learned from actual cases to demonstrate the risk of these policies not being followed. Additionally, all staff must take responsibility for patient safety. Even though the policy required repeat back by the nurse, other staff members involved with the procedure should have played a role in ensuring that the communication between members was adequate to ensure patient protection. Want to learn more? See our webpage about medication errors in medical facilities or watch the video.
Publishers of technology books, eBooks, and videos for creative people This innovative product combines interactive video and a full-color printed reference to teach you the essentials you’ll need to build a weblog site using Wordpress Experienced instructor Joe Chellman presents 4.5 hours of exceptional quality video tutorials, complete with lesson files, assessment quizzes, and review materials. The video is wrapped in a unique interface that allows the viewer to jump to any topic and also bookmark individual sections for later review. The unique Watch-and-Work mode shrinks the video into a small window to allow the student to work alongside in iMovie. Project files used in the lessons are included on the disc so viewers can practice what they've learned, and interactive review questions help reinforce freshly gained knowledge. You will start absolutely from scratch, working through everything you need to know to build a complete weblog. Of course, with WordPress, you can build a very complete website of any kind, and what you learn here will be applicable to the building of most kinds of websites. You’ll look at installation and configuration, including an overview of the various contexts in which you can install and use WordPress, and the settings that are important to address immediately. You will then take a look at managing your written content and visual media, with special attention paid to some new post management and creation features in the latest version. After that you will spend some time on visual design and theming, especially working with child themes and will then go into how to extend WordPress through plugins, including examples of many essential plugins in several categories.
When Posy goes to stay at Pip’s house, they have lots of fun together before bedtime. But just as they switch out the light, disaster strikes: Posy realizes that she has forgotten her favorite frog toy. Desperate to help his distraught friend, Pip offers Posy a range of different toys to substitute for her frog, but none of them will do. It is only when Pip gives Posy his very favorite pig toy that Posy is comforted and the friends can get a good night’s sleep at last. As in the previous “Pip and Posy” tales, these two continue to delight and teach readers about friendship. … Children will enjoy “picture walking” through the images that clearly depict feelings and events. Kids who are familiar with the characters will enjoy this new adventure. —School Library Journal
For all pet parents! Women love wearing Scuba Fabric rayon dresses and skirts because the fabric does not create annoying instances of static cling. A piece of clothing is not always made of 100 percent rayon. The fibers are often combined with other types of fibers to make what the industry refers to as “blends.” Materials typically blended with rayon include cotton, wool, silk, polyester and acrylic. When combined, the end product takes on some characteristics of both fibers. After instances of rayon clothing readily catching on fire in the 1950s, the U.S. Department of Commerce reacted by creating the Flammable Fabrics Act, explains Swicofil. This prompted changes in the textile industry. Today most knittingfabric rayon is much safer to use, since additional chemicals can be added to make it flame-resistant.
By Jonathan Marshall If you want to know what it’s like traveling back through time, just get behind the wheel of a plug-in electric vehicle. Suddenly the price you’ll be paying for fuel will drop to levels last seen in 2002, more than a decade ago. According to a new Department of Energy website, the cost of charging an electric vehicle to drive the same distance that a traditional car would run on a gallon of gasoline (28.2 miles for a 2012 model car) amounts to just $1.14, compared to a national average price of $3.65 for gasoline. The website lets you check prices in your state as well. In California, where electric rates run higher than the national average, the cost of an “eGallon” comes to $1.51. That’s still a remarkable 62 percent savings off the average price of $3.98 for a gallon of gasoline. “Consumers can see gasoline prices posted at the corner gas station, but are left in the dark on the cost of fueling an electric vehicle,” said Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. “The eGallon will bring greater transparency to vehicle operating costs, and help drivers figure out how much they might save on fuel by choosing an electric vehicle. It also shows the low and steady price of fueling with electricity,” unlike the frequently volatile price of gasoline. PG&E customers can go one (or two) better and find out from their utility’s “Plug-In Electric Vehicle Calculator” just how much it would cost per month, under various optional rate plans, to drive any one of 14 different electrified vehicles 40 miles a day. (To get a valid estimate you also have to specify the time of day when you charge up, which can greatly affect the cost.) For example, charging a Honda Fit EV on PG&E’s EV-A rate plan late at night would cost an average of $138 a month (more in summer, less in winter). Charging a Tesla Model S would cost only a couple of dollars more. In comparison, driving a gasoline-powered vehicle that gets 28 miles to the gallon would cost $171 a month at $4 per gallon. PG&E’s website, unlike the Department of Energy’s, also tells you how big your carbon footprint would be. The Honda would produce only 1,825 pounds of carbon emissions each year, compared to 10,585 for the traditional vehicle. That should give you a warm glow as you take your fuel savings to the bank. Email Jonathan Marshall at firstname.lastname@example.org.
Here are a few food trends from over the last few years that never really made it: 1. In 2007 Epicurious predicted that farmers would become the new celebrity chefs. Epicurious decided that in 2008 we would be seeing the rise of the celebrity farmer due to the plethora of celebrity chefs already on the landscape and the public's desire to know the source of their food. Sorry Epicurious! While celebrity chefs like Gordon Ramsay and Anthony Bourdain are still household names, the television show America's Next Top Farmer is not exactly a concept that ever came to fruition. Our favorite celebrity farmer is still Taylor Swift, who actually grew up on a Christmas tree farm in Pennsylvania. 2. In 2008 SF Weekly said that we'd all be enjoying Mexican-Italian hybrid dishes. Just imagine the possibilities. Lasagna tacos, spaghetti ranchero or even red wine flavored horchata! Does all of that sound disgusting? The general public feels the same way and this is why taco pizza is the only Mexican-Italian dish that continues to reign supreme. Maybe Mexican-Italian caught on briefly in San Francisco, but the rest of us still prefer to eat our Taco Bell on the way to Pizza Hut. 3. 2012: the year of home sous vide? Have your friends just been dying to have you over to their place to try out their new sous vide machine? Huffington Post says that they were supposed to, back in 2012. Although the prices of sous vide machines may have come down over the last few years, we don't think this appliance will ever reach the popularity achieved by the George Forman Grill. Better luck next year Huffington Post. 4. The Food Channel said we would all have outdoor kitchens in 2012! The Food Channel claimed that full outdoor kitchens were becoming the new food trend in 2012 and that people were justifying the expense by staying home to entertain more often. Wow! I guess the Food Channel didn't hear that the economy was still hurting back in 2012. Although an outdoor kitchen sounds amazing, most of us are probably just wishing we could scrape together the cash to purchase a non-teflon frying pan that didn't come from the Dollar Store. 5. In 2010 you likely indulged in a ton of New Austrian cuisine according to Bon Appetit. "Want to go to Olive Garden?" "Why no thank you. I only dine at restaurants that carry a variety of new Austrian cuisine to go with my fancy craft beers!" Although it sounds crazy, you have to give Bon Appetit partial credit. The emergence of the pretzel roll within the last few years validates their off the wall prediction that we'd be chomping down on spaetzle every time we decided to order a Miller Lite draft.
Pocklington’s recently discovered Iron Age burial ground on Burnby Lane is now recognised as being of international importance. This was revealed by archaeologist, Paula Ware, who explained to a captivated Pocklington Arts Centre audience how her company’s dig started out without any real expectation that it would be something special. Aerial photographs had shown up a few cropmarks that indicated potential for some archaeology at the site, but the geophysical survey that followed did not show up anything really notable, just a likely trackway and possibly remnants of two square barrows. Even when Paula’s company, MAP Archaeology Practice, started excavating test trenches on the site, the first few trenches revealed nothing of significance. Suddenly that all changed as the archaeological team started to discover one Iron Age square barrow after another, most containing an array of widely differing burials and grave goods. The site was quickly logged as being of regional importance, then rapidly had its status upgraded to national significance, and is now listed as internationally important and likely to become studied and interpreted for some years to come. Paula described how the Pocklington site became so suddenly exciting when they reached the fourth of the 14 test trenches. She was in her office when she received a phone call from her archaeologist colleague, Mark Stephens. He was reporting back that the excavation was progressing well when his voice changed and he blurted out: “Oh, right, there’s another square barrow...and another square barrow...” From that point the discoveries continued thick and fast as the site continued to give up the secrets that had lain hidden under the surface for more than 2,000 years. The site has so far yielded 38 square barrows and 82 burials of a whole range of types, some very rare and most intact and well preserved. Most had a main central grave but many had had secondary burials, possibly from the same family, inserted into the barrows in succeeding years. The current estimate is that the cemetery was created over some 200 to 300 years, but it is possible that as the finds are analysed that is extended to cover the whole of the Iron Age period of 880 BC to 43 AD. The Burnby Lane site only contained burials, no domestic occupation, though there is evidence of the Parisi tribe living and working elsewhere at Pocklington across a wide area around the town. The cemetery predominately contains burials of local people, and it would have certainly stood out in the landscape, particularly to anyone travelling down from the Wolds. What has made the excavation especially exciting to archaeologists are how many different types of burials have been discovered. The Parisi clearly had established, but various, burial and remembrance rituals through their era and the Pocklington site will be at the forefront of understanding them, though likely to question some previously held theories about Iron Age culture. Many of the skeletons were crouched, but some were flexed, and there were men, women and children, with the men an average of 5 foot 7 inches in height and the women 5 foot 4 inches. Some faced east and some west (perhaps placed to look towards the sunrise or the sunset). Some had been buried in coffins or boxes, some in pits or laid on ‘mats’ of organic material, one thought to have been buried in a basket, and there were indications that some were just left on the surface to decompose. Some of the barrows were surrounded by enclosure ditches and some were without. Several people were interred without any accompaniment, but several had a variety of grave goods, including brooches, bangles, pendants, glass beads, pots and weapons. The skeletons, grave goods and organic material have all been sent off for laboratory investigation, including isotope, DNA and protein analysis, and for cleaning and conservation. One woman had died in childbirth, while a child was buried with a bangle on each of its four limbs, but perhaps the most exciting and unusual was a ‘speared burial’ of a young man in his late teens or early 20’s. He had been laid to rest with his sword at his side, but before his grave was covered he had half a dozen spears pressed ritualistically into him. Paula Ware described how this would have produced a mound with the spear shafts protruding “like the spikes of a hedgehog” visible for years afterwards. She also stressed that her remit was an archaeological investigation of the site, not a historical interpretation. However, she described the project as “absolutely fascinating” and “an archaeologist’s dream”, volunteering: “Pocklington is a fantastic place to live in the 21st century, and equally it must have been a fantastic place to live 2,000 years ago.” Paula also praised the role of the developers of the site, David Wilson Homes, and indicated that the Pocklington project is being showcased as an example of how planners, developers and archaeologists can work successfully together. She went on to give an insight into what is likely to happen going forward. A committee of archaeologists, historians, osteologists and other expert academics will now review, analyse and interpret the archaeological information and then publish what they believe it tells us about the Parisi and what was going on the Iron Age in Pocklington more than 2,000 years ago.
International Lineman's Expo and Rodeo offer tools, training and technologies to help protect crews in the field. When Paul Lira competed in the very first International Lineman's Rodeo 28 years ago, hard hats and safety glasses were optional, and bucket trucks didn't exist. As he watched the competitors at this year's event, however, he noticed that all the contestants wear not only personal protective equipment, but many teams are also competing with 100% fall protection. As a veteran lineman, Lira said he had mixed emotions about moving from free climbing to no fall arrest, but he says that 100% tie-in will be something linemen will need to adapt to in this generation. “I am old school, and I feel like if we can't free climb, we won't do it, but we need to set aside the macho thing for the sake of safety,” said Lira, the Local 304 business manager who has served as a competitor and a judge for the Rodeo, an annual event showcasing apprentices' and linemen's skills in Bonner Springs, Kansas. While an increasing number of utilities are requiring their apprentices and journeymen to wear 100% fall protection while competing, it could soon become a requirement rather than a option. Rick Childers, who has served on the International Lineman's Rodeo Association (ILRA) for the last 12 years, estimates that about half of the utilities are now requiring their employees to compete in a full fall-arrest system. In the next five years, he expects that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) will mandate 100% fall protection, and if that happens, then the IRLA will follow suit. Jackson Electric Cooperative, Black River Falls, Wisconsin, is already requiring its apprentices to compete in 100% fall protection at the rodeo. Starting on Jan. 1, 2012, however, the utility also will require journeymen linemen to use fall-arrest systems from Buckingham Manufacturing, Jelco Inc., Miller Fall Protection or Klein Tools. “I've noticed today that there are a lot of teams that are moving into fall restraint,” said Marty York, a journeyman lineman who has been in the industry for the last 15 years. “We climbed in them and have tried them, and it's a new tool that you just have to get used to. We competed with them in the Kentucky Lineman's Rodeo, and we won first place overall.” To help educate the linemen on all the new fall-protection technology out on the market, the ILRA presented a side-by-side comparison of climbing fall restraints at its half-day safety conference at the Overland Park Convention Center in Overland Park, Kansas, U.S. For example, Buckingham Manufacturing, Capital Safety, Jelco, Bashlin Industries, and Miller Fall Protection Products, demonstrated how their products worked on a portable 20-ft (6-m) wood pole, which was set on a sidewalk outside the convention center. “We hadn't done fall protection for a few years, so we wanted to make it an event for people to get more information on the pole climbing restraints,” Hayward said. “We took an hour-and-a-half outside, and each group was given 15 to 20 minutes for their demonstration. It was a good event.” The fall protection session was only part of the day-and-a-half safety conference, which drew 160 participants for the first day of the event, Hayward said. The conference used to only last for a half a day, but the organizers decided to expand it to a day-and-a-half to provide more education on a variety of topics. For example, at the 2011 event, John Beaver from Ameren UE delivered a presentation on the road to safety. Rick Bush, editorial director for Transmission & Distribution World, then led a panel discussion with Entergy, Kansas City Power & Light and HD Electric on personal voltage detection. The attendees also watched a personal injury video from Westar. The video profiled a worker who had lost both arms due to a burn. “We try to start every year with a personal injury story to set the tone for the conference to let the workers know what we are dealing with,” Hayward said. “We have a lot of younger linemen, and we are very proud of the trade. We need to show them how to stay out of trouble.” Dale Warman, co-chairman of the ILRA and retired from KCP&L, then talked the attendees through the process of informing families and safety professionals following an accident. On the second day of the conference, Bill Neiles talked about crane certification, and Carl Potter then delivered a keynote session about safety in the utility industry. Products on Display Following the safety conference at the Overland Park Convention Center, the doors were open to the exhibit hall for the 2011 Expo. This year's trade show featured about 70 vendors, who demonstrated such products as software, hand tools, and personal protective equipment. Calvin Hudson, battalion commander for the 249th U.S. Army Engineer Batallion in Fort Belvoir, Virginia, brought 26 soldiers to the expo and the rodeo. He said the Expo was a good way for the soldiers to see the latest technology and safety equipment. Clint Pearson, battalion commander sergeant major, said by attending the Expo, the U.S. Army is able to upgrade its climbing belts, gloves and boots to meet industry standards. On the trade show floor, the vendors offered a variety of safety equipment from safety glasses to new linemen's boots to flame-retardant clothing. Allen Kiggins, manager for Xcel Energy, Denver, Colorado, U.S., said he was especially interested in the high-visibility garments. Since he manages the electric troublemen who work 24/7 shifts, he was looking for some warm and visible coats or shirts that they don't have to take on and off like the vests they currently wear in the field. “The expo provides the newest technology, which the crews often don't get to see,” said Kiggins, who has been to the rodeo and expo 10 times. “Many times, the managers bring back products for the linemen, but at this event, the crews can provide input.” Jerry Levesque, department leader of the dispatching center at Arizona Public Service and chief judge in the safety area, agreed. He says it's rare for the field workforce to be able to see the latest tools before their managers and supervisors. For example, James Hunter, an apprentice from Guadalupe Valley Electric Cooperative in Seguin, Texas, U.S., discovered rubber gloves that featured enhanced quality and comfort on the trade show floor. Like other attendees, he also had his eyes open for new types of fall-restraint systems. Focus on Safety at the Rodeo In addition to browsing the trade show floor at the Overland Park Convention Center, Hunter also competed in the rodeo. Apprentices must complete a written exam, do a CPR and First Aid test, and then participate in the pole climb on one of the many 40-foot wood poles set up at the Agricultural Hall of Fame grounds for the event. By standing on the sidelines and watching his competitors, Hunter learned how to climb quickly without losing his footing or violating safety rules. For example, as he climbed up the pole, he tried not to step in cracks or knots. On his way down, he concentrated on not shattering the raw egg that he had to hold in his mouth. For many years, the ILRA has integrated the raw egg into the pole climb competition to show the contestants that safety is number one at the rodeo, Childers said. “Safety is more important than speed,” he said. “You may be the fastest kid on the block, but you can't cut corners at the rodeo. Otherwise, you will have points deducted.” Another way that the ILRA is focusing on the importance of safety is through its First Aid and CPR competition. At any point in time during their careers, apprentices and journeymen need to be able to perform CPR, said Winston Moore, crew leader for Centerpoint Energy in Houston, Texas. In his 38 years with the company, he said it was his first time to the rodeo. In his view, the rodeo and expo were an invaluable way for these young workers to learn the importance of teamwork and communication. “The apprentices get to learn the importance of not only the book work, but also how to be in good, friendly competition and make themselves better,” said Moore, whose company sent two journeymen teams and three apprentice teams to the rodeo. Childers said the rodeo serves as a good training ground for the apprentices as well as the journeymen linemen. To keep competitors on their toes and prevent them from becoming complacent, the ILRA always features mystery events. The contestants can't practice for these events ahead of time because they don't know what they will be until they arrive on site. For this year's event, the journeymen had to use a Hastings load pickup tool to simulate picking up a de-energized conductor. During the other mystery event, they used Chance line hoses and split blankets to cover the neutral and replace a dead-end bell with a Lug-All hoist. The competitors also participated in the hurtman rescue event, which was modified to simulate a real-world environment. Before performing the pole-top rescue, one of the team members had to pick up a radio, read a script and dispatch an emergency medical team. Lira said the rodeo always reflects what linemen do for a living. The competition also fosters interaction between companies by lowering barriers between small and large utilities, co-ops, contractors and rural electric associations, he said. “Everyone is watching the technology and talking, and I've seen work practices and tools improve remarkably because of the conversations that happen here,” he says. “Also, within companies, I think it has helped to promote a change in mindset. There's no longer the attitude that you have to do whatever it takes to do get the job done. Here at the rodeo, you have to do it safely.” Editor's Note: To see more photos of the International Lineman's Rodeo and Expo, please visit the Electric Utility Operations Facebook page.
