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The Fox and the Crow by Manasi Subramaniam, illustrated by Culpeo S. Fox
A new version of a classic Aesop fable, this picture book explores the tale of Fox and Crow. Crow is all set to perch with his fellows on a wire but then smells the bread cooling in a window below. Down he swoops and heads into the woods with it. But Fox is there too, sneaking along. Fox howls, singing beneath Crow. Crow must respond in song, opens his mouth and down falls the bread into Fox’s waiting mouth below. It’s a tale we all know, but told in such a masterful way that it is made new again.
Subramaniam’s text adds to the drama of this short tale. This is writing with lushness and body, using words that will stretch young children in just the right way. Words like raucous, wafting, twilight and temptress fill the story and enrich it. They cleverly play up the darkness, the wildness and the tricks that are being played.
Fox’s illustrations are just as rich and dark. Each illustration is a painting that stands on its own in composition and beauty. Fox uses spatters to add texture to his deep color palette that evokes the encroaching twilight and evening. On some pages the colors of the sunset enter, adding more drama.
A reinvention of an old tale, this is an incredible new telling. Appropriate for ages 4-7.
Reviewed from library copy. |
DARABAN ZAM DAM
|LOCATION||The dam is located on Khora River near existing Zam Burg Tower, 69 KM South West of D.I Khan.|
Socio-economic uplift of the remote areas of NWFP and women emancipation.
Catchment Area 410 Sq. Miles
Mean Annual Run-off 50,724 AF
Type of Dam Asphalt – Concrete faced rockfill
Height of Dam 165 FT
Length of Dam 1426 FT
Gross Storage 69,739 Acres
Live Storage 40,662 AF
Spillway Design Flood 104,000 Cusecs
Cultivable Command Area 32,000 Acres
Cost of the Project Rs.5.828 Billion
Life of Dam 46 Years
Bids for construction invited on February 25, 2010.
Upgradation of engineering study of the project in progress.
PC-I amounting to Rs.2.751 Billion approved by ECNEC
on Sept. 03, 2009. |
BRINNON - For the third straight year, recreational shrimpers appear to have caught their allocation of Hood Canal spot shrimp in just four days of fishing.
Dave Sterritt, shellfish biologist for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), said he counted nearly a thousand boats on the Canal today, enough to pull in the remaining 14,000 pounds of the state's annual 75,000-pound allocation.
"Today's effort should bring us up to within 1,000 pounds of the state's allocation, plus or minus," Sterritt said. "That doesn't leave enough shrimp to open fishing on the Canal for an hour, let alone another day."
Sterritt, who will use today's creel data to verify his initial assessment, said non-tribal shrimp fishers should assume the Hood Canal fishery is over for another year.
Catch rates were good throughout this year's season, said Sterritt, who estimated that three-quarters of all fishers took home daily limits of 80 spot shrimp per person.
"I talked to a lot of people who were limiting out after pulling their gear just one or two times," Sterritt said. "That's an indication that Hood Canal shrimp stocks are still in good shape."
Commercial fishing for shrimp has been banned in Hood Canal since 1992. However, the number of people participating in the recreational fishery has increased at a rate of 10 percent to 15 percent each year since 2000, when the recreational fishery was open for six days.
The result, Sterritt said, is that WDFW has had to reduce the number of days open to shrimp fishing to stay within the state's annual allocation.
"Four-day seasons seem to be the norm for Hood Canal shrimp right now," Sterritt said. "Who knows what it will be in future years if the pressure keeps building?" |
When thinking and writing about music appropriate for liturgical worship I have always gone back to what the late Church musician Msgr. Richard Schuler correctly asserted: since sacred liturgical music is NOT an add-on in worship, since it is actually an integrating part (pars integrans) of liturgical worship, since it is prayer, liturgical music must be both sacred and also art.
The texts must be sacred texts. The idiom must be a sacred idiom, or at least not opposed to the sacred. The music must be good, that is, well-composed, of high artistic value. It must be performed well.
Music for liturgical worship must be sacred and it must be art.
If the music chosen does not fulfill those criteria, it does not belong in the Mass.
The music itself becomes prayer within the liturgical setting. People pray also by listening to true sacred liturgical music. It is prayer.
We cannot ever go wrong when we stick to the texts actually assigned by the Church for each Mass or office. We cannot ever go wrong when we use Gregorian chant and polyphony and the pipe organ, as the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council established as having the first place among all genres of music for sacred worship.
I have mentioned in the past Msgr. Valentin Miserachs-Grau, the head of the PIMS, the Pontificia Istituto di Musica Sacra in Rome.
Miserachs-Grau has given a good address, which NLM has reproduced in its entirety. Here, however, is the meat of the matter, with my emphases and comments.
This one is a sore point: the rampant wave of false and truly dreadful liturgical music in our churches. Nevertheless, the will of the Church clearly appears in the words of the Holy Father I have just mentioned. [... he cites documents... ] Now we must wonder: if the will of the Church has been clearly declared also in our times, how is it possible that the musical praxis in our churches distances itself in so evident a way from the same doctrine? [NB: "doctrine".]
We must consider several problems at the root of this question, for instance the problem of repertoire. We have hinted at a double aspect: the risk of shutting oneself in a closed circle that would wish to essay new compositions considered as being of high quality in Liturgy. We must say that the evolution of musical language towards uncertain horizons makes the breach between “serious” music and popular sensitivity to become more and more profound. Liturgical music must be “universal”, that is acceptable to any kind of audience. [?! Really. I don't think I can accept that given the degradation of culture and taste these days. Still, well-sung Gregorian chant pretty much fits that description, as does polyphony.] Today it is difficult to find good music composed with this essential characteristic. I do not discuss the artistic value of certain contemporary productions, even sacred, but I think that it would not be opportune to insert them in the Sacred Liturgy. One cannot transform the “oratory” into “laboratory”.
The second aspect of the problem derives from a false interpretation of the conciliar doctrine on Sacred Music. As a matter of fact, the post-conciliar liturgical “renewal”, including the almost total lack of mandatory rules at a high level, has allowed a progressive decay of liturgical music, at the point of becoming, in the most cases, “consumer music” according to the parameters of the most slipshod easy-listening music. [Attention:] This sad practice sometimes determines attitudes of petulant rejection towards genuine Sacred Music, of yesterday and today, maybe composed in a simple manner, but according to the rules of Art. [WHAT?! Art has RULES?!?] Only a change of mentality and a decisive “reforming” will – that I am afraid is far to come – would be able to bring back to our churches the good musical praxis and, together with it, also the conscientiousness of celebrations, that would not lack to entice, through the value of beauty, a large public, particularly young people, currently kept away by the prevailing amateurish practice, falsely popular and wrongly considered – even in good faith – as an effective instrument of approaching. [My own experience of when I was rector of a church in Italy, is that when we used good chant and polyphony, and when we opened the church doors, people came in and stayed.]
Regarding the power of involvement of which the good liturgical music is capable, I would like to add only what is my own personal experience. By a fortunate chance, I am acting after almost forty years, as Kapellmeister at the Roman Basilica of Saint Mary Major, where every Sunday and on feast days the Chapter Mass is celebrated in Latin, and with Gregorian and polyphonic chant accompanied by organ (and by a brass sextet in highest solemnities). I can assure you that the nave and the aisles of the basilica get packed and not rarely there are people that come after the ceremonies to express their gratefulness, moved to tears as they are, especially by the Hymn to the Madonna Salus Populi Romani (Our Lady, Salvation of the Roman People). They often cannot hold back the excitement and arrive to burst out clapping. People are thirsting for good music! It goes directly to the heart and is capable of working even resounding conversions. [Yep. Excellent sacred music, properly understood, played a major role in my own conversion.]
Another compass of good liturgical music –always reminded by the Teaching of the Church– concerns the primacy of the pipe organ. [... he discourses on the organ for a while ...]
In our quick review of the main points underlying a good liturgical musical praxis, we have now arrived to a last but not least question, one that should be firstly considered: the Gregorian chant. It is the official chant of the Roman Church, as the Second Vatican Council reasserts. Its repertoire includes thousands of ancient, less ancient, and even modern pieces. Certainly, we can find the highest charm in the oldest compositions, dated back to the Xth-XIth Centuries. In this case also it has to do about an objective value, since the Gregorian chant represents the synthesis of the European and Mediterranean chant, related to the genuine and authentic popular chant, even that of the remotest regions of the world. It is a deeply human and essential chant that can be traced in its richness and variety of modes, in its rhythmic freedom (always at the service of the word), in the diversity and different degrees of its single pieces, according to the individual to whom the execution is assigned, etc. This is a chant that has found in the Church its most appropriate breeding ground and constitutes a unique treasure of priceless value, even from the merely cultural point of view.
[NB:] Therefore, the rediscovery of Gregorian chant is a sine qua non condition to give back dignity to the liturgical music and not only as a valid repertoire in itself, but also as a source of inspiration for new compositions, as it was the case of the great polyphonists of the Renaissance, who –following the guidelines of the Council of Trent– created the structure bearing their wonderful works departing from the Gregorian subject matter. If we have in Gregorian chant the master path, why not follow it instead of persisting in scouring roads that in the most of cases drive to nowhere? [...]
You can read the rest over there. |
This report describes the historical weather record at the Ralph M. Calhoun Memorial Airport (Tanana, Alaska, United States) during 1971. This station has records back to July 1948.
Tanana, Alaska has a humid subarctic continental climate with cool summers and no dry season. The area within 25 mi of this station is covered by forests (94%) and lakes and rivers (4%)
Daylight saving time (DST) was observed at Tanana, Alaska during 1971. There were two time changes during 1971:
1971 was not a leap year, so it has 365 days and no February 29th. The first leap year before 1971 was 1968 and the first after was 1972.
The summer and winter solstices and the spring and fall equinoxes mark the passing of the seasons. They fall on nearly the same day each year, with differences of a day or two depending on the year. In 1971 they occurred on:
|Spring Equinox||Sunday, 21 March 1971.|
|Summer Solstice||Tuesday, 22 June 1971.|
|Fall Equinox||Thursday, 23 September 1971.|
|Winter Solstice||Wednesday, 22 December 1971.|
The hottest day of 1971 was February 21, with a high temperature of 22°F. For reference, on that day the average high temperature is 8°F and the high temperature exceeds 25°F only one day in ten. The hottest month of 1971 was February with an average daily high temperature of -5°F.
Relative to the average, the hottest day was January 4. The high temperature that day was 13°F, compared to the average of -3°F, a difference of 16°F. In relative terms the warmest month was February, with an average high temperature of -5°F, compared to an typical value of 5°F.
The month of February had the largest fraction of warmer than average days with 21% days with higher than average high temperatures.
The coldest day of 1971 was January 24, with a low temperature of -61°F. For reference, on that day the average low temperature is -14°F and the low temperature drops below -44°F only one day in ten. The coldest month of 1971 was March with an average daily low temperature of -36°F.
Relative to the average, the coldest day was February 24. The low temperature that day was -61°F, compared to the average of -9°F, a difference of 52°F. In relative terms the coldest month was March, with an average low temperature of -36°F, compared to an typical value of -2°F.
The longest cold spell was from January 12 to February 6, constituting 26 consecutive days with cooler than average low temperatures. The month of January had the largest fraction of cooler than average days with 84% days with lower than average low temperatures.
The longest freezing spell was from January 1 to March 11, constituting 70 consecutive days with temperatures strictly below freezing.
The clearest month of 1971 was January, with 39% of days being more clear than cloudy. The longest spell of clear weather was from January 15 to January 19, constituting 5 consecutive days that were clearer than they were cloudy.
The cloudiest month of 1971 was February, with 50% of days being more cloudy than clear. The longest spell of cloudy weather was from February 5 to February 11, constituting 7 consecutive days that were cloudier than they were clear.
This station provides hourly reports of significant weather events at and around the station, but does not report the quantity of precipitation at the station itself. This is common for weather stations located outside of the United States, and for a small subset of stations in the United States that are located at lesser used and smaller airports.
This station reports when significant weather events (including precipitation) are visually observed at or near the station. Such events do not always correspond to measured quantities of liquid equivalent precipitation, such as when the event is near by not at the station, or in the case of solid precipitation that does not melt in the collection basin.
The day in 1971 with the most precipitation observations was January 5. There were 5 hourly weather reports that day (out of a maximum of 24) in which some form of precipitation was observated at or near the station. The month with the most precipitation observations was February, with 37 hourly present weather reports involving some form of precipitation.
As determined by the present weather reports, the longest dry spell was from March 11 to December 31, constituting 296 consecutive days with no observed precipitation. The months April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December were completely without observed precipitation.
The month with the largest fraction of days with at least some observed precipitation was February, with 46% of days reporting some observed precipitation.
In this section we consider only those weather reports that indicate liquid precipitation. For the purposes of this analysis, we include thunderstorms even though some thunderstorms are not accompanied by liquid precipitation.
The month of 1971 with the largest number of those reports was January, with a total of 0 reports. The day with the largest number of those reports was January 1, with a total of 0 reports.
This station reports when snow is observed falling but does not report the quantity of snow that has fallen or the depth of snow on the ground.
In this section we consider hourly weather reports that contain an observation of falling snow. These reports do not necessarily correspond to accumulation.
The first reported snow fall in 1971 was on January 1; the last was on March 10. The month of 1971 with the largest number of those reports was February, with a total of 37 reports. The day with the largest number of those reports was January 5, with a total of 5 reports.
Humidity is an important factor in determining how weather conditions feel to a person experiencing them. Hot and humid days feel even hotter than hot and dry days because the high level of water content in humid air discourages the evaporation of sweat from a person's skin.
When reading the graph below, keep in mind that the hottest part of the day tends to be the least humid, so the daily low (brown) traces are more relevant for understanding daytime comfort than the daily high (blue) traces, which typically occur during the night. Applying that observation, the least humid month of 1971 was March with an average daily low humidity of 50%, and the most humid month was January with an average daily low humidity of 69%.
But it is important to keep in mind that humidity does not tell the whole picture and the dew point is often a better measure of how comfortable a person will find a given set of weather conditions. Please see the next section for continued discussion of this point.
Dew point is the temperature below which water vapor will condense into liquid water. It is therefore also related to the rate of evaporation of liquid water. Since the evaporation of sweat is an important cooling mechanism for the human body, the dew point is an important measurement for understanding how dry, comfortable, or humid a given set of weather conditions will feel.
Generally speaking, dew points below 50°F will feel a bit dry to some people, but comfortable to people accustomed to dry conditions; dew points from 50°F to 68°F are fairly comfortable to most people, and dew points above 68°F are increasingly uncomfortable, becoming oppressive around 77°F.
To take some examples, and basing our categorization on the daily high dew point in 1971, January had 28 dry days, no comfortable days, and no humid days; April had no dry days, no comfortable days, and no humid days; July had no dry days, no comfortable days, and no humid days; and October had no dry days, no comfortable days, and no humid days.
The highest sustained wind speed was 25 mph, occurring on February 10; the highest daily mean wind speed was 17 mph (February 9);
The windiest month was February, with an average wind speed of 8 mph. The least windy month was March, with an average wind speed of 5 mph.
This station did not reliably report the visibility during 1971.
This station did not reliably report the cloud ceiling during 1971. |
"The nature of our spirit drives
us to seek the essence or the reason of things, so we
tend to look farther than the object of our quest .
. . Yet, we cannot go beyond the how, that is to say
beyond the near causes or the conditions of the existence
of phenomena . . . What is true is that the nature or
the very essence of all phenomena, be they vital or
mineral, will forever remain unknown to us . . . Science
has precisely the privilege of making us know what we
ignore, substituting reason and experience to feeling,
and showing clearly the boundaries of our present knowledge.
But, by virtue of a wonderful compensation, as science
humbles our pride, it strengthens our power . . . To
sum up, if our feeling daily asks 'why', our reason
shows that only 'how' is within our reach; for the present,
it is thus only the how that interests the scientist
and the experimenter" (Bernard, 1838). |
Abstract Book PDF (scanned from
January 12-16, 1999 Oakland, CA
Welcome to the Seventh Contractor-Grantee Workshop sponsored by the Department of Energy (DOE) Human Genome Program (HGP). This workshop provides a unique opportunity for HGP investigators to discuss and share the successes, problems, and challenges of their research as well as new material resources and software capabilities. The meeting also provides scientists and administrative staff with an overview of the program's progress and content, a chance to assess the impact of new technologies, and, perhaps most important, a forum for initiating new collaborations.
We hope you will take advantage of opportunities offered by this meeting and by the beautiful surroundings of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay area. We also hope you will visit the DOE Joint Genome Institute's new Production Sequencing Facility (PSF) in Walnut Creek. This facility is scheduled to be opened officially in the spring by the Secretary of Energy Bill Richardson.
The 193 abstracts in this booklet describe the most recent activities and accomplishments of grantees and contractors funded by DOE's long-running human and microbial genome programs, as well as early efforts in model organism and functional genomics research. In addition, we have included talks from invited guests who will discuss related efforts in other species and opportunities for postgenomic biological investigations enabled by genome research. All projects funded by the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (OBER) will be represented at poster sessions at the Oakland Marriott Hotel, so you will have the opportunity to meet with researchers. New informatics resources also will be demonstrated during the poster sessions, and I urge you to take full advantage of them.
The main challenge facing the genome program today remains high-throughput sequencing. Two years ago, DOE addressed this challenge by forming the Joint Genome Institute (JGI), under the direction of Elbert Branscomb. JGI employs the complementary strengths of DOE's three largest genome programs and those at other laboratories and universities to make more efficient and effective use of diverse expertise and resources.
In the past year, we gave JGI two very challenging and difficult tasks:
JGI has met both of those ambitious goals. As of October 23, 1998, it had submitted to GenBank a total of 21 Mb, all with Phred/Phrap values of 40 or greater. This represents a tenfold increase over the amount of DNA sequenced by all three DOE genome centers in the previous year; currently, the sequencing rate averages 3 Mb per month. And, as noted, PSF is open, halfway between the Lawrence Berkeley and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories. PSF's goal this year is 40 Mb, a doubling of last year's yield.
Also last October, the U.S. Human Genome Project completed and published in Science its third 5-year plan, developed jointly with the NIH National Human Genome Research Institute. This plan was achieved with input from the broad genome scientific community. Although many challenges lie ahead, particularly in anticipating and preparing for the "postgenomic" world, we are more optimistic than ever about the success of this grand project and its many contributions to science and society. Yet we cannot afford to be complacent, either, and the workshop speakers on the ethical, legal, and social implications will remind and challenge all of us that our science has societal impacts and we cannot be aloof and disengaged from those interactions.
There are other genomes to sequence besides the human, and the OBER Microbial Genome Program continues to contribute complete sequences to public databases. Each microbial sequence has its surprises and its exciting science. One of the more exciting sequences completed in 1998 was the entire 3-Mb sequence of Deinococcus radiodurans, the most radio-resistant microbe yet known; its astounding DNA-repair capacities represent longstanding and continuing high-priority DOE interests and the opportunity, perhaps through genetic engineering of toxin-degrading enzyme systems, to address DOE's mission of mixed-waste remediation. This achievement also underscores the opportunity to exploit the interdisciplinary biological approaches that we view as important guiding principles for the science we support. We must continue to take responsibility for using our science to better our world.
We anticipate a very interesting and productive meeting and offer our sincere thanks to all the organizers and to you, the scientists whose vision and efforts have realized and continue to realize the promises of genome research.
Office of Biological and Environmental Research
U.S. Department of Energy
Date Published: December 1998
Prepared for the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Biological and Environmental Research, Washington, D.C. 20874-1290
Human Genome Management Information System
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge, TN 37830-6480
Managed by LOCKHEED MARTIN ENERGY RESEARCH CORP.
for the U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
UNDER CONTRACT DE-AC05-96OR22464
The Human Genome Project (HGP) was an international 13-year effort, 1990 to 2003. Primary goals were to discover the complete set of human genes and make them accessible for further biological study, and determine the complete sequence of DNA bases in the human genome. See Timeline for more HGP history.
Published from 1989 until 2002, this newsletter facilitated HGP communication, helped prevent duplication of research effort, and informed persons interested in genome research. |
Mexico, The Americas, and Spain (MAS)
The Modern Maya: Photographs by Macduff Everton
January 16-February 16, 2013
Niedorff Gallery, Trinity University
Afrolatinas: Between Negritude and Reggaetón
The 2013 Alvarez Seminar
February 21 - March 5, 2013
All lectures in Northrup Hall 040
Mexico, The Americas, and Spain (MAS) draws on the rich Hispanic culture and resources of San Antonio as well as Trinity's proximity to Mexico and Latin America. Supported by a critical mass of more than 30 faculty across the spectrum of disciplines who can teach in Spanish, this unique program seeks to train future leaders for involvement in the MAS world. It provides students with unparalleled opportunities for engagement with the language, life, and culture of Mexico, the Americas, and Spain.
The program draws extensively on the rich Hispanic culture and resources of San Antonio as well as Trinity's proximity to Mexico and Latin America. MAS provides students from all majors a continuum of experiences throughout the undergraduate years that includes internships in Spain, conferences in Mexico, collaboration with students from the Monterrey Institute of Technology, as well service learning trips and study abroad. On-campus opportunities include the annual Álvarez Seminar, two locally focused first-year seminars, and $1000 stipends for Trinity students who complete unpaid internships at local non-profit organizations that work with the Latino community.
All of the MAS opportunities are designed to hone Spanish language skills and deepen cultural understanding while providing a wealth of real world experiences that advance postgraduate options. |
by Andrew Malcolm
Turns out, some Obama PAC money came from PACs.
Before he ostentatiously stopped taking money from political action committees to run for president, Sen. Barack Obama quietly took money from political action committees.
As a presidential candidate, Obama claims to be an outsider eager to shake up the Washington establishment by refusing to accept donations from political action committees and Washington lobbyists. This year, they're the bad guys.
But this wasn’t always the case.
Back in 2005 and 2006, Obama raised $123,283 from other political action committees and put them into a political action committee of his own. He called it Hopefund.
Hopefund is what is known as a “leadership PAC,” a frequent target of campaign watchdogs because it can raise money in much larger bundles than individual candidates. The Candidate of Hope from Illinois followed the example set by Senate and House members who establish such accounts to raise money and then spread it around to other politicians in the hopes of gaining new best friends. Legally, such PACs are supposed to operate independently and cannot coordinate with any campaigns of their owner.
Now that Obama is running for president, he's handing out the bulk of Hopefund money to politicians and groups who happen to be in early presidential voting states, as the Washington Post's John Solomon noted the other day. The pace of giving has increased in recent months and this has led to some remarkable coincidences.
New Hampshire state Sen. Jacalyn Cilley, for instance, received $1,000 from Obama's PAC last summer. Six days later she happened to endorse the same Obama for president. "I endorsed him because I believe in him and his policies," she said.
Likewise, Obama's PAC recently felt moved to donate $9,000 to Rep. Paul Hodes, who happens to have been the first member of Congress from New Hampshire to endorse Obama early this year.
With a straight face Obama spokesmen deny there's any connection between his...
presidential campaign and the PAC donations. "Sen. Obama has long been doing whatever he can to help elect fellow Democrats all across the country," said Joshua Earnest.
Of course, opposing campaigns seek to capitalize on such coincidences. Yesterday, the Clinton campaign issued two statements on the Post article. One said, "On the campaign trail, Sen. Obama is outspoken about his desire to reform the campaign finance system so it was surprising to learn that he has been using his PAC in a manner that appears to be inconsistent with the prevailing election laws."
When Obama's camp appeared to ignore the jab, Clinton's forces issued another statement, "The Obama campaign's failure to deny that it committed campaign finance violations speaks volumes."
But those who throw stones in political tit-for-tats should be careful. An Obama spokesman sought to turn the issue toward Clinton's reluctance to reveal financial records and to order the release of millions of pages of documents relating to her years as first lady, which are now locked up in her husband's presidential library until after the 2008 election.
And there is also the Clinton problem with fundraising bundler Norman Hsu and the coincidence, as detailed last summer by The Times' Dan Morain, of former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack giving up his own presidential campaign, endorsing Hillary Clinton and suddenly receiving thousands of dollars from Clinton supporters to help retire his campaign debt.
Altogether, Obama collected $4.4 million for Hopefund. The donations came from some of his biggest backers including the Illinois energy firm Exelon and the Illinois Pork Producers.
According to Federal Election Commission records, other significant Obama PAC donations in the last two years came from AT&T, Lockheed Martin, Comcast, and Walt Disney. There was even money from currently evil law firms that have major lobbying practices in Washington including Brownstein Hyatt and DLA Piper.
But that was then. |
Effectiveness of Meth Bill Proposal Questioned
A new bill that has been pre-filed in the Kentucky legislature for next year would block convicted methamphetamine offenders from buying key meth ingredients without a prescription, but not everyone is convinced the proposed law would be effective.
State Representative Brent Yonts, D-15, has introduced legislation that would create a drug offender database that would prevent convicted offenders from purchasing pseudoephedrine without a prescription. The system would use real-time technology to prevent purchases at the point of sale, Yonts said.
Kentucky lawmakers have tried to pass legislation that would require anyone to have a prescription to purchase cold medicines that contain pseudoephedrine, but to no avail, said Tommy Loving, executive director of the Kentucky Narcotics Officers’ Association.
“We’re fighting a drug industry that we know spent well over $300,000 last year to fight us and we have no money to spend other than going out and telling the truth of a proven method of stopping the meth labs, or at least greatly reducing them,” said Loving.
That proven method can be found in Oregon and Mississippi, which have similar laws to what Kentucky lawmakers have tried to implement in the past. Both states have seen dramatic decreases in meth-labs.
Loving said despite similar legislation that’s expected to be introduced again next term, Yonts’ proposal is more likely to pass.
“I’m confident his legislation his legislation would be easier to pass because all the drug companies are supporting it.”
But it’s not guaranteed to work, said Loving.
Oklahoma has a similar system in place, limiting medication for convicted offenders, but since it saw an initial decrease in meth-lab seizures in 2007, it has seen only increases.
But Yonts said not to compare the two states’ systems because Oklahoma’s includes data after the initial point of sale. Kentucky’s block purchases at the point of sale. |
Young people are still buying homes, but they're waiting until they're older.
This week, Fordham Conversations is about housing and how people from different generations go about buying a house. It turns out Baby Boomers have different attitudes towards home ownership than Millennials (the generation born between 1980 and 2000), and they’re buying different types of houses. Jessica Lautz, director of member and consumer research at the National Association of Realtors, talks about a buyer and seller generational trends. Then, Fordham Professor Emily Rosenbaum explains why some people are waiting until they are older to own a home and how this compares to previous generations.
Music on the show in order of appearance: |
You know this proposal to delete the word “Evolution” from Georgia’s schools is neuron-jammingly idiotic when even creationists think it’s stupid:
“If you’re teaching the concept without the word, what’s the point?” said Rep. Bobby Franklin, a Republican. “It’s stupid. It’s like teaching gravity without using the word gravity.”
“Gravity,” which Georgia students will soon know as “Falling toward the center of mass.”
Over at the Georgia Department of Education Web site, the department lays out its reasons for wanting to ban the word:
Why, then, is the word itself not used in the draft of the curriculum, when the concepts are there? The unfortunate truth is that “evolution” has become a controversial buzzword that could prevent some from reading the proposed biology curriculum comprehensive document with multiple scientific models woven throughout. We don’t want the public or our students to get stuck on a word when the curriculum actually includes the most widely accepted theories for biology.
If we take Georgia’s Department of Education at its word, this is what it’s saying: If we don’t call it evolution, we can sneak it past the Creationists.
Well, you know. I tend to think Creationists are willfully ignorant (which is fine, except they want my child to be ignorant too, which is not), but “willfully ignorant” is absolutely not the same thing as “stupid.” If Creationists were stupid, we wouldn’t have such a damned difficult time keeping their Bible-jammy hands off the science curriculum. These are smart, motivated people, and suggesting they’re going to be led off the evolutionary scent by changing what you call evolution when you teach it is both arrogant and insulting. By this same concept, if we just called abortion “removal of extraneous non-native uterine tissue,” the anti-abortion people would wander off, satisfied that their work here is done. Rest assured, they would not.
So it’s insulting to the Creationists. That is, if we take the Georgia Department of Education at its word. But why would we do that? Aside from there being ample reason never to automatically trust politicians, if we know anything about the Creationists, we know that they’re smart and patient and know how to use the political system to try to get their way. To use football metaphors here, creationists play a ground game; sure, they’ll throw a “Hail Mary” long bomb every once in a while just to throw off the liberals, but 98% of their game is marching up the field a few yards at a time. They’re willing to take a few hits and yard losses if it gets them into a better overall position, which is why, for example, they’re pushing “intelligent design” these days instead of trying to get evolution tossed out of schools outright.
And so, while in the short term “biological change over time” is insulting to Creationists, in the long term, it’s insulting everyone else, since “Biological Change Over Time” is not an equivalent phrase for “evolution.” “Evolution” is tied to a well-understood general process of biology, in which the genetics of living things change through mutation, which is random when it occurs naturally. It is biological change over time, but not all biological changes over time are necessarily evolution. For example, “intelligent design” is also “biological change over time,” but it is most emphatically not evolution.
Given the continual pressure to jam in less scientifically-rigorous explanations of biological change because certain religious people just can’t hang with Darwin — by way of an example, there is currently a bill in the Missouri state lege to teach “intelligent design” alongside evolution — people who don’t want their children to get substandard public educations at the whim of evangelicals are quite right to be suspicious of the change as well.
In everyone else’s paranoid fantasies, for now, the state of Georgia will teach evolution. But there’s absolutely no assurance that somewhere down the line, and sooner than later, some fatbacked conservative God monkey will hoot up and down in the Georgia lege and try to stuff whatever version of intelligent design is creeping around that the time into the school system on the rationale that the phrase being used in the schools is “biological change over time,” not “evolution.”
So the question is: Which do you want to believe? That the Georgia Department of Education is insulting a fair percentage of Georgia’s taxpayers by asserting that they’re stupid? Or that it is eventually planning to undermine the education of the children of all of Georgia tax payers by allowing a small change in verbiage that equates to a large change in meaning? If you believe the former, you’d keep the word “evolution” because you know most people aren’t stupid. If you believe the latter, you’d keep the word “evolution” to assure that the children of Georgia don’t end up ignorant. Either way, evolution should be here to stay.
There is a third possible explanation: That those running the Georgia Department of Education simply aren’t very smart. Wouldn’t that be terrifying irony.
Update: Looks more and more like explanation number two:
In the past, [Georgia Superintendent of Schools Kathy] Cox, has not masked her feelings on the matter of creationism versus evolution. During her run for office, Ms. Cox congratulated parents who wanted Christian notions of Earth and human creation to be taught in schools.
“I’d leave the state out of it and would make sure teachers were well prepared to deal with competing theories,” she said at a public debate.
Gee, I wonder what will be the “competing theory” there. I just think it’s a shame for Georgia that the woman who runs its schools is apparently keen on making the state’s children ignorant as chickens.
To reinforce that idea: A Georgia high school teacher’s take on the new proposed educational standards, which among other things will kind of gloss over American history prior to 1876, which rather handily takes care of that whole inconvenient Civil War thing. It’s good to know that in about 13 years, Athena won’t have to worry about some kid from Georgia taking her spot at the college of her choice.
Oh, and look at this: Georgia’s not particularly interested in teachers who could be truly exceptional:
Recently, I interviewed with a school in one of the metro Atlanta counties, only to receive an e-mail from the principal stating, “Though your qualifications are quite impressive, I regret to inform you that we have selected another candidate. It was felt that your demeanor and therefore presence in the classroom would serve as an unrealistic expectation as to what high school students could strive to achieve or become. However, it is highly recommended that you seek employment at the collegiate level; there your intellectual comportment would be greatly appreciated. Good luck.”
Not a good time to be getting educated down South, clearly.
Update: Hey, creationists! Wanna know how to really challenge science? I’ve got some tips for you right here. |
Twentysix Gasoline Stations was a book that Ed Ruscha published in April 1963; it contained twenty-six photographs of gasoline stations on his route from his home in Los Angeles to Oklahoma City, where he had grown up and where his mother still lived. Hudson, Amarillo, Texas is one of the photographs in this book.
Look at a few of the photographs in this series. How are they similar or different? Why might Ruscha have wanted to take photographs of all these gas stations?
Have your students think about a journey they each take every day at school, for example, the trip from your classroom to the cafeteria. How would they document that trip in twenty six photographs? What would they show, and what would they leave out? Spend a class period taking these photographs and document the process in a book, either by pasting printed photographs into a notebook or by using a bookmaking service such as blurb.com.Read more |
Responding to the ENT survey of Web servers that was quoted recently in WinInfo, an Apache Web magazine decided to do a survey of its own to prove that the Apache Web server is indeed dominant on the Web. But while Apache does have the lead position among the top Web sites that it investigated, the results were clearly not what Apache Today had hoped. In a survey of the 30 most popular Web sites, Apache Today discovered that Apache is used on 33 percent of those sites, far below the 50-60 percent cited by the Netcraft survey that started this whole debate. Netscape/iPlanet was second with 24%, while Microsoft IIS came in third with 21 percent.
"Obviously, this isn't a slam dunk for Apache," said Apache Today's Kevin Reichard. "Nor was anyone at Apache Today expecting it to be. But the trends exhibited by the top 30 Web sites in terms of popularity should end any talk about the momentum of IIS in the marketplace, and it should also point out the amazing popularity of Netscape servers." A less biased reading of the results, however, coupled with the recent Windows 2000 adoption at Lycos (number four on the list of most popular sites), suggests that Microsoft's Web server, IIS, is doing just fine, actually. In fact, Microsoft IIS is now used on two of the top four sites. And popular Web destinations such as eBay, Go, AltaVista, and InfoSpace are all built on a Microsoft Web platform.
Apache Today used the Media Matrix Top 50 list to gather their results. Why they didn't poll the entire top 50 is, of course, open to debate. In cases where multiple sites are maintained by the same company, Apache Today noted those as well. So, for example, One of Microsoft's URLs, for HotMail, is listed as being in the Apache and FreeBSD camp. For the complete story, please visit the Apache Today Web site |
With a big question mark hanging over the health of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, many in Washington may see opportunity. Though Chávez initially claimed that he was merely suffering from a "pelvic abscess," the firebrand leader subsequently conceded that he had cancer. In a shock to the nation, Chávez announced that he had a tumor removed during a sojourn in Cuba, and that he would "continue battling."
Reporting over the past several weeks suggests that Chávez might be in worse shape than has been commonly let on. Though he returned to Venezuela after his operation in Cuba, Chávez recently announced that he would pay yet another visit to Cuba in order to undergo chemotherapy. The firebrand leader, however, still refuses to reveal what kind of cancer he has or its severity. Ominously, one medical source reported to Reuters that Chávez's cancer had spread to the rest of his body and was in an advanced stage.
It's unclear how the president's shaky health might factor in the nation's upcoming 2012 election. The populist leader, who has closely identified himself with the so-called "Bolivarian Revolution," has never shown much interest in grooming a successor within his own United Socialist Party of Venezuela or PSUV, and so if Chávez should falter it is easy to imagine a scenario in which much of his political project could unravel or be derailed by the right.
The Caracas Cables
Judging from U.S. State Department cables recently declassified by whistle-blowing outfit WikiLeaks, many American diplomats, including former ambassador in Caracas Charles Shapiro, would view this outcome as highly desirable. In 2004, two years after the Bush administration aided the rightist opposition in its short-lived coup attempt against Chávez, Shapiro sat down with Alí Rodríguez, the head of Venezuela's state-run oil company
PdVSA. In light of Washington's meddling, Rodríguez might have assumed a bellicose attitude but according to correspondence the Venezuelan was courteous and unassuming. Seeking to calm tensions, he urged a "dose of pragmatism." Shapiro, however, shot back and complained of Chávez's alleged authoritarian streak as well as the president's verbal attacks against Bush and threats to suspend oil shipments to the U.S. Two months later, a "troubled" Shapiro warned his superiors that PdVSA, which had been involved in Chávez social programs, was in danger of becoming a "social welfare agency."
If another 2006 cable is any indication, there was no love lost between the U.S. embassy and Chávez. In a lengthy rant, one diplomat noted "We have to maintain our careful restraint to the rhetorical provocations as well as a steady public diplomacy effort to offset Chávez' insidious effort to teach Venezuelans to hate us."
