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Laser vision correction (LASIK) has become the surgical procedure of choice for the correction of nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism. Many advances – including Customized LASIK and “all laser” LASIK – have resulted in the better visual outcomes and have improved the safety of LASIK procedures. Myopia, Astigmatism & Hyperopia can be corrected! Depending on the degree of your nearsightedness, farsightedness, or astigmatism, the excimer laser can correct the curvature of your eyes. Over three million people worldwide have had their eyes reshaped using excimer laser technology. By reshaping the cornea, your vision can be adjusted to as near normal as possible. LASIK changes the shape of the cornea (the clear “window” that covers the blue or brown iris) to reduce or eliminate the need for distance glasses. The laser used a “cold” ultraviolet light to sculpt the tissue into the correct shape. For nearsightedness, the cornea is made flatter. For farsightedness, the cornea is steepened. For astigmatism, the treatment changes the cornea from an ovoid (egg-like) shape into a sphere. The procedure involves creating a flap on the surface of the cornea, lifting the flap, and using the laser to reshape the corneal tissue beneath the flap. The flap is then replaced. It takes less than 5 minutes per eye to perform the operation The standard method of creating the corneal flap involves a Microkeratome, which passes over the cornea and lifts up a thin later of tissue. While the Microkeratome is considered extremely safe, there are some situations where there is a greater-than-normal risk of complications. Most of these risks are eliminated with the Intralase® laser. The Intralase® is available for all LASIK procedures. In addition to nearsightedness, farsightedness and astigmatism, each of our eyes has a unique pattern of subtle visual imperfections that can limit the quality of our vision, despite LASIK treatment. Advances in laser technology allow us to measure these imperfections and customize the LASIK treatment. The Customized treatment can result in higher quality vision, often better than 20/20. It can also improve night vision and help reduce glare with night driving. We now offer our patients Customized LASIK treatment with both the LadarVision laser and the VISX CustomVue laser. Our doctors will review with you the laser technologies available to determine which device is best suited for your particular visual correction needs. They will recommend the laser that will provide the best result for your specific case. To learn more about LASIK and to see if you’re a candidate for these procedures call (818) 762-0647 for a FREE consultation.
Small group day trip to the unique volcanic lake in Eastern Europe An epic day trip to to the most amazing and unique volcanic lake in Eastern Europe and the land of the mineral waters. Days of departure: every day. Duration of tour: 8-10 hours Meeting point: The History Museum Piata Sfatului Square – 8:30 AM. Our guide holds the sign "Meeting Point GUARANTEED DEPARTURES DAY TOURS”. Rate: 59 euro/person (min. 2 people, for 1 person the rate is as for 2 people) Important: You have to make the booking 1 day in advance until 8 PM! - transportation: by car or minibus with air conditioning system; English speaking tour guide; Complimentary pick up/drop off from your location in BrasovNot included: - entrance fees, lunch, drinks After 1,5-2 h driving from Brasov you would reach the magnificent area of Saint Ana’s Lake situated at 950 m altitude in the Ciomat Mountains. Its splendour and beauty would take the breath of every visitor. The lake formed in the crater of a volcano erupted about 32000 years ago and became one of the most favourite destinations in Transylvania for those who desire to escape into nature. Not only the beauty of the lake and its surroundings but the legends mesmerize those interested. Opposite the lake, in a second crater nature took its course and formed a peat bog, a protected area with unique carnivorous plants ‘’Drosera rotundifolia’’, miniature conifers and many others. (visits only during summer). After the visit to the lake and bog, the tour guide will drive to Balvanyos and after the vehicle was parked an easy to medium up-hill walk (aprox 30 min) would be required to the ‘’Stinky Caves’’ and to the ‘’Bird Cemetery’’. Thanks to the post volcanic activity at these locations sulphurous gas emanations are present which would be presented and explained by the guide with fun tricks and stories. What would be the better end of the day before driving back to Brasov than enjoying some of the different types of mineral water springs in Tusnad Bai resort, which naturally come out of the ground and are used constantly by locals and visitors for their medical benefits. - Your local contact is Active Travel Day Tours on 0040728804952. - Please note: Complimentary pick-up from Brasov is offered for this tour/activity (as specified on the tour). If you require this service you must contact Active Travel Day Tours at - Locally on 0040728804952 - By email at firstname.lastname@example.org - Please be ready at least 10 minutes prior to departure time.
Game GuideHome > Game Guide > School Honor Certificates So you’ve obtained all 3 of your school specific skill sets and completed Chapter 1 of your storyline. What do you do now? The best way to prepare your character for growth would be to begin collecting Jianghu Reputation and School Honor Certificates. Here is a detailed guide on School Honor Certificates. Uses for School Honor Certificates 3rd Internal Acquisition (Token Quest System) School Tournament (Optional weekly selection of School positions) A. Entry Token (30 School Honor Certificates required) Converting Bound Certificates to Unbound Badge Packages Ways to Earn School Honor Certificates Weekly Spy Quest (Fight of Intelligence) Script Stealing Event Task Participating in our bi monthly event set will allow for you to reap the benefits of our events to the fullest extent! Head to the forums to find out more about events!
Combines can spread Palmer Amaranth and waterhemp as well as other herbicide-resistant weeds. Here are some tips on stopping the combine from spreading the seeds from the weeds. - Steps can be taken to help ensure that herbicide-resistant weed seeds, such as Palmer Amaranth and waterhemp, are not spread to new fields via combine. - Harvest herbicide-resistant weed-infested fields last. - Know whether the combine entering the field has recently been in a field containing herbicide-resistant weeds such as waterhemp or Palmer Amaranth. If so, take the time needed to clean it. - Herbicide-resistant pigweeds were introduced to Pennsylvania through transportation from other areas such as the Midwest and southeast where populations are more abundant. Therefore, when purchasing a used combine from out of state with known Palmer and waterhemp populations, take the necessary time to completely clean the combine before use. - Utilize an air compressor to remove the bulk of the weed seeds from the combine. - Check the rock trap, as weed seeds and debris may be caught here. Drop the rock trap and blow it out with the air compressor between fields. - Open trapdoors to clean the grain auger and tailings processor with an air compressor. - On a rainy day, consider a thorough 4-5 hour combine cleaning as a rainy day activity. - Since weed seeds can also travel on tillage equipment, clean this equipment after infested fields as well.
Advantages and Disadvantages of the GoPro Camera One of the most versatile and economically efficient cameras out there today, a.k.a. the GoPro action camera, has been a staple to All Star Video Sports’ growth as a video company since the device was introduced to the public. As discussed in another Wheelhouse Blog article, we have always had a wide variety of cameras and camera systems that have allowed us to shoot state of the art video for our recruits and players we highlight. That being said, there are some clear advantages and disadvantages to using a GoPro camera on a regular basis in our line of work. For All Star, the GoPro is a camera we can use to get the fun shots…the shots and angles that could not really be captured on any other video camera. We have used the GoPro to capture video from a drone in the sky, to the unit being strapped to an athlete’s head, to it being placed on a bar bell while an athlete was lifting, to it being connected onto an Umpire’s helmet during a game. These are the things that no other camera in the world can capture. For creating the highest quality recruiting videos and highlight videos, this camera has been indispensible with its ability to generate out of the ordinary shots of video. A perk of using the GoPro camera is the size of the unit. Since the camera is no larger than the size of one’s palm, this makes it virtually the easiest camera on the planet to manipulate and transport. The GoPro is also versatile in the sense of it allows the user to shoot video of anything you could possibly think of. Whether you are a professional like us shooting an intense sports highlight video, or a business company getting office shots, or a skydiver flying through the air, or you are just making a home video for you and your family to view for years to come, it allows you to shoot video of just about anything. The best thing about this camera though is the quality of the video it produces in relation to how small and easily accessible it is. Manycompanies have tried over the years to create the world’s smallest camera, in addition to it having the best quality possible on that camera. No other company has had success with these two characteristics together until the GoPro was invented. On the flip side, there are some disadvantages to the GoPro. First off, there does tend to be a learning curve when attempting to first use the camera. The settings system is not always easy to navigate and that can spell trouble for the “recreational camera user”. Traditionallly, the GoPro also shoots video in a very wide shot type of angle. With no control over the zoom, shots can often be missed due to the inability to get closer to the objects that are farther away from the camera. Playback can also be an issue, as there is no ability for you to look at clips you have shot on location with the GoPro. The GoPro camera clearly has its advantages and disadvantages, but when we are trying to get the un-gettable shot, this camera is definitely the one to turn to.
The Land Board constituted under the "Crown Lands Act 1884" served as a judiciary and administrative agency. The Land Board was empowered to hold courts and to arbitrate on any questions arising from the administration of the 1884 Act. In 1898, the functions of the Land Board were taken over by the Land Court, constituted under the "Land Act 1897". The Land Court is an independent Judicial Tribunal. The primary and general powers of the court were conferred by Land Acts and subsequently, the "Land Court Act 2000". Sittings are held in Brisbane, as well as principal country towns and smaller centres where suitable facilities are available. From its inception until 1944, the Land Court's principal role was that of judicially arbitrating between the Minister and the Crown's lessees in rental, compensation, value of improvements and other matters affecting the Crown leasehold system, as well as determining compensation for compulsory resumption of freehold land pursuant to the provision of the Public Works Land Resumption Acts and subsequent compulsory acquisition legislation. With the proclamation of the "Valuation of Land Act 1944", the Land Court's jurisdiction included the hearing and determination of appeal against valuations for rating and taxing purposes. The Land Court deals with appeals against valuations, disputed claims for compensation, appeals against decisions in relation to waterworks licensing and appeals against Ministerial decisions. However, under the "Land Court and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2007, assented to 29 August 2007, proclaimed 21 Sep 2007, the Land Court took over the jurisdiction of the Land and Resource Tribunal extending the Court's jurisdiction to include not only land-related matters but also mining and petroleum and indigenous issues, The Land Court consists of a President and other members. A single member sitting alone constitutes the Court which may sit in more than one place at a time. Under the "Land Court and Other Legislation Amendment Act 2007" the Court was divided into two divisions: the Cultural Heritage and Indigenous Land Use Agreement Division, and the general division. The Land Court has the power of the Supreme Court in certain cultural heritage and mining jurisdictions. Secretary for Public Lands 1 Mar 1898 - 12 Aug 1957 Minister for Public Lands 12 Aug 1957 - 26 Sep 1963 Minister for Lands 26 Sep 1963 - 9 Dec 1987 Minister for Land Management 9 Dec 1987 - 24 Sep 1992 Minister for Lands 24 Sep 1992 - 26 Feb 1996 Minister for Natural Resources 26 Feb 1996 - 22 Feb 2001 Minister for Natural Resources and Mines 22 Feb 2001 - 1 Jan 2003 Attorney - General and Minister for Justice, 1 Jan 2003 -
Dr.Martens Womens Clarissa II Quad Aunt Sally Leather Sandals BareTraps Haydon Buckle Strap Low Ankle Boots, Burgundy We can help you and your organization reduce, if not eliminate, workplace violence by learning how to “support people, not just their behaviors”™. To do this, organizations must first build a healthy relationship between and among all the stakeholders in an organization. The Mandt System is a comprehensive, integrated approach to preventing, de-escalating, and if necessary, intervening when the behavior of an individual poses a threat of harm to themselves and/or others. The focus of The Mandt System is on building healthy relationships between all the stakeholders in human service settings in order to facilitate the development of an organizational culture that provides the emotional,ECCO shoes Men's Soft 7 Low Sneaker shoes,Mahogany,42 M EU 8-8.5 D(M) USKENDALL + KYLIE Women's Kkgiada psychological, and physical safety needed in order to teach new behaviors to replace the behaviors that are labeled “challenging”. The Mandt System integrates knowledge about the neurobiological impact of childhood trauma with the principles of positive behavior support and provides a framework that empowers service providers to do their work in a way that minimizes the use of coercion in behavior change methodologies. It is our intention that within this framework we create peace of mind, that The Mandt System® can help you find appropriate solutions and then share these with everyone. Kenneth Cole Design 10521 Men's Leather Oxford (7.5, Cognac)This peace of mind comes from the fact that the instructional certification provided by The Mandt System® truly puts all people first by building healthy workplace relationships in which: - Your service users will be safer - Your staff will be saferJordan Mens Zoom Tenacity Low Top Lace Up, Black Black-White, Size 11.5XUANshoes L&L Ladies Knee Boots Women's Autumn and Winter Boots Large Size Female Boots High-Heeled Boots Thick Socks Boots Stretch Boots - Your work will meet or exceed your industry standards for safety - Nine Seven Genuine Leather Women's Square Toe Chunky Heel Comfort Style Handmade Ankle Boots - Avia Men's Avi-Venture Walking shoes - XTRATUF Finatic II Men’s Leather Deck shoes, Tan (22307) - Official Karrimor Moc Walking shoes Mens Brown Hiking Footwear Boots - CHAMARIPA Elevator shoes 3.94'' Taller Men Leather Tuxedo Dress Lifting shoes - Geox Women's W Club 18 Fashion Sneaker - AADDIN Leather shoes Men Business shoes Pointed Toe shoes Wedding Flat shoes Lace Up shoes - RJNSPx Leather shoes men's leather non-slip shoes, round head wild, no need to tie the laces mens dress shoes (color bluee, Size 45 EU) - ZHRUI Men Leather Sandals Outdoor Beach shoes Breathable Slippers Summer Flip Flops (color Yellow, Size 9.5=44 EU) - Camel active Men's's Moonlight 14 Low-Top Sneakers - Castellanisimos shoes Hombre bluecher de Piel en Burdeos - Dusty pink Kid Suede Avec Les Filles Womens Blaye Flat Sandal - HuangKang Gladiator Women Sandals Pumps shoes Sexy Leopards Super High Cover Heel shoes Buckle Strap Sandals 2019 Summer - Pleasantlyday Summer Women Sandals gold Open Toe Sandal Lace Dress shoes High Heels Sandals Square Heeled 6685 - Leroyca Women Over The Knee High Boots Winter shoes Platform All Match Sexy Women Boots Big Size These statements are not simply marketing gimmicks but represent verifiable research based outcomes in programs like yours.
How to Lay Concrete Blocks While some might find laying concrete blocks down an easy task, it can be overwhelming for beginners. It requires time and a good bit of supplies. If this is your first time, plan the task out with a friend. It is essential to use materials that both suit your project and the land you build on. Method 1 of 4: Gathering the Supplies - Understand the available blocks. There are many different varieties of concrete blocks used for modern construction. You’ll typically use standard 8″ units, which will create the bulk of the foundation. Other types you might consider are single and double corner units, which provide a smooth square or rounded corner. Then you also have jamb blocks used for creating a doorway. - Other special blocks are available for nearly every requirement you can think of. - Sash blocks can be used when you want to create casement windows with an opening. Put header blocks at the top of a wall if you need to create space for roof supports or other construction supports. - You can buy specialty blocks or even customize your building blocks to add a personal touch to your project. Purchase footing. Footing is the concrete base that is used as the base’s structure. You can either use dry footing that requires you to mix it with water to activate, or purchase prepared footing. Gather the basic tools. This type of project requires a lot of supplies that can be found at your nearest hardware store. Be sure you can afford the time it’ll take you to construct, and weigh the price difference of hiring professionals. Collect these supplies if you decide to continue: - Garden Hose - 3/8″ and 5/8″ Plywood - Work Gloves - 100′ of Chord - Masonry Chisel - 2×4 for Framing - Mortar Boards Ask a specialist. If you’re unsure about the specifics of what you should use for your project, consult a specialist at the hardware store. Typically the employees at the hardware store are knowledgeable about the needs of your project. It never hurts to ask if you’re unsure. Method 2 of 4: Preparing the Footing Understand footing. Every block of wall needs to be placed on a secure footing, which is made from concrete. Footing should be poured twice as deep as the thickness of the wall and twice as wide. If you’re using standard blocks (8″), then your footing should be at least 16″ wide. Footing is formed by using a frame of 2x4s and wooden stakes. Prepare the 2x4s. Double the width of the concrete block with two strips of 2x4s. Hold the 2x4s in place using wooden stakes along the outer wall. The 2x4s should be positioned so that they’re secured by the stakes. Be aware of the area. Make sure you aren’t preventing natural run-off water from the position of the footing. Observe the land in question for a few days prior to doing any work. Pay special attention to the area after it rains. You don’t want to disrupt the flow of water so that it floods into your neighbour’s property. Pour the base concrete. This will secure your potential wall firmly to the base. Fill the frame up to the edge. Level the freshly poured concrete by running a 2×4 across the top. This will spread the concrete in an even manner. Fill any spots that are low with additional concrete. Wait for the footing to dry. Before you can begin building, you’ll need to give the concrete ample time to dry. If you expect the footing to hold a substantial amount of weight, wait up to three days for it to dry. Method 3 of 4: Preparing to Lay the Concrete Blocks Plan and section off the corners. Before you begin laying the blocks, visualize all the corners of your frame. Section off the corners with wooden stakes. Use a cord or string to tie off exactly where the corners’ edges will be. Attach a chord or string to the wooden stake used to mark the corners. The string should create a circumference around your work space. Determine the number of blocks. Lay out your blocks along the dried footing and see how many you’ll need for the first layer. Don’t seal these down. Use a 5×8 to separate the blocks to account for the mortar. Use corner blocks on the corners if available. After testing, remove the blocks and prepare for the real event. Prepare the cement mortar. Take the bag of dried concrete and measure out one dosage. Look on the bag’s specifications for the brand you choose. Prepare a container to mix the dried mortar with water. Use a five gallon bucket that you don’t mind damaging. Never mix more mortar than you can use. Method 4 of 4: Laying the Concrete Blocks Spread the mortar along the corner. Use your trowel to spread a few slabs of mortar around the corner’s base of the footing. Spread the mortar 1″ deep and 8″ wide in the marked area. Continue to spread the mortar to account for the distance of about three to four blocks. Set the corner block. It is important to lay the corner block down first. Again, use a corner block if they’re available. Setting the corner first will ensure an even dispersal of the rest of the blocks. Apply mortar to the side. Apply mortar to each side of the concrete block using your trowel. You’ll need to apply at least an inch to each side. Once applied, position the stone in the desired location. Try to align the corner to the string set up earlier. Don’t apply mortar to outer edge of the corner. Try not to leave any gaps when applying mortar, or it’ll weaken the bond between the blocks. Continue to lay the concrete blocks. Start laying blocks from the corner or edge of the wall so you can work in one direction. Apply mortar at the end of the block before you place the block adjacent to it. Check the alignment. Before stacking more concrete blocks on top of your initial foundation, check if everything is aligned. Use your mason’s level by laying it on the first set of blocks. Check both the outside and center section of the bricks. Tap the blocks for any alignment adjustments while the mortar is still wet. Do not try to move a block after the concrete has set. Measure the length and height every two or three layers. Apply mortar to the top. Place the mortar 1 inch (2.5 cm) deep and use the same width as the width of the block. You can then spread the mortar so it covers the length of about 3 blocks in the direction that you are laying the bricks. Stack the blocks. Lay the block down on top so the edge of the top block aligns with the halfway mark of the bottom block. You’ll recognize the pattern as a standard among the construction sites. The top block will fit in between two bottom blocks. Add reinforcement. If you built fairly high walls, consider adding reinforcements. You can also use reinforcements if the ground pressure on the site is not stable. Place the 1/4″ reinforcement rods into the openings with the ends overlapping about 2″ or 3″. Laying concrete blocks can be heavy labour that can cause blisters. Wear construction gloves to protect your hands.
While many products promise a radiant skin or glossy hair, no beauty product is as effective as a healthy and balanced diet, rich in vitamins and nutrients. Wondering which are the foods that make you pretty? Here are 7 great foods for healthy skin and hair. 1. Wild Salmon Salmon is not also great for brain activity, but is also a food that makes you beautiful. Wild salmon is packed with omega-3 fatty acids and selenium, which contribute to your overall skin and hair health. Tuna and cod also contain omega-3 fatty acids. Blueberries are yet another delicious food that makes you beautiful. They are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants which help keep your skin smooth and firm, preventing premature aging. Blackberries, pomegranate and strawberries are also packed with vitamin C and antioxidants. 3. Pumpkin Seeds Pumpkin seeds are loaded with vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids, which will keep your skin smooth and young, also fighting acne and other skin problems. Sunflower seeds and chia seeds are very effective as well. 4. Kidney Beans Kidney beans are another yummy food that makes you beautiful. They are a great source of protein, iron, zinc and biotin, which help strengthen your hair and nails. Lentils and chickpeas are great beauty foods as well. Another wonder food that makes you beautiful, tomatoes are rich in vitamin A, which helps keep your skin healthy and supple. They are also packed with lycopene, which helps protect the skin from UV radiation. Tomato pastes, carrots and sweet potatoes are also great for your skin. Looking for a food that makes your beautiful? Oranges are loaded with vitamin C and bioflavonoids, which enhances collagen production, helping keep your skin smooth and firm. Grapefruits, cantaloupes and lemons are other wonder fruits. Oysters are not only a fabled aphrodisiac, but also a food that makes you beautiful. They are a a great source of protein, vitamin B and zinc, which can make your skin and hair glow with beauty. OK, not exactly a food, but green tea is rich in antioxidants and works wonders for your skin and overall health. To get the best benefits for your health, choose a premium or organic blend. Keeping yourself hydrated is essential if you want to look good and feel good. For healthy skin and hair, make sure you drink at least eight glasses of water every day.
Cushing's disease is brought on by excessive amounts of cortisone circulating around the body. Dogs with Cushing's disease can show a wide variety of symptoms, the most common ones being: - Excessive drinking - Excessive hunger - Pot bellied - Chronic skin problems - Hair loss (alopecia) along the abdomen and chest Affected pets may display some or all of these symptoms. - Excess amounts of cortisone therapy e.g. in long running skin problems. - Malignant tumour of the adrenal glands- tumours made up of the cortisone producing cells of the adrenal glands make excessive cortisone. - Benign tumour of the pituitary gland in the base of the brain (most common cause). The pituitary gland is the master gland of the body. Pituitary tumours can make hormones which tell the adrenal glands to make excessive amounts of cortisone Left untreated, complications can occur e.g. diabetes, poor wound healing, infections, poor skin, pot bellied, fatty liver. Dogs with pituitary gland tumours can go on to live comfortably for some time until the tumour gets too big and starts to place pressure on adjacent parts of the brain.At this stage, we might see symptoms such as blindness and other hormone imbalances. Unfortunately, adrenal gland tumours are often malignant and can spread to other parts of the body. Referral to a specialist may be an option if the tumour is in just one adrenal galnd and not adhered to any vital structures e.g. the major vein returning blood to the heart (caudal vena cava) which runs adjacent to the adrenal glands. Suspected cases have blood tests done to try and find out where the excess cortisone is coming from. Until recently, most cases were treated with a drug called Lysodren which destroys the parts of the adrenal glands that make cortisone. A relatively new drug called Trilostane, is the current treatment of choice. It has a much higher success rate and less side effects than Lysodren. Trilostane is used in human medicine for treatment of Cushing's disease. Trilostane is an expensive drug to supply. Many cases on Trilostane can have the dose lowered after a few months, which helps with the budget. Regular blood tests pick up if this situation has arisen. Unexpected Side Effects of Treament Cortisone has powerful anti-inflammatory actions in the body. Symptoms of arthritis or itchiness (pruritis) may be hidden in dogs suffering from Cushing's disease. Once treated for Cushing's disease, these signs may become obvious to the owner and require other medications to soothe them. Diabetes is commonly seen in Cushing's cases, probably as a result of cortisone interfering with the action of insulin. Because of this interference, the treatment dose of insulin is much higher than in a diabetic none-cushingoid dog. Once treatment for Cushing's starts, the vet has to closely monitor the diabetes to ensure there is no overdosing of insulin which now has no cortisone to interfere with its action. Cushing's cases have to be regularly monitored to make sure the medication is working properly and also to ensure that not all the body's cortisone production has been stopped. In other words, we don't want the dogs to have the opposite problem of not enough cortisone (Addison's Disease). Dogs in treatment are usually given some cortisone tablets (e.g. Cortate) to have on hand just in case their dog's cortisone levels drop to zero during the course of treatment and it starts to show symptoms of Addison's disease. Expense of Treatment Before embarking on treatment, owners need to be very aware of the expensive nature of treament. They must be fully committed and prepared to put up with regular blood tests and expensive drug bills. In a very old patient, no treatment may be a more preferable propositon especially if the owners are on a budget. In human medicine, pituitary gland tumous can be removed by specialist surgeons operating through the nose or roof of the mouth.