Online penpals, or keypals, allow students to learn what everyday life is like in other parts of the world. This is a great activity to integrate into your language arts or social studies curriculum. To register your class for keypals, or to have students search for their own, we recommend the following sites: A completely free service, ePALS provides members with the collaborative tools, ideas and community needed to communicate worldwide in ways that are both fun and educational. Connect's Connected Teacher to Teacher Search Locate and contact educators from around the world to hook up with project collaborators and get keypals. Use Teacher Search to find other educators, or introduce yourself by creating a profile so other educators can find and contact you easy to get in touch with professionals via email. It's not hard to find someone's email address compared with their personal phone number or even a direct line at work. You can find someone via a Google search, by visiting a site that has their own roster of experts like RefDesk's hotlist of Experts for pros in various lines of work. A particularly great site is the UN's "Ask An Ambassador." However you find an expert, remember that these are busy people who may or may not have time to help you and your students. Of course, be polite, make first contact yourself, and get their permission before allowing students to contact them Williams, a teacher in New York City, contacted an orthopedic surgeon at the Yale School of Medicine after seeing his name in an article in the New York Times. Dr. Renshaw began corresponding with Jill and her 5th grade class, sharing statistics on pedestrian safety. His input transformed her class and her students. Read more about Jill's online collaboration and view her curriculum unit on Pedestrian Safety. Battagliese, a teacher in South Portland, Maine, wanted to address his students' curiosity about extra-terrestrials. He had them email scientists found by emailing the astronomy departments of several top universities. Once they had the scientists' permission, his students created an online survey then graphed the results to compare their beliefs about extra terrestrial life with their own. See the survey results, and view his entire curriculum unit, "Are We Alone?" listserv is an email-based mailing list that provides an online forum for discussing issues of interest to its members. Sign up, and messages posted by members get sent to your email in-box. There are literally hundreds of listservs dedicated to education issues. See a sampling of the major lists. you have a question or comment about this article? E-mail Sandy Scragg is a consultant forTeachers Network's TeachNet Project. She has been a technology trainer, staff developer, and an English teacher for the New York City Public Schools.
Charles M. Vest MIT President 1990–2004 MIT Corporation life member Professor of Mechanical Engineering President, National Academy of Engineering 2007–2013 Charles M. Vest was a professor of mechanical engineering and president emeritus at MIT and the former president of the National Academy of Engineering. Dr. Vest served as president of MIT from 1990 until November 2004, during which time he brought issues of education and research to greater public attention. Dr. Vest emphasized enhancing racial and cultural diversity, broadening the undergraduate education, and utilizing new organizational forms to meet the emerging frontiers of research and education. He was the chairman of the US Department of Energy Task Force and the Future of Science Programs and vice chair of the Council of Competitiveness, and a member of the board of directors of IBM and E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company. Highlights of this interview include: Challenges faced during his MIT presidency, including the end of the Cold War and aftermath of September 11. Decision to recruit world-renowned architect Frank Gehry to design the Stata Center. Successful defense of the Department of Justice’s claim that MIT violated the Sherman Antitrust Act. Efforts to improve gender equity at MIT. Support of the OpenCourseWare initiative, which allowed educational materials to be shared around the world.
by Rob Williams on November 9, 2005 in Air-Cooling Is your laptop getting a little too hot around the collar? Sometimes doing even simple tasks on a notebook can heat it up in a hurry, making it uncomfortable to even use. Gaming can even be more frustrating, since the heat generated is making the entire laptop run like tar dripping from a roof. Today we are looking at Titan’s solution to the problem. As mentioned in the intro, an overheating laptop is not fun. I currently run a Dell Inspiron 5150, which uses the P4 HT 2.8GHz processor, which in itself helps a great bit with the overheating problem. Then you have a hard drive, that can heat up and hit 40°C simply by scanning it or copying files. Even if you have an old video card installed, such as my GeForce FX 5200, it will be make the problem far worse. Even with a horrible GPU, I have played numerous games on this system such as: Lineage II, City of Heroes, Counter-Strike: Source and Asheron’s Call. Each one of these games have lagged to the point of not being able to play anymore. I am sure some of this is responsible due to the fact that there is only 512MB of memory in the computer, but I am guessing that even more has to do with the heat being generated. Yes, laptops are designed to handle the heat. But I don’t buy the fact that everything will run just fine and dandy while the CPU is pushing 70°C. If you have ever felt the air that comes out of the back, then you will know where I come from. I could boil an egg.. or play with a spreadsheet. It would really depend on what I feel like for breakfast and whether there is a hangover involved. At any rate, Titan has stepped right up to the plate to help solve this overheating issue. They are not new to the laptop cooler business, but their latest release, the G3T, certainly looks to be the most promising… and stylish. Since Titan’s primary job is to keep computers cool, I am guessing they know a thing or two on the subject.
by Berin Szoka & Adam Thierer, Progress Snapshot 5.11 (PDF) Ten years ago, Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman lamented the “Business Community’s Suicidal Impulse:” the persistent propensity to persecute one’s competitors through regulation or the threat thereof. Friedman asked: “Is it really in the self-interest of Silicon Valley to set the government on Microsoft?” After yesterday’s FCC vote’s to open a formal “Net Neutrality” rule-making, we must ask whether the high-tech industry—or consumers—will benefit from inviting government regulation of the Internet under the mantra of “neutrality.” The hatred directed at Microsoft in the 1990s has more recently been focused on the industry that has brought broadband to Americans’ homes (Internet Service Providers) and the company that has done more than any other to make the web useful (Google). Both have been attacked for exercising supposed “gatekeeper” control over the Internet in one fashion or another. They are now turning their guns on each other—the first strikes in what threatens to become an all-out, thermonuclear war in the tech industry over increasingly broad neutrality mandates. Unless we find a way to achieve “Digital Détente,” the consequences of this increasing regulatory brinkmanship will be “mutually assured destruction” (MAD) for industry and consumers. New Fronts in the Neutrality Wars The FCC’s proposed rules would apply to all broadband providers, including wireless, but not to Google or many other players operating in other layers of the Net who favor such broadband-specific rules. With this rulemaking looming, AT&T came after Google with letters to the FCC in late September and then another last week accusing the company of violating neutrality principles in their business practices and arguing that any neutrality rules that apply to ISPs should apply equally to Google’s panoply of popular services. In particular, AT&T accused Google of “search engine bias,” suggesting that only government-enforced neutrality mandates could protect consumers from Google’s supposed “monopolist” control. The promise made yesterday by the FCC—to only apply neutrality principles to the infrastructure layer of the Net—is hollow and will ultimately prove unenforceable. The reality is that regulation always spreads. The march of regulation can sometimes be glacial, but it is, sadly, almost inevitable: Regulatory regimes grow but almost never contract. Indeed, in some ways, the prediction we made just three weeks ago is already coming true: The basic premise of neutrality regulation is already being proposed for other layers of the Internet—and not just by AT&T in retaliation. One need not agree with all of AT&T’s accusations to recognize that, whatever the FCC might say today, any large online intermediary with a popular platform potentially faces the threat of “network neutrality” mandates—because every platform is essentially a “network,” too. We’re not just talking about “search neutrality” (Google as well as Microsoft) but also about “device neutrality” (mobile handsets), “app neutrality” (Apple’s iTunes store, Facebook’s developers and Google’s Android mobile OS) and so on for social networking, email, instant messaging, online advertising, etc. An open letter sent to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski this week by 28 founders and CEOs of leading application providers—including Amazon, Google, Facebook, Netflix, Craigslist, Sony and Twitter—speaks generally about the need for the FCC to enforce a “guarantee of neutral, nondiscriminatory access by users.” While many of these signatories may have in mind ISPs as the network “gatekeepers” that need to be reined in by the FCC, the more successful among them are likely to find this letter used against them in the future—perhaps even by co-signatories—to advance a broad conception of what the government must do to ensure “openness” and “access” for platforms at all layers of the Internet. Dumb Networks, Dumb Devices The intellectual foundations for this regulatory creep have already been laid by groups like Free Press and Public Knowledge and law professors like Columbia’s Tim Wu, Harvard’s Jonathan Zittrain and Seton Hall’s Frank Pasquale. As originally conceived by Tim Wu in 2003, “network neutrality” is not unique to broadband networks: “the basic economic problem found in the network neutrality debate (a form of ‘platform exclusion’ or ‘vertical foreclosure’) can be found in many other markets.” Indeed, Wu’s popular Net Neutrality FAQ declares: The promotion of network neutrality is no different than the challenge of promoting fair evolutionary competition in any privately owned environment, whether a telephone network, operating system, or even a retail store. Government regulation in such contexts invariably tries to help ensure that the short-term interests of the owner do not prevent the best products or applications becoming available to end-users. Zittrain picked up where Wu left off in The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It—attacking, as the enemies of innovation, not ISPs but the supposedly “closed” platforms of Apple, TiVo and Microsoft’s Xbox. Zittrain warns that: If there is a present worldwide threat to neutrality in the movement of bits, it comes not from restrictions on traditional Internet access that can be evaded using generative PCs, but from enhancements to traditional and emerging appliancized services that are not open to third-party tinkering. Zittrain’s general solution is “API [Applications Programming Interface] neutrality:” If you create a platform (whether hardware or software) and begin allowing third-party contributions (“generativity”), you will lose all control over devices or applications that can run on that platform. Those who offer open APIs on the Net in an attempt to harness the generative cycle ought to remain application-neutral after their efforts have succeeded, so all those who built on top of their interface can continue to do so on equal terms…. [N]etwork neutrality ought to be applied to the new platforms of Web services that, in turn, depend on Internet connectivity to function. Clearly, if Zittrain and his allies have their way, the sort of neutrality mandates envisioned by the FCC or some Congressmen for ISPs will eventually cover companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and Amazon—all singled out by Zittrain in a New York Times op-ed in July: If the market settles into a handful of gated cloud communities whose proprietors control the availability of new code, the time may come to ensure that their platforms do not discriminate. Such a demand could take many forms, from an outright regulatory requirement to a more subtle set of incentives — tax breaks or liability relief — that nudge companies to maintain the kind of openness that earlier allowed them a level playing field on which they could lure users from competing, mighty incumbents. Frank Pasquale agrees on the need to restrain all “the dominant players at all layers of online life,” but focuses on his demand for a Federal Search Commission to control supposedly “biased” search results. While the FCC wrings its hands over “managed services” offered by ISPs, search engines are increasingly offering their own value-added services by “blending” algorithmically-derived results with special features like maps, videos, books or music depending on what the search term suggests the user is interested in. “Artificially” ensuring that these features appear on the first page of search results is clearly non-neutral, and necessarily involves search engines making ”managed” decisions as to whose features to include. Yet such features also clearly benefit users—dramatically improving the usefulness of search engines and helping to sustain struggling business models like music retailing. But one need not resort to the works of “ivory tower” academics to see the slippery slope we’re already tumbling down with the infinitely elastic principle of “neutrality.” The prospect of the FCC gradually transforming into a “Federal Information Commission” becomes more apparent when one reads the Wireless Innovation and Investment Notice of Inquiry recently released by the FCC: As other approaches, such as cloud computing, evolve, will established standards or de facto standards become more important to the applications development process? For example, can a dominant cloud computing position raise the same competitive issues that are now being discussed in the context of network neutrality? Will it be necessary to modify the existing balance between regulatory and market forces to promote further innovation in the development and deployment of new applications and services? One can imagine how some might use such language to accuse Google of being in “a dominant cloud computing position” such that “the context of network neutrality” will be applied to cloud service (like Google Voice) to “modify the existing balance between regulatory and market forces” through regulation. Indeed, that’s precisely what AT&T has suggested in recent letters (September 25th and October 14th) to the FCC. AT&T’s partner Apple has already been the subject of such attacks for its decision to block the Google Voice app earlier this summer. The incident marked the beginning of open warfare between Google and AT&T/Apple. The FCC quickly jumped into the mix, first questioning how Apple manages its iTunes apps store for the iPhone, then questioning how Google runs its free Voice application. What legal authority the FCC has over either service is far from clear, but Apple seems to have gotten the message: It recently approved the Spotify music streaming app for the iPhone, which could be a serious competitive threat to the iTunes music store. This small incident highlights how easily regulators can impose their will through informal mechanisms like open-ended investigations even without clear authority to issue rules or bring enforcement actions. Yet none dare call it what it is: regulatory blackmail. The Inevitability of Regulatory Capture No doubt, other industry players will cheer on such regulatory harassment of the titans of tech—and maybe even demand more of it. Regulatory creep is driven by more than the self-interests of every bureaucracy to expand its own mission, budget and staff. As the Electronic Frontier Foundation has noted, “Experience shows that the FCC is particularly vulnerable to regulatory capture.” While lobbyists play an important role in defending business from government, all too many businesses naively look at government as a beast that can be tamed, trained, and turned to one’s own advantage, and often try to use the expanding regulatory apparatus to their own advantage or simply throw their competitors under the bus to save themselves. The result is a Hobbesian regulatory “war of all against all” within industry. When a commission is responsible for the performance of an industry, it is under never completely escapable pressure to protect the health of the companies it regulates, to assure a desirable performance by relying on those monopolistic chosen instruments and its own controls rather than on the unplanned and unplannable forces of competition. […] Responsible for the continued provision and improvement of service, [the regulatory commission] comes increasingly and understandably to identify the interest of the public with that of the existing companies on whom it must rely to deliver goods. If Internet regulation follows the same course as other industries, the FCC and/or lawmakers will eventually indulge calls by all sides to bring more providers and technologies “into the regulatory fold.” Clearly, this process has already begun. Even before rules are on the books, the companies that have made America the leader in the Digital Revolution are turning on each other in a dangerous game of brinksmanship, escalating demands for regulation and playing right into the hands of those who want to bring the entire high-tech sector under the thumb of government—under an Orwellian conception of “Internet Freedom” that makes corporations the real Big Brother, and government, our savior. Toward a Less MAD World: Digital Détente Sincere defenders of real Internet Freedom—that is, freedom from government techno-meddling—recognize that there will always be disputes over how companies deal with each other online across all layers of the Internet. The question is not whether we need a technical coordinating mechanism for handling such disputes. Someone should mediate conflicts over alleged deviations from abstract neutrality principles. But should that arbitrator be an inherently political body like FCC? Or should we instead look to truly independent, apolitical arbitrators like the Internet Engineering Task Force or collaborative efforts like the Network Neutrality Squad? Such alternative dispute resolution mechanisms and fora need not have the power of law to be effective: The weight of their expert opinion, based on careful investigation of the facts, would likely resolve most disputes, because companies have strong reputational incentives to comply with reasoned rulings by truly neutral experts. And the white hot spotlight of public attention has a way of disciplining marketplace behavior as well. Government would still have a role to play, of course, in enforcing antitrust laws where anticompetitive harm to consumers can be proven, and in enforcing the promises companies make to consumers. Ultimately, however, certain business models and technologies require non-neutral treatment, and the best remedy for concerns about non-neutrality is competition itself: In the high-tech sector more than any other, disruptive innovation makes it difficult for even the most successful companies to stay on top forever. Competitive entry—or even the threat of new entry—provides a powerful check on the power of so-called “gatekeepers,” but even more important is the prospect that today’s leaders will be tomorrow’s laggards: There’s little reason to think Google (search and advertising), Apple (smart phones and music) and Facebook (social networking) won’t someday find themselves playing catch-up, just as IBM (computers), Microsoft (desktop software and search), Friendster and MySpace (social networking), and Yahoo! and AOL (web portals) have had to do. “Digital Détente” would require that all parties concede something and work constructively toward a more “peaceful” (i.e., less regulatory) resolution. And yet, no Internet company wants to disarm unilaterally, foreswearing politics as a continuation of competition by other means. Only through multilateral disarmament could they break out of the current cycle of regulatory one-upmanship: If the companies in the Internet ecosystem could form a united front against increased government regulation and in favor of removing existing regulatory obstacles to competition, they could all return to their core competencies of creativity and innovation. The alternative is a regulatory “nuclear winter”: high-tech titans turning their political fire on each other, catching innocent third parties in the cross-fire and bringing a dark cloud of government regulation over the entire Internet. Such increased regulation would stifle investment and innovation throughout the Internet ecosystem. Thus, it is consumers who will ultimately suffer most from the tech industry’s suicidal impulse, as their choices and digital lives are impoverished. For their sake, we hope all industry players will step back from the brink to avoid such high-tech mutually assured destruction.