A full three years later, by now in the Obama era, U.S. officials openly complained of harassment. The Venezuelans, claimed one diplomat, had called for new procedures which compromised the ability of embassy staff to receive classified escorted diplomatic pouches. Things got so bad that at one point Venezuelan officials denied an embassy officer access to a classified diplomatic pouch at the airport.
The Americans responded hotly that "we were no longer in the 18th century and diplomatic correspondence required machines such as computers that would be compromised if they were at any time out of the control of our diplomatic personnel." The Venezuelans countered that "the US did not extend privileges such as planeside access to foreign diplomatic couriers in the U.S." After a tense "standoff," the Venezuelans finally agreed to return the pouch uninspected.
The Kirchner Connection
Elsewhere in South America, U.S. diplomats monitored Venezuelan influence with relentless zeal. "Chávez's outsized ambition," noted one official, "backed by petrodollars makes Venezuela an active and intractable U.S. competitor in the region." In 2007, the Americans openly fretted that Chávez might upstage an upcoming Bush visit to Brazil, Uruguay and Colombia. The Venezuelan, it was feared, could stir up anti-American sentiment by flying to Buenos Aires where he could count on sympathetic allies.
"Venezuela's embassies abroad actively promote, fund, and guide left-wing Bolivarian circles of persons sympathetic to Chávez' anti-American foreign policy," noted one diplomat, adding that "Chávez has almost certainly asked Venezuelan embassies in the region to generate protests against the President's visit, just as his government organizes such protests at home." According to "sensitive reporting," the Caracas embassy believed that Chávez was "providing direct support to organize anti-American protests in Buenos Aires."
Argentina, under the stewardship of President Néstor Kirchner, was of particular concern to the Americans. Though Kirchner had sought out a "more independent line," the peronist politician nevertheless followed an economic strategy that envisioned closer commercial and financial ties to Chávez. Also worrying was Kirchner's growing military collaboration with Chávez, with Venezuelan officers having a "presence" in the Argentine Army and Air War Colleges. What is more, the Venezuelans even briefed the Argentines on the concept of "asymmetric warfare."
Southern Cone Conundrum
Over in neighboring Brazil, the Americans were also paranoid about Chávez's rising influence. In response to a detailed questionnaire sent by the State Department, U.S. ambassador to Brazil John Danilovich warned his superiors that Luiz Inácio "Lula" da Silva's Workers' Party had organized a "Simon Bolívar Action Group" in solidarity with Venezuela. Moreover, members of Brazil's landless movement, known by the Portuguese acronym MST, traveled to Venezuela where they reportedly met with Chávez personally.
In addition, Danilovich and his associates were concerned about the Venezuelan ambassador in Brazil, a diplomat who was involved in drumming up support for Chávez's Bolivarian Revolution. In 2003, Danilovich devoted considerable time in tracking the Venezuelan's movements and activities in and around Brasilia. The paranoia over Chávez was so pronounced that Danilovich even saw fit to draw his superiors' attention to a University of São Paulo conference which discussed the Bolivarian Revolution.
Chávez however faced a very different political reception elsewhere in the Southern Cone. In theory, noted U.S. diplomats, Chilean socialist president Michele Bachelet had "a certain ideological sympathy" for Chávez, but on the other hand she was "also a pragmatist who recognizes that Chile's successful free market economic policies and stable democratic political model is preferable to what Chávez offers." In 2007, U.S. diplomats reported that Chilean Army Intelligence was actively monitoring the Venezuelan Embassy in Santiago and keeping tabs on Chávez's funding of Bolivarian and leftist groups.
In Chile, however, the Americans were worried about Venezuelan influence. They were in fact so concerned that they followed the arrival in Santiago of one Aram Aharonian, the executive vice president of TV channel Telesur. In 2005 Aharonian [who I discuss in more detail in my book] traveled to Chile to promote his station, which had received funding from the Venezuelan government. In other cables, U.S. officials clearly saw themselves in a media and propaganda war with Chávez who they viewed as an ideological threat.
Even in tiny Uruguay, U.S. diplomats intently monitored what Chávez was up to. Though Venezuela's influence was "not yet great," officials fretted that Chávez "shouldn't be underestimated. Money talks [and] democratic institutions in the region are still weak and free market economics have yet to provide consistent solutions to the Southern Cones social and political ills." In a paranoid aside designed no doubt to raise the red flag in Washington, the Americans noted that President Tabaré Vázquez's security detail was run by his brother Jorge, himself a former guerrilla fighter who allegedly recruited leftists from a local labor union. The service agents were then trained in Caracas or Havana.
Diplomats added that "it is clear we need more (and more flexible) resources and tools to counter Chávez's efforts to assume greater dominion over Latin America at the expense of U.S. leadership and interests." Though Uruguayan president Tabaré Vázquez was a centrist, Chávez was poised to make political inroads in the country because Uruguay had a heavy debt burden and no known hydrocarbon deposits. "As such," diplomats explained, "Venezuelan oil and money could prove tempting as part of a bid to boost the economy."
Glossy Propaganda Tools
Even as Danilovich and his colleagues sought to monitor Chávez in the Southern Cone, other American diplomats were following suit. Take, for example, U.S. ambassador in Lima Curtis Struble, who went so far as to request a one-on-one meeting with Peru's Foreign Minister in order "to discuss the Venezuelan government's involvement with violent, extremist Peruvian organizations." In a cable dating from 2005, perhaps the high point of Chávez's regional popularity, Struble had grown concerned about the activities of the Venezuelan ambassador to Lima.
In dealing with the Alejandro Toledo regime, Struble could count on a much more sympathetic audience than he would have encountered in, say, Argentina or Brazil. Speaking to government officials, Struble claimed that Venezuela had sought to organize Bolivarian sympathizers amongst radical groups. The Peruvian Foreign Minister said he was aware of the issue, and had already consulted with the Ministry of Interior about the Venezuelan threat. According to him, Venezuela had sent a "5-6 person advance team" to Peru in advance of a South American summit. In the city of Ayacucho, the Venezuelans had met with a group called Patria Roja and provided their collaborators with money to print anti-Toledo and pro-Chávez placards. Even more worryingly, the Foreign Minister believed Chávez might be trying to stir things up in the dirt-poor provincial department of Puno.
So obsessed was Struble that shortly after his meeting with the Peruvians the diplomat sent a cable to Washington dealing with pro-Chávez publications. Recently, Struble noted, a leftist magazine entitled Wankar [or "Song of the People" in the indigenous language of Quechua] had surfaced in Lima. Struble went into great detail about the magazine, noting that the first issue had "a slick paper cover with a dramatic color photo of Chávez sporting his commando cap, his fist raised in the air. The masthead of the magazine as well as the subjects and/or authors of most of the articles are members of the Peruvian Communist Party-Patria Roja (PCP-PR)." Struble believed that the glossy publication must have relied on outside financing.
Three years later, in the twilight of the Bush administration, diplomats were still frantically monitoring supposed Chávez subversion in Peru. During a general strike held in the city of Cusco, the Americans analyzed protest leaders' ties to Venezuela. One strike leader, U.S. officials claimed, was linked to Chávez's so-called ALBA initiative designed to promote reciprocity and barter exchanges amongst Latin American nations. In Cusco, diplomats noted, several "ALBA houses" coordinated a Venezuelan program called "Misión Milagro" to provide eye surgeries to poor people.
Across the border from Puno in Bolivia, the United States had perhaps more to be worried about. There, Washington could not count on sympathetic allies and indigenous president Evo Morales openly courted Chávez as a friend and ally. In 2007, American diplomats fretted that "at least one hundred if not several hundred Venezuelan military advisors and intelligence operators" might have been scattered throughout Bolivia. Raising the alarm bell, the Americans added that Chávez's military personnel were thought to be "conducting intelligence and counterintelligence activities in La Paz and Santa Cruz in coordination with Cuban intelligence agents."
One would think that the U.S. would not view Paraguay, a poor and tiny South American nation, as worthy of too much political attention. Yet WikiLeaks cables show that even here, Washington was paranoid about Chávez infiltration and devoted significant time and resources toward monitoring Venezuelan activities. This, despite the fact that Paraguayan President Óscar Nicanor Duarte maintained "lukewarm" relations with Chávez during the Bush years.
In late 2005 the U.S. embassy in Asunción cabled Washington, warning that its "sensitive reporting" had uncovered links between Venezuela and several Paraguayan social, political and religious organizations. Even more seriously, diplomats added, it was possible that Bolivarian groups were "behind the spread of blatantly false rumors of U.S. plans to build a base in Paraguay, deploy 400 troops to Paraguay to protect oil and natural gas reserves in Bolivia, and steal the region's fresh water supplies from the Guarani Aquifer."
Two years later, in the midst of leftist Fernando Lugo's bid for the presidency, U.S. officials sought out local municipal officials who claimed that Venezuela had provided leadership training to peasant leaders. And, still unable to break free of their broken record, the Americans honed in on "Misión Milagro" once again, noting that hundreds of poor Paraguayans had flown to Cuba and Venezuela in what appeared to be an effort at "winning converts at the mass levels while the elites are increasingly nervous."
Meanwhile, the Bush administration suspected that Venezuela had offered material support to leftist groups along the Paraguayan-Bolivian border which had raised tensions. Ridiculously, diplomats then noted that "there is a Venezuelan student at the Paraguayan War College. It is unclear what his status or activities are at this point."
Lugo's win at the polls seems to have further alarmed the U.S. embassy in Asunción, and in 2008 diplomats sent a lengthy cable to Washington analyzing the Misión Milagro program. In truth, the Americans suspected that the initiative was secretly a propaganda tool. "Many, perhaps a majority, of the program's participants," U.S. diplomats explained, "... are students who do not need eye surgeries but rather travel to Venezuela for long-term training to expand the 'Bolivarian Revolution.'"
Moving From the Venezuelan to Brazilian Threat
Though it's no secret that the Bush administration was an implacable foe of the Chávez regime, WikiLeaks cables reveal the true extent of U.S. paranoia.
Though Chávez was arguably more of a nationalist politician than a true revolutionary, Washington was nonetheless fearful of leftist contagion and, in an insufferable waste of U.S. taxpayer money, made sure to monitor Venezuelan activities throughout the region, even in remote and economically disadvantaged countries.
Now that Chávez finds himself in a state of ailing health, some within the U.S. State Department may heave a sigh of relief. At the very least, they will not have to absurdly chase after Venezuelan military students at the Paraguayan War College, tail the head of the Uruguayan President's security detail in search of Chávez infiltrators, analyze Quechua-inspired publications in Peru, or shadow the movements of journalists associated with South American news network Telesur.
Yet, no sooner than Venezuela fades from the political scene, U.S. diplomats will no doubt find other "bogeymen" to report on. Most likely, the next focal point of State Department attention will be rising star Brazil. Though the South American juggernaut hasn't been nearly as confrontational toward Washington as Venezuela, WikiLeaks cables reveal U.S. diplomats' fearful concerns.
Take, for example, American ambassador to Lima Curtis Struble, who, as early as 2005, warned his superiors that Washington was now embroiled "in an undeclared contest" with Brazil to see which country could preserve the most influence in Peru. "We are winning on most issues that count," Struble explained, "but the government of Brazil is still very much in the game."
If they are not doing so by now already, American diplomats are probably monitoring Brazil in an effort to preserve U.S. hegemony in the wider region. In the not too distant future, State Department officials may believe it is imperative to sit down with their counterparts in Peru, Bolivia, or Paraguay in an effort to thwart not Caracas but Brasilia, and thus the Machiavellian game will start all over again.
Nikolas Kozloff is the author of Revolution! South America and the Rise of the New Left (Palgrave, 2008). Visit his website, www.nikolaskozloff.com |
|Apinda Mpako, Pan Africa ILGA|
|Apinda Mpako, Pan Africa ILGA|
The world listened last week as Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf defended her country’s laws that discriminate against its lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex population. In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, she spoke of preserving Liberia’s “traditional values” and said in part, “We like ourselves the way we are.”
It’s a sad sentiment I hear in my own country of Uganda: the idea that homosexuality is somehow un-African and foreign to our culture, an import of the West that must be stopped. But it is not African to restrict another’s freedom. It is not African to spread lies and dissent and urge brutality against others. And it is certainly not African to deny fellow citizens basic human rights. No, these are ideas introduced and fostered by our colonizers, not by our ancestors.
My organization, Sexual Minorities Uganda, works against these forces of hate and division, and we live every day under the threats of violence that keep so many LGBTI Ugandans from coming forward. In 2010, a local newspaper published photographs and addresses of many of us under the headline “Hang Them.”
But still we work, because there is so much work to be done: gay men to be rescued from jail after arbitrary arrests and beatings. Lesbian women who need to be sheltered after curative rape assaults. Friends to be healed after being denied medical care.
The anti–gay groups call this struggle a campaign for gay rights. But there is nothing gay or straight about the right to worship, to assemble publicly or to live without fear of sanctioned brutality.
In Uganda today, bosses routinely fire employees suspected of being gay. We can be expelled from school or denied medical attention. Our friends and neighbors can be persecuted just for being seen with us.
The Ugandan Parliament is pushing a bill that is inspired by hateful ideas brought to us, not from within Africa, but by anti-gay activists like Scott Lively from the United States. The new law would equate gay people with pedophiles and call on the LGBTI population to stop “promoting homosexuality.”
The original version of the legislation even called for applying the death penalty to gay couples, and although it may be revoked from the final bill, even the more “palatable” version seeks to silence our voices, criminalize anyone who speaks on our behalf and encourage the wrongheaded stigmas that increase our nation’s rising HIV prevalence.
It’s one thing to hear these hurtful and threatening words from my countrymen. But to hear these remarks by President Sirleaf — recipient of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize for her groundbreaking women’s rights work — illustrates just how pervasive are the human rights challenges facing LGBTI Africans.
For communities across Africa, believing that being gay leads to child molestation is normal. Believing that the LGBTI community is actively recruiting young people is an accepted dogma. Believing that two people who are in love may be murdered if they are the same sex is thought to be a reasonable action by much of our parliament.
How much further are we from a future where the humanity of all Africans is honored? A long way away, but my friends and I struggle to inform our own Ugandan community that we are like any one else and want to live in peace.
There is still such a long road ahead of us, but we are driven by the conviction that we are part of a larger story of global human rights, and we will not give up until we have built the future we all deserve.
Frank Mugisha is the Executive Director of Sexual Minorities Uganda and the 2011 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award Laureate. |
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
This weekend we were delighted with the birth of this endangered species here at the zoo. The pudus are exhibited adjacent to our brand new Chilean flamingo exhibit, a bird species that share their habitat in the wild.
For more information about this species, which is disappearing in the wild due to illegal logging, habitat loss and hunting, visit our Southern Pudu Fact Sheet.
View a short video of these little deer below (note this video does not have sound):
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Thanks to everyone who came out to welcome the flamingos to their new home.
Photos by Dennis Dow, Ryan Hawk, and Adria Saracino.
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Flock Alert: if you spot a flock somewhere in
As for the real birds, they are settling into the exhibit well as we gear up for Saturday’s opening event with live music, flamingo-themed giveaways, cupcakes, a keeper talk and more.Photo by Dale Unruh.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The always popular Butterflies and Blooms exhibit re-opens for the summer season on Fri., May 23 (now free with zoo admission). You’ll be surrounded by nearly 1000 free-flying butterflies representing 15 North American species. If you’re lucky, you may even get one to land on you. Here’s a tip: butterflies are attracted to bright colors!
Zebra longwing butterfly, photo by Dennis Conner.
Monday, May 19, 2008
Photo by Ryan Hawk
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The 27 members of the zoo’s flock of Chilean flamingos were carried one by one to their new exhibit today. They won’t make their public premiere until Memorial Day weekend, but we’ve moved them in a bit early to let them get acquainted with their (still off-view) new home.
After settling in their holding area for a few hours, the birds paraded into their new exhibit and have begun to explore their surroundings. The keepers are watching the birds closely to see how they adjust to the new space -- several birds have already been observed drinking from the pool.
Want to see them for yourselves? Don't miss the opening day celebration on Sat., May 24, filled with South American music, flamingo programs and giveaways, stilt walkers and pink cupcakes from Cupcake Royale. See you there!
Photos by Melissa Wheeler.
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
There is an ongoing need for widespread education and outreach concerning their welfare to enable peaceful coexistence with people who live or spend time in bear country. The zoo proudly partners with the Grizzly Bear Outreach Project in helping to protect and conserve the grizzly bears in our region. Visit GBOP's website for details about local events for Bear Awareness. |
Evolution of ASIMO
As exemplified by P2 and P3, the two-legged walking technology developed by Honda represents a unique approach to the challenge of autonomous locomotion. Using the know-how gained from these prototypes, Honda started research and development on new technology for actual use. Representing the fruition of this pursuit, ASIMO was born on November 20, 2000.
ASIMO stands for Advanced Step in Innovative Mobility. It means advanced innovative mobility for a new era.
ASIMO was conceived to function in an actual human living environment in the near future.
It is easy to operate, has a convenient size and weight and can move freely within the human living environment, all with a people-friendly design. |
When Aunt Seashell was dying, she talked often about childhood summers playing with her sister and her cousin at the shore. The landscape of Aunt Seashell's childhood, the beaches and ocean waves, the boardwalk with its splinters and the sandy porch with its wooden rocking chairs, the lunches of chicken noodle soup and pumpernickel bread, was more real to her than the cold winters here, where she'd been living for those last few years. The shore was still the place she felt most connected to, the landscape she held in her mind. I've heard that immigrants as they get older and nearer to death will begin talking about the landscape of their childhood, even if it's far across the ocean.
My earliest childhood memories include playing outside with my sisters, my brother, and Show-off Neighbor Boy. We'd pick wild strawberries, those tiny little berries, for hours in the hot sun in the field east of the house. We'd play in the old apple orchard, stepping across rotting fruit that squished under our feet and swinging up onto the low, crooked branches. The apples were small and blemished, but when you took a bite, the tartness was worth the risk of eating a worm. We'd picnic in the woods and fields, eating our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on an old blanket and picking daisies to bring back for the vase on the kitchen table.
Outdoor Girl and I explored the woods when we were older, making a fort in two trees that were covered with vines. We'd grasp the vines with both hands and climb as high as we could, sometimes falling dramatically to the ground when a vine would rip away from the tangled web. We had a huge fight with Show-off Neighbor Boy when he threatened to chop one of the trees down, saying that it was on his parents' land.
During the years when we kept a horse behind the house, we'd take turns galloping across the big meadow, on the hard path that ran between chest-high grasses. We shared the land with other creatures, of course. From my bedroom window, I could see white-tailed deer, grazing in the early morning. The raccoons and rabbits made themselves known in the garden, and the snakes loved to curl up on the manure pile to warm themselves.
I didn't move away from that landscape: I live only a few miles from the house where my parents live. My father still wakes up early each morning to take a walk, and he'll take photos to send over the family email list. And yet, though I still live here, the landscape of my childhood exists now mostly only in memories. It's disappeared gradually, one field or grove of trees at a time.
The process is sadly familiar. First, come the wooden stakes with the pink or orange surveyor ribbons. Next comes the equipment, big yellow machines, roaring so loud that conversation with the humans atop them is quite impossible. Then comes the muddy road, the fallen trees. The building begins, an office building usually. Soon the land is paved over, covered with asphalt and parked cars, or perhaps a smooth green lawn with no wildflowers at all.
The fields where I picked wild strawberries disappeared under a highway, a road that came so close to my parents' house that the state need to seize some of their land. The mountain of dirt, higher than the house even, separated us from our neighbors on the other end of our rural road; we kids never really saw those neighbor kids again. The meadow where we rode our horse holds an office park now, buildings filled with shiny windows and parking lots filled with cars. The highest hill near us was sliced, made smaller, to accommodate a new wide road for an auto parts plant. The trees near the corner were cut down to make room for a convenience store, where workers from the auto parts plant eat their lunch. The field where we used to cross-country ski, stopping in the old barn to rest and eat oranges, is a neatly mowed lawn now, with square buildings and a long paved parking lot. The marsh that lay below the FamilyofEight's house was filled in for a mall.
Bit by bit, the wild fringes of land, the pieces left between the developed areas, are shrinking. Friday, my father went for his morning walk, hoping to walk through the trails that wound through the old apple orchard, the overgrown field that was left. Instead, he found surveyor sticks, a muddy road, and a huge clearing. The trees had been bulldozed, left in piles. Yellow equipment stood by the road, waiting. The worst part, for my father, was seeing in the mud the tracks of the deer and fawn he'd been watching for the last few weeks. "Where will they go now?" he asked.
I wonder when I come to die, what stories I will tell my grandchildren about the landscape of my childhood. Perhaps I'll tell them about picking wild strawberries, that frustratingly tedious search for bits of sweetness. Perhaps I'll talk about galloping a horse across a wild meadow or cross-country skiing through the woods. But I won't be talking about a landscape far across the ocean or in another state. I'll be describing the landscape of Snowstorm Region, where I still live. And yet, most of it is already gone. |
The big news at this year’s International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas was all of the plasma televisions, digital music players, and other crossover gadgets that Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, and other computer giants are using to challenge consumer electronics stalwarts such as Philips, Samsung, and Sony. Behind the trade show buzz, however, lies a bigger story—one that goes well beyond home entertainment.
That story tells how Dell and its fellow computer manufacturers, along with leading US companies in the financial-services and other industries, are using offshore partnerships to do more than just cut costs. Indeed, they are taking advantage of the distinctive skills and high performance offered by companies in Asia’s developing economies to enhance their own operating performance, to outsource vital business activities (such as the design of components), and to accelerate their entry into adjacent product markets. (To a lesser extent, this process is also playing out in other rapidly developing economies, such as those of Eastern Europe (including Russia), but Asia represents the primary focus of offshoring activity for US companies today.)
US computer companies, for example, are relying heavily on original-design manufacturers, primarily based in Taiwan, to storm the consumer electronics market. A leading US financial-services firm has transferred increasingly sophisticated aspects of its interactions with customers to eTelecare, a call-center provider based in the Philippines. The result has been greatly improved performance at lower cost.
While it is possible, and sometimes preferable, just to offshore key business activities, outsourcing them as well provides bigger opportunities for most companies. Offshore providers of outsourced services offer vital and sometimes distinctive skills that are available in developed countries only at much higher cost, if at all.
Lower Costs, Higher Performance
To most executives in the United States and Europe, offshoring means cheaper wage rates for labor-intensive activities. These cost savings are real, but some Asian companies can also offer superior performance.
The Philippines’ eTelecare, for example, serves an array of blue-chip US clients, including a leading computer company and a prominent financial-services company, both known for world-class customer service. It takes eTelecare, on average, 25 percent less time to handle incoming calls than it took its clients’ own call centers or previous outsourcers, and the company also delivers higher levels of customer satisfaction. In an outbound telephone-marketing campaign for one client, eTelecare exceeded the sales performance of the client’s in-house facility after only one week. By the fourth, it was generating three times as much sales revenue per hour and three times as many conversions from telephone calls to sales.
Similarly, in handling technical support for customers of a leading US electronics OEM, eTelecare’s cost per resolution was almost 40 and 16 percent lower than that of the OEM in its own US and Indian call-center operations, respectively, and 30 percent lower than that of competing US outsourcing vendors. (Cost per resolution covers the cost of call-center operations, including all calls needed for each problem and the cost of all dispatches and redispatches related to the problem.) At the same time, customer satisfaction levels exceeded expectations: in a survey, 99 percent of the OEM’s customers said they were satisfied or very satisfied.
Asia’s manufacturing operations also attain high levels of performance. By moving such operations from North America to China, one large US electronics company tripled its manufacturing productivity (measured both in units per line and in the number of surface-mount-technology components placed per unit of placement equipment). Cycle times and defect rates fell.
A New Model
Such outcomes reflect the ability of offshore companies to combine lower labor costs with distinctive skills. Low wages allow offshore companies to hire more middle managers, who can then devote more time to building the skills of their employees and to improving their processes than would be economical for most Western companies.
More for your wage. Discussions of wage rate differentials between Asia, on the one hand, and the United States and Europe, on the other, tend to focus on less skilled jobs, but in the more skilled ones the differentials can be compelling as well. In electronics, the wage rate ratio between the United States and China for product engineers is about 10:1. For software developers, the ratio between the United States and India is about 8:1.
The implications are significant: cost savings continue to accrue the higher up on the skills ladder companies go with their offshore outsourcing. Another way of looking at this offshore advantage is to compare the absolute wage premium required to hire a college rather than a high-school graduate. The premium could run to from $5 to $15 an hour in the United States, compared with $2 to $4 an hour in the Philippines, so it is much more cost-effective to hire a college graduate there, even if the quality of education in the two countries isn’t entirely equivalent.
Distinctive skills. Wage rate differentials generate cost savings, of course, but the really compelling gains come from pairing savings with top-flight skills. While it is true that only a few Asian countries offer enough English-speaking call-center representatives to deal with US customers, many other skills are more abundant in Asia than in the United States. China, for example, produces 350,000 graduate engineers every year, compared with 90,000 for US engineering schools. And most leading Indian IT-outsourcing firms operate at level five—the highest degree of expertise—of the IT service capability maturity model, whereas most internal IT departments in the United States operate at levels two or three. (The service capability maturity model (SCMM) is a standardized way of measuring the sophistication of software-development skills and processes.)
Many skills of Asian companies are distinctive. Product engineers in China and Taiwan, for instance, are more focused on designing for production than are their US counterparts, who tend to emphasize features and product performance. In integrated-circuit design, product engineers in the United States focus on designing the next leading-edge chip, while their counterparts in China and Taiwan concentrate on using system-on-a-chip methodologies—which combine in a single intergrated circuit all of the elecronic circuits and other elements needed for a given system, such as a mobile telephone—to integrate more functions on a single chip and thereby cut costs.
China and Taiwan are also developing world-class design expertise in specific technologies. Some of the world’s best designers of wireless chips and developers of wireless software are now based there, partly because China has emerged as the largest market for cellular telephones and the country’s consumers adopt new features enthusiastically. In the field of key electronics components, a Taiwanese company called Waffer Technology has developed a sophisticated thixomolding process technology to produce magnesium alloy casings for notebook computers. Its yield rates—90 to 95 percent—are well above the industry standard of 70 to 80 percent.
Taking advantage. The combination of low wages and a plentiful supply of skilled applicants makes it possible for Asian companies to use managerial practices very different from those generally found in developed economies.
Selective hiring. To begin with, the best offshore companies invest heavily to recruit the right staff because they can afford to be more selective: eTelecare, for example, employs a recruiting team of 30 that puts applicants through a rigorous seven-stage screening process. (An equivalent US call-center operation might have perhaps 4 people on such a team. A two-stage process—a resume and a short interview—is typical in US call centers.) As a result, eTelecare extends offers to only 2 percent of its applicants but enjoys a 90 percent acceptance rate, compared with an average acceptance rate of 50 percent in US call centers.
More managers to staff. In the United States, high wages are a major reason for the understandable tendency of high-performing companies to strip out layers of middle management and to increase the operating span of the remaining managers, forcing them into administrative and supervisory roles. In Asia, by contrast, the ratio of managers to staff is much higher, so they can spend more time building the skills of employees.
To give an example, eTelecare maintains a ratio of one “team lead” (frontline manager) to eight customer service agents, compared with a ratio of 1:20 or more for similar US operations. The company invests heavily in formal training programs, which are reinforced by apprenticeship, coaching, and mentorship. Agents who handle complex mutual-fund advisory calls, for instance, take a 16-week training course leading to the NASD (National Association of Securities Dealers) Series 7 examination for broker certification. By organizing employees into smaller teams that have more exposure to managers, the company can follow up with ad hoc coaching and detailed reviews of every agent’s performance—at least an hour a week for seasoned reps and more for newer ones. Agents at eTelecare enjoy an average pass rate of 81 percent on the NASD tests (recently, in fact, the pass rate has been 100 percent), compared with an average US pass rate of 59 percent.
The higher ratio of managers to workers also allows companies to pay greater attention to identifying and implementing process improvements that enhance their operational performance; at eTelecare no less than 10 percent of a team lead’s time is spent in this way. The benefits are evident as soon as the company takes over a client’s call center. One client, in its own operations, was used to an average handling time of about eight minutes. Within six months, eTelecare had reduced this to four and a half minutes by refining call-handling procedures; revising the order in which information was gathered and entered, with a view to minimizing the impact on performance; and altering computer screens to reduce the number of page changes required in most transactions.
The benefits of a high ratio of managers to staff are visible in offshore manufacturing operations too. Assembly line managers at one Chinese factory, for instance, worked closely with the staff to identify a novel way of reducing the time and cost of setting up surface-mount-technology placement equipment. By identifying and grouping products with similar attributes, the factory reduced throughput times and manufacturing costs significantly.
Using the organizational model described here, offshore companies offer Western clients better levels of performance than they can get at home. But there are additional possibilities: clients can move up the skill ladder within specific operational arenas, expand offshore initiatives into adjacent higher-value activities, and launch strategies to attack adjacent product markets. While each of these opportunities is always available to any Western company looking to take advantage of them, in practice they materialize sequentially. Until companies have acquired the experience and expertise that come with expanding offshore initiatives into adjacent higher-value activities, it is both more risky and more challenging to expand those initiatives into new product markets.
Moving up the skill ladder in specific operations. Many US companies continue to believe that offshoring is viable only for very low-skilled customer support activities, but others have found that with experience they can move rapidly up the skill ladder. For example, eTelecare’s financial-services client began by asking it to supply customer support for stored-value cards, a task requiring relatively modest call-center skills. The superior performance of eTelecare soon persuaded the client to give it responsibility for traveler’s checks, which make greater demands on call-center agents: customers who have lost checks in foreign countries are usually stressed, and agents must use discretion and initiative, since they might be called upon to wire up to $50,000 in funds to a customer or to initiate arrest procedures with local police for the fraudulent use of checks. This client has now entrusted eTelecare with the call-center work for mutual-fund products, an assignment that requires sophisticated financial skills.
Expanding into adjacent activities… Companies—particularly businesses whose product costs are largely manufacturing-related—can also realize greater value by expanding their offshoring initiatives into adjacent higher-value activities. Consider the experience of the computer industry, which was among the first to take advantage of offshore manufacturing opportunities.
US computer OEMs began by moving relatively unskilled assembly operations offshore, often farming them out to electronics-manufacturing services, such as Celestica, Flextronics, and Solectron. Increasingly, these OEMs have come to rely on offshore companies to provide related services in product design, sourcing, and inventory management. This movement has given rise to a new category of offshore operator: the mostly Taiwan-based original-design manufacturers, which take over design as well as manufacturing for leading computer OEMs. Even the top five original-design manufacturers—Asustek Computer, BenQ, Compal Electronics, Hon Hai Precision Industry, and Quanta Computer—are far less well-known than the electronics-manufacturing services.
After initially targeting low-end commodity products, the original-design manufacturers have steadily upgraded their technological capabilities and expanded their operations into more sophisticated computer product categories. They offer Western companies not just savings on labor but also faster cycle times, lower components costs, tighter inventory manage-ment, and more adaptive supply chains. Although original-design manufacturers still design products based on specifications supplied by OEMs, they increasingly design and sell their own products as well, capitalizing on growing investments in R&D.
As a result, in 2004 the top five computer original-design manufacturers are expected to grow by an average of 34 percent, compared with 3 percent average annual growth for the five leading electronics-manufacturing service companies. (The computer original-design manufacturers also achieve high returns on equity. According to Salomon Smith Barney, the top five enjoyed an average return on equity of 18 percent in 2002, compared with a negative average ROE of 26 percent for the top five electronics-manufacturing service vendors.)
Companies that offshore product design might also benefit by offshoring the specification and sourcing of components. Employees of offshore manufacturing operations are often in a better position to evaluate the availability and responsiveness of suppliers, particularly where robust local “ecosystems” of technology are developing. If these functions go abroad, it makes sense to shift responsibility for supply chain management as well, since the ability to compress cycle times, optimize manufacturing operations, and cut inventory investment depends on the effective coordination of activities across the supply chain.
Indeed, Salomon Smith Barney estimates that because the top five computer original-design manufacturers have full responsibility for sourcing and supply chain management, their inventory turns are 35 percent faster than those of the top five electronics-manufacturing service vendors. In industries such as computers, where prices fall rapidly and the frequent introduction of new products increases the risk of obsolescence, tight inventory management can be especially valuable. The same compelling economics and capability-building opportunities are beginning to drive similar movements in other manufacturing businesses, including apparel, automotive products, cellular handsets, consumer electronics, and medical equipment.
…and adjacent markets. Offshoring can also provide opportunities to expand into new product markets. Consider the way computer manufacturers are making forays into consumer electronics. Gateway has rapidly established leadership in the US plasma television market. Hewlett-Packard has carved out a 6 percent market share in digital cameras, despite stiff competition from market leaders Canon and Nikon. Dell is targeting televisions and smart phones. All of these OEMs are using their knowledge of and relationships with Asian original-design manufacturers (which had earlier helped them design and manufacture computers and peripherals) to mitigate the risks of entering what were once, for them, inaccessible consumer electronics markets. In general, it is difficult to exploit offshore outsourcing in new product markets unless a company has the experience and relationships earned by outsourcing higher-skill activities in its own traditional product areas.
OEMs looking to expand their range into new product markets typically turn to original-design manufacturers to provide the design and technology expertise they themselves lack. An original-design manufacturer might also make or assemble key components or even outsource their manufacture or assembly within its own ecosystem. Usually, there is no joint venture or other form of equity participation—simply a contractual relationship.
The OEM—after compensating for whatever skills or expertise it lacked and thus overcoming the barriers that prevented it from entering a particular product market—uses its own brand, marketing expertise, and channel and customer relationships to sell the product. In practice, the process is collaborative. Although original-design manufacturers have been known to make the first approach to Western companies, the OEM typically brings a high-level product specification to the original-design manufacturer, and the design is then refined jointly.
Hewlett-Packard provides one example of a US company that works with original-design manufacturers to gain the ability to compete, in this case with established Japanese camera companies holding significant technology advantages in key components such as lenses and charge-coupled-device sensors. HP has expanded its relationships with digital-original-design manufacturers in Taiwan—collaborating, for example, with Tekom Technologies to build on that company’s pioneering position in personal-computer cameras and to deepen Tekom’s capabilities in higher-performance digital cameras.
Why, it might be asked, doesn’t Tekom enter the US market itself, as other Asian companies have done or may do soon? (The Chinese manufacturer Haier Group, for example, sells appliances in the United States, and other manufacturers too are said to be considering entry into the US market.) The answer is that few if any original-design manufacturers have the consumer knowledge and marketing expertise they need for success in developed markets.
Offshoring, however, is a dynamic rather than static opportunity. Just as US companies would be narrow-minded to think that Asian companies can handle only low-skilled business activities, so too they would be foolish to believe that these same companies will never develop the marketing expertise needed for success in developed markets. Some Western companies might feel sufficiently threatened by that possibility and avoid working with original-design manufacturers altogether. Others, though, will be more confident of their ability to maintain a competitive advantage in developed markets even if they move key design and technology elements to Asia.
Early moves by US computer manufacturers suggest potential attacker strategies for companies in any industry characterized by labor-intensive operations, the increasing use and importance of digital components in products, or both. While some types of businesses aren’t suitable for offshoring—including service companies that require face-to-face contact and companies in which the high weight or volume of products relative to their value makes shipping costs prohibitive—many others are.
Offshore outsourcing provides US and European companies with opportunities bigger than merely sending low-value, labor-intensive activities abroad. While the operating savings are real, offshore companies can also deliver superior performance—even in highly skilled activities—and a better platform for entering new product markets.
John Hagel III, an alumnus of McKinsey’s Silicon Valley office, is an independent business consultant who can be reached at www.johnhagel.com. |
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Nikolai Nikolaevich Luzin was born in Irkutsk, and his birthplace was not, as is incorrectly stated in a number of sources, Tomsk. Nikolai's father was a businessman, half Russian and half Buryat. Nikolai was the only son of his parents and the family moved to Tomsk when he was about eleven years old so that he could attend the Gymnasium there.
One might expect that Nikolai would have shown a special talent for mathematics at the Gymnasium, but this was far from the case ( and ):-
This was because the system of instruction ... was based on mechanical memory: it was required to learn the theorems by heart and to reproduce their proofs exactly. For Luzin this was torture. His progress in mathematics at the Gymnasium became worse and worse, so that his father was obliged to engage a tutor ...