REIFFENSTEIN, JOHN CHRISTOPHER (he also signed John Christoph or Jean Christoph Reiffenstein), army and militia officer and businessman; b. c. 1779; m. 14 June 1806 Miriam Carr in Halifax, and they had three children; d. 7 March 1840 in New York City. According to historian Benjamin Sulte, John Christopher Reiffenstein came from a branch of the princely German family of Thurn und Taxis. Nothing is known of his childhood or youth. He went into the British army in 1795, and on 22 May 1804 was commissioned an ensign in the 98th Foot and appointed adjutant. In 1805 he went overseas with his regiment, first to Bermuda and then to Nova Scotia. In 1807 he left that province for Quebec. Early in 1808 he gave up his commission in the 98th Foot, and on 30 June he became quartermaster of the Royal Newfoundland Regiment. He resigned at the end of 1811 after a court martial found that he had made the men in his regiment pay twice as much for some pieces of their kit as the price asked elsewhere, and also that he had lost or destroyed all the official receipts for his various transactions. Having abandoned his army career, Reiffenstein joined the militia. On 13 June 1812 he was made staff adjutant under Lieutenant-Colonel Augustus Warburton. War with the United States took the two men to the La Prairie region, where they remained from January to March 1813, to Amherstburg in Upper Canada in April, and to Detroit and Sandwich (Windsor, Ont.) from May to September. On 5 October Reiffenstein participated in the battle of Moraviantown, which saw Warburton taken prisoner and the great Indian leader Tecumseh killed. He himself left before the outcome was decided. Alarmed by what seemed an impending American victory he went to Burlington Heights (Hamilton), and told Colonel Robert Young that Major-General Henry Procter’s force had been defeated. Young immediately informed Major-General John Vincent, who was near Fort George (Niagara-on-the-Lake). Vincent ordered his men to withdraw. Meanwhile Reiffenstein made his way to York (Toronto), and then to Kingston. There he reported to Major-General Francis de Rottenburg and his colleague Duncan Darroch that Procter’s force had been taken prisoner by an American army of 8,000 which was advancing rapidly towards Burlington Heights. This story was not true. Some time later Reiffenstein got back to Quebec, and from there, probably before 25 October, he was sent to Montreal. The false rumours of which he was the author had spread panic throughout Upper Canada, and Rottenburg held him responsible for Vincent’s hasty retreat, which had seriously weakened the British military position in the Niagara peninsula. Reiffenstein was made adjutant of the 1st Select Embodied Militia Battalion of Lower Canada on 21 November, but his appointment as staff adjutant was taken from him the following 29 January, in all likelihood as a result of the efforts of Procter and Rottenburg. He seems to have served as adjutant until the end of the war. Returning to civilian life, Reiffenstein embarked upon a business career in Lower Canada. He settled at Quebec and went into partnership with James Robinson, of London, under the name of Reiffenstein and Company. In 1814 he went to England, and in January of the following year put his first advertisement in the Quebec Gazette. He was initially established on Rue Saint-Pierre, but on 1 May 1816 he moved his business to Rue du Sault-au-Matelot and also changed partners, Quebec merchant William Phillips replacing Robinson. Their firm was dissolved on 1 May 1817 and he resumed his association with Robinson. Reiffenstein and Company remained in business until April 1820, when the partnership was terminated. Reiffenstein continued on alone, until his son John Edward came to help him around 1830. For a quarter of a century, Reiffenstein was an important auctioneer and prosperous merchant. His army service, it seems, had given him a good idea of what to sell. He started out liquidating war surplus items, including 800 pairs of Russia duck trousers and 700 knapsacks. He often went to England and France, and to Germany where his two sisters and brother John Christian, a wine merchant, lived. Reiffenstein made at least six trips between 1814 and 1833, buying large quantities of fabrics and clothes, furniture and hardware, tea, coffee, and wine, pictures, prints, and books. Among his customers were the Séminaire de Québec and painter Joseph Légaré, who bought about 40 pictures from him in 1823. Prior to 1825 Reiffenstein several times announced in the Quebec Gazette the arrival of consignments of 3,000–5,000 volumes, many of them written in French. He also dealt in church ornaments and sacred vessels, which brought him the custom of the clergy and the fabriques. He was the owner of the Highland Lad, a brig built at Quebec by John Goudie, which he used for transatlantic shipments. Reiffenstein, who owned a large lot in the faubourg Saint-Jean, sought to aid the poor by subscribing to the Quebec Fire Society and the Quebec Emigrants’ Society, and also to the Waterloo fund, which had been set up to help the families of men who were killed or wounded in the great battle. He does not seem to have been tempted to venture into politics, but in a letter he wrote to John Neilson from Paris in August 1833 he revealed his keen admiration for the 1830 revolution in France. ANQ-M, CN1-116, 12 déc. 1817; CN1-208, 17 juin 1829; P1000-3-360. ANQ-Q, CE1-61, 2 avril 1809, 5 oct. 1855; CN1-49, 14 sept. 1812, 21 juin 1813, 6 nov. 1815. ASQ, Séminaire, 126, nos.272–75. PAC, MG 24, B1, 189: 4392; RG 8, I(C ser.), 226: 62–63; 678: 164–65; 680: 169, 216–19, 242–46, 259–60, 269–72, 290–94, 319–21; 1168: 68–72; 1203 1/2J: 18, 218. PRO, WO 17/1509, 17/1517; WO 27/99. Quebec Gazette, 1815–40. G.B., WO, Army list, 1810. Raymond Gingras, Liste annotée de patronymes d’origine allemande au Québec et notes diverses (s.l., 1975). N.S. vital statistics, 1769–1812 (Punch). Officers of British forces in Canada (Irving). Réjean Lemoine, “Le marché du livre à Québec, 1764–1839” (thèse de
We do not become happy because we are successful; we become successful because we are happy. Happiness is the most universal goal people want to experience across the world. Everybody wants to be happy. Yet, no one talks about happiness. All parents want their children to be happy, but so few parents talk about it. We are not taught what happiness is, how to experience happiness, how to preserve happiness. And so it happens that many people end up waiting their whole life to become happy. I want to share 3 key thoughts about happiness: 1) Happiness is a decision. Life is powerful, but our thoughts about life are even more powerful. Whatever is happening in your life, you are the one who has the deciding vote when it comes to happiness, success, love and peace of mind. 2) Being authentic is key for being happy. It is impossible to be inauthentic and happy. 3) Happiness starts with self-acceptance: One of the greatest single steps you can take towards happiness now is to let go of the belief that happiness has to be deserved. Happiness is freely available. It is unconditional. What is your definition of happiness? In the past, I thought that my happiness should come after the happiness of others and after I do something worthy. For a long time I was a perfectionist. I wanted to avoid even the smallest mistake at all costs. Now, I know that my mistakes are not who I am and that I do not need to do anything to be happy. Being happy is my birthright. The fastest way to experience happiness is through wholehearted gratitude. Being grateful for simple things like having a roof over your head, running water and bread to eat can make miracles. What are YOU grateful for? Today, many people work full-time and live part-time. Often, we work without a vision and joy. To win at work, we lose in life. We work so hard to accomplish different goals, but so often we remain unfulfilled, with impaired health and relationships. The key to real success is to know yourself, your life purpose, have a vision and authentic goals. The better we know ourselves, the more effectively we will live, work and relate to others. What is your definition of success? We live in a time of change. Change is constant and Life brings us more new situations to deal with than ever before. Having courage to let go of control and welcome change is an act of power. A deep acceptance of the temporary nature of this world offers a powerful way to live. Nothing physical lasts forever – including jobs, companies, relationships, marriages, good times and difficult times. Being aware of this helps us to appreciate our jobs now, our relationships now, our life now. (and appreciation actually helps the things we value last longer) For many years, I measured success by my productivity. But I rarely took time to celebrate what I achieved at work. My accomplishments in my health, family or relationships didn’t even qualify as being called a success. Today, I know what my life purpose is. I have clarified for myself that my true values are Love, Joy and Family. Every day is an opportunity to review how successful I am in fulfilling my life purpose and celebrate. How do you celebrate your success? Robert Holden, Ph. D , the world leading authority on happiness and success, trained me in Coaching Happiness and provides never-ending inspiration on the topics of self-acceptance, happiness and success. I offer courses on happiness, success and happiness at workplace. I continue to be fascinated seeing how much our happiness can be increased when we dedicate time to talk about and think about it!
Here is an acronym that you must remember, even if it is still very common today : SALT for society to exercise a liberal. Tomorrow, this acronym will be more and more familiar. Health professionals, as twenty-two other regulated professions, may exercise within the framework of this legal structure initiated by the law of 31 December 1990, and very close to those used by a commercial company : SARL, SA, SAS,… “investors hold units if it is a SELARL (limited liability) and of the shares if it is a SELAS (simplified joint stock), details of Bastien Brignon, director of the master of professional Engineering societies at the university of Aix-Marseille (1). However, a SALT will not be listed. On the other hand, it will be able to use crowdfunding to raise finance.” vouch from banks for the credits Another advantage of the company’s fiscal liberal, it is a vector perfect for facilitating the transmission of business. “Thanks to the pacte Dutreil, 75 % of the value of the company is exempt in the context of transmission rights”, stresses Christophe Chaillet, director of wealth planning at HSBC. Condition that they comply with certain constraints. most Importantly, it provides solutions to young physicians that settle and have to sometimes deal with heavy investments for the practice of their activity. “The partners will bring to the place of the professional, the guarantees required by the banks for granting a loan, including by pledge of property owned,” continues Christophe Chaillet. With a home health or to combat desertification, medical, the SALT will appear as a tool capable of adapting to all situations. Since the law for the growth of August 2015, so-called ” loi Macron, individuals, or businesses in the form of holding the specific benefit of a device expanded to enter the capital of a SALT. This evolution, moreover, has not received a warm welcome among all of the physicians, who have obtained safeguards. “More than half of the share capital and voting rights must be held directly by professionals within the company,” says the director of the engineering heritage of HSBC. Among the minority physicians in practice or retired, are privileged, in order to develop interprofessional cooperation. What may be the weight of your participation in the capital ? This is the order or the national authority of each regulated profession, which lays down the threshold. The biologists and physicians are the most open to the outside world because of 49.9 % of the capital of their laboratories may be held by non-biologists. Doctors general practitioners, midwives, veterinarians, and the majority of professions, this share is limited to 25 %, knowing that the minimum share capital is € 7,500. Still it is necessary that you do not make any part of the cases of exclusion ! Not sellers of animals in a SALT of veterinary. Not providers or insurers in general practitioners and midwives … moreover, “before being entered in the Register of commerce and companies (RCS), the SALT will have to obtain an accreditation with the order, detailing the composition of the partners or shareholders,” says Christophe Chaillet. And this procedure must be renewed each year to verify that a wolf is not entered into the fold in the meantime. The advantageous tax regime of the investment to SMES for Tax purposes, the subscription of securities gives entitlement to the tax reduction SME (income tax and solidarity tax on fortune), and follows the terms and conditions of the units as securities. Shareholders can receive a dividend each year, according to the results. It is subject to income tax after an abatement of 40 %. However, “a liberal profession opts for the SALT especially to develop a capacity of self-financing,” says Bastien Brignon. The minority shareholders may also value their participation at the time of the sale of securities. Capital gains are subject to tax on the income, after an allowance for duration of detention, and are exempt if the securities are lodged in a PEA-PME. To give the value of the units, it is necessary of the assets, which get better and better with time. It is best not to rely too much on the patientèle – the address book of the patients may be resold, whose redemption is little more than today 30 000 euros. It is better to rely on the valorisation of the walls of the medical office, when they were acquired by the SALT. However, these real estate assets could also be seen as a brake when the transmission of the shares : their value can be judged to be too high, the premises may not be suitable for new professionals… In this case, it is always possible to dissociate the activity of the real estate, leaving those assets of the SALT. Thus, for Christophe Chaillet, in relation to the ownership of the premises, “the real estate company is sometimes preferable to the SALT. This allows you to continue to collect the income even if the SALT is transmitted changes from place to welcoming another tenant”. In short, your savings has more of a remedy to support the development of a physician. What profession accompany ? All the professions can incorporate exercise liberal : architects, lawyers, notaries, auctioneers, intellectual property attorneys, experts in land and agriculture, accountants, auditors, géomètres-experts, clerks of commercial courts, bailiffs, administrators and legal representatives, professors of dance… Read our complete file How many quarters for a full pension? Real estate Malraux : the irs often takes with one hand what it has given with the other SCPI: one of the best long-term investments, especially for small taxpayers From 2015, the act Macron allows certain professions to gather SALT, or to invest in another SALT : a lawyer in a SALT of lawyers or architects, an accountant in a SALT of lawyers, legal representatives… in Short, as soon as both professions are required to work together on issues of spouses, they may form a SALT, where one of them will be in the minority.
Big Thompson River Recreation & Conservation Assessment Loveland City Council adopted "A Bigger Vision for the Big T: A Recreation and Conservation Assessment" in 2015. The full plan is available online HERE. This assessment provides a vision for outdoor recreation and conservation in the Big Thompson Canyon, identifying potential opportunities for fishing, hiking, wildlife viewing, scenic viewsheds, and river resiliency. This project is a collaboration with the Larimer County Department of Natural Resources.
An underground city is a network of tunnels that connects various buildings below the street level. These may include office blocks, metro stations, underground shopping malls. Underground structures or networks are usually found in countries with cold climate. For example, the temperature in Canada in winter is -10 degree Celsius. The climate in Canada does not permit free movement over ground. That is the reason for the development of underground cities. Montreal’s RESO is the world’s largest Underground city in Canada. It is popularly known as “Double Decker City“. Underground cities usually have entrances through public spaces. The underground structure rises over ground and provides for a proper entrance to the underground structure.
Mike Preston on why successfully faking a death to carry out life insurance fraud is pure fantasy in today’s digital era Faking your death in order to live off the ill-gotten proceeds of falsely claimed insurance proceeds might seem far-fetched, but is unfortunately still a perceived reality even in today’s digital age. In May 2017 the Insurance Fraud Bureau (IFB) declared its 500th successful conviction since its inception in 2006 as a central hub for sharing insurance fraud intelligence. Using sophisticated software to analyse and detect suspicious patterns of behaviour, the IFB has come to work extremely closely with police and other authorities to great effect since it was launched as a not-for-profit entity. One of the highest profile cases in recent times, the much-publicised disappearance of John Darwin in 2002 was as sensational as it was sobering for those of us operating within the life insurance industry. The notion that a 50-something prison officer could feasibly pull off his very own ‘Reggie Perrin’ moment in the real world – and for so long – was a watershed moment in many ways. Arguably, it was only Darwin’s own carelessness in the aftermath of his disappearance, alongside his own willingness to hand himself in, which brought the infamous canoeist under police suspicion, and ultimately to justice, some five years later. In the meantime, his wife successfully claimed £25,000 and a further £137,000, to pay off a £130,000 mortgage after ownership of two properties had otherwise left the couple crippled with debt. A decade on, fraudulently claiming against a life insurance policy is apparently still perceived to be a feasible course of action by some. In February this year, a woman and her son from the West Midlands were arrested for allegedly faking her death during a luxury holiday to Zanzibar in a bid to claim a £140,000 pay-out. Fortunately, since the days of Darwin’s deception, the industry has worked hard at reducing the likelihood of life insurance fraud taking place at all. Buying life protection is different to most other insurance products, in that a successful claim also involves a degree of justification on the beneficiary’s part not necessarily required by other policy types. A process requiring the provision of a death certificate, obtaining a document in fraudulent circumstances is no less feasible than it has always been. Quite the opposite, in fact – the advances in digital tech unfortunately now offer would-be fraudsters opportunities for access at the click of a mouse. Thankfully, with every rising threat comes a fortified industry response, with the field of insurance proving no exception. Work to improve overall data quality and the acquisition of advanced technological tools is a priority for increasing numbers of industry leaders who are adopting a more integrated approach when it comes to addressing the four pillars required to form an effective claims fraud management network. Defining strategy, overall operational models, the quality of information and the analytic methods used to assess data contained within an organisation now form a continual process of improvement for many. With many consumers either turning to comparison sites or going direct through consumer channels to find competitively priced protection and taking responsibility for their own purchases, the onus is increasingly on the holder themselves to check the terms and conditions across a range of non-advised products. While insurers remain no less robust in their provision of conditions dictated to them by industry regulators, the likelihood of a lesser informed consumer falling foul during the course of an attempted fraudulent claim could in turn have also increased. Ongoing work to improve partnerships between the industry and other bodies involved in bringing fraudsters to justice has also resulted in increasing numbers of high profile cases arising in the media. A frequently occurring antidote to the furore surrounding Darwin’s extended disappearance some ten years previous, coverage of current cases including the recent Zanzibar scenario is more focused on the swift apprehension of such individuals, over the involvement of any long-term evasion. Through increased partnership between insurers, industry bodies and the wider authorities, the net continues to close in on an increasingly small minority of consumers who believe they can abuse the system. Mike Preston is business development director at Compare Cover
Courtesy Handy Canadian, www.handycanadian.com Building a new home, for many people, is a dream come true. What could be better than watching the construction and helping in the planning of your very own new house? While this process is undeniably exciting, unfortunately it’s also full of potentially costly mistakes. During home building, most, if not all, of the work is done by hired professionals. However, during the planning phase of home construction, there are many common mistakes made by individuals with the very best of intentions. Unfortunately, these mistakes are easy to make, often go unnoticed by the pros you’ve hired, and can ultimately end up being extremely costly to correct. Here, we’ll review some of the most common mistakes made during this exciting and nerve-wracking time. We’ll also let you know how to avoid these mistakes, saving yourself from big headaches and big bills down the road. Home Building Mistake #1 – Attempting Too Much DIY For many prospective homeowners, the ability to purchase ready-made house plans and perform other planning and building activities yourself is very attractive. These options save you the money spent on professional services, and it all looks fairly simple. Don’t be fooled. Professional home builders and designers (architects) exist for a reason. It’s their job to build you a solid, dependable and enjoyable home, taking every single aspect into consideration. Their years of experience may come at a price, but its money well spent. All that experience translates into a high level of attention to detail; catching potential problems you may not have noticed or even been aware of. If you really fall in love with a home design you find online or in a catalog, have a professional look it over before you purchase the plans and begin construction. This will ensure that you get the home you want, and that the home will stand the test of time. When considering tackling a home building project on a DIY basis, think twice. Then, think another few times. This is not a leaky faucet or a creaking door hinge … this is your future home. Pitching in on smaller jobs is one thing, but unless you are experienced (and licensed, in some cases) leave the bigger, more fundamental jobs to the professionals. Home Building Mistake #2 – Scrimping on Fundamentals While your contractor will have suggestions as to the materials used in your new home, you as the future homeowner have the final say. After all, you’re the one paying for it all. While purchasing the cheapest possible options in building materials will save you money upfront, you’re almost guaranteed to pay for it down the road. Extremely inexpensive materials are inexpensive for a reason. In most cases, it’s because they’re made cheaply, using poor quality ingredients or base materials. Is that really what you want your home to be made of? Of course not. There’s no need to go with the highest-priced option. Your contractor will provide you with several options which they feel are dependable, ranging from moderately priced to high. Consult with them and find out how they feel about each product. Have they used it in the past? Would they use it to build a home for themselves or a loved one? In most cases, a middle-range product is all you need to ensure that your home is built with lasting stability. Remember that it’s one thing to cut corners on cosmetic items, but quite another to construct a shaky structure. Foundations, walls and flooring, as well as things like wiring and plumbing, should always be as solid and sound as possible. Home Building Mistake #3 – Poor Financial Planning When it comes to home building, some financial aspects are fairly simple. However, even the simplest details can get ignored in the excitement of building a new home. Having a budget is your first and most important step. In today’s economy, it simply doesn’t make sense to plunge yourself into debt building your dream house. After all, you want to enjoy living in the home, and you’ll enjoy it a lot more if it’s not dragging down your credit rating! Create a budget as soon as you decide to build, and stick to it. While creating your budget, do some research to find out just how much your home is likely to cost. If you discover that you can’t accommodate the price, wait a few years to build. If you discover that a new home is within your budget, research the style and size of house you plan to build. Calculate the median price range. You should also check into individual job pricing. For example, consult with an expert to determine what type of foundation you should install, then research the average cost to install that particular type of foundation. It may seem tedious to research every aspect in this manner, but the results are well worth it. Once you have real-world figures of what the average rates are for each job, you have figures on which to base your negotiating. Nobody wants to haggle with a contractor, but if yours offers you a bid which is higher than the going rate in your area for the same work, you can show them the figures and ask why theirs are higher. They may have a very good reason, such as highly experienced workers. Or, unfortunately, they may be counting on the fact that most future homeowners don’t do this type of research, and hoping to squeeze a few extra dollars out of you. If the latter is the case, strongly consider finding a more reputable contractor to build your home. Home Building Mistake #4 – Accepting a Too-Low Bid We’re all trying to save money these days, and so an extremely low bid from a friendly contractor may seem like the perfect way to shave a significant chunk of money from your budget. However, a smart consumer is always wary of a too-low price. There are a few different reasons why a contractor may offer you a very low bid, and none of them are good. One common reason is inexperienced or unlicensed workers. The contractor doesn’t have to pay these workers as much, and he’s passing that savings on to you. However, this is not an area where you want to cut corners. In fact, having unlicensed workers do certain types of work, such as electrical wiring, is illegal and will cause problems with your building permits and your future insurance coverage. Insist on licensed and experienced workers; they’re well worth the extra cost. Another common reason for a low bid is even more frightening than poor workmanship. In many cases, a contractor will offer a low bid, demanding upfront payment in order to seal this “limited time” deal. Walk away! Contractors offering this type of deal, in many cases, are not reliable. Many lawsuits have been filed against contractors who offered these deals and then simply didn’t show up for work. Taking a higher (yet still realistic) bid from a reputable contractor is the smart way to go. If anything seems too good to be true, or if you feel pressured to sign a contract, don’t be afraid to follow your instincts and look elsewhere. In some cases, a contractor will offer a very low bid because they plan to save in other ways. Unfortunately, none of these saving methods are good for you or your future home. Common savings tactics include scrimping on material quality, underpaying workers (which often results in poor workmanship), or by failing to obtain proper permits. Follow your gut, and be very cautious with any bid which seems too low. Don’t be afraid to ask exactly how the contractor plans on delivering a quality home at the price they’ve offered, and if you don’t like their plans, seek out another contractor. Home Building Mistake #5 – Poor Location Choice It’s not realistic for most future homeowners to have endless options when it comes to a building site. However, it’s important to consider some key criteria before you purchase property. These criteria will affect the building process itself, the future value of your home, and your quality of life as a resident. Busy streets might seem convenient if they’re close to your job or your children’s school, but they’re almost always a negative. Not only is it harder to perform any construction job with vehicles flying by, but the value of the completed home will be much lower. Very few people actually want to live on a busy street; most home buyers are seeking peace and relative quiet. For future sales and for your own enjoyment, look for properties which are convenient while still being relatively peaceful. Terrain plays a big role in how quickly and easily construction can take place. This includes things like hills, soil conditions, bodies of water on the property, the slope of the property, the underlying water table and any wooded areas. In essence, anything which will impede the movement of workers could end up costing you more in time and labour. Nearby structures can cause you a lot of headaches down the road. If you’re purchasing land in a development, you’re fairly certain to end up surrounded by residential homes. However, in many areas, your neighbours may end up being much less desirable. Many properties are priced below market value due to unwanted neighbouring structures. Sure, it’s convenient to live near a supermarket … but do you really want a 24-hour grocery right next door, with all the lights and constant traffic? Likewise, any large open expanses of land attract people who want to party and dump trash … not things which most people want to live near. Consider all the adjacent properties before making a purchase. Utilities aren’t an option, and so it’s a good idea to find out the cost to connect before you buy. Prices vary wildly, even in neighbouring towns, so call to get the figures before you fall in love with a piece of land. Instinct and Common Sense As you can see, avoiding some of the most common and costly mistakes of home building is simply a matter of following your instincts and thinking each decision through logically. It may take a bit more time, but it’s time well spent.
The Barberry family globally has about 15 genera and 650 species, but there are only a few native to Montana. Several other species are cultivated. Members of the Berberidaceae are shrubs in this area. The stems sometimes have scattered vascular bundles and the wood is generally very yellow because of the presence of berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid. The leaves are usually alternate, and may be simple or compound. They are often spiny, and sometimes completely reduced to spines. Stipules are usually lacking. The flowers are usually radially symmetric, bisexual, and have a perianth that is often 3-merous. Both the calyx and the corolla are made up of separate parts. There are 4 or 6 sepals, 4 or 6 outer petals, and often 6 showy, nectar-producing inner petals. There are 4 stamens with anther sacs that open by flaps that are hinged at the top. The ovary is superior. There are usually many ovules. The fruit is a berry. Guide to Identify Presented Species of the LOW, CREEPING SHRUBS Mahonia repens - Oregon Grape Trailing shrub 10-30 cm tall, stiff-branched. Lower foothills to forested slopes. Flowers yellow, about 1 cm wide, with petals and inner and outer sepals. Leaves alternate, pinnate, the 5-7 leaflets with spine-tipped teeth. Alphabetical listing with links to presented species of the Barberry family:
First Grade Class The following is a brief list of what will be covered in first grade this year. It is not an exhaustive list. There may be some deletions or additions, especially in the areas of science and social studies. Addition and Subtraction facts Basic addition and subtraction with two digit numbers If time allows, borrowing and carryring with two and three digit numbers Clocks – telling time to every 5 minutes Beginning algebra – example… (10-4) + ?=8 Money – counting change Place value problems Reading through Book Five in the Harcourt reading series Gaining basic sight words to at least a 2nd grade level Passing Spring IRI state reading inventory Gaining adequate phonics skills to a second grade level Register a second grade score or better on a Star Reading Test Students will write four cohesive sentences or better on a certain topic Students will correctly write beginning Doche list words correctly Students will start sentences with capital letters and end sentences with an end mark. Students will pass spelling tests that largely come from Harcourt Reading series. Columbus, Thanksgiving story, Christmas traditions, Abraham Lincoln, Civil War George Washington, Martin Luther King Junior, Great Discoverers Basic Geography, Social studies of people in groups of various sizes Sharks, Solar System, Circulatory System, Heart, Five Senses, Four Seasons Other interesting subjects in science.
Mary and the Holy Family are in the spotlight at the University of Dayton Libraries again this year. More than 2,500 visitors are expected: they will come to see the 300 or so crèches on display between now and January 26, 2014. The crèches are part of the Marian Library’s collection of more than 2,500 crèches and nativity-related ornaments. The theme this year, At the Manger: And Animals Were There, will delight and intrigue adults and children as they view world nativity traditions at the “manger.” Creative children’s activities, light refreshments, live entertainment by the Dayton International Festival Singers and a Stable Store provide something for everyone. The idea for the crèche displays started when the late Constance Breen saw two crèche scenes on the top shelf of a bookcase at the Marian Library. She asked about them, talked with Father Johan Roten, and suggested to several friends that they might see about displaying them. Ginny Whalen and other close friends agreed, and an annual tradition began. Since 1995, the collection has grown to include thousands of nativities from around the world that reflect a variety of customs and traditions. The crèches are expressions of how Christianity has shaped the culture and faith of people all over the world; 96 cultures and countries are represented. From 15 to 19 volunteers donate time each week during the year, repairing, organizing and building new settings for the collection. The volunteers donate more than 5,500 hours each year! The cost to preserve, create and repair the crèches and present the collection is from $10,000 to $15,000 each year. Donations to the Crèche Collection are welcome. The crèches are shown on three floors of UD’s Roesch library and change each year. Crèches are on loan to offices at the University and venues in other cities and states, mostly in the East, during the Christmas season. The displays can be seen during University Library hours. Meanwhile, Africa Meets Asia, an exhibit at Gallery St. John, at 4400 Shakertown Road in Beavercreek, features more than 25 crèches from UD’s Marian Library collection. This exhibit tells the Christmas story from the viewpoint of various African cultures. The clothes, animals and participants are presented in African settings; the various woods, fabrics and decorations complete the African theme. The show runs to January 5 with special holiday hours. Call the gallery at 937-320-5405 for more information.
“Job creator” is a tag fitting for the technology. As more functions and processes move offsite, and more businesses look to tap into the savings brought on by cloud computing, there is a clear need to have qualified workers ushering along the process. So here are three indicators on why the cloud, among other benefits, means jobs. Greater Job Potential Than the Early Internet A new study titled “Job Growth in the Forecast: How Cloud Computing is Generating New Business Opportunities and Fueling Job Growth in the United States” showed several ways cloud computing can create new jobs. The study was sponsored by SAP and revealed cloud computing has the potential to create big business opportunities and hundreds of thousands of jobs in the U.S. Additionally, venture capital investments in cloud opportunities are projected to be $30 billion in the next five years, which has the potential to add another 213,000 new jobs in the U.S. “The study confirms that cloud computing can have a significant impact at every key growth stage of the business lifecycle – from launching a startup to expanding a business to managing a multi-national enterprise,” said Jacqueline Vanacek, vice president and cloud computing evangelist at SAP. “Business growth leads to jobs, and cloud computing will accelerate this in certain industries.” The study goes on to say cloud computing has greater potential for employment growth than the Internet did in its early years. More Work Than Qualified Workers The number of job postings in the cloud computing has grown so rapidly that there aren’t enough qualified workers available to fill the posts, according to an analysis of hiring trends by Wanted Analytics. There were about 5,000 jobs posted online related to cloud technology, a 92% increase from the same month last year and a more than four times increase compared to 2010,according to Wanted Analytics. “With the demand for cloud skills growing so quickly, the gap between hiring demand and talent supply across the United States is getting larger and causing more difficulties in sourcing candidates,” the report said. Most of the cloud jobs are generated from service providers, with VMware posting the most cloud jobs last month with 360, according to Wanted Analytics. Microsoft came in second, with 230, and Amazon.com, URS Corp. and Google rounded out the top five. San Jose, Calif., is the top metropolitan market for cloud employment. More than 900 cloud postings last month were in San Jose, up 144% compared to the same month last year. Seattle, Washington, D.C., San Francisco and New York City are other booming job markets for cloud computing. Worldwide Cloud Jobs Predicted to Hit 14 Million by 2015 IDC predicts cloud computing jobs will reach 14 million by 2015, according to a study sponsored by Microsoft. “The cloud is going to have a huge impact on job creation,” said Susan Hauser, Microsoft corporate vice president of the Worldwide Enterprise and Partner Group. “It’s a transformative technology that will drive down costs, spur innovation and open up new jobs and skillsets across the globe.” The cloud helps companies to be more innovative by freeing up IT managers to work on more mission-critical projects, the study shows. More than one-third of cloud jobs will be in the communications and media, banking and discrete manufacturing industries. China and India will account for half of new cloud-related jobs, according to the study.