Jeff Clarke, vice chairman and head of Dell’s PC business, walked onto the stage at the Dell Annual Analyst Conference this morning in Austin to the tune of Spamalot’s “I Am Not Dead Yet” and gave some of his top 10 reasons the PC is, in fact, “dead”: 10. Just 315 million PCs were sold last year. 9. In this room, only nine out of 10 people have a PC. The tenth person probably has three. 8. 68 percent of consumers use PCs to shop on Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday is not much to crow about. 7. PCs are used by only 100 percent of Fortune 500 companies. 6. Excel and smartphones are a match made in heaven. 5. Of the 1.2 billion ATMs around the world, just 1.2 billion of them are using a PC. 4. Nearly all consumers who own a personal computer use it at least once a day. Which is more often than they bathe. 3. Scientists, government employees, engineers, architects, and the entire film industry gave up PCs in favor of “story time.” 2. Since the “post-PC era” began in 1999, only 3.58 billion PCs have been sold. Pundits may have meant the “post-typewriter era.” 1. Mainframes and minicomputers are totally making a comeback. Watch an excerpt of Clarke’s remarks at the conference.
By Murray Weidenbaum, Foundation for Economic Education The government of the United States is in the midst of debating major new undertakings, ranging from health care to climate change to energy development to tax reform. Â Yet far more fundamental is a basic but stealth shift in national prioritiesâ€”in the form of a rapid and pervasive expansion of government power over the private sector of the economy. Although no serious discussion is occurring in the nation about the desirability of shifting economic power from individual decision-makers to the national government, that shift is a basic characteristic of virtually every policy proposal being debated in the Congress. Take tax policy. Â A 131-page document (pdf) issued by the Treasury goes way beyond recommending the extension of some of the expiring Bush administration tax cuts. Â For example, the fine print contains over a dozen ways of discouraging American firms from doing business and investing overseas. Â Supposedly minor technical changes also would have a severe impact. For example, eliminating LIFO (last in-first out) inventory accounting will raise business taxes over $60 billion in one decade. Â The Treasury also wants to revive four corporate environmental taxes that were eliminated in 1969. Â These four arbitrary taxes have no relation between the tax burden imposed on a company and the pollution that it generates. Â This bears an uneasy resemblance to Willie Sutton, who robbed banks because that was where the money was. Inevitably a variety of technical tax provisions will increase the paperwork burden on business. Â The penalties for failing to file information returns (such as Form 1099) promptly and accurately are raised in a very complicated fashion involving three tiers of penalties. On the expenditure side, the typical stimulus project increases the power of government in private business decision-making. Â The bailout of the automobile industry is really an inefficient method of financing union pension and health plans. Â The stockholders are zapped and the bondholders poorly treated. Â The taxpayers are left holding the bag, especially considering the restrictions on General Motors importing the really fuel-efficient cars they produce overseas. Â Apparently, the new General Motors factory for building compact cars was chosen on the basis of â€œcarbon footprintâ€ and â€œcommunity impact.â€ It is hard to keep a straight face when analyzing the new â€œcash for clunkersâ€ program. Â For example, owners of the biggest old clunkers get a $3,500 credit for trading in the old vehicles for a new one with an improvement of just one mile per gallon. Â Surely, it would save energy if the Treasury just mailed the $3,500 checks directly to Detroit! Of course, the Obama administration is making some reductions in federal spending. Â It is reportedly imposing a 9 percent reduction in the budget for the division in the Labor Department that polices fraud and other illegalities on the part of labor unions. Â As noted below, a simultaneous expansion of business-oriented antitrust enforcement is taking place. Turning to regulation, one of Ralph Naderâ€™s biggest disappointments during his heyday as a consumer advocate was the failure of his proposal for a new Consumer Protection Agency. Â However, the administrationâ€™s financial regulatory plan creates a powerful new Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA). This new free-wheeling agency takes authority now divided between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Federal Reserve System. Â In a change guaranteed to cause confusion, the CFPA will share authority with the Federal Trade Commission. Â The new regulatory agency will also have a mandate to give consumers more economic education. Â Educators find that especially scary. Moreover, the agency will have its own money pot, independent of the normal congressional appropriations process. Â It will be financed directly by fees assessed on â€œentities and transactionsâ€ across the financial sector. The Treasuryâ€™s financial plan contains many other expansions of government power over business. Â The Federal Reserve System is given new authority to oversee any large financial entity whose failure the Fed thinks could generate â€œsystemic risk.â€ Â The Treasury heads a new Financial Services Oversight Council to â€œresolveâ€ the inevitable jurisdictional disputes among federal agencies. Â A new Office of National Insurance is to be established in the Treasury to monitor â€œall aspects of the insurance industry,â€ a sector of the economy traditionally under the province of state governments. The SEC will require the registration of all advisers to hedge funds and other private pools of capital with assets over a given threshold. Â It also will have the power to inspect the books of the advisers and to ensure compliance by their clients. Â In addition, the power of the SEC will be expanded by legislative proposals to give it a more active role in guiding the compensation committees of all public companies. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation will have new authority to take over and shut down financial institutions (not just banks) whose failure is deemed to pose â€œsystemic risk.â€ Viewed in their totality, these technical financial changes would represent a historic expansion of government. Â Sadly, there is little comfort in the Treasuryâ€™s warning in its 88 pages of detailed proposals: Â â€œMore can and should be done in the future.â€ Â Comparisons with the New Deal of the 1930s are too timid. Â Shades of Alexander Hamilton! The complicated climate change bill that recently passed the House of Representatives is a dramatic example of expanding government power over the economy. Â Again, the fine print deserves far more attention than it has received. Â For example, buried in the 1,201 pages of detail is a provision authorizing the Department of Transportation to require automotive manufacturers to produce vehicles that can run on methanol (wood alcohol), a fuel not widely available. Other provisions, as expected, have little to do with the subject of global warming. Â For example, contractors on some energy projects must pay employees at least the locally â€œprevailing wage.â€ Â It is well known that, in practice, that means paying higher union wage scales. Many federal departments are trying to climb aboard the economic stimulus bandwagon. Â The Department of Justice wants to help out by showing that antitrust should be a â€œfrontline issueâ€ in the response to the problems facing the economy. Â Apparently, business is not getting sued often enough. Â Incredibly, one new assistant attorney general views antitrust enforcers as â€œkey members of the governmentâ€™s economic recovery team.â€ When we step back and try to add up all the tax, spending, and regulatory actions and proposals of the new Obama administration, the result is clear: a cumulative squeeze on private decision-making and a more slowly growing economy in the years ahead. In the process, private businesses will be discouraged by a host of government policies from making major new investments, especially those of a long-term nature with payoffs far in the future. Â Key negative factors are the likelihood of higher taxes and greater inflation resulting from the huge budget deficits that are likely to arise in the next several decades, abetted by lax monetary policies. The American public is likely to have a long wait until the national unemployment rate gets back down to the 7.6 percent that was reported when President Obama took office in January 2009. One fundamental point deserves to be stressed. Â In the inevitable tension in public policymaking between economic prosperity and income redistribution, for the next several years the American people can expect that income equalization will get the governmentâ€™s priority over improvements in peopleâ€™s living standards. Â The average American, at best, will receive a more equal slice of an income pie that will be far smaller than the public expects. Murray Weidenbaum holds the Mallinckrodt Distinguished University Professorship at Washington University in St. Louis, where he also serves as honorary chairman of the Weidenbaum Center on the Economy, Government, and Public Policy.
The criticism of Obamacare is a little late in the political process, no? With the so-called Obama healthcare “reform” law and the horses out of the barn, Catholic leaders are now complaining with a fevered pitch that the administration’s definition of a “religious employer” is going to force Catholic and other pro-life healthcare providers to choose between violating their consciences or curtailing access to care. Catholic educational institutions will also be forced to provide employees with healthcare plans that are inconsistent with the Church’s moral teachings. Testifying before the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee, the Chancellor and General Counsel of the Archdiocese of Washington, Jane Belford, said that if the definition of religious employer is not changed: Catholic schools that teach abortion is morally wrong could have to pay for abortifacient drugs for their employees; and Catholic health clinics that refuse to provide contraception or sterilization for patients could have to subsidize contraception and sterilization for their employees. Criticism has become more vocal since the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, approved new regulations that order nearly all private health plans to cover FDA-approved “contraceptive methods, sterilization procedures, and patient education and counseling” as part of their “preventive services” for women. The new regulation defines a religious employer as a non-profit organization that “inculcates” religious values and primarily hires and serves people who share its religious tenets. The problem this definition presents is that it excludes many “employers of conscience”—including Catholic hospitals, universities and social services—which serve all people in need, regardless of their religion and whose commitment to Christian service is not intended primarily to inculcate religious values. The President and CEO of the Alliance of Catholic Health Care, William J. Cox, said this narrow definition HHS has overlooked “the contributions of Catholic health care and undid centuries of religious tolerance.” Cox testified: It is particularly ironic that HHS is substantially burdening Catholic institutional ministries because they respectfully avoid inculcating religious beliefs, and compassionately serve persons of all faith traditions and those having no faith tradition at all… Simply stated churches and religious institutions have the right to define and govern themselves free from government interference and entanglement. The Catholic leaders were unanimous in imploring Congress to pass the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (HR 1179), which aims to expand the religious exemption allowed under Obamacare. The criticism is accurate: The definition is exclusive rather than inclusive. It divides rather than unites. It’s dismissive of rather than accommodating. At the same time, however, isn’t much of it a bit late in the “game”? After all, in the debate leading up to the passage of the so-called Obamacare “reform,” many Catholic leaders seemed very content to accept the “promises” the President and members of his administration offered them while lobbying for their support of the so-called “healthcare reform” scheme. Having danced with wolves, why should the critics be unhappy that the wolves have bit the hand that fed them? So, the horses are now out of the barn and the critics are hoping that the other side of the aisle will come to their aid. Let’s hope so! But, having provided support in opening the barn door to this anti-life scheme, isn’t the criticism coming a little late? Who duped whom?
If you've been following Aaron's progress thus far you know that he has struggled mightily in his first few weeks out. He's hoping to go from Hercules Inlet to the South Pole and back, but bad weather and slow travel have been a hinderance thus far. He has finally found enough snow to start skiing however and that has helped increase his speeds. Rather than covering just 1-1.5 miles (1.6-2.4 km) he is now hitting 4.5 miles (7.2 km) on a daily basis. But considering the round-trip expedition is suppose to cover 1400 miles (2253 km) in total, he isn't traveling near fast enough to cover all that ground in the time allotted. In today's dispatch Aaron has some insight as to why he is not traveling as quickly as he would hope, even though the weather as improved and he is on his skis at last. He now believes that he is not eating properly and that his nutritional plan may be failing him. Skiing for hours on end, day after day, requires a lot of energy and these polar explorers burn through calories very quickly. Linsdau says that he is running out of steam after pulling his sleds for only a brief amount of time, and because of that he has to stop, find something quick to eat, and then get moving again. Those frequent stops are killing his distances and making it hard for him to gain any kind of momentum. He will be re-evaluating his approach to how and what he eats over the next few days to see if can help his performance. I found it very interesting to read this dispatch as it gives us a bit of insight that we wouldn't normally think about for these kinds of expeditions. We know that these explorers must be fit and prepared to endure difficult conditions, but we don't often think about the importance of staying well fed and keeping your energy up while traveling through such a demanding environment. Clearly Aaron did all of his prep work to be in the best shape possible for this journey, but Antarctica is still teaching him some very important lessons 18 days into the trip. Meanwhile, Vilborg has officially launched her bid to become the first woman from Iceland to go solo and unsupported to the South Pole. She doesn't seem to be having as much difficult as Aaron, at least not so far. In her first dispatch, since getting underway, she reports that she has covered 9 miles (14.4 km) in 6.5 hours of travel. From the sounds of things, she is relaxed and enjoying the challenge, listening to her iPod while she skis. Hopefully the rest of the journey goes as well as it has in her first few days. Finally, the Irish team of Clare O'Leary and Mike O'Shea, along with guide Bengt Rotmo, have wrapped up their crossing of the North Patagonia Icecap. The entire journey took 19 days to complete and covered approximately 250 km (155 miles). If you're looking for a taste of what that journey was like, take a peek at the video below. It is beautifully done, but definitely shows us a hint of the suffering involved along the way.