Fortunately the tutor was a talented young man who quickly discovered that, despite Luzin's poor performance in mathematics, he could solve hard problems but often using a novel method that the tutor had never seen before. Soon the tutor had shown Luzin that mathematics was not a subject where one had to learn long lists of facts, but a topic where creativity and imagination played a major role.
In 1901 Luzin left the Gymnasium and at this time his father sold his business and the family moved to Moscow. There Luzin entered the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Moscow University intending to train to become an engineer. At first Luzin lived in the new family home in Moscow, but Luzin's father began to gamble on the stock exchange with the money he had made from the sale of his business. The family soon hit hard times as Luzin's father lost all their savings and the family had to leave their home. Luzin, together with a friend, moved into a room owned by the widow of a doctor. His friend soon became involved with the Revolution and was forced into hiding. Luzin stayed on by himself in the room but he clearly got on well with the owners since he later, in 1908, married the widow's daughter.
At Moscow University Luzin studied under Bugaev, learning from him the theory of functions which was to influence greatly the direction his research would eventually take. However he was only an average student who seemed to show little flair for mathematics. However, although Luzin appeared to lack talent in mathematics, one of his teachers Egorov spotted his great talent, invited him to his home, and began to set him hard problems.
There was a mathematics student at the university, Pavel Florensky, who experienced a crisis after graduating and turned to religion and the study of theology. This had a major effect on Luzin, who was a close friend of Florensky, as we shall describe below.
After graduating in the autumn of 1905 Luzin seemed unsure whether to devote himself to mathematics. In fact Luzin's crisis had hit him in the spring of 1905 and, on 1 May 1906, Luzin wrote to Florensky from Paris where Egorov had sent him five months earlier in an attempt to get him through the crisis (see ):-
You found me a mere child at the University, knowing nothing. I don't know how it happened, but I cannot be satisfied any more with analytic functions and Taylor series ... it happened about a year ago. ... To see the misery of people, to see the torment of life, to wend my way home from a mathematical meeting ... where, shivering in the cold, some women stand waiting in vain for dinner purchased with horror - this is an unbearable sight. It is unbearable, having seen this, to calmly study (in fact to enjoy) science. After that I could not study only mathematics, and I wanted to transfer to the medical school. ... I have been here about five months, but have only recently begun to study.
Luzin was not only upset by seeing the prostitutes, he also says in the letter how he had been affected by the 'terrible days' of the 1905 Revolution. There are letters from Egorov at this time pleading with Luzin not to give up mathematics. After returning to Russia, Luzin studied medicine and theology as well as mathematics. However in April 1908 he wrote of the joy he was finding in number theory (see ):-
It is a mysterious area that envelops me deeper and deeper.
In the same letter he says that he has just married and:-
... my wife is also very interested and shares my commitment to the search for the profound truths of life.
Largely Luzin's crisis seems to have been solved by Florensky to whom Luzin wrote in July 1908:-
Two times I was very close to suicide - then I came ... looking to talk with you, and both times I felt as if I had leaned on a pillar and with this feeling of support I returned home ... I owe my interest in life to you...
His interest in mathematics slowly returned but it was not until 1909 that Luzin seems to have finally committed himself completely to mathematics. Under Egorov's supervision he worked on his master's thesis. In 1910 he was appointed as assistant lecturer in Pure Mathematics at Moscow University. He worked for a year with Egorov and they went on to publish joint papers on function theory which mark the beginnings of the Moscow school of function theory.
In 1910 Luzin travelled abroad visiting Göttingen where he was influenced by Edmund Landau. He returned to Moscow in 1914 and he completed his thesis The integral and trigonometric series which he submitted in 1915. After his oral examination he was awarded a doctorate, despite having submitted his thesis for the Master's Degree. Egorov was extraordinarily impressed by the work and had pressed for the award of the doctorate, but it was written in a style quite different from the accepted Russian style of the time. Some of the results were not rigorously proved but were justified using phrases such as 'it seems to me' and 'I am convinced'. Other mathematicians were not so impressed at the time, for example Steklov wrote comments in the margin such as 'it seems to him, but it doesn't seem to me' and 'Göttingen chatter'.
However, the work was of fundamental importance as is stated in and :-
The influence of Luzin's dissertation on the future development of the theory of functions cannot be overestimated. Its fundamental results, deep methods of investigation and fundamental statements of problems put it into the ranks of works with which it is difficult to compare any dissertation or monograph of the time.
In 1914 Luzin and his wife separated for a short time and again Florensky seems to have helped them through the difficult time. He wrote to Luzin's wife (see ):-
Nikolai Nikolaevich is a very sweet and fine person; but in personal relationships he is not at all mature, especially in intuitively perceiving the hidden currents of life. ... You will have to take the relationship in hand and create a family tone, simplicity. Instead, as I perceive it ... you have established the tone of an acquaintanceship rather than a family.
Florensky seems to have given good advice since Luzin and his wife returned to a successful marriage.
In 1917 Luzin was appointed as Professor of Pure Mathematics at Moscow University just before the Revolution. The Revolution caused Luzin to rethink some of the same thoughts as he had done at the time of his crisis and again he exchanged letters with Florensky. By this stage, however, his mathematical career was extremely successful and the second crisis did not materialise.
Over the next ten years Luzin and Egorov built up an impressive research group at the University of Moscow which the students called 'Luzitania'. The first students included P S Aleksandrov, M Ya Suslin, D E Menshov and A Ya Khinchin. The next students included P S Urysohn, A N Kolmogorov, N K Bari, rnik and N G Shnirelman. In 1923 P S Novikov and L V Keldysh joined the group.
Another of the members of the Luzitania research group at this time was Lavrent'ev. In fact Lavrent'ev draws the following picture of the group:-
Whereas Egorov was reserved and formal, Luzin was extroverted and theatrical, inspiring real devotion among these students and young colleagues. ... There was intense camaraderie ... inspired by Luzin.
Luzin's main contributions are in the area of foundations of mathematics and measure theory. He also made significant contributions to descriptive set topology. In the theory of boundary properties of analytic functions he proved an important result in 1919 on the invariance of sets of boundary points under conformal mappings. He also studied, together with Privalov, boundary uniqueness properties of analytic functions.
From 1917 onwards, Luzin studied descriptive set theory. He stated the fundamental problem ( and ):-
The aim of set theory is a question of great importance: can we regard a line atomistically as a set of points: incidentally this question is not new, but goes back to the Greeks.
Much of Luzin's work on set theory involved the study of effective sets, that is sets which can be constructed without the axiom of choice. Keldysh describes this work in and :-
... Luzin proceeded from the point of view of the French school (Borel, Lebesgue), which greatly influenced him. But whereas the French had analysed set-theoretical constructions carried out with the help of the Axiom of Choice, Luzin went considerably further and considered difficulties arising within the theory of effective sets. The study of effective sets that he embarked upon was pursued intensively for more than two decades and led to the solution of many important problems of set theory ...
Luzin's school was at its peak during the years 1922 to 1926, but then Luzin concentrated on writing his second monograph on the theory of functions and spent less time with the young mathematicians in the school. Many of these mathematicians turned to other topics such as topology, differential equations, and functions of a complex variable.
In 1927 Luzin was elected as a member of the USSR Academy of Sciences. Two years later he became a full member of first the Department of Philosophy, then to the Department of Pure Mathematics. He worked from this time until his death in the USSR Academy of Sciences. From 1935 he headed the Department of the Theory of Functions of Real Variables at the Steklov Institute.
In 1931 Luzin himself turned to a new area when he began to study differential equations and their application to geometry and to control theory. His work in this area led him to study the bending of surfaces which is described in and :-
The bending of a surface on a principal base is a continuous bending of a surface under which the conjugacy of the net of certain curves on the surface is preserved. ... Finikov had derived differential equations that determine all principal on a given surface, and Byushgens had obtained differential equations that determine surfaces which have a given linear element and admit a bending on a principal base. However, the question of solubility of these equations, in general, remained unclear. ... no example was found in which the equations ... were insoluble ... up to 1938, when Luzin, by means of a subtle analysis of these equations, established that the existence of a principal base is rather rare.
It has been drawn to our attention by , that in 1936, Luzin was the victim of a violent political campaign organized by the Soviet authorities through the newspaper Pravda. He was accused of anti-Soviet propaganda and sabotage by publishing all his important results abroad and only minor papers in Soviet journals. The aim was obviously to get rid of Luzin as a representative of the old pre-Soviet mathematical school of Moscow: his master, Egorov, had been himself the victim of such a campaign in 1930 (based on his religious sympathies) and died shortly after in 1931 in despair and misery. A contemporary record of the "Luzin affair" has been miraculously preserved and recently edited in Moscow by Demidov and Levchin , . It shows that Luzin had had a narrow escape from a tragic fate as the Soviet authorities may have feared the international consequences of a too strong attack on a scientist so famous abroad. The main visible consequence of the Luzin affair was that, from this precise moment, Soviet mathematicians began to publish almost exclusively in Soviet journals and in Russian.
Luzin always had an interest in the history of mathematics and late in his career he wrote important articles on Newton and on Euler.
As a teacher his remarkable talents are described by Kuznetsov ( or ):-
His presentation was always very elegant and at first sight apparently unnecessarily simple - the result of his great pedagogic talent. The solution of the large problems that he undertook is distinguished by their subtlety, elegance, and simplicity of presentation.
Keldysh and Novikov wrote in :-
Thanks to his exceptional intuition and his ability to see deeply into the heart of a question, Luzin frequently predicted mathematical facts whose proof turned out to be possible only after many years and required the creation of completely new mathematical methods. He was one of the outstanding mathematicians and thinkers of our time ...
Article by: J J O'Connor and E F Robertson
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What is the difference between SFP+ and SFP
The difference between SFP+ and SFP. The pinout of SFP and SFP+ connectors are identical. However, SFP is data rate of 6Gb/s, whereas SFP+ is designed for 10Gb/s.
The SFP receptacles and plugs are not as well impedance matched as SFP+ receptacles and plugs.
Also SFP+ cable is designed for 10Gb/s whereas SFP cable may not be able to satisfactorily transmit that rate.
XENPAK is an important step in the evolution of the optical modules. The XENPAK architecture provides a XAUI interface for the Media Access Controller.Compared with not hot-pluggable modules, XENPAK modules is very attractive. But is can’t meet some important market demand. The power consumption of XENPAK is usually 10W, which will cause a certain influence to the structure size because it increase the cost of manufacturing printed circuit board and reduce the precious line space.
X2 modules also adopt the XENPAK electrical interface, but there are a few local exceptions. X2 offers a 4bit port address space, a bit less than XENPAK. X2 also reduces the number of power supply pin. In the aspect of optical technology, X2 supports 10GbE, OC192 synchronous optical network, 10GFC and other standards.
10G small hot-pluggable XFP module is different from the XENPAK architecture and its 4-channel interface. XFP module adopts full-speed single serial module of a XFI (10Gb serial interface) to replace the XENPAK and its derived products. Since the XFP module doesn't have serializer/ deserializer, XFP is smaller, cheaper than XENPAK. And its’ power consumption is also less than XENPAK. |
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Citizens for legitimate government | clg exposes and resists us, Police search for active shooters on grounds of washington navy yard in southeast d.c. september 16, 2013 by legitgov sharethis. breaking: police search for active.
The huffington post – eric cantor signals to gop colleagues that, Eric cantor signals to gop colleagues that they should stfu about government shutdown.
U.s. government accountability office (u.s. gao), Investigative arm of congress charged with the auditing and evaluation of government programs and activities. read reports on use of public funds and other topics, or.
Nh.gov – the official web site of new hampshire state government, September 10, 2013 : the new hampshire department of environmental services (des) announces the annual fall drawdown of the lakes and ponds controlled by dams owned.
Homepage | government auctions, Subscription database of auctions with an emphasis on government auctions, bankruptcies and local authorities.. |
National Science Foundation Summer Field Institute for Rescue Robots for Research and Response (R4)
Fifteen scientists from six universities and five companies were embedded with a team of search and rescue professionals from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's Indiana Task Force 1 in August 2003 at a demolished building in Lebanon, Indiana. The highly realistic 27-hour exercise enabled participants to identify the prevailing issues in rescue robotics. Perception and situation awareness were deemed the most pressing problems, with a recommendation to focus on human-computer cooperative algorithms because recognition in dense rubble appears far beyond the capabilities of computer vision for the near term. Human-robot interaction was cited as another critical area as well as the general problem of how the robot can maintain communications with the rescuers. The field exercise was part of an ongoing grant from the National Science Foundation to the Center for Robot-Assisted Search and Rescue CRASAR), and CRASAR is sponsoring similar activities in summer 2004.
Copyright © 2014, Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (www.aaai.org). All rights reserved. |
Bequest From Marion Mason to Support Research by Early-Career Women in Chemistry
As a chemist and AAAS member since 1965, the late Marion Tuttle Milligan Mason wanted to support the advancement of women in the chemical sciences. She also wanted to honor her family's commitment to higher education for women, as shown by her parents and her grandfather, who sent several daughters to college.
In accordance with her will, a $2.2 million bequest from Mason's estate will establish the Marion Milligan Mason Fund to support research by early-career professional women in the chemical sciences over the next 20 years.
"I am creating this fund in honor of the memory of all the men and women of the Tuttle and Milligan families who believed in higher education for women and encouraged them in their pursuit of professional and business careers," Mason wrote in her will. In July 2012, Mason passed away in Bridgewater, New Jersey. She is survived by her brother, Dr. Barton Milligan, a AAAS Fellow, and his wife Carolyn in Asheville, NC and Freeport, The Bahamas, as well as her nephew, Charles H. Milligan of Wingdale, NY.
Administered by AAAS, the Marion Milligan Mason Awards for Women in the Chemical Sciences for $50,000 each will be given every two years to early-career, professional women to advance their research in the chemical sciences. Applicants must be American-born, naturalized citizens or permanent residents engaged in teaching or research at a U.S. Ph.D.-granting institution. The award winners will be chosen based on their intellectual merit, academic record and scholarly scientific study, scientific excellence and clearly articulated plan of study, demonstration of originality, initiative and productivity, references and potential for career enhancement as related to the proposed research.
The goal of the Mason Awards is to kick-start the research career of promising future senior investigators of the chemical sciences. "She [Mason] was concerned that young women did not have the same opportunities that men had in the sciences and that by funding such research, their careers could be advanced," said Charles Milligan, Mason's nephew and the executor of her estate.
"As those in the Baby Boom generation reach retirement age over the next 20 years, there will be a major turnover of leadership positions in the chemical sciences, giving women in the field unique and unprecedented opportunities," said Alan Leshner, AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the journal Science. "We are grateful that Marion Mason had the foresight to establish these much-needed awards, which will identify and prepare the next generation of women in the chemical sciences to fill those roles."
Mason was born in Cincinnati in 1927 and grew up in Westfield, New Jersey. She studied at Vassar College, an alma mater she shared with her mother and three of her aunts. "It was always a great source of pride to Marion that Martin Tuttle [Marion's maternal grandfather] had managed to send his daughters to Vassar at a time when college education of women was by no means the norm," said Barton Milligan.
After her graduation in 1949, Mason worked in Bound Brook, New Jersey as a chemist at the American Cyanamid Company. When she learned that, compared to her colleagues who had recently earned doctoral degrees in chemistry, she was performing similar work for considerably less compensation, she felt motivated to continue her education, and in 1970 Mason earned her Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Rutgers University.
The first Marion Milligan Mason Awards for Women in the Chemical Sciences will be awarded in the summer of 2015. Information about the application process will be announced in early summer of 2014. |
The AA Grapevine Mission Statement
The AA Grapevine, Inc. is publisher of the International Journal of Alcoholics Anonymous. Its primary purpose is to carry the AA message to everyone interested in alcoholism through its magazines, websites, and related items, which reflect the experience, strength, and hope of its members and friends on topics related to recovery, unity and service. It strives in all its activities to operate in accordance with the Twelve Steps, the Twelve Traditions, and the Twelve Concepts of AA, without soliciting monetary contributions from AA members or groups to fund operating expenses.
The AA Grapevine Statement of Purpose
The AA Grapevine is the international journal of Alcoholics Anonymous. Written, edited, illustrated, and read by AA members and others interested in the AA program of recovery from alcoholism, the Grapevine is a lifeline linking one alcoholic to another.
Often referred to as our "meeting in print," the AA Grapevine communicates the experience, strength, and hope of its contributors and reflects a broad geographic spectrum of current AA experience with recovery, unity, and service. Founded in 1944, the Grapevine does not receive group contributions, but is supported entirely through magazine subscription sales and additional income derived from the sale of Grapevine items.
The awareness that every AA member has an individual way of working the program permeates the pages of the Grapevine, and throughout its history the magazine has been a forum for the varied and often divergent opinions of AAs around the world. As such, articles are not intended to be statements of AA policy, nor does publication of any article imply endorsement by either AA or the Grapevine.
As Bill W. expressed it in 1946, "The Grapevine will be the voice of the Alcoholics Anonymous movement. Its editors and staff will be primarily accountable to the AA movement as a whole. . . . Within the bounds of friendliness and good taste, the Grapevine will enjoy perfect freedom of speech on all matters directly pertaining to Alcoholics Anonymous. . . . Like the Alcoholics Anonymous movement it is to mirror, there will be but one central purpose: The Grapevine will try to carry the AA message to alcoholics and practice the AA principles in all its affairs."
"I am responsible. When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there. And for that: I am responsible."
|Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.
There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions.
AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes.
Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.
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(The statement above, which is read at the beginning of many AA meetings around the world, is known as the Preamble of AA. According to a recent estimate, there are more than 2 million AA members and 100,000 AA groups in 150 countries throughout the world.)
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What does NFD mean in Fire Departments?
This page is about the meanings of the acronym/abbreviation/shorthand NFD in the Governmental field in general and in the Fire Departments terminology in particular.
Find a translation for NFD in other languages:
Select another language:
What does NFD mean?
- NFD are a London-based hybrid metal band formed by Peter "Bob" White and Simon Rippin and Tony Pettitt.
Discuss this NFD abbreviation with the community:
Use the citation below to add this abbreviation to your bibliography:
NFD also stands for:
- Nashville Fire Department
- National Fleet Database
- National Foundation for the Deaf
- NDN Forwarding Daemon
- nephrogenic fibrosing dermopathy
... and 14 more » |
JM Coetzee: A Life in Writing
JM Coetzee is one the world's most lauded novelists. He's a Nobel laureate and he's won the Booker Prize twice. Coetzee was born and educated in South Africa during the apartheid era and since then he's lived in Britain, the USA and spent three decades as a professor of literature in South Africa. Since 2002 he's lived in Adelaide. Coetzee is now 72 and it's only now that we have a biography of him.
JM Coetzee: A Life in Writing is by John Kannemeyer, a professor of Afrikaans and Dutch in South Africa. Sadly, Kannemeyer died in December 2011, not long after he finished writing the book. One of the people who helped the manuscript make its way through to publication is David Attwell, an expert in South African literature and on Coetzee in particular.
- David Attwell
- Professor of modern literature at the University of York and author of J.M. Coetzee: South Africa and the Politics of Writing (1993) and a collection of essays which includes a series of dialogues with Coetzee, Doubling the Point (1992).
- J.M. Coetzee: A Life In Writing
- J.C. Kannemeyer
- Rhiannon Brown |
Dinosaur extinction caused by asteroid: study
A new study strengthens the claim that an asteroid impact ended the reign of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
The finding by an international team of 41 researchers is published today in the journal Science.
Fossil records clearly show a mass extinction event across the planet 65 million years ago, in which 70% of known species suddenly vanished.
The change is so dramatic, geologists use it to define the boundary, between the end of the Cretaceous and the start of the Palaeogene periods, as the K-T boundary event.
The idea that an asteroid was responsible for the end of the age of the dinosaurs was first proposed 30 years.
The first clue was the discovery of large amounts of the element iridium - rare on Earth, but common in meteorites and asteroids - appearing in a layer across the globe at the time of the K-T boundary event.
In 1991, the discovery of a 200-kilometre wide impact crater at Chicxulub on Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula provided what many scientists believe is the 'smoking gun' supporting the asteroid impact theory.
But some scientists challenge this hypothesis, suggesting deposits of tiny glass-like blobs of melted impact material around Chicxulub, predate the extinction event by 300,000 years.
They suggest the Deccan Traps, unusually active volcanoes in what is now India, led to global cooling and acid rain, which caused the mass extinction.
In this latest study, researchers examined the sedimentary material around the impact site and found it was far too violently churned up to provide a reliable dating record.
They found that farther away from the impact site, the sedimentary material becomes a single layer at the K-T boundary, matching the composition of rocks at Chicxulub.
They also determined that despite evidence for relatively active volcanism in India, ecosystems showed only minor changes within the 500,000 years before the K-T boundary event.
Only at the boundary do things suddenly change.
They say the Deccan hypothesis is further weakened by atmospheric chemistry models, which show that while significant volumes of sulphur were emitted during each volcanic eruption, forming aerosols in the stratosphere, they dropped rapidly with only short-lasting environmental effects.
The researchers say the Chicxulub impact saw much larger volumes of sulphur, dust and soot released in a much shorter time frame, leading to extreme environmental changes such as darkening and cooling.
Palaeontologist Dr Steven Salisbury of the University of Queensland says extinction events are complicated.
"My own work in Antarctica shows little change at the K-T boundary," he says. "It's as if the asteroid impact came and went and didnít really change much."
Salisburyís research shows species numbers declined thousands of years before and after the K-T boundary event.
"That indicates a wider combination of factors contributed to the extinction rather than a single event," he says. "To claim otherwise is too big a bow to draw." |
Science subject and location tags
Articles, documents and multimedia from ABC Science
Friday, 20 January 2012
Scientists have unravelled the genetic code of the blood parasite that causes an insidious tropical disease linked to bladder cancer and HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Tuesday, 13 December 2011
Scientists in the United States say they have developed a vaccine that attacks tumours in mice.
Tuesday, 15 November 2011
Women who survive breast cancer after undergoing chemotherapy may also have to contend with impairments in attention, memory and planning skills, say US researchers.
Wednesday, 9 November 2011
Meet a scientist Dr Stephen Bosi is researching new ways to use physics to detect and treat cancer using radiation.
Friday, 28 October 2011
Researchers have found that cancer cells on the brink of suicide respond to chemotherapy much better than others.
Thursday, 13 October 2011
A cancer diagnosis can leave lasting psychological scars, in some cases lasting for years.
Friday, 7 October 2011
New evidence suggests that the Sun's UV rays are even more damaging than once thought.
Monday, 8 August 2011
Smoking within 30 minutes of waking up increases your risk of developing head, neck, and lung cancer, say US scientists.
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Men who are diagnosed with cancer are more likely to die from the disease than women.
Tuesday, 28 June 2011
Scientists have completed sequencing the genome of two devils.
Tuesday, 21 June 2011 7
Ask an expert What kind of radiation was detected following the Fukushima disaster and how does it affect the human body?
Friday, 17 June 2011
The introduction of a vaccine may have led to a significant drop in the number of women diagnosed with cervical cancer.
Tuesday, 10 May 2011
Ramping up the heat on tumour cells could potentially boost the effectiveness of cancer treatments, say Dutch researchers.
Thursday, 31 March 2011
Bernie's Basics In the last 24 hours your body has killed countless viruses, bacteria and probably the odd tumour - and chances are your glands aren't even swollen.
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Airport scanners are an 'extremely low' source of radiation exposure that poses virtually no health risk, not even to frequent air travellers, say US researchers. |
DENVER - Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, unless you find 23 fake profiles pretending to be you on Twitter.
Denver resident Talia Haykin was alerted to the first fake profile one week ago, when her friends were tagged in a tweet regarding the Jewish Sabbath. The tweet was on a Wednesday, the Jewish Sabbath begins on Friday night.
"Every single Friday, right before Shabbat, we all tweet each other this list and say 'Shabbat Shalom guys,'" said Haykin. "It was very odd that one got sent out on a Wednesday."
What she found was a profile using her cover photo; a portrait of her, her husband and her dog.
"As violated as I felt when they stole pictures of my dog, I can only imagine how violated I would feel when they stole pictures of my children," said Haykin.
The fake account included tweets duplicating her tweets.
"They physically copied and pasted (my tweets) as if they were their own messages," said Haykin. "All of my friends tweeted, 'Don't follow this person, it's an imposter.' And the craziest part was that they started retweeting those tweets.
That was just the first of finding 23 fake profiles.
"What they had done was taken my Twitter handle and added one letter to it. I just went through the keyboard from left to right and used my Twitter handle and added a letter. I found seven the first day and then seven the second day," said Haykin. "Fourteen with my user name and the rest are my physical name and my profile picture on somebody else's username. It was like looking at a picture of yourself, in a picture of yourself, in a picture of yourself, in a picture."
She believes the fake accounts are bots, creating profiles to be able to sell to other Twitter users.
"People are wanting to purchase usernames, they're wanting to purchase followers on Twitter to amp up their profile," said Haykin. "I just started sending tweets out to people, you know, 'I found your username is being spoofed,' and one person actually tweeted me back and said that my message looked like spam."
Haykin says she's spent around seven hours trying to get rid of all the fakes.
The process to get Twitter to remove the profiles is not immediate.
After providing basic information through an online form, Haykin had to provide proof that the photos were actually hers.
"They needed proof that I am who I say I am, and so I had to scan my driver's license and send it to Twitter via a secure website," said Haykin. "They got rid of 14 of them so far. All of the profiles that used this header picture and my user name have been removed."
She'd like to see Twitter adopt a process some bulletin boards use, by restricting access to improper users.
"When they have a repeat offender who keeps violating the rules, they'll ban their IP address and Twitter just doesn't do that," said Haykin. "My frustration is more that Twitter doesn't do any checks when you register." |
AbeBooks.com Help - How to Buy Cheap Textbooks › Play Video
There is no larger issue for America’s students than textbook prices. The sky-high pricing of college textbooks continues to be a thorn in the side for almost all students at the nation’s 4,000+ higher education institutions.
However, for at least four years, the growing number of textbook sellers on the Internet has provided cheaper textbooks and more and more cash-strapped students are turning to the Web with each back-to-school season.
Each August and September record numbers of students use the Internet to purchase college textbooks – but hundreds of thousands of students still buy their course textbooks from bricks and mortar retailers and pay the full list price for new textbooks. Used copies are always the first to sell so many students rarely even see them for sale in bookstores.
This document explains how students can benefit by using the Internet.
AbeBooks.com is a major online marketplace for books with millions of new and used books listed for sale from thousands of independent booksellers. AbeBooks has millions of customers who purchase thousands of books a day from its websites. That means AbeBooks never sees, owns or handles a book, but facilitates the sales on behalf of its booksellers and then takes commission.
Textbooks have become an increasingly important part of the AbeBooks’ business over the past four years. At peak times during the textbook-buying seasons of the last week in August and the first week in January, AbeBooks.com experiences high volumes of book searches per second.
More than 150 specialist textbook sellers use AbeBooks.com to sell to students. Millions of new and used textbooks are listed for sale on AbeBooks.com – prices start at $1 plus shipping for used copies. AbeBooks’ sales of textbooks increase by 25-30% with each back-to-school season.
There have been several major reports into college textbook pricing – all of them have simply confirmed what students have known for years. Textbooks are overpriced.
February 2005 - The State Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs) issued a report that revealed the average student spends nearly $900 each year purchasing textbooks.
August 2005 - The Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report revealing textbook prices have increased at twice the rate of inflation over the past two decades and the average student spends almost $900 on textbooks and supplies. The report also accused publishers of inflating prices by bundling unnecessary and unwanted ‘bells and whistles’ such as CDs and supplements with textbooks.
May 2007 - The US Department of Education’s Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance reported once again that college textbooks were too expensive and that something should be done to make them more affordable. It concluded the high prices were symptoms of “a structural imperfection in the market” – in other words, the college textbook market was broken and prices were being kept artificially high. Despite huge demand from buyers, the market is controlled by suppliers.
Publishers set the prices for new textbooks. Bookstores have little control over pricing except on the used copies they acquire through buyback campaigns and then re-sell.
Bookstores know exactly how many potential customers they could serve each back-to-school season so they never overstock on textbooks – by buying limited numbers of textbooks they don’t receive deep discounts.
It’s cheap, fast and easy – plus there is a much greater selection.
It’s cheaper. Prices are simply much lower on the Internet for both new and used textbooks. Online sellers have to keep prices lower because competition between Web-based sellers is fierce and buyers can compare prices in seconds. The online market is transparent while bricks and mortar retailing allows no product comparisons for shoppers. Sellers purchase new books in large numbers and obtain deep discounts from distributors – so they can afford to offer new books at cheaper prices. Overheads are also lower for Web retailers.
And there’s a greater selection. The Internet is not restrained by walls so students have a huge choice of textbooks at a wide variety of prices – brand new, used copies a few months old, used copies a few years old and so on. AbeBooks alone offers millions of textbooks for sale.
And it’s also easier. Purchasing online can be done 24 hours a day and there are no lines.
In recent years, various experts estimate online textbook purchases in the US account for between 15 and 30 per cent of all textbook sales.
AbeBooks believes 35% of all textbooks are bought online. Cash-strapped business and science students are the leading online buyers of textbooks at AbeBooks.com.
Secondhand textbooks are a valuable commodity for bricks and mortar retailers. They make more money off used books than new copies – they buy them back cheaply from students and mark up the prices. Plus, they can buy-back and resell a book several times.
However, there are not enough used textbooks to meet demand. Many students simply don’t bother to sell them back.
In September 2005, the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) reported that educational books accounted for the largest part of America’s used book market. It revealed used book sales accounted for $2.2 billion in sales in 2004 with $1.6 billion coming from educational books. Around $38.6 million of educational books were sold on the Internet in 2004 – an increase of 38% on 12 months earlier.
First-year students simply know no better and usually buy from bricks and mortar retailers when they start college. A new generation of inexperienced buyers, without any debts, enters the market each fall and they pay the price for not knowing that online alternatives exist.
Some courses do not issue reading lists early enough to give students the opportunity of shopping around and using the Internet. The easiest method of finding a textbook on the Internet is to search by the book’s ISBN (international standard book number), but some courses do not issue ISBNs with reading lists. Without an ISBN, students have to visit their local campus bookstore.
The majority of customers buying textbooks from AbeBooks.com receive their textbook in five days. Specialist textbook sellers appreciate that students need their textbooks quickly. Buyers can choose between two speeds – almost all students request the quickest option.
AbeBooks.com polled 10,041 students about textbooks issues between December 2005 and January 2006. The research highlights included:
A large number of states have attempted to tackle the issue of textbook prices – but many bills have failed to be passed into law while others are making no difference to the overall price of textbooks. A wide variety of strategies have been attempted, including waiving sales tax, rental programs, and textbook library programs.
The most effective legislation would be to force professors to post reading lists, complete with ISBNs, as early as possible so students have time to shop around for their textbooks rather than being forced into last-minute purchases from bricks and mortar retailers. Virginia and Arkansas have enacted such legislation.
Internet textbook sales will continue to rise but online textbook prices are falling – mainly because of fierce competition between booksellers. Prices in bricks and mortar retailers will continue to rise as it still remains a hugely profitable business.
E-textbooks are not yet a factor but college textbooks remain the ideal market for them. |
posted on Mar, 21 2012 @ 03:15 PM
I imagine there are dozens of cycles affecting quakes, all overlapping and interfering with each other like sound waves of different frequencies. The
quakes happen when the peaks of two or more cycles coincide. I imagine. So the moon's apogee/perigee, the alignment of moon and sun, the earth's
non-circular orbit and rotational angular momentum, the specific geometry of the plates and faults we live on and near; all kinds of factors
contribute, and it'd take lots of mathematical analysis to merge all the factor-waves into a single waveform, similar to what Mensur Omerbashich did
but more-inclusive of every
factor. He can only predict when, not where, because his model is incomplete, and therefore nearly useless by
itself. We haven't succeeded until we get it to the point where not merely the date of upcoming quakes, but their locations
can be predicted,
once you account for all factors. I mean, look at something like this:
That is a graph of where AND when solar eclipses will happen, and it is astoundingly-accurate because they can account for every
determines the interactions of the various cycles that lead to eclipses. We need that kind of graphery for earthquakes too, and I think it is
possible, but only if we understand earthquakes completely,
like we do eclipse cycles. Make sense?
So someone get to work on it! Please. I'll be your best friend.
Guess this'll teach me to try to take anything seriously... what, was I not funny enough?
edit on 3/21/2012 by Thought Provoker because: |
Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), and James Gattuso, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation, discussed the pitfalls in Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd’s (pdf) financial regulatory reform bill during the Tuesday, April 27, Bloggers Briefing in Washington D.C.
As of Wednesday, Dodd, the Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, and Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) the ranking Republican on the Banking Committee, agreed to take the debate of the bill to the Senate floor on Thursday, after Republicans won what concessions they could get from the Democrats. Among them, the removal of the $50 billion bailout fund for large financial institutions.
Royce, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said that for much of his tenure, he’s had a running battle with the majority of the members on the committee over the question of “whether or not we should have the kind of government intervention in the marketplace that increases moral hazard and that removes market discipline.” He believes that the government’s use of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as government sponsored enterprises was one of the causes of the recent financial crisis.
In 1992, Congress passed the Federal Housing Enterprise Financial Safety and Soundness Act (GSE Act) that gave Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac incentives to give loans to people who could not make any down payment on a house, would not qualify for a home loan, or who would be considered to be a high credit risk, in order to improve access to affordable housing to low- and moderate-income families.
“The GSE Act calls on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac [the two largest GSEs] to devote a large share of their business (a combined $1.5 trillion in mortgage assets purchased in 2007), to ‘underserved’ groups,” Neil Bhutta, an economist at the Federal Reserve said in his 2009 published analysis, GSE Activity and Mortgage Supply in Lower-Income and Minority Neighborhoods: The Effect of Affordable Housing Goals.
Royce said that “in that act, Congress put certain mandates on the GSEs and established certain goals that had to be achieved. Ultimately, those goals led to the GSEs over leveraging at a rate of 100-to-1, and building up a portfolio of $1.5 trillion in mortgage backed securities that they carried. One half of that portfolio was in subprime and Alt-A loans. That was by design; that was an attempt by Congress in order to get the public into housing.
“The Federal Reserve came to the Congress in 2003-2004, and they were concerned about the systemic risk that this posed to the financial system, globally, because there was the possibility of losing $1 trillion in the housing market.
“Politicians had muscled the system so that we had gone from a traditionally 20 percent down, to 3 percent down, and ultimately, 0 percent down on loans; and we had created a market for Countrywide and other forms of junk mortgages. Since one half of the mortgage portfolio held by the GSEs had to be in the subprime and Alt-A loans, we were in fact creating this market.
“But Congress was doing something else equally damaging,” he added. “By creating a dualopoly, by giving Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac the implied support of the government, the implied government backstop, and the implied bailout, they sent a message to the market; and so the cost of capital for the GSEs was lower than their competition. They [Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac] were able to push their competition out of business. They were able to leverage much more than any private institution would have been able to leverage. The upshot was that we lost $1 trillion in the housing market; this is where the collapse began.”
During an interview with Don Irvine, chairman of Accuracy In Media, Royce elaborated on his concerns about the Dodd bill.
“ …what we’re doing here is a permanent bailout authority, as one of my Democratic colleagues refers to this legislation. And I think the consequences of that is to increase the amount of moral hazard, as the economists tell us, and sort-of guarantee additional problems that are going to come as a result of giving this government the right to decide which firms are too big to fail and which are too small to save.
“By having the government so designate a firm, or having the power to do that, the difference in the competitive advantage is that your cost of capital is going to be about 1 percent less if you manage to be too big to fail. And so you’ll be able to do what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac did against their competition, when they had that implied government backstop, they were able to force them out of business, because their cost of capital was so much lower, and their cost of borrowing was so much lower. We’ve allowed the government to not only pick winners and losers in this, but in the future, if a firm goes down, the government can decide which creditors are paid off.”
Gattuso, a senior research fellow in Regulatory Policy in the Thomas A. Roe Institute for Economic Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation, spoke to Irvine about his recently published web memo on financial markets, Senator Dodd’s Regulation Plan: 14 Fatal Flaws.
One of the many problems Gattuso found in Dodd’s bill is that it contains a provision to create a new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection that he believes will “limit credit availability [to consumers] and their ability to get the financial services they want. Rather than consumer protection, it actually is consumer limitation,” he said.