Freddie Mac recently released its U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook for June showing the effects rising interest rates are having on certain markets around the country and the overall housing recovery. A short preview video and the complete June 2013 U.S. Economic and Housing Market Outlook are available here. Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have risen about 0.5 percentage points over the past several weeks and are expected to hover around 4.0 percent during the second half of 2013. With rising mortgage rates, expect a sharp decline in refinance volume in the second half of this year; refinance originations are expected to total about $1.1 trillion in 2013, down from $1.5 trillion in 2012. At today's house prices and income levels, mortgage rates would have to be nearly 7 percent before the U.S. median priced home would be unaffordable to a family making the median income in most parts of the country. A table showing the effect rising interest rates could have on affordability in the Top 30 U.S. Metro Markets is available here [PDF]. "The recent upturn in interest rates is sparking fears among some that the nascent economic and housing recoveries will be choked off before they produce sustained growth,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac vice president and chief economist. “However, with the exception of high-cost markets, primarily San Francisco south to San Diego, and Washington, DC north to Boston, which are already challenged with affordability, house prices in most of the country are very affordable. So while rising interest rates will reduce housing demand, rates would have to increase considerably more before the reduction in demand for home purchases would be substantial. Nothing in the recent trends suggests that we need to fear a major slowdown. A gradual rise in interest rates will not derail the recovery, and are an indication that the overall economic situation is improving." For more information, visit www.FreddieMac.com. Want to keep your site updated, but have zero time to write articles? Get great content like this for your website with REsource from RISMedia. MRIS customers save 10%. Click here to learn more.
In Kindergarten, students will be learning about Poetry. In connection, during Technology students will create Acrostic Poems in Kidspiration, while using their Pictionary books. In First Grade, students are learning about Poetry during National Poetry Month. In connection, during Technology students will use their laptop cameras (PhotoBooth) to take a picture of an item in their classroom, then write a poem about it in Microsoft Word. Later, dragging their picture from PhotoBooth into Microsoft Word. Students will highlight their work and change their font size, type and color. In Second Grade, students will be taking a Virtual Trip to the San Diego Zoo. Students will view live webcams of Polar Bears, Panda Bears and much more. Then, students will create a Post card in Microsoft Word -by creating a Text box, and write 3 sentences about their experiences on their Virtual Trip. Students will highlight their work and change their font size, type and color and add a picture from Safari. In Third Grade, students are currently learning about Europe in Social Studies. In connection, during Technology students chose a Country from Europe and are researching various facts while www.factmonster.com
New Policies for New Residents Immigrants, Advocacy, and Governance in Japan and Beyond Publication Year: 2014 In recent decades, many countries have experienced both a rapid increase of in-migration of foreign nationals and a large-scale devolution of governance to the local level. The result has been new government policies to promote the social inclusion of recently arrived residents. In New Policies for New Residents, Deborah J. Milly focuses on the intersection of these trends in Japan. Despite the country's history of restrictive immigration policies, some Japanese favor a more accepting approach to immigrants. Policies supportive of foreign residents could help attract immigrants as the country adjusts to labor market conditions and a looming demographic crisis. As well, local citizen engagement is producing more inclusive approaches to community. Milly compares the policy discussions and outcomes in Japan with those in South Korea and in two similarly challenged Mediterranean nations, Italy and Spain. All four are recent countries of immigration, and all undertook major policy innovations for immigrants by the 2000s. In Japan and Spain, local NGO-local government collaboration has influenced national policy through the advocacy of local governments. South Korea and Italy included NGO advocates as policy actors and partners at the national level far earlier as they responded to new immigration, producing policy changes that fueled local networks of governance and advocacy. In all these cases, Milly finds, nongovernmental advocacy groups have the power to shape local governance and affect national policy, though in different way. Published by: Cornell University Press Title Page, Copyright, Dedication Figures and Tables Conventions and Abbreviations Introduction: Advocacy and Governance for Immigrants About a two-hour train ride from Asakusa station in Tokyo lie the communities of Ōta and Ōizumi. En route from Tokyo, the train passes expansive rice fields and clusters of small factories. Route 354, a main road that forms the boundary between Ōta and Ōizumi, is also the center of Brazil-town, an area of shops and businesses that cater to the local Brazilian community. In 2013, about 3.3% of Ōta’s population of slightly more than 220,000 were registered foreigners... 1. Trajectories of the Advocacy-Governance Linkage As a beneficiary of a program to encourage local economic competitiveness through administrative deregulation, the Japanese city of Ōta was designated a special district for developing international education at the primary and junior high school levels. It is a member of the Conference of Cities with Large Foreign Populations, an organization whose members came together to share information and lobby the national government for changes. With its initiatives for... 2. National Policy Change Compared Policy advocacy exerted under different forms of governance provides a comparative perspective for interpreting national policy change in Japan. Although nongovernmental advocates have been influential in Italy, Korea, and Spain, the timing of their incorporation in national discussion, the source of advocacy that was effective in bringing about reforms, and the process through which their voices were incorporated into elite processes have varied.... 3. Changing Japan’s Policies—Slowly Ōta and Ōizumi reflect some if not all of the growing pressures for reform in Japan’s immigrant policies. They also have participated in a process of advocacy-promoting governance in which local communities and nongovernmental advocacy groups have developed their own programs and networks that expand outward and upward to the national level. To the extent that national policy reforms to support immigrants and foreign residents occurred in the 1990s, they... 4. Local Governance and National Policy Advocacy in Japan During 2005 and 2006, surveyors for the city of Ōta visited the homes of foreign residents to determine how many foreign children in Ōta were not attending school and why. Ōta’s officials originally thought that 24% of foreign children were not in school, but they discovered that the reality was less than 1%; they blamed insufficient record keeping by the alien registration system... 5. Japan’s Webs of Nongovernmental Advocacy and Governance In 1999, activist Watanabe Hidetoshi appeared as an expert witness before the Legal Affairs Committee of the Japanese House of Representatives after being recommended by both the Japan Communist Party and the Kōmeitō, a coalition partner of the LDP. Invited to testify in connection with planned revision of the immigration law, Watanabe later reflected that “this would have been unheard... 6. Landscapes of Multilevel Governance Just as the preceding two chapters addressed the role of local governments and civil society groups in Japan in working toward immigrants’ social inclusion, this chapter examines similar dynamics in Italy, Korea, and Spain in a more limited manner. Focusing mainly on the policy areas of housing, health, and education, I explore the role of subnational governments and their collaboration with nonprofit... 7. Shocks to the System By late 2008 a financial crisis was spreading throughout the world and triggering declines in production, high unemployment, and fiscal crises. This economic turmoil presents an opportunity to assess the contribution of multilevel governance to the stable inclusion of foreign residents in the four societies discussed here. Economic crises can reverse local demand for foreign labor, incur costs on... Conclusion: Advocacy toward Inclusion? This book has been a narrative of pathways to change—in policies to include noncitizens and in processes of citizen inclusion in multilevel governance. Processes of crafting governance, advocacy, membership, and policies have all been part of the mix. As citizens claim a greater role for themselves in decision making in multilevel governance, they also contribute to defining the membership of... Page Count: 280 Publication Year: 2014 MUSE Marc Record: Download for New Policies for New Residents
Thursday, April 2, 2009 Gambar Yasmin Hani dan bf at phi phi island Over at the San Francisco Chronicle's excellent travel section, Cherilyn Parsons visits beautiful Koh Phi Phi, Thailand, and asks, "Wasn't there a tsunami here only three years ago?" There was. On the day after Christmas, 2004, a tsunami ravaged the island of Phi Phi, driving tourists, and tourist dollars, away. For a year, most of the visitors to the island were backpackers who helped clean up the rubble, as documented in Brook Silva-Braga's fantastic documentary A Map for Saturday. Parsons writes that the island looks much like it did pre-tsunami, and that locals are trying to move past that sad part of their recent history. When she asks one hotel owner how business was affected by the tsunami, she gets her answer: "'How many nights you want stay Phi Phi?' In other words, 'Why should I dwell on my past when I can sell a room to help my future?' That attitude was an answer." Here's the full article, and accompanying photo gallery. Posted by sally at 7:28 PM
In October, IMF Nurse Leadership Board member, Elizabeth Bilotti, RN, MSN, APRN, BC at the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center, testified before the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee in support of S 1834/ A 2666, the oral chemotherapy access bill. “I don’t think I went into the situation with an understanding of the reality. At first I forgot that I was speaking to politicians and not people who have a firm understanding of healthcare. They only know what people tell them and what they have the opportunity to read,” Elizabeth said. She explained to the committee that over 25% of drugs in the oncology clinical pipeline are oral agents. And that in the last decade, 2 of the 3 drugs that have received FDA approval for the treatment of multiple myeloma have been oral and have nearly doubled the overall survival rates. Elizabeth emphasized the economic and psychosocial impact the use of oral chemotherapy agents has when compared to IV or injected administration. There is a reduction in day-to-day life disruptions for the patient and caregiver because they are not required to take off of work to visit a clinic for IV administration. Time out of work can have a significant impact on both the economic status of the family, as well as the psychological impact of a shift in roles and family dynamic. Although oral chemotherapy agents are expensive, Elizabeth clarified that IV agents are as well and that the savings associated with oral administration include less frequent office visits, no cost to administer the drug, and less time away from work for patients and caregivers. Elizabeth told the committee that because of the availability of additional agents, providers now have the opportunity to tailor the therapy to the individual patient. Due to the disparity in coverage between oral and IV chemotherapy and the high out of pocket cost for oral chemotherapy, the provider and the patient are put in a very difficult position. Limited access to treatment due to cost should not be the reason a patient is unable to receive the appropriate therapy to extend his/her life and either improve or maintain quality. “I think the biggest impact I made was to help them understand that oral chemotherapy agents are not expensive equivalents, but actually alternatives. And, that the IV agents may not be the best choice for a particular patient, under a particular set of circumstances. Having the oral agents helps in our quest to provide effective, personalized medicine,” she concluded. S 1834 / A 2666 passed the Senate in December with a 37-2 vote. It has been received in the Assembly where it awaits a vote. THANK YOU and congratulations to Elizabeth for her hard work and for being our first Advocate of the Month of 2012! If you are not yet an IMF advocate, please sign up here.
EVERY MYELOMA PATIENT IS UNIQUE. TREATMENT SHOULD BE TOO. What is the purpose of the Bank On A Cure study? Doctors and researchers around the world are united in the opinion that the potential cure for cancer lies somewhere in the better understanding of the genetic makeup of patients. The Bank On A Cure study aims to provide a unique opportunity to develop genetic and clinical correlations that will allow better treatment response and performance, improved treatment choices, and possibly future preventative and curative strategies for patients with multiple myeloma. Who is organizing and funding Bank On A Cure? This project is being organized by the International Myeloma Foundation. The IMF is working closely with two labs, one based in the USA and one based in the UK. The Bank On A Cure study is being funded through generous donations from IMF members and supporters. Who has reviewed this study? This study was designed by a multi-disciplinary team of doctors, researchers, patients, and lay people. It has been reviewed and approved by appropriate ethics committees. Who is taking part in this study? Worldwide, up to 10,000 individual DNA samples will be collected from persons diagnosed with multiple myeloma who fit the entry criteria required to take part in this study. Do I have to take part? No. The decision is entirely yours. If you choose not to take part, this will not affect your current treatment and it will not affect the relationship you have with your doctor. Even if you decide to take part now, you are free to withdraw at any time in the future without giving any reason and again, this will not affect the relationship you have with your medical team. What will happen if I do take part? After you have read all the information you need and have agreed to take part in this study, you will be required to provide a DNA sample derived from a simple mouthwash. If you have already provided a DNA sample as part of another clinical study, you will be required to give consent to allow some of that DNA to be used in this study. Regardless of when you have given your DNA sample, you will be required to complete a simple patient questionnaire. You might be asked to provide follow-up information when required. Your doctor will also receive a questionnaire regarding your medical history and current treatment. Dr. Brian Van Ness and grad student with the dedicated robotic DNA processing machine. What is being tested? Your DNA will be tested and analyzed to determine the characteristics of the behaviour of a number of specific genes that are known to be implicated in the onset of myeloma and which may influence treatment outcome and performance in individual cases. What are the alternatives? Due to the nature of this type of study and in the absence of a suitable similar or comparative study, there is no alternative. However, this puts the patient at no disadvantage or harm whatsoever, and will not affect treatment in any way. What are the disadvantages of taking part? There are no side effects at all from taking part in this study and there are no disadvantages that have come to light to date. What are the benefits of taking part? As with most studies, results cannot be guaranteed. However, it is hoped that results from this study will allow doctors to tailor treatments specifically to individual patients based on their genetic makeup. This will help to maximize response and outcome and to reduce side effects. It is also hoped that this study will lead to preventative and curative strategies in the not-too-distant future. What if new information becomes available? New information will only add value to this project and will not affect DNA donors in any way. What happens when the research stops? It is hard to predict when a research project like this will stopif ever. DNA banks will provide a continual source of information and it is likely that this type of research will become standard clinical practice and will be integrated into everyday care of patients. Will my taking part in this study be kept confidential? All information that is collected about you during the course of the research will be kept strictly confidential. Any information about you which is used or leaves the hospital will have your name and address removed so that you cannot be identified from it. It is important to understand that specific results and information about your own case will not be available. What will happen to the results? The results of this study will be published in scientific journals and presented at scientific meetings.
Sunday - Saturday 08.00 - 17.00Contact Details The first-class royal monastery, the temple houses Phra Pathom Chedi, the largest pagoda in Thailand and the official provincial symbol of Nakhon Pathom. The present Phra Pathom Chedi was built during the reign of King Rama IV in 1853, under his royal command, the new Chedi was constructed to cover the former Chedi of which the shape was of an upside down bell with a Prang top. It is assumed that the former Chedi was dated back to 539 AD as the upside-down-bell-shaped Chedi has a similar style to the Sanchi Chedi in India, built in the reign of King Asoka. The construction of the new huge Chedi was completed in the reign of King Rama V in 1870 AD. In total, it took 17 years to build. The completed Chedi became a circular one that covers an upside-down, Lankan style, bell-shaped Chedi. The height from bottom to a top crown is about 120.45 metres, and 233.50 metres diameter at the base. During the reign of King Rama VI, Wat Phra Pathom Chedi was renovated and later became the royal temple of the King. Within the monastery compound, the sacred Chedi houses Lord Buddha’s relics. There are various interesting historical items, including the Phra Ruang Rodjanarit (พระร่วงโรจนฤทธ์), an image of Buddha bestowing pardon, is enshrined in a vihara located in the North and in front of Phra Pathom Chedi The casting of this Buddha image was done during the reign of King Rama VI at Wat Phra Chettuphon in 1913: the image’s head, hand, and feet were brought from Mueang Si Satchanalai, Sukhothai. Under royal command, a wax sculpture of the Buddha image was moulded. Later, the Buddha image was enshrined in the vihara, located on the north at the top of a huge staircase. The King granted this Buddha image the name “Phra Rung Rodjanarit Sri-Intharathit Thammamopas Mahavachiravuth Rachpuchaniyabopitr”. The relics of King Rama VI are housed at its base. Wat Phra Pathom Chedi Museum (พิพิธภัณฑ์วัดพระปฐมเจดีย์) is located in the East of the church, housing artefacts and historical remains which were discovered during the excavations in Nakhon Pathom including the coffin and funeral ritual set that were used in Ya-Lei’s cremation ceremony. Ya-Lei is a dog very dear to King Rama VI but was shot and died. The King was much saddened and commanded to building of a monument for Ya-Lei as a token of his grief. Another visit-worthy is the National Museum of Phra Pathom Chedi (พิพิธภัณฑ์สถานแห่งชาติพระปฐมเจดีย์) which located in the South of Pathom Chedi compound. A two-storey modern Thai building houses artefacts and historical remains, most of which dates back to Dvaravati period and were found during excavations in Nakhon Pathom. Opening hours: Daily 9am-5pm, Wednesday-Sunday (except national holiday) 9am-4:30pm for Wat Phra Pathom Chedi Museum Contact: Phra Pathom Chedi, Amphoe Mueang, Nakhon Pathom Tel. 0 3424 2143
Two historic events took place in Bolivia this week. Indigenous groups protesting the government’s plan to build a highway through the TIPNIS national park and autonomous territory arrived in La Paz on Wednesday, after a 65-day, 360-mile cross-country trek that has riveted national and international attention. Just three days earlier, Bolivian voters turned the country’s first-ever popular judicial election into something of a plebiscite on President Evo Morales’ government, an event which could have significant implications for the TIPNIS conflict. In La Paz, tens of thousands of well-wishers formed a human chain along the march route to welcome the 1,200 indigenous protesters and their supporters. Serenaded by church bells, the marchers received the “keys to the city” from the Mayor in recognition of their “valiant and heroic” journey. Cooks from 30 local markets provided traditional food and beverages, while universities are offering shelter. The marchers were scheduled to meet Thursday evening with Morales. They have vowed to remain in La Paz until the proposed highway is permanently cancelled and defunded. In Sunday’s non-partisan judicial elections, according to preliminary results, some 45% of the voters voided their ballots and another 16% left them blank, leaving only 39% valid votes. The voided ballot ("voto nulo") percentage was by far the highest in the 26 years of Bolivia’s modern democracy, breaking the previous record of 6% in 1989. Opposition parties campaigned hard for the voto nulo, as a protest against what they perceive as excessive MAS (Movement Towards Socialism) government control of the candidate selection process, and of the political system in general. (Since voting is compulsory in Bolivia, a voter boycott is not a practical protest option.) In turn, Morales actively championed the popular judicial vote—mandated by the 2009 Constitution—as a cornerstone of his “decolonization” program, to bring transparency and accountability to Bolivia's corrupt and inefficient judiciary which historically has been elected by the Congress. To ensure non-partisanship, election guidelines called for disqualification of candidates with recent political party connections. Morales predicted a landslide 70% vote for the judicial candidates, topping his own 6-year record of electoral victories—54% in the 2005 election, 67% in a 2008 referendum on his presidency, 62% in a 2009 referendum on the new Constitution, and 64% in his 2009 reelection bid. But according to the preliminary count, roughly half this target was achieved by valid ballots cast, despite the government-sponsored massive mobilization last week to rally the vote. While opposition forces and the media have been quick to proclaim a crisis of legitimacy for Morales, arguing that 60% of the votes (voided plus blank ballots) were “against” the government, the reality is more complex. As the government notes, specific problems with the electoral process, including the 114-candidate “mega-ballot” and the lack of adequate information about the candidates, likely discouraged voters from making choices. And blank votes reveal nothing about voter intent. Analyst Marcelo Silva comments that a blank vote might have been the most intelligent choice under the confusing circumstances. Still, given the government’s heavy investment in the judicial campaign, it’s fair to say that the vote represents a setback for Morales, a probable rebuke for unpopular policies and events including last winter’s gasolinazo and, most recently, the brutal police repression of the TIPNIS marchers. For Autonomy Minister Claudia Peña, the vote was a direct consequence of the police violence that Morales has characterized as “unforgivable.” According to Bolivia’s independent Ombudsman Rolando Villena, the results of the vote don’t belong to any political party but to the Bolivian people, who have wisely and creatively exercised their democratic responsibility. The government should view this moment as critical opportunity for self-evaluation, he argues. Pedro Montes, leader of the Bolivian Workers Central calls the vote a “wake-up call” to Morales from the Bolivian people. With respect to TIPNIS, the credibility gap revealed by the judicial vote could reinforce factions within the MAS government who are more sympathetic to the protesters’ concerns. For example, a public dispute among government officials surfaced last week over a new law passed by Congress (but not yet signed by the president) that mandates prior consultation with indigenous TIPNIS communities before the road can be built. While Foreign Minister David Choquehuanca and Assembly president Héctor Arce insisted that the consulta results would be binding, Morales emphatically disagreed. Morales said later that he would respect the results, in any case. Indigenous deputy Pedro Nuni announced Wednesday that at least five lowlands indigenous legislators would break with the MAS party and form an independent voting faction, an action that could threaten the MAS’ two-thirds majority in the Assembly. Nuni, who was detained with the TIPNIS marchers in the September police attack, also made it clear that the protesters’ intent is not to topple Morales but to hold him to his promises on the environment and indigenous rights. Still, even though some voters spoiled their ballots by marking them “TIPNIS” (see photo), and revulsion to the police repression has been widespread, Bolivia’s social sectors remain divided on the merits of the TIPNIS road. In La Paz, Cochabamba, and Oruro, where Morales’ rural campesino support base (that strongly favors the road) is concentrated, voters demonstrated their continued loyalty by casting a higher percentage of valid votes than in Bolivia’s other 6 departments. How Morales will weigh the political calculus of these diverse pressures, in the wake of the judicial elections, remains to be seen. Read more on the TIPNIS conflict on Emily Achtenberg's blog, Rebel Currents. See also, the January/February 2011 NACLA Report, "Golpistas! Coups and Democracy in the 21st Century;" the September/October 2010 NACLA Report, "After Recognition: Indigenous Peoples Confront Capitalism;" or the September/October 2009 NACLA Report, "Political Environments: Development, Dissent, and the New Extraction." Or subscribe to NACLA.
This group provides access to teaching materials used by Prof. Datta for the teaching of ECE 495N – “Fundamentals of Nanoelectronics”, and ECE 659 – “Quantum Transport: From Atom to Transistor”. The lectures for these two courses is available online on nanoHUB. These teaching materials is comprised of homework problems and exams. Our original thinking was to use this group restrict access to the solutions for the homeworks and exams. We have decided to make the solutions publicly available on nanoHUB and are available with each homework/exam. We now hope that members of this group now find it useful as a discussion forum for these two courses. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the group manager.
Due to local system maintenance on Tuesday, September 27th, nanoHUB will be unable to launch simulation jobs on clusters conte, rice, carter, and hansen. We apologize for any inconvenience. Find information on common issues. Ask questions and find answers from other users. Suggest a new site feature or improvement. Check on status of your tickets. Thermal Microsystems for On-Chip Thermal Engineering 0.0 out of 5 stars 04 Apr 2006 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Suresh V. Garimella Electro-thermal co-design at the micro- and nano-scales is critical for achieving desired performance and reliability in microelectronic circuits. Emerging thermal microsystems technologies... 21 Mar 2006 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Alain Roy In this talk, Alain Roy describes details of how to use Condor to run jobs on your local batch system. It is presumed that you have already installed Condor and wish to learn the basics of... Electron and Ion Microscopies as Characterization Tools for Nanoscience and Nanotechnology 4.0 out of 5 stars 17 Mar 2006 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Eric Stach This tutorial presents a broad overview of the basic physical principles of techniques used in scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as well as their application to understanding... Engineering Nanomedical Systems 5.0 out of 5 stars 14 Mar 2006 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): James Leary This tutorial discusses general problems and approaches to the design of engineered nanomedical systems. One example given is the engineering design of programmable multilayered nanoparticles... Making the Tiniest and Fastest Transistor using Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) 13 Feb 2006 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): peide ye Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is an emerging nanotechnology enables the deposit of ultrathin films, one atomic layer by one atomic layer. ALD provides a powerful, new capability to grow or regrow... A Gentle Introduction to Nanotechnology and Nanoscience 4.5 out of 5 stars 13 Feb 2006 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Mark A. Ratner While the Greek root nano just means dwarf, the nanoscale has become a giant focus of contemporary science and technology. We will examine the fundamental issues underlying the excitement... An Overview of Virtualization Techniques 03 Feb 2006 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Renato Figueiredo This presentation presents an introduction to resource virtualization techniques, which are one of the foundations of the infrastructure for online simulation provided by the nanoHUB. A Primer on Semiconductor Device Simulation 23 Jan 2006 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Mark Lundstrom Computer simulation is now an essential tool for the research and development of semiconductor processes and devices, but to use a simulation tool intelligently, one must know what's "under the... Nano-Scale Device Simulations Using PROPHET-Part II: PDE Systems 22 Jan 2006 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Yang Liu, Robert Dutton Part II uses examples to illustrate how to build user-defined PDE systems in PROPHET. Nano-Scale Device Simulations Using PROPHET-Part I: Basics Part I covers the basics of PROPHET, including the set-up of simulation structures and parameters based on pre-defined PDE systems. Nano-Scale Device Simulations Using PROPHET These two lectures are aimed to give a practical guide to the use of a general device simulator (PROPHET) available on nanoHUB. PROPHET is a partial differential equation (PDE) solver that... A Top-Down Introduction to the NEGF Approach 11 Jan 2006 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Mark Lundstrom Hierarchical Physical Models for Analysis of Electrostatic Nanoelectromechanical Systems (NEMS) 05 Jan 2006 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Narayan Aluru This talk will introduce hierarchical physical models and efficient computational techniques for coupled analysis of electrical, mechanical and van der Waals energy domains encountered in... Quantum Corrections for Monte Carlo Simulation 05 Jan 2006 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Umberto Ravaioli Size quantization is an important effect in modern scaled devices. Due to the cost and limitations of available full quantum approaches, it is appealing to extend semi-classical simulators by... Atomic Force Microscopy 29 Nov 2005 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Arvind Raman Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is an indispensible tool in nano science for the fabrication, metrology, manipulation, and property characterization of nanostructures. This tutorial reviews some of... Quantum Chemistry Part II 22 Nov 2005 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): George C. Schatz This tutorial will provide an overview of electronic structure calculations from a chemist's perspective. This will include a review of the basic electronic structure First Principles-based Atomistic and Mesoscale Modeling of Materials 16 Nov 2005 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Alejandro Strachan This tutorial will describe some of the most powerful and widely used techniques for materials modeling including i) first principles quantum mechanics (QM), ii) large-scale molecular dynamics... Designing Nanocomposite Thermoelectric Materials 08 Nov 2005 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Timothy D. Sands This tutorial reviews recent strategies for designing high-ZT nanostructured materials, including superlattices, embedded quantum dots, and nanowire composites. The tutorial highlights the... Bandstructure in Nanoelectronics 01 Nov 2005 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Gerhard Klimeck This presentation will highlight, for nanoelectronic device examples, how the effective mass approximation breaks down and why the quantum mechanical nature of the atomically resolved material... Nanoparticle Synthesis and Assembly for Biological Sensing 25 Oct 2005 \| Online Presentations \| Contributor(s): Gil Lee Nanoparticles have unique physical and chemical properties that make them very useful for biological and chemical sensing. For example, colloidal gold has been used as an optical transducer...