Lost is an American serial drama series that follows the fate of the survivors of the Oceanic Airlines 815 on a mysterious tropical island located somewhere in the Pacific (even if the serial is filmed mainly in the Hawaii). Departed from Sydney on Sept. 22 2004 at 14:55, from gate 23, and flying to Los Angeles, where it was expected to arrive at 10:42L, the B-777 of Oceanic 815 experienced a radio failure 6 hours after take-off. The pilot decided to land to Nadi airport in the Fiji island (even if the nearest landing field was the Faleolo International Airport in Samoa), but 2 hours later, the plane, flying off-course by approximately 1000 miles, encountered severe CAT (Clear Air Turbolence) and broke-up. The following compilation from Youtube user battletops provides a view of the plane crash from the passengers’ perspective. According to the interesting study published on Lostpedia (http://www.lostpedia.com/wiki/Flight_path_of_Oceanic_815) basing on the characters’ statements (failure after 6 hours, turnaround, 2 hours before mid-air break up), the crash location should be somewhere North of Fiji. Actually, Lostpedia based its calculation on a straight route connecting SYD (Kingsford Smith International) to LAX (Los Angeles International) while actual route is most probably sensibly different. In order to discover the actual crash site of OC815 I studied the FPL of a real flight connecting SYD to LAX: QFA 11. I picked the most recent flight plan from FlightAware, dated Sept 27th: Qantas Airways Limited “Qantas” (Australia) Aircraft Boeing 747-400 (quad-jet) (H/B744/Q) Origin Sydney Int’l (YSSY) Destination Los Angeles Intl (KLAX) Other flights between these airports Route DIPSO G595 ALLOC KEBAB 3300S 15600E 3200S 15800E 3100S 16000E 2938S 16300E 2600S 17000E 2524S 17103E TERUX 2300S 17500E 1900S 18000E 1355S 17456W 0800S 17000W 0500S 16700W 0300S 16500W 0300N 16000W 0900N 15500W 1500N 15000W 2000N 14500W 2400N 14000W 2700N 13500W 3000N 12500W WEDES B581 FICKY C1177 SXC Date Thursday, Sep 27, 2007 Duration 12 hours 14 minutes Status Arrived over 4 hours ago (track log) Departure 03:25AM GMT 03:35AM GMT Arrival 08:53AM PDT 08:49AM PDT Speed Mach .84 Altitude 29000 feet I plotted the QF11 using FSNavigator and drew the path expected to be flown from Sydney to Los Angeles by Oceanic 815. I used a cruising speed of 340KIAS (that I chose to have a total flight time to destination of 12 hours and 14 minutes, the same of QF 11 that on Sep. 28th landed in LAX after 12 hours and 8 minutes), a turnaround point 6 hours after departure, a standard 180° turn, and 2 hours of flight NORDO (No Radio) direct to Nadi International airport and obtained a new crash location 350 Kilometers to the W of Samoa and 600 Kilometers to the North of Fiji; a point that is incredibly coicident with a very small island in the Pacific Ocean whose name is Wallis Island (Uvea). According to my study, that is the exact location of Lost island. This is the satellite view of Wallis.
The City of Austin’s “Give Us 5 Challenge” encourages Austinites to increase recycling in their homes by 5 pounds each month. Here are some tips to help you recycle as much as possible: - Be aware of what you can and cannot recycle. Visit austinrecycles.com for a complete list. - Never let recyclables go into the trash. - Recycle throughout your house. Add a recycling bin in every room to make it easier. - Make recycling a daily habit. - Get everyone in your house involved. Reducing the amount of waste that goes to the landfill means preserving natural resources and creating a better tomorrow for Austin residents. For tips on how to recycle more in your home visit austintexas.gov/giveus5 and follow Austin Resource Recovery on Facebook at facebook.com/austinrecycles. Remember we’re all in this together; so Give Us 5, Austin!
Join Date: November 2, 1998 US Army unofficial bicycle corps I rummaged through the Friends of the Library bookstore and found a book on the 25th Infantry, an original buffalo soldier unit. The book is The Twenty-Fifth Infantry by John H. Nankivell. It had too much modern history (for my taste) and not enough frontier and Spanish American War. I did find this gem in it. An innovation of this period was the establishment of the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps, under the command of 2nd Lieutenant James A. Moss. An article by Fairfax Downey in the American Weekly for September 18, 1928, gives a very entertaining description of the "Corps," and from which I have culled the following extracts: In the heydey of the bicycle, the year 1897, there was organized at Fort Missoula, Montana, the 25th Infantry Bicycle Corps. In command of the cycle corps was Lieutenant (now colonel) James A. Moss, widely known as the author of Moss's Manual and other military text books. His talent made him a fit chronicler of the activities of his command - activities which were to resolve themselves into a veritable peace-time anabasis, a series of bikes through the Rocky Mountains. 'Now this Bicycle Corps of the 25th Infantry, was not the sizable organization it sounds. With customary army conservatism, the strength of this new department was restricted to one lieutenant, one sergeant, one corporal, one musician and five privates, one of them a good mechanic. They all presumably qualified as being able to ride wheels. Before very long, they could do a good deal more than that. They cold drill, scale fences, ford streams and hike - or bike - forty miles a day in heavy marching order. 'The Corps would clear a nine foot fence in twenty seconds. The command was, 'Jump fence,' and they did it - of course 'By the numbers.' A front rank man would rest his wheel against the fence and pull himself over. Thereupon his file would pass over both wheels and follow himself. On the other side, the Corps would smartly assume the position of 'Stand to bicycle.' To ford a stream not deep and swift, they dismounted, and rolled their wheels through, but if it was a more formidable proposition, two men slung a wheel on a stick resting on their shoulders, and carried it over. Their packs consisted of aknap-sack with blanket roll and shelter half strapped to the handlebars. A haversack was carried forward underneath the horizontal bar. Under the seat was a cup, in a cloth sack to keep off the dust. The rifle was strapped horizontally on the left side of the wheel. Slung on the rider himself was the canteen and thirty rounds of ammunition, having been found that it was prudent to burden the soldier's person with little, in case of a fall. 'The corps made its first real hike to Lake Macdonald. Starting at 6:20, they had clicked off thirty-three miles by 12:30 without much untoward happening, except for two men falling in a stream. By 7:30 that night they had put fifty-one miles behind them. the next day it rained and was very muddy, but they made thirty-one miles. All in all, they made 126 miles in twenty-four hours of actual travel and that under adverse conditions. The Corps next put a hike to Yellowstone Park. A hot sun and steep hills which necessitated pushing the wheels were encountered, and down grades where it was hard to hold back also provided difficulties. At last the command halted on the Continental Divide, where half the squad took position on one side and half on the other. When a tourist asked one of the cyclcists, 'Where do you expect to go today?', the answer came back quick as a shot, 'The Lord only knows, we're following the lootenant.' Deprecating the deep dust and many falls, but enjoying the scenery and the geysers, the Corps pedaled through the park, making a speed of seven miles an hour for 133 miles. 'Their record hike was seventy-two miles averaging eight and three-quarters miles per hour. While the strength of this Corps was increased later to twenty and it proved valuable as scouts and couriers in regimental maneuvers, it did not continue, and during the usual peace inertia between wars, no similar organization took form. The extent of our country, its lack of network of roads, its large supply of horses - all these were factors discouraging cycle corps while the reverse in Europe encourages them." Their bicycles were the old steel frame, one gear type. No carbon fiber or aluminum frame, titanium gears, shock absorbers or anything that can be found on a modern mountain bike. That was some tough biking. Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. Molon Labe!
Magnetic 240 Sight Words - Item #: EI1610 - Condition: New MAGNETIC 240 SIGHT WORDS and Sentence Builders Ages 5 + Grades Kindergaten + Create stories with sight words on any magnetic surface. Reinforce sight words in context anywhere you can stick a magnet! Children love forming sentences with these easy -to-use magnetic tiles. Use on magnetic boards, file cabinets, refrigerator doors - any magnetic surface! Perfect for beginning reading activites including sentence and story formation, identifying rhyming words or parts of speech, cloze activities, and much more... Allows students to create hundreds of sentences and stories in centers Works on any magnetic surface, including magnetic whiteboards and file cabinets Supports beginning reading activities focusing on phonics, rhyming, sentence building, parts of speech and more Includes over 240 sight words and punctuation marks
The Huffington Post is reporting that the United States Senate will remain without any black representative for some years to come. Of its 100 members, there are currently no black senators, and it is likely to remain so after the 2012 Congressional elections since there are no black major Senate candidates. There have only been six black senators in the country’s history: “I frankly think it’s a shame, and I think it is reflective of America sometimes still idling in the past,” said Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), who is black. “There are enormously talented people in all backgrounds.” While all the lawmakers interviewed for this piece acknowledged that the Senate would be better equipped to serve the American public if it were more diverse, the issue was hardly at the top of the agenda for many of them. “That is the last thing on my mind right now,” said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), when asked about the topic on Capitol Hill. “Obviously we should have more diversity. … But how you go about that, frankly, I would contemplate that more in January.” Click here to read more.
By Erik Wasson - 02/06/13 01:22 AM EST The federal budget deficit will fall to $845 billion in 2013 before rising again over the next decade as an aging population and soaring healthcare costs lead to an explosion in entitlement spending, the Congressional Budget Office reported Tuesday. The budget deficit would fall below $1 trillion under President Obama for the first time in 2013 and would drop to $430 billion by 2015, according to CBO’s annual fiscal outlook. But CBO’s long-term forecast projects that budget deficits will near the $1 trillion mark again by 2023, when it forecasts a $978 billion budget deficit. The CBO report offers a fresh glimpse of the nation’s short- and long-term budget issues as the White House and Congress squabble over how to deal with a tiny fraction of the fiscal mess —$85 billion in scheduled cuts to spending slated to hit March 1. “We have large projected deficits, a debt that will remain at a historically high share of GDP and will be rising at the end of the coming decade,” CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf said. “I think what that implies is that small changes in budget policy will not be sufficient to put the budget on a sustainable path.” The number of seniors receiving Social Security and Medicare benefits will rise by 40 percent over the next decade, Elmendorf said. He also warned that waiting to change entitlement programs could mean failing to realize savings before aging baby boomers join the programs in full force. Compared to the size of the economy, the deficit in 2013 is much lower than in 2009, when Obama took office, the CBO noted. The deficit will be 5.3 percent of gross domestic product this year, nearly half the 10.1 percent of GDP in 2009. The CBO report argues the “fiscal cliff” deal that also ended a two-year payroll tax cut will lower budget deficits but hurt economic growth in the short term, as it forecasts growth of just 1.4 percent in 2013. CBO projects an unemployment rate above 7.5 percent through 2014, which would mark the sixth straight year with a jobless rate above that mark, the longest stretch in 70 years. It says that growth would be 1.5 percentage points greater in 2013 if automatic spending cuts known as the sequester were turned off, if the 2 percentage point payroll tax break were reinstated and if tax increases instituted last month on wealthier taxpayers were voided. Citing the report, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said the nation needs to get serious about spending cuts now. “The deficit is still unsustainable,” he said. “By 2023, our national debt will hit $26 trillion. We can’t let that happen.” Ryan has pledged to pass a budget this year that balances in a decade. To do that, CBO’s report shows that Ryan would have to cut spending by $4 trillion. To get those cuts without touching defense or entitlement benefits, Ryan’s budget would have to cut the domestic agency budgets of the federal government by two-thirds, Elmendorf said. Senate Budget Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) said the CBO report shows that more needs to be done to stimulate growth. “Today’s CBO outlook confirms that the economic recovery remains fragile and we can’t afford to lose focus on job creation and economic growth,” she said. CBO economists predict the economy will rebound strongly in 2014 with 3.4 percent growth. Unemployment would get down to 5.5 percent by 2018, CBO says, and the rebound from the 2007 recession would finally be complete in 2017. The 2013 growth numbers are rosier than those CBO projected in August, when the fiscal cliff loomed and CBO saw the economy contracting by 0.5 percent in 2013. CBO has projected budget deficits below $1 trillion under Obama before, but only if all of the Bush-era tax rates were allowed to expire. Assuming those tax rates expired, for example, the CBO last year projected the deficit would fall to $641 billion. Such a scenario was always implausible, however, given opposition from Obama and Republicans in Congress to raising taxes on the middle class. The CBO budget baseline, which will form the yardstick used by lawmakers during this year’s fiscal debates, assumes that nearly $1 trillion in automatic spending cuts over nine years will be allowed to take place and that a radical cut to doctor payments under Medicare will be allowed to occur, among other assumptions. Assuming Congress simply turns off the sequester cuts and passes a “doc fix” without paying for it, among other actions, a total of $9.5 trillion would be added to the deficit in the next 10 years. The CBO report also had new projections on Obama’s healthcare reform law. The CBO projected that Obama’s signature healthcare law will cost about $1.3 trillion over the next 10 years — a slight increase of $164 billion over its projection from August. CBO concluded that healthcare reform, in spite of its price tag, will ultimately reduce the deficit because of revenue-raisers within the bill. — Elise Viebeck contributed. —This report was last updated at 8:22 p.m.