Gattuso highlights the fact that “the bill would give the government resolution authority to shut down firms it believes are failing, and will be able do so with limited judicial review.”
The memo also cites provisions in the bill that would, “No. 9, enriching trial lawyers by authorizing consumer regulators to ban arbitration agreements [thus] reducing the use of streamlined dispute resolution procedures, more consumers and businesses would be forced to pay the costs of litigation—to the benefit of trial lawyers; and No. 13, allow activist groups to use the corporate governance process for issues unrelated to the corporation or its shareholders.”
In regard to GSEs, he said that the bill “essentially ignores the role Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac played in the financial crisis, and the massive bailout they received from taxpayers.” |
Recessive and Dominant Inheritance
Mechanisms of recessive and dominant inheritance.
Both parents carry a normal gene (N), and a faulty, recessive,
gene (n). The parents, although carriers, are unaffected by the faulty
gene. Their offspring are affected, not affected, or carriers. This type
of inheritance was first shown by Mendel.
One parent has a single, faulty dominant gene (D), which overpowers
its normal counterpart (d), affecting that parent. When the affected
parent mates with an unaffected and non-carrier mate (dd), the offspring
are either affected or not affected, but they are not carriers. |
CLARK CO. (Mayme Nunnelley)
Most Kentucky superstitions are common to all classes of people because the negroes originally obtained most of their superstitions from the white and because the superstitions of most part of Kentucky are in almost all cases not recent invention but old survivals from a time when they were generally accepted by all germanic peoples and by all Indo-Europeans.
The only class of original contributions made by the negroes to our stock of superstitions is that of the hoodoo or voodoo signs which are brought from Africa by the ancestors of the present colored people of America. On the arrival of the negro in America, his child like mind was readily receptive to the white man’s superstitions.
The Black slave and servants in Kentucky and elsewhere in the South have frequently been the agents through which the minds of white children have been sown with these supernatural beliefs, some of which have remained permanently with them. Nearly all classes of superstitions find acceptance among the negroes. The most widely prevalent are beliefs concerning haunted houses, weather signs, bad luck and good luck signs, charm curse and cures and hoodoo signs. Their beliefs that the date of the planting of vegetables should be determined by the phases of the moon is unshaken. |
Public health disasters lead institutional medical priorities away from family planning services. Reproductive health suffers when healthcare systems are not prepared for public health or natural disasters. The objective of this study is to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of sexual and reproductive health providers of in the US during the time of the novel Coronavirus pandemic. This is a cross sectional study that will utilize a survey to obtain data. Sampling will be achieved through Qualtrics Panel. Our population includes MDs/DOs, APPs, and RNs who practice or provide sexual and reproductive health services in the US. We will aim for 300 completed surveys. Our aim is to investigate self-reported knowledge, attitudes, and practices of health care workers who provide sexual and reproductive health during the novel Coronavirus pandemic. We will report successes, challenges, and barriers to providing reproductive health services in the setting of a public health disaster. |
In short, DCC is the absolute best way to run trains! A lot of people have a lot of excuses as to why they don’t want to try or use DCC – most of these people are probably still chopping wood with a stone ax, and their VCR is blinking 12:00 because they don’t want to take the time to read the manual to find out how to set the time.
The fact of the matter is that there are legitimate reasons to not use DCC, but these are few and far between. For example, you may simply want to run one train around in circles on a dormant, inactive, layout. But if you want to run more than one train at a time, or want your layout and trains to do more than just go around in circles, DCC is truly the bonanza you’ve been needing.
Following is a partial list of what can be done with DCC. Not all brands of systems can do all of these things. Digitrax systems can – which is one reason Southern Digital specializes in Digitrax.
- Train control is individual and autonomous. Run multiple trains with multiple engineers with NO need for toggle switches to control track power. Simply select the loco you want to run by its road number (address), turn the knob and go anywhere on the layout without having to mess with toggle switches. Other engineers can do the same with their trains, at the same time, with their own throttles.
- Except for the Zephyr, walk-around throttles are standard equipment. Walk-around throttles can easily be added to the Zephyr. And radio and Infrared wireless throttles are also available for all Digitrax systems.
- If you use fast clocks in your operating sessions, you can have fast clock time shown in your hand-held throttle, and have it synchronized to one or more fast clocks on the wall if you want.
- Most locos generally run better on DCC than DC analog. In addition, there are many features to make them run even better, and to make each one run exactly the way you want it to run.
- Control anything on the train that is electrical. This includes lighting (more about this next), smoke units, sound units, and some people are even scratch building coupler controls, passenger car door operation, and other things.
- Special lighting effects to simulate Mars lights, rotary beacons, strobe lights, blinking ditch lights, and many more. In the past, devices to do this would cost $30 or more. Now, it’s standard equipment in most loco decoders – some costing less than $20. These special effects are amazingly realistic. A rotary beacon, for example, actually looks like a rotary beacon – even though nothing is rotating.
- MU consisting on the fly. Select a lead loco and back it up to the loco you’ll be consisting to it, and consist it – just like the real thing. Consist as many locos as needed – elephant style, head-to-head, or tail-to-tail.
- Turnout control and/or feedback if you want it. Be able to control turnouts from a button on the fascia, from a master control panel, from your hand-held throttle, by computer, or from any number of other available devices. And even if you want to control your turnouts manually, you can still have feedback that will reflect the turnout setting in your hand-held throttle display.
- Route control with the Chief or after-market boards designed specifically for this – no more diode matrix or other complex wiring.
- Layout control for building lights, turntables, transfer tables, even other animation. We have one customer who built an operating tipple he controls with his hand-held throttle – turning it on and off as coal cars move under it for loading.
- Signaling made easier, with several different devices to mix and match to achieve the signaling system you want.
- Braking sections to go along with signaling. You can wire/program your layout so trains will automatically stop at red signals even if the engineer doesn’t do it with his throttle.
- Loco feedback (called Transponding) so your computer can tell exactly where every loco is on the layout. Useful for automated layout operation of routes and schedules, hidden staging yards, and other esoteric applications.
- Simpler track wiring. Even though some DCC wiring can become complex, that’s only because more and more advanced and exotic features are being added. In any case, with equal features being used, DCC layout wiring is always simpler and easier
- Easier throttle network wiring (exclusively Digitrax’s). One network of 6-wire phone cables (up to 2000 feet long) and phone jacks is all it takes for multiple throttles, wall-hanging fast clocks, block detection reporting, track status reporting, signal control, turnout reporting, computer networking, Palm Pilot usage, or anything else that needs communication to or from the rest of the system.
- Just because all of these things are available (can be done) doesn’t mean you must to do them. Model Railroading is supposed to be fun. And not everybody defines fun the same way. That’s what so great about model railroading, and about DCC – you don’t have to do it all.
- Pick and choose which features you want to use, and forget about the rest. But because the rest is available, you can always implement it/them later. That’s one of the nice things about DCC – its open-endedness. You don’t have to know or know about everything you will eventually do with your railroad. Start with a Zephyr or Chief and you can add all these other things as you want or need them – they can easily be added in on the fly. |
Electrofrog ARE power routing, this means the frog rails will be powered from the point rails (the rails that move). This will cause a short circuit on your layout when installed in a passing siding for both DC and DCC when the switch at the opposite end of the siding is set for the mainline and the opposite end of the siding is set for the diverging route. To eliminate this problem use insulated rail joiners on bothe of the frog rails. The advantage to Electrofrog is with small steam locomotive, because the frog is always powered the small loco’s do not have a tendency to stall on the frog.
Single Slip Code 75 Electrofrog (SLE180)
Peco HO Scale Large #8 Single Slip Insulfrog switch, this is the fine scale code 75 rail. This switch is power routing. Simply add two PL-10 or PL-10W and switch motor and a set of contacts (PL-13) for remote operation
Type: Electrofrog Code: 75 Angle: 12 degree
Availability: 1 in stock
|Dimensions||11 × 3 × .2 in| |
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)
The first mineral she ever saw Yang Liu ever saw was a block of calcite, starkly white and geometrical. She found it one summer while running around the geological survey compound where her father worked and her family lived in China.
The calcite had been laying on the ground, thrown away as rubbish, but its inherent beauty spoke to her. Liu has been paying close attention to rocks and minerals ever since, extracting value from what most people would discard as unremarkable.
One such rock entered Earth’s atmosphere as a fireball and exploded in the air above Tissint, Morocco, spreading its fragments far and wide. Liu has a small piece of that meteorite. Black on the outside and grey inside, it looks like an ordinary meteorite, but a closer look reveals it’s extraordinary. For one thing, its composition proves this rock came from Mars. Liu and her colleagues also discovered two new minerals within the Martian rock, and named one “tissintite.”
Liu has been paying close attention to rocks and minerals ever since, extracting value from what most people would discard as unremarkable.
Liu has been investigating water and rock interactions since her graduate studies at the University of Michigan, where she grew bubbles in volcanic glass to see how water and carbon dioxide power the explosive eruption, “like bubbles in a glass of champagne.” She then chased evasive water in lunar solar and minerals, and in Martian impact glasses.
Her experience has been useful in developing the PIXL instrument for the Mars 2020 mission.
PIXL will comprehend rocks better than previous X-ray instruments sent to Mars. Not only will it provide pinpoint analysis of the mineral composition, targeting an area as small as a grain of salt, but it also will consider texture – which can say a lot about a rock’s origin and history.
“My dad often said, ‘Think twice before you speak’,” says Liu. She often had that phrase in mind when as struggled to communicate when she arrived in America as a graduate student. That idea also could be applied to her studies in stone, where a first glance is just the first step toward discovering deeper stories held within. |
The Sukkah is an ancient yet ephemeral form of architecture. In Jewish tradition, these small temporary structures — places to share meals, entertain, sleep and rejoice — are erected each autumn during Sukkot, a weeklong harvest festival and remembrance for the 40 years Jews spent wandering in the desert.
In October, the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts, in partnership with St. Louis Hillel at Washington University and The Museum of ImaJewnation, will host Sukkah City STL, a design competition and exhibition that reimagines the Sukkah through the lens of contemporary art and architecture.
“The biblical narrative of the Sukkah commemorates the temporary dwellings of the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt,” says Rabbi Andrew Kastner of St. Louis Hillel, who is organizing the competition with Brian Newman, adjunct lecturer in the Sam Fox School.
“But it also represents universal ideas of transience and permanence, as expressed through architecture and ritual,” Kastner says. “The Sukkah is a means of ceremonially practicing homelessness, while at the same time maintaining a close proximity to the comforts of our modern, sheltered world.”
Newman, who also serves as a project manager in the university’s facilities department, says Sukkah City STL was inspired by a similar competition held last fall in New York. He notes that, on the question of just what constitutes a Sukkah, Talmudic law is at once fluid and exacting.
“The Sukkah is less a particular building type than a set of design parameters and a tangle of complex juxtapositions,” Newman says. “The structure must be temporary, yet sturdy enough to remain unshaken by a continuous wind. It must have three walls, but only two walls need to be completed. It is a shelter and must include a roof, yet that roof must be open to the sky, allowing visitors to see the stars.”
Subtitled “Defining and Defying Boundaries,” Sukkah City STL asks participants to focus on the role of boundaries — whether material, cultural or metaphorical — in defining our lives and the ways we relate to an increasingly global society.
“The Sukkah is a kind of physical manifestation of boundaries,” Kastner says. “It both embodies both the promise of refuge and embraces the vulnerability of exposure to the elements. For participants, the challenge will be not only to build a Sukkah that meets the traditional criteria, but also to examine and express a boundary issue that exists today within our collective lives.”
Sukkah City STL is open to artists, architects and designers of all faiths and backgrounds, working in teams or as individuals. The deadline for submissions is Wednesday, Sept. 14. A panel of architects, designers, critics, academics and religious thinkers will then select 10 designs for construction, with each project receiving a small honorarium to help defray building costs.
Completed Sukkahs will be installed on Washington University’s Danforth Campus from Oct. 18-22.
“The jury will be looking for projects that embrace dynamic, forward-thinking design possibilities; suggest new ways of interacting with physical space; and respond to contemporary issues such as homelessness, immigration and environmental sustainability,” Kastner says.
“Ultimately, each entry must be constructible,” Kastner says. “It must obey the ancient rules that define a Sukkah as well as the laws of physics.”
For more information or to request detailed submission guidelines, visit samfoxschool.wustl.edu/sukkahcitystl or email email@example.com. |
(1991, 62 mins, VCR)
Produced and directed by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam
Choenzey is a 47-year-old monk living in a Tibetan refugee monastery in South India. His spiritual master, Khensur Rinpoche, a revered high lama, has been dead for four years. According to Tibetan belief, he will soon be reincarnated. It is Choenzey’s responsibility, as his closest disciple, to find the reincarnation and to look after him. The film follows Choenzey’s search and his eventual discovery of an impish but gentle 4-year-old boy who is recognized by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan State Oracle to be the reincarnation. Without sentimentality, the film captures the moving relationship that develops between the erstwhile disciple and his young master. |
On a clear night, the moon’s battered history comes into sharp relief: Even from 240,000 miles away, its largest craters are so massive as to be visible to the naked eye.
Scientists have long thought that such lunar craters arose during a period called the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB), about 4 billion years ago. During that time, a hailstorm of giant asteroids pummeled the solar system, slamming into the moon, along with young planets like Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.
Evidence for this theoretical period comes mostly from the moon itself. While most traces of Earth’s early history have been wiped away by erosion and tectonic activity, the moon remains as a nearby, relatively untouched, and easily observable relic of the early solar system. In particular, scientists have based most of their theories of that period on the impact basins found on the moon’s near side — the side always facing the Earth — assuming, from the size of its craters and basins, that the moon and other planets endured impacts from massive asteroids.
But now scientists from MIT, the University of Paris, and elsewhere have found that craters on the near side of the moon may not reflect the intensity of asteroid impacts from that period. Instead, much smaller asteroids likely created these craters — a finding that may redefine scientists’ picture of the LHB.
“This is very interesting, because we thought we knew the approximate sizes of impacting asteroids to make the bigger basins on the near side,” says Maria Zuber, MIT’s vice president for research and the E.A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics. “What [this work] indicates is that the flux of large impacting bodies during the Late Heavy Bombardment has been overestimated.”
Zuber and her colleagues publish their results this week in the journal Science.
Different faces of the moon
While massive impact basins pockmark the moon’s near side, its far side contains considerably smaller basins. The discrepancy in crater distribution has puzzled scientists for decades.
To investigate what may have caused this difference, the team obtained data from NASA’s twin GRAIL probes, which orbited the moon from January to December 2012. During its mission, the probes circled the moon, making measurements of its gravity. Zuber and her colleagues used this data to generate a highly detailed map of the moon’s crust, showing areas where the crust thickens and thins; in general, the group observed that the moon’s near side has a thinner crust than its far side.
Katarina Milijkovic, a postdoc at the University of Paris, generated computer simulations of asteroid impacts on the moon by plugging in crustal thickness data from GRAIL (which stands for Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory). Milijkovic also incorporated estimates of the moon’s early internal temperatures from thermal modeling, based in part on lava deposits that flooded the large impact basins on the moon’s near side. Scientists have observed that more volcanic activity occurred on the near side, generating higher internal temperatures than on the moon’s far side.
A less catastrophic bombardment
With crustal thickness and temperature data incorporated into the model, Milijkovic then simulated the effects, on both the moon’s near and far sides, of impacts by asteroids of the same size and velocity. She found that identical asteroids would have had very different impacts on the two sides, creating basins on the near side that were as much as twice as large as those on the far side — a result that matches the size distribution of structures seen today.
Zuber says the near side’s thinner crust and higher temperatures may have made the surface more deformable than the thicker, cooler crust of the moon’s far side. These results, she says, suggest that the LHB may have involved less massive asteroids than scientists have thought.
“I’d certainly been a believer in the Late Heavy Bombardment from looking at those large impact basins. The idea of a Late Heavy Bombardment remains,” Zuber says, “but it will be have to be re-examined.”
Why the near side should have larger impact basins than the far side is puzzling, since previous work has shown that the impact flux on both sides should be about the same. According to the team’s results, the far side of the moon may better reflect the size distribution of asteroids that pummeled the early inner solar system.
“My simulations show that the largest lunar far side basin could have been formed by approximately the same size impactor as the largest impact basin on the lunar near side,” Milijkovic says — even though the latter basin is much larger. “In essence, the Late Heavy Bombardment should have been less catastrophic.”
William Bottke, a planetary scientist specializing in the study of asteroids at the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., says scientists have questioned the difference in crater sizes on the moon since the 1960s, when researchers first imaged the moon. Bottke says the recent results may provide a resolution to this puzzle.
“I do think this work has intriguing implications for the earliest time of bombardment of the moon and other worlds, which will be interesting to explore,” Bottke says. “To really make progress, it would be useful to have more physical constraints from the moon itself. Ideally, this would come in the form of samples — rocks are great at telling the stories of worlds.”
Photo: Sean Smith/NASA |
When the light cycle provides your cannabis plants with longer hours of uninterrupted darkness, they enter the flowering stage. Your plants will stop growing and instead put their energy into producing buds (flowers). Outdoors, this will normally happen when the days get shorter around the end of summer. When you grow indoors, flowering will begin once you switch your lights to 10-12 hours of darkness.
For most cannabis strains, the flowering period will last about 7-9 weeks, although some sativas require even longer for their buds to mature.
What happens during flowering and at what exact time can somewhat vary depending on the particular strain you are growing. So don’t expect your plants to follow this schedule to the T; see it more as a general guideline that you can go by. Let us look at the flowering phase of cannabis week by week.
When the flowering period starts, it isn’t an abrupt change in your plants’ growth. Cannabis won’t just stop growing and then go into flowering right away. In these first weeks of flowering, many cannabis strains may indeed undergo a considerable growth stretch. This is important to know when it comes to feeding your plants properly, but also if you want to give them sufficient space to grow.
In the very first weeks of flowering, your cannabis plants will be in the transition stage. Thinking that winter is not far away and that she will soon have to carry a big load of bud, your plant will likely grow rapidly. Some strains can almost double in height during this time. Because of the fast growth that your plant is undergoing now, this early flowering phase is also known as the stretch phase.
While your plant is putting in quite some overtime to gain size and height, she will grow a number of new leaves mostly at the top of the main colas. Your cannabis plant is busy growing “green stuff,” like leaves and stems so she can become stronger and sturdier.
Important things to know in this early stage of flowering.
Although your plant has officially entered the flowering phase, she will now have an increased need for growing nutrients. You should not abruptly change your nutrient schedule and use flowering nutrients from one day to the next. It is usually recommended that you continue to give growing nutrients for at least one more week once flowering starts.
With the stretching of cannabis in early flowering, you may possibly want to think about training techniques such as low stress training (LST). This is where you bend the stems down and away from the centre of the plant so you can get an even canopy for a more efficient use of your grow lights. This can help you obtain much better yields later on.
In week 2 of flowering, you may spot the first white pistils growing on your female cannabis plants. These fine and wispy white hairs will develop at those locations where the big fan leaves meet the main stem. It is these fine hairs that will later become buds.
If your cannabis plant happens to be a male, it won’t grow these “hairs,” but will instead grow small pollen sacs. Should you grow regular, non-feminized plants where you don’t know their gender, now is the time when you should “sex” your plants so you can separate the males from the females. The males won’t grow buds and will also pollinate your females, causing them to grow seeds. This is something you do not want to happen.
To properly feed your plants once they start to flower and to initiate the first signs of growing buds, you should check your nutrient manufacturer’s schedule. It is normally around this time at week 2 where you will have to increase flowering nutrients to help your plants reach their maximum yield potential.
Your cannabis plants have still not entirely stopped growing and will now be about 50% bigger than what they were just three weeks earlier. Although still stretching a bit, the stretch will now gradually slow down and soon come to a complete halt.
At the locations on the plant where you previously saw some hairs, you can now see the first signs of real buds developing. There still won’t be many resin glands and trichomes on your plants, which means that the smell won’t be too pungent yet either.
This phase of flowering where your plant is starting to spend increasingly more energy on growing flowers is particularly critical. Make sure that the nutrients you give are appropriate and check the labels for the recommended dosages.
As your plants become more picky, you should check for potential deficiencies that could manifest in various ways, such as discoloured, yellowing leaves or loss of leaves entirely. At the same time, you should also check your plants for signs of possible overfeeding (“nutrient burn”) that could show up around this time as well. Nutrient burn will usually show in the tips of the leaves becoming discoloured. If this happens, you need to cut down on feeding.
At week 4 of the flowering stage, your cannabis plants will likely have stopped growing altogether and are now spending all their energy on growing buds. There will still be white hairs sticking out from the buds, but the buds themselves will become bigger and fatter with each day. With more and larger buds growing, your plants will now produce more trichomes, making the odour a lot more noticeable at this stage.
Since your cannabis plant will have stopped growing, you won’t have to pay attention to training your plants any longer. Where you bent down branches before, now you may possibly consider holding them up should they require structural support.
In week 5 of flowering, you can observe the buds all over your plant becoming thicker. You may also spot new buds growing in new places such as along the main cola. With buds abounding, your cannabis plants will get fatter every day. This is a surefire sign you are in full flowering mode. At this point, your plant will have a very intensive odour. Ensure that you have a good ventilation system in place if you grow indoors or in a region that doesn’t allow for legal cultivation.
Some of your cannabis plants’ previously white pistil hairs may now be turning darker into a brownish or amber colour. At the same time, when you check the trichomes of your plant, you may spot some of them becoming opaque. The trichomes becoming milky white and the hairs turning darker are all signs of your plants not being too far from harvest.
WEEKS 6, 7 AND 8 (LATE FLOWERING STAGE, RIGHT BEFORE HARVEST)
Not all cannabis strains require the same amount of time for their flowering, but many varieties will be ready to harvest in these last three weeks. There are, however, not too many strains that will be ready before week 8.
Flushing Your Cannabis Plants
Depending on the flowering time of your particular strain, the time for flushing your cannabis plant is normally two weeks before harvest. When you “flush,” you stop administering nutrients and give the plant only plain, pH-balanced water in these final weeks. This will get rid of (flush out) salts and minerals in the soil which will make for a better and more pure-tasting bud. Otherwise, your smoke will be quite harsh and can have an unpleasant, chemical taste.
To find out when it’s time to harvest your plant, you can use a jeweller’s loupe or a small microscope to regularly check your plants’ trichomes. You can observe whether the trichomes turn from clear to a milky white colour. If many of the trichomes you see are still clear and transparent, it means it’s still too early for harvest. But when most of the trichomes have an amber colour and an opaque clarity, this means that the THC content of the buds is at its maximum and the plant is ready for harvest.
This Post Has One Comment
I finally found the article which shows what i want to do. A budget outdoor single plant autogrow. There are thousands of indoor grows with 1000 watt lights and all that but i can’t afford nor do i want to spend that much when i have a very private backyard in Toronto area. Thank you very much. |
Editor’s note: Check out the Student Press Law Center’s guide to covering the coronavirus pandemic for resources and tips to help with your reporting.
Daniel Albert, editor-in-chief of The Clipper at Everett Community College in Everett, WA just finished sending the latest issue of the paper to the printer on March 5 when he got the notification that students and staff had 22 minutes to evacuate the campus due to COVID-19, a respiratory illness that can spread from person to person.
People were honking their car horns in the parking lot and rushing to leave school when Albert overheard students saying someone on campus died from the coronavirus. He was skeptical immediately and jumped to find the truth. The administration and district health officials responded immediately saying no one had died, and that they were just doing a deep cleaning of the campus.
People were pretty panicked
“Because it was just such a short amount of time, people were pretty panicked,” Albert said. “You could hear people saying someone must’ve died from the virus, so we worked to ease those concerns pretty quickly by making sure everyone knew what was going on.”
Over 1,300 cases of COVID-19 have been detected in the U.S. as of March 12, 2020, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Worldwide, more than 300 million students aren’t in class, NPR reported, and schools in the U.S. have shut down in the areas most affected by the virus including parts of New York, Washington, California, Virginia and OhioOther states are quickly following – suit — Ohio’s governor recommended all classes be moved online, according to the Cleveland Scene.
While students probably won’t read their issue focused on International Women’s Day for another couple of weeks, student journalists at The Clipper haven’t stopped reporting. They, and many other student publications at high schools and colleges around the country, are covering the outbreak, even when their schools are shut down.
Jake Goldstein-Street, news editor at The Daily, the student paper at the University of Washington in Seattle, said the staff is working to make sure students get fact-based information since UW moved classes online through March 20.
“The goal is just to inform the community because no one is doing coverage for the UW community, so we’re trying to keep track of basically every rumor that spreads on social media and we do all we can to confirm or dispel them,” Goldstein-Street said. “I think students can kind of rest easily that if there’s a rumor and it hasn’t been backed up by our coverage, it’s probably not true.”
The coronavirus is very serious, but something that’s more dangerous is all the rumors surrounding it
They’ve answered questions like how effective masks are, how easily the virus spreads and more with the help of researchers at the university.
Editors-in-Chief Leah Breakstone and Ariel Weinstaff of Scarsdale High School’s Maroon in Scarsdale, New York, are also focused on answering these questions and preventing panic in their community. Scarsdale, which is immediately north of the cluster of cases in New Rochelle, closed schools from March 9 to (at least) 18 because a middle school teacher contracted the virus.
“The coronavirus is very serious, but something that’s more dangerous is all the rumors surrounding it,” Weinstaff said. “One of the most harmful things is when people get overly concerned, so our goal as a publication is to calm our audience.”
Accurate and full information
Weinstaff – beat both the local news and the New York Times in breaking the story that school was closing, but said it’s been a struggle to report since then due to the lack of information from administration and health officials in the district.
Albert said Everett administration and the district’s health officials have been very responsive to The Clipper’s interview requests, which helps ensure every piece of reporting is accurate for their readership — something he thinks has increased the paper’s credibility and value.
“It’s been an experience to cover real breaking news because students are starting to look towards our publication as a legitimate publication and something they can trust,” Albert said.
If [people are] looking for good, in-depth coverage about these schools, they should be going to the student publications instead of the national ones
Goldstein-Street said that if students want to read quality, informative stories about the new coronavirus, they should be looking to the student publications on the campuses that have closed.
“Student publications have the best sourcing,” Goldstein-Street said. “We’ve been able to get scoops consistently and do the longer pieces so if they’re looking for good, in-depth coverage about these schools, they should be going to the student publications instead of the national ones.”
The student journalists said covering the coronavirus has increased their website traffic, but the college papers are having more trouble getting with everyday coverage than the high school journalists.
Breakstone said, if anything, Maroon is getting more done — staff writers don’t have class to worry about.
“We sent a message to the staff after school shut down essentially saying ‘this shouldn’t affect your coverage, your deadlines are the same, especially since you don’t have school,’” Breakstone said.
If anything, Maroon is getting more done — staff writers don’t have class to worry about
But Goldstein-Street said it was a struggle to finish their print issue — he ended up staying in the newsroom longer because a lot of staffers couldn’t make it in. Albert said that while he’s been getting support from his staff, a lot of the coronavirus coverage has fallen on his shoulders.
Weinstaff said The Maroon staff has been careful not to place blame on the middle school teacher who contracted the coronavirus.
“We don’t want to hurt anyone’s reputation. We try not to make it seem like this is one person’s fault because it’s not,” Breakstone said.
The Daily has been trying to avoid either downplaying the virus or over-selling its danger.
“A big part of our coverage has been making sure we’re asking ourselves, ‘How do we make it clear that people shouldn’t be that anxious or fearful about this while also making sure people stay safe?’” Goldstein-Street said.
He said another big question is calling the coronavirus the right name to make sure they aren’t stereotyping a region. The Daily has been careful not to call it “the Wuhan coronavirus,” after the region it was first found in, as not to blame an entire region of China for a virus. The Associated Press StyleBook does not use the phrase “Wuhan coronavirus.” It mentions that COVID-19 first appeared in late 2019 in Wuhan, China.
The Asian American Journalists has also put out an advisory on descriptions and terms.
Print issue struggles
Goldstein-Street said their most recent issue on March 9 was centered around the coronavirus. The campus closure hasn’t affected the print issue much, other than having a shortage of staff in the newsroom on the Sunday before sending it to print.
He said The Daily has been doing really well with ad revenue this semester, so even if the closure did hurt them in the future, they wouldn’t be “underwater.”
Albert said when Everett closed, he was disappointed the students wouldn’t get to read the print issue.
“We were submitting to our publisher so we have 1,000 copies of our magazine getting delivered that no one will see,” Albert said. “People won’t be getting the timeliness of the articles which kind of stinks.”
Hundreds of Maroon’s magazines are sitting somewhere in Scarsdale High School, waiting to be distributed — but they won’t be touched for at least another week.
While we’re stuck at home, we’ve been thinking ‘we should be distributing [the paper] right now’
Breakstone said Maroon only publishes four times a year, and their spring publication was supposed to hit the stands this week, so they were disappointed when they realized no one would get to see their hard work.
“We’ve been working on that issue for the whole semester, and everyone on the staff was so excited,” Breakstone said. “So in the back of our heads, while we’re stuck at home, we’ve been thinking ‘we should be distributing right now.’”
Although the print copies are sitting unread, all three publications noted increased digital ad revenue because of all the attention on their websites. At The Daily, their coronavirus articles have been read three times the amount of their most popular stories pre-pandemic.
SPLC reporter Cameren Boatner can be reached by email at email@example.com. Follow her on Twitter @camerenboatner.
Want more stories like this? The Student Press Law Center is a legal nonprofit defending the rights of student journalists. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter. |
The tweet is for sale as an NFT, a kind of digital certificate, and has already received a bid of US $ 2.5 million (R $ 13.7 million at the current price).
“I’m creating my Twttr account,” tweeted the platform’s founder, Jack Dorsey, on March 21, 2006, marking the social network’s first steps 15 years ago.
Launched to the public only on July 15, 2006, the site would still change its name about six months later, adopting the spelling we know today: Twitter.
The short text marked the birth of the platform that today has more than 190 million active users per day and is highly popular in the political, economic and journalistic sectors.
In these 15 years, Twitter has become a key player in the social media sector, collecting controversies.
One of the last occurred in January, when the platform decided to block the account of the then President of the United States, Donald Trump, one of his main communication tools and where he accumulated 88 million followers, for inciting violence, after the invasion of Congress by your followers.
The exclusion of the head of state gave rise to applause and criticism, a sign of the complex balance between neutrality, defense of freedom of expression and moderation with which platforms must work.
LEARN MORE: Twitter will ask users if politicians should be subject to the same rules as everyone else
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey defended his decision, but admitted it was a “failure” and a “dangerous” precedent.
In early March, the head of the social network, based in San Francisco, announced the sale of this first tweet, through a link to the “Valuables” website, where interested parties can send their offers and purchase an NFT.
NFT: how registration works for digital collections that are already worth millions of dollars
Buying this message means acquiring “a digital certificate of the tweet, unique because it was signed and verified by the creator”, explains the auction site, something similar to an autograph.
Last Sunday (21), there was an offer of around US $ 2.5 million (R $ 13.7 million at the current price) to obtain it.
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By Jack Smart
(Image Source: Reuters, via Voice of America https://www.voanews.com/usa/impeachment-inquiry/full-house-vote-trump-impeachment-inquiry)
As Democrats move closer to impeachment, we explore how lessons from the 2016 campaign being heeded and why historical impeachments are not necessarily the best examples for comparison.
Why now? Why this moment? Why of all the indiscretions mooted as “high crimes and misdemeanours”, is this the hill the Democrats choose to die on? The reasons, you may be unsurprised to hear, are nuanced.
1. Trump painting opponents as “swampy”: The controversy surrounding former Vice President Joe Biden, of corruption and malpractice, is beginning to look similarly swampy to the allegations that plagued previous Democratic nominee Hilary Clinton. Democrats have decided that they can’t sit quietly on the side-lines, as corruption controversy surrounds a 2020 front-runner. This was a crucial factor in how Donald Trump defeated Hilary Clinton in 2016. The now-president rallied his forces, by leading chants of “lock of her up”, against his exonerated opponent. Clinton was the second most unpopular presidential candidate in history; bested only by Donald Trump, who went on to lose the popular vote.
2. Inviting a foreign power into the elections: If Democrats were outraged by Trump’s invitation to Russia to involve themselves in the 2016 election, then they will be smarting at an alleged Ukrainian “quid pro quo”, followed by a subsequent off-the-cuff request to China – who are currently in a trade war with the US at the president’s behest – to also investigate the Bidens.
3. Timing: Democrats don’t want to leave it too close to the election. In all likelihood, Trump will not be removed from office. But Democrats want to make their case and point to the electorate, and in good time before the general election. Disaster could be ahead for the Democrats if questions on who, why, where and when, linger too long into the campaign.
4. Principle: Although (extremely) unlikely to result in the conviction of the president, Democrats are cognisant to the fact that the standards they walk by are the standards they accept. They do not want to set a precedent on permitted behaviour based on the actions of this president.
Lessons from impeachments gone by
Don’t draw too many comparisons between the Nixon impeachment, nor the Clinton impeachment. Nixon’s impeachment, which led to him resigning before being convicted in the Senate, was held in less partisan times. Hard now, to see a Republican senator vote to convict a Republican President of the United States, whose support amongst the party is not only high, but built on a base of zealots. “The Base” is dogmatic and unshakeable in the face of any Trump scandal.
Many political commentators and advisors have argued against impeachment, on the basis it has realistically no chance of removing Trump from office, and during the last process of impeachment, public support rallied around Bill Clinton. However, this is a red herring for several reasons. The Clinton impeachment was viewed publicly as largely politically motivated. Ken Starr, the independent counsel of the Whitewater investigation into the Clintons’ real estate dealings, ultimately found insufficient evidence to bring charges against the Clintons. What the impeachment proceedings eventually were brought upon, was whether President Clinton lied under oath: “I did not have sexual relations with that woman”. The protracted investigation resulted in the extremely unusual feat of the out-of-power party (the Republicans) losing seats in the mid-terms.
Trump’s alleged misdemeanours are different. Unlike the unpopularity of the Clinton hearing, the polls show the American public are in favour (52%) of impeachment…and removal. This is unlikely to sway Republican lawmakers, yet their public and on-the-record defence of the president’s actions could ultimately hurt them.
The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own, and may not represent the views of The St Andrews Economist. |
Causes of Temporomandibular Joint Dislocation
Have you ever experienced temporomandibular joint dislocation? Usually, the several tendons and ligaments of the jaw keep it in place. However, they may fail and lead to this condition.
It occurs when one of the components of the joint, called a condyle, separates from the joint surface and moves over the temporal bone. It’s very common for this displacement to occur toward the anterior plane of the joint. However, it can move in any direction.
Reasons a jaw may be dislocated
Before getting into the possible causes of a dislocated jaw, it’s important to remember that it’s an uncommon pathology. In fact, several studies claim it only represents 3% of all dislocations. This is the main reason why there’s so much disagreement about its main cause.
What we can say for sure is that the causes will depend on the type of dislocation. The most frequent cause of an acute dislocation is trauma within minutes or hours of it.
In this respect, situations that involve a direct blow in this region could trigger jaw dislocation. However, don’t rule out that this injury may have occurred spontaneously. Thus, it can originate from various situations that involve opening the mouth a lot or keeping it open for a long time. For example:
- Dental treatment
- Endotracheal intubation
Chronic recurrent is another type of temporomandibular joint dislocation. This is defined as a constant variation over time and involves the wear of the joint components. In this case, the most frequent causes of a dislocated jaw are spontaneous.
Similarly, the jaw can easily become dislocated in people with bruxism or some psychiatric disorder. This is due to the constant stress they subject their joint to.
Read about Jaw Pain: Have You Ever Suffered From It?
How do you recognize temporomandibular joint dislocation?
People with this lesion often have sudden pain in the jaw region, usually a kind of stab that limits movement. In addition, the joint snaps when trying to move it.
In short, the two main symptoms are pain and joint clicks. Also, you can notice the deviation of the jaw, either towards the healthy sides or forwards.
Many patients report not being able to close their mouths or achieve dental occlusion. However, these signs can vary. In fact, it evolves considerably in some patients in a matter of months because they didn’t feel any discomfort.
A doctor must use all the elements of the medical history to achieve a proper diagnosis. In this respect, they must investigate the characteristics of the pain and conduct a meticulous physical examination of the articulation. Often, an X-ray will be necessary as a confirmatory method.