Human Rights Watch Calls Yemen to Halt Execution of Alleged Juvenile Offender Who Might Be Executed Today! Source: HRW, 09/03/2013 Juvenile Status Should Not be in Doubt President Abdu Rabu Mansour Hadi of Yemen should immediately halt the scheduled execution of a man who may have been under 18 at the time of the alleged crime, Human Rights Watch said today. Mohammad Abd al-karim Mohammad Haza`a is due to face a firing squad on the morning of March 9, 2013. International treaties to which Yemen is a party, as well as Yemen’s penal law, specifically prohibit the execution of anyone convicted of committing a crime as a child – that is, under age 18. International law requires that in cases in which the age is uncertain, the person should have the benefit of the doubt. UNICEF, the United Nations children’s agency, has requested more time to assess conflicting documentary evidence relating to Haza`a’s age. “President Hadi should postpone Haza`a’s execution at least until the full facts of his age are known,” said Priyanka Motaparthy, child rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Such an irreversible punishment should never be carried out while there remains any credible doubt about whether the accused was a child at the time of the crime.” Haza`a was convicted of a murder committed in August 1999. On July 11, 2000, the Court of First Instance in Taizz found that he was 17 at the time of the crime and sentenced him to prison and the payment of diya (blood money), in accordance with the requirements of Yemen's domestic laws governing sentences for juvenile offenders. The Appeals Court upheld the conviction but by a two-to-one majority amended the sentence, imposing the death penalty. The dissenting judge refused to sign the decision, citing his belief that Haza`a was under 18 at the time of the crime. Nevertheless, Yemen's Supreme Court confirmed the death sentence on April 14, 2008, without re-examining the issue of Haza`a's age. Yemen's president at that time, Ali Abdullah Saleh, signed Haza`a’s death warrant later that year. “President Hadi should uncover the truth about Haza`a’s age and not be bound by the decision of his predecessor,” Motaparthy said. International law prohibits the death penalty for crimes committed by anyone under 18. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, an international expert body, stated in its General Comment No. 10 of 2007 on children’s rights in juvenile justice that, “If there is no proof of age, the child is entitled to a reliable medical or social investigation that may establish his/her age and, in the case of conflict or inconclusive evidence, the child shall have the right to the rule of the benefit of the doubt.” Human Rights Watch released a report on March 4 about the use of the death penalty against juvenile offenders in Yemen, documenting how low birth registration, imprecise medical forensic age determination techniques, and faulty rulings by judges result in the continued executions of people who committed crimes under age 18. Yemen is one of only four countries known to have executed juvenile offenders in the past five years; the others are Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan. Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as an inherently irreversible, inhumane punishment.
State death penalty should be abolished TO THE EDITOR: Although it appears as though popular opinion still favors the death penalty, I have chosen to be as unpopular and as opposed to the death penalty - or to what I believe should be called premeditated, state-sanctioned murder - as one can be. In addition to the victims' families, there are other victims waiting on the sidelines who have largely been forgotten - the family members of the men and women on death row. These relatives are just as innocent and deserving of the same respect as any other victim. What gives society the right to take the life of their loved one as retribution for the life of someone else? In the past, I have had two dear friends and a family member murdered. I was recently told by a victims' rights supporter that I must have not cared for or respected these people because I speak out against the death penalty. However, the simple fact is that I would never want anyone to suffer the same pain I have suffered. Thankfully none of the people involved received the death sentence, and for that I am grateful. I have gone on with my life and have gotten past the anger and pain I felt. I am hopeful the people not only responsible for the crimes but also their families have found comfort and peace within themselves as well, and I am thankful their families will not experience the loss I have. I have heard comments made that an execution is a humane way to end a life, and in recent days it has been referred to as "respectful." I would ask what would be humane about injecting chemicals into a person to kill him? Unless we have experienced, firsthand, the effects of the drugs used in an execution, we have no comprehension of what is happening to that person, especially since one of the drugs used in the execution process has been banned for use on animals because it was considered inhumane. Is that how far society has deteriorated? We allow a drug considered inhumane for use on animals still to be used on people. For these reasons, I continue to hope that a moratorium can be enacted in this state. After detailed study has been done, there is no doubt it will show that the death penalty is irreparably broken and should be abolished. Mistake doesn't change end result TO THE EDITOR: Based on information I thought to be accurate, I have, in recent weeks, stated that all of Harding Academy's purchases of property between Blackburn Avenue and Harding Place were made in Harding Academy's name. In a letter to the Nashville City Paper, published on May 19, 2003, you [John Claybrook] stated I was incorrect. Upon researching the issue more thoroughly, I find that I was indeed mistaken. The first one of the 11 lots that Harding Academy purchased (150 Blackburn Avenue) was initially made on January 29, 1991, in the name of George Mudter, a real estate attorney who was then a member of the Harding Academy Board of Trustees. Mr. Mudter transferred the property to Harding Academy about 11 and one-half years ago, on October 8, 1991. The remaining 10 lots were purchased in the name of Harding Academy from the outset. I regret my error and will endeavor to be more careful in the future. Nevertheless, I maintain the assertion, which my original statement was intended to highlight, that residents of the Belle Meade Links have long been aware of Harding Academy's plans for fields on the property it has acquired. WILLIAM R. DELOACHE JR. Baseball fan sends photographer kudos TO THE EDITOR: My compliments on your sports photos, especially the shot heard throughout the city May 18. Of course I'm talking about the home run by Vanderbilt's Worth Scott, or should I say, the second after it was hit. The photo (May 19 edition) by Neil Brake caught perfectly the umpire, catcher and hitter watching the results of the last swing of the regular season to determine who wins, who loses; who goes to the tournament and who goes home. Bobby Thompson's home run in 1951 was not as dramatic as this one! Thanks for the coverage on the greatest baseball game ever played (one baseball fan's opinion). CARL J. STASIUNAS Withdraw suit and save money TO THE EDITOR: This letter is in response to the Harding Academy Board member (this guy gets published more than John Grisham!) who thinks Metro is unwisely risking $3.5 million of taxpayer money in defending itself against a lawsuit that Harding Academy initiated. Can we remind him that Harding Academy is the party that chose the number of $3.5 million and also chose to file the lawsuit. If he thinks it is a waste of money, just withdraw the lawsuit. Easy as that and it saves everybody some cash and more importantly, saves a neighborhood from wanton destruction. To comment on a City Paper story or local issue, send us a typed letter 100 words or less (with zip code and a daytime phone number for verification) to: firstname.lastname@example.org , or Editor, The City Paper, P.O. Box 158434, Nashville, TN 37215. Letters may be edited to fit. There is no guarantee letters received will be printed.
Premium Standard Farms (PSF), the nation's second largest pork producer, has achieved ISO 14001 certification for the comprehensive environmental management system (EMS) recently installed on its North Carolina farms. ISO 14001 is a well-known environmental management standard that is published by the Geneva-based International Organization for Standardization. The achievement of ISO 14001 certification has been a goal of the North Carolina operations since PSF began work on the creation of an EMS for its company farms in the spring of 2001, the Kansas City, MO-based company says. Elements of the environmental certification include pollution prevention, regulatory compliance and monitoring plans and commitments to continual improvement. A regular, independent audit must also be maintained. PSF plans to extend the EMS program to its other farming and plant operations.
Last week, the National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) sent a letter to Congress explaining its opposition to Canada’s inclusion in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations. In the letter, NPPC President R.C. Hunt explains that U.S. pork exports have been adversely affected by the Canadian government’s current hog and pork subsidy programs for Canadian producers. The subsidies are in violation of World Trade Organization rules and a U.S. countervailing duty law. According to an analysis by Iowa State University economist Dermot Hayes, within 10 years of the implementation of Canada’s new Ontario Risk Management Program (RMP), which offers income supplementation to Canadian pork producers, U.S. pork production value could decrease by $162 million, and 1,300 U.S. jobs may be eliminated. The RMP is just one of the Canadian support programs that have a substantial negative impact on U.S. pork producers. Repeal of Canada’s provincial and federal hog and pork support programs must be part of the Obama administration’s assessment of Canada’s eligibility to join the TPP negotiations, NPPC says. The organization says it will remain opposed to Canada’s inclusion in the TPP until the country eliminates its pork industry subsidies. Read the letter online at http://www.nppc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012.03.26-Canada-NPPC-TPP-Subsidy-Letter-Hill.pdf.
OREGON, Ohio - Ohio's Democratic leaders are urging Governor John Kasich to take steps to stop the Toledo-area's toxic algal blooms and prevent future water crises. Both Republicans and Democrats who make up the Lake Erie Legislative Caucus met Friday at Maumee Bay State Park to talk about Lake Erie's continued algae problem and how they can prevent future public health emergencies. Lawmakers urged Gov. Kasich to immediately declare the Maumee Watershed as a "distressed watershed" to begin the process of curbing harmful chemical pollution in Lake Erie. Toledo Water Crisis "To seriously address harmful algal blooms in our state requires a firm commitment to significant reform from all parties involved," said Rep. Teresa Fedor (D-Toledo). My colleagues and I are committed, and we know that the citizens of the Lake Erie region and of Ohio are committed. We hope now that the Governor and elected officials throughout the region will join in this commitment and we can all begin to work together to solve this crisis together." Fedor also called on the governor to convene a multi-state task of Lake Erie state governors to develop long-term agricultural practices to ensure the sustainability of the Great Lake. Democrats also said the Ohio EPA should heed the U.S. EPA's guidelines on establishing open Lake Erie waters as an impaired waterways, so the agency could begin regulating the amount of chemicals that flow into the lake.
New River, Battle of The Civil War engagement called the Battle of New River occurred in Onslow County over a three-day period beginning 23 Nov. 1862. In preparation for the action, Lt. William B. Cushing of the Union navy took his iron-hulled gunboat, the converted side-wheel tug Ellis, up the New River. His mission was to capture Jacksonville, the seat of Onslow County, 20 miles from the river inlet; destroy any saltworks he encountered; and seize any blockade-runners found in the river. The blockaders sought sanctuary from Union cruisers in the smaller, less accessible havens of the New River. Saltworks had materialized along the inlets and sounds to produce the increasingly scarce but always vital commodity. On the morning of 23 November, Cushing arrived at the Jacksonville dock before Confederate pickets could warn the inhabitants of his approach, and a landing party quickly occupied the public buildings. After raising the U.S. flag above the courthouse and capturing two schooners, a store of clothing, numerous small arms, and several contraband slaves, Cushing withdrew. But the local Confederate authorities were now determined to have their revenge. Two companies from the 2nd North Carolina Cavalry harassed the Ellis as it attempted to reach the inlet before dark. Cushing, impeded by the slower-moving schooners and engaging the cavalry on both banks, was compelled to anchor in midstream when darkness arrived. Meanwhile, the Confederates constructed an ambush on the west bank of the river. The next morning Cushing managed to avoid the ambush and drive off the Confederates, but he ran aground within easy range of the temporarily abandoned positions. Unable to free the stranded gunboat, Cushing used the time to strike ashore and burn a nearby saltworks. Then, uncertain that the next morning's tide would free his ship, he lightened the vessel, leaving one gun, and sent the schooners downstream with all but six volunteers. During the night, the Confederates moved back into their positions overlooking the river. At first light on 25 November, the Confederates opened fire and rapidly overwhelmed the Ellis's depleted crew and single gun. Unable to escape with the ship, Cushing set it afire and manned the remaining ship's boat to make for the awaiting schooners. The exultant Confederates attempted pursuit but were deterred by the thunderous explosion of the Ellis's magazine, and Cushing safely reached the Atlantic. L. J. Kimball, The Battle of New River, 23-25 November 1862 (1997). Ralph J. Roske and Charles Van Doren, Lincoln's Commando: The Biography of Commander William B. Cushing, U.S.N. (1957). New River. Marines, Onslow County, NC, ca. 1939. From the Charles A. Farrell Photograph Collection, North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, NC. Call #: PhC9_2_16_0. Available from http://www.flickr.com/photos/north-carolina-state-archives/3002924340/ (accessed May 16, 2012). 1 January 2006 \| Kimball, L. J.
\|Water-Related Issues Affecting Conventional Oil and Gas Recovery and Potential Oil Shale Development in the Uinta Basin, Utah \|\|Last Reviewed 5/15/2012 The goal of this project is to overcome existing water-related environmental barriers to possible oil shale development in the Uinta Basin, Utah. Data collected from this study will help alleviate problems associated with disposal of produced saline water, which is a by-product of methods used to facilitate conventional hydrocarbon production. Utah Geological Survey, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84114 - Uinta Basin Petroleum Companies: Questar, Anadarko, Newfield, Enduring Resources, Bill Barrett, Berry Petroleum, EOG Resources, FIML, Wind River Resources, Devon, Rosewood, Flying J, Gasco, Mustang Fuel, Forest, Royale, BT Operating, Elk Resources, McElvain, Summit Operating, Whiting Petroleum, Pendragon, Oil Shale Exploration Company - Utah Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining - U.S. Bureau of Land Management - U.S. Geological Survey - UI.S. Environmental Protection Agency – Region 8 Saline water disposal is the single most pressing issue with regard to increasing petroleum and natural gas production in the Uinta Basin in Utah. Conventional oil fields in the basin provide 69% of Utah’s total crude oil production and 71% of Utah’s total natural gas, the latter of which has increased 60% in the last 10 years (Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining, 2009). As petroleum production increases, so does saline water production, increasing the need for economic and environmentally responsible disposal plans. Current water disposal wells are near capacity and permitting for new wells is being delayed because of a lack of technical data regarding potential impacts to disposal aquifers and questions concerning contamination of fresh water sources. Many Uinta Basin operators claim that petroleum and natural gas production cannot reach its full potential until a suitable long-term, saline water disposal solution is found. Currently, the agencies responsible for regulating the disposal of produced water use 20-year-old data amassed in a publication entitled “Base of Moderately Saline Ground Water in the Uinta Basin, Utah” to determine zones suitable for water disposal (Howells and others, 1987). This hard copy publication provides a paper map showing the depth of the transition between moderately saline and very saline water (10,000 mg/L). It is believed that saline water can be injected below this depth without damage to overlying fresh-water aquifers. Several oil and gas operators working in the basin believe this dated study requires substantial revision. Figure 1. Bird’s-nest aquifer as exposed in outcrop, Evacuation Creek, Uintah County, Utah. This aquifer lies several hundred feet above the richest oil shale unit. Eastern Uinta Basin gas producers claim that one of the only aquifers suitable for large volume saline water disposal is the Birds Nest aquifer located in the Parachute Creek Member of the Green River Formation (Figure 1). After an extensive literature search, it was determined that the Birds Nest aquifer is poorly understood and further study is necessary before large-scale saline water disposal can commence. The Birds Nest aquifer is typically several hundred feet above the richest oil shale interval called the Mahogany zone. A significant concern is that saline water disposal into the Birds Nest by conventional gas producers may hinder oil shale development by creating unforeseen economic and technical hurdles. In many areas containing rich oil shale deposits, the Birds Nest contains fresh to slightly saline water (Holmes and Kimball, 1987) (Figure 2). By increasing saline water discharge into the aquifer, the Birds Nest water quality could degrade, creating additional water disposal problems for oil shale development companies. In addition to the water-related problems mentioned above, there is a regulatory need for baseline water quality and quantity data covering proposed oil shale development lands (Figure 2). Water-quality degradation could result from new oil shale developments via mining and surface retort or in situ processes. An up-to-date Geographic Information System (GIS) database would provide the baseline water information needed to understand potential impacts of future oil shale development. Figure 2. Map showing proposed study area, Uinta Basin, Utah. Note the prime oil shale area overlaps with several natural gas fields. Each successful part of this multi-faceted study will provide the information needed to achieve two goals: (1) alleviation of problems associated with produced saline water usage as a means to facilitate increased conventional hydrocarbon production, and (2) resolving environmental barriers to possible oil shale development. By utilizing the newly developed GIS maps, regulators and oil and natural gas operators can make informed saline water disposal management decisions and protect freshwater resources. If new, appropriate, saline water disposal intervals can be identified that are similar to the Birds Nest aquifer, oil and natural gas production can continue to increase, supplying the nation’s growing demand with safe, convenient, domestic resources. Additionally, environmentally sound water management solutions for a future oil shale industry can be developed once the sensitivities of alluvial and bedrock aquifers within potential oil shale development regions are understood. - Completed a preliminary map of the base of the moderately saline aquifer (BMSA) - Completed interpretation of digital geophysical logs from 258 wells throughout the Uinta Basin, picking the BMSA in each well - Completed detailed descriptions of all core from the Birds Nest aquifer. - Researchers finished examining core containing the Birds Nest zone, which provides crucial ground truth to interpret the geophysical logs from wells lacking core. - Completed preliminary maps displaying the areal extent and thickness of the Birds Nest aquifer. The Birds Nest zone in over 250 wells has been mapped on the aquifer’s areal extent in central Uintah County. This first-of-its-kind map will greatly aid in determining potential Birds Nest aquifer saline water disposal areas. - Prepared an article for Survey Notes summarizing project goals and results (Survey Notes is a UGS magazine published three times a year) - Presented posters outlining the project at the American Association of Petroleum Geologists (AAPG) Annual meeting in June 2009, April 2010, and April 2011. - Created a project website: http://geology.utah.gov/emp/UBwater_study [external site]. - Completed a Water Quality Assurance Plan and initiated water sample collection and analysis. - Collected over 2300 water chemistry samples for analyses from over 1300 wells in the Uinta Basin. - Developed improved techniques for determining the BMSA from geophysical logs. - Created an extensive (>350 wells) database of oil shale formation tops. - Determined that the most accurate method for characterizing the Birds Nest aquifer is by detailed rock core analysis. - Collected three rounds of water samples from wells, springs, and rivers in central Uinta County. The first two sets of samples have been analyzed for total dissolved solids and other chemical constituents. - Collected hundreds of downhole water samples and analyzed their chemistry; collected hundreds of digitized log files to aid in determining the BMSA. Current Status (May 2012) The project is completed. The final report is available below under "Additional Information". Project Start: October 1, 2008 Project End: April 30, 2012 DOE Contribution: $688,222 Performer Contribution: $172,056 NETL –Skip Pratt (email@example.com or 304-285-4396) Utah Geological Survey – Michael Vanden Berg (firstname.lastname@example.org or 801-538-5419) If you are unable to reach the above personnel, please contact the content manager. Final Project Report [PDF-99.3MB] Utah Geological Survey project website [external site] Technology Status Assessment [PDF-126KB]
Scientists Develop New Tool To 'Freeze' Crime Scene Memories April 27, 2007 The Crime Scene Investigation TV writers regularly impress us with their rapid deployment of new technologies, so it’ll be interesting to see how long it is before we see Gil Grisham or Horatio Kane employing the latest innovation developed by scientists at the University of Portsmouth. It’s a self-administered interview that 'freezes' the memory of crime scenes in the minds of witnesses. The tool - a self-administered interview applied by witnesses at crime scenes - combats natural memory decay by using the latest research in cognitive psychology techniques. It 'freezes' images and details of crime scenes and perpetrators in the minds of witnesses, particularly small and seemingly insignificant details that provide major leads for detectives that turn out to be crucial in solving cases. Tests at simulated crimes scenes were remarkable with witnesses using the tool recalling forensically relevant information 42 percent more accurate than other witnesses who were simply asked to 'report as much as you can remember'. The tests also revealed the witnesses using the self-administered interview (SAI) were 44 percent more correct with details about people - therefore, possible suspects - who had been involved in the event. In another test there was a delay of seven days between witnessing the event and providing a full account. Half the participants completed self-administered interviews after witnessing the event while the other participants simply gave their name and contact details - as normally happens to a large number of witnesses at crime incidents. Scientists tested the group after seven days and found participants who had completed the SAI were still reporting almost 30 per cent more correct details than other witnesses. The SAI protocol tool has been developed by Dr Lorraine Hope from the University of Portsmouth and collaborators Dr Fiona Gabbert (University of Abertay) and Professor Ronald Fisher (Florida International University) with funding from the British Academy. The scientists worked with police forces in England and Scotland to develop the witness ‘recall and report’ tool to record witness memory at the earliest possible opportunity - at the scene of the incident. Dr Hope said the completeness and accuracy of eyewitness evidence decreases as the delay between witnessing an incident and recalling it increases. In other words, the longer the gap between witnessing the event and fully recalling what was seen under formal interview conditions, the less accurate and less complete a witness report is likely to be. "Decades of research in cognitive psychology demonstrate that memory decay, or forgetting, occurs rapidly at first. In a witnessing situation, this ‘forgetting’ will occur naturally and within hours of the incident. As the delay between witnessing and formal interview increases to days, memory decay will level off. However, by that time, many useful and forensically relevant details or clues may be lost forever," she said. Dr Hope said the SAI tool could play a significant role for law enforcement as the benefits were obvious - witnesses have the opportunity to record their memories before any potentially crucial information is forgotten. "The forensic implications of these findings for current police practice are considerable. At present witnesses are likely to engage in a very brief initial interview prior to giving a full statement at some later date. This very brief initial interview may actually have a detrimental effect on the ability of a witness to fully recall the incident at a later occasion. In other words, only the memory for the brief outline is strengthened - not the memory for the details, which can sometimes become harder to recall as a result," Dr Hope said. "Research has proven, for instance, that recalling an event before any substantial forgetting or memory loss has taken place means that the way the event is represented in memory is strengthened, making it easier to recall in future. In this way, an early recall attempt serves to protect or ‘freeze’ the memory against the course of natural forgetting. There is also some research to suggest that recalling only partial or brief outline information about an event or incident may in fact have a negative impact on ability to recall the incident more fully at a later stage." Dr Hope said using the techniques of the cognitive interview, and providing instructions to think carefully about the witnessing environment and report everything no matter how insignificant without resorting to guesswork, the SAI supports the witness in both the recall and reporting of as much information as possible before that information has been lost. In the first test of the SAI, mock witnesses (comprising a sample of community volunteers of all ages and background) viewed a simulated event and were required to report, in writing, as much as they could about what they had seen. “Witnesses in the sample who were required to complete the SAI tool reported statistically significantly more correct details than those participants who were simply asked to report what they had seen,” said Dr Hope “Importantly, witnesses who completed the SAI produced the same amount of correct (and incorrect) information as participants who were given a full cognitive interview by a trained interviewer shortly after the event. “Interestingly, the benefits of witnesses recording their recall of the event using the SAI were especially evident in their enhanced recall of person-related details. In other words, witnesses using the tool to record their memory produced more detailed and correct information pertaining to people they had witnessed in the incident. “The reporting tool, known as a Self-Administered Interview (SAI), draws on the core principles of the cognitive interview which has been shown to facilitate witness recall and is a recommended interviewing technique. “Since its original conception by Fisher and Geiselman, the cognitive interview has been closely scrutinised in both laboratory experiments and in police practice and the technique has been improved by several revisions. “Overall, research and experience suggests that using a cognitive approach to interviewing witnesses increases the quality, accuracy and completeness of the information obtained. “Furthermore, the use of cognitive techniques do not impact on subsequent witness credibility in court. “The SAI incorporates the ‘context reinstatement’ and ‘report everything’ elements of cognitive interview protocol. Early stage development of the SAI focused on creating a simple set of written instructions and questions that could easily be understood by witnesses. All instructions were carefully tested to ensure potential witnesses understand exactly what is required of them when provided with the tool. “The next stage for the researchers is to continue with further testing of the tool in different settings and circumstances. Developing a more high tech version of the SAI is also on the researchers’ agenda. “The current format - requiring witnesses to complete the SAI form by hand - may be a limiting factor for some witnesses with literacy difficulties. Another issue under consideration is how the evidentiary status of information recorded using an SAI form might be established. “Depending on the nature any implementation of the SAI, it will be important to maximise the reliability and credibility of the witness reports recorded using the SAI within the legal system. As it stands, the SAI will maximise the control police have over the initial brief interview and enable the best information possible to be obtained as soon as possible at the scene or shortly afterwards - witnesses are also more likely to be sure of their report so soon after the event rather than after a delay.
Rice University’s lab of materials scientist Pulickel Ajayan has made hybrid ribbons of vanadium oxide (VO2) and graphene thousands of times thinner than a sheet of paper that built into half-cells fully charged and discharged in 20 seconds and retained more than 90 percent of their initial capacity after more than 1,000 cycles. This qualifies as a breakthrough for the cathode half-cell and should accelerate the development of high-power lithium-ion batteries suitable for electric cars and other demanding applications. Vanadium oxide and graphene, separately, are well-studied materials and can be a superior cathode for batteries that could supply both high energy density and significant power density. Ajayan’s research appears online this month in the American Chemical Society’s journal Nano Letters. The ribbons are thousands of times thinner than a sheet of paper and have a potential that far outweighs current materials for their ability to charge and discharge very quickly. Cathodes built into half-cells for testing at Rice fully charged and discharged in only 20 seconds, an astonishing rate and retaining more than 90% of their initial capacity after more than 1,000 cycles is far better than what consumers experience with cell phones and power tools now. Ajayan said, “This is the direction battery research is going, not only for something with high energy density but also high power density. It’s somewhere between a battery and a supercapacitor.” Perhaps the term coined by author Phillip J. Farmer decades ago, “the batacitor” is coming into to being. The ribbons also have the advantage of using relatively abundant and cheap materials. “This is done through a very simple hydrothermal process, and I think it would be easily scalable to large quantities,” Ajayan said. Vanadium oxide has long been considered a material with great potential, and in fact vanadium pentoxide has been used in lithium-ion batteries for its special structure and high capacity. But oxide forms are slow to charge and discharge, due to their low electrical conductivity. The high-conductivity graphene lattice that is literally baked in solves that problem nicely, Ajayan explained, by serving as a speedy conduit for electrons and channels for ions. The atom-thin graphene sheets bound to the crystals take up very little bulk. In the best samples made at Rice, fully 84% of the cathode’s weight was the lithium absorbing VO2, which held 204 milliamp hours of energy per gram. The researchers, led by Rice graduate student Yongji Gong and lead author Shubin Yang, said they believe that to be among the best overall performance ever seen for lithium-ion battery electrodes. Yang takes up the explanation saying, “One challenge to production was controlling the conditions for the co-synthesis of VO2 ribbons with graphene.” The process involved suspending graphene oxide nanosheets with powdered vanadium pentoxide (layered vanadium oxide, with two atoms of vanadium and five of oxygen) in water and heating it in an autoclave for hours. The vanadium pentoxide was completely reduced to VO2, which crystallized into ribbons, while the graphene oxide was reduced to graphene. The ribbons, with a web-like coating of graphene, were only about 10 nanometers thick, up to 600 nanometers wide and tens of micrometers in length. “These ribbons were the building blocks of the three-dimensional architecture,” Yang said. “This unique structure was favorable for the ultrafast diffusion of both lithium ions and electrons during charge and discharge processes. It was the key to the achievement of excellent electrochemical performance.” Yang and Gong tested the new material and found its capacity for lithium storage remained stable after 200 cycles even at high temperatures as high as 167º F, a temperature that other cathodes commonly decay, even at low charge-discharge rates. “We think this is real progress in the development of cathode materials for high-power lithium-ion batteries,” Ajayan said. He is also able to suggest the ribbons’ ability to be dispersed in a solvent might make them suitable as a component in the “paintable” batteries developed in his lab. These are great results born of a high level of innovation.. While lab results for now, its likely replication will take place and more innovation will find the paring to anodes for a very impressive jump in lithium-ion battery value. The value is the curious thing, as from what we’re seen over the past months, the raw materials are not exotic, costly or rare. The processing is new, but the demand paired to disciplined mass production would pull costs down very far, very quickly. Congratulations to the Rice team, this is impressive work.