\| \|\| \| Be firm and consistent August 2, 2011 - Betsy Bethel As a parent, I have adopted a new motto that, granted, I should have adopted a long time ago: Be firm and consistent. It's kind of a takeoff on God's advice to Joshua in the Bible to "be strong and courageous." I need all four of these attributes, actually. It takes strength and courage, after all, to be firm and consistent. It's easier said than done. No one wants to deny a child the one thing she wants so badly at that moment, whether it's an ice cream cone, a trip to the pool or a new tech toy. It is so much easier to give in! Sometimes I feel my heart is being squished when I've said no to something, perhaps too quickly, and she starts to plead and bargain with me to change my mind. Whether I want to change my mind or not is irrelevant; I have discovered that the hard way. I have to stick to my first decision or she will always think she can whine her way into getting what she wants. The other day, for example, I told Emma she could have a Kit Kat, but she dawdled too long getting to the car. I counted ... slowly ... and informed her after saying "2" that she would lose the Kit Kat if she didn't come before "3." She didn't, and I endured tears and pleas and eventually anger on the 20-minute drive home because no Kit Kat was forthcoming. When she discovered crying was getting her nowhere, she declared her hatred for me and then gave me two choices: Throw myself into a dumpster or give her a Kit Kat. Inside I was laughing, but outwardly I maintained my cool. That kind of talk is funny to tell your husband in private later, but it can't be tolerated. I actually wanted to give her the Kit Kat because I felt like I was being too hard on her just for dawdling. But I also have been working hard at this "firm and consistent" thing. And it has been working. So because I had told her to come and she ignored me, and then she also ignored my warning, I had to follow through. There are other times, of course, when I don't feel a bit guilty for disciplining her. After the dumpster comment, for example, I warned her not to be disrespectful. She said it again, so she now had to go to her room when we got home. That didn't hurt a bit. You also have to know when changing your mind actually is in order. After I declared she'd be going to her room, she responded smugly that she would just play in her room (the unspoken words were: So there!). As a result, I promptly changed the location of her timeout to the stairs. And do you know ... she actually agreed that would be better. I grudgingly admit I have always half-questioned in my heart what the parenting experts say about the whole idea that kids crave boundaries and like to be told what to do because it lets them know you care. But when I see how Emma responds (after the heat of the moment passes) when my husband and I are firm and consistent with our expectations, the truth is obvious. I also have grasped — a bit late — that anger and frustration have absolutely no place in meting out discipline. "Never let them see you sweat," the saying goes, and it's true. Once you cave to your own emotions that are wrought by your child's behavior, the child has "won" -- which means he really has lost. I have had to discipline myself to remain calm during Emma's outbursts. I always used to either yell in anger, cry, throw something or leave the room in frustration. While leaving the scene obviously is a better option than lashing out with words or physical action, I now feel even doing that shows a chink in my armor. Being firm and consistent, as I said, is paying off. While whining and deliberate disobedience have not disappeared altogether from our household, the instances are fewer and farther between. And I continue to pray for the strength and courage to be the kind of parent Emma needs me to be. No comments posted for this article. Post a Comment
Security \| News Air Force Association Names 28 Finalist Teams in Cyber Defense Competition The Air Force Association, a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting "public understanding of aerospace power and national defense," has named 28 high school student teams selected to advance to the CyberPatriot V National Finals Competition, a national cyber defense contest. Advancing schools are located in Alabama, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, South Dakota, Texas, and Virginia. The competition, which is intended to urge students to venture into careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, drew 1,200 applications from all 50 states, and United States Department of Defense Dependent Schools in Canada, the Pacific, and Europe. The contest provided options for two tracks: The Open Division is for public, private, parochial, and home school teams, and the All Service Division is for Junior ROTC, US Naval Sea Cadet Corps squadrons, and Civil Air Patrol squadrons. The open division teams that will be advancing include: Service teams earning advancement include: For all three rounds of the competition, students had to find vulnerabilities to Windows or GNU/Linux operating systems on one to three virtual machines. The teams that found the most vulnerabilities advanced to the next round. CyberPatriot V held its semifinal round January 11-12, at which participating teams were tasked with strengthening computer networks to prevent them from being attacked by viruses, and other threats. Advancing teams will attend the CyberPatriot National Finals Competition in the nation's capital March 14-16. The contest will use SAIC's CyberNEXS cyber training and exercise model, and Cisco will host a networking event at which teams will be evaluated on "their ability to operate and secure a basic network." Pre-registration is available now for the 2014 CyberPatriot VI contest at uscyberpatriot.org. For more information, visit uscyberpatriot.org. Tim Sohn is a 10-year veteran of the news business, having served in capacities from reporter to editor-in-chief of a variety of publications including Web sites, daily and weekly newspapers, consumer and trade magazines, and wire services. He can be reached at firstname.lastname@example.org and followed on Twitter @editortim.
Gun disposal law takes effect RALEIGH -- The North Carolina General Assembly has never teemed with former law enforcement officers. I suppose, after working for years in a profession where your life is literally on the line, most retired cops have little desire to face the figurative fire of holding public office. It also is not a profession where anyone gets rich, and running for political office can be an expensive proposition. Still, the late Don East, who served in the state Senate for more than decade, had been a Winston-Salem police officer for 20 years. The late Ed Jones, who served terms in the House and Senate, was a 30-year veteran of the State Highway Patrol and had been police chief of Enfield. Former state Rep. Joe Kiser had been sheriff of Lincoln County before spending more than a decade in the state House. Another former sheriff, Union County's Frank McGuirt, had a few years in the House after he retired. One wonders what any of the four -- two Republicans and two Democrats -- might have thought about legislation approved, in bipartisan fashion, by the General Assembly that sets new rules for how law enforcement agencies get rid of guns confiscated in criminal investigations or found and unclaimed by their owners. The law, which took effect Sept. 1, requires that functioning firearms either be sold at public auctions, used for training purposes, or transferred to a museum. Only those found to be unsafe or without legible serial numbers can be destroyed. In the past, law enforcement agencies had the option to sell guns, but many chose to have county sheriffs destroy them instead. A lot of police and sheriff's departments are only now figuring out how they are going to comply with the new law. Some law enforcement leaders say the change is good and will allow them to have another source of money to pay for expenses, echoing the comments of legislators who promoted the change. Others are less sure, saying that they will be forced to create new procedures and have yet to figure out exactly how they will work. Jeff Welty, a criminal law expert at the UNC School of Government, has predicted that the law could leave some guns in legal limbo, citing those seized from someone subsequently convicted of a felony that disqualifies them from owning guns. In that case, local law enforcement could not benefit from selling the guns. The state constitution requires that forfeitures, which is what guns seized as the result of a criminal case become, benefit the public schools. But how much time and money is a local law enforcement agency going to throw at the process of having a federally-registered firearms dealer sell a gun at auction without any financial benefit to the agency? The bottom line here is really simple: Who knows best how to handle seized firearms, the police and sheriffs who have been doing it for years or state legislators? If legislators wanted to help law enforcement, they should have given them more options, not fewer.
[EDIT: If you’re looking for a photo of the North Pacific Trash Gyre, go here.] The ocean is really, really big. This may be obvious, but it gets brought home especially hard if, say, one happens to be a marine biologist who kinda accidentally misplaces one’s study site and has to spend three hours swimming around underwater looking for it. Hypothetically, of course. The Pacific is not big enough, however, to hide all the plastic crap that comes pouring off North American and Asia. Many of the broken flipflops, lost plastic bags, abandoned waterbottles, and so forth collect in the North Pacific Gyre, which is essentially a big slow gentle whirlpool. But instead of sucking the trash down, it just collects at the center, forming a floating trash heap the size of Texas. Capt. Charles Moore accidentally sailed through the gyre a few years ago and was so shocked by vast vistas of trash that he formed the nonprofit Algalita Marine Research Foundation, based in LA. They’ve got a research cruise sailing through the gyre right now, trawling and categorizing trash – read more on their blog. Here’s a great photo of a barnacle-encrusted life jacket that they found floating by. Read more about the North Pacific Trash Gyre: - “Plague of Plastic Chokes the Seas”, part of the excellent & incredibly depressing LA Times series Altered Oceans. – Jean-Michel Cousteau visited our brand-new national monument, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands – Metafilter thread with lots more links
Training for the first school district officials who will carry concealed handguns to prevent violence at schools begins today, reports KTVT (CBS 11). Dallas ISD Police Chief Craig Miller helped write the curriculum for the program but DISD won’t participate in the program.. He told CBS 11 that the program is designed mainly for smaller rural school districts that do not have their own police departments. “It’s not designed for Dallas or Fort Worth ISDs,” he said. “I don’t believe in general it is a good idea to arm any teacher or educator. I think it should be police officers.” Miller said last year that he is not a fan of the new law, and questioned ”giving a teacher a couple weeks’ training with a gun and saying go out there and do the job,” that can be challenging even for veteran officers. State Rep. Jason Villalba authored the school marshal bill . He said smaller school districts will likely have marshals in place by the beginning of the coming school year.
Marcellus Shale boosts Wilkes-Barre/Scranton airport The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport lost 1.9 percent of its departing flights between 2007 and 2012, but the airport rates considerably better than most of its similar-sized peers, a new study shows. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology study classifies the Pittston Twp. airport among 249 "non-hub" airports that boarded at least 10,000 passengers but accounted for less than 0.05 percent of total travelers in the country. The average drop in domestic departures among all airports in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's category was 15.4 percent. Meanwhile, other non-hub airports across the country generally lost many passengers, unlike their counterpart in Northeast Pennsylvania, which actually gained 5.4 percent in passengers during the five-year period. The industry's trend toward using larger airplanes explains why there were fewer flights yet more travelers locally. "Most airports have seen a reduction in scheduled domestic flights as a result of a difficult global economic climate and a U.S. recession, high and volatile fuel prices, and a recent trend of 'capacity discipline' strategies by major airlines," the report said. "The nation's small- and medium-sized airports have been disproportionately affected by these reductions in scheduled domestic flights, and recent airline behavior appears to signal ... consolidation of service at the largest airports with fewer direct flights to smaller airports." Airport Director Barry Centini said the local travel hub would have lost a similar amount of traffic to most other similar-sized airports nationally if not for the natural gas boom in the Marcellus Shale. Among long-term cars parked in the airport's lot, Mr. Centini said 20.4 percent of vehicles are from out of state, with only 9 percent from New York and New Jersey. Meanwhile, 2.3 percent of vehicles are from Texas, 1.1 percent from Louisiana, and 2 percent from Mississippi, Illinois, Florida and Arizona - states from which many natural gas drillers travel to the region. Mr. Centini noted the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre area unemployment rate is 9.6 percent, the worst in the state, and said people who do not have jobs and disposable income are less likely to travel. Ideally, he said the airport will eventually be able to benefit from a strong local job market in addition to the growing natural gas industry. Airport officials have been making moves to ensure the local travel hub has the capacity to grow in case new carriers want to start flying out of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton or businesses want a permanent hangar. Among those moves Mr. Centini cited are a recently completed $6.4 million project to build an area where hangar space could be added. Airport officials also continue to talk about ways to add parking. Contact the writer: firstname.lastname@example.org, @kwindTT on Twitter
Ask A Librarian This is the Thomas More College Library's guide to government documents. The college is part of the Federal Dipository Library Pogram and the library provides access to federal government documents in electronic format and in some print format. In this guide you will find information about and links to federal and state level government websites that will help you in your research journey. Please remember to contact the library staff with any questions you might have. The many avenues of contacting us include using the information located in the contact us box to your left, IMing us using the chat box below the contact information, or my contacting me, Alisha Copley, directly by using my contact information to your right. Print Government Documents Collection Thomas More College Library has a print collection that supplements the electronic collection located on the entry level of the library. For older editions of some materials that may not appear in any of the websites linked in this guide please see the print collection.
After a long delay, AT&T has finally enabled its MMS (Multimedia Messaging Service) for the iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS. The lag between announcing the feature at the iPhone OS 3.0 rollout in March and now was due to the anticipated data demands placed upon AT&T's already straining cellular network - a strain directly attributable to the iPhone. (See AT&T Plans for Mobile Data Onslaught, 2009-05-28.) Despite these concerns about network stress, there were no reports of outages or other problems on the launch day. Problems were anticipated as iPhone users tried the feature for the first time, like the stress on city sewer systems during Super Bowl commercials. AT&T appears to have prepared well. MMS is included in your cellular plan's Text Messaging option, which is priced from $5 per month for 200 messages to $20 per month for "unlimited" messages; text and multimedia messages are counted the same. In a text message sent to iPhone users over the weekend, AT&T said that iPhone owners with no message plan would be charged $0.30 for each MMS message sent or received. AT&T notes that "original iPhone customers will continue to use the www.viewmymessages.com site to receive picture messages." The problem is, AT&T got their own URL wrong. It's "www.viewmymessage.com/1", which redirects to a real AT&T page where you must enter a message ID and, presumably, your account password. While MMS has many of the same properties as and more limitations than a rich, HTML email message, there's less friction in using MMS. This is intentional, as MMS is a huge boon for carriers in terms of profit margins, which are very high. A 1 MB email message containing several photos would cost nothing to send on an iPhone (included in the flat-rate data plan), whereas a 100 KB MMS message requires a messaging subscription plan or incurs the $0.30 fee without. You can see which the carriers would prefer. Updating Your iPhone -- To get MMS functionality, you need to connect the iPhone to your computer and, in iTunes, click the Check for Update button. You'll be prompted to download an update to the carrier settings. The download is small, so it should take only a few seconds. Sync the iPhone and then restart it: hold the power button down for a couple of seconds, then slide the power off switch that appears; count to 10, then press the power button again. (TidBITS reader Steven Riggins points out that you can instead merely use the Settings app to put the iPhone into Airplane Mode and then switch back to regular mode to reset the iPhone's radios.) Sending and Receiving MMS Messages -- When you next launch the Messages app, a camera button appears to the left of the text field. Tap that button to choose between taking a photo with the built-in camera or selecting a picture (or a video if you're using an iPhone 3GS) from your photo albums. After you select an image or video, enter a text message and tap Send. Other apps on the iPhone tie into the MMS feature. In Voice Memos, select an audio recording and tap the Share button to see a new MMS button in addition to the Email option. The MMS button also appears when sharing media in the Photos and Camera apps, and when sharing locations in the Maps app (tap a location pin to view more information and then tap the Share Location button). When you receive an incoming MMS, it appears with the media. In the Messages app, you can also tap the item to view it full-screen. Using MMS is optional. If you have no interest in sending or receiving multimedia and don't wish to be charged for messages others send you, go to Settings > Messages and turn the MMS Messaging option off. Being able to send more than just images makes MMS more interesting than I first imagined, since it allows me to send a location to an iPhone-using friend, who can then tap the Map URL field to view the position in the Maps app. (I can't tell how the same message sent to another phone will work.) I'll probably continue to share photos and videos using Flickr or MobileMe, but I also like having options.
Evidence is piling up about the many ways in which our virtual lives spill over into our actual lives. A new study, for example, finds that those who immerse themselves into robotic avatars in role-playing video games for significant periods of time grow significantly more resistant to pain in their actual lives. Hidebound traditionalists find this difficult to stomach, but they can no more hold back a civilisational shift towards virtual worlds that they could restrain the march of mobiles or social media. This shift will have especial resonance for Indians, and not just because the word avatar has Sanskrit roots. Just look at its implications for education, one sector where conventional speed just won`t suffice to meet our exploding demographic needs. Teaching avatars could do magic for overcrowded classrooms. Student avatars, where smarter doppelgangers actively participate in classroom discussions and apply abstract concepts in a concrete ways, could give our children a transformative confidence boost. Given that they already display Herculean focus while playing video games, it`s logical that simulating such focus in other fields could dramatically improve learning outcomes. Today`s technology means avatars have mechanistic inertness but tomorrow`s will be different, anthropomorphising emotions and warmth as well. And really, we shouldn`t be surprised that game play can influence offline beliefs and attitudes. Doesn`t putting on a power suit make us feel more confident? It`s in this vein that seeing our doppelganger run regularly can energise us to take exercise in real life or choose smaller portions during meals. Or start doing charitable work and seek a promotion! Changing our self-perception can indeed change our behaviour. Seeing our avatar perform confidently can encourage us to try the same ourselves. Designing a taller avatar may not change our height, but it can certainly enable us to walk taller. They cause social dysfunction Virtual worlds — three-dimensional versions of the internet where one can live a parallel life as an avatar, or a proxy — distort one`s experience of reality. An alternative life on the web is not just a harmless exploration of the ethereal; it is a decidedly unhealthy disengagement from reality with avatars, or fictional characters, representing assumption of multiple identities. These cause their own unsettling psychological impacts in the real. As the line between real and virtual worlds is becoming increasingly blurred, there will be socially damaging consequences, especially for teenagers. Virtual worlds — of which there are several — offer users the opportunity to devise a `reality` of their own making. For instance, in SecondLife.com, one of the largest and most popular of such sites, users adopt an identity of an avatar which engages with other virtual alter-egos in a make-believe world that includes sports, music venues, pubs, art galleries, random simulated sex, virtual cash, and now even pushing and abusing hallucinating drugs. While taking refuge in a fantasy world may appear to be harmless escapism, with some analysts describing it to be more `real` and efficient, it brings about social dislocation as users are left as atomised individuals without social bonds. There have been occasions when children have been subjected to bullying in cyberspace — with fatal consequences — as well as real-life relationships that have fallen apart because of what was going on in a parallel universe. Such outcomes reflect a fundamental malaise across age groups — a strong disaffection with the real world. Virtual enmities have sometimes led to murders or abductions in the real world. While virtual worlds are being touted as the next big thing in cyberspace, no degree of technological innovation can be a cure for the dysfunctional.