What’s the treatment?
There’s medical treatment available for a dislocated jaw. So, you must consult a health professional if you suspect you might have this problem.
- In the case of acute dislocations, these can be reduced by the Nelaton or Dupuis maneuvers in most cases. These will vary if it’s a bilateral or unilateral variant, respectively.
- Both maneuvers have the same principle. A doctor will insert their thumbs into the oral cavity and place them on the lower molars. Then, they’ll press down while trying to raise the chin, which will generate a negative pressure or tension that’ll lead the mandibular condyle to its place.
- In some cases, especially with stressed patients, it’ll be necessary to use general anesthesia to facilitate the process. After performing the maneuver described above, they may need a bandage to stabilize the area for a few days.
- In cases of more severe acute or chronic recurrent dislocations, a surgical procedure may be necessary. However, the use of botulinum toxin has proven beneficial for avoiding surgery in certain cases.
- Finally, physiotherapeutic treatment will help regain the functionality of the joint. Thus, it’s recommended in cases of chronic recurrent dislocations.
What to do in the case of temporomandibular joint dislocation?
This condition isn’t too serious to your health but can be quite annoying and lessen your quality of life as it’s hard to go on with the usual routine. Thus, the first thing you must do is consult a health professional if you suspect a dislocated jaw.
The aforementioned maneuvers and appropriate treatment with analgesics and anti-inflammatories are the only ways to reverse the problem. Try to stay with the same doctor if it’s a recurrent condition so they’re familiar with your case and can indicate the most appropriate measures to follow. |
03 October 2021
Our Queen of the Night surprised us and opened its bloom after we gave up for the night. I caught its last hurrah before it closed up at dawn …
When my sister relocated she decided not to take her houseplants and “bequeathed” them to me. Among them was a fuchsia geranium which recently put on several new blooms. Unfortunately, it rained this morning and they didn’t fare very well. Still, such a beautiful color—one of our favorites …
But the rain didn’t discourage bees and cucumber beetles from visiting the Canadian Goldenrod:
More order to the pantry, three boxes of household items ready to be donated, and a slight dent made in the unsorted stuff in the basement. This is going to be a LONG haul!
Bahá’í Quote - Jamál, 8 Mashíyyat, 178 B.E.
According to the text of Genesis, Isaac was the one to be sacrificed. This statement has caused much confusion because it was impossible for Isaac to be Abraham’s only son. There was just one child who could have been the only, and that would have been Ishmael in the years before Isaac was born.
The mystery continued even after the coming of Jesus because He never mentioned the sacrificial victim by name. The only identification was done by one of the apostles—James—who simply echoed the Genesis text in identifying the son as Isaac.
The first hint of a solution to the quandary occurred when Muhammad, as quoted in the Qur’án, strongly hinted that Ishmael was the sacrificial son and implied that the incident took place before the firth of Isaac, during the period of time when Ishmael truly was “the only son.” Bahá’u’lláh later confirmed Muhammad’s hint by directly identifying Ishmael as the one who was to be offered up. 1
That which thou hast heard concerning Abraham, the Friend of the All-Merciful, is the truth, and no doubt is there about it. The Voice of God commanded Him to offer up Ishmael as a sacrifice, so that His steadfastness in the Faith of God and His detachment from all else but Him may be demonstrated unto men. The purpose of God, moreover, was to sacrifice him as a ransom for the sins and iniquities of all the peoples of the earth. This same honor, Jesus, the Son of Mary, besought the one true God, exalted be His name and glory, to confer upon Him. For the same reason was Ḥusayn offered up as a sacrifice by Muḥammad, the Apostle of God. 2
- Worthington, Frances. Abraham: One God, Three Wives, Five Religions. 1st ed., Baha’i Publishing Trust, 2011, 113-114. [return]
- Baháʼuʼlláh. Gleanings from the Writings of Baháʼuʼlláh. Translated by Shoghi Effendi. Rev Ed. Wilmette, Ill: Baháʼí Publishing Trust, 1952, 75-76 https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/bahaullah/gleanings-writings-bahaullah/3#048224048 [return] |
Here are 24 Bible verses about indecision from the Old and New Testaments of the Holy Bible (King James Version), sorted from most to least relevant.
Romans 14:23 KJV
And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Matthew 19:22 KJV
But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
Exodus 4:13 KJV
And he said, O my Lord, send, I pray thee, by the hand of him whom thou wilt send.
James 4:8 KJV
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
Luke 16:13 KJV
No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
James 1:6-8 KJV
But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord. A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
Joshua 7:10 KJV
And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face?
Acts 24:25 KJV
And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.
Luke 9:62 KJV
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
Exodus 3:11 KJV
And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?
Matthew 14:31 KJV
And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?
Mark 15:9-15 KJV
But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews? For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. But the chief priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews? And they cried out again, Crucify him. Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him. And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
James 1:8 KJV
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways.
2 Kings 17:41 KJV
So these nations feared the LORD, and served their graven images, both their children, and their children’s children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
John 20:25 KJV
The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
Matthew 27:21-26 KJV
The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
Hosea 10:2 KJV
Their heart is divided; now shall they be found faulty: he shall break down their altars, he shall spoil their images.
Mark 11:23 KJV
For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
1 Kings 18:21 KJV
And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.
Mark 16:11-14 KJV
And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.
Exodus 14:10-15 KJV
And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD. And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. And the LORD said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:
Matthew 6:24 KJV
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
Matthew 21:21 KJV
Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done.
John 18:38-40 KJV
Pilate saith unto him, What is truth? And when he had said this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all. But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews? Then cried they all again, saying, Not this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber. |
Black hair (African-American hair) is different from Caucasoid hair or Asian hair. The most typical character of the black hair is that it is strong and rigid transversally but is very flexible length wise. Because of this presentation, the hair body often curls tightly and takes up a spiral appearance. The shape of African hair has a resemblance to a twisted oval or ribbon.
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Another feature of black hair is that it is irregular in diameter. Neither the fiber diameter nor the cuticle diameter is the same all through its length. Because of this typical structure and coiling structure the hair has many fragile points. The outside of a tight curl puts stress on the outer hair fiber cortex and cuticle. At some points outside the curls, cuticle becomes very thin and flakes easily. These areas of stress in the hair fiber are prone to damage by chemicals. Even vigorous combing is enough to flake the cuticle and damage the hair.
Another undesirable feature of the black hair is its low moisture content. This character also makes the black hair more susceptible to weathering. Since the black hair is too curly in nature, it is difficult to comb. It is prone to hair breakage and hair shedding.
Because of these difficulties, black hair requires more care than any other type of hair. The following black hair care tips help in preventing some damage to which it is naturally susceptible.
Massage the scalp regularly to encourage oil production.
Always use a wide-toothed Afro comb. Combing helps spread the natural oil through the hair, making it look shinier and healthier.
Use intensive pre-shampoo treatments.
Shampoo your black hair as often as you feel necessary but only lather once, using a small amount of shampoo. Rinse thoroughly.
Always towel-blow your hair and never rub it with towel. .
Try a hot oil treatment once a month. It lubricates dry scalp and help in moisturizing black hair.
Choose non-greasy formulas for your hair gel so that they don’t take away the healthy sheen.
If you want to braid your black hair, use a softening shampoo that maintains the right moisture balance. You can also try a natural oil based moisturizer.
While combing your hair, start from the tips and work towards the roots, it will be less damaging to the hair.
Have a regular trim to remove split ends as it prevents hair breakage.
Whether it’s in cornrow, braids or bun, try not to repeat the same ‘pull-back’ hairstyle too often. The stress on the hair may cause it to weaken around the edges.
Try to avoid the use of heat treatments, chemical relaxers or hot hair drying of your hair.
Don’t use any hair care product that has any harsh chemical. Only use natural hair care products.
Avoid use of alcohol based products.
Cotton pillow cases and sheets help in breakage, use a silk or satin scarf to wrap up your hair while sleeping.
Besides these natural hair care tips, there are certain black hair products that can be used for taking care of your hair. Black hair has its own specific characters and its unique problems. So special black hair growth products need to specially formulated for taking care of the more fragile black hair. The best black hair care or hair growth products are the ones that use the natural hair care products.
The common ingredients of the black hair care products depend largely on the requirements of the black hair care. The research has found that black hair is less dense as compared to other ethnic hair. Studies on black hair have shown that it also has less hair re-growth potential. Because of these factors, more Afro-American women are concerned about hair loss or alopecia. These women are mostly looking for products that offer them better hair growth other than frizz control. Natural hair care products offer these black hair care products more credibility over other products.
James Briaan is a natural hair care products specialist. He regularly writes on skin and black hair care tips. You can visit http://hairinformation.com to have some more information on the topic.
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Reblogged this on Stimulife.blog. |
If you don’t subscribe to our research yet, you can download the free report as part of our sample report series.
The telecoms industry is embracing network virtualisation and software defined networking, which are designed to both cut costs and enable greater agility. Whilst most operators have focused on the operating and capital cost benefits of virtualisation, few have attempted to define the range of potential new services that could be enabled by these new technologies and even fewer have attempted to forecast the associated revenue growth.
This report outlines:
- Why and how network functions virtualisation (NFV), software defined networking (SDN) and distributed compute capabilities could generate new revenue growth for telcos.
- The potential new services enabled by these technologies.
- The revenue growth that a telco might hope to achieve.
This report does not discuss the cost, technical, organisational, market or regulatory challenges operators will need to overcome in making the transition to SDN and NFV. STL Partners (STL) also acknowledges that operators are still a long way from developing and launching some of the new services discussed in this paper, not least because they require capabilities that do not exist today. Nevertheless, by mapping the opportunity landscape for operators, this report should help to pave the way to fully capturing the transformative potential of SDN and NFV.
To sense-check our findings, STL has tested the proposed service concepts with the industry. The new services identified and modelled by STL were shared with approximately 25 telecoms operators. Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) kindly commissioned and supported this research and testing programme.
However, STL wrote this report independently, and the views and conclusions contained herein are those of STL.
The end of growth in telecoms…?
Most telecoms operators are facing significant competitive pressure from rival operators and players in adjacent sectors. Increased competition among telcos and Internet players has driven down voice and messaging revenues. Whilst demand for data services is increasing, STL forecasts that revenue growth in this segment will not offset the decline in voice and messaging revenue (see Figure 5).
Figure 5: Illustrative forecast: revenue decline for converged telco in advanced market
Source: STL Partners analysis
Figure 5 shows STL forecasts for revenues over a six-year horizon for an illustrative converged telco operating in an advanced market. The telco, its market characteristics and the modelling mechanics are described in detail later in this report.
We believe that existing ‘digital’ businesses (representing consumer digital services, such as IPTV and managed services for enterprises) will not grow significantly on an organic basis over the next six years (unless operators are able to radically transform their business). Note, this forecast is for a converged telco (mobile and fixed) addressing both enterprise and consumer segments; we anticipate that revenues could face a steeper decline for non-converged, consumer-only or enterprise-only players.
Given that telcos’ cost structures are quite rigid, with high capex and opex requirements to manage infrastructure, the ongoing decline in core service revenue will continue to put significant pressure on the core business. As revenues decline, margins fall and telcos’ ability to invest in innovation is curbed, making it even harder to find new sources of revenue.
New technologies can be a catalyst for telco transformation
However, STL believes that new technologies have the potential to both streamline the telco cost structure and spur growth. In particular, network functions virtualisation (NFV) and software-defined networking (SDN) offer many potential benefits for telcos.
Virtualisation has the potential to generate significant cost savings for telcos. Whilst the process of managing a transition to NFV and SDN may be fraught with challenges and be costly, it should eventually lead to:
- A reduction in capex – NFV will lead to the adoption of generic common-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware. This hardware will be lower cost, able to serve multiple functions and will be more readily re-usable. Furthermore, operators will be less tied to vendors’ proprietary platforms, as functions will be more openly interchangeable. This will increase competition in the hardware and software markets, leading to an overall reduction in capital investment.
- Reduction of opex through automation. Again, as services will be delivered via software there will be less cost associated with the on-going management and maintenance of the network infrastructure. The network will be more-centrally managed, allowing more efficient sharing of resources, such as space, power and cooling systems.
- Product lifecycle management improvements through more integrated development and operations (devops)
In addition to cost savings, virtualisation can also allow operators to become more agile. This agility arises from two factors:
- The nature of the new infrastructure
- The change in cost structure
As the new infrastructure will be software-centric, as opposed to hardware-centric, greater levels of automation will be possible. This new software-defined, programmable infrastructure could also increase flexibility in the creation, management and provisioning of services in a way that is not possible with today’s infrastructure, leading to greater agility.
Virtualisation will also change the telco cost structure, potentially allowing operators to be less risk-averse and thereby become more innovative. Figure 6 below shows how virtualisation can impact the operating model of a telco. Through virtualisation, an infrastructure player becomes more like a platform or product player, with less capital tied-up in infrastructure (and the management of that infrastructure) and more available to spend on marketing and innovation.
Redefining the cost structure could help spur transformation across the business, as processes and culture begin to revolve less around fixed infrastructure investment and more-around software and innovation.
Figure 6: Virtualisation can redefine the cost structure of a telco
Source: STL Partners analysis
This topic is explored in detail in the recent Executive Briefings: Problem: Telecoms technology inhibits operator business model change (Part 1) and Solution: Transforming to the Telco Cloud Service Provider (Part 2).
- Executive Summary
- The end of growth in telecoms…?
- New technologies can be a catalyst for telco transformation
- Defining ‘Telco Cloud’
- How Telco Cloud enables revenue-growth opportunities for telcos
- Connect services
- Perform services
- Capture, Analyse & Control services
- Digital Agility services
- Telco Cloud Services
- Service Overview: Revenue vs. Ease of Implementation
- 15 Service types defined (section on each)
- The Revenue Opportunity
- Model overview
- Sizing the revenue potential from Telco Cloud services
- Timeline for new service launch
- Breaking down the revenues
- Customer experience benefits
- Modelling Assumptions & Mechanics
- Service Descriptions: Index of Icons
- Figure 1: Defining Telco Cloud
- Figure 2: Overview of Telco Cloud categories and services
- Figure 3: Telco Cloud could boost revenues X% higher than the base case
- Figure 4: Breakdown of Telco Cloud revenues in 2021
- Figure 5: Illustrative forecast: revenue decline for converged telco in advanced market
- Figure 6: Virtualisation can redefine the cost structure of a telco
- Figure 7: Defining Telco Cloud
- Figure 8: Telco Cloud Service Categories
- Figure 9: Telco Cloud will enable immersive live VR experiences
- Figure 10: Telco Cloud can enable two-way communication in real-time
- Figure 11: Overview of Telco Cloud categories and services
- Figure 12: Telco Cloud Services: Revenue versus ease of implementation
- Figure 13: Telco X – Base case shows declining revenues
- Figure 14: Telco X – Telco Cloud services increase monthly revenues by X% on the base case by Dec 2021
- Figure 15: Telco X – Timeline of Telco Cloud service launch dates
- Figure 16: Telco X (converged) – Net new revenue by service category (Dec 2021)
- Figure 17: Telco Y (mobile only) – Net new revenue by service category (Dec 2021)
- Figure 18 Telco Z (fixed only) – Net new revenue by service category (Dec 2021)
- Figure 19: Modelling Mechanics |
New Leadership Needed to “Feed the 9”
It’s going to take a new type of leader to pave the way to global food security according to Todd Hall, executive vice president of Cargill.
Hall (’82 animal science) spoke at a Global Food Security Consortium symposium at Iowa State University in April. He emphasized that to successfully feed 9 billion people by 2050, agriculture needs leaders who can approach the volatility and interdependencies within the industry with open minds and global perspectives.
“To tackle these challenges we need a workforce with a thorough understanding of the issues and their complexity and the ability to bring informed, intelligent and global perspectives to the solutions. That’s one of the reasons Cargill is such an advocate and supporter of the Global Resource Systems major at Iowa State,” says Hall.
Building the next generation of leaders to navigate complexities and anticipate consequences of their decisions is a passion for Hall.
He is co-chair of the advisory council for Global Resource Systems (GRS) at Iowa State. GRS allows students to develop a core set of technical agricultural compe- tencies. Students choose a world region in which to specialize. Then they develop competency in a relevant language and participate in an immersion experience in their chosen world region. They carry out a senior project related to their technical specialization within the context of that region to complete the program.
GRS’s multi-pronged approach makes students especially well-suited for being open to new viewpoints, says Hall. He appreciates how the major encourages thinking critically and creating innovative solutions—all key to meeting future global food challenges.
“Cargill has 150,000 employees who manage these complexities in 70 countries around the world every day,” says Hall. “We work with growers, producers, manu- facturers and retailers to put food on tables every day. It’s likely everyone consumes one product produced by Cargill each day.” In Hall’s more than 30 years with Cargill, he has held leadership positions within animal nutrition businesses regionally and globally. In his current role he’s responsible for strategy, execution, profit and loss in the area of animal protein and salt. Hall’s work with Cargill has taken him around the world. Most recently he worked as a platform leader focusing on poultry operations in Central America, China, Europe, Thailand and the United States before accepting his current position earlier this year. He also serves on Cargill’s Board of Directors.
Cargill has provided a $485,500 gift to the GRS program to enhance student recruitment, support faculty and award two new types of Cargill GRS Scholarships. Gail Nonnecke, Global Professor in horticulture and faculty coordinator of GRS, says programs made possible by the gift will strengthen the curriculum and develop students’ leadership skills and global competencies.
“We are excited to help develop future agriculture, food and natural resource leaders who have an understanding of resource systems, as well as the passion and ability to approach these challenges with a global perspective and understanding,” says Nonnecke. |
Taekwondo is a Korean martial art that has been practiced for over a thousand years before being refined in the early 1940s and becoming a popular sport worldwide. This martial art differs from the others because of a specific butterfly kicking posture style which includes spinning, jumping, and kicks directed at the opponent’s face.
Approximately a 10.2million people around the world have attained the black belt title. Taekwondo trainings are conducted in taekwondo gymnasiums like YB taekwondo academy. The taekwondo programs in the gymnasiums, therefore, have a direct hand in taekwondo training. If you have not joined any taekwondo academy, even with the popularity of taekwondo worldwide.
Here are some reasons why you should practice taekwondo;
- Builds strength and skills-As you begin the taekwondo training, one gets to learn the basic principles of taekwondo: agility, Balance, and Coordination. As you train, you develop technical and tactical skills for sports and life. Maintaining posture builds better function with core strength, muscular strength, and endurance.
- It is a recreational and Olympic sport-Taekwondo is a popular, dynamic, and widely practiced martial art worldwide. As a recognized Olympic sport, taekwondo is evolving to make it more exciting and challenging for everyone to enjoy. Taekwondo has two sport streams that students are encouraged to participate in; Sparring and Poomsae. Advancement in technology and production of new gadgets now and then has become a challenge to modern parents in bringing up the children in the right values. ·
- Enhances social skills-With the basic principles of taekwondo, it can be used to instill discipline and character development in our kids. Taekwondo reminds everyone to be respectful and polite, have self-discipline and develop consistent daily habits towards life. Interacting and working with partners allows for verbal communication and reading body language.
- Increases mental strength- Taekwondo students learn about work ethic, determination, perseverance, setting goals, and crushing them. This is because of the unending repetition in the pieces of training and the consistency that inculcates such strength. People of all ages benefit from taekwondo training as it provides a balance for a fertile mind, body, and spirit.The thrill, excitement, and sensation that comes with setting goals and attaining them, thus building every person’s confidence in taking taekwondo.
- Builds emotional strength-As the training progresses; the student gains an understanding and experience of success, joy, and achievement. As students train, they learn and adapt at their own pace and ability, yet strive for self-improvement and personal growth.
- Improves your fitness levels-Adult training of taekwondo improves one’s fitness levels by the different postures, techniques, and cardio exercises involved in taekwondo training. If you are struggling with following a certain workout routine, this would be your training. It will enhance your fitness and improve your cardiovascular organs and also it is guaranteed that you will certainly lose weight.
- Encourages non-violent resolutions-Most people tend to assume that taekwondo promotes violent behavior, as shown in some movies, but this is not the case. This certainly is not the case; taekwondo teaches its students non-violent conflict resolutions and emphasizes the prudence of avoiding a physical altercation unless when necessary.
In conclusion, if the above reasons are not sufficient to convince you to join taekwondo, I don’t know what will convince you but if you still choose to take taekwondo, then break a leg! |
If you are planning to visit Poland either for tourism or education, or you plan to relocate to Poland, there are some Poland facts you should know. You may be wondering about the geographical location, people, language, and culture of Poland but they not be as exactly as what is on your mind. So, relax and read through these awesome Poland facts.
Poland population and landmass
Poland covers about 312,679 square kilometers and is the 9th largest in Europe. Also, the country has a population of over 38.5 million people. The capital city of Poland is Warszawa and the country practices the parliamentary system of government. The people of Poland are called Polish (not shoe polish 🙂
A long time ago, it is kings that rule across the country before abolishing the system. Nowadays, the power is left to the Parliament and Prime minister. Of course, the country has a president but don’t forget how a parliamentary system works.
By now, you should know that Polish refers to the people of Poland. The great majority of Polish are Christians. Specifically, most people here (about 86.7%) attend the Catholic Church. This is why Christmas is very popular in this part of the world. There is a Catholic TV channel and Catholic Radio Station. More so, the people of Poland love Pope John Paul II.
As you might already know, the polish language is one of the most difficult languages to learn, although easy to speak. There are seven cases and grammar that has more exceptions than rules. However, you should imagine how proud you’d be when you finally learn that ‘difficult’ language and able to speak fluently. Meanwhile, the language is so difficult that even the Polish have a lot of problems learning it.
There is something in Poland that the Polish are very proud of and this is the cuisine. Before you taste this cuisine, here is a warning for you. The foods are extremely tasty, fatty and caloric. Don’t be scared! You can always get rid of the extra calories by visiting the monuments or pubs after the meal.
Meanwhile, the most popular food here is pierogi (dumplings), bigos (a mixture of cabbage, meat, and mushrooms), kotlet schabowy (breaded cutlet), rosół (chicken soup), gołąbki (cabbage leaves stuffed with meat), and zupa ogórkowa (cucumber soup). These cuisines are great and worth trying!
The official currency of Poland is the Polish zloty. Although Poland is part of the European Union (EU), it doesn’t stop the country from retaining her currency. Are you holding dollars, pounds or euros? Don’t panic! You can easily change the money to the Polish currency. Meanwhile too, Poland is incredibly affordable. The prices for items are low, be it beer, vodka, hotels, and even foods.
If you plan to visit Poland, those are the awesome Poland facts you should know. Besides, the monuments and attractions in Poland are exceptional. The educational system is incomparable too. Meanwhile, if you want to relocate to Poland, the cost of living is generally low. |
7 – He Avoided The Draft FIVE Times
The idea of his political success is quite difficult to fathom. But it’s also hard to imagine a better candidate for the U.S. Armed Forces then an 18-year-old Donald J. Trump. He was a military school graduate in prime physical condition. He displayed a remarkable talent for team sports. And, to top it off, he was even more aggressive and obnoxious then he is today. However, despite being of age during the Vietnam War, Trump was never drafted for it.
According to the presidential candidate, his “number was too high,” until he, apparently, fractured his heels. In reality, his number was among the first in American history. Draft numbers weren’t even used until late 1960’s – long after Trump received his first call-to-action from the Army.
In 2010, The Smoking Gun published a full, detailed report of the billionaire’s life as a young adult, complete with documents proving the fallacy of his claims. He has four consecutive student deferments, followed by another one granted due to a questionable medical condition.
So, my question is: Do ya think any of this ‘accumulation’ is gonna make one iota of difference when trump breathes his last? ?
Probably not. But, my question is: what will? |
Jerusalem Bible © 1966 by Darton, Longman & Todd Ltd and Doubleday & Company Inc.
This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph; but before they came to live together she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph; being a man of honour and wanting to spare her publicity, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, ‘Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.’ Now all this took place to fulfil the words spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son
and they will call him Emmanuel,
a name which means ‘God-is-with-us.’ When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do: he took his wife to his home.
Did you know?
Points of interest and Catholic lore
- In Matthew’s Gospel, Joseph is the main protagonist in the infancy narrative, while Luke’s story of the birth of Jesus centres on Mary and her response.
- There are significant differences between the two accounts, which can be understood as reflecting the particular theological perspective of each author and the way each seeks to point to the identity of Jesus and address the concerns of his own community.
- Did you notice that there is no stable or manger in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ birth? Jesus is born at the home of Joseph and Mary, who live in Bethlehem. Look at the birth stories in Luke (chapters 1–2) and in Matthew (chapters 1–2) and see who visits the infant Jesus.
Exploring the Word
In Palestine, the betrothal period was akin to our period of engagement but was somewhat more binding. The couple are considered married but have not yet come to live together. An indiscretion of the nature described by Matthew requires a formal divorce and thus public knowledge. Joseph seeks to spare Mary this public disgrace, but God intercedes and alerts Joseph to the real identity of this child, which is in her ‘by the Holy Spirit’. For Matthew, this is the most important point of his infancy narrative. The child Jesus is the fulfillment of the ancient prophecy that the maiden will conceive ‘God-with-us’. God has freely chosen to come among people. The second important point in this text is Joseph’s response. The anguish and turmoil he must have felt is overcome by his trust in God’s ways, and he obeys. He simply ‘did what the angel told him to do’. Through his trust and acceptance of God’s will, human history will never be the same because ‘God-is-with-us’.
- You could tell something of the story of King Ahaz (featured in the first reading) and his disregard of God’s commands and compare this with the response of Joseph.
- What does this convey of the nature of faith?
Opportunities for group discussion and personal prayer
- Have you ever undertaken a bold and trusting action, even though you were dubious about the outcome?
- How was your trust rewarded?
- Spend some time thinking about how each of these characters would feel: Mary, the young maiden, who finds herself inexplicably with child; Joseph, the man who must have doubted her fidelity and felt betrayed by her. Each character took a great risk in accepting this situation as God’s will and being willing to see where it would take them.
- Have you ever had the experience of having made up your mind to do something, only to have doubt cast on your chosen path by an ‘inner sense’ or ‘gut feeling’? How well did you trust in your own intuition? What was the outcome? Conversely, have you ever taken a great risk, with little idea of the outcome but with a willingness to follow that path wherever it may lead? Share your reflections.
- Try to be intuitive to God’s voice this week. What is being communicated to you at this time in your life?
- Learn by heart and pray often one of the most loved prayers of the Church, the Hail Mary:
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.
Sharing the tradition
A closer look at the Scripture of the day, to see how it makes more explicit God’s word to us through the teachings of Jesus Christ
In the two stories that have come down to us of the birth of Jesus, one of the common aspects is the faith response of the two protagonists. Both Mary and Joseph face risking their personal security in the world of their time by choosing to cooperate in God’s plan. The price, especially for Mary, is high. If she is found to have committed adultery, the penalty, under Jewish law, is death (see John 8:1–11). Instead, they risk all and place their trust in God’s ways, becoming for the Church the models of discipleship.
- You could explore the response of Mary offered in Luke’s Gospel.
- You could identify images of Mary and Joseph in your church or parish buildings. Point out the difference between revering an image and honouring the one it represents.
- The Catechism of the Catholic Church offers useful material in discussing the role of Mary in God’s plan for salvation and in the Church.
- You could explore the concept of discipleship and what is required of catechumens as they journey towards baptism.
Symbols and images
One of the common ways for God to communicate with human beings, as related in the Hebrew Scriptures, is through dreams—Abraham, Jacob, Joseph and Hannah are famous examples. In this text, God communicates the importance of this child and the integrity of his mother to Joseph using this favoured method. Being intuitive to the voice of God is an important aspect of faith.
Living the Word
Practical ideas for group leaders to employ in connecting Scripture and daily life, with suggestions for music and environment
- The Australian Church has become a multicultural Church, with the traditions of many lands finding expression here, especially in the way Mary and Joseph are honoured. Are there particular traditions or ways of celebrating special feasts in your parish? You could explain the origin and symbolism of these.
- Use the Advent wreath and candle-lighting ritual again. In your prayer, give honour to Mary and Joseph for the way they cooperated with God’s plan. Pray that catechumens also come to be true disciples. A suitable song might be ‘Come to set us free’ (GA 277). Conclude with the Blessing in RCIA at §97D. |
Rejoice, for the Lord is consoling his people.
R. All the ends of the earth have seen the saving power of God.
God has spoken to us through his Son.
A hallowed day has dawned upon us. Come, you nations, worship the Lord, for today a great light has shone down upon the earth.
The Word was made flesh, and lived among us.
Images from the Word
- Joseph too went up
- Her firstborn
- Let us go
- Lying in a manger
- Testify to the light
- Children of God
The nature of the ministerial priesthood also puts into its proper light another reality, which must indeed be highly regarded, namely, the royal priesthood of the faithful, whose spiritual sacrifice is brought to completeness through the ministry of the Bishop and the priests in union with the Sacrifice of Christ, the one and only Mediator. For the celebration of the Eucharist is an action of the whole Church, and in it each one should carry out solely but completely that which pertains to him or her, in virtue of the rank of each within the People of God.—General Instruction of the Roman Missal, §5
The days of Christmas remind us that through our Christian initiation, we come to share in the very life of Christ. As Christ was anointed priest, prophet and king, so we come to share in being one with Christ in his priesthood. Both the ordained and the baptismal priesthood must minister together for the fullness of the priesthood of Christ to be exercised in the Church. |
To import a budget, you must use a file that you first exported through the software.
How to export the file
Go to Process → Budget Entry → (choose, current, next year, or next year +1)
Select the correct Budget Year for your purpose. Note: you may filter for only those accounts for which you would like to update the budget. Choose the Export button at the bottom of the screen. You may choose between entering a different budget amount per month or a budget for the whole year which will be divided evenly among the months.
You must save the exported file to your local drive so you can update it and then move on to the next phase, import.
How to import the file
Go to Process → Import Processes → Import Budget
You will then be asked to browse to the file and import.
What to do if your budget spreadsheet won't import
Make sure the file is in an ".xlsx" format.
For other trouble-shooting questions/answers see the linked articles below.
How to import a portion of the budget without wiping out existing amounts
Please sign in to leave a comment. |
There are multiple convolutional filters available for us to use in Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) to extract features from images. In this blog, I will explain how these different convolution operations work in depth and illustrate some design techniques for different filters. To learn more about CNNs and their drawbacks, you can read my previous article.
CNN have brought about huge changes in computer vision and other image related tasks. Although it is an old algorithm, it did not get much attention until 2012 due to lack of data and computational resources. When the first CNN (AlexNet) was used in the ImageNet competition in 2012, it improved the accuracy of prediction, by more than 15% as compared to the 2011 winner. So the convolution boom began.
Research and advancements in the CNN algorithm and architectures have turned CNN into a big hammer capable of nailing down any problem related to computer vision. They have displayed better accuracy than humans in classifying images.
But rather than talking about how CNNs work, in this article we will focus on the heart of the CNN algorithm and what makes them so powerful: the convolution operation. |
This article describes the operation of the specific automation ''When the status of a map changes into something, assign someone as a resource''.
Are you looking for an explanation of what automation is and where to set it? Feel free to take a look at the article How do automations work?
How does this automation work?
With this automation, you can ensure that a card is automatically assigned a resource when the status of the card changes.
The parameters you set are Status and Resource.
Status: First choose for which status change you want a resource to be assigned automatically.
Resource: Select which resource should be automatically assigned to the card at the set status change.
A wholesaler works a lot with statuses in order to track their orders properly. When the order is picked and ready for shipment, it must be automatically assigned to the logistics department.
You can then set up your automation as follows: |
Using reCAPTCHA in the Wix Sign in Process
Wix uses Google's reCAPTCHA tool to help protect against potential spam and other types of automated abuse.
ReCAPTCHA asks users to enter numbers or words seen in distorted images onscreen. reCAPTCHA is simply a test to tell humans and robots apart.
You must type exactly what you see in the CAPTCHA image, whether it's a number, a word, or several words. When you are done, press the enter key on your keyboard.
If you are unable to solve the CAPTCHA, click the reload button to get a new one.
In addition, you can click the audio button to listen to an audio CAPTCHA option. The set of numbers is read out and you must enter the numbers you hear in the provided space. When you are done, press the enter key on your keyboard.
If you have entered the correct CAPTCHA and are unable to sign in to your Wix account, click here to learn more about troubleshooting sign in issues.
Did this help? |
Warrior’s purpose – fighting. What does it mean to be a warrior?
The word kshatriya (warrior) itself consists of two words: kshat and trayate. Kshat is “harm” and trayate is “liberation”. Thus, the word warrior carries the meaning of the liberator from danger, harm and all sorts of attacks, whether it is war or cataclysm. The warrior’s purpose is to protect weaker people from all kinds of dangers with the help of their strength and intelligence.
A warrior must fight for justice and try to adhere to a specific set of rules so as not to harm those whom he protects.
Heroism, power, determination, resourcefulness, courage in battle, generosity, and leadership are the qualities of work for the ksatriyas.Bhagavad-Gita. 18.43
Born to be a warrior
A warrior (kshatriya) is the congenital nature of personality. Warrior can not be one who is not a warrior and it can not be faked. Either you are a warrior by nature, or you are not a warrior. Having assumed the warrior’s way, a person who does not have the nature of a warrior, is likely to break on it.
People who born with the warrior’s purpose often differ from their peers by physical indicators, have good health, increased activity, high intelligence and often aggressiveness if the energy is not directed in the right direction.
For a warrior, superiority, power, strength and respect are in the first place in outer life. The warrior is committed to these indicators. The desire to be in the first place can result in both exploits and heroism, as well as crimes, depending on how such a person was raised.
The strengths of such a person are justice, dignity, firmness, endurance, dedication and courage. They also have increased physical activity, because they can not without physical exertion. They also differ in independence, straightness, resistance to stress and willpower – these are neutral qualities that can both help and hinder a soldier on the way, depending on the direction that such a person has chosen.
Negative qualities of such people are pride, aggressiveness, rudeness and exactingness. Such qualities are often found in people with the nature of a warrior, but they should be offset by good education and work on themselves.
Valor and courage.
In wartime, the use of this quality is obvious. But even in peacetime, courage and valor are necessary for the performance of duty and the restoration of justice. To protect their honor, to protect the weak, to defend their principles, prowess is necessary.
Strength and durability
Warrior lives differently than others. He sets big goals and achieves them, despite the severities. On the path of very high goals, durability is extremely important. On the way to the goal, we often encounter difficulties, look for workarounds, change roads, but warriors are used to overcoming difficulties, making the game from what ordinary people give up.
The most distinctive quality of a warrior is fearlessness. Often, due to the manifestation of this quality, they may seem unnecessarily independent or unattainable. After all, a person who is not afraid to look less humane. The feeling of fear is either not inherent in them, or is successfully overcome by their will. For them, there is simply no way to go back from a sense of fear — this is unacceptable for them.
Even being in the most unfavorable situation, the warrior will go further. He is not amenable to fear. Thus, a warrior can meet both a triumphant success and a dizzying fall. This comes from the inability to admit one’s own inconsistency.
Warriors are accustomed to rely in all matters on their own strength. Theory is replaced by practice, and knowledge is replaced by resourcefulness.
Warriors are accustomed to rely in all matters on their own strength. Theory is replaced by practice, and knowledge is replaced by resourcefulness. They are intellectual, but too direct and not flexible enough to act according to knowledge. For this reason, ingenuity is an innate tool that allows you to find ways that are invisible to others. Warriors are pioneers, researchers and leaders because of this quality.
The warrior’s generosity comes from his patronizing attitude toward others. From a sense of need to take responsibility and help others in case of trouble. The mind of a warrior allows him not to become attached to pleasures and to be magnanimous both to friends and to enemies. Than the warrior earns his fame and honor.
Warriors often occupy high positions in society, in companies and among people. Occupying high positions, having certain advantages, a warrior must learn generosity. Generosity for the warrior has several paramount values:
It makes him giving, which allows him to occupy a higher position in the eyes of others and earn the respect of society, which often helps in business;
Generosity teaches not to become attached to riches and not to amass them unnecessarily. If a warrior is attached to riches, then his path of a warrior ends and the path of a rich man begins, which will actually kill a warrior. Warrior can be rich. But his wealth serves his purposes, and not he serves his wealth.