- Tom Bertulis, ITDP, Mexico City In a daring move, the Mayor of Mexico City is looking to leaving a legacy by launching an eco-action plan known as the “Plan Verde” (aka, the Green Plan, see http://www.jornada.unam.mx/2007/08/31/index.php?section=capital&article=035n1cap). The proposal includes expanding the “Hoy No Circula” program (where drivers are prohibited from using their car one weekday a week) and the replacement of 100% of Mexico City’s official vehicle fleet for cleaner models. Part of the Plan Verde is the Bicycle Mobility Strategy, the most ambitious bicycle undertaking in Mexico City to date. Just recently 2,500 bicycles were purchased and will be given away free-of-charge to candidates that successfully complete a cycle training course here in Mexico City. I have never heard of a city giving away so many bicycles at a time, so that might be a first. The design of the bicycle is a practical yet trendy “Dutch bike” design with a low frame and upright riding position. These green commuter bikes come pre-equipped with a basket, bell, fenders, and reflectors to ride quickly, safely, comfortably, and stylishly in the city. (see photographs at http://www.itdp.org/index.php/projects/update/mexico_city_builds_first_bike_parking_facilities/) Another development has been the installation of dozens of inverted-U shaped bike racks over the last few months and the city is on pace to install nearly 1,000 bicycle racks by the end of the year. That figure might not seem high, given that Chicago, a much smaller city, has over 10,000 inverted-U racks. However, well designed cycle stands are a rarity in Latin American cities. Even in Europe (with the UK being a notable exception) it was surprising to see so many “ribbon racks,” “wheel benders,” and other substandard examples of bike racks. Mexico City is learning from European mistakes and is installing the most cost-efficient and practical type of bike rack available. Moreover, they have built a cycle ramp leading to a subway station and there are plans to construct a large scale bicycle parking facility at an intermodal interchange. Public bicycles, as most are aware, are still experiencing growing pains, and in Mexico City that is no exception. There are currently public bikes available at three sites in Mexico City, although they are similar to the older generation type of public bikes (think Copenhagen) rather than the new generation public bikes (read: Paris style.) They are practical, if somewhat ungainly, and free to use with a deposit of 200 pesos (about USD$15.) More information can be found at http://mejorenbici.wordpress.com. There is a plan to open a Vélib-style new generation public bicycle system this year, with Phase I calling for 1,500 bicycle at 111 stations, to be expanded in later years. Mexico City is currently producing six cycling related manuals, on everything from cycling strategies to a cycling toolbox, to supplement their bike projects. People-scaled infrastructure projects are set to be implemented, including both shared space and segregated facilities, accommodating beginners and expert cyclists alike. The city’s first "30 km per hour Zone" is in its planning phases now and local neighborhood traffic calming projects are planned for all over the city. As a supplement, over 20km of segregated cycleways are set to be built in the city by the end of the year, with help from high profile consultants including Gehl Architects from Copenhagen (www.gehlarchitects.com) ensuring high quality cycle facilities. ITDP is helping with the aforementioned projects and is also looking at bigger picture issues for the city, such as motor vehicle circulation and car parking measures, which have profound impacts on overall livability. Mexico City also has an extensive bicycle promotion program, with adverts splashed across all corners of the city, proclaiming such memorable slogans as “La Bici es el Futuro” (the Bicycle is the Future.) Learning from mistakes made by other cities, Mexico City is advancing leaps and bounds in endeavoring to transform the cycling culture in the city with a multi-pronged approach, which is sure to pay off dividends in the future. Tom Bertulis, PE (Eyes on the Street in Mexico City) Senior Technical Advisor Institute for Transportation and Development Policy (ITDP) Mexico City, Mexico http://www.vimeo.com/4062864 - Mexico City's Environmental Minister, Martha Delgado, defines her city's revolutionary green policy to address climate change, water shortage, transportation and other serious environmental challenges. Photo credit: Jonas Hagen, ITDP Print this article
NEW YORK - Former Major League Baseball pitcher Marc Wilkins remembers the euphoria he felt when he earned his first big league paycheck. It was 1996 when he broke into the majors with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Wilkins, then a 25-year-old rookie, was handed his first check for roughly $10,000. "That was more money than I had ever seen in my entire life," said Wilkins, now a 41-year-old financial adviser at Wells Fargo & Co, who recalled spending 80 percent of that first check. "I ... bought furniture, I bought a new car -- you name it -- I thought it was going to last forever." It didn't. Wilkins earned several million dollars over the course of his baseball career before leaving baseball in 2003, several years after a shoulder injury. Athletes like Wilkins who learned money management the hard way have made it their mission to help fellow players avoid the financial traps of short-lived big paychecks. While no one tracks the number of athletes who turn to financial advising, advisers interviewed by Reuters said they see growing demand for people like themselves at firms trying to tap into the wealthy athlete client base. Several wealth firms have recently announced or launched divisions or teams focused on cultivating athlete clients. Athletes-turned-advisers say their first-hand knowledge of professional sports pay, their ability to battle big egos, and their connections give them an edge in advising current players. "These guys are fresh out of college, haven't learned how to balance a check book yet and are winning the lottery," said Wilkins, noting he would have been wealthier himself had he better planned "for that day when the check stops." "Athletes don't ever want to think that the day will come," he said. About 78 percent of National Football League players go broke or wind up in financial distress within two years of retiring, while 60 percent of National Basketball Association players are bankrupt within five years of leaving the court, a 2009 study by Sports Illustrated found. The problem is one that some leagues have only begun to address. The NBA and its players union last week agreed on a program that forces athletes to save for retirement: 1 percent of a player's basketball-related income will automatically go to a post-career annuity. NBA spokesman Michael Bass said the league continually tries to educate and prepare players for their post-NBA life. Critics say that's not enough. From the bankruptcy of football greats Warren Sapp and Jamal Lewis to basketball stars Allen Iverson and Antoine Walker, athletes' riches-to-rags tales are common. "I'm tired of picking up the paper and seeing a guy that you thought made millions of dollars go bankrupt," said former MLB shortstop Royce Clayton, who played in the major leagues for 17 years and now works in the wealth management industry. BEYOND THE FIRST PAYCHECK The social pressure to show off wealth is always hovering over an athlete, said Wilkins, recalling teammates regularly reading luxury magazines about yachts and fancy watches to keep up "the bling factor." While spending big might not seem out of whack for someone earning seven figures, it is often an unsustainable lifestyle once the checks stop coming in. "You have to start making adjustments to life after your career, which is a hell of a lot longer than what you played on the field," said Clayton, now 42, who was drafted straight out of high school and first played for the San Francisco Giants when he was 21 and was part of the World Series-winning Boston Red Sox in 2007. Clayton, who never attended college, joined New York-based Four Wood Capital Partners, LLC this year, as part of the firm's newly formed private wealth management team focusing on professional athletes. Four Wood Capital views athletes as akin to a financial institution, with a similar risk profile and respective need for a long-term approach that focuses on preserving wealth. Signing a new contract or extension, payment of a signing bonus or performance incentive, all act as trigger events that create a large one-time payment or a stream of payments that need to be stretched out over time, rather than managed as a steady flow of income. MAKING BIG MONEY LAST Chester Pitts, 33, who played for the NFL's Houston Texans for eight years and is now studying to become a certified financial planner, said cultivating a relationship and creating a financial plan before an athlete leaves college is key. Athletes only earn big money for a short period of time, primarily when they are young, which makes them atypical wealth clients. Most people turn to an adviser only after building a career and seeing their earnings steadily rise. The average age of an ultra-high-net-worth client -- someone with $5 million to $25 million in investable assets -- is 61 years old, according to market research firm Spectrum Group LLC. NFL and MLB players typically retire in their early- to- mid-30s, with stars earning $100 million or more in their career (think Alex Rodriguez, whose 2007 10-year $275 million contract was the most expensive in baseball history). Some athletes ink sponsorship or merchandising deals even after retiring, but many go from big checks to nothing. Pitts estimates that over his nine seasons of playing professional football, more than 40 teammates asked to borrow money because they fell into financial distress. Most of those players made more money than Pitts, whose base salary in 2009 was about $4.4 million. IT TAKES AN ATHLETE For many firms, having an athlete-turned-adviser on staff is one of the only ways to build inroads in the industry. Taseer Badar, co-founder and chief executive of Texas-based wealth management firm ZT Wealth Inc, met Pitts when he was a rookie. Shortly after his own retirement, Pitts -- a lifelong saver -- joined ZT Wealth, which hopes to add athlete clients. "He basically spread the word in the locker room" about the firm and the need for proper money management, Badar said. While some athletes, like Clayton, are hired by wealth firms to build and maintain athlete relationships and others are more involved in the money management, those who are certified financial planners or advisers must pass a series of exams before they become licensed advisers. Wilkins, who studied business and finance before being drafted, for example, had to pass a state securities law exam, as well as a general securities representative exam, known as the "Series 7" exam, administered by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Wall Street's self-regulator. Beyond their connections and knowledge of the industry, former athletes say their ability to manage the outsized egos of their peers gives them an edge in advising athletes about their savings strategies. Athletes, treated like stars in public and regularly glorified for their on-the-field work, can be overly confident in their own views. Wilkins said he was guilty of that and remembers hastily reacting to market fluctuations after the Sept. 11 attacks. He impulsively called his broker to cash out hundreds of thousands of dollars he had invested in aggressive growth equities. The broker didn't argue. Wilkins said he made several foolish money moves, but his advisers rarely pushed back. A former athlete, he said, has the credibility and the personal experience to say no. "When someone comes into my office," he said, "they're going to get a down-to-earth, blue-collared guy who's learned some lessons the hard way and doesn't want to see them make the same mistakes."
In this week's Scrubbing Up, the chief executive of Alzheimer's Research Trust, Rebecca Wood, argues that only a lack of funds is holding back UK researchers from finding a cure for the disease. What do you think? Here are some of the comments you have been sending in to this week's Scrubbing up. My wife is 61-year-old and has suffered with Posterior Cortical Atrophy a rare variant of Alzheimer's since her mid fifties. Watching a once young and vibrant women get slowly eaten away by this disease with very little hope of anything becoming available to reverse the process is heartbreaking for everyone. It is imperative that this situation is addressed, consequently I believe substantial research funds should be provided then hopefully, at least people afflicted by this disease in the future will be able to face the fight with some real hope. Richard, Ipswich, Suffolk, England Dealing with Alzheimer's is a growing challenge. You hear about so many cases these days. The article is right - people are more willing to speak about it. Treating and managing the disease is costing the country huge amounts of money. Let's crack it at source and dedicate more funds to research to find a cure. Sue Parry, Eastling, Kent This disease not only causes emotional turmoil for the entire family as well as the victim, but the cost of care and coping is beyond recognition right now. From a social standpoint, curing dementia will strengthen society; from a cost standpoint, curing dementia will allow society to move on to other concerns. Martha Macinski, Hector, USA My boyfriend's mum died of this disease last October. It was very upsetting for me and all of his family. She had Alzheimer's for a number of years. However, she had to go into hospital due to her burning herself, and it was whilst she was in their care her health rapidly declined. I don't think the care she received in both the hospital and the care home afterwards was very good considering she paid into the NHS all her life. Beverley Hunt, Tamworth, Staffordshire I have just lost my mother to this dreadful disease. Her mother died of it. It is the worst thing I have ever experienced, anyone could end up with this and it is such a sad and pitiful way to end a life. There must be something to stop this. Should dementia research get more funding or not? Have you been affected by the issues raised in this article? Send us your comments using the form below. A selection of your comments may be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below. The BBC may edit your comments and not all emails will be published. Your comments may be published on any BBC media worldwide.
Tuesday, August 31, 1999 Published at 13:34 GMT 14:34 UK St Asaph v Brighton: Battle for city status Brighton: Patronised by Prince Regent but still not a city All the bids for towns that want to become a city on the eve of the millennium must be in by Wednesday. Home Secretary Jack Straw will announce the winner later this year and the Queen will then award it the status of a city. Exactly what that means is unclear, but all are convinced it is a good idea. The hope is that city status will be a major economic boost, like the medieval practice of touching the king's robes as a cure for disease. Among them are the big boys such as Croydon, Swindon, Milton Keynes and Brighton. But the entries also include tiny St Asaph (population: 3,600) in north Wales. It already has its own cathedral, but contrary to popular belief, having a cathedral, a university or even lots of people does not give a place city status. Andrew Thomas, a town and county councillor from St Asaph, told BBC News that size does not matter in applying for city status. "It is not size that counts. It is merit," he said. Here is a rough guide to two towns hoping to become cities: Patron saints: Fatboy Slim and Zoe Ball, former Daily Star editor Derek Jameson, Steve Coogan and Gaz out of Supergrass. Hot news: Nurses fear they will be at risk when a new scheme stops many of them parking near the hospital where they work. Property prices: £100,000 will buy you a two-bedroomed flat. Big moment in history: Controversial newspaper columnist Julie Burchill moved to Brighton a few years ago. Why should it be a city? "Brighton is brilliant at turning the quirky into the mainstream," says Simon Fanshawe, chairman of Brighton and Hove's bid. Patron Saint: St Asaph. As a boy, he is reputed to have carried burning coals in his cloak but, miraculously, neither his own flesh nor the cloak were burnt. Lisa Scott-Lee from Steps. The Archbishop of Wales. Hot news: St Asaph's bid for city status. Property prices: £50,000 will buy you a 2/3 bed bungalow. Big moment in history: Discovering in the 1970s that it was not in fact a city. Why should be it be a city: "It would be a useful fillip to the area," says Andrew Thomas.
Scientists said the eclipse is caused by a thin disc of opaque dust The first close-up image of an eclipse beyond the solar system has been captured by scientists. Astronomers at the University of St Andrews worked on an international study of the star Epsilon Aurigae, from the Auriga constellation. Every 27 years it becomes dimmer, a phenomenon which lasts for two years. The physicists combined light from four telescopes to get the first image of the eclipse, which is 140 times sharper than images from the Hubble telescope. The team described the discovery as a "terrifying image, like something from a Tolkien book". 'Kill the light' The eclipse was first observed by the German astronomer Johann Fritsch in 1821. Dr Ettore Pedretti and Dr Nathalie Thureau, from St Andrews, took part in the research, which was led by Brian Kloppenborg from the University of Denver. Dr Pedretti said: "From the image, we can confirm that the eclipse of Epsilon Aurigae is caused by a thin disc of opaque dust trailed by a massive and unseen companion. "Like David, tiny particles of dust are able to kill the light of this 'Goliath' star." Dr Thureau designed some of the optics for the light-combining technique used to view the star, which is called optical interferometry. "With this image we have solved a 180-year-old mystery," she said. "Astronomers have been puzzled for more than a century about this star and we took two pictures that may finally solve the mystery. "In fact we will continue to capture images since the eclipse lasts about two years." The two academics intend to form the first group in Scotland to build instruments for optical and infrared interferometry. "Our aim is to exploit existing interferometers around the world in order to take detailed pictures of distant and interesting astronomical objects that are not achievable even with the largest single telescopes," explained Dr Pedretti. The research will be published in the journal, Nature.
United States might not defend ‘some’ NATO members under Trump (8) U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump said that under his leadership the United States might not come to the defense of some of NATO’s members if Russia were to attack them. Trump said he would decide whether to protect the Baltic republics against Russian aggression based on whether those countries “have fulfilled their obligations to us.” He made the comments in an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday, a night before he was to formally accept the Republican nomination for president. Trump’s remarks about U.S. obligations under NATO to come to the aid of other members of the 28-nation alliance are in line with his views questioning the United States’ global role. In 2014 NATO created a rapid reaction force to protect its most vulnerable members against a confrontation with Russia. Trump also said in the Times interview that he would not criticize Turkey for cracking down on political opponents and restricting civil liberties following last week's attempted coup. Of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Trump said: "I give great credit to him for being able to turn that around. ... Some people say that it was staged, you know that. I don't think so." The U.S. had “no right to lecture” Turkey and other countries when “people are shooting policemen in cold blood,” Trump said. With decades in business and no prior political experience, Trump cast the projection of American military might abroad in economic terms. For example, he said it might not be necessary to station American troops abroad, though he agreed it was preferable. “If we decide we have to defend the United States, we can always deploy troops from the U.S.”, Trump told the newspaper, “and it will be a lot less expensive.”
Baaaad browsing!By Susan Aielo • Published: February 21st, 2011 Category: Animal Airwaves Goats are said to eat anything from money to tin cans, but their indiscriminate munching habits can sometimes lead to serious problems. Azaleas, also known as rhododendrons, are particularly tasty to goats, but potentially deadly as well. These native American shrubs are common in the southeast. All parts of this plant contain a toxin that can cause problems with the heart or nervous system, or even death in curious animal snackers. Only a few ounces of fresh foliage can be toxic to an average-sized goat. Signs include drooling, bloat, vomiting and muscle tremors. The toxin also can cause cardiovascular problems. Whether your animals are goats, cats, dogs or horses, the best way to protect them from azalea intoxication is to keep them away from rhododendron plants. If your goat has eaten azaleas, don’t kid around. Call your veterinarian immediately.
for National Geographic News Scientists have sequenced the honeybee genome, revealing some of the biology beneath the insects' advanced social systems and powerful sense of smell as well as the spread of Africanized (or "killer") strains. The study, which paves the way for a new era of bee research, marks the third insect genome to be sequenced, after the fruit fly and the mosquito. Scientists have long wanted to know what makes the honeybee—Apis mellifera—tick, because it serves as a model for social behavior and because of its vital worldwide role as a pollinator (honeybee photos, facts, and more. Honeybees form elaborate hives and divide into complex social strata, and some honeybees have even learned abstract concepts such as "same" and "different" in the lab. But honeybee brains contain only a million neurons. That's a hundred thousand times fewer cells than human brains and only four times more than a fruit fly's. The new genome research doesn't disappoint. "I don't want to go so far as to say it's done a better job of evolving," said Kim Worley, a researcher at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas, and one of the study co-authors. "The honeybees have got a lot of interesting biology, and we're seeing genes that can explain some of it." A paper summarizing the research, which was led by George M. Weinstock, also at Baylor College of Medicine, will appear in tomorrow's issue of the journal Nature. Understanding a "Killer" The genome data sheds light on the process of Africanization by suggesting that Apis mellifera originated in Africa, then spread to Europe and Asia in two separate migrations. (Related: photo: "Oldest-Ever Bee Found in Amber" [October 25, 2006].) The infamous African "killer" bees, a subspecies of honeybee known as Apis mellifera scutellata, were introduced to Brazil in 1956. The aggressive insects have almost replaced the so-called European honeybees that were present in the region and have penetrated as far as Argentina to the south and California to the north. The new study also reveals how elements in the genome may influence the development of vastly different honeybee castes, such as queens and workers, from the same genetic material. SOURCES AND RELATED WEB SITES
With a little help from archaeologists, three giant cats have slunk into view after spending thousands of years underground in central Mexico. Carved in a vaguely Olmec style into a stone monolith, the seated jaguars—or possibly mountain lions—may have been part of a decorative hillside wall that was crawling with big-cat carvings, experts suggest. The circa 700 B.C. carving, dubbed the "Triad of Felines" by archaeologists, was found about 60 miles (a hundred kilometers) south of Mexico City at Chalcatzingo, an archaeological site known to have had ties to the Olmec civilization. Measuring about 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall and 3.6 feet (1.1 meters) wide, the carving was originally set within a hillside and was designed to be clearly visible from a village below, experts say. The discovery is only the latest of about 40 large stone carvings found at Chalcatzingo since 1935—many of them depicting cats, said David Grove, an anthropologist at the University of Florida who conducted research at Chalcatzingo for 30 years beginning in the 1970s. As an example of Olmec-style art, Grove added, "Triad of Felines" is "spectacular." It took experts months to piece together and restore the 11 fragments that make up the cat-trio carving. At the same time, the scientists are assembling a theory in which the "Triad" is itself just one piece of a larger puzzle. "Triad of Felines" may have been part of a collection of carvings that dotted the Chalcatzingo landscape, perhaps as spiritual "billboards" along a pilgrimage route, archaeologists suggest. "One of our hypotheses is that, in the time from 800 to 500 B.C., there was a frieze along the entire Cerro Chalcatzingo," or "Chalcatzingo hill," project member Mario Cordova Tello, an archaeologist with Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), said in a statement. Traces of the Olmec The Olmec occupied south-central Mexico from about 1500 to 400 B.C. and are thought by many to have had a large influence on other Mesoamerican civilizations, such as the Maya—and the people of Chalcatzingo. (Get the full story of the rise and fall of the Maya in National Geographic magazine.) While not technically Olmec themselves, the inhabitants of Chalcatzingo likely traded with Olmec cities, said Grove, who wasn't involved in the latest discovery. Olmec influences are visible in the stone artwork at the site—for example, in the use of Olmec symbols. But unlike the Olmec, who tended to carve three-dimensional statues, Chalcatzingo carvers tended to create raised images on flat surfaces, as in "Triad of Felines." Flaming Eyebrows Hint at Supernatural Cats Many other carvings of big cats—domestic cats arrived in North America only a few centuries ago—have been found at Chalcatzingo. "Triad of Cats," though, is unique in depicting sitting animals, Grove said. The cats in the new carving also appear to have supernatural traits, such as flaming eyebrows and stylized mouths reminiscent of traditional Olmec masks. Because they posed a significant threat to humans at the time, large felines such as jaguars were revered by many Mesoamerican cultures, Grove said. Their frequent occurrence in Olmec art suggests cats were important in Olmec religion and mythology, but their exact significance is still unknown. "Something having to do with mythology is being expressed in these carvings ... but I am still trying to figure out exactly what it is," Grove said. "Not a lot is known about Olmec religion."
The Ethiopian man, who has been named as Hailemedehin Abera Tagegn, seized control of the Boeing 767 when the Italian pilot went to the toilet. Ethiopian Airlines flight ET702, with 202 passengers and crew on board, had taken off from the Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, bound for Rome. And passenger Francesco Cuomo told Italian news agency ANSA the pilot demanded the hijacker open the door and tried unsuccessfully to break it down. He added the hijacker, speaking in poor English on a loudspeaker, threatened to crash the aircraft if the pilot persisted. The plane's oxygen masks then came down, Mr Cuomo said. Another passenger, Diego Carpelli, told Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera: "We had no clue about the hijacking but got scared when the plane suddenly started diving, it seemed like it was falling from the sky." The co-pilot safely landed the plane in Geneva, Switzerland, at around 5am. He used a rope to climb down from a cockpit window and surrendered to police on the runway. Officials earlier said passengers had not been aware of the hijack. Redwan Hussein, Ethiopia's information minister, said the hijacker, who he named as Hailemedehin Abera Tagegn, had been working with the airline for five years and had no criminal record. Mr Hussein described him as "medically sane", which he said made the motives for his actions all the more puzzling. "So the intention, what forced him to hijack his own plane, still beggars belief ... any political, social or economic reason would not make sense to hijack your plane and be a criminal," he said. Police spokesman Pierre Grangean said: "Just after landing, the co-pilot came out of the cockpit and ran to the police and said, 'I'm the hijacker.' He said he is not safe in his own country and wants asylum." Swiss federal authorities are now investigating and could press charges that could carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years. In Ethiopia, he could face up to 25 years in jail. FlightRadar 24 - an app for mobile devices - showed the flight circling over Geneva several times before landing. The Boeing 767-300 plane had 20 minutes of fuel left when it landed after being guided to the runway by two Italian fighter planes. Sky's Harriet Hadfield, in Geneva, said the airport had not yet opened when the plane hit the runway - and passengers had to wait until it did before disembarking. Speaking about why the co-pilot might have been seeking asylum, Human Rights Watch said Ethiopia's human rights record "has sharply deteriorated" over the years. :: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202. - Related Stories - Hijacker Demands Plane Be Flown To Sochi
Ian Urbina's Saturday New York Times story from the Group of 20 economic meeting in Pittsburgh last weeked, about left-wing and anarchist protesters who took to the streets, came under a headline that misleadingly implied peace abided: "In Pittsburgh, Thousands Stage a Peaceful March for Multiple Causes." Yet in paragraph four we learned there were 66 arrests in downtown Pittsburgh, and "about 19 businesses sustained broken windows or other damage." And while the Times was loathe to estimate the crowd size of the enormous September 12 anti-Obama protest in Washington, the Times forwarded estimates from "observers" at the lefty Pittsburgh protest who "put the crowd...at 3,000 to 4,000." While the peaceful September 12 crowd was tarred in the Times as "angry" and "profane" with "no shortage of vitriol," Urbina downplayed the actual violence and vandalism committed by a far smaller band of anarchists in downtown Pittsburgh. A headline reader could assume that the September 12 conservative protest in Washington and the anarchist protest in Pittsburgh were of the same magnitude, as both used the term "thousands" to describe the crowd size. The Times's print headline from the conservative rally, where the low end of crowd estimates was 70,000 and some estimates went much higher: "Thousands Attend Broad Protest of Government." The Times's print headline from the left-wing/anarchist protest, in which "observers" estimated 3,000-4000: "In Pittsburgh, Thousands Stage a Peaceful March for Multiple Causes." An excerpt from Urbina's piece from Pittsburgh: Several thousand demonstrators espousing and denouncing a host of causes converged on downtown Pittsburgh on Friday, chanting, pumping up signs and playing instruments in a peaceful and permitted march calling for solutions to a range of problems that they attributed to the economic policies of the world leaders at the Group of 20 meeting. Protesters with Iraq Veterans Against the War, wearing fatigues, marched alongside Tibetans chiming cymbals, chanting denunciations of China and waving signs, like one that read "G20 Let's Talk Tibet." Students for Justice in Palestine assembled on Forbes Avenue and called for an end to "the Israeli occupation." Others held up signs like "We Say No To Corporate Greed," and "We say yes to human needs." The People's March, as it was called, was sponsored by the Thomas Merton Center, a Pittsburgh peace organization. It came a day after raucous confrontations between the police and protesters resulted in 66 arrests. At least five people needed medical attention, and about 19 businesses sustained damage. Observers put the crowd at Friday's march at 3,000 to 4,000. Speakers urged demonstrators to fight for an array of social issues they felt had been largely ignored in global economic policy. Urbina later included another numerical estimate, as if "more than 400" anarchists is some impressive figure: Rows of police officers looked on from the sidewalk, watching a group of more than 400 self-described anarchists clad in black.