Inserting a picture into your email signature of Outlook Express is not as easy it should be, however it is still possible. The usual signature in Outlook Express email is made up of text. Most probably your name, address, business name, and phone number. However if you have a picture or logo to insert into your email signature then it has to be done by inserting HTML. Unfortunately you cannot just put a picture into an email signature as the file size is too large. You also cannot put HTML files that are too large, so this is why we make a small HTML file that links to the picture and web page you choose. You can also see this updated post on How to create email signatures for Outlook 2007. How to find the URL of an image - Go to the webpage where the image is. - Right click on the picture and choose properties. - Select the URL address by making it blue and right click and choose copy. - Open Notepad and paste the URL there. - Keep this notepad open for the next step. How to write HTML to point to an image and make it a link I am going to show you a basic HTML link that will point to a picture that is stored on the internet. So when the you send it in your email signature it will also be a link to a web page and have text show up when the person moves their mouse over the picture. <a href=”http://www.tips4pc.com/index.htm”><img src=”http://tips4pc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Untitled-11.gif” alt=”Tips4pc Logo – Free Computer Help and Education” width=”339″ height=”89″></a> Yellow= The link.. Everything between <a and </a> is to do with the link. Green= This is where you put the URL of the web page you want your picture to link to. Red= Telling us to find the image source. Light Green= Where your image is on the net. The URL you got when you found the properties of the image. Blue= The alt tag shows writing when the mouse goes over the picture. Put your own text in between the “” and “”. Pink= The size of the image You can copy that exact code and just replace it with your URL and image source and size. Copy from the <a to the </a> <a href=”http://www.tips4pc.com/index.htm”><img src=”http://tips4pc.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/Untitled-11.gif” alt=”Tips4pc Logo – Free Computer Help and Tips” width=”339″ height=”89″></a> Here is the color code chart below. Click on the image to enlarge it. How to make your HTML file with your picture or logo as a link to go into your email signature - Paste the code from above into your notepad file. - Replace the url’s with your own of your choice. - Go to the menu at the top. - Choose file, Then Save as. - Where it says filename, choose a name. - I will call mine email sig.HTML - Notice how I have put .HTML on the end. It will be a HTML file now. - Press save and remember where you are saving it to. How to insert your HTML as your email signature in Outlook Express - Open Outlook Express - Go to Tools>Then Options - In the Options menu, choose Signatures, then select New - In the Edit Signature section, if the “Text“ selection is ticked you can write your email signature in. Or, if you would like to browse for a signature on your hard drive, you can tick the “File” selection. - Click on browse to find the file you want to attach. - To make it permanent to attach to every email, tick the box that says Add signature to all outgoing messages. - Now when you send an email the signature will be the picture with a link to a web page. Notes on adding a picture or logo to your email signature: - Hopefully your email recipient has not disabled the HTML feature in Outlook Express or any other email client that they use. - An ALT tag is important because if the picture in the email signature does not show up, the alt writing will still be seen. - When you have a web page you can put your banner or logo in the email signature and people can click on it to get to website. - You can put whatever you like in your .txt… You can put your contact details, links to websites, your email, and more… - A HTML file does not take up much room because it is just a bunch of text, instructing Outlook about where to get its information from. - If you are after a simple text signature see Creating An Email Signature for Outlook Express. - You could put a link to your RSS feed in your signature. Here is what my email signature looks like after I created the HTML file and added it to the Outlook Express email signature. It is also a link to my website.
When everything has its place, that means already half the work is done. While keeping order is important, it is equally important to feel at home in your environment, whether text or graphical. The text environment is controlled through the shell setup files. The graphical environment is primarily dependent on the X server configuration, on which a number of other applications are built, such as window and desktop managers and graphical applications, each with their own config files. You should read the system and program specific documentation to find out about how to configure them. Regional settings such as keyboard setup, installing appropriate fonts and language support are best done at installation time. Software is managed either automatically or manually using a package system. The following commands were introduced in this chapter: Table 7-2. New commands in chapter 7: Making yourself at home \|aptitude\|\|Manage packages Debian-style.\| \|automount\|\|automatically include newly inserted file systems.\| \|dpkg\|\|Debian package manager.\| \|dselect\|\|Manage packages Debian-style.\| \|loadkeys\|\|Load keyboard configuration.\| \|mount\|\|Include a new file system into the existing file system tree.\| \|ntpdate\|\|Set the system time and date using a time server.\| \|quota\|\|Display information about allowed disk space usage.\| \|recode\|\|Convert files to another character set.\| \|rpm\|\|Manage RPM packages.\| \|setfont\|\|Choose a font.\| \|timezone\|\|Set the timezone.\| \|tzconfig\|\|Set the timezone.\| \|ulimit\|\|Set or display resource limits.\| \|up2date\|\|Manage RPM packages.\| \|urpmi\|\|Manage RPM packages.\| \|yum\|\|Manage RPM packages.\|
The Fair (disambiguation) (Redirected from The Fair) The Fair can refer to: - Celegorn the Fair (Y.T. - F.A. 506), Noldorin prince and third son of Fëanor; - Dior the Fair (F.A. 470 - 506), half-elven son of Beren and Lúthien; - Elanor the Fair (b. T.A. 3021), eldest child of Samwise Gamgee and Rose Cotton; - Elfwine the Fair (Fourth Age), nineteenth King of Rohan; - Hirluin the Fair (d. T.A. 3019), captain of the men of Pinnath Gelin during the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. \|This disambiguation page is a list of articles associated with the same title. This is in accordance with Tolkien Gateway's Naming policy.\| If an internal link referred you to this page, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.
Rosetta spacecraft has taken pictures of the “Lutetia" asteroid for the first time. The mission also sought proofs for extremely fragile atmosphere and magnetic effects, along with examining the surface composition and mass. Holger Sierks of the Max Planck Institute, said that Lutetia is "highly cratered" from supporting numerous blows during its 4.5 billion years of survival. "As Rosetta drew close, a giant bowl-shaped depression stretching across much of the asteroid rotated into view”, he said. He added that the pictures prove that Lutetia is a lengthened body, having a longest side of 130km. This implies that the object is too long. It can be considered a relic of the Solar System. Certainly, Lutetia had been considered a mystery for over a long period of time, with the ground-based telescopes frequently providing perplexing features. In some of the pictures, the asteroid appears to be a 'M-type', being related to iron meteorites nearly rosy in look. They appear to be fractions of large objects. The new images, as well as the data gathered, will form the basis of the study of a distinct categorization for Lutetia. The study will include the comet for few months.
The world has been doing a good deal of work to save the energy resources and to use energy efficient appliances at homes and also for commercial purposes. The World Wide Fund in Sydney which started its operation in 2007 is taking measures to take better steps to conserve energy and also draw the attention of the people to a more cool and fresh environment and to avoid and save ourselves from the bad and polluted one. The earth hour is celebrated each year on the last Saturday of March as a symbol to vow to save energy and utilize it in a better way. Thus to save and conserve energy you must try to adopt and use energy saving appliances. Here are the top ten energy saving appliances which you can purchase to ensure that energy remains conserved. These appliances help in reducing energy consumption and save your money too at the same time. Let’s have a look at them and buy the most energy efficient items for our household use… Energy Saving Appliances 10. Eco-Friendly Computers This Dell Studio Hybrid is the ever greenest and the most economical and the most efficient computer ever built. It has about 87% efficient power supply and is 80% smaller than a typical desktop computer so it uses about 70% less power which meets the energy star 4.0 green computing requirements. The packaging of the PC is from recyclable material and also more than 75% less weight than a normal machine. 9. Energy Saving Washing Machine The Samsung WF210ANW/XAA is the ever best choice front loading machine. They are a bit expensive ones but they are more energy efficient than top loader washing machines. With 3.5 cubic foot washer it well complies with the Energy standards and gets a good overall rating. I have seen many positive reviews about it from consumers too. It has however limited wash cycles but with its energy efficiency than others many people prefer to buy this washing machine. 8. Ecological Water Filter This under sink water filter has a rating of 90 out of 100 from consumer report and has a good quality of contamination reduction power. It is indeed easy to install and is convenient to use and provides a really good value to the cost for your money with a low yearly maintenance cost. With this water filter you are assured to get healthier drinking water and also for use in cooking. 7. Eco Friendly Battery Charger This highly tech device is great for charging your mobile or cell phone at your ease as and when required. It not only can charge with the help of sunlight but the best part about it is that it can charge by computer via USB, or a car charger or a simple AC adaptor too. It is a good handy emergency charger which is really easy and convenient to use. This ecofriendly charger can charge any electronic equipment which takes power from 3.6V to 5.5V. 6. Environmental Air Filters This Air Filter is another great advancement to technology and this energy saving app uses only 10 watts power on its highest fan speed. The entire unit includes the recyclable materials and a silent filter made from non- toxic components to make it environment friendly too. It provides both the benefit of clean and fresh air with less electricity bills and helps in reducing costs at a great rate. 5. Green Television The Sharp LC-20B8U is known as the green television and for a 20 inch TV it has the right size and the best and optimum performance an energy efficient Television. Among all the biggest TV producers this TV used a least power and it costs only $13 a year to run it. Amazingly this TV not only uses less power but also accept HD videos to be run on it. 4. Green Heating and Cooling This Heating and cooling system is energy star qualified and is the most energy saving device used for this purpose. It has the most durable two stage compressor and the spine Fin coil which helps in increasing the life of the machine. The low noise levels helps in the better performance of this heating and cooling system and also to save energy easily. 3. Energy Efficient Refrigerator The GE- GTJ17DBCBB refrigerator is a 16.5 cu feet frost free freezer and refrigerator which is energy compliant and has a quite decent design with good specs. It is easily affordable and the capacity is more than needed for normal usage. You can have many of light items easily packed within it and comes with ice tray and all the accessories. 2. Solar Powered Fans The Solar powered fans using the Ultra technology can help reduce the heat transfer to your home and it is designed such as to keep your attic cool all day long in summers. These solar panel fans provide the ever best ventilation system for residential and commercial buildings and are available in variety of different colors. These Attic Breeze solar fans can easily make your home energy efficient and reducing electricity bills considerably. 1. Energy Saving Light Bulb The LED light bulbs are the new and latest technology which is the most energy saving appliance of the year. They have even started replacing the low wattage energy savers. They come in different features like you can now control how warm or cool and how dim or flashy you want your light bulb to be. With absolutely no mercury inside they are very durable and are healthy. Their initial costs are really high but they prove to be the least expensive and the best of all in the long run.
Where Free Speech Collides With Abortion Rights Adam Liptak, New York Times The Supreme Court’s 2000 decision upheld a complicated law that established 100-foot buffer zones outside all health care facilities, not just abortion clinics. Inside those larger zones, the law banned approaching others within eight feet for protest, education or counseling without their consent. Get Thee to a Nunnery Timothy George, First Things How did a modest order of women religious—only 2,700 members worldwide—with a mission to care for the elderly poor become the center of a raging social and political controversy? The State Marriage Defense Act Gerard V. Bradley, Public Discourse The age in which all states were united in understanding marriage as the exclusive union of man and woman for life has passed away. Now, new legislation seeks to protect the right of each state to define marriage for those who reside within its borders. Catholicism, Islam, and the Perils of Arguing from Authority William Kilpatrick, Crisis Magazine Was there something about Islam that prompted such violence? Or were the terrorists distorting and misinterpreting their religion? The consensus seemed to favor the latter view, and for a long while I was inclined to go along with it.
New York Times coverage of Asia Society Museum's 'Artful Recluse' exhibition in Friday, March 15, 2013's print edition. A 369-year-old self-portrait by Xiang Shengmo dominates the front page of the Fine Arts section of the print edition of today's New York Times. Above the striking red and black scroll reads the headline "East Is East; West Is Omnivorous: Taking Up Paintbrushes, Not Arms," and what follows is an engaging — and highly favorable — Holland Cotter review of Asia Society Museum's ongoing exhibition, The Artful Recluse: Painting, Poetry, and Politics in 17th Century China. Artful Recluse, organized by the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, is a major exhibition of Chinese paintings that reveal the private world of the scholar-painters who lived during one of the most tumultuous periods of Chinese history — the end of the Ming dynasty (c. 1600–1644) and the early years of foreign conquest by the Manchu-ruled Qing dynasty (1644–c.1700). Cotter calls it a "compelling show" and "a highlight of this year's Asia Week New York." Cotter adds that the exhibition "applies a magnifying glass to a familiar theme and reveals a weave of moral assertion and private emotion that has pertinence for new art today." He concludes with the following: "Nothing can argue away the emotional weight, the psychological depth, the intellectual complexity or the fraught, agonized history of the paintings in this show. If you believe that beauty, art and activist politics can’t mix — and a lot people seem to believe that these days — three dozen great artists are here to tell you you’re wrong." The Artful Recluse: Painting, Poetry, and Politics in 17th Century China runs through June 2, 2013, at Asia Society Museum in New York. A related 320-page publication accompanies the exhibition. Purchase a copy through AsiaStore.
As it becomes increasingly clear that al-Qaida was responsible for the horrific attacks in Madrid, one question keeps popping up: If there's no link between 9/11 and the invasion of Iraq, why did al-Qaida blow up those trains? Critics of the Iraq war have been saying for more than two years that there was never any al-Qaida-Saddam link. After all, they'd say, Saddam is secular and bin Laden is a religious fanatic. When Howard Dean was trotted out for last Sunday's "Meet the Press" to square off against Condoleezza Rice, the former Vermont governor rehashed the familiar complaint. "It turned out that there was no relationship between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida .even though the administration tried to lead us in an opposite direction," Dean asserted. "The administration simply did not tell the truth about Iraq. The debate is not about whether we should fight terrorism. I supported the war in Afghanistan. . But fighting Iraq had nothing to do with terrorism." Now, I should help Dean here. He surely means Iraq had "nothing to do with terrorism" aimed at us by al-Qaida in recent years. After all, nobody disputes that Iraq has been a huge sponsor of terrorism. A new study from the Hudson Institute details how Saddam provided money, support and shelter to a league of extraordinary terrorists. Abdul Rahman Yasin, the chemist for the first World Trade Center bombing, was given sanctuary in Baghdad after his U.S. indictment. Abu Nidal, the terrorist mastermind who killed hundreds including 10 Americans, lived in Baghdad from 1999 until he was murdered in 2002. Abu Abbas, the architect of the Achille Lauro hijacking that resulted in the murder of Leon Klinghoffer, was captured in Baghdad by U.S. forces. The list goes on and on. Never mind the fact that Saddam funded suicide bombings in Israel, the gassing of Kurds, the attempted murder of George H.W. Bush and other acts that at least some of us consider "terrorism." Regardless, let's interpret Dean as charitably as possible. If Iraq had nothing to do with al-Qaida, why did al-Qaida feel the need to attack Spain, one of America's coalition partners? I mean why not blow up 200 people in Minsk? Or Bogata? Supporters of the war say the reason al-Qaida is trying - and, alas, succeeding - to tear apart the coalition is that they cannot afford to see democracy win in Iraq. A stable and prospering Iraq will transform the Middle East, over time, into a region where the bloody fanaticism of bin Laden has no appeal. Group White House Says Doesn't Qualify as "Terrorists" Kills Three Americans in Afghanistan \| Katie Pavlich Grassley: Will Loretta Lynch's Qualifications Transfer to Correcting Serious Problems at DOJ? \| Katie Pavlich
President Kennedy proved the existence of the Laffer curve. When he came into office, Americans at the top end of the income ladder faced marginal tax rates in excess of 90%. Kennedy proposed tax cuts across the board - including marginal income tax rates, corporate rates, capital gains rates. And after JFK's tax cuts passed, tax revenue increased. As Diana Furchtgott-Roth, director of Economics21, writes: Kennedy was one of the first presidents to articulate a supply-side theory. On Nov. 20, 1962, at a news conference, he said “It is a paradoxical truth that tax rates are too high and tax revenues are too low and the soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the rates now ... Cutting taxes now is not to incur a budget deficit, but to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy which can bring a budget surplus.” Kennedy’s tax cuts were not passed by Congress until after his death on Feb. 26, 1964, in the Revenue Act of 1964. The bill reduced the top marginal rate from over 90% to 70%. Tax revenues increased from $94 billion in 1961 to $153 billion in 1968, and the new rates led to a greater percentage of tax revenue coming from those making over $50,000 a year. Tax receipts from those making over $50,000 rose 57%, whereas receipts from those making under $50,000 rose 11%. It's important to remember that the Laffer curve doesn't mean that cuts in tax rates always lead to higher tax revenue. It means that there's a breaking point at which the disincentives for labor are so strong that fewer people are working, contributing to the economy and reporting taxable income. 90% rates are clearly above that. It might not be the case that our current 39.5% top rate is above the peak on the Laffer curve. (That also doesn't mean that marginal rate cuts at the highest levels aren't a good idea - they might be if they make up for the revenue loss in long-term economic growth.) John F. Kennedy's presidency was an important one in many ways. The mainstream media typically celebrates his anti-communism and civil rights policies. But if we're going to celebrate President Kennedy, we should remember all of the good things he did, not just the ones the media wants us to remember. None of this means that JFK was a "conservative," though. And for an important counterpoint on the MSM legacy of JFK, Dylan Matthews of the Washington Post argues that his presidency really wasn't all that great.