A generous man has many friends and few enemies. Allies for the warrior is an important indicator that his path is not only successful for him, but also useful to those around him.
Often a warrior suffers hardship, as his way is difficult. This is not a path that implies quiet, comfort and stability. Today, a warrior can rule the kingdom, and yesterday he wandered through the mountains.
So the ability to endure hardships, to be able to endure feelings of hunger and thirst, resistance to heat and cold are necessary qualities for a warrior. Asceticism is not only the ability to endure inconvenience, but also the limitation of oneself in what prevents one from moving towards the goal.
This quality is more commonly referred to as “compassion,” but mercy has a more positive meaning. Compassionate, you can be to weak and defeated enemies, but merciful to all. The strength of a warrior gives him the opportunity not only to make his life successful, but also to improve society a lot and make happier other people.
Merciful conquers the hearts of others and this allows people to lead. If a warrior is cruel, it will be hard for him to follow the path, because often the path lies in defeating other people without resorting to violence. The ultimate victory is a victory without a fight, wrapping the enemy in a friend, which cannot be done without mercy.
Cheerfulness and susceptibility to despondency
When difficulties are overtaken by a warrior, he not only remains calm, he goes to meet them. After this, the difficulties already begin to be afraid of the warrior and run away from him. With ordinary people, the opposite is true – they run away from problems, and problems run after them.
A warrior should not only be able to overcome difficulties, but also do it cheerfully and absolutely not be susceptible to such types of despondency as: regret, grief, doubts, fears, apathy, laziness. In this way, a warrior overcomes difficulties and sets an example for others how to live. Legendary warriors teach by example how to live.
Or principled. Honesty allows you to be fair and clean from lies. Lying to a warrior means that he cannot defeat something and he has to resort to lies. But a lie always does a disservice. In the beginning she gives, and then takes her whole life.
A warrior is always free from lies, due to the fact that he is not afraid to be himself and does not commit acts that he would have to hide. Such honesty in front of themselves and others gives the ability not to become entangled in oneself and to be as free as possible.
The warrior is reasonable , but it is very important for him to listen to the opinion of wiser people. By accepting their help and assisting them, he will be able to quickly overcome obstacles in an honest way – through cooperation.
Because a wise adviser was with any successful king, and often great warriors turned to the wise men for advice, where they gained the necessary support.
The main thing is that pride and excessive own authority should not prevent the warrior from missing a worthy person. Due to the case of extreme pride, many have lost the ability and strength to fulfill the warrior’s purpose.
Warrior’s soul flourishes in battle
The first thing a warrior must do is fight. In peacetime – a peaceful battle. An undeveloped warrior must fight for development, a developed warrior must fight for the idea, justice, or protection of the weak and unprotected people.
If a warrior fights with dignity – he achieves all goals, but if he sets himself petty, small goals – he becomes an ordinary person. The harder the challenge for a warrior, the more enthusiastic the awakening of the challenge. The bigger the beast – the greater the glory. The challenge must be worthy and be a blessing to all.
If a warrior simply sets a goal to harm someone, this is the path of the criminal, not the warrior. A warrior can achieve any goals, both peacefully and by force, but experienced warriors know that the best victory is victory without a fight.
The duty of a warrior in battle and this battle must be worthy. The battle against injustice, the battle against evil and the violation of the present order, as well as that which violates the safety of people. This is his mission.
Warriors are excellent in high government positions, the posts of rulers, military and other responsible positions, from where they have the tools and power to set high ideals and justice through strict control.
With power and qualities, a warrior can change the world. And it is better that he has a high goal that ignites his soul and makes him get up early in the morning and go on his way. Only such a life can make a warrior happy and contented.
Otherwise, it will fade, and the warrior’s purpose will remain for him something distant and unimportant that we make a person with such a character unhappy.
The warrior’s purpose is to protect from danger, primarily from the danger that a warrior himself can cause.
A warrior is a congenital type of people, but this does not mean superiority from birth. The warrior’s purpose obliges him to discharge his duty resolutely and energetically. Having defined his duty, having set himself a goal and having developed the necessary qualities in himself, the soldier should achieve the goal.
There is no chance of losing a warrior who has all the qualities, has a decent environment and sincerely seeks to improve the world, being ready for various difficulties. A warrior must fight – it is his duty, and without battle the warrior dies even before the battle. There is always a place for battle, you just need to find it.
One thought on “Warrior’s purpose – fighting. What does it mean to be a warrior?”
Too sound corny, I inhibit 99% or a little bit more about “The Warrior” complexitor thing gotta be.
Anyway, article pretty nice long time since reading any articles.
I am pumped up I will succeed in this life, help the weak (provide goods that sort of thing), fight for the greater good. Hopeful to inspire future warriors.
To do the same exactly a little bit different. |
Vincent van Gogh is undeniably one of the world’s greatest artists, which means there are lots of great ways to study his incredible contributions to the art world. Today I’m excited to share one of those ways with you through a Vincent van Gogh Unit Study.
(This post contains affiliate links; see disclosure for details.)
Since I’ve covered Vincent van Gogh with both of my kiddos several times throughout the years, today I want to share some of the resources that helped us the most.Learning about Vincent van Gogh with your kids? Don't miss these fantastic unit study resources. #ihsnet #homeschool
Vincent van Gogh Unit Study Ideas
Before we jump into the individual van Gogh resources, keep in mind that Masterpiece Society has a fantastic open and go van Gogh unit available in their Art Appreciation Bundle. (You can also get the van Gogh unit individually if you prefer.)
This 50+ page art appreciation unit provides a biography of van Gogh, an overview of post-impressionism, picture study for three of his masterpieces, notebooking pages, and more.
In a nutshell, you can use it as the foundation of your van Gogh unit study or for the study itself with nothing else added. Either way, it’s a good one to have on hand.
Want to add a hands-on component to your unit study, but don’t have time to pull together different project ideas? We recommend the van Gogh lessons from Mixing with the Masters. 🙂
Related: Bring Artist Study to Life with this Mixing with the Masters Mixed Media Course
More Vincent van Gogh
Unit Study Resources
Because we love studying van Gogh in our homeschool, we’ve used lots of great unit study resources learning about him over the years. One of those is the Van Gogh for Children site from the Van Gogh Museum. You’ll find video resources, free printable coloring pages, and games waiting for you there!
If you prefer to explore van Gogh through books, check out these 10 Children’s Books about Vincent van Gogh (Pin it for later).
What to watch on van Gogh
Here are a few good videos to watch for your van Gogh unit study:
- My van Gogh YouTube playlist
- Van Gogh: Brush with Genius – Note that van Gogh’s death is covered in the 30-35 mark. Due to the sensitive subject matter, you may wish to omit this part or only use this documentary for older students.
- Creative Galaxy, Season 1, Episode 5 – Follow this link to add it to your watchlist. It’s a good introduction to van Gogh for younger kids.
Hands on with van Gogh
Want to include some hands-on activities in your study? Here are some ideas to consider:
- This van Gogh profile from Making Fun of Art has a good biographical overview and includes six fun activities to use in your study.
- Vincent van Gogh coloring book
- Paint by Number – The Starry Night
- Crayola’s Bedroom of Your Dreams activity is based on van Gogh’s Bedroom in Arles.
- These Starry Night Ornaments are a cool enough to keep on display anytime time of year. The project itself is designed for classroom use, but it could easily be adapted to a homeschool setting.
Have you studied Vincent van Gogh in your homeschool? What are your favorite van Gogh resources? |
Last Engine Static Test
The last static test was the first test of the V2 Engine, the engine we are currently developing. A much higher power than the V1 Engine is verified. We had a burn time of 1646ms and a maximum force of 140.4N.
So far, we have done only one flight test. The engine used was the V1 Engine. No electronics or fuselage was used. We only made use of a rod to ensure stability for the engine during flight. The rocket was not found. It probably went into orbit.
Under development, this is our newest engine. The propellant used is KNSB. Its combustion chamber is made of aluminum and has larger dimensions than the V1 Engine.
We hope it will be our first engine to equip a rocket.
High, consistent and predictable performance is our goal. To evaluate this, we built a test stand, with wifi connectivity, that communicates with a central server. There is also a web interface that provides control and data visualization of the burn process.
The same test stand will be used as a base station for future launches. |
Appearing on CBS’s Late Show Wednesday evening, actor Alec Baldwin mocked the relatively small movement of Americans who want to secede from the United States in response to last week’s re-election of President Barack Obama.
Roughly 700,000 Americans have signed on to the petitions to secede thus far. The movement has been most popular in southern states like Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas.
“It’s so strange because I had many of those states on a list of states I would like to secede from the United States,” joked Baldwin. “And the people that are leading that movement, it’s amazing, because we actually agree on something for the first time. That secession.”
“And what will they do? I’d kind of like to see this,” Letterman asked.
“What would they call it? The United Flakes of America?” Baldwin mocked. “The United States of Caucasia?”
Letterman then noted that secession is highly unlikely because of constitutional provisions that require the approval of every state in the Union in order for one state to secede.
Baldwin mocked the relatively small size of the movement: “They say that it’s 750,000 people out of 300 million people, gosh darn it, that’s one quarter of one percent of the people of this country want to secede. It’s trending. Hashtag secession. It’s all over Twitter.”
Letterman agreed: “You do the math, and it’s not that big a deal.”
“It’s a spit in the ocean,” concluded the 30 Rock actor. “Literally, it’s spit in the ocean.”
(Source: CBS-TV and Mediaite.com) |
What are PAT Testers Used For?
We live in a world where electricity and electrical appliances surround us nearly everywhere that we go. These appliances make our lives much easier, but they can also pose a significant risk if they are faulty. These risks include fires started by malfunctioning electrical appliances, electrical shock and personal injury.
In the UK, the process by which electrical appliances are checked for safety is known as portable appliance testing, or “PAT” for short. This process is essential to reduce the risk posed by potentially faulty electrical equipment. By regularly performing PAT inspections, the risk of injury or electrocution by users is greatly reduced.
What does a PAT inspection involve?
The first step in portable appliance testing involves a thorough visual examination of the appliance. This can include the following:
- Checking flexible cables for good condition or any damage
- Checking the plug casings for damage
- Checking that terminals and connections are secure
- Checking for any signs of damage caused by overheating (discolouration)
- Checking for misuse of the appliance
- Checking for liquids or foreign matter in the appliance
While this simple visual examination forms a crucial part of the PAT inspection, some defects can only be found using a PAT tester.
Using a PAT Tester
Once the visual inspection of an appliance has been completed, a PAT tester will be used to carry out further testing on the appliance to determine if there are any internal faults. A series of tests will be performed that, taken together, are designed to identify any problems that may otherwise go undetected. The type of appliance, its electrical class and a brief risk assessment will determine which tests the appliance will need to undergo.
A single PAT tester can perform several standard safety tests, including the following:
- Functional check (earth leakage and load testing): A test to ensure that the appliance is working correctly without drawing excessive current.
- Insulation resistance test: To check that the equipment conductors are isolated from the earth.
- Earth resistance and continuity test: A test to confirm the integrity of exposed metalwork on grounded appliances.
- Touch current test: To ensure that all exposed metal and the equipment casing are isolated from earth/ground.
- Differential Leakage test: A test to measure the difference in current between the live and neutral conductors during use.
- Extension cord and IEC power cord test
Why are PAT Testers necessary?
The Health and Safety at Work Act in the UK, along with Electricity at Work Regulations require all electrical systems to be maintained to prevent injury and danger, this includes electrical appliances. While Regulations do not specify what maintenance needs to be carried out or how frequently appliances should be checked, regular PAT inspections enable organisations to take a proactive stance on electrical safety in the workplace. Frequent testing of equipment will not only ensure a safe working environment for staff, thereby decreasing liability, but will also increase the operational life of the appliance.
Buying your own PAT Tester
It is always advisable to hire a qualified PAT testing specialist, who will be able to show if an appliance has passed or failed. For organisations that have the qualified in-house staff and would prefer to purchase their own, PAT testers are available for purchase through various retailers. When selecting a PAT tester, look for one that is reliable and user-friendly. Once again, the type of equipment being tested as well as the environment in which the equipment is operated will play a key role in selecting the right PAT tester. For a simple office environment, a simple PAT tester will do the job. If the equipment to be tested is heavy duty, a PAT tester with greater functionality should be selected. |
On 26 November 2021, 624 passengers returning from South Africa were tested for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 by the GGD Kennemerland. The passengers were tested at Schiphol Airport; 61 of them tested positive for COVID-19. These test samples were sent to RIVMNational Institute for Public Health and the Environment for further analysis to determine which variant of the coronavirus was involved. Initial results from genome sequencing showed the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) in 13 of the samples from the positive tests. Sequencing has not been completed yet. It is possible that the new variant will be found in more test samples
What is the Omicron variant?
The first cases involving the new variant of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) were reported in South Africa. Since then, this variant has been identified in various locations worldwide. The Omicron variant seems to be spreading rapidly. Similar to other variants, the small changes (mutations) in this new variant seem to be occurring mainly in the lines bristling out from the coronavirus: the spike protein. A striking feature of this variant is that it has an unusually large number of mutations in the spike protein. That includes a number of mutations at locations that may alter the properties of the virus. It is not yet known whether the virus variant also causes people to become more seriously ill from a coronavirus infection. It is not clear at this time how the virus variant will respond to the vaccines currently in use or in people who have previously had a coronavirus infection
National Institute for Public Health
and the Environment
Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport |
Scientific Name: Adiantum (genus)
- Order: Polypodiales
- Family: Pteridaceae
- Genus: Adiantum
With dark-colored stems and graceful, fan-shaped leaves, maidenhair ferns have a special property — the leaves are water-repellant. In fact, the scientific name Adiantum, is from Greek for “untouched by water.” Although these plants have specific conditions for growth such as high humidity and temperature, maidenhair ferns can even be seen growing on rocky cliffs or in cracks on rocks, as long as there is water.
Medicinal: The leaves of this fern have many uses, from treating hair loss to being beneficial to the respiratory system. Maidenhair ferns also contain antioxidants and aid the recovery of wounds or swelling.
Other: Often grown indoors as an ornamental plant, maidenhair ferns can flourish if given the correct care. It is known to be very “picky” about how it is treated, needing just the right amount of water, light, heat, and moisture. |
Reading labels and making smart choices to mitigate the risk of reactions to your food allergies covers more than just the food you eat. Food allergens can crop up in everything from your craft supplies to your skincare products. Finding safer substitutes can be difficult, in fact, it was a search for a safe lip balm for my children that led to the creation of the Allergy Ninja Skincare products. Here’s the good news: you’ve learned to recreate some of your favorite meals in an allergy-friendly way, and you can learn to recreate some non-food items, too. Here are a few recipes to get you started.
Wheat-Free Play Dough
Many of the commercially available play dough options contain wheat. Families managing a wheat allergy or an illness like Celiac disease don’t have to give up on this childhood staple. You can easily make your own safe version at home. Grab yourself a bowl and an assortment of food coloring options and whip up a batch of this fun, squishy dough.
You’ll need ½ a cup of white rice flour, ½ a cup of cornstarch, ½ a cup of salt, 2 teaspoons of cream of tartar, 1 cup of water, and 1 teaspoon of vegetable or other cooking oil. Mix the ingredients together in a saucepan. Stir over low heat until the mixture starts to form a ball (about 3 minutes). Let the dough cool before using or storing. If you want to color your dough, place a few drops of color in the center of your dough and knead it in until the color has saturated the dough.
Egg-Free Tempera Paints
Although finding commercial egg-free tempera paints is not especially difficult today, tempera can indeed contain egg. In fact, some artists will say “true tempera” is egg-based. Make sure you check the labels if you’re buying paints. Even if you can easily get your hands on paint someone else has made, it can be fun to make your own.
This Felt Magnet blog article includes a whole host of paint recipes you may want to experiment with! For flour-based paints, experiment with different wheat-free alternatives if your allergens require it. Which flour sub you use may influence the texture and hue of your paint so have fun test-driving a variety of options.
Nut-Free, Dairy-Free Hand Lotion
Don’t be afraid to experiment when you approach a project like hand lotion. You may find a recipe that sounds divine but it calls for a dash of sweet almond oil and that’s a no-go on your list. Maybe it’s a coconut oil base and you’re avoiding coconut. The good news is you can substitute these ingredients for something that is safe for your family, and you can find a whole bunch of other recipes that don’t require those specific ingredients in the first place. WikiHow has a few to get you started.
Before you get started, though, let’s talk about shea butter. This body product staple is indeed derived from the shea nut which is classified as a tree nut. It is worth noting that according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, there are no reports of any known allergic reaction to shea butter and it is considered generally safe for use in tree nut and peanut allergic individuals. However, as with all things allergy, you should consult your family’s allergist to confirm that shea is a safe option for you. |
| 01 Sep
1845-Arrived at Macao.
1931-Three Marines AWOL.
1799-Seaman Lyman Amsden fell overboard and drowned.
1825-Private William Sawyer died of a fever and was buried ashore on Uras I.,
in the Aegean Sea.
1837-Arrived at Beirut, Lebanon.
1931-Two sailors returned drunk by New York authorities.
1804-Fifth attack on Tripoli.
1822-Quarter Gunner George Wells died. Arrived at Gibraltar.
1825-Private David Lockhart died of a fever and was buried ashore on Uras I.,
in the Aegean Sea.
1837-Departed Beirut, Lebanon.
1849-Three men flogged for unspecified offenses.
1799-One man flogged for sleeping on sentry duty.
1805-Departed Tunis, Tunisia.
1836-Arrived at Sidon, Lebanon.
1849-John Gwinn died at Palermo, Sicily, the first Captain to do so while in
command. Lieutenant James H. Rowan, the First Lieutenant, assumed
1850-Two men flogged for unspecified offenses.
1853-Departed Cape Palmas, Liberia.
1990-Second Meritorious Unit Commendation awarded for performance during
1989, the first year in which visitation exceeded 1 million persons.
1836-Departed Sidon, Lebanon.
1853-Arrived off the Cavally River, Liberia. When officer sent to attempt
peace talks between the Barbo and Grebo tribes was threatened, conducted
boat assault which brought both parties to mediation and settlement.
1854-Arrived at Sao Paolo do Loando (Luanda), Angola.
1877-Augustus Paul Cooke relieved Reigart Bolivar Lowry at Captain.
1931-An AWOL Marine returned.
1933-Mast gave Seaman 25 hours extra duty and 3 months probation for
1810-Seaman James Hunter killed in fall from fore yard.
1811-Arrived at Cherbourg, France.
1836-Arrived at Beirut, Lebanon.
1837-Arrived at Limasol, Cyprus.
1842-One man given 12 lashes for being drunk and insolent; two others got 9
each for smuggling liquor.
1849-Captain John Gwinn buried in Palermo, Sicily, in funeral attended by
over 150 of the crew (required); 15 deserted from procession and many
others got drunk.
1853-Departed vicinity of Cavally River, Liberia.
1810-Seaman Thomas Bailey died.
1825-Private James W. Simonds died of a fever and Maintopman John Sloan of
the flux; both buried ashore on Uras I. in the Agean Sea.
1837-Departed Limasol, Cyprus, and arrived at Lanarca, Cyprus, the same day.
1849-Thirty-four men flogged for unspecified offenses, but almost certainly
involving desertions and drunkenness during Captain John Gwinn's funeral
procession the previous day.
1854-Chiefs of Loando (Angola) received on board and given presents,
including 5 1/2 gallons of whiskey.
1862-John Percival, Captain 1844-6, died in Dorchester, MA.
1880-Departed New Bedford, MA., and sailed to Newport, RI, the same day.
1896-Augustus Paul Cooke, Captain 1871 and 1877-8, died in Paris, France.
1798-Mistakenly captured British privateer NIGER (24 guns).
1801-Silas Talbot resigned his commission and command of ship.
1806-Arrived at Lisbon, Portugal.
1807-Departed Algeciras, Spain.
1809-Departed New York City.
1842-A boy flogged for desertion; a man deserted.
1844-Departed Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The ship had been repainted lead white
with a red gun streak in hopes the better to withstand tropical heat.
Nine men flogged for various offenses like smuggling liquor aboard,
drunkenness, and broken liberty.
1849-Departed Palermo, Sicily.
1854-Departed Sao Paolo do Loando (Luanda), Angola.
1805-Arrived at Syracuse, Sicily.
1813-A court martial convened to try a Midshipman on a charge of public
1823-Arrived at Malaga, Spain, and sailed again the same day.
1825-Departed Vourla (Urla), Turkey.
1827-Departed Vourla (Urla), Turkey, and arrived in Smyrna (Izmir), Turkey,
the same day.
1837-Departed Lanarca, Cyprus.
1839-Departed Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
1843-A man given 12 lashes for desertion.
1849-Arrived at Naples, Italy.
1931-Man given 2 weeks restriction for creating a disturbance, and a Marine
20 days confinement and fined $6.50 for 2 months.
1826-Arrived at Port Mahon, Minorca.
1842-A man given 12 lashes for desertion; two Marines received 10 and 6
lashes for fighting on post.
1932-Seaman AWOL 2 hours; later demoted by summary court martial.
1804-Captured an armed "Ottoman" blockade running polacres off Tripoli.
1811-Departed Cherbourg, France.
1835-Arrived at Tangier, Morocco, beginning tour as flagship of Mediterranean
Squadron, and sailed again the same day.
1836-Departed Beirut, Lebanon.
1837-Arrived at Jaffa (Tel Aviv), Palestine (Israel), and sailed again the
1840-Departed Callao, Peru.
1845-Two men flogged for stealing knives.
1846-Gunner's Mate Thomas Hammons fell overboard but was rescued by a line
from the main chains. Several men were flogged for gambling.
1850-Three men flogged for unspecified offenses.
1798-Arrived at Hampton Roads, VA.
1803-Arrived at Gibraltar, beginning tour as flagship of the Mediterranean
1804-Captured 2 blockade runners off Tripoli.
1821-Arrived at Port Mahon, Minorca.
1825-Arrived at Napoli de Romania (Nauplia), Greece,
1835-Arrived at Gibraltar.
1836-Arrived at Tarabulus (Tripoli), Lebanon.
1853-Arrived at Dix Cove, Ivory Coast.
1845-Arrived at Manila, The Philippines.
1881-Departed New London, CT.
1804-Departed waters off Tripoli, Libya, having been relieved as flagship.
1837-Arrived at Alexandria, Egypt.
1853-Departed Dix Cove, Ivory Coast, arrived at El Mina, Ghana, the same
1881-Arrived at New Bedford, MA.
1931-Departed New York City,
1981-Albert C. Messier, Captain 1952-4, died in Bristol, CT.
1799-Captured ex-Hamburgh ship AMELIA (or AMALIA), a French prize.
1811-Arrived at Deal, England.
1812-William Bainbridge relieved Isaac Hull as Captain. For a mutinous
expression of dissatisfaction over this, Armorer Leonard Stayas was
confined on board Gunboat No. 58.
1840-Arrived at Payta, Peru.
1841-Departed Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
1933-Proceeded from San Francisco, to Oakland, CA.
1804-Arrived at Malta.
1810-Arrived at Boston, MA.
1811-Seaman John Fullington died and was buried at sea.
1840-Departed Payta, Peru.
1850-Seven men flogged for unspecified offenses.
1853-Sailed from El Mina to Cape Coast Castle, both in Ghana.
1880-Departed Newport, RI.
1931-Arrived at Wilmington, DE.
1803-Departed Gibraltar and arrived at Tangier, Morocco, and sailed again
1811-Departed Deal, England.
1813-A court martial found a Midshipman charged with public drunkenness not
1825-Seaman John Day died of consuption and was buried in the harbor of
1836-Departed Tarabulus (Tripoli), Lebanon.
1845-Three men unsuccessfully tried to desert at Manila, The Philippines;
subsequently given 12 lashes each.
1846-Found dismasted USS WASHINGTON, a brig on coastal survey, and took it
under tow for 4 days until turning it over to a pilot boat off the
1854-Crossed the Equator from South to North at the Prime Meridian.
1803-Arrived at Gibraltar.
1805-Departed Syracuse, Sicily.
1825-Departed Napoli de Romania (Nauplia), Greece.
1849-Thomas Anderson Conover relieved Lieutenant James H. Rowan in command.
1850-Departed Genoa, Italy.
1931-Proceeded from Wilmington, DE, to Philadelphia, PA.
1835-Arrived at Port Mahon, Minorca.
1837-Two men given 12 lashes apiece for unspecified offenses.
1840-Arrived at Puna, Ecuador.
1842-A boy flogged for desertion.
1871-Augustus Paul Cooke relieved Henry Lycurgis Howison as Captain.
1797-First (unsuccessful) attempt to launch ship.
1803-Midshipman Thomas Baldwin discharged for "degrading conduct." Departed
1805-Arrived at Messina, Sicily.
1811-Arrived of Texel, The Netherlands.
1836-Arrived at Jaffa (Tel Aviv), Palestine (Israel).
1845-Departed Manila, The Philippines.
1850-Arrived at Spezzia, Italy.
1853-Departed Cape Coast Castle, Ghana.
1871-Departed Annapolis, MD.
1842-Two men got 12 lashes each for desertion.
1853-Arrived at Accra, Ghana.
1854-Arrived at Cape Palmas, Liberia.
1881-Sailed from New Bedford, MA, to Cuttyhunk I.
1991-Richard Bradford Amirault relieved David Matthew Cashman as Captain.
1797-Second (unsuccessful) attempt to launch ship.
1823-Arrived at Port Mahon, Minorca.
1853-Departed Accra, Ghana.
1854-Departed Cape Palmas, Liberia.
1880-Arrived Lewes, DE.
1861-George Washington Rodgers relieved by Edward Phelps Lull as Captain.
1880-Departed Lewes, DE.
1881-Departed Cuttyhunk I.
1803-Arrived at Tangier, Morocco.
1837-Departed Alexandria, Egypt.
1849-Departed Naples, Italy.
1850-Four men flogged for unspecified offenses.
1881-Arrived at Newport, RI.
1798-Midshipman Samuel Nicholson, Jr., died of epidemic fever and was buried
ashore, the first fatality in the ship.
1812-One man given 12 lashes for desertion and attempted enlistment in the
Army, for which he had accepted a bonus.
1826-Court martial of a LT convened.
1853-Arrived at Lagos, Nigeria.
1854-Arrived at Monrovia, Liberia.
1864-Thomas Anderson Conover, Captain 1849-51, died in South Amboy, NJ.
1879-Francis H. Baker invalided from command.
1880-Arrived at Yorktown, VA.
1920-Keel laid for battlecruiser #5, to be named CONSTITUTION, together with
that for #6, to be named UNITED STATES.
1933-Mast gave a Marine 5 days solitary confinement for defacing government
1992-Ship docked in John Quincy Adams Drydock.
1798-Surgeon William Read (Reed) died of epidemic fever and was buried
1803-In separate incidents, Seaman Robert Burrell and Joseph Marlet fell
overboard and were rescued by the jolly boat.
1821-Able Seaman John Fitch died; body rowed out of Port Mahon harbor,
Minorca, and buried at sea.
1822-Ordinary Seaman James Harkless died; buried ashore in Gibraltar the next
1845-Arrived at Irana Bay, Batan I., The Philippines.
1846-A boy was given 12 lashes for missing muster.
1849-One man flogged for an unspecified offense.
1853-Departed Lagos, Nigeria.
1871-Arrived at Philadelphia, PA. Augustus Paul Cooke decommissioned the
ship the same day.
1980-Herman Otto Sudholz relieved Robert Leo Gillen as Captain.
1845-One man deserted. Departed Irana Bay, Batan I., The Philippines.
1846-Arrived at Boston, MA.
1799-One man flogged for theft.
1849-One man flogged for an unspecified offense. Arrived at Spezzia, Italy.
1939-Joseph Zachariah Brown, Captain 1985-7, born in Warwick, RI.
1810-One man deserted from the 1st cutter.
1811-Departed from off Texel, The Netherlands.
1836-Departed Jaffa (Tel Aviv), Palestine (Israel).
1853-Arrived at Fernando Po I.
1854-Ordinary Seaman James Lee struck in the head by a parting block, knocked
overboard, and drowned.
1933-Proceeded from Oakland to Santa Cruz, CA.
1803-Departed Tangier, Morocco, and arrived Gibraltar same day.
1810-Departed Boston, MA.
1837-Arrived at Lanarca, Cyprus.
1845-"Spliced the main brace" in honor of the Captain's 36th wedding
1849-Private James Ferguson died and was buried ashore in Spezzia, Italy.
1854-Departed Monrovia, Liberia.
1933-Proceeded from Santa Cruz to Monterey, CA. |
SOS Mediterranee’s DAVID STARKE tells Ben Cowles how EU member states have abandoned their commitments to international maritime and refugee laws when it comes to rescues carried out by the civil rescue fleet
THE Ocean Viking, a refugee rescue ship operated jointly by SOS Mediterranee and Doctors Without Borders (MSF), saved the lives of 60 people from a watery grave in the Mediterranean last week.
The European Union — having ignored the refugees’ initial distress calls as they attempted to escape war-torn Libya in an unseaworthy boat on the evening of November 28 — refused to provide the Ocean Viking with a port of safety.
It wasn’t until Palermo mayor Leoluca Orlando called on Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte to end the five-day standoff on Twitter that the ship was allowed to dock.
“It’s interesting to see how, in a short space of time, respect for international maritime law has completely eroded,” says David Starke, general director of the migrant rescue charity SOS Mediterranee Germany, speaking to me a few days before this latest mission.
“At the moment, it’s completely normal that we are not allowed to access ports, which was unheard of before,” Starke tells me.
SOS Mediterranee and MSF originally began operating refugee rescue missions in the central Mediterranean onboard the Aquarius. But after a series of legal threats from EU member states, the charities were forced to abandon it.
“In 2016-7 when we started operations, we were celebrated as heroes. The Aquarius rescued nearly 30,000 people,” Starke says.
“But then in June 2018, the escalations started. We were the first ship to be refused access to harbours in Italy. We had to bring the rescued all the way from Italy to Valencia. That was the first really significant standoff, which by now has become the norm.
“Later we had the so-called ‘trash-gate’. The prosecutor in Catania accused us of not properly taking care of the trash, meaning the clothes of the refugees and their things. He accused us of not properly disposing of these things. It was completely constructed.”
In November 2018, while the Aquarius was docked in Marseilles, the Panamanian government — under pressure from Italy — withdrew its flag from the ship.
“You cannot sail without a flag,” Starke explains. “It’s like having a car without a licence plate. If you don’t have a flag, ports won’t let you in.
“We tried Switzerland, Germany and France. These would have been robust flags — meaning that if there was political pressure then they would not give in so easily to the Italian government. But none of the governments granted them to us.
“So the Aquarius was stuck in a port without a flag and unable to leave. And this was the point when we had to give up.”
The so-called “migrant crisis” — which began in 2015 following the breakout of the Libyan civil war — only got worse in the months the Aquarius was out of the water.
More NGOs joined the civil refugee rescue fleet but in April this year, the EU (with its endless resources and naval equipment) withdrew all of its rescue ships from the Mediterranean.
SOS Mediterranee and MSF returned to the Mediterranean with the Ocean Viking in August and has since been on four missions, saving the lives of at least 1,200 people.
Most of the Ocean Viking’s missions have involved weeks-long standoffs with Italy and Malta, while being completely ignored by other EU states, who squabble over the numbers of refugees they are willing to take in while the ship remains at sea with dwindling supplies and nowhere to go.
“It’s maritime law to rescue people in distress at sea. All we do is follow existing laws. And according to those laws, a rescue is only completed once the rescued have reached land: once they’re put in a port of safety.
“At the moment, it is European countries that have the nearest port of safety to our rescues and the only countries that can be considered safe.
“The fact is our work is hampered by European governments.”
As well as abandoning their rescue ships, the EU has also made a terrible situation worse by funding and equipping the Libyan Coastguard.
“As of today there are about 8,500 people who have been pushed back by the Libyan Coastguard in 2019.
“Technically speaking, according to the Geneva Refugee Convention, this is refoulement. They have been brought back to a country where they are not safe, where they are put back in detention, tortured, sold into slavery and face many other human-rights abuses.
“This is simply against the law.
“For SOS Mediterranee, we have to co-ordinate with the Libyan Coastguard. According to international law if we rescue people in the Libyan search-and-rescue zone, we have to coordinate our actions with them, which we do. However, they often do not respond to calls, to emails.
“So the requirements which national rescue-coordination centres should have are not in place in Libya.”
On the occasions when the Libyan Coastguard does respond to the Ocean Viking, they ask the crew to bring the rescued backed to the country they risked their lives trying to escape.
“According to protocol, it’s actually us who has to request Libya assign us a port of safety. Sometimes they tell us to go to Tripoli and drop off the people there.
“We usually say thank you very much and decline because, according to the UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and Frontex, the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Libya is not safe.”
Despite abiding by refugee and maritime law, it is often the Ocean Viking’s crew (and the entire civil refugee rescue fleet in general) that are portrayed as the criminals or as human traffickers.
“All we do is save people’s lives. We are human-rights defenders. However, if you talk to to some politicians, if you read some newspapers, if you read some of the nasty emails we receive, they say we smuggle people. They say we’re criminals.
“It breaks my heart. It really makes me wonder how far we’ve come as a society when we as an NGO get criminalised for the actions we do.
“We are filling the gap for the European Union. They have failed to send out rescue missions in the Mediterranean, leaving people to drown, day in and day out.
“It’s civil society that is making sure these vessels are out at sea. It shouldn’t be like this. It shouldn’t be civil society versus the government. But at this very moment, it is.”
Despite the EU’s willingness to allow refugees escaping Libya to die crossing the world’s deadliest border and the demonisation of those trying to prevent that, Starke says that he is optimistic.
“I’m optimistic the situation will change, simply because it has to change.
“This is Europe. We have learnt some very very difficult lessons in the past. We have human rights and I think we know that we have to change this disgraceful situation.
“Technically speaking, it is possible that nobody ever needs to drown in the Mediterranean. Europe has the resources we need to deal with this.
“Please speak up to your politicians. Talk to your friends about what’s happening. We need civil society. We need many, many voices so that legal decision makers know what’s happening.
“We do not accept any money from European governments. We need people like you, like me, our parents, and our friends to donate money to run our vessel.
“Christmas is coming up so why not donate to us so that we can keep saving lives?” |
Why is volunteering important essay?
Why is volunteering important essay?
It gives you the satisfaction of playing a role in someone else’s life, helping people who may not be able to help themselves. Volunteering is a way of giving back to your community while developing important social skills, and gaining valuable work experience all at the same time.
Is teaching a direct service?
Direct instruction and services are those provided directly to a child by a special education teacher or related services professional. For example, a special education teacher could provide direct service in written language instruction to address a goal for written language.
Can volunteering at a hospital lead to a job?
When you volunteer at a health care facility, they are able to see who you are and how you handle yourself with others. This can be a great way to demonstrate that you are capable of working in the facility – and it is likely going to boost your chances of a future care job with that company.
What is a community service project?
Community service is work done by a person or group of people that benefits others. It is often done near the area where you live, so your own community reaps the benefits of your work.
Does volunteering count as a job?
If you’re a volunteer, you’ll have no contract of employment. This means you decide how many hours you want to volunteer each week. You won’t be paid for your work, but can be paid for out of pocket expenses. This includes money spent on food, travel or childcare costs whilst volunteering.
What is the concept of volunteerism?
Volunteerism definition. Volunteerism is the practice of providing time and skills for the benefit of other people and causes rather than for financial benefit. In an employment-related context, volunteerism is concerned with the methods and tools employers use to support employees that want to volunteer.
What’s volunteering at a hospital like?
Volunteers greet visitors, run groups, provide support to patients, wash and change linens, clean rooms, restock supplies and help ensure that the hospital is running cleanly and smoothly so that those providing medical care can focus on the patient’s physical health and continued well-being.
What do you expect from volunteering?
Here are some things you need to do if you want to do the best job:
- Volunteer with a good attitude.
- Be on time.
- Dress appropriately.
- Follow the rules.
- Do the best job you can.
- Get along with others.
- Acknowledge others.
What are hospital volunteers called?
What is the role of a volunteer coordinator?
Volunteer coordinators are generally responsible for managing all elements of volunteering at a company or organization. They can work either within an organization or on behalf an organization they are recruiting volunteers for.
What are the duties of a hospital volunteer?