Here are chilling words for any parent to hear: "Hollywood recruits kids to fight climate change." It isn't every day that someone admits that they are basically out to indoctrinate children with an ideological position, but Helen Andrews of Politico.com reports to us just such an admission from the globaloney forces in Hollywood. Not only do they intend to brainwash our children (and already are, for that matter) with their anti-capitalist, anti-growth ideas using fuzzy animals and cartoonish figures, but they are presenting it as a "moral" issue and, just as badly, trying to convince our children that humans aren't any more special than the animals -- because, you see, kids are "an animal," too. Naturally, these globaloney pushers imagine there isn't a thing wrong with their actions despite that they are trying to inculcate political positions on unsuspecting children, undercutting their parent's ideologies, and undermining the American way of life. Citing the success of such films as "Happy Feet" and even "Bambi," Andrews brings us the ruminations of several folks who imagine that children are ripe for indoctrination with globaloney hysteria. A significant amount of “moral learning” happens during the formative ages -- generally beyond pre-school, Anderson explained. Kids roughly 7 and older begin to understand, remember and reflect on serious topics like death -- including the Earth’s death. Elementary school students even start becoming interested in political positions. So the "earth's death" is a "moral" position, now? Instead of teaching children about the American way of life and our Christian mores, these "experts" want that supplanted with global warming hysteria. Many feel that doing so with movies and TV is the perfect solution and the key to it all is fuzzy animals, the best way to grab little one's attention and hold it. The 1940s debut of the forest fire prevention campaign with "Smokey Bear" is used in Andrews' piece to illustrate the success of appealing to the young. Dave Walsh, president of the National Institute on Media and the Family, who fondly recalls his love for "Smokey Bear," believes that the global warming crew can easily use the forest fire prevention campaign as a template for their own agenda. "Children have always been very sensitive to the plight of animals..." ...Walsh, who at age 7 was president of his neighborhood Smokey the Bear club, said that the environment is now Topic A among purveyors of children’s media. Dan Anderson, a professor of psychology at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, agrees that children are the perfect, most receptive audience. “It begins very early,” Anderson said about the connection between the young and animals. “Children by around age 2 really strongly respond to the branding of products.” And Walsh adds... “It’s not surprising with all of the recent talk about global warming that people who are creating children’s entertainment would translate that current-event discussion into the impact on animals,” Walsh continued. “Kids aren’t going to relate to the impact on the polar ice cap.” So, global warming is to be that "product" as far as the ideologically motivated pushers of the issue are concerned. Politico.com found Mitchell Kriegman, the creator of the eco-friendly PBS program "It's a Big World," who also took the opportunity to make it seem as if the Clinton era was somehow more "safe" even as islamist terrorism was just as much a part of the 1990s as it has been after 2001 -- despite that the MSM never much reported on it then. “My show was really a reaction to 9/11,” explained Kriegman. “Little kids were starting to get frightened about the world, and this was a change. During the Clinton era, there wasn’t this kind of fear of the world.” And Kriegman uses his show to push the environmentalist movement on his young audience with a 7-foot sloth named Snook who is, as the article says, "the Al Gore for kids." It isn't just environut stuff, either. A whole raft of anti-capitalist and secular humanist ideas are pushed on kids with this show and other media, such as movies and kid's books. In one episode of "It's a Big World" for instance, the main character even tells the kids that they are not any more special than animals, saying to them, “Hey, did you know that you are an animal, too?” No, Snook, our children are not "animals," they are people! Even more ridiculously, this Kriegman is so sure that his zealous positions are just a fact that he doesn't even seem to realize that he is pushing his politics on our children. “There’s no controversy for kids,” said Kriegman. “It’s not a political issue.” Well, it SHOULDN'T be, I'll grant him that. But he has made it so by pushing his secular humanism and unproven globaloney ideology on unsuspecting children and their parents. But, to global warming alarmists, their ideology is not a "political issue" as much as it is a cultish, religious styled belief system. Even truth is a victim of their zealotry as revealed by the recent report that proved that the so-called "scientific consensus" is a figment of the globaloney pusher's imagination. Recent research shows that less than half of published scientists endorse global warming despite the fact that global warming advocates constantly claim that the great preponderance of scientists agree with their man-made global warming theories. But, to believe is not to require proof... faith trumps all. There is nothing wrong with faith, of course, but if your faith is supposed to be based on reason and science, it would be nice if that faith corresponded with the facts therefrom. I remember an incident in the early 1990s, one of my children, who was in 2nd grade at the time, had come home with a book from school assigned to him by his teacher. The book was ostensibly about a young raccoon's first time home alone. His raccoon parents had to go to a meeting of forest creatures and decided to trust their young one home alone for his first time. Now, this story was supposed to be helping children learn about responsibility and "growing up." But, what was surreptitiously tucked into this story but an enviro-wacko and anti-corporate message. Why were the parents going to the forest meeting, you ask? Why, it's because the evil logging corporations were destroying their forest homes and the forest animals had to get together to protest this evil, capitalist destruction. I gave the school an earful, of course. But, be forewarned. These fuzzy penguins, happy sloths and cute raccoons are not just inoffensive cartoons. They hide a political message that is antithetical to our culture and the ideals that have made our country the greatest country ever created by the mind of man. Parents pay close attention to these things because, if you aren't careful, they will undermine the great American principles that you wish your children to live by. Remember, Only YOU can prevent globaloney from infecting your children.
\|Issue 61 November 20 2008\| The Word of Merge - Part 1 In a previous newsletter , we talked about the powerful 'merge' function and how you can make your code more readable while easily combining static and dynamic data. At the end of that article, we touched on the topic of using the 'merge' function with raw RTF text files to create Word documents. In this follow-up article, we will go into more detail and show how you can use this technique to integrate with Microsoft Office, using Word as a reporting mechanism. Let's start with a simple example. Open up Microsoft Word, type in a single line: And save it to disk as an RTF document named 'theMessage.rtf' If you're wondering about the double brackets, I use those for two reasons: the 'merge' function readily substitutes anything inside double brackets with the corresponding value of the expression. And it doesn't seem to interfere with the RTF file format, which is another major bonus. Next we go to Revolution and make a new stack with a button 'Create a Message'. Set its script to: on mouseUp local theMessage, theTemplateFile, theMergedFile, theRTFtext -- ask "What message do you have for the world?" with \ "Hello, world!" if it is empty then exit mouseUp put it into theMessage answer file "Where is 'theMessage.rtf' template file?" if it is empty then exit mouseUp put it into theTemplateFile ask file "Save your message as:" if it is empty then exit mouseUp put it into theMergedFile -- put URL("binfile:" & theTemplateFile) into theRTFtext set the fileType to "MSWDRTF " put merge(theRTFtext) into URL ("binfile:" & theMergedFile) end mouseUp Save the script, and click on the button. Enter some inspired message, locate the RTF file that we saved earlier, and choose a nice spot for the resulting message file. Then double-click on the output file to find that your message was nicely integrated with the RTF document. This was admittedly a very simplified example, but it shows the basic technique. But before we move on to a real-world example, here's a very important tip - it cost me quite some time (and hair) until I figured it out: When you modify an existing RTF template file, always use 'Save As' to completely replace the existing file. Otherwise, some versions of Word may leave you with a mangled RTF file where some of your tags could be split in half, and thus fail to be merged. Now that we've made a mental note of that, let's move on to something a little more complex, and add formatting, page header and footer, and a table to construct a fairly good shipping bill. The beauty of RTF is that Microsoft updates the specficiations every time a new version of Microsoft Word comes out - so you can use virtually any feature of Microsoft Word in your template files. As you can see, we've put in a bunch of placeholder tags with square brackets. Again, we will replace these with the content of our variables using the 'merge' function. So let's save the shipping bill as another RTF file with the inspired name 'theShippingBill.rtf' and return to Revolution to create another button 'Create Shipping Bill' - note that the following script contains no database access or actual calculations. on mouseUp local theTemplateFile, theMergedFile, theRTFtext -- answer file "Where is 'theShippingBill.rtf' template file?" if it is empty then exit mouseUp put it into theTemplateFile ask file "Save your shipping bill as:" if it is empty then exit mouseUp put it into theMergedFile -- local bill_ship_date, bill_internal_id, bill_external_id put "11/15/2008" into bill_ship_date put "SB 12345" into bill_internal_id put "-" into bill_external_id local bill_name, bill_address, bill_zipcode, \ bill_municipality, bill_country put "Homerio Simpsonian" into bill_name put "732, Everblue Hair" into bill_address put "85558" into bill_zipcode put "Sprinklefield" into bill_municipality put "XX USA" into bill_country -- local art_1, description_1, qty_1, price_1, total_1 FetchArticleData art_1, description_1, qty_1, price_1, total_1 local art_2, description_2, qty_2, price_2, total_2 FetchArticleData art_2, description_2, qty_2, price_2, total_2 local art_3, description_3, qty_3, price_3, total_3 FetchArticleData art_3, description_3, qty_3, price_3, total_3 local art_4, description_4, qty_4, price_4, total_4 FetchArticleData art_4, description_4, qty_4, price_4, total_4 local art_5, description_5, qty_5, price_5, total_5 FetchArticleData art_5, description_5, qty_5, price_5, total_5 local art_6, description_6, qty_6, price_6, total_6 FetchArticleData art_6, description_6, qty_6, price_6, total_6 local art_7, description_7, qty_7, price_7, total_7 FetchArticleData art_7, description_7, qty_7, price_7, total_7 local art_8, description_8, qty_8, price_8, total_8 FetchArticleData art_8, description_8, qty_8, price_8, total_8 local art_9, description_9, qty_9, price_9, total_9 FetchArticleData art_9, description_9, qty_9, price_9, total_9 -- local subtotal_art, subtotal_sah, subtotal_tax, bill_total, \ bill_due_date put "53.73" into subtotal_art put "4.99" into subtotal_sah put "8.81" into subtotal_tax put "67.53" into bill_total put "12/31/2008" into bill_due_date -- local the_message put "We're closed for Thanksgiving, so ship fast!" into \ the_message -- put URL("binfile:" & theTemplateFile) into theRTFtext set the fileType to "MSWDRTF " put merge(theRTFtext) into URL ("binfile:" & theMergedFile) end mouseUp on FetchArticleData @pArticle, @pDescription, @pQuantity, \ @pPrice, @pTotal put "ABC123" into pArticle put "Some article from our warehouse" into pDescription put "3.00" into pQuantity put "1.99" into pPrice put "5.97" into pTotal end FetchArticleData Click the button, and you end up with a lovely shipping bill. In this example, we used a fixed template with room for 9 article lines. Once you learn the intricacies of the RTF file format, you can take apart your template files and slice them into chunks that you can merge with the relevant data, adding more lines to your table as needed, as well as complete paragraphs. And don't forget that ordinary Revolution fields also have an 'rtfText' property, so you can take the styling information from your fields and transfer that into your RTF documents. In the next installment, we'll discuss how you can leverage VBScript on Windows and AppleScript on MacOS X, in order to automatically open and print your freshly created RTF files. In the meantime, here are a few links to more resources for the RTF file format: Have fun creating RTF-documents and merging them from Revolution! Jan Schenkel is the developer behind Quartam Reports and Quartam PDF Library for Revolution. Find out more at www.quartam.com
Johnny Depp’s Tonto: Not as Racist as You Might Think. But Still Kind of Racist By Aisha Harris But the filmmakers ultimately can’t resist making the white man the hero of this story. Even though Tonto is the driving force for the majority of the movie, the Lone Ranger gets the pomp and circumstance from both the innocent citizens of Colby, Texas, and the film’s creators, in the end. This is to be expected: It is, after all, called The Lone Ranger. But when the Lone Ranger finally fulfills the role he was “destined” to play, it comes seemingly out of nowhere, nearly two hours into the 149-minute film, and feels completely unearned. Tonto, for all of the filmmakers’ evident intentions, becomes by the finale a less egregious rendition of Bagger Vance and countless other “mythical” minority characters, devoted to building up the courage and strength of the heroic white leads. On a scale of 1 to The Searchers, The Lone Ranger rates at about a 4 in terms of its depiction of American Indians. Is it blatantly racist and shameful? No. But the filmmakers don’t succeed in their effort to have it both ways. Depp’s attempt to be a “warrior” role model to all the American Indian kids lucky enough to watch him save the day fails—and for the simple reason that the original material is too entrenched in an essentially racist ideology. While the attempt to humanize Tonto—to turn him into a complicated, fully realized, respectable character—seems noble, and maybe even a step above what we normally expect from Hollywood, the movie doesn’t make a strong enough case for bringing him back from the past in the first place. The spirits of certain cultural figures are probably better left alone. By Jason Bailey So, which is he? A broad stereotype, a noble shaman, or a comic charlatan? Depp doesn’t know; he’s a gifted performer but an undisciplined one, and Verbinski isn’t much for laser focus either, as the 149-minute running time makes clear. This is an actor who Disney is paying, as he has said, “stupid money,” so when he sees a white artist’s painting of an imaginary Native American and decides that’s how Tonto’s gonna look, well then, that’s how Tonto looks. But the problem with The Lone Ranger—aside from it being lumbering, overlong, unfunny, and frequently dull—is that its script is no less confused about how to represent Native Americans than Depp is. They’ll dramatize a violent, terrifying Comanche raid, and exploit all of that loaded imagery, as long as it turns out that the “Indians” were actually masquerading white thugs. They’ll create a Tonto who “trades” feathers for the rings off a dead man’s fingers, as long as he’s given a sentimental backstory. And then they’ll send out their marquee leading man to explain how he’s pretending to be a Native American to “give some hope to kids on the reservations. They’re living without running water and seeing problems with drugs and booze. But I wanted to be able to show these kids, ‘Fuck that! You’re still warriors, man.’” But the question remains: why bother? The fact is, sometimes time passes, and cultural norms change, and certain characters or tropes or texts just become too antiquated. The Lone Ranger left this viewer with a feeling weirdly similar to the aftertaste of Michael Radford’s 2004 Merchant of Venice (the Pacino one): like maybe we just don’t need to tell this story anymore, since it—though a classic, and an important piece of literature, etc. etc.—is deeply, unavoidably, problematically anti-Semitic. And the makers of The Lone Ranger find themselves in a similar conundrum, left twisting their narrative into pretzels in order to balance out the inexorably stereotypical nature of what is now its primary character. You can’t help but wonder why Depp and Verbinski didn’t just say to hell with this mythology, and start fresh with the Butch-and-Sundance-runaway-train-Western they so clearly wanted to do instead. The Real Problem With a Lone Ranger Movie? It's the Racism, Stupid An article at Time.com suggested that "the issue isn’t so much the casting as it is the character." Adrienne Keene of Native Appropriations pointed out that Tonto is, unfortunately, one of just a few Native people--real or fictional--that non-Indians know of. The risk is that his quirks or character traits may be applied to an entire race: "Without an accurate pop-culture idea of a real-life Native American in moviegoers’ heads, Tonto is less of an individual character than he is a key piece of the popular image of a large and diverse population. The stereotype is particularly detrimental for its fantastical elements, [Keene] believes: when a real group of people seems as mystical as say, werewolves, in every pop-culture depiction of the group, it gets hard to pay any attention to the real people who are alive today and have real issues and achievements of their own." In a piece for Slate entitled "Johnny Depp’s Tonto: Not as Racist as You Might Think. But Still Kind of Racist," Aisha Harris was more forgiving than others, but still couldn't get past the limitations of the source material. "Depp’s attempt to be a 'warrior' role model to all the American Indian kids lucky enough to watch him save the day fails—and for the simple reason that the original material is too entrenched in an essentially racist ideology." It appears that, despite the filmmakers' intentions, The Lone Ranger did not reinvent Tonto or the Tonto-Ranger dynamic--and perhaps it's because America has simply moved on. Is there any reinventing of Uncle Remus from Song of the South, or Chop Chop from the old Blackhawk comic books? Arguably not. While a Native actor such as Adam Beach (often mentioned as a better fit for Tonto) might have been a more pleasing casting choice, in this case Depp's insistence on playing Tonto actually saved a Native actor the awkwardness of trying to sell viewers a story they were never going to buy. By Annalee Newitz It's hard to deny the similarities between Tonto and Jar Jar—both are clownish sidekicks to the true heroes of their stories, barely able to string four words together. But once in a while, they blunder their way into saving the day. Critics pointed to Jar Jar's accent and behavior as mirroring stereotypes of Caribbean people; still, it was possible for George Lucas to argue that sometimes a Gungan is just a Gungan. Obviously, nobody can make that argument with Tonto. Jar Jar is a racial stereotype by inference, while Tonto is pure, uncut racial stereotype. Just in case you didn't get the stereotype message, though, the movie opens with an aged Tonto at 1930s sideshow, standing in a diorama labeled, "The Noble Savage in his Native Habitat." OK, thanks movie. This bit, and Tonto's frequent "stupid white man" comments, are supposed to make us think the movie is somehow in on a joke about racism with us. We can all just wink and nudge each other over how ridiculous those "noble savage" stereotypes are, right? Because nothing really proves that white people "get it" more than updating a racist Indian character invented in the 1930s with a white actor in facepaint and feathers, and having him speak in broken English to a dead crow. So to return to my earlier question: How the hell did this happen? It's 2013 and we're still making movies where white guys play dumb Indians in a mythical version of the American west? I suppose picking Depp for Tonto is one way that this movie benefits from modern political transparency. It's more honest to have a white guy playing Tonto since the character is such a white fantasy of Indians anyway. Ultimately the lesson I would take away from The Lone Ranger is that some stories just can't be rebooted. I'm reminded of King Kong, another famously racist story from the 1930s, full of ooga-booga natives and big black monkeys who are obsessed with teeny white ladies. Peter Jackson's reboot of King Kong was filled with the same kind of race fail as The Lone Ranger. There is just no way to contort those old-school racist adventures into fun, contemporary action movies. Their narrative foundations are built on stereotypes and social assumptions that don't work in the present day. Maybe they can be revived as dark satire, like Dead Man or Django Unchained—but even then, the risk of fail is pretty high. There are already many reasons why the reboot frenzy in pop culture is impoverishing our abilities to tell fresh, challenging stories. But when a movie like The Lone Ranger gets remade like this, with its Tonto stereotype intact, we don't just starve ourselves creatively. We starve ourselves politically too. But the formula will always be "white guy saves the day and preserves the status quo." He'll always be fighting "bad guys" while the US Army is hunting and killing Indians around him. That's a problem. You might have to destroy the concept in order to save it. For instance, as I said before, make Tonto the Lone Ranger and the white guy his sidekick. Or make the Ranger a freedom fighter against the government, the Army, and the railroads destroying the Indians' way of life. But then it wouldn't be the Lone Ranger everybody--well, a few people--loves. That's a problem too. For more on Johnny Depp and Tonto, see Tonto = Captain Jack Sparrow and Depp Justifies Tonto's Stereotypes.
The Summit Emergency Department (ED) of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center received Alameda County’s “Professional Partner” award recognizing the ED staff’s teamwork in administering life saving interventions to a cardiac arrest victim earlier this year. In honor of National Emergency Medical Services Week, very year, all Emergency Medical Services providers in the county submit an individual or team of individuals they deem worthy to receive one of Alameda County’s “Star” Awards. Summit Emergency Department leaders will accept their award at the EMS Week 2012 Awards Banquet Luncheon on Wednesday, May 23, at the Sunol Valley Golf Club. National Emergency Medical Services Week is celebrated from May 20-26. This week brings together local communities and medical personnel to publicize safety and honor the dedication of those who provide the day-to-day life saving on emergency medicine’s “front line.” Emergency medical technicians (EMTs), paramedics and first responders serve on the front lines of our health care and public health system. Every year in Alameda County hundreds of people are victims of cardiac arrest and only 10 percent survive to be discharged from the hospital. Calling ‘9-1-1’ is almost always the fastest way to get lifesaving treatment. In Alameda County emergency responders are equipped with an electrocardiogram – transmitting life-saving information to the receiving Emergency Department while the EMT first responders in the ambulance are in verbal communication. Alta Bates Summit’s two Emergency Departments treat more than 89,000 patients every year in their hour of greatest need. The majority of these patients received the initial portion of their often life saving care because they called 9-1-1. As a designated cardiac receiving center, the Summit Emergency Department and their Cardiovascular Center for Excellence are prepared for immediate response. For example, the national average of door to balloon (from entrance in the ED to a heart saving procedure) is 90 minutes. Every Alta Bates Summit case is below this national threshold. Congratulations to the Summit Emergency Department team for this important recognition. Your care and expertise saved this patient’s life and received the acknowledgement of our county Emergency Medical Service. Join Alta Bates Summit Medical Center breast specialist Jon Grief, D.O., for an informative discussion about the breast screening controversy. How often should one have a mammogram? What is the recommended age to stop (or start) receiving a mammogram? What about self-exams? Are they recommended? Dr. Grief will cover these questions as well as other breast health recommendations. To reserve your seat, please call (510) 869-6737. Date and Location: Thursday, May 24, 6:30 – 8 p.m., Lafayette Women’s Health Center, 3695 Mt. Diablo Blvd., Ste. 350 in Lafayette. Alta Bates Summit Medical Center’s Carol Ann Read Breast Health Center provides professional Breast Patient Navigators for women newly diagnosed with breast cancer. Breast Patient Navigators are nurses and social workers who have experience working with women with breast cancer and who understand how challenging the journey can be. The breast center’s culturally supportive program includes navigators who speak and read Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean and Spanish. Breast Patient Navigators provide individualized assistance and support to women with breast cancer and their families so that they are able to understand their diagnosis, determine a treatment plan with their physicians and receive the support services and resources they need. By providing support, education, guidance and community referrals, navigators help women overcome roadblocks. Although much of their work is done over the phone, the navigators are available to meet with women at the breast center and also may be able to accompany them to medical appointments and procedures. The navigators also lead support groups for women with breast cancer. Breast Cancer Navigation Services are provided free of charge. To talk with a Breast Patient Navigator, call Tammy Schacher, RN, MSN, CBPN-IC at510-655-4000 Ext. 3638. Dr. John Pescetti never imagined that his life might hinge on 27 minutes, yet that’s exactly what he faced after arriving by ambulance at the Oakland campus of Alta Bates Summit Medical Center with severe chest pain that was soon a confirmed heart attack. Dr. Pescetti, a Johns Hopkins-trained pediatrician accustomed to being on the clinical side of the doctor-patient relationship, looks back on that day with gratitude. “There was a team of people working very quickly to take care of me. I fit into everything seamlessly. It was amazing,” he says. “They gave me a second chance at life—a chance to go on and do the thing I love most: taking care of my patients.” Unexpected chest pain Dr. Pescetti’s love for patient care began long before he became a doctor at age 35. As a nurse for seven years, he cared for some of the smallest patients in the pediatric intensive care unit at the Los Angeles Harbor-University of California, Los Angeles, Medical Center. He found his calling in pediatrics. Encouraged by a mentor to become a pediatrician, he applied to Johns Hopkins Medical School and was accepted a few months later. After he finished in 1990, he began his residency at Children’s Hospital in Oakland. “As a resident, I was really impressed by the dedication of the La Clínica de La Raza doctors who came to Children’s. So I applied for a position and was hired in 1993. I speak Spanish and my wife is Mexican American; I am immersed in the culture. La Clínica was a great fit for me.” “Families entrust the care of their children to me. Without La Clínica, many of them would not have access to quality health care. I have to do my absolute best for them.” He was caring for his La Clínica patients in the Alta Bates Summit Nursery when he first felt chest pain on the morning of March 8. He thought it was indigestion so he took an antacid. After rounding on his patients, he drove back to La Clínica, but, 45 minutes later, the pain was so intense he went down the hall to talk with family medicine physician Paul Bayard, M.D. The nurse practitioner and clinicians immediately recognized that he was having a heart attack and called an ambulance. An EKG (electrocardiogram) showed that Dr. Pescetti was having a STEMI (ST segment elevation myocardial infarction)—a type of heart attack in which the coronary artery leading to the heart is blocked. “My friends insisted that the ambulance driver take me to Alta Bates Summit and nowhere else because of their excellent cardiac care as one of the major STEMI centers in Alameda County” remembers Dr. Pescetti. “The minute he arrived at the Emergency Department, we knew we had to get him immediately to the Cath Lab to open up his artery and clear the clot,” says Eric Johnson, M.D., an interventional cardiologist. “Any delay and he would have likely suffered heart damage, or worse, from a lack of oxygen.” Dr. Johnson and his team determined the exact location of the clot through a minimally invasive procedure that uses a special dye and X-rays to make detailed images of the coronary arteries. “Dr. Pescetti’s left anterior descending artery was 99 percent blocked, just as we had suspected,” said Dr. Johnson. “So we immediately performed aspiration thrombectomy by inserting a very thin tube into the femoral artery in his thigh and guiding it to his heart to remove the clot.” Dr. Johnson also quickly inserted a very small mesh tube—called a stent—with a balloon inside. By inflating the balloon, he was able to expand the stent to widen Dr. Pescetti’s narrowed artery and improve blood flow. The relief was instantaneous. “The pain from my heart attack was excruciating. But when they unblocked my artery, it was gone instantly. I felt an incredible sense of bliss,” adds Dr. Pescetti. Today, he remains very grateful for the life-saving care he received at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center from Dr. Johnson and the medical teams in the Emergency Department and Cardiac Catheter Laboratory. “Their professionalism and compassion—the speed and accuracy of their life-saving techniques and technologies—made a world of difference. I will never be able to thank them adequately.” Dr. Johnson and the Alta Bates Summit medical teams worked so quickly that the “door to balloon” (D2B) time for Dr. Pescetti—the interval spanning from entering the ED to unblocking the artery in the Cath Lab—was only 27 minutes, well below the D2B time of 90 minutes recommended by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association. Lowering D2B times decreases the number of deaths and ensures better outcomes for heart attack survivors. “The beauty of our minimally invasive procedures is that we have dramatically improved treatment outcomes for our heart attack patients,” explains Dr. Johnson. “The majority recover so quickly that they are discharged within a few days.” Dr. Johnson went to visit Dr. Pescetti in his hospital room three hours after unblocking his artery. “Although I’ve performed this procedure so many times with wonderful outcomes, I felt a little pressured because I knew that Dr. Pescetti’s patients were counting on his full recovery,” recalls Dr. Johnson. “One of the first things he said when I entered the room was ‘I’m ready to go back to work!’” He was discharged three days later. Looking back on his experience, Dr. Pescetti feels a deeper appreciation for everyone in his life: “I can’t say thank you enough to the medical teams at Alta Bates Summit who saved my life. They need to know the profound impact of the life-saving work they do. Every drop of their care and compassion ripples out and has an enormous effect somewhere else: The caring, kindness and compassion they extended to me not only affect my family, but touch the lives of the families of my patients, whom I can continue taking care of thanks to them.” Brought to you by Alta Bates Summit Medical Center Alta Bates Summit Medical Center is proud to join hospitals across the country in recognizing National Hospital Week and National Nurses Week (May 6–12). These two celebrations acknowledge the history, individuals, technology and dedicated professionals that come together every day to care for our patients, their families and our community. National Hospital Week’s theme is “Making Miracles Happen,” from providing treatment and comfort to the sick, to welcoming new life into the world. Hospitals are central to a healthy community. National Nurses Week is celebrated annually from May 6, also known as National Nurses Day, through May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing. We honor the dedication of the nearly 3.1 million registered nurses nationwide for their compassion and care. For more than 100 years Alta Bates Summit Medical Center and its five hospitals have been dedicated to this community. Thank you to all those who work tirelessly to provide quality care to our patients seven days a week, 365 days a year. Here’s to the next 100 years!
Get it first, but first get it right. It's the mantra of many a journalist. But it seems we now need to tag on, "And make sure it's real." Here's a quick recap of the week that wasn't: 1) Texas mass murder scene discovered (untrue) 2) Blogger goes missing in Syria (authenticity doubted) 3) Syrian ambassador to France resigns (apparent impersonation) 4) Woman tattoos 152 Facebook friends on arm (publicity stunt) These stories illustrate the difficulties facing today's news gatherers and news consumers. Technology lets us all get information quickly... almost instantly. But sometimes, you just need to pause and think for a moment. Take the "mass grave" in Texas. Dozens of bodies, some children, were reportedly buried in the yard of a rural home. It sounded exactly like an episode of "Criminal Minds." And it ended up being just as fictitious. But those tantalizing bits of the story were initially presented as facts. They spread online for hours before officers even got a search warrant. Finally, they announced no bodies were found and revealed a psychic's tip had led them to the property. Local authorities stand by their response and say it should have happened quietly. They blame erroneous media reports for "sparking intense interest in the investigation " Information spreads quickly on social media sites like Twitter. It doesn't matter if that information is true or not. And that puts pressure on news organizations. If Twitter is abuzz about a story we don't have, we're slow and asleep. But if we jump on the bandwagon, we can fall flat on our faces. Sometimes websites are as close as we can get to a story. Syria and other countries in the Arab world are tightly restricting access. We rely on YouTube and blogs to help figure out what's going on. One blogger in Syria, Amina Abdallah Araf, is said to have gone missing. Facebook pages and Twitter hashtags popped up on her behalf. But as news outlets dug deeper into her whereabouts, it looked like no one had ever actually met her. An interview on CNN.com last month was conducted by email. As of now, the U.S. State Department has not been able to "ascertain the basic facts." There are identity questions of a different sort in the case of Lamia Shakkour. She is the Syrian ambassador to France. And it sounded like she resigned during a live phone interview the other day. Now that network, France 24, says voice analyses prove it was an impostor. But the number dialed was provided by the Syrian embassy and had been used before. That suggests some sort of high-tech sabotage. We have, of course, seen recent examples of hack attacks on the media. A fake story was posted to the PBS website proclaiming Tupac alive and well in New Zealand. The culprits claimed it was revenge for a "Frontline" report on WikiLeaks. These days anyone with a computer can influence a newscast... as a prankster or citizen journalist. Traditional news sources are no longer the only gatekeepers of information. We would all do well to question everything. That way we can all continue to learn something. Catch News Stream with Kristie Lu Stout weekdays at 8pm HKT/ 12pm GMT / 8am ET on CNN International.