With an unusually large burst of new immigration prosecutions in the last months of FY 2008, the annual number of such cases brought in the nation's federal courts has more than quadrupled during the eight years of the Bush administration, according to the latest Justice Department data obtained by the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC). The most recent month's total of 11,454 immigration prosecutions in September 2008 represents an increase of over seven hundred percent from the same month seven years ago (September 2001). See Figure 1. This massive increase in yearly immigration filings means that the total number of all kinds of prosecutions brought by the federal government reached their all-time high last year of 155,694. By comparison, there were 82,071 filings in FY 1998 and 60,421 in FY 1988. See Figure 2. The extraordinarily abrupt shift in government enforcement policy is highlighted by the following data. During the first year of President Bush's first term (FY 2001), the proportion of cases categorized as involving immigration violations was 18% of federal filings -- similar to the proportion in the final years of the Clinton administration. By FY 2004, the first year of Bush's second term, that proportion had increased to over 31%. In the just-ended FY 2008, however, immigration filings jumped to 51% of the total. See Figure 3. As in recent years, the five federal districts with the largest proportion of immigration prosecutions in FY 2008 were strung out along the border with Mexico. In Texas South (Houston), Arizona (Phoenix), New Mexico (Albuquerque), Texas West (San Antonio) and California South (San Diego), for example, immigration matters made up 73.7% or more of all those charged with a federal crime. But the next five federal districts had a much lower proportion of such cases and were more scattered. They included Arkansas West (Fort Smith), Washington East (Spokane), Oregon (Portland), California Central (Los Angeles) and Colorado (Denver). In this second tier, immigration matters made up 33.2% or less of all federal prosecutions. About the Data \| The year- by-year enforcement information is based on the timely month-by-month records of individual cases that the Justice Department has provided TRAC as a result of suits under the Freedom of Information Act. The decisions about how each of these cases is classified are made by the offices of the 90-plus US attorneys. Hidden in this unusual surge in the numbers of both overall and immigration prosecutions, however, are areas of decline: - White-collar crime prosecutions, for example, are down by almost 15% from what they were in the last year of President Clinton's administration, 8,108 in FY 2008 compared with 9,532 in FY 2000. - Individual narcotic filings also have slumped during the Bush years. While there were modest annual increases at first, the data show that for whole period the prosecution of drug violators were off by almost 20%; down to 26,336 in FY 2008 from 32,753 in FY 2001. - The shifts in the cases the government said were related to terrorism or internal security matters were much more dramatic. From FY 2001 to FY 2002 — the year following the events of 9/11 — there was a highly unusual ten-fold increase in prosecutions, from 115 to 1,208. Since then such prosecution have steadily declined with the most recent total of 424 being only about one third of what it was in the year of the 9/11 high. In addition to categorizing federal prosecutions in regard to their broad subject matter, the U.S. Attorneys also determine the investigative agency that played the leading role in each case. Here, one key finding was that prosecutions attributed to the FBI have declined during every year but the last of the Bush Administration — 14,357 in FY 2008 from 18,994 in FY 2001. See Figure 5. This drop of almost a quarter has been attributed to the decision of Bush officials to assign a significant number of agents — who previously had been investigating white collar criminals, corrupt officials and civil rights violators — to various highly classified responsibilities aimed at fighting terrorism.
The 1820 painting is John Constable's oil-on-canvas "Dedham from Langham." GENEVA (AFP)---A Geneva art gallery will return a 19th century painting by British landscape artist John Constable to relatives of French Jews 65 years after it was stolen and auctioned in wartime occupied France, local official said Friday. The 1820 John Constable oil-on-canvas "Dedham from Langham" was confiscated from a Jewish family in the French town of Nice on the Mediterranean in 1943 and sold at auction there in 1943. The museum was "reasonably convinced that this painting was looted," said Geneva city councillor Jean-Pierre Veya. He said city hall had decided to return the work to the family of southern French art collectors John and Anna Jaffe on moral grounds after a request by Anna Jaffe's great nephew, a Paris-based teacher. Read more here.
That’s Wilson and Beacon in Uptown, Chicago, on my walk home from the L. A small diversion in the roadway, marked by a large digital sign with an arrow, actually slowed cars down and made them stop fully at the stop sign — a fairly rare occurrence. I wish this were always there! There is quite a bit of foot traffic in the area and relatively few safe crossings. There is also am elementary school two blocks away. One of the points of traffic calming is to make drivers slow down and bring their speed in line with that of other street users. One way of doing this is introducing confusion or navigable obstacles. Everyone at this intersection (that I witnessed) was able to get through without issue (although one driver did pull into the opposing lane to turn left, which they could have otherwise done from their own lane). The intersection is normally as predictable and wide-open as any other in Chicago. Drivers routinely roll through it, often on their cell phones. Who’s to say if introducing something like a traffic circle with some landscaping would really work in the long run, as drivers got used to it? I’m not sure. Bumping out the curbs would make it more likely that drivers would slow down and look out to make sure that they don’t ride up onto the curb. There is, however, a bus route (#78) that runs down Wilson, which may complicate things. It is notable that the bus experienced no issues getting through the intersection with this temporary obstacle. I hope traffic calming measures come to my neighborhood. My ward (46) is participating in the Participatory Budgeting program, of which I am a community representative. I hope some good neighborhood changes related to transportation come of it.
SamoaOfficial Name: Independent State of Samoa Must be valid at time of entry BLANK PASSPORT PAGES: One page requirement for entry stamp TOURIST VISA REQUIRED: Not required for stays under 60 days CURRENCY RESTRICTIONS FOR ENTRY: CURRENCY RESTRICTIONS FOR EXIT: Embassies and Consulates Telephone: +(685) 21436/21631/22696 or 21452 Business Hours Emergency Telephone: (685) 21631 ext. 2222 or (685) 777-1776 Emergency After-Hours Telephone: +(685) 777-1776 Fax: +(685) 22030 The Independent State of Samoa consists of two large islands, Upolu and Savaii, two smaller inhabited islands of Manono and Apolima, and several uninhabited islets. Samoa is located approximately halfway between Hawaii and New Zealand in the Polynesian region of the South Pacific. The main island of Upolu is home to nearly three-quarters of Samoa's population and Samoa’s capital city of Apia. The country has a stable parliamentary democracy with a developing economy. The Samoa Tourism Authority provides a wide range of information for travelers. Please read the Department of State’s Fact Sheet on Samoa for additional information. Entry, Exit & Visa Requirements Tourists should have a valid passport and an onward/return ticket to enter Samoa. A U.S. passport shows your status as a U.S. citizen or U.S. national. U.S. citizens do not need a visa for stays in Samoa of 60 days or less. Non-citizen U.S. nationals will need a visitor permit before travelling to Samoa. Non-citizen U.S. nationals can apply for a visitor’s permit at the Samoa Consulate General office in Pago Pago, American Samoa: Consulate General Of Samoa PO Box 1313 Iupeli Siliva Building Pago Pago, American Samoa 96799 Ph: +684 6335919 Fax: +684 6335929 You must pay a departure tax when you leave the country (this tax is normally included in airfares). You can find more information about entry requirements and the departure tax from the Samoa Mission to the United Nations at 800-2nd Avenue, Suite 400J, New York, NY 10017, ph: +(212) 599-6196 and fax: +(212) 599-0797, or by email. Visit the Samoa Immigration website for Samoa’s most current visa information. Some HIV/AIDS entry restrictions exist for visitors to, and foreign residents of, Samoa. Visitors indicating they have tested HIV positive will be subject to questioning by a health professional upon entry. Please verify this information with the Samoan Overseas Mission before you travel. Information about dual nationality or the prevention of international child abduction can be found on our website. For further information about customs regulations, please read our Customs Information page. Safety and Security In the past, disputes between villages and the central government have led to protests, road blocks, and hostility between the police and villagers. Travelers should be aware of their surroundings as demonstrations can sometimes escalate into violence. To stay connected: - Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program so we can keep you up to date with important safety and security announcements. - Follow the Bureau of Consular Affairs on Twitter and Facebook. - Bookmark the Bureau of Consular Affairs website, which contains the current Travel Warnings and Travel Alerts as well as the Worldwide Caution. - Follow the U.S. Embassy in Samoa on Twitter and visiting the Embassy’s website. - In the event of an emergency, contact us at 1-888-407-4747 toll-free within the United States and Canada, or via a regular toll line, 1-202-501-4444, from other countries. - Take some time before traveling to consider your personal security and checking for useful tips for traveling safely abroad. CRIME: You should remain aware of your surroundings, lock your doors at night, and not leave your belongings unattended. Incidents of petty theft and robberies are common in Samoa. Some incidents have involved residential break-ins. While rare, violent assaults, including sexual assaults, have occurred in Samoa. Particular care should be taken near Apia’s downtown bars and restaurants, where a number of violent incidents involving foreigners and Samoans have occurred. No specific groups have been targeted, and there have been no reported racially motivated or hate crimes against U.S. citizens. Police in Apia generally respond quickly to incidents. However, since there is a very limited police presence elsewhere in Samoa (where order is maintained primarily by local village authorities), police response outside of Apia is not as quick or reliable as it is in Apia. Do not buy counterfeit or pirated goods. Not only are the bootlegs illegal in the United States, but you will be will be breaking local law by purchasing them. VICTIMS OF CRIME: If you or someone you know becomes the victim of a crime abroad, you should contact the local police and the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. We can: - Replace a stolen passport. - Help you find appropriate medical care if you are the victim of violent crimes such as assault or rape. - Put you in contact with the appropriate police authorities, and if you want us to, contact family members or friends. - Help you understand the local criminal justice process and direct you to local attorneys, although it is important to remember that local authorities are responsible for investigating and prosecuting the crime. The Samoa Victims Support Group is a non-profit entity established to help victims of crime in Samoa. It can assist with local law enforcement liaison and other related matters. It can be contacted at +685 27904. The local equivalent to the “911” emergency line in Samoa is “994” for fire emergencies, “995” for police assistance, and “996” for ambulance/medical assistance. Please see our information for victims of crime, including possible victim compensation programs in the United States. Local Laws & Special Circumstances CRIMINAL PENALTIES: While you are traveling in Samoa, you are subject to its laws. Foreign laws and legal systems can be vastly different from our own. Persons violating Samoa’s laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested, or imprisoned. In Samoa, driving under the influence could land you immediately in jail. If you break local laws in Samoa, your U.S. passport won’t help you avoid arrest or prosecution. There are also some things that might be legal in the country you visit, but still illegal in the United States. You can be prosecuted in the United States for engaging in sexual conduct with children or for using or disseminating child pornography in a foreign country regardless of the legality of these activities under that country’s laws. Counterfeit and pirated goods are illegal in the United States and if you purchase them in a foreign country, you may be breaking local law as well. Arrest notifications in host country: While some countries will automatically notify the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate if a U.S. citizen is detained or arrested in that country, others may not. To ensure that the United States is aware of your circumstances, request that the police and prison officials notify the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate as soon as you are arrested or detained overseas. BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION FACILITIES: There is one overseas treatment center or Behavior Modification Facility operating in Samoa. Although this facility may be operated and staffed by U.S. citizens, the Samoan government is solely responsible for its compliance with local safety, health, sanitation, and educational laws and regulations, including all licensing requirements of the staff in country. These standards may not be strictly enforced or meet the standards of similar facilities in the United States. Parents should be aware that U.S. citizens and non-citizen nationals 16 years of age and older have a right to apply for a U.S. passport and to request repatriation assistance from the U.S. government, both without parental consent. Any U.S. citizen or non-citizen U.S. national has the right to contact a representative from the U.S. Embassy. Parents may also contact the U.S. Embassy in Apia or the Office of American Citizens Services, Bureau of Consular Affairs. STRAY DOGS: In Apia, and in many villages, stray dogs wander the streets. You should not approach or feed them; they can become aggressive in the presence of food or if they feel threatened. There have been several cases of attacks by multiple dogs. Please exercise appropriate caution when you are walking, running, or riding a bike near stray dogs. FERRY SERVICE: Although there have been no major accidents involving the ferry service linking Upolu and Savaii, vessels are sometimes overloaded. One of the ferries, a multi-deck, automobile ferry, sometimes transports passengers on its automobile deck. To avoid injury from shifting vehicles, you should ride only in the passenger compartment, not on the automobile deck during the crossing, if you choose to use this ferry. BLOWHOLES: Samoa has numerous “blowholes” (lava tubes open to the sea where wave action produces often spectacular geysers). These blowholes are popular tourist attractions. The footing around the mouths of most blowholes is very slippery. To avoid being swept in, you should not approach too closely and should never stand between the opening of the blowhole and the sea. WATER SPORTS: Snorkeling and diving in ocean lagoons are popular activities for many visitors to Samoa. Tide changes can produce powerful currents in these lagoons. You should consult local residents and tour operators about hazards and conditions at a particular location before you venture into the water. There are virtually no lifeguards in Samoa. You are responsible for your own safety. Carefully investigate the qualifications of guides and tour operators, especially regarding water sports. FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS: Although some businesses in Apia, especially those frequented by tourists, do accept credit cards, many do not, including gas stations. Major hotels and some restaurants and stores accept major credit cards (Visa, Master Card, and American Express). You can get Samoan currency from ATMs, which are located in Faleolo Airport, Salelologa, and in many locations in Apia. For more information on ATM locations and banking services, visit the ANZ Bank website or the WESTPAC website. DISASTER PREPAREDNESS: Samoa is located in an area of high seismic activity. Upolu and Savaii are volcanic islands. One of Savai’i’s dormant volcanoes erupts approximately once every 150 years. The most recent eruption was 1908. On September 30, 2009, an 8.0 earthquake in the South Pacific Ocean triggered tsunami waves that hit the islands of Samoa causing extensive damage to life and property, primarily on low-lying coastal areas of the south and east coasts. Major cyclones have occurred in the past and are always a concern. The cyclone season is from November to April, when strong winds, heavy rains, landslides, and disruptions to services could occur. During this period, Samoa receives most of its annual average of over 115 inches of rain. General information about natural disaster preparedness is available from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), or in Samoa from Disaster Management, the Samoa Tourism Authority, or major resort and hotel operators. CUSTOMS: Samoan customs authorities may enforce strict regulations about importing or exporting items such as firearms, fruits, pets and other animals, and drugs. You should contact the Samoan Mission to the United Nations at 800 2nd Avenue, Suite 400J, New York, NY 10017, telephone: (212) 599-6196 for specific information regarding customs requirements. You can also consult the Samoa Ministry of Revenue and Customs and the Samoa Quarantine website. If you are a woman traveling abroad, please review our travel tips for Women Travelers. LGBT RIGHTS: Same-sex acts are a crime in Samoa, with prison terms of up to seven years. The Crimes Ordinance 1961 and the more recent Crimes Act 2013, which came into effect 1 May 2013, criminalize same-sex acts. There is no recognition of same-sex