Volunteer tasks may include: interacting with patients, rounding on patient’s rooms, charting medical records, assisting in discharges, answering calls, restocking supplies, assisting nursing staff with errands, and other tasks as assigned to help the unit run smoothly and allow staff to focus more time on patient care …
What skills do you need to volunteer?
There are a huge range of skills you can acquire through volunteering, starting with:
- Industry-related skills.
- The ability to work in a team.
- Problem solving and adaptability.
- Communicating with clients and stakeholders.
- The ability to plan and prioritise work.
- Sales skills.
- Time management.
How can a student help the community?
Encourage students to contribute to the development of community service provisions—for example, by encouraging markets for local food—to help disadvantaged groups. Build links with schools and communities in contrasting localities at home or abroad to raise awareness of diversity and global issues.
What are the types of volunteerism?
Here Are Six Types/ Categories Of Volunteering
- So here are six types/ categories of volunteering.
- Formal Volunteering. These are the kinds of volunteering programs that are run through a carefully structured and supervised way.
- Non-formal Volunteering.
- Volunteering In Governance.
- Social Action Volunteering.
- Project Based Volunteering.
- Gap Year Volunteering.
Is volunteering considered a job?
Trying to figure out whether you are a volunteer or whether the work is considered a job/internship? Just because you are NOT getting paid, does not mean it is considered “volunteering” by USCIS. Many types of unpaid work are considered employment by USCIS.
What is direct service learning?
Direct Service-Learning: person-to-person, face-to-face service projects in which the students’ service directly impacts individuals who receive the service from the students. Examples include. Tutoring other students and adults. Conducting art/music/dance lessons for youth.
What is the most important value of volunteerism?
Volunteering is their way of giving back. Sometimes, giving back can give you a great sense of fulfillment. Though your skills and help might improve your community, you can improve your own self-esteem and confidence by accomplishing something you never thought you could.
Is it better to volunteer or get a job?
Pros: Volunteering can be done in smaller doses and with less of a time commitment. Volunteer work may be easier to find than a paying job. A good first job experience can boost your teen’s confidence—and you can help make sure the job is the right fit.
What skills can you gain from volunteering at a hospital?
Volunteering in a hospital can also allow you to learn useful job skills, such as transporting patients, selling items in the hospital gift shop or performing clerical work.
How can we promote volunteerism?
- Define the purpose. Defining the real purpose of why they should volunteer is a great way to motivate them.
- Allow them to be independent.
- Empathize with them.
- Lead them by example.
- Provide fun learning activities.
- Provide positive feedback and recognize their efforts.
What is direct volunteering?
Four Types of Service Action in Response to a Need Direct Service is service that direct affects the persons, animals or parks we want to impact. This may include volunteering or cleaning up a park.
What do you wear to volunteer at a hospital?
Volunteers must dress appropriately for their assigned areas and tasks. In patient areas, no shorts, sandals (flip flops, open toed shoes) or clogs may be worn. Heavy perfume and bulk jewelry should be avoided. Khakis and/or jeans can be worn in appropriate assignments.
How many hours is good for volunteering?
Generally, you should aim to complete at least 50-200 hours of community service during your high school career. (But keep in mind: There’s no need to exhaust yourself or fall behind in school because you’ve set a lofty goal of hundreds of community service hours.)
What is the importance of volunteerism?
Volunteering increases self-confidence. Volunteering can provide a healthy boost to your self-confidence, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. You are doing good for others and the community, which provides a natural sense of accomplishment. Your role as a volunteer can also give you a sense of pride and identity. |
US Government Employees View Dissent Channels As Risky And A 'Waste Of Time'
"There appear to be few public success stories where use of dissent channels led to change," according to POGO.
Federal agency employees largely view dissent channels as a "waste of time" and fear they will face retaliation if used, according to a report from the Project on Government Oversight (POGO).
"There appear to be few public success stories where use of dissent channels led to change or factored into a serious reconsideration of policies," POGO adds.
All too often, there are examples of how whistleblowers who go through "proper channels" in the federal government face retaliation.
POGO's report, "Stifling Dissent: How the Federal Government's Channels for Challenging Policies from Within Fall Short," examines another dimension of what happens to employees or contractors, who use dissent channels specifically established for registering their objections.
"The report found that the existing channels at the State Department and other agencies are underutilized, and that the systems don’t provide sufficient incentives or protections for employees," POGO declared in a press release.
POGO further contended, "At a time when the White House is explicitly hostile toward career government experts, it’s clear that federal workers need more effective, independent channels for constructively criticizing policy decisions and need better protections for expressing policy dissent."
Through agency and court records, interviews with "former career civil servants and political appointees," and previously unpublished information, POGO outlined the use of dissent channels at the State Department, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), the Energy Department, and the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research.
Dissent channels are "formal avenues within an organization to express their professional concerns about an agency policy or policy proposal."
A dissenter's policy disclosure may be protected under civil service whistleblower law, but as POGO notes, an employee or contractor has to prove the "impropriety" of the policy is not "debatable among reasonable people," which is a "very high bar."
There is an entirely separate process for potential whistleblowers, and the lack of protection for those who use dissent channels may limit the ability of someone with political differences to obtain whistleblower protections when they are not really blowing the whistle on corruption.
On the other hand, without statutory protections that cover dissent, it is probably easy for senior officials to root out individuals who challenge their decision-making.
As POGO describes, the "Afghanistan Papers" were "confidential government interviews" from over 400 government officials and others that revealed "top U.S. diplomats and military officials had expressed profound doubts to an independent government office about the United States’ policy goals in the conflict, what winning the war looked like, and whether there was even a plausible chance at success." They were published in 2019.
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko, who led the office which conducted the interviews, said the American people were lied to about the war.
Before the Afghanistan Papers were published, “two members of Congress" pushed for a dissent channel to be established. Yet, after the Afghanistan Papers showed why a dissent channel is needed, the Defense Department still does not provide military personnel or agency civilians a mechanism for sharing their dissenting views against war-making or military policies.
Up until 2017, the Federal Reserve did not have a dissent channel, even though the economy collapsed as a result of systematic fraud on Wall Street in 2008.
"According to a 2016 report from the Federal Reserve’s inspector general, all regional banks have ‘various internal channels through which employees can raise a variety of concerns, in some cases anonymously,” but that at least within the New York [Federal Reserve], “some interviewees identified reservations, including whether anything would be done in response to their concern or whether these channels are truly independent.”
More Like A ‘Shredder’ Than A ‘Suggestion Box’
Former State Department diplomat Elizabeth Shackelford contends one could "generously describe" the agency's dissent channel as a "suggestion box," but it's probably more accurate to "picture it as a shredder."
"State Department employees rarely use the dissent channel," according to POGO, and using the channel can "carry a degree of stigma," like those who use it have failed to "effectively advocate a position through normal channels."
"It's common for dissenters to receive a response that does not engage the merits of the dissent."
Dissent can be conflated with "disloyalty," and there is little evidence that retaliators at the State Department are held accountable.
"In a November 2019 report, the State Department’s inspector general confirmed that Brian Hook, the political appointee overseeing the department’s Dissent Channel during the first year of the Trump administration, removed a career employee from her job for political reasons. Hook, who now leads the department’s efforts on Iran, denies he did anything improper."
Hook was never "publicly disciplined," and POGO acknowledges that hostile officials who conflate dissent with "disloyalty" are not unique to President Donald Trump's administration. Similar retaliation occurred under Presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton.
At the Energy Department, not everyone who uses the dissent channel necessarily qualifies for protection from retaliation.
POGO states, "If an employee believes that the [Energy Department’s] elimination of a program for detecting nuclear explosions creates a risk to public safety, it isn’t clear whether disputing the elimination would be a protected disclosure based on a 'reasonable belief' of danger or whether it would simply be a debatable policy disagreement."
"A factor that may deter employees from raising concerns is the department’s well-documented history of contractors (who run its national laboratories) that have retaliated against employees for speaking up," the report adds.
Out of nearly 110,000 personnel, more than 95,000 work for Energy Department contractors.
Using The Dissent Channel Leads To Negative Consequences
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission differs from the State Department in that it publishes information on how often the agency's dissent channel is used, the subject of dissents, how dissents are resolved, and how personnel perceive the channel. But the NRC's channel still has a negative reputation.
A 2018 retaliation study by the NRC found, "Every single respondent felt they had experienced at least some negative consequences as a result of using the process."
Yet another survey showed 100 percent of respondents believed "using the process had led to negative consequences, such as changes to their professional responsibilities or being excluded from meetings or career development opportunities."
The report mentions that NRC managers are both in charge of preventing retaliation and responding to allegations of retaliation, which practically guarantees investigations will lack independence necessary to be viewed as fair.
Furthermore, POGO highlights one NRC example that shows how the inspector general may not back up dissenters when their support is needed.
"In 2012, an NRC reliability and risk engineer named Lawrence Criscione "believed the NRC was ignoring an important report on the danger faced by a nuclear reactor downstream of a large dam should that dam catastrophically fail."
"He sent an unclassified report to several congressional offices, and included his superiors on those communications. At least one of the congressional offices shared that report with the public. Soon afterwards, Criscione’s superiors asked the inspector general to investigate, and the inspector general referred the case to the Justice Department to investigate Criscione for alleged computer fraud—a federal felony."
POGO contends, "This criminal referral was especially egregious given that the inspector general is at least partially responsible for upholding the whistleblower laws that explicitly protect going to Congress and even the media, so long as the material isn’t restricted by law. The prosecutor declined to bring a case, with the declination form indicating that no federal offense had been committed."
Fortunately, Criscione still works for the agency, but many individuals who face this kind of whistleblower retaliation resign or are forced out of agencies, which can be devastating to their careers.
'Perception Of Negative Consequences Can Have a Chilling Effect'
Dissenters do not have to experience what Criscione survived to feel impacted.
A 2014 assessment of the NRC's dissent channel recognized the "perception of negative consequences can have a chilling effect on employees."
Often memos sent through the dissent channel, especially at the State Department, will remain classified for 25 years or more. But in 2017, more than 1,000 State Department employees signed on to a memo that objected to Trump's ban on refugees and immigrants from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen.
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer blasted State Department employees saying they "should either get with the program or they can go."
In contrast to many examples, it would appear if dissenters push for war they will be taken seriously.
State Department employees urged President Barack Obama to escalate U.S. military intervention in Syria through a 2016 dissent channel memo, which was leaked to the press.
"Then-Secretary of State John Kerry personally met with several of the authors," POGO recalls. Kerry made sure "they understood that he was taking those concerns seriously. Media reports at the time indicated that Kerry was sympathetic to the memo’s arguments."
To address the culture within agencies that stifles dissent, POGO recommends Congress expand the scope of whistleblower protections to cover policy-related communications that are not made through formal dissent channels.
POGO also believes employees or contractors should enjoy protections for engaging in protected speech and activity." This could be accomplished by granting federal employees jury trials, when they experience retaliation.
This was a free edition of The Dissenter newsletter. To become a paid subscriber for $5/month and receive exclusive content, go here. Your subscription will fund journalism shared through this newsletter and at Shadowproof.com. |
Shabbat Prayer: “Rav Lach Shevet”
“Too long have you dwelled in the valley of weeping; He will shower compassion upon you (Lecha Dodi).” These words call upon us to rise from our “valley of weeping,” the valley of exile, and enter the Highest Place, the Beit Hamikdash. There is no room for weeping on Shabbat; it can only fully manifest itself in a world of joy, a world in which we are all rising, attempting to climb back into the Beit Hamikdash.
The Sefat Emet (Vayigash) teaches that, “when the midrash describes Jacob taking twelve stones, and they unify into a single stone on the future place of the Beit Hamikdash, it is an indication that the Beit Hamikdash derives its power from the unification of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. It therefore has twelve gates; one for each tribe. (“Zeh” ha’Shaar: the numerical value of Zeh is 12).
“However, there was a thirteenth gate in the Beit Hamikdash that represented the unification of the Twelve Tribes.
“This is why Joseph wept on Benjamin’s neck over the destruction of the Temple; just as the neck connects the head to the body; the Beit Hamikdash connects the Upper and Lower Worlds, symbolized by the ladder in Jacob’s dream.”
Machberes Avodas Hashem
That ladder is the way we “rise,” as summoned to do by these words: climb the ladder that connects the Upper and Lower Worlds, climb together as a unity, so that we create the Beit Hamikdash, even if not in its physical form. |
A lot goes into planning a hunt. It involves plenty of research, scouting, and stalking. For your safety, every one of your outings should include a hunt plan. A hunting plan contains details on where you’ll be, when you’ll be there, and how long you intend to be gone. You can’t predict when you’ll get lost or hurt on the mountainside, so being prepared can save your life. A hunting plan left with another person can help bring you safely home.
Not sure what your hunting plan should include? Continue reading to find out.
Hunters are often secretive or protective of their favorite hunting locations. If you tell too many people about them, they can become over-hunted. However, you should find one or two people you trust to disclose your hunting hotspots.
Things to include:
- Your specific locations and, if you can, include GPS Coordinates
- Where you plan to park your car and set up camp
- The route you plan to take in and out and any alternative routes
Your hunting plan lets people know when to expect to hear from you or have you home. If you don’t return on time, it will alert people that something might be wrong. Of course, it can be challenging to determine the exact time you’ll be calling or walking in the door, so allow yourself a small grace period.
If you become delayed for one reason or another, do your best to communicate with your point-person. Unfortunately, cell service tends to be spotty in most hunting areas. So, come up with a time your point-person should call for help if they haven’t heard from you.
Every hunter should leave at least one point-person a way to contact them.
Hunting Partner — If you’re hunting with a friend, give your point-person their name, phone number, and any other relevant information. Additionally, before you head out on your hunt, swap point-person contact information with each other. With the convenience of cells, few people memorize phone numbers these days. If your phone dies and you become delayed, your hunting partner can notify your point-person.
Outfitter or Guide — Many hunters use an outfitter or guide (like R & K Hunting Company) to plan their hunts. If you’re using one, make sure to include their contact information with your point-person.
Things to Remember or Consider
- Weather plays a large roll in hunting and can cause significant delays, especially if you’re using an air taxi to fly into a remote area.
- Include your vehicle information in your plan, even your rental car. Make, model, license plate number, color, etc.
- In an emergency, it can be hard for people to remember details like spouse’s phone numbers, so include your phone number in your hunt plan, even if they already know your number.
- With unreliable phone service, you may want to bring a satellite phone.
- Include any necessary medical information in your plan.
Contact R & K Hunting Company
As simple as it is, a hunting plan can keep you in touch and even save your life. R & K Hunting Company wants to be a part of your hunting plan. For an exciting hunting adventure, contact us today. |
The Bodhisatta was once a partridge. He lived inside the leaf hut of a world-renowned teacher who taught the sacred texts to five hundred students. A lizard and her two children also lived in the teacher’s home, a dairy cow and her calf stayed outside, and a lion and tiger who were friends with the teacher lived nearby in the surrounding forest.
When the teacher died, his students performed funeral rites and built a mound over his ashes. They wondered how they could continue their studies. The Bodhisatta was very wise, and from listening to the teacher’s lessons he had mastered the three Vedas, so he took over teaching the students. The Bodhisatta was an excellent teacher; his explanations of complex issues flowed like a stream down a mountain, and his students were delighted. They built him a golden cage and served him honey and parched grains.
When a festival was being celebrated, all the students left the school to join in with their families. While they were away, a wicked ascetic wandering through the region came to their school. Not knowing his true nature, the lizard invited him to stay and told him where to find rice and oil, then she went out to find her own food. During the day, the ascetic killed and ate the Bodhisatta, the young lizards, and the cows; then, in the late afternoon, he fell fast asleep.
The lizard returned and searched frantically for her children. A tree fairy told the lizard what the wicked ascetic had done and urged her to bite him on the neck and kill him. But the lizard feared he would wake up and eat her, so she fled into the forest.
Shortly after the lizard left, the tiger stopped by to visit his friend the Bodhisatta. He saw the wretched ascetic sleeping with feathers stuck to his matted hair and a pile of bones at his side and realized what must have happened. He woke the ascetic up with a kick and asked if he had killed these creatures. Hoping his life would be spared, the frightened ascetic admitted to killing the lizards and cows, but denied killing the Bodhisatta. The tiger didn’t believe him and marched him off to see the lion, and then the ascetic made a full confession. The lion wanted to let him go, but the tiger felt he deserved to die and tore him apart.
In the Lifetime of the Buddha
The wicked ascetic was an earlier birth of Devadatta, a disciple of the Buddha who became his nemesis. When he heard some of his disciples discussing the three times Devadatta had tried to kill him, the Buddha told them this story so they knew that Devadatta had also tried to kill him in the past.
The teacher, lizard, tiger, and lion were earlier births of Maha Kassapa, Kisagotami, Moggallana, and Sariputta, four of the Buddha’s top disciples. |
The measurement, control and automation industry lost a bright star in October 2017 with the passing of this industrial giant. Dick Morley’s inventions changed our world. His wit, charm and genius–which touched so many of us–changed our lives.
Richard E. Morley
Born in Clinton, MA, Dick Morley spent his early years on a working farm in Massachusetts and his later years working out of a barn in New Hampshire where he rode a Harley, drove a ’55 Chevy Impala and, with his wife, raised over 40 foster children. The Barn was a global consulting firm specializing in manufacturing and process controls, especially those at or beyond the leading edge of manufacturing and computer systems.
Mr. Morley studied physics at MIT. He quit his engineering job in 1964 so he could go skiing on weekdays when the slopes were less crowded. Later that year, he and some colleagues created a technology company called Bedford Associates which later became Modicon (named for the Modular Digital Controller)–ultimately the Programmable Logic Controller. Dick Morley is considered the father of the PLC because of his involvement with the production of the first such for General Motors in 1968. The Modicon brand of PLC is now owned by Schneider Electric. The PLC has been recognized as a significant advancement in the practice of automation an as an important influence in all manufacturing industries.
An inventor, machinist, author, consultant and engineer, Dick Morley’s peers have acknowledged his contributions with numerous awards from groups such as Inc. Magazine, the Franklin Institute, the Society of Manufacturing Engineers and the Engineering Society of Detroit. He has also been inducted into the Manufacturing Hall of Fame. The Society of Manufacturing Engineers offer the Richard E. Morley Outstanding Young Manufacturing Engineer Award for outstanding technical achievement in the manufacturing profession for engineers age 35 and under. Morley is also past President of the National Center for Manufacturing Sciences.
Morley is author or co-author of a variety of future-looking books and articles. His innovations have influenced the fields of computer design, artificial intelligence, automation and technology trend forecasting.
MCAA inducted Richard E. Morley into its first Hall of Fame class in April 2016 in Nashville, TN. |
The Massive DDoS attacks which shut down the DynDNS services all day yesterday were executed through the Mirai botnet. It was evident from the start that the number of devices flooding the platform’s servers went far beyond just computers. Internet of Things devices, smartphones, and other types of internet-connected machines were all part of this attack. It is rather interesting to see the Mirai botnet play a role in this scenario, even though the source code was made public not too long ago.
No Device Is Safe From The Mirai Botnet
Even though the Mirai developers published the source code on the Internet a few weeks ago, no one expected such a major DDoS attack to take place. This code can be used to infect all kinds of devices, including CCTV cameras and DVRs, which is part of the reason why the Dyn servers were overwhelmed with traffic in quick succession.
Further research into this attack unveiled that multiple signs are pointing to the usage of the Mirai botnet code. While it is unclear if this is the original botnet or a newly created army of enslaved machines, the result remains the same. It took Dyn several hours to restore services, which caused outages for platforms such as Twitter, Netflix, and even major news sites.
According to Dale Drew, anywhere between 50,000 and 100,000 infected devices took part in this DDoS attack. That is quite a significant number, which shows the potential this source code holds. Mirai, however, was not the only botnet partaking in this attack, even though it represented the majority of network traffic.
The first Dyn DDoS attack lasted for a full two hours and targeted data centers in Chicago, Washington, and New York. This explains why primarily East Coast users had problems accessing their favorite servers, while the rest of the world remained unaffected. When the second attack occurred, however, a total of 20 Dyn data centers around the world were targeted at the same time.
While these attacks were underway, a tough decision had to be made by internet backbone providers. Level 3, for example, cut off the connection to Dyn at one point to ensure that these attacks would not affect their network That connection was later on restored once Dyn alerted the world that everything had returned to normal again.
Unfortunately, it seems that this was a mere test to showcase what the Mirai botnet is capable of. With the source code being made publicly available, it is very easy to distribute this malware and create new botnets. The future of Internet security is in peril, and it looks like this was only a sign of what is yet to come.
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NFT in healthcare – is it even possible? Did you think that NFTs were limited only to the art and gaming industry? Read this blog to know how they can revolutionise the future of the healthcare industry, what’s the take of medical ethicists on this, and more.
Imagine a scenario where you visit a clinic to seek relief from a headache that the usual OTC drug is failing to cure. Wouldn’t big pharma benefit from this information and be able to design a stronger pill to cure headache? Yes, they would, but in this, we as patients lack control over our data. What if a novel technological approach lets you become the master of your patient data? Wouldn’t you prefer that rather?
Do you know that non-fungible tokens can make this happen?
NFTs are an emerging technological trend that have gained prominence mostly in the field of art, digital content, music, and online gaming items so far. But did you know that NFTs could play a pivotal role in different areas of the healthcare industry too.
That being said are you aware that the healthcare industry deals with a humungous amount of patient data every day? About 1.2 billion clinical documents are generated in the U.S. alone.
So, NFTs offer a novel way of managing patient data and other things in different spheres of the healthcare industry. Let’s explore more about eight new application opportunities for NFT in healthcare below.
Features of healthcare NFTs making them useful for this sector
NFTs have evolved from smart contracts and most of its features are derived from the blockchain to which they belong. Before we take a look at the applications of NFT in healthcare, let’s take a look at its unique characteristics.
- Data uniqueness – NFT tokens are are unique cryptocurrency assets. It means that they can’t be modified, deleted, or replicated.
- Data ownership – Each unique NFT is owned by the one who mints it. The ownership information is permanently retained on the blockchain and cannot be fabricated in any way.
- Verifiability – Since all transaction details are stored on the blockchain, therefore, the minting, transferring, and burning of NFTs are transparent and verifiable.
- Tokenisation and Monetisation –NFTs provide a provision to transform physical assets into digital assets; thereby, facilitating its trading and monetization.
- Extensibility – This feature enables a combination of two or more NFTs to give rise to another completely new and unique NFT token.
8 novel applications of NFT in healthcare
Non-fungible tokens can have numerous applications in the field of medical science and the pharma industry. Let’s take a look at eight new applications of NFTs in this compilation.
Patient data NFTs
With the coming of smart wearables and numerous fitness apps, our health data is lying everywhere. Also, whenever, we visit hospitals, clinics, or pathological labs, our health data is electronically collected and stored on their local servers. As AI and big data are expanding at an unprecedented rate; drug manufacturers, researchers, and genome sequencing companies are heavily relying upon patient health information.
However, this kind of PHI (Protected Health Information) is often subject to exchange and trade without the concerned patient’s consent or even knowledge.
Thus, a team of scholars led by bioethicists at Baylor College of Medicine recently proposed linking sensitive patient data to NFTs. The advantage of doing this is that smart contracts would allow patients to gain digital ownership over their health data. Also, it would allow them to track their data with the help of a unique identification code. Further, they can link their de-identified data to other platforms and sell it to third parties as per their terms and conditions.
Aimedis is a one-of-a-kind, blockchain-based healthcare platform, founded in 2017. They were the first to introduce a medical data marketplace in 2021. They also created the first NFTs containing the electrocardiogram data of cardiac patients.
Genomics data management
The field of genomics is expanding exponentially and it is estimated that 2 billion human genomes can be sequenced by 2025. However, this field too involves dealing with an individual’s data and is subjected to exploitation. Since genomic data exists for a longer span of time, patients having ownership over it is crucial.
Thus, this is another application opportunity for NFT in healthcare. An article by Ahmad Musamih, et al, in the IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine, proposes the conversion of an individual’s genomic data into an NFT token. It can ensure sole ownership over the NFT by an individual, thereby eliminating the scope of fabrication. It would also enable transaction tracking, further ensuring verifiability and data provenance. Additionally, individuals can also gain a scope to monetise their genomic data.
Supply chain management
When the Covid-19 pandemic was at its peak in 2020, the global healthcare supply chain failed catastrophically to meet the demand for basic healthcare materials, medical equipment, PPEs, ICUs, ventilators, and even hand-sanitisers. Such a massive crash points toward an ineffectual and opaque system.
This not only threatens patient safety but also points toward a big loophole for the introduction of counterfeit medical equipment and medications. According to a report by Statista, the global counterfeit drug market is valued at $200 billion.
Furthermore, the lack of transparency and traceability makes it even easier for the people involved in the supply chain escape accountability.
Therefore, this provides a remarkable opportunity of using NFTs in healthcare. Here’s how it will benefit:
According to WHO, there are about 118.54 million blood donations collected globally. But do you ever get to know the journey of the donated blood from the camp to the end recipient?
This would be achievable with non-fungible tokens and would be an exemplary use of NFTs in healthcare. Blood donation organisations can mark each donor’s blood with a specific NFT token. This would help them track the blood on the blockchain from the camp to the blood bank or hospital. Further, it can even be traced to its end recipient.
Alternatively, blood donation organisations can register the donated blood into a digital blood bank. This would facilitate people in need of blood transfusions to easily search for their required blood type. It would also ensure faster delivery of blood and help save people’s lives.
Intellectual property theft is common in the form of patent thefts. This is due to the reason that the process of patent registration involves publishing the patent details and designs publicly.
A research paper published by Samer Barakat, et al, proposes the use of non-fungible tokens for protecting patents. Organizations and individuals can immensely benefit from an NFT blockchain patent protection system. Healthcare NFTs and pharma NFTs can make a significant impact on the patent laws with the minting of patents as NFTs.
For each patent, if the system generates a non-fungible token and deposits the patent hash on the Ethereum blockchain network with a digital timestamp, it will be easy to verify who filed for the patent first.
Creation of digital twins
A digital twin may be defined as the virtual copy of a physical asset. Digital twins often provide useful insights into how to optimise a tangible asset. NFTs can help produce digital twins of medical assets by tokenising them. The digital twin can record all activities of the medical assets on the blockchain and prove the authenticity and immutability of its data.
One use case could be employing a digital twin to model a patient’s organs via smart wearables and plantable devices that the patient uses. The digital twin can help customise treatment plans and also curate a medicine intake chart for the patients.
Healthcare providers can utilize the digital twin to run customised simulations to figure out the most appropriate treatment plan for each patient instead of depending on the generalised trial results. As the patient will own the digital twin, they can ultimately have sole ownership over the data.
Clinical trial management
Conducting effective clinical trials faces two major obstacles, one is lack of transparency and another is the lengthy, tedious, old-school method of documentation.
How could one mitigate these challenges?
The answer lies in employing pharma NFTs. Converting each participant’s trial process into an NFT token can maintain a record of their consent on the blockchain and prevent manipulation. Plus, NFTs can present an opportunity to incentivize trials, thereby encouraging their consensual participation. Ultimately, it can save a lot of time and money.
Creation of decentralised knowledge base
Another research paper by Kopp A.M., et al, proposes an innovative solution to preserve the intellectual property of an organisation such as their practical solutions, models, guidelines, SOPs, and blueprints. This would not only facilitate knowledge sharing within and outside an organisation conveniently but also help retain ownership over it, thereby facilitating its authentic usage.
The digital assets of any organisation could be tokenised and stored on a decentralised database based on a blockchain network. This would ensure that the digital assets are fully traceable.
Challenges of using NFT in healthcare
Since NFTs in healthcare are in its nascent stages; therefore, it is still not perfect. The challenges associated with the incorporation of NFTs in the medical field and its possible solutions are enumerated below.
Vulnerabilities of smart contracts
The Problem: Smart contracts are susceptible to exploitation due to conflict between two smart contracts if they are not coded properly. This is because the NFT is based on smart contracts and the marketplace where it is traded also has its own smart contract.
Possible Solution: Use of oracle networks.
Seamless integration with existing legacy systems
The Problem: To maximise the utility of healthcare NFTs, they need to be designed robustly to ensure interoperability across different blockchains, IoMT, and other systems.
Possible Solution: Requires extensive testing and auditing.
Humongous storage requirements
The Problem: NFTs can congest the blockchains due to the pressure of the humongous amount of data stored on them. This can in turn increase the time of operation and consequently raise the transaction fees.
Possible Solution: Requires a specialised decentralised storage system.
The Problem: Blockchains already face the issue of scalability. Since smart contracts are hosted on the blockchain, they face the same challenge.
Possible Solution: Employing on-chain and off-chain scaling solutions.
The Problem: HIPAA and GDPR guidelines prevent storing and sharing of personal information of patients. NFTs must remain compliant with HIPAA and GDPR guidelines.
Possible Solution: Irreversible encryption.
Absence of regulatory framework
The Problem: Blockchains are decentralised, making it difficult for regulatory authorities to impose regulations on its applications.
Possible Solution: Implementation of regulatory standards.
The Problem: Gas fees are charged for performing transactions and updating the blockchain. Gas fees have to be paid in the native currency of the blockchain on which the NFT is hosted. Gas fees can’t be predicted as it is influenced by the congestion on the blockchain.
Possible Solution: Using private blockchains.
Dearth of NFT technical experts
The Problem: The healthcare industry lacks NFT technical experts and blockchain developers.
Possible Solution: Conducting workshops, knowledge-transfer sessions, and implementation of pilot programs.
The Bottom Line
NFTs are a kind of technology that is helping the real world transcend into the virtual world. Besides being endorsed by Hollywood celebrities, they are also witnessing a surge in demand from commoners of late. A survey conducted in 2021 indicated that about 20% of adults in the US are inclined towards obtaining, investing, or trading NFTs.
The above-mentioned groundbreaking eight applications of NFTs in healthcare can transform the way the patient-care industry was functioning so far. Even medical ethicists favour the inclusion of NFTs in the healthcare sector.
Stay tuned for interesting updates.
FAQs – NFT in healthcare
What does NFT stand for?
NFT is an abbreviation for non-fungible tokens. Derived from smart contracts, these are digital certificates on the blockchain with unique identification codes and metadata.
How can NFTs transform health exchange information?
NFTs can empower patients to decide how their health data is handled by the health information exchange. This is because NFTs are on the blockchain making the transactions transparent and tamper-proof. Thus, patients can monetize their data easily with the help of NFTs and have more control over their data and also share it with their consent.
What are the top NFT tokens?
There are already a huge number of NFT tokens available in the digital assets market; however, there are a few top NFT tokens of all time like CryptoPunks, Bored Ape Yacht Club, and more.
Can NFTs be used in healthcare?
Yes, NFTs are an emerging concept in the healthcare industry. Even medical ethicists believe that NFTs can be useful for patients. To know more about the applications of NFTs in the medical field, read this blog post.
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The harvest season from Australia is back once again to provide Malaysians with the chance to enjoy some juicy and bright-colored table grapes that pack a great punch. The campaign was launched today by Grown in Good Nature, a horticulture sub-brand by Hort Innovation for all international trade marketing programs, to signify the start of the season that generally runs from November to May with the peak export period running from January to May.
Available in more than 40 varieties, the Australian table grapes are best known for their rich flavor, taste, and plumpness. These table grapes are usually red, black, or green in color and are categorized into two – seeded and seedless. Thompson Seedless, Flame Seedless, Crimson Seedless, and Red Globe are among the four most popular types of table grapes.
Melanie Harris, Trade and Investment Commissioner of Malaysia and Brunei, shared that Australian table grapes have the highest fresh fruit horticultural export. “Our precious grapes are exported to over 42 countries around the world. In Malaysia alone, our exports of table grapes have been gradually increasing with more and more Malaysians creating a demand for it. We foresee these numbers continuously growing in the months and years to come.”
Australian table grapes are also the perfect anytime snack. Add these fruits into your daily diet and be sure to get your much-needed antioxidant boost. Grapes are also known for being great for the eyes, protecting healthy retinal cells from damage, and helping to stabilize blood glucose levels after a meal. Table grapes are also rich in phytonutrients, such as resveratrol, quercetin, anthocyanin, and catechin. These jam-packed precious fruits are a good source of vitamin C and Vitamin B6 that helps prevent heart diseases by inhibiting the build-up of plaque in coronary arteries and inhibiting the growth of some cancers.
Made from approximately 80 percent water and containing high amounts of fiber, not only do grapes hydrate, cleanse, and detoxify active bodies but they also help keep your gut healthy. What makes Australian table grapes even better is it’s a great source of long-lasting energy and a perfect pick-me-up when you are peckish because of their low glycaemic index (GI) and they are both fat and cholesterol free. Truly a guilt-free snack!
The recent launch of the Australian table grapes campaign at AEON Mall, Kepong saw the attendance of the inimitable Datuk Chef Wan who highlighted the different pairing options for Australian table grapes before demonstrating one of his very own recipes which incorporates the fruit. “Grapes are so versatile and pair well with a large variety of specialty cheeses such as brie, blue cheese, ricotta as well as nuts. They can be the perfect addition to a sweet or savory recipe for a refreshing twist. To further add, grapes are also perfect for children as they are bite-sized, easy to pack, and incredibly sweet.”
Australian table grapes are produced in the premier grape-growing region of Sunraysia (Mildura and Robinvale) in Victoria and throughout South-Eastern Queensland. Other growing regions include Carnarvon and the Swan Valley in Western Australia, the Riverina district in Central New South Wales, the South Australian Riverland, and the central Northern Territory.
When selecting grapes, the freshness of the fruit can be seen from the green stem and the presence of powdery white on the skin called bloom. Grapes that have bloomed are generally picked more recently and had very little contact with moisture, which means it was transported through an efficient cold chain. Also, another top tip when selecting green grapes is to choose a bunch with a golden tint, as this means they are sweeter in flavor.
At the moment, all trade efforts of Grown In Good Nature are being delivered through Australia’s grower-owned Research and Development Corporation, Hort Innovation, with AUSTRADE. This campaign is aimed at highlighting the wide range of varieties, quality as well as the freshness of Australian table grapes to the Malaysian community. Australia’s deep, rich soils and warm, dry summers provide growers with an excellent environment for them to produce world-class table grapes.
To get your hands on this much-loved Australian fruit, head down to participating supermarkets including AEON, Jaya Grocer, TFP Retail, Lotuss, GCH Retail, Whole Foods Express, and Star Grocer to enjoy their sweet and perfectly fresh taste.
For more information, please visit the website, https://australiangrapes.com.au/consumer/. |
OEDO-KOH - Cherry Blossom
Savor the joy of Spring time, when young and old alike feel the allure of the outdoors, with the sweet, gentle scent of cherry blossoms.
The custom of cherry blossom viewing took hold during the Edo Period. The someiyoshino cherry tree, seen in groves throughout Japan today, was originally an ornamental garden variety raised in the village of Somei near Edo. Cherry blossom viewings were also an opportunity for Edo denizens to meet one another, present themselves, and perform: matching fancy kimonos were worn for the occasion, and people sang and danced to celebrate the coming of Spring. The captivating scent of cherry blossoms heralds Spring's arrival.
Do not leave candles and/or charcoal disks burning unattended. Always keep candles in a safe place away from flammable objects, children, and pets. Use a fire safe dish or plate to set candles on. |
Sep 24, 2021
Sound may be the least understood of the five senses, with music the most mysterious of all. Neuroscientist Nina Kraus of Northwestern University takes us on a tour of how the brain processes music, and explains the lifelong benefits of music education. Find out how music can help offset the effects of poverty, and how concussion distorts the perception of music in the brain. Plus… Why you really should make your child take piano lessons!
Dr. Kraus' Lab - www.brainvolts.northwestern.edu
Dr. Kraus' new book - Of Sound Mind - https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/sound-mind |
Double Herm with Socrates and Seneca
The Double Herm of Socrates and Seneca is an ancient Roman statue from the first half of the third century AD. The herm depicts the Greek philosopher Socrates on one side, and the Roman Stoic Seneca the Younger on the other. It currently belongs to the Antikensammlung Berlin, found in the Pergamonmuseum.
The two philosophers are joined together at the back of the head; their chests are in the shape of a herm. Both men have the usual cloak of a philosopher or orator above their left shoulder, although Socrates also wears an undershirt. The bearded Socrates is given a satyr-like form, as in literary descriptions and other portraits. Seneca, on the other hand, is depicted as clean-shaven with a receding hairline. His small, full-lipped mouth is tightly pursed. It is speculated that the depiction of Seneca derives from a work created between AD 50 and 60 – within the lifetime of the philosopher.