Even With Cold Snaps, Open Water Remains On Winnipesaukee Despite a couple of long cold snaps, Lake Winnipesaukee is still not entirely frozen. A fly-over by the civil air patrol last weekend revealed a large patch of open water and unstable ice stretching from Gilford to Moultonborough. A large patch of open water sits in between Lake Shore Park and Welch Island, and questionable ice extends all the way to Long Island. This section of the lake is called “the Broads,” which is typically last to freeze. “You really need a super calm night of course with the cold temperatures and those two things haven’t been occurring up here this winter so far,” says Don Miller, a large lake biologist with Fish and Game, and long-time lake watcher. While he can’t say for sure, Miller thinks substantial rains in early January may still be draining from the lake. “That sets up a lot of current flow in the lake itself, and if you have a current flow along with some wind, that makes it really hard for that water to catch and freeze,” he says. Fish and Game advises against driving on the ice, and recommends anyone on foot check its thickness periodically. This weekend a pond hockey tournament is taking place in Meredith, and next weekend is the Meredith Rotary Club’s Fishing Derby which gives away over $20,000 dollars in prizes. Miller says traditionally the Broads were safe for foot travel by late winter, but in recent years anglers have often been out of luck. “Certainly years ago when I was a kid in the lakes Region, a normal winter would see 24 to 30 inches of ice on the lake,” he remembers, “Quite frankly I haven’t seen that in years up here, probably the last 15 years or so.”
Cultural changes invoked by the development of the Internet and cybernetics transformed the issue of free exchange of artworks, and more broadly that of art objects and knowledge to one of the most challenging in contemporary art. New rules have been developed to ascribe freedom to an art object or to lock it under control. Copyright, no copyright and copyleft, turned to subject matters identifying work patterns (modus operandi), often setting standpoints and modus vivendi among cultural text producers. These topics, these legal procedures, call into question and redesign the definition of authority on cultural texts. Every art object can be potentially reproduced, be copied, mutate or infinitely evolve, giving rise to a new culture of weblore: exclusive type of creation of the net, where a motif, a certain detail, a floating cultural text obtains through the recreation of an other (viewer-navigator-artist), a new artistic, poetic, cultural status, continuing the transformation process of collective creation. An artwork might get over transformation every time and in order with new cultural connections of the viewer co-creator. To this capableness, to its legal boundaries, and to its cultural, social, economical, and political impacts relate the works exhibited on the current show. The works approach the definitions of author, authority, and authenticity from many different angles. Stealth Waltz relate to methods of constraining the free transfer of data, art objects, and knowledge over networks, by ridiculing control procedures and bureaucracy associated with the system of rights protection for art copying and distribution. Co~Dec deconstructs copyrighted data of a mass-media chain - CNN: dissects it, compresses it - in time, space, and color - and then decompresses it to its original length, creating a new artistic product appealing to the values of authority of the information, and of the information itself. Formalistic art-remake obliterates and renderes the banality of the source's content. tooGle deploys the breaking news articles generated by one of dominating the network search engines, decomposing them by translation of interpretive language to visual imagery coming from an image archive of the very same search engine. An intention is to deconstruct the data in poetic and humorist way up to a point where it turns into a new visual and absurd kind of news, detached and disconnected from the source. In the AfterSherrieLevine project the art object is given away to cloning, copying, and changing. Weblore emerges. Different versions can be created, or similar ones of the same artwork can be multiplied undermining the status of the original. Definitions of original and authenticity get blurred. Every copy is original and a special certificate of authenticity can be printed for each. Every copy is authentic. In Beadgee the navigator is invited to deconstruct an art object for the sake of creating a new one, continuing the conversation with a previous navigator and the following one. The network is diachronic. The artwork turns to be multi-voiced even if a single artist created its joining structure. In A New Movie the everyday motion of a PC user's mouse can be translated into a data-stream re-creating and re-shaping somebody else's movie. Creative process becomes unconscious and influences (consciously or not) an infinite creation process. Lastly, the digital garbage can also be recycled and donated for reuse by others, by releasing the garbage ownership institution and creating a collective garbage stock. Digitalrecycling invites to an active anonymity in a digital green community. \| A New Movie \| Matt Roberts \| AfterSherrieLevine \| Michael Mandiberg \| Beadgee \| Tamar Schori \| co~dec \| Michael Takeo Magruder \| digitalrecycling \| Gaulon \| STEALTH WALTZ \| Manu & Mukul \| tooGle \| Fabio Franchino exhibition related resources no/copy/right exhibition in press NEW.WRITING: no/copy/right by Garrett Lynch New exhibition: creators win the case by Roni Shani Print and frame as directed by Dana Gilerman You are welcome to send us related resources to: .
The Order of the Arrow has always been heavily rooted in American Indian Activities (AIA) and cultures. From our ceremonies to the drumming and dancing that takes place around the country at OA events, AIA programs permeate throughout the Order. In the Northeast Region, Section NE-5B has devised a way to improve AIA within their borders through an innovative Native Spring and Spirit workshop. Ray P. of Section NE-5B led the charge to conduct a section-based event outside of Conclave that focused on American Indian Activities. Working with three fantastic advisers, an idea was developed revolving around a single day or weekend workshop where all five of the lodges in the section would meet and work on costuming, practice ceremonies, dance, and drumming. Through this, the Brothers in all five lodges could build stronger bonds and learn more about AIA. This past March and April, Section NE-5B conducted four workshops this past dubbed the “Native Spring and Spirit” days. During the first day of a workshop, twenty participants made chokers and medicine bags. Tomahawk throwing and an archery range were also provided as additional program. Additionally, a Lenni Lenape educator shared stories and lore with the entire group, providing an inspirational tie to the Order of the Arrow. The second day, a flint napping demonstration followed a moccasin-making training. As a principle of the Order, the third day of the workshop was focused around service. The attendees assisted in repairing a Lenape long house that was damaged by Superstorm Sandy at the Churchville Nature Center in Bucks County. Hopefully, Section NE-5B’s initiatives to tackle AIA improvements and performances will lead to your own lodge or section implementing a similar program. Remain true to the roots of the Order of the Arrow, and seek to find the arrow!
These are some of the critical issues voters will consider in the congressional campaign and election on Tuesday November 6. Senator Nicole LeFavour is a teacher and former small business owner who grew up in rural central Idaho. She’s served eight years in the legislature standing up for education, small class sizes and to stop budget cuts which have eliminated thousands of Idaho jobs. I’m an Idaho Democrat because Democrats care about working people, families and small businesses. We believe in communities and that people pull together to overcome great obstacles. We believe a strong public education system and a more affordable college education are the foundations of the American dream. Our nation needs new congressmen and women determined to solve problems and lead our country back to prosperity and the values of compassion and cooperation that made us great. Our nation’s job creators are not millionaires or corporations but small businesses and regular working people. Americans create jobs when they can participate fully in the economy, when they can afford replace a broken washing machine, buy clothes for their children, fix the car, eat out at a restaurant or afford a home or college degree. Congressman Simpson voted again and again to loosen the federal banking regulations that led to our nation’s financial crisis. Sadly he also voted to spend $700 billion to bail out banks without providing any help for the small businesses struggling to get loans to create jobs across Idaho. Our nation has reduced taxes on millionaires at a time when our national debt has reached record levels. Congress should allow the Bush era tax cuts to expire for everyone making more than $250,000 a year and keep the cuts and credits in place for working families and seniors. If the most wealthy 1% in America again paid their fair share we could trim more than $1.2 trillion from the deficit. Four years of budget cuts have created fiscal crises in our neighborhood schools, caused property taxes to rise and led to a loss of critical resources teachers need to make sure every child achieves his or her full potential. I strongly oppose forcing kids to learn in crowded classrooms as a result of state and federal budget cuts. No American should feel that taking on a lifetime of debt is the only way to complete a college degree. We can lower the cost of a college education by using federal funds to incentivize colleges and universities to lower student fees. Increasing accountability for tuition increases and using $1.50 federal incentive for every $1.00 reduction in tuition I believe would pay for itself in the economic benefits of making a college education affordable to more Americans. Unlike Congressman Mike Simpson, I oppose further cuts to Medicare that jeopardize the security of American Seniors. The nation's budget should not be balanced at the expense of school children, people with disabilities or our seniors. Cutting Medicare violates a promise our nation makes to each American who pays taxes or funds these programs that we will have some level of security in providing for ourselves and living out our lives in our communities as we age. I will dedicate myself to restoring jobs, not eliminating thousands with irresponsible budget cuts. Food processing plants have closed and most Idaho products are now exported as raw materials, sending Idaho food producing jobs overseas and across state lines. I’d ensure grants, (not incentives which shift taxes to small business and families) are available for Idaho businesses to open food manufacturing facilities that create jobs and prosperity in Idaho. POLLUTION and HEALTH I believe that weakening the EPA will only put at risk the clean drinking water and air that the next generation of Idahoans must depend on for a healthy start in life. While we all may trust some industries not to pollute our water and air, others we are glad are watched and regulated by an agency whose job it is to protect human health. Sadly, Mike Simpson has made it a priority to weaken the EPA the one agency charged with using science and solid research to protect American children and families from cancer-causing pollution and toxic contamination. EQUAL PAY AND RESPECT FOR WOMEN Today, Idaho ranks 43rd in the nation for how much more a man is paid compared to a what a woman doing the same job is paid for the same work. Unlike Congressman Simpson, I support the Lilly Ledbetter fair pay act because it improves families’ ability to bring pay disparities to the attention of our state and nation when they do occur. Fair wages improve our economy and keep families independent and strong.I oppose allowing government to intrude in private matters by mandating that women undergo invasive medical procedures. I believe government should respect the private health decisions of women, families and individuals. RESPECT & HUMAN DIGNITY I have worked for decades to advance human rights and respect across Idaho. In contrast, Mike Simpson has refused to address our broken immigration system in a way that unites families and best serves Idaho communities, agriculture, commerce and our economy. Additionally, in Congress Mr. Simpson has consistently opposed legislation to end discrimination against gay people in employment and military service and has even voted against ending the violence too many still face in their communities. I was never a fan of the Mitt Romney-style mandate to buy private insurance as it was included in the nation’s health care law. Sadly Congress made the industry more powerful by mandating that everyone buy private insurance. A strong nationwide non-profit program would be far more affordable and could simplify the current system which has created endless administrative costs in every doctor’s office and hospital. There are some important new consumer protections in the Affordable Care Act or "Obamacare." Telling insurers they can't deny coverage to Americans because of pre-existing conditions has saved many families and individuals from going without any insurance. I also support the provision which allows young people to stay on their parents plans until age 26. There's still much work to do and it's time for congress members to start proposing solutions and stop playing politics with people’s lives. It's time to fix the law to ensure no American goes bankrupt over medical bills or fear that the cost having of insurance is out of their reach. To volunteer or get involved go to http://4idaho.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29&Itemid=31 To find out where you vote: http://idahovotes.gov Even if you have never voted and are not registered you can go to the polls on election day and bring your photo ID and something with your address (like a utility bill) and you can vote! No need to vote in every race for your votes to count.
On January 15, when Facebook announced the beta release of its “Graph Search” function, a tool for uniquely structuring online searches, Mark Zuckerberg explained how the function differs from a traditional web search. “We are not indexing the web. We are indexing our map of the graph, which is really big and constantly changing. Almost a million new people every day. 240 billion photos. 1 billion people. 1 trillion connections.” On July 8, Graph Search emerged from beta with the launch of a final version for US users. Traditional search tools scan the web for results that match a keyword or keywords, Graph Search, as Facebook explained back in January, combines “phrases (for example: ‘my friends in New York who like Jay-Z’) to get that set of people, places, photos or other content that’s been shared on Facebook.” The operative phrase is my friends, since Graph Search is designed and intended to work with information your friends have shared. This said, however, there is nothing to stop a user from searching far more broadly. In fact, the parameters you choose are limited only by your imagination—or your desires, your proclivities, your motives. Picture a guy sporting black socks and a middle-age spread typing “Pictures of blonde teenage girls who live near me.” Imagine the Facebook-savvy burglar who searches on “Holiday vacation plans of people in My Town.” Although you can Graph Search for just about anything, a search beyond your friends will return only the data those strangers have shared publicly. As Zuckerberg explained back in January, Graph Search is “privacy aware” and is based entirely on data users (you) have been sharing before it was introduced. Your “public” stuff will still be public, but material you share with “just friends” will still be accessible exclusively to friends. As promised when the beta was released, the launch version has triggered no discernible changes to users’ privacy settings. So, it’s all good, right? That depends on three things. First, how much you trust your (say) 865 “friends” to keep their “exclusive” knowledge of your passion for the music of Justin Bieber, your mania for hoarding Pokemon cards, and, oh yes, your three DUIs exclusive. Second, what personal photos are floating around, such as the one of your 865 uploads of you wearing a lampshade and little else. You may prudently hide it from your Timeline, but doing so will not remove it from the uploader’s Timeline. This means that, if someone—say, your boss—does a Graph Search for photos of you, that one will show up, lampshade et al. (What to do? Well, you could untag the photo, so it won’t materialize in regular search results with your name—though it will almost certainly show up under other search criteria—or you could ask the uploader to take it down via the button Facebook provides.) Third, what you yourself have publicly shared. And that brings us to two inconvenient truths: - The overwhelming majority of wounds to privacy online—on Facebook or on any other website—are self-inflicted. As tech commentator Tom Scott advises, “If it’d be awkward if it was put on a screen in Times Square, don’t put it on Facebook.” - Despite Facebook’s privacy assurances, Graph Search does make just about everything more readily, widely, and thoroughly accessible. Think of Facebook as a massive and massively comprehensive index of human preferences attached to specific humans. Graph Search allows you, allows anyone, to search by name, by preference, by both. So here’s what you can do. Celebrate the launch of Graph Search by doing a personal privacy audit. Take a look at what you share publicly versus what you share only with friends versus with nobody at all. Do it now. Become proactive about your privacy. Review your shares, winnow your posts, edit your photos—and, yes, re-evaluate your roster of Facebook friends. (Do you really need all 865?) Browse and change your apps settings, and set your Facebook notifications to alert you, for example, when someone tags you in a photo. Checking your privacy settings. Back in January, CIO.com published “4 Facebook Privacy Settings for the New Year.” It’s a painless short course in fine tuning Facebook. Take an especially close look at item #2, which tells you how to review old posts using your Activity Log. Finally, honor your personal online brand. This means playing offense with your reputation by posting positive messages and genuinely brand-building facts about yourself. If you don’t proclaim to the online universe who you are, you have plenty of “friends” who will do it for you. Whether you like it or not. July 17, 2013
What do you get when you place 200 seventh grade students in one room under the leadership of 40 sophomores? A whole lot of R-E-S-P-E-C-T. The New Ulm High School respect retreat, held Feb. 4, was designed to educate seventh grade students to respect each other, themselves, and to stand up for respect. The retreat was facilitated by 10th grade students: Kate Denney, Nina Hendel, Matt Rowley and Levi Wick. This event was made possible through a grant from First Families of Brown County. Leadership training was provided by Youth Frontier along with Character Counts at NUHS. Tenth grade small group leaders, selected on their ability to serve as role models, began the retreat with high energy interactive games and dancing. The group leaders were instructed to be more excited than the person next to them to help the seventh grade students feel comfortable. High school teacher, Karla Hansel, said, "To do well in school, students need to be comfortable with who they are, and they need to feel physically and emotionally safe." Interactive games and dancing build a sense of community among students. Matt Rowley presents topic-based talk on the definition of respect. Also Pictured are the other sophomore retreat facilitators from left: Kate Denney, Nina Hendel and Levi Wick. Students work together to learn how to embrace respect as a core value. Team building activity breaks down social barriers and teaches importance of diversity. After the warm-up, the students listened to tenth grade facilitator Matthew Rowley's talk on respect. Rowley defined respect by breaking it down into two parts: "re" meaning again, and "spect," meaning to look. He urged students to withhold judgment and to "look again." He concluded with a Jackie Robinson quote, "I am not concerned with your liking or disliking me, all I ask is that you respect me as a human being." Then, guided by 10th grade students, the 7th grade broke into small groups to discuss their own definition of respect. Following, sophomore Kate Denney led a large group discussion on self-respect. The students learned that respecting oneself is most difficult to do. Without self-respect, it is difficult to respect others. Denney encouraged students to stop looking at themselves negatively and look at the more prevalent positive aspects. She asked the students, why, if they were taught in Kindergarten that bullying was wrong, did they continue to bully themselves. Next, sophomore Nina Hendel taught respecting others involves not only bully awareness, but showing consideration towards parents and teachers. Hendel told the students that even if they did not like someone, that person still deserved respect. She shared her own seventh grade experience and how that changed her way of respect. Group leader Sara Hoffman said she "felt as though the 7th graders took what we were saying to heart." Finally, the students learned from sophomore Levi Wick that if they achieved respect for themselves and others, they could stand up for respect. Wick reminded students of Columbine High School shooting victim, Rachel Scott's challenge to start a chain reaction of kindness. Seventh grader Kodie Pastian said that "it was inspiring." Wick told students they were the ones that could make a difference by bringing respect into their lives. High School teacher Kristi Lindquist said, "I was very impressed with the energy and professionalism with which the student leaders conducted the workshop and the willing involvement of the 7th graders. Having so many older students as positive role models for younger students can be very powerful." Seventh grader Nicholes Schultz agrees, saying "I liked talking to older kids and sharing ideas." The day ended with time for the students to reflect on what they had learned. They were given the opportunity to share with their classmates their commitment to take action in showing more respect for themselves, for others, and to stand up for respect. The lessons learned at this retreat stayed with the students. Seventh grader Sarah Longtin believes that "it was a learning experience" and she has witnessed positive change. NUHS Character Counts continues to promote respect, as well as, trustworthiness, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship. The students involved with the program are encouraged to share their knowledge and promote the six pillars of character. Student Jordyn Horn summed up the effects of the retreat saying, "it gave me hope that things would be better." Students ended the retreat with a familiar chant, "I say RE, you say SPECT! RE! SPECT! RE!SPECT!" Photos submitted by Karla Hansel of New Ulm High School
Thousands of people place their lives in the hands of pilots and flight crews daily; the large majority arrive safely and soundly at their destinations. When an airplane crashes, it is breaking news and numerous organizations get involved to learn from the crash-causing errors to ensure they are prevented in the future. With nearly 100,000 people dying annually from preventable medical errors – the equivalent of one, full aircraft crashing every single day – hundreds of health care systems are turning to the airline industry’s safety methods and processes. This collision of aviation and health care safety met an ironic twist last week as I traveled to New Orleans to attend the Oncology Nursing Society‘s 37th Annual Congress. I sat down in my window seat, still listening to my audio book, and an off-shift pilot sat right next to me, a cup of coffee and newspaper in hand. I planned to listen to my audio book, and I thought my nestled ear buds might be a clue to others, but my pilot seat-mate had other plans. [Smiles largely] Business or pleasure? [Removes ear buds.] A little of both. I’m an oncology nurse, and I’m on my way to a conference in New Orleans. Ah! New Orleans! [Pauses; leans closer] So, oncology. That’s…what?… [Quickly.] Cancer. I’m a cancer nurse. Right. That’s what I thought. Do you want to read part of the paper? I’m finished with this section. [Offers a folded paper to me.] No thanks. I’m good. [Puts up iPad and ear buds as the flight crew requests. Looks out window.] So, when are you supposed to start having that colonoscopy thing? I’ll be 56 in a few months. Before we left the tarmac I explained screening recommendations, debunked a few myths, and relieved concerns about embarrassment. Less than 30 minutes later we landed at our connection city. Our parting words included my strong encouragement for him to see his provider for a colonoscopy and his thanks and promise to do so. Within one minute of him finding out I am an oncology nurse, we were discussing colonoscopies. I certainly didn’t mind; I was glad I could share. It’s my job and my passion, and the conversation reiterated how much people trust nurses – even those not in uniform. I am glad he felt safe with me. It’s a responsibility and honor I cherish.
Recycle Across America Eco-Schools USA is proud to announce our partnership with Recycle Across America. Through the generosity and environmental vision of Kiehl’s Since 1851, Recycle Across America™ was able to provide 150,000 free standardized labels for recycling bins to approximately 1,000 schools throughout the U.S. The National Wildlife Federation’s Eco-Schools USA was selected to distribute the labels because of their established relationships in education and ongoing commitment to help advance the environmental progress of U.S. schools. Why standardized labels? Today there are a variety of of different types of labels used on recycling bins, causing confusion for people looking to recycle. This confusion has led to low recycling levels in the U.S. levels that have barely improved in 15 years. In studies where a consistent labeling system has been introduced, capture rates increased more than 47% and the amount of contamination or trash entering the recycling bin decreased significantly. When this goal is reached, it will be the environmental equivalent of removing 50 million cars off the roads in the U.S. each year and it will generate 1.5 million new jobs in the U.S. Less confusion at the bin = measurable environmental and economic progress. Is there a financial benefit for schools that increase their recycling? In many communities there are significant financial benefits to increasing the amount of recyclables captured while decreasing the amount of trash. Trash hauling services and dumpsters used for trash hauling are usually taxed -- in some communities the tax is as high as 75%. Downsizing your landfill hauling services, frequency of pickups and landfill dumpster size can save significant amounts of money for schools. Grow recycling levels, conduct annual or biannual waste audits, AND ask your hauler to adjust your charges accordingly, to receive the financial benefits of recycling. >> If you have any questions regarding standardized labels for your school please contact firstname.lastname@example.org.
Henri Labrouste was a glum and scholarly man, a nineteenth-century French architect who competed, often unsuccessfully, for state commissions, built a couple of libraries, and rarely ventured far from France, except for a five-year stay at the French Academy in Rome. And yet, indirectly, he reshaped New York. With a fine sense of posterity and an appreciation of his own gifts, Labrouste would not be surprised to learn that MoMA is devoting an exhibition to him (“Henri Labrouste: Structure Brought to Light” opens March 10), though he might be annoyed to learn that it is America’s first. He would, however, be astonished at how many forms his influence has taken. You could see him as a rationalist engineer and trace the evolution from his delicate iron trusses to the I-beam austerity of Mies van der Rohe’s Seagram Building and the steel honeycomb of Norman Foster’s Hearst Tower. Or you could follow another clear stream from his cool neoclassical surfaces to Beaux-Arts monuments like the New York Public Library and on to the postmodernists like Robert A.M. Stern. And then there’s Labrouste the romantic, whose moody, metaphor-rich spaces share some DNA with the glass ghost that Frank Gehry designed for IAC. A building can look nothing like a Labrouste and still have his spirit in its bones. To see where all these threads converge, it’s best to begin in Paris, facing a long, quiet library that guidebooks barely mention: the Bibliothèque Ste.-Geneviève, completed in 1850 after a dozen years’ work. The pale stone façade, with its plain arcade of windows and modest garlands, is understated to the point of severity. But inside is one of the nineteenth century’s most sublime public interiors, a reading room as distinctly modern as the exterior is antique. The vast shed, roofed with a double-barrel vault, evokes a train station of the same period. In the mid-nineteenth century, mind and body had acquired new kinds of mobility, and their wanderings required structures that were grand and advanced. In the reading room, carved stone piers sprout slender iron columns that branch out at the top into vinelike ribs. Old technology yields to new, massive rock giving way to the lean efficiency of metal. Labrouste didn’t just staple together industrial techniques and classical motifs; he merged the two in an approach that looked simultaneously back and ahead. You can see that same tension buzz through twentieth-century architecture: in the way Louis Sullivan ramped up Renaissance mannerisms for the skyscraper age, or Louis Kahn repurposed the massive brick walls and glassless openings of Roman ruins. Labrouste’s refined integration of antique craftsmanship and the modern factory could also be knocked off in a commercial context—in Soho, for instance, where cast-iron classical façades fronted plain factory floors. Labrouste was a reluctant rebel. Trained at the École des Beaux-Arts (which the cream of New York’s architects later attended), he duly went off to study Roman antiquity at the government’s expense. From Rome, he sent back exquisite but radical drawings in which he reconstructed ancient cities not as examples of timeless principles, all freshly buffed and gleaming, but as messy places bearing the scars of use. His teachers were appalled, as only nineteenth-century French academicians could be. To them, the whole point of classicism was that it didn’t change. In 1830, he returned from his studies of Roman monuments ready to build Parisian monuments, but since no young architect could do much without official approval, he had to wait. Fortunately, he was patient. To avoid displeasing his mother, he postponed his wedding for nearly two decades; only after the old lady’s death did he finally marry the mother of his five children. His first commission came more quickly. He waited eight years. Maybe it was all that contemplation of ruins or the slow burn of his life and career that sensitized Labrouste to the architectural implications of time. In his library, the drama of its passage is reenacted each day, as the sun moves from one wall of arched windows to another, delaying as long as possible the moment when the lights come on. Ste.-Geneviève was the first library to open in the evening, and Labrouste honored that innovation symbolically in the carved torches that flank the entrance and with allegorical reliefs of “Night” and “Day.” More practically, he added gaslights. Extending the library’s hours was meant to keep the Latin Quarter’s students out of trouble after dark—the same rationale for building basketball courts and community centers today—but it was not a uniformly popular move. The writer Paul Lacroix called it a “hostile and pernicious invention” that would only “popularize reading and dilapidate libraries.” Lacroix’s distaste for too many users—or the wrong kind—resonates in the complaint that the historian Edmund Morris made last year about the New York Public Library’s main building: “The marble floor nowadays is loud with the squeak of Reeboks.” Labrouste’s bibliothèque and Carrère & Hastings’s Fifth Avenue library share an aesthetic incubated in the École des Beaux-Arts, but they also share a belief in the social value of refined architecture. Even people who live in joyless garrets should be able to gather in grandeur.
Getting out of your chair regularly might have an unlikely benefit, says a Toronto sleep researcher: reduced snoring. Douglas Bradley, director of the Toronto Research Institute’s Sleep Research Laboratory, has linked excessive sitting to sleep apnea, a condition where a sleeping person’s throat collapses, stopping breathing and interrupting sleep. The culprit is fluid that gathers in the legs during long stretches of sitting. When you lie down at night, that fluid moves to your neck, where when your muscles relax, your airway can get sucked shut “like a wet straw,” he says. Bradley and his team fit sleep apnea sufferers with compression stockings that reduced leg fluid – and improved symptoms. Walking will also alleviate fluid buildup, says Bradley, who takes his own medicine by getting up every hour for a quick stroll. “It doesn’t take much effort, and the reward can be fairly big.”