relationships, marriage or adoption by same-sex couples in Samoa. There are also no anti-discrimination laws in place. Although the country is historically tolerant towards homosexuality, especially with regards to “fa’afafine,” the third-gendered Samoans, efforts to modernize the law under the Crimes Act 2013 were unsuccessful; however, the updated statute did eliminate the section that made it an offence for a male to dress as a female. In many Samoan families it is not uncommon to raise a male child as a girl who plays an important role in domestic duties or the work force to provide for elderly parents and younger siblings. The Samoa Fa’afafine Association with the Samoan Prime Minister as their patron is very active in its charitable work, HIV education and prevention programs. For more detailed information about LGBT rights in Samoa you may review the State Department’s annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. For further information on Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) travel, please read our LGBT Travel Information page. ACCESSIBILITY: While in Samoa, individuals with disabilities may find accessibility and accommodation very different from what they find in the United States. There is no law pertaining specifically to the status of disabled persons, although the “Samoa National Policy for Persons with Disabilities 2009-2012” emphasizes the Government’s commitment to the rights and empowerment of the disabled. This policy also recognizes that the family is the main source of their support. The “Ministry of Women, Community, and Social Development” is the government ministry responsible for public outreach and social development for persons with disabilities. Most major hotels, restaurants, and cafes are actively restructuring their facilities to accommodate persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities have easy access to medical facilities. However, disabled travelers should clarify with the hotel what accommodations are available before they book. Some family-based beach accommodations in the outer villages are also working to provide accessibility for disabled persons. Many of the new multi-story buildings provide ramps and elevators, but older public buildings do not. The blind and persons in wheelchairs or on crutches will have difficulty navigating in and around Apia because of a limited number of stoplights and sidewalks. Traffic is particularly hazardous for the disabled in rural areas that have no footpaths and sidewalks. Most buses and taxis do not have ramps to accommodate wheelchairs. Health care facilities in Samoa are adequate for routine medical treatment but are limited in range and availability. Complex illnesses and life-threatening emergencies, as well as related laboratory work, generally need to be treated elsewhere. Serious medical conditions and treatments that require hospitalization and/or medical evacuation to the United States can cost thousands of dollars. You should have emergency evacuation insurance before you travel to Samoa. The national hospital is located in Apia, and there are several small district hospitals on Savaii and in outlying areas of Upolu. Dental facilities do not meet U.S. standards, but good dental treatment and some emergency medical care is available at the LBJ Tropical Medical Center in Pago Pago, American Samoa. Doctors and hospitals often expect immediate cash payment for health services. Pharmacies may not carry prescription or over-the-counter medicines, or the medicines may be of a different quality than those available in the United States. There are no hyperbaric chambers on any of the islands for the treatment of scuba diving-related injuries. Serious cases of decompression sickness are evacuated to the nearest treatment center in Suva, Fiji, or Auckland, New Zealand. You can find detailed information on vaccinations and other health precautions on the CDC website. For information about outbreaks of infectious diseases abroad, consult the World Health Organization (WHO) website, which contains additional health information for travelers, including detailed country-specific health information Travel & Transportation TRAFFIC SAFETY AND ROAD CONDITIONS: While in Samoa, you may encounter road conditions that differ significantly from those in the United States. This information for Samoa is provided as a general reference, and it may not be the case in all locations or circumstances. Urban roads in Apia and the main roads circumnavigating and crossing the island are all generally kept in fair condition, although bumps and potholes are common. Side streets tend to be gravel or dirt and their condition varies considerably, particularly during the rainy season when ruts and bumps develop. Roads outside Apia are often narrow, winding, relatively steep, with narrow or no shoulders, and poorly lighted. Pedestrians as well as vehicles and livestock regularly travel these roads. Due to poor and deteriorating road conditions, night driving on unlit rural roads can be dangerous and should be avoided if possible. Roads in Samoa often traverse small streams. You should exercise extreme caution when fording these streams, which can become swollen and dangerous with little warning. Vehicles should never enter a stream if the roadbed is not visible or if the water’s depth is more than the vehicle’s clearance. Taxis are widely available and used by Samoans and visitors alike. However, some are unlicensed, so you should use care in choosing a taxi and driver. Buses are slow, crowded, uncomfortable, undependable, and rarely used by visitors. You can use rental cars, but be aware that limited roadside assistance is available. Most major roads are tar-sealed, but secondary roads are predominantly dirt and gravel and may be rough and/or overgrown with vegetation. A four-wheel-drive vehicle is recommended for travel on these roads. You should be aware that vehicle safety regulations are rarely enforced, and traffic violations occur routinely. In September 2009, Samoa switched from driving on the right side of the road (as in the United States) to driving on the left side (as in the United Kingdom). Some vehicles in Samoa remain left-hand drive, including rental vehicles and public transportation. There are a few significant differences in the “rules of the road” in Samoa as compared to the United States (e.g., meeting situation at an intersection). Drivers should familiarize themselves with operating requirements and local traffic laws before operating a vehicle in Samoa. AVIATION SAFETY OVERSIGHT: he U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has assessed the government of Samoa’s Civil Aviation Authority as being in compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) aviation safety standards for oversight of Samoa’s air carrier operations. Further information may be found on the FAA’s safety assessment page. Assistance for U.S. Citizens U.S. Embassy Apia
Frame it just right, and Tiger Leaping Gorge is the deepest river canyon in the world, but don’t go bragging to the Grand Canyon defenders back in the US – bar fights have broken out over less. Home to the Naxi ethnic minority for centuries, this dramatic landscape inspires legends with its roiling Yangtze rapids and contrasting snowy peaks, separated by 3,000 meters of elevation. The trail, marked with red and yellow arrows, provides a back-to-the-basics escape between Lijiang and Shangri-La. There’s a limit to how many pagodas, Tibetan-style monasteries and restored cities I can explore in a row, and this mountain retreat is the perfect counterpoint. To get here, park your bags with one of the hotels in Lijiang, take the bus to Shangri-La, but disembark at Qiaotou (2 hours, 30 minutes). Everyone will know why you’re here, and they’ll point you to the trailhead, which is near the bus station. To reach it, you’ll have to cross a school yard and face down a barrage of enthusiastic “hellos” from students in the football field. For them, it’s a daily ritual. Plan your hike outside of the rainy season (June to September), and remember that landslides and washouts happen. Hikers pay a modest entrance fee in Qiaotou, but there’s no need to pay the supposed 'toll collectors' along the trail. These scammers know a hard-sell and will back off when they see one. These are five major highlights of a hike in Tiger Leaping Gorge: Mine came from a fellow traveler in Shangri-La, at the opposite end of the gorge from Lijiang. He taught English in Kunming and had hiked the gorge a few months earlier. Pulling the map from a shoulder bag, he let me examine it by the light of the wood furnace in the bar of our mutual guesthouse. It was literally hand-drawn and photocopied – a rough sketch of triangular mountaintops on either side of the Yangtze. A hiking trail zigzags across the high ground, marked with a few waterfalls and guesthouses. I saw a few different maps floating around Lijiang and Zhongdian, and all of them were hand-drawn like this one. No doubt the 'real' maps are on the way, courtesy of a brigade of deft hikers wielding GPS machines. It’ll be a loss, of sorts. The high road Take it as a metaphor if you like. The high road is essentially a series of linked trails that Naxi farmers and goat-herders have used for generations. It’s lightly developed but still holds the moral high-ground over the low road, which was cracked open with dynamite so that Chinese tour buses could enter the gorge. If you don’t relish the hike, you can easily see Tiger Leaping Gorge on a daytrip. Just charter a taxi from any of the hotels in Lijiang. A word of warning: backpackers and purists back in Lijiang make a sport out of belittling the ‘low-roaders’. After all, there’s no point in taking the high road if you can’t look down on those who didn’t. You’ve got that song in your head, don’t you? I refuse to apologize. ‘Brink of exhaustion’ is the first thing that comes to mind. On the whole, the hike is moderately challenging at most, but two hours in you hit a spool of 28 tightly-wound switchbacks (or hairpin turn). I hiked with my wife, a self-proclaimed ‘trekking enthusiast’, but after the tenth switch or so, she started muttering, “Why are we always doing stupid things like this?” Her answer surprised us both. Rounding the 28th turn, we found ourselves on another brink – an observation platform with a high-flying view over the rapids. A Naxi man waiting there announced, "Tiger Leaping Gorge!" with practiced precision. It’s the kind of view that makes you wonder why you’ve spend the rest of your life doing whatever it is you do. Resist the clichés; take a picture if you must; but by all means, rest your legs and linger here. The guesthouses in Tiger Leaping Gorge are the real charmers here. They crop up along the trail every two hours or so and charge 10-20 yuan (around USD 2) for a bed and hot shower. These humble, family-owned estates perch a full kilometer above the commotion of the low-road. On our last evening in the gorge, we found ourselves on a terrace sharing a plate of walnuts and honey with a French couple who’d set out a few hours before us. The snowy heights of Jade Dragon Mountain (5,596 meters) loomed across the gorge. For information what to do when you’re not hiking through, check out the official Tiger Leaping Gorge website, operated by Sean of Sean’s Guesthouse. He started maintaining trails in the early 80s, long before tourists were coming. You’ll meet serious hikers along the way who are dead-set on completing the hike in a single day. That’s a completely reasonable feat, especially if you’re remotely fit. But with so many waterfalls, overlooks and linger-worthy stops along the way, it’s hard to make a case for an express tour. Some hikers choose a guesthouse around the halfway point and spend three or four nights in the gorge, getting to know their hosts and taking a day or two to explore or even hike down to Yangtze River. In either event, you’ll start your descent shortly before Walnut Garden. At the bottom is a pair of guesthouses that operates a minivan service back to your hotel in Lijiang.
Paraguay is one of only two landlocked countries in South America -- the other is Bolivia -- but tremendous freshwater resources more than make up for its lack of saltwater coastline. This "Land of Rivers" is crisscrossed by myriad streams and punctuated by lakes that are home to more than 250 warm-water species, which rivals the biodiversity of the Amazon basin. Paraguay's fisheries attract anglers from throughout the continent. The most prominent fishing waters in Paraguay is the Parana River and its tributaries. Flowing from the vast Pantanal marshlands of Brazil, the Parana is the second longest river in South America and, along with the Paraguay River, forms the Plata Basin that drains the whole country. Although the Parana has been affected by several large hydroelectric projects, high-quality fishing opportunities exist along its length in Paraguay. The best season for fishing the Parana occurs during the austral spring, from September to December. The Tebicuary River, a tributary of the Paraguay River, is another significant fishery in the country. The quality of fishing can be negatively affected by heavy rains, so water levels are an important factor in deciding whether to fish the Tebicuary. June through September are the least successful fishing months due to heavy rain and colder water temperatures. Among the vast number of fish species in Paraguay, the dorado, a hard-fighting fish with gold-tinted scales, is most prized. Dorado can grow as large as 40 lbs. in Paraguay, although larger specimens have been documented. Along with the main courses of the Parana and Tebicuary rivers, the Apa River on the Brazilian border and the backwaters of the Parana at the Argentinian border are dorado hot-spots. Anglers flock to this southernmost marshland known as the Esteros del Ibera where clean water offers consistent action. Dorado are an edible fish, generally prepared on a grill. Along with the dorado, a handful of other game species are frequently targeted in Paraguayan waters. Spotted and striped catfish are prominent game fish, and size-wise, they put the dorado to shame. Spotted catfish in the 120-lb. range are still commonly caught throughout the Plata Basin. Catfish are prized for their mild taste and are considered a delicacy. Another often-targeted game fish is a relative of the piranha, called the pacu, which can reach sizes as large as 30 lbs.; they are found throughout the Plata Basin's rivers, lakes and lagoons. Bait and Equipment Dorado anglers should use 16- to 25 lb.-test line along with a medium-action rod and a spinning or bait-casting reel. A steel leader is a must as the dorado's sharp teeth and powerful jaws will easily slice through braid or monofilament line. Live bait, such as small, local fish, and topwater lures work well for dorado. Spotted and striped catfish prefer strong currents and often suspend in channels near the mouths of rivers and tributaries. Such catfish are strong, powerful fighters that make long, deep runs; fishermen must use a heavy-duty rod and reel to catch them. If you are targeting large catfish, a minimum of 30 lb.-test braid with a monofilament backing is recommended. Trolling with a deep diving lure or drifting with cut fish bait are common catfish tactics in the Plata Basin. Paraguayan anglers often use light tackle with pacu because they put up a good fight but do not have the jaws or teeth to cut fishing line. Natural baits like fruit, freshwater crab or even canned corn are used to attract pacu. Since the fish feed on items that fall onto the water, float your bait on the surface and allow it to drift. - Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
Learn more about Xanax Xanax is one of the most commonly prescribed medications for the treatment of anxiety disorders and there are many reasons which make this medication such a popular solution for people who are having troubles with these types of mood disorders. Xanax belongs to a class of drugs known as benzodiazepines which were developed as a replacement for barbiturates that were found to carry too many risks when used, especially for longer periods of time. Xanax, like all other benzodiazepines works by bringing an increase in the efficiency of GABA, a naturally-occurring chemical and thus reducing the communication between neurons in the brain. This ultimately results in a number of calming effects on the brain, which can greatly reduce the anxiety. However, it would be a fallacy to say that Xanax is simply an anti-anxiety drug. It has a wide range of uses and it is prescribed for a number of different types of anxiety disorders, as well as some conditions that do not have to do with anxiety. It is a fact that it is mostly used for anxiety disorders, including the panic disorder which is the most commonly treated with this mediation. It is very effective at relieving symptoms of panic attacks as well as severe anxiety bouts. However, it has to be mentioned that there are other conditions treatable with Xanax, such as social anxiety disorder and even nausea which is associated with chemotherapy. While it is generally well-tolerated, there are still some side effects that you should look out for when using Xanax. For instance, you could experience certain gastrointestinal side effects, as well as sedative side effects which might impair your reactions or thinking. In case you feel these, such as tiredness, dizziness or drowsiness, you should wait for them to subside before you participate in any dangerous activities. There are some other side effects that may be caused by Xanax, but if you use this medication properly, you should not experience any that would compromise your treatment. In fact, it is of vital importance that you take Xanax as prescribed as it may have serious adverse effects to your health if you do not. For instance, you should never combine Xanax with any other medications or substances without first checking with your doctor. Some of the interactions with Xanax can be extremely dangerous. Also, you should never take larger doses than those prescribed to you, nor should you continue using Xanax past the time that your doctor has set as the end of your treatment. If you continue, you are risking developing physical dependence which may then ultimately result in withdrawal effects that you do not wish to experience. Of course, before you even start taking Xanax for your anxiety disorder, you should first talk to your doctor and have a consultation about your needs and about your medical history. There are some conditions that might be affected by the use of Xanax and taking the drug without first discussing it with your doctor is definitely not a good idea.

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