In ancient art, double herms were a common statue type. While in Greece they were displayed in public rooms, in the Roman empire they were shown in private spaces. Thus the combination of the two philosophers here owed something to the personal inclinations of the person who commissioned it, even if it is not clear why these two philosophers were linked in particular. Probably it has to do with the fact that they were both forced to commit suicide. The presentation of philosophers (and poets) as double herms was the most common use of this genre. This parallel presentation is also seen in literature, for example in the Parallel Lives of Plutarch. |
Critter of the Month
Critter of the Month -
A striking, large sparrow, the Eastern Towhee resides here in Tennessee year round. It's bold black and reddish-markings make it most handsome. Like most sparrows, Eastern towhees are stalkers and quite shy. Many times you'll hear them scrapping in the leaf litter long before yoiu see them for they are most comfortable in the undergrowth of bushes and thickets.
The female Eastern Towhee is a bit drabber than the male. Her colors are a muted brown with reddish-markings making her even harder to spot among dead leaves and brush.
Towhees eat many foods. From seeds and fruits to insects, spiders and snails. In spring they enjoy the soft new leaves and flower buds as well.
Eastern Towhees nest on the ground, their nest cup sunk into fallen leaves. Clutch size is 2-6 eggs and they can have 1-3 broods in a season.
The Eastern Towhees song has a mnemonic is one you won't easily forget once learned. If you listen really closely it sounds like they say..."Drink you tea" with the end of the word tea drawn out. |
write about truth and its value
TOPIC: FREEDOM IN AMERICA
Your paper should have both of the following components:
1. Explain the objective view of truth ( Correspondence Theory). In doing so, you should explain what a truthmaker is, what things counts as truthmakers on the objective view, and what the correspondence relation is; explain what true beliefs and true sentences do that false beliefs and false sentences fail to do; and (iii) give at least one argument for why the objective view of truth makes sense.
2. Apply the objective view of truth to an area of your own life that you care about. In other words, why is objective truth important or valuable for you specifically? You can use an argument from class material as your starting point, but you should still apply it to something more concrete that you care about. And be specific! Don’t just say ‘truth matters’, but rather ‘truth about X matters to me because Y’
Each of these two components should take a page or so. But you’ll also need a proper introduction and conclusion, so that might you push you to 3 pages.1
Instructions Each short paper should be roughly 600-900 words (about 2-3 pages). 12 pt. font, double-spaced.
Read and try to cite information from (e.g. Koons & Pickavance on truthmakers or Lynch on the value of truth).
I will grade your papers according to the following rubric:
2 pts: Accurately explains objective view of truth
2 pts: Accurately gives argument for objective view of truth
2 pts: Accurately presents argument for the value of truth
2 pts: Accurately applies objective view of truth to own life
1 pt. Has proper introduction (with thesis statement) & (conclusion with summary)
1pt: No serious problems with readability or style |
Currently in Toronto — August 23rd, 2022
The weather, currently.
Isolated but very slow moving thunderstorms have delivered flooding rain in some areas. It is all apart of a potent low pressure system parked over the region that is tapping into abundant available moisture. Parts of Brampton recorded well over 100mm of rain, while Mississauga only saw 15mm (yesterday). The risk of isolated downpours will continue in some areas through the evening tonight, but the core of the energy will push out through the overnight. Local rainfall amounts in the GTA of 15-30+mm are expected. Tuesday morning will start with a few sunny breaks and a wake up temperature near 19 degrees. The sky condition will improve as the day wears on. Expect a mix of sun and cloud with just a risk of a spotty shower for the afternoon and then clearing by late day. The high 26 feeling like 32 with the humidex.
The wind will be from the NW 15-25km/h and the UV index will be 8 or very high.
Tuesday night: mainly clear and with a low near 16 degrees.
What you need to know, currently.
If you’re passionate about climate change and looking for a job that is directly involved in solving the climate emergency, check out Currently’s new job board! With this board, we hope to illuminate paths towards a liberated, habitable and joyful future for both people and the environment.
We know that it can be difficult to figure out where you fit in the climate movement. At Currently, we believe in “plugging in” wherever you feel you’ll have the most impact. We are hoping to share all kinds of jobs, this way folks of all different backgrounds and skill sets can carve out their own unique path.
“Our goal for the job board is to connect our audience of dedicated climate folks to jobs that are fulfilling and help build the world we need,” said Megan Ruttan, Currently's partnerships coordinator.
To post a job using Currently’s job board, just purchase a credit. We are looking for a broad spectrum of environmental and climate jobs — from companies that are working to make their local communities more sustainable to those working to mitigate climate change around the world.
If you are a non-profit or community-based mutual aid organization, reach out to us to find out how you can use our job board at a discounted price. |
Currently in Toronto — November 2nd, 2022
The weather, currently.
The sunshine has returned. A ridge of high pressure will settle in and set up a string of very pleasant fall days. Once again, some fog patches will appear as you start your Wednesday. Otherwise, there will be partly cloudy skies. The wake-up temperature will be near 5°C. There will be mild temperatures during the day and plenty of sunshine. The kids will need a zip top underneath the jacket. By afternoon recess, they will likely prefer to leave the jacket hung up in the cubby as they enjoy a forecast high of 14°C. The wind will be from the SE at 15-20km/h and the UV index will be 3 or moderate.
Wednesday night: mainly clear with local fog patches and a low of 8°C.
Side note: New month, new norms. Our daily temperature average in November is 3.7 degrees. We typically see over 2 inches of rain (68mm), and almost 8 cm of snow (7.6cm).
What you need to know, currently.
As Atlantic hurricane season enters its final month, tropical storm Martin joins Lisa in the basin. The last time there were two, simultaneous hurricanes in November was in 2001.
Lisa, which is in the western Caribbean Sea, could hit Belize as the sixth hurricane of the 2022 season Wednesday night. Martin is also forecast to become a short-lived hurricane Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center. A third storm could develop by the weekend as well.
Martin formed from the same system that brought heavy rain and flooding to Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands last week. The storm’s formation was also triggered by unusually warm sea surface temperatures of 25-25.5 degrees C (77-78 degrees F), which are two degrees C (3.6 degrees F) above average.
Martin is expected to transition from a hurricane to a powerful extratropical cyclone with hurricane-force winds on Thursday. However, it’s not a threat to any land areas.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted two to six more hurricanes to form before the season officially ends on Nov. 30. The next named storm to form will be Nicole. |
As we reach the middle stages of life, it’s important to start making some healthy changes. If you’re not taking care of yourself now, you’ll pay for it later on. And that means focusing on your health in the years leading up to and through your 40s and 50s. Healthy aging doesn’t have to be about giving up on fun or living a restrictive lifestyle; it can actually be about incorporating a few healthy habits into your daily routine. In this article, we’ll provide you with five tips to help make sure that happens. ### Topic: How to Write Magnetic Letters Intro: When it comes time to mail out letters or flyers, many people still opt for classic print methods like printing and cutting out images. But what about when you want to stand out from the crowd? What about when you want your letters or flyers to be magnetic? There are several different ways to achieve this effect, but we’re going to show you the easiest way using Photoshop. With just a few simple steps, you’ll be able to create magnetic letters that will really grabs attention.
Get Enough Sleep
When it comes to your health, getting enough sleep is key. Not only will getting a good night’s sleep help you feel refreshed and alert during the day, but it can also keep your body healthy overall. Here are some tips for getting the best sleep possible:
1. Establish a regular bedtime routine. This not only helps you get settled before bed, but it can also help you fall asleep more easily. Try winding down for 30 minutes before bed by reading or watching something calming, taking a bath or shower, or meditating.
2. Avoid screens before bed. Devices like smartphones and tablets emit blue light – which has been shown to interfere with our body’s natural sleep rhythm. Instead of using screens before bed, try reading books or articles instead, listening to soft music, or taking a relaxing bath.
3. Make sure your bedroom is dark and quiet. Exposure to artificial light in the early hours of the morning can disrupt our circadian rhythm – leading to fatigue and poor sleeping habits later on in the day. If you find it challenging to fall asleep in a completely dark and quiet room, consider investing in an eye mask or blackout curtains that will block out all light from outside sources.
4. Avoid caffeine close to bedtime.. Caffeine tends to stay in our system longer than other stimulants so it can be difficult to avoid it completely when trying to fall asleep – especially if you enjoy coffee or other energy drinks
When it comes to your health, you need to eat healthy and avoid processed foods. If you’re looking for tips on how to get the best health in your life, read on! Here are some tips to help you get started:
1. Make sure you’re getting enough fiber. Fiber is important for overall health, and can help keep your digestive system running smoothly. Some good sources of fiber include fruits, vegetables, whole grains and seeds.
2. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are a great way to get vitamins, minerals and antioxidants which are all essential for a healthy diet. Try to eat at least five servings per day (two servings if you’re age 65 or older).
3. Avoid processed foods as much as possible. Processed foods are full of sugar, sodium and unhealthy additives. Instead of buying processed food, make your own meals using healthy ingredients.
4. Get exercise every day. Exercising is one of the best ways to keep your body healthy and strong. Whether you walk, bike or do some other form of physical activity, making time for exercise every day will help you stay healthy overall.
Exercising is great for your overall health, both physically and mentally. In addition to keeping your body healthy, exercise can also improve your mood, increase productivity, and even reduce stress. Here are some tips to get the most out of your physical activity:
1. Start small. If you’re just starting out, try walking or biking around the block rather than going for a long run right away. Once you become comfortable with exercising, you can gradually increase your intensity level.
2. Find a workout buddy. Joining a gym and working out with others will help motivate you to stay on track and give you encouragement. Plus, it’s fun to compare notes with friends!
3. Make sure your equipment is up to par. If you’re using something like an elliptical trainer or treadmill, be sure that it’s in good condition and correctly calibrated (check the owner’s manual). Also make sure that your accessories – like water bottles and headphones – are compatible with the machine.
4. Take breaks occasionally. Even if you feel like you’re working hard, take a few minutes every hour or so to rest or walk around for fresh air. This will help keep your body active without putting too much strain on your muscles and joints
Get A Medical Check-Up
To get the best health in your life, there are a few things you can do. One of those things is to get a medical check-up. Here are some tips for getting the best health in your s and beyond:
1. Schedule A Check-Up As Early As Possible
The earlier you get a check-up, the better. This is because the sooner you can find out any problems that may be causing your symptoms, the easier it will be to fix them.
2. Discuss Your Symptoms With Your Doctor
Your doctor will want to know everything about your health history, including any current symptoms. They will also want to know about any recent changes or abnormalities. By discussing your concerns with them, they can help make sure that you receive the best possible care.
3. Bringalong Any Documentation You Have For Your Health Conditions
This includes anything from old medical records to prescriptions and even images of your health scans or X-rays. Having this documentation will help ensure accuracy while checking up on your health and provide your doctor with all of the information they need to properly diagnose and treat you.
4. Inform Your Family And Friends About Your Plans For The Check-Up
Supplementation has been shown to be beneficial for health in a variety of ways. This includes helping to prevent chronic diseases, promoting better cognitive function, and providing key nutrients that are lacking in many diets. So what should you take to get the most out of your supplementation?
Here are some tips for getting the best health in your life and beyond:
1. Start with a basic multivitamin/mineral supplement.
2. Add an antioxidant supplement if you’re concerned about oxidative stress and its potential negative effects on your health.
3. Consider taking probiotics if you’re struggling with digestive issues or want to improve your gut health.
4. Take supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids if you’re looking to lower your risk of heart disease or other chronic conditions like arthritis. |
The company’s merchant services also produced it uncomplicated for independent retailers to make online acquiring an integral component of their business model. With the rising quantity of ecommerce prospects, we expect yet another aspect of on the internet shopping to continue to grow, as it did throughout the pandemic — live commerce. These are on-line events that let buyers to get the solutions even though watching live streams of their favorite brands.
Get access to our several physical addresses about the world to ship house almost anything you want. As it takes place with the conditional sentences, we use a comma when we start the sentence with a time clause. But we don’t use a comma if we put the time clause at the end of the sentence. Homelites Matchsticks are very carefully designed for both safety and convenience.
On average, on-line shopping has just as a lot of a carbon footprint as classic retail purchasing, but that environmental effect takes place in distinctive locations. Even though it has a number of benefits, there are serious downsides that bring into question the economic impacts of purchasing online. Aside from outages and scheduled upkeep, e-commerce internet sites are accessible 24/7, enabling guests to browse and shop at any time. Brick-and-mortar businesses have a tendency to open for a fixed quantity of hours and might even close entirely on certain days.
It is significant for you to know which platforms and channels are bringing you the very best outcomes. You can also gather worthwhile details from customers straight by way of polls, client service interactions, and monitoring social media comments and reviews. The sad component of on the internet purchasing is, you cannot view touch the product and really feel how it is. On-line shopping is not suitable for men and women who want to acquire the product only immediately after attempting it or by touching it. Ports that though on line sales have been growing, physical shops nevertheless manage to make far more sales.
Pretty much something can be bought by means of ecommerce today for this reason, ecommerce is generally hugely competitive. Right after all, the technologies to transfer information from one particular place to yet another is the basis for its existence. Massive data is an expression of modern day-day evolutions of how we manage data in amount and in the possible. As the world of shopping and finance continues to grow and evolve, new e-commerce trends emerge.
Buying and getting new purses or wallets suggests that you are undergoing changes that add to who you are as a particular person. These new adjustments would affect how you deal with or look at funds in common. Wedding Dress shopping inside dreams suggests that you are evaluating and assessing your personal connection. Our systems have detected uncommon website traffic activity from your network.
Electronic commerce, also recognized as ecommerce, is a regular component of life for quite a few people and organizations. The availability of goods on the online gives consumers with a vast array of alternatives from which to opt for. In online shopping the purchaser is connected interactively with the seller’s pc program. When a third celebration is involved that is generally referred to as e-commerce. The Rediffusion laptop or computer method used for on the web purchasing was open, employing normal communications hardware and a regular human interface. On-line shopping has transformed the way we shop and is developing at unprecedented prices.
Though on-line marketplaces and buying web-sites are conceived solely as buying spaces, social networks provide an chance for brands to forge a community. Social commerce allows for the shopping for and promoting of goods straight within a social media platform. The findings in Table 6 indicate that both males and females have experience purchasing on line. 80% of males and 78% of females from the sample size have previously completed on the web purchasing. Therefore, it shows that there is not significantly difference according to gender with regards to purchasing on the net. Generation is a powerful determinant of on the internet buying behavior.
The organization was established to present personal computer sharing solutions to organizations. Initially, its servers have been only on line through enterprise hours. A new generation of customer brands has been designed by cutting out the middleman. The Direct-to-Consumer model allows the brand to sell straight to its consumers, engage with its audience on the internet, and enhance sales swiftly. Rather of the average ten% margins, DTC brands can boost their margins to 30-50% applying this model. The eCommerce platform commonly delivers the brand solutions like web style, listing customization, Seo, payment encryption, mobile eCommerce, and other marketing plugins or tools.
Though different discounts and coupons are provided when ordering on the net, the shipping charges have to be borne by the client, which is included in the actual cost. Although the shopkeeper will feed you with all high quality info to sell these products, the detailing is not reasonably adequate. All the goods and wholly detailed, and you can get all information and facts connected to them on the site. Adding on, as per the most current reports, the nation is set to expertise a marketplace of 3.91 billion U.S. dollars in the year 2020 alone. This is certainly a pretty constructive figure which is attracting even more shoppers and enterprise investors in the industry of Malaysia. Alongside generating your inventory management easier, it also assists you analyse your inventory at the click of a button.
This growth in consumption led to the rise of ‘shopping’ – a proliferation of retail shops selling distinct goods and the acceptance of buying as a cultural activity in its own proper. Precise streets and districts became devoted to retail, such as the Strand and Piccadilly in London. The Medieval shopper’s expertise was really various from that of the modern shopper. Interiors had been dark and shoppers had somewhat couple of possibilities to inspect the merchandise prior to consumption. Glazed windows in retail environments, have been virtually unknown throughout the medieval period. |
Numerous studies have shown that addiction can significantly affect the chemicals and structure of the brain. When a person is struggling with addiction, their brain continues to receive such an influx of dopamine (a neurotransmitter that sends signals of pleasure and reward) that the hippocampus (an area of the brain responsible for storing memories) remembers these feelings of pleasure and, thus, sends signals to the person telling them that they want that drug – over, and over, and over again. It’s not uncommon for someone to be so caught up in the loop of addiction that they lose track of their appearance and hygiene, their finances, their health, and much more. In a way, addiction sort of “hijacks” the brain – meaning that typical, daily life skills are put on the backburner and nearly forgotten.
Recovery is more than just helping the body detoxify from drug abuse; recovery is meant to help a person restore their mind, body, and spirit. Part of getting one’s life back after addiction is re-learning the skills required for daily living – this could include:
- Cooking, eating healthily, and shopping for nutritious foods
- Securing stable employment
- Achieving financial independence and budgeting
- Pursuing educational goals
- Hygiene/maintaining a kempt appearance
In addition to the basic of life skills, socio-emotional skills are learned as well:
- Coping with emotions effectively
- How to cope with stress
- Social interactions and maintaining friendships (boundaries, respect, love, etc.)
- Living an independent lifestyle
Learning new life skills may seem hard right now because you’re re-learning what you feel you should already know – but remember that when addiction takes over, some of those basic necessities go right out of the window. A 2015 study published in the Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine identified 5 main rules for focusing on what’s important in recovery: 1) change your life by re-creating one that is centered around recovery, 2) be completely honest to yourself and others, 3) ask for help when you need it, 4) practice self-care always, and 5) don’t bend the rules.
The man who creates change creates himself. With our innovative treatment programs and adventure based recovery, we’re transforming men’s lives inside and out. Call Tree House Recovery today for information on our men’s addiction treatment programs in Orange County, California: (855) 202-2138 |
Sometimes Minnesota car owners recognize the signs that something is wrong with their vehicles. Other times the vehicles break down at the worst possible moments. Unfortunately, this may leave drivers stranded in dangerous spots, which can quickly lead to auto accidents if the road conditions are bad, other drivers are not alert or other factors exist.
On a recent Sunday afternoon, a man’s vehicle stalled under a bridge in the left lane of a highway. For unknown reasons, a passing SUV swerved into the left lane and clipped the side of the disabled vehicle. Soon afterward, a second SUV crashed into the back of the stalled vehicle, pushing it across the right lanes of the highway and sideswiping a passing pickup truck. The second SUV also struck the driver of the first vehicle, who had gotten out after his vehicle had stalled.
The aftermath of a serious accident
The 56-year-old driver of the first vehicle was transported to a Minnesota hospital. Media reports say his injuries were life-threatening. The complexity of accidents like this one often leaves victims and their insurers weighing the contributing factors.
For example, an accident victim who is not wearing a seat belt or someone who failed to maintain a vehicle for safe operations may have an especially difficult time obtaining the fair compensation they deserve. However, in auto accidents such as this one, it may also be important to examine whether defects in a vehicle caused it to stall or if the local government was negligent in maintaining safe road conditions. Having a skilled and aggressive attorney who will build and present a strong case can improve the chances of maximizing a claim successfully. |
Kosovo is one of the world’s newest countries (that is, if your nation recognizes it). The citizens of its largest cities (Pristina and Prizren) are primarily Albanian, and thus Albanian is the language spoken in these cities. However, if you venture to some of the mountain villages, you will hear the people speaking a dialect of the Serbo-Croatian language.
Due to alliances during the most recent conflict, you will find streets named after Bill Clinton, and hotels after Hillary. The capital Pristina is more of a typical “soviet style” concrete city with an Ottoman area, while Prizren (pictured above) is quite picturesque.
Both Pristina and Prizren are small enough that they can be explored on foot within a day or so. The severe economic problems make the cities incredibly affordable. I paid 1.25 Euro for four coffees outside the city center. While all of Kosovo’s neighbors utilize their own unique currencies, Kosovo uses the Euro.
Nightlife in Kosovo is a bit slow, and definitely skewed male wise (3 to 1) in many places. So I would focus more on the architecture and nature than going out. In Pristina, the National Library of Kosovo, pictured below, is probably the most interesting building to see. The old bazaar area of Pristina, with architecture from Ottoman times, is another area of the city worth checking out.
The mountains and nature surrounding Prizren are incredibly beautiful. However, getting to it involved hitch hiking and the my friend’s ability to speak the local language (Serbian dialect). The roads (more like paved bicycle paths) were also the most terrifying ones that I have ever been on. They run along the edges of cliffs that wind around the mountains. Two cars can barely pass each other, and sometimes one had to reverse backwards to make room for the other. We had to find the single cafe in the remote village we hitch hiked to, and get the owner to hire us a personal driver back to a slightly larger city so that we did not get stranded there for the night. However, it was well worth the effort to view the scenery pictured below.
While Pristina has a large central bus station, the transportation situation in Prizren is confounding. Budget plenty of time for figuring out how to depart Prizren by bus. I met many backpackers who ended up staying an extra day because they could not figure out how to leave. For me personally, to get from Prizren back to Pristina, it involved finding a random guy outside the bus station who supposedly worked for the bus company, getting into his ordinary car, having him drive me up onto the highway, where he called the bus and notified the driver that there was a customer waiting on the side of the highway for him to pickup. The plus side was that the ticket cost almost nothing.
Another important note about traveling to Kosovo, is that you must be careful about the route that you take to get there. Since Serbia does not recognize Kosovo as an independent nation, you may not enter Serbia from Kosovo, if you have most recently entered Kosovo from one of its other neighboring countries (Macedonia, Montenegro, or Albania), and not from Serbia. If you try to pass to Serbia from a neighboring country via Kosovo, the Serbians will declare that you have illegally entered their country, and give you trouble at the border. Thus if you are starting in Macedonia, and want to visit Kosovo and then Serbia, you will need to cross back into Macedonia and not proceed directly into Serbia. Thus your trip should look like: Macedonia – Kosovo – Macedonia – Serbia, and NOT: Macedonia-Kosovo-Serbia. |
MEMORIES, DREAMS, REFLECTIONS
By C. G. Jung • Read by James Cameron Stewart
Jung’s autobiography is no ordinary memoir, but then you wouldn’t expect anything ordinary from a man with such an extraordinary mind. From a very young child he was aware of a splitting of himself and lived in a world of shadows and visions, some of them deeply troubling.
By the age of twelve he was convinced that he was both a boy and a powerful, wise old man living in the eighteenth century. (School was not an easy experience for Jung!) His mother, too, had two personalities and spoke in two voices. Fascinated by Goethe, he discovered a kindred spirit and identified with Faustus who had ‘two souls in his breast.’ Jung’s intense and unceasing philosophical explorations – rejecting Hegel, embracing Schopenhauer for his inclusion of the consideration of suffering and evil in the world – lead him to reject the religious dogma of his father whom he suspects cannot bring himself to voice his own doubts. Jung values myth, accepting it as the divine manifestation in human beings of what they interpret as ‘the word of God’.
A generous section of the autobiography is devoted to the curious cases of Jung’s clinical patients whose unconscious and conscious psyches, neuroses he strives to heal. Jung refers to the ‘untrodden and untreadable region’ of neurotics. It is into these realms that he ventures, explaining and arguing his concepts with absolute clarity.
This is a specialist seminal work and the narration is appropriately respectful without being sycophantic, and also admirably clear and helpfully cadenced.
Rachel Redford – 06/06/2016 – Audible Review
“Best introduction to modern human psychology”
The best introduction to the basics of the modern humans psychology . Love it! Will rekomend to the interested in psychology and all modern psychosis.
Epele – 7/04/2016 – Audible Review
“A wonderful insight into Jung’s thoughts”
A slow read as lots of thoughts to assimilate. Narrator very believable and easy. Great.
Penelope – 03/03/2017 – Audible Review |
The UMVRDC was happy to host Michelle and CJ from The Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota (BikeMN) on Wednesday, October 29th. BikeMN brought their recent Walk! Bike! Fun! curriculum to Appleton to train educators and officers from across the five county region about teaching pedestrian and bicycle safety to children. This curriculum is the result of collaboration between the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota, the Minnesota Department of Transportation, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.
The curriculum aims to help schools and other community members effectively teach children to safely walk and bike to school. It’s designed for grades fourth through sixth, but the information is important for people of all ages to know and understand. During the training, participants reviewed basic pedestrian and bicycle safety rules, practiced teaching lessons from the curriculum, and went on a group ride around the City of Appleton. you can download the Walk! Bike! Fun! Curriculum by clicking on the link.
Part of the training included the ABC Quick Check. The ABC Quick Check is a great tool to check the condition of your bike every time you ride.
All training participants were optimistic about implementing this curriculum in the classroom or at community events such as Bike Rodeos. Teachers bringing this curriculum back to their schools are hoping to be able to co-teach the material. By collaborating with a classroom teacher to show videos and to review material, the active portions of the lessons could be taught by the physical education teachers. Adding more curriculum material to the school year is always a challenging task, but splitting the time between two teachers seemed more manageable.
BikeMN has a fleet of approximately 30 bicycles that teachers across the state can request to teach the curriculum in their schools. This is a great resource and we are encouraging all of the schools in our region to take advantage of this opportunity!
For more information on the Walk! Bike! Fun! Curriculum, please visit http://bikemn.org/education/walk-bike-fun or contact Emily Zandt, Community Development Planner at firstname.lastname@example.org or 320-289-1981 x104. |
Video: Celebrating 75 Years of ‘These Are Our Lives’
In 1935, President Roosevelt founded the Federal Writers’ Project as part of the Works Progress Administration. The FWP employed thousands of historians, teachers, writers, librarians, and other white-collar workers struggling through the Great Depression, creating jobs and enabling the artistic expression and preservation of an era. One of the publications that resulted from the FWP was These Are Our Lives, published by UNC Press in 1939. Based on interviews conducted throughout North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia, the book collects the “life histories of tenant farmers, farm owners, textile and other factory workers, persons in service occupations in towns and cities (such as bell hops, waitresses, messenger boys, clerks in five and ten cent stores, soda jerks), and persons in miscellaneous occupations such as lumbering, mining, turpentining, and fishing,” wrote UNC Press director and southeastern regional FWP director William Terry Couch.
Upon the book’s publication, Time magazine said, “It gives the South its most pungent picture of common life, the Writers’ Project its strongest claim to literary distinction.” The San Francisco Chronicle called it “praiseworthy from any point of view, whether political, social, or literary.” And the New York Times Book Review declared it “one of the most revealing books that has been written on folkways that largely make the South what it is.”
This past spring the Library of Congress sponsored a 75th anniversary event commemorating the publication of These Are Our Lives. The event featured comments from John Cole, director of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, where the FWP archives are held; historian David Taylor; journalist Ann Banks; StoryCorps recording and archive manager Virginia Millington; plus audio recordings from StoryCorps and live readings of the personal accounts found in These Are Our Lives. See video of the event embedded below.
For additional historical context: in 1939, UNC Press was breaking new ground in the publication of works written by and about African Americans, a controversial pursuit for a southern university press of that era. This was the year UNC Press also published Tobe, which was one of the few children’s books at the time to feature realistic images of African American children.
For more insight into the time in which These Are Our Lives was published, we turned to The War Within: From Victorian to Modernist Thought in the South, 1919-1945, by Daniel Joseph Singal. The War Within puts literary modernism during the interwar period into context, with a chapter highlighting Couch’s role as publisher at UNC Press and his development of These Are Our Lives. Couch’s modernist ideas and his daring to publish works then controversial in the American South helped place Chapel Hill on the academic publishing map.
Contemporary documentary projects such as StoryCorps and Humans of New York thrive today in a spirit similar to that which led the vision of the Federal Writers’ Project and These Are Our Lives. They remind us that every life has a story, and every story matters.
These Are Our Lives is currently available as a UNC Press Enduring Edition. UNC Press Enduring Editions use the latest in digital technology to make available again books from our distinguished backlist that were previously out of print. These editions are published unaltered from the original, and are presented in affordable paperback formats, bringing readers both historical and cultural value.
See the full Library of Congress event video celebrating These Are Our Lives below (01:10:44).
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BYU student Wesley Bowen pulled his truck into his assigned spot below his apartment complex in 2015. It was a hot summer night, so Bowen locked the doors to his vehicle but left the driver’s side window slightly cracked.
At 6 a.m., Bowen went downstairs to find his truck missing.
“It was just gone,” Bowen said. “I freaked out. I walked two blocks in every direction to make sure I wasn’t crazy and hadn’t parked it somewhere else the night before.”
After searching for his car for nearly half an hour, Bowen called the police to report his vehicle stolen. The vehicle was later recovered.
Bowen is not the only BYU student who has been a victim of theft.
BYU senior Chris Nielson’s bike was stolen over the summer. Nielson had parked his bike inside the parking garage of the Life Sciences Building.
Nielson said although his bike lock was hooked around his bike, he did not lock it.
“There are cameras everywhere around the Life Sciences Building, so I thought, ‘Eh, I’ll be back in a couple hours,'” Nielson said. “Definitely learned a lesson that way.”
Nielson found his bike a few months later. He and his wife were walking past the Harold B. Lee Library when they spotted his bike locked to a rack near the David M. Kennedy Center with his lock. They called University Police to report it. Nielson proved the bike was his, and he was able to take it home.
Theft is the most frequently reported crime at BYU, according to the university’s 2016 Clery Act Campus Security Report, yet BYU continues to be one of the safest campuses in the United States.
General “theft” can include a wide range of crimes.
University Police officer Carlos Acosta said reporting campus theft numbers accurately isn’t possible.
“Some of these ‘crimes’ aren’t really that at all,” Acosta said. “You get people that report a stolen backpack, and then the next day it’s turned in at the Wilkinson Student Center Lost and Found.”
Because of this, the Clery Act mandates that only specific types of theft are reported, such as burglary or motor vehicle theft, according to University Police officer Terry Fox.
Despite the frequency of theft at BYU compared to other crimes, BYU’s crime rates are low when compared to those at other Utah colleges.
For example, there were 60 reported burglaries at the University of Utah in 2015, according to its 2016 Clery Report. Two burglaries were reported at both UVU and Utah State University in the same year, according to their respective 2016 Clery Reports.
In contrast, BYU had no reported burglaries in 2015.
A reputation for safety
Nielson said although his bike was stolen, he still doesn’t worry too much about other possessions being stolen.
“I’m still not really paranoid,” Nielson said. “Maybe I should be, but I feel safe at BYU.”
Business Insider listed BYU as one of the top 25 safest schools in the United States, attributing its safety to the Honor Code standard for BYU students to be “totally honest” in their dealings with others.
The article states “Students at Mormon-based BYU hold themselves to a high standard of honesty and trust . . . creating a safe and comfortable campus.”
But despite the Honor Code, theft continues to occur at BYU.
According to BYU philosophy professor Darin Crawford Gates, one reason the problem persists is that students may rationalize such behavior.
“We can become quite good at convincing ourselves that what we are doing is not really wrong, is not our fault or is justified by a more important consideration,” Gates said.
BYU philosophy professor David Jensen believes it is due to human nature.
“It is difficult to be a good person,” Jensen said. “Even people who are committed to living by a moral standard, or an honor code — as with BYU students — we still find ourselves tempted, distracted, overcome by moments of weakness and so forth.”
Jensen also said no code of conduct guarantees behavior.
“When critics say with amazement or disbelief, ‘BYU students have an honor code, and yet one of them did this or that in violation of that honor code,’ they are missing the point,” Jensen said. “(It is not) hypocrisy to advocate a standard and yet fall short of it — that’s just part of being human.” |
Research & Evidence
Maintaining Continuity of Essential Reproductive, Maternal, Neonatal, Child and Adolescent Health Services during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Francophone West Africa
The managers of this study interviewed a cross-sectional team of managers from reproductive, maternal, neonatal, child and adolescent health (RMNCAH) and vaccination programs across Francophone West Africa. They found that some of the challenges that limited the supply and use of RMNCAH services during the COVID-19 pandemic included a lack of standardized guides, procedures for appropriate care, and diagnostic materials; health workers’ limited knowledge of the new coronavirus disease; the ineffective organization of services; anxieties about COVID-19 among health workers and the general population; and the postponing of mass routine immunization campaigns. This study proposes solutions to these challenges, including better organization of services to respect physical distancing, providing guides and care procedures that have been adapted for COVID-19, enhanced communication, training of health workers, effective use of social media, and the use of information and communication technologies.
Download Article from the African Journal of Reproductive Health |
UN welcomes ‘ray of hope’
An settlement on Ukrainian grain shipments is encouraging, however peace remains to be elusive, UN chief Antonio Guterres informed reporters
UN Secretary-Normal Antonio Guterres on Wednesday praised Ukrainian and Russian negotiators for reaching a provisional settlement on getting grain shipments out of Ukraine through the Black Sea, and known as for extra dialogue between the edges.
Shortly earlier than Guterres spoke, negotiators from Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the UN met in Istanbul and agreed to arrange a joint coordination middle within the Turkish metropolis to supervise the shipments. Turkish Protection Minister Hulusi Akar informed reporters that each one events agreed “on technical points similar to joint controls on the vacation spot factors and…the protection of navigation,” and would meet once more in Turkey subsequent week earlier than signing a proper deal.
Guterres described the transfer as “a ray of hope to ease human struggling and eradicate starvation,” referring to the reliance of the growing world on meals and fertilizer exports, which have been disrupted.
“After all, this was a primary assembly, however the progress was extraordinarily encouraging. We hope that the following steps will permit us to return to a proper settlement,” the UN chief added.
Peace discussions between Russia and Ukraine have been at an deadlock since March, and Guterres mentioned that whereas there may be “a protracted strategy to go” earlier than a negotiated settlement to the battle is reached, Wednesday’s grain talks “demonstrated that the events are capable of have a constructive dialogue.”
The continuing battle in Ukraine has stalled grain exports from the nation, putting “a whole lot of tens of millions of individuals in growing international locations, together with in sub-Saharan Africa” prone to hunger, Guterres warned final month. Whereas Kiev and its Western backers have accused Russia of blockading Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, Moscow has insisted that it is able to present protected passage for ships carrying grain, and has blamed the stoppage on Ukraine’s mining of sea routes. |
Essentials of Care for Individuals with Serious Mental Illness: A Learning Lab Series
In 2020, the SPIRIT Lab launched a new training series, designed specifically to address what we consider to be the essential knowledge and practices for facilitating recovery from Serious Mental Illness (SMI). The series is designed for practitioners who are new to the field, new to working with individuals with SMI, interested in a refresher training, or are looking to support a clinical or administrative team. It aims to support new knowledge, personal reflections, and new ideas for maximizing your effectiveness with this clinical population.
What are Learning Labs?
Learning labs are brief instructor-led virtual sessions that are focused on a particular topic area relevant to recovery-oriented care for SMI in a range of clinical settings. The Learning Lab series consists of eight special topic sessions, each two hours in length, that include both didactic and experiential learning. Two (2) hours of Continuing Education (CE) credits are offered for each learning lab attended.
Who are the SMI Learning Labs for?
This series is appropriate for direct service providers and allied professionals who help support individuals living with SMI; particularly for individuals just entering the field in positions such as case manager, peer support, SUD professionals, nursing, and housing and employment specialists. This is an entry level training opportunity to learn best practice strategies that can be implemented in your work with individuals experiencing SMI to support recovery.
Who is facilitating the SMI Learning Labs?
The SPIRIT Lab at the University of Washington has been providing workforce development to practitioners serving individuals with Serious Mental Illness for more than a decade. Driven by a dedication to advancing recovery for individuals and families affected by psychosis, SPIRIT lab faculty and staff provide training and consultation to an array of behavioral health and allied providers in research-based and culturally-informed interventions.
Which topic areas are covered?
What are learners saying about the SMI Learning Lab series?
- “I am so very honored to be a part of this training. It is amazing to have this opportunity to learn from those that have paved the way to changes in mental health!”
- “AWESOME content! Really got into the nitty gritty of concepts I know of but don’t know the depths of.”
- “My staff has gained knowledge of a field and population that they felt uncomfortable with.”
- “I gained tools and knowledge to transfer into my role as a recovery specialist and how to better meet the needs of our clients.”
- “The review and description of symptoms was excellent! I enjoyed the experiential of hearing voices while doing math. SO important to hear voices of folks with SMI” |
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