The Obama administration’s response to high-profile leaks may cause more problems than it solves. In the wake of Army Pfc. Bradley Manning’s theft of military intelligence documents, splashed all over WikiLeaks, President Obama quietly implemented the Insider Threat Program in October 2011. This commands government employees to be on the lookout for “suspicious behavior” among their colleagues — and then rat them out, under pain of possible criminal charges. Sound reasonable? Maybe — especially in the light of rogue contract employee Edward Snowden’s purloined revelations about the National Security Agency’s breathtakingly extensive foreign and domestic spying operation. That’s caused max headaches and embarrassment for Washington — including looking impotent as Snowden flits around the globe seeking a safe haven. But is a crackdown on leakers by almost any means necessary the right way to go? Is this the kind of America we want — one in which neighbor watches neighbor, desk jockey keeps an eye on desk jockey (shades of the old East Germany) and the NSA merrily snoops through everybody’s metadata, in search of a handful out of more than 300 million Americans who are up to no good? Perfect security was never possible; in a wired, fluid world, even less so. And efforts to reach it come at the expense of personal freedom. So how do we balance the two? It’s ironic that the crackdown comes under Obama, a man of the left that has long celebrated whistleblowers as heroes — viz. the films “The Insider,” with Russell Crowe as a tobacco exec who’s finally had enough. What’s the line between whistleblower and leaker? Journalists rely on leaks to alert them to government malfeasance or needless secrecy. But as the administration’s strong-arming of The Associated Press and Fox News has shown, investigative reporting is the last thing it wants to hear about. Obsessed with secrecy, it seeks a zero-tolerance policy toward leakers. Mind you, the Bush administration briefly flirted with cracking down on leakers after The New York Times revealed details about the NSA’s “warrantless wiretapping” program, but wisely decided against it. The cost to the First Amendment would have been too dear. Which is why the Obama crew might want to back off its witch hunt — and instead get its house in order. The fact that lowly functionaries like an Army private (Manning) and a 30-year-old Booz Allen employee (Snowden) can get their hands on so much important data speaks to security failures at the Army and the NSA — not to the inherent criminality of the American public. Already, a backlash has set in. A new Quinnipiac poll shows that by a 55-34 percent majority, American voters think Snowden is a whistleblower, not a traitor. Further, a plurality (45-40) now say the feds have gone too far in restricting civil liberties in the name of national security. In any case, chasing down actual traitors (Aldrich Ames, Robert Hanssen) is the FBI’s job, not a civilian’s. When failures do occur — as in the Boston Marathon bombing — the fault is often simple political correctness; our security agencies simply didn’t want to hear the Russians’ warning about radicalized Chechen Muslims in the Hub. That would have been “profiling.” It would also have been the right thing to do. There’s no need to turn the United States into an American remake of “The Lives of Others,” the 2006 Oscar-winning German film about East Germany under the Stasi. What we need instead is the will to act on actionable intelligence, no matter where it leads. Just ask the NYPD, which couldn’t care less about political correctness — and has had a flawless record since 9/11. As the recent scandals involving the Internal Revenue Service have shown, Americans need to know what powerful government agencies are up to. Because what we don’t know can hurt us.
The New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) is a place where minds come to play — a place that enhances and extends what it means to be human. We are all born “scientists” with an innate need to question and understand our environment, investigate how it works, and figure out our place in it. Our inherent curiosity is at the root of every discovery, every invention, every step forward. To the extent that we nurture and develop it, we ensure our collective future. NYSCI was founded nearly fifty years ago to promote the public understanding of science among children and adults and to prepare the next generation of science educators. As technology advances ever more rapidly and people turn to science for solutions to the world’s most pressing challenges, our role has never been more important. To strengthen our ability to engage a broader public, excite and teach many more children, and connect educators to an institution that puts scientific creativity and inquiry at its core, NYSCI is embarking on a $50 million campaign. These funds will allow us to increase our capacity to inspire learning, develop knowledgeable, creative teachers, create unique, imaginative, participatory experiences for visitors, and empower generations of students to pursue professional opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. These funds will also be used to restore NYSCI’s iconic Great Hall, built for the 1964 World’s Fair to capture the public’s imagination about the possibilities and wonder of science. I hope you will join us as we celebrate our 50th anniversary, and invest in the future of this great institution. President & CEO
The Harper Government has decided that blanket protection for all bodies of water in Canada is no longer appropriate, and the 1882 Navigable Water Protection Act will be scrapped in a bill before the House of Commons set to be passed in the omnibus bill. Replacing it will be the new Navigation Protection Act, covering 97 lakes, 62 rivers and three oceans. Everything else: It’s open season. The report last week from Postmedia reporter Mike de Souza, found that this is part two of a measure to change the way the federal government treats waterways in Canada. “Previous changes introduced to the same law in the last major budget legislation removed pipeline projects from its scope,” he wrote. The original Navigable Waters Protection Act prevents anyone from any construction that may interfere with navigation of any body of water in Canada. The original purpose of the act was to prevent dams, bridges and other potential blockages to transportation popping up without the government’s knowledge or ability to do anything about it. The new act will eliminate these protections for the vast majority of water bodies in Canada. While the government maintains that it’s about reducing red tape for everyday Canadians who want to build small footbridges and docks at vacation properties, the opposition argues that it’s part of a systematic destruction of environmental protection across Canada. According to the federal government, the new Navigation Protection Act will: “From an environmental perspective, our waters will continue to be protected through the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act 2012, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the Species at Risk Act, and the Fisheries Act.” The government presented the list of rivers, lakes and oceans that will continue be covered under the new act as past of 443 page PDF file. But extracting the list and plotting them on a map enables everyday Canadians to see how the treatment of their favourite lakes and rivers will change. The lakes and oceans identified in the Navigation Protection Act are: The rivers identified in the Navigation Protection Act are (the lines are as-the-crow-flies from the beginning of the protected area to the end of the protected area – click on each line for a more thorough description of the protected areas): The full omnibus budget bill is available to read below:
Welcome to the Ozarks Afro-American Heritage Museum Online The New Digital Home of The Only Museum Dedicated to the History of African Americans in the Missouri Ozarks African American history is a little discussed subject in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri and Arkansas. In 2004, Fr. Moses Berry founded a small storefront museum in Ash Grove, MO. to collect artifacts and photographs that illustrate and illuminate the forgotten history of this region. In 2013, the museum has migrated to a digital space both because of rising financial costs related to maintaining the physical space and to share this history with a far wider audience. On this website you can now explore exhibits tracing the lives of African Americans in this region from slavery to emancipation to the struggle against racial violence and Jim Crow racism, browse the collection by item or type and learn more about this unique part of Black history in America. The exhibits offer an overview of African American history in the Ozarks, while the item pages offer descriptions taken directly from Fr. Moses Berry's oral histories. Color portrait in chalk or pastel of African American woman, from chest up. The woman is wearing a high necked dress that dates this portrait to the… A collection of photographs from Glenn Johnson of Cave Springs, Missouri. Johnson was a Pullman Porter in the 1940s and 1950s. These candid photos… You have no featured exhibits. Recently Added Items Wooden desk. Single drawer in front.
Out of a small section of warehouse space in West Oakland, Eric Maundu is growing a big dream. He wants to make it possible for almost anyone to grow food in an economical, energy efficient and water saving manner. Maundu runs Kijani Grows: Urban Garden Systems, a farming technology organization in West Oakland. He sells aquaponics systems as well as involving local teens in his urban agricultural projects. Kijani Grows is a for profit business that started off as a non-profit. “Kijani” is Swahili for the color green. For years Maundu, a native of Kenya, worked on the probing question of how to farm food in harsh climates where rich soil and water were lacking. He uses aquaponics, a gardening system combining hydroponics (water-based planting) and fish farming. The process takes 90 percent less water than traditional farming. It uses gravel, not soil. It doesn’t attract bugs and produces two types of food – fish and plants. Maundu, 47, started Kijani Grows out of his home in San Leandro. In 2012, he relocated to Oakland surveying the site under a West Oakland freeway overpass. His green plant beds were a sharp contrast to the surrounding land, which contained contaminated soil. Today, his move to the old American Steel warehouse on 20th Street and Mandela Parkway tackles another problem growing food in places where sunlight is lacking by using LED lighting. He grows culinary herbs thyme, lavender, leafy parsley, baby beets, root parley and basil. Leafy lettuce like urugula, endive, baby red oak lettuce, mustard greens, butter lettuce, sunflower, jalapeno peppers, and baby carrots also spring from the gravel. The round black fish tank splashes with water from a white plastic pipe onto goldfish, edible blue gill and tilapia Maundu never wanted to be a farmer. He grew up in an agrarian society in Kenya where he experienced first hand the intense labor associated with growing plants in drought conditions. Given the chance to go to college at Lincoln University, he opted for a degree in electronics and computer science. In 2009, he read research that inspired him to build his first hydroponic system using the technology for food production. “I came from a place that’s very dry,” he said. “Seeing plants grow without soil completely changed my thinking. Walking around Oakland, it’s a bit like Kenya, dry and arid like a desert. People don’t have jobs. People don’t eat healthy. People feel hopeless in deep poverty. I was trying to address the food problem.” Very quickly, Maundu realized it would be hard to have a significant business model simply growing food. For one thing, there is no farmland. The land would have to be rented. Utilities would have to be paid. He also needed to hire people. There was no way outside of a non-profit to turn food production into a viable business, he said. So for years, Maundu financially relied on a job in the high tech industry to feed his green growing curiosity. “On the week I got my green card, I quit my job and went to Kenya,” Maundu said. “I used Google Earth to identify places to build a model farmland. The first gardens I built were piecemeal and tested on a small scale. When I got the chance to be more educated, I was there for five months achieving 20 percent of my project. It changed my life. I realized the things I took for granted like being able to grow food without water was a life-changing event to people who do not have water. It would impact many people’s lives.” “When I went back to Kenya after not having been there for 10 years, things have changed a lot,” Maundu said. “One of the biggest changes in place was the lack of active adults. Things like HIV have finished up most of them. The generations you have left are orphans, women and grandparents having to take care of so many kids.” “With very few adults, a lot of my programs were actually in [this] harsh environment, where I came to show how they could grow fresh food with just a little bit of water. To be able to grow fresh food, to be able to grow with fish, to be able to cook with solar where they won’t have to gather firewood, to be able to use the sun to produce clean water so they won’t have to scavenge for food — these are things that changed me,” he said. “I still walk around Oakland thinking of the symbiotic relationships I discovered in Kenya and relating what I learned to living here,” he added. “Most people here are unable to grow farms successfully, given their busy lifestyles. They work all day and come back late at night, then do it again until Saturday. That’s not the life of a farmer. Farmers need to be next to their plants all the time. Plants are like pets. You have to give them constant care.” The more he looked into farming the more he saw applications for integrating embedded systems – software using internet systems and mobile. He devised a way to remain connected to his garden without feeling so joined at the hip. A sensor component triggers a tweet when the water is too low or when an abundance of food needs to be harvested. In October of 2013, Maundu was offered space at an unused rifle shooting range for his Smart Aquaponic garden. Teens at Castlemont High School in East Oakland became his helpers. The project is called Guns2garden. The teens are now growing carrots, lettuce, mustard greens, and raising goldfish along with some edible catfish there. “They are eating their science experiment, so they can’t forget what they learned,” he jokes. Maundu also teaches a class at American Steel Studio assembling a miniature version of the urban garden system. “To me, this has become more than just an interesting job. It’s a calling,” he said.
SAWDUST An important point has to be made before any thoughts of sanding can be approached. That point is the dangers of sawdust and the importance of dust collection. Sawdust can be harmful to anyone that encounters it while sanding. Some ... \|View a1Jim's:\|\|home\|\|workshop\|\|projects (45)\|\|blog (40)\|\|reviews (10)\|\|forum topics (198)\|\|buddies (81)\|\|favorites (1151)\|\|activity log\| 115073 posts in 2970 days Latest Activity \| view all » \|commented on\|\|Shop Sweet Shop #3: Shop Heating – Gas or Electric?\|\|09-27-2016 01:27 PM\| \|replied on\|\|What do you look for when choosing wood?\|\|09-27-2016 01:22 PM\| \|commented on\|\|My scroll saw projects\|\|09-27-2016 01:06 PM\| \|replied on\|\|Total Shop Tool Manual\|\|09-27-2016 01:03 PM\| \|replied on\|\|Howdy\|\|09-27-2016 12:56 PM\| \|commented on\|\|Brad Crudup's Workshop\|\|09-27-2016 12:54 PM\| \|replied on\|\|Ideas Wanted\|\|09-26-2016 01:13 PM\| \|commented on\|\|ErikMcclard's Workshop\|\|09-26-2016 01:03 PM\| \|commented on\|\|Custom Library Build\|\|09-26-2016 12:59 PM\| \|replied on\|\|How about a weather report from around the country...!!!\|\|09-24-2016 02:15 PM\| \|commented on\|\|Kevin Rodel's Limbert style coffee table\|\|09-23-2016 02:43 AM\| \|replied on\|\|To measure or not to measure\|\|09-20-2016 04:25 PM\| \|replied on\|\|What to do with undesirable finished projects?\|\|09-20-2016 01:35 PM\| \|commented on\|\|JAVA BRIDGE TRAY\|\|09-19-2016 11:22 PM\| \|commented on\|\|FRENCH (CANADIAN ) ROLLING PIN\|\|09-19-2016 11:20 PM\| Latest Projects \| view all 45 » Latest Blog Entries \| view all 40 » Hi friendsI have been a member of Ljs for some time now and I have noticed that many of the same questions keep popping up due to lots of new members and or existing members stumbling across the same problems that have been addressed in the past p... Hi friends, I know this is not woodworking but I don’t know where else to turn. My middle son is a vet on partial disability who had a terrible pain in his side in early October and went to the emergency room close to were he lives in Cot... This part of my blog covers installing lock and hardware. I start by taking the lock and putting it on the inside of the top drawer and then press firmly to make a small dent in the drawer back where the lock pin sticks out. I use my markin... Charles Neil mahogany lowboy build-along, #18On a planet far, far away, long, long ago this A-1 guy was building a lowboy. He was given the wood and blow-by-blow instruction how to build it and was reporting to the land of LJ about how it was goi...
The career of the Russian painter Kazimir Malevich (1878-1935), whose Suprematist abstractions are the principal subject of a stunning exhibition at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, reads at times like a fever chart of early 20th-century aspirations, ideologies and broken dreams. By temperament and conviction, Malevich was a visionary in search of the Absolute, which, in quick succession, he believed he had discovered in Christianity, Russian folk art, theosophy, Impressionism, Bolshevism, Futurism, Cubism, geometry and the Fourth Dimension-all of which led to the creation of his Suprematism. For Malevich, Suprematism was always something more than a pictorial style: It was at once an aesthetic, a religion, a politics and a metaphysics. Yet, if some of Malevich’s ambitions and beliefs now strike us as symptoms of a rampant megalomania, they nonetheless served to inspire hismostradical pictorial achievement: Suprematist abstraction. And it was this achievement, which invested pure geometric form with a visual dynamism that no other attempt at early abstraction could match, that set the pace for the amazing accomplishments of the entire Russian avant-garde in the years just before and after the 1917 revolution. The exhibition that Matthew Drutt has organizedatthe Guggenheim doesn’t attempt to give us either a comprehensive retrospective of Malevich’s artistic development or a detailed account of its influence on his Russian contemporaries. It concentrates instead on the period beginning in 1913, when, at the age of 35, Malevich designed the décors for a bizarre modernist opera called Victory Over the Sun . In the many pencil-on-paper studies for these décors, we are given an extensive look at the prehistory of Suprematist abstraction as it painstakingly disencumbered itself of the referential complexities of French Cubism and Italian Futurism to achieve a purity of form that refused to acknowledge the reality of anything beyond its own existence. In the headlong course of that radical endeavor, Malevich nonetheless made an interesting detour for the purpose of re-examining the resources of Cubist collage. The key work in this brief phase of his development is his Composition with Mona Lisa (1914), which, in addition to demonstrating his mastery of the Cubist aesthetic, made a leap into the realm of Dadaist impudence even before Dadaism itself came to be codified. His defacement of the Mona Lisa preceded Marcel Duchamp’s more famous scrawled mustache by several years. Moreover, both the materials and compositional strategies of Malevich’s 1914 collages anticipate much that was later to be admired in Kurt Schwitters’ Merz collages. All of which gives rise to a daunting thought: That if not for his mystical belief in the reality of an unearthly Absolute,Malevich might have created a Russian version of the Dada movement. By 1915, however, Malevich was firmly committed to the kind of radical reductivism we now associate with the classic abstraction of Suprematism. From the Black Square of 1915 to the Suprematist Composition: White on White (1918), the sheer range and variety of both composition and color in these Suprematist paintings is amazing. Probably because his most audacious paintings tend to be limited to a black-and-white palette, we tend not to think of Malevich as a colorist, but this exhibition certainly changes that perception. In this respect, too, the current show certainly enlarges our understanding of Malevich’s accomplishment. But this exhibition is also, alas, a vivid reminder of how far the Guggenheim has strayed under its current administration from its original institutional mission. The Guggenheim was founded, after all, as a museum devoted to the history of abstract art, and while there were many legitimate reasons for the museum to move beyond that original mandate over the course of its history, its current condition of intellectual and financial disarray has rendered it incapable of mounting a major exhibition of abstract painting with the requisite respect for the spirit in which the art was created. What could be worse than surrounding the Malevich exhibition with the noise and detritus of the Matthew Barney circus that now fills the principal space at the museum? Coming and going, visitors to the Malevich show have to put up with this noise pollution and the rubbishy props that represent a negation of everything Malevich stood for in his art. This exhibition and its capacious catalog come to us from the Menil Collection in Houston, where Matthew Drutt is the chief curator. We owe the Menil Collection and Mr. Drutt a debt of gratitude for producing this fine exhibition, which will be shown in Houston between Oct. 3 and Jan. 11, 2004. Meanwhile, Kazimir Malevich: Suprematism remains on view at the Guggenheim Museum, 1071 Fifth Avenue at 89th Street, through Sept. 7.
But why? What could an orange gourd-like squash and a crispy piece of pig possibly have in common? Why, popularity, of course. You see, everyone likes bacon. It’s salty. It’s crispy. It’s delicious. And it has gotten really popular recently. You know what else has gotten really popular? Pumpkin! It’s in a lot of stuff–like lattes and doughnuts. But unlike bacon, pumpkin is not delicious on its own. It needs sugar and spice and other things nice (like cinnamon). “The weird thing about pumpkin’s rise to baconlike ubiquity is that pumpkin, on its own, is not a very appetizing food at all. A dense and stringy fruit, it needs the accompaniment of a lot of sugar and spices before it becomes particularly palatable. As a marketing tool, however, pumpkin is perfectly pitched for today’s eaters,” Mr. Salmon wrote. It just has good connotations. It’s a semiotic success story. Kind of like….bacon? Sure, why not.
Venice: a romantic city, even when flooded. Photo published on Facebook by Stefano Soffiato Venice, the “City on the Water”, has become the city under water. Torrential rains over the weekend have left much of the region of Tuscany flooded, forcing some 200 people to evacuate. Meanwhile, Venice was also affected. Venice, with its canals, is no stranger to flooding, but it's rare to see it hit quite so hard. The rains made the sea level rise by 1.5 metres, causing 70 percent of Venice to flood. In 2008, the water had risen to 1.6 metres in the worse floods since the beginning of this century. The all-time record goes to the floods of 1966 , where the water level rose to 1.94 metres. Bad luck for restaurant owners: Saint Mark's Square was entirely flooded. Photo published on Twitter by arimorimando Last year’s floods caused the deaths of 13 people in the regions of Tuscany and Liguria. This year, no deaths have been reported; the local authorities had put in place emergency measures on Friday, before the worst of the rainfall. On social networking sites, many people have published photos of the floods under the hashtags #acquaalta (an Italian term for Venitian floods) and #venezia (Venice in Italian). Most of these feature local residents trying their best to waddle through town, but some also show tourists taking this chance to go for a swim in St Mark’s Square.
Recently, RSA Distributed Credential Protection (DCP) was announced by RSA Security. I’ve read the literature, sat through a presentation by an RSA sales representative, and watched the YouTube videos. And most of all, have formed an opinion. Being a crypto geek of sorts, I’ll be the first to admit that this seems like a really cool and interesting application of secret splitting. But, as much as RSA makes it sound like the most innovative thing since sliced bread, I believe that is fundamentally a solution to the wrong security problem. Let’s have a look at why. As I’ve written many times, security is fundamentally about ensuring trust and managing risk. When attempting to lower risk, there is always a cost / benefit balance that needs to be studied. Just as one would not spend $10,000 for a home safe only to store $1000 in it, IT is not going to spend six figures on a solution that will not reduce the perceived cost of the risk at least that much. (Note that while I am not certain of the pricing of RCA DCP, it is not farfetched to think that an enterprise rollout would be near the six figure range.) RSA advertises DCP to be transparent to the end users, and so it is. However, that is not the only thing that is important here. Another major factor that only came out during the live presentation by RSA was that any application wishing to take advantage of DCP needed to change their application to adapt to its API. This means of course if you have N applications all authenticating users to an SQL database (or perhaps an LDAP directory store, if the API works with that), all N of those applications need to be changed. If you fail to change one application, then you still need the user’s stored in a single data store where DCP is not applied and consequently still remain unprotected. So take the cost of licensing the RSA DCP software and add to it the cost of each of your N applications integrating the DCP API and you will have something closer to the total cost of deployment. Of course, the operational costs are also likely to increase somewhat as well. Whereas before you had but a single data store for said credentials, now you have two. The end result is that the total cost to incorporate RSA DCP into your environments is likely to exceed the six figure level even if the software licensing costs is nowhere near that amount. Well, still, that might be OK, right? After all, if the perceived benefits greatly exceed the total costs of mitigation, we still have a security win. So what benefits does RSA DCP bring to the enterprise? According to the RSA press release as well as this YouTube video, the threat that RSA is trying to prevent is the “smash-and-grab” of credentials by an attacker. Specifically, DCP is designed to make it more difficult for an attacker who has infiltrated your company network and has managed to get direct access to your database server to obtain credentials (either plaintext or hashes). DCP also would likely mitigate a rogue DBA doing a “smash-and-grab” of your company’s credential data as well, as long as care was taken to provide separation of duties and not give a single administrator a DBA role on both DCP servers. So we still need to answer this question: Is this a common way for an attacker to gather user credentials? In my opinion, it is not. By far, the biggest attack vector for adversaries stealing credential material is via SQL (or possibly LDAP) injection attacks. Will DCP do anything to mitigate SQLi attacks? The answer would appear to be “no” (at least according to the RSA sales rep that we talked to). In fact, given that one has to bolt new DCP API code into one’s application to use DCP, there is a chance that new SQLi vulnerabilities may be introduced as developers change the application code. So is there a place where using RSA DCP would make sense? I believe so, but I think it is a niche market rather than the broad market RSA Security would like it to be. RSA DCP could be very valuable where you have an extremely high-value target (credentials or otherwise) that are difficult to upgrade. The perfect example that comes to my mind is protection of the RSA Security SecurID seeds. Compromise of those SecurID seeds required RSA to replace all the hard token SecurID devices. In fact, it is not unreasonable to speculate that this product came directly out of researching ways to protect those high-value credentials from the smash-and-grab type of direct attacks resulting out of that breach. If RSA Security wishes to broaden the market for their new DCP product, I believe that the best approach is for them to integrate DCP seamlessly in with their other products, starting with RSA Access Manager. If you are going to make a believer of us security folk, you first have to be willing to eat your own dog food. However, in the meantime, for your regular user passwords, salting with a sufficiently long random salt, enforcing password complexity rules when users select their passwords, and enforcing account lockout are likely to be sufficient protection for your customer passwords. If doing those things is not sufficient, you seriously need to consider whether passwords are a strong enough form of authentication for your users. Note that the views expressed herein are wholly my own and do not represent those of my company, of OWASP, nor any other organizations with whom I am associated.
National Register of Historic Places Authorized under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Register is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect historic and archeological resources. The National Register is administered by the National Park Service, which is part of the U. S. Department of the Interior. NPS Focus National Register Database Multiple Property Submission Contexts: Many types of properties can be nominated more simply if they are properties eligible under a Multiple Property Document. These documents identify common themes, trends and patterns of history shared by multiple properties. These documents provide a general historic context for nominations, simplifying and shortening the nomination. Properties must still be eligible for the National Register at the same level as non-MPD nominations, and use the same forms and submission guidelines. Contact staff for more information on how use Multiple Property Documents for nominations. National Register Multiple Property Submission Contexts How to Nominate a California Property to the National Register 1. Download the Nomination Packet, including the National Register Checklist for Submission, National Register Bulletin 15, National Register Bulletin 16A, Nomination Form 10-900 and Continuation Sheet. For districts with multiple property owners, download the District Property Owners Excel Template If you need assistance, contact OHP Registration Unit staff (phone numbers and emails are on the right side of this page.) Using these documents will require software capable of viewing Adobe Acrobat documents (Checklist, National Register bulletins) and editing Microsoft Word documents (Nomination Form and continuation sheets.) 2. Read the National Register Criteria (Bulletin 15), and How to Complete the National Register Registration Form (Bulletin 16A). Follow these guidelines when preparing the nomination. We strongly recommend reviewing the OHP Actions Taken page and reading several National Register nominations for examples of recently reviewed and approved nominations. If the area is proposed for registration as a historic district, please contact OHP staff prior to submission of the nomination. OHP staff is available to assist district applicants and should be contacted in the early stages of the process. 3. If you are not the owner of the property you are submitting for registration, please inform the owner of your intention to apply for registration. The property or district may not be listed over the objection of the owner or majority of private property owners. Property owner contact information must be included with the nomination cover letter. For districts, use the District Property Owners Excel Template (part of the Nomination Packet) to list all fee simple property owners within the district's boundary. 4. Submit cover letter, completed forms, photographs, digital media and maps to OHP for review. Ensure that all photographs meet the standards outlined in the NPS Photo Policy Fact Sheet. OHP requires applicants submit an electronic copy of the nomination in Microsoft Word format. Photographs printed from digital images must be accompanied by a CD-R or DVD-R containing the electronic images. If the property is endangered or the applicant is requesting rehabilitation incentives under the Tax Reform Act or Revenue Act of 1978, this must be stated clearly in the cover letter. 5. Nominations will be reviewed by OHP staff. Those which are inadequate or are not prepared in accordance with the guidelines published in Bulletin 16A will be returned to the applicant for further work. 6. OHP notifies all applicants, property owners and appropriate governmental jurisdictions of the time and place of the SHRC meeting. 7. If approved by the SHRC, the nomination is sent to the State Historic Preservation Officer for nomination to the National Register. The final determination is made approximately 45 days after receipt by the Keeper of the National Register in Washington, D.C. National Register Criteria To be eligible for listing in the National Register, a resource must meet at least one of the following criteria: Effects of National Register Designation Consent of property owner(s) is not required, but properties cannot be listed over the objection of a private owner(s). Property owner contact information must be submitted with a National Register nomination as part of the cover letter. Local Government Notification Local government within whose jurisdiction the resource is located must be given 60 days in which to comment upon the application before the State Historical Resources Commission considers the nomination.
Trumping The Kings "There will soon be only five kings left: The Kings of England, Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, and Clubs." So declared King Farouk, King of Egypt to Lord Boyd-Orr of England in 1951, shortly before the declaration of the Egyptian republic in 1953. But King Farouk forgot one - the King of Kings, Hashem. "For the sovereignty is Hashem's and He rules over nations." (Psalms 22:29) If the sovereignty is Hashem's then why must we be taught that He rules over nations? Isn't it obvious? The Vilna Gaon taught that a sovereign (melech in Hebrew) refers to a king who is willingly accepted by his subjects, whereas a ruler (moshel in Hebrew) is a king who forces his subjects to obey him. King Farouk and many others among the nations have forgotten that Hashem is King, therefore He rules over them as a Moshel, by force. Only the nation of Israel accepts Hashem as our Melech or Sovereign. May we crown Hashem our King on Rosh Hashana and usher in a sweet new year filled with blessing! By crowning Hashem King of Kings, we unify the Eternal as the One G-d, the "Ace" that "trumps" the remaining Kings of Diamonds, Hearts, Spades, Clubs, and even of England!
David Cameron, Britain’s new prime minister, may have succeeded in bridging his country’s political power gap, but another looms that could very quickly short-circuit the Tory leader’s grip on national power, unless his coalition government gets real – and quickly – over energy and environment. For one thing, the sale of two-thirds of the nation’s power utilities to European competitors has effectively led to Brits subsidizing their EU neighbors’ energy costs; for another, just as the next election season rolls around in five years time, he is likely to find his autocue a little difficult to read as the nation’s lights start going out. Big Oil is the usual whipping boy for the public when it comes to energy. But British energy consumers might feel the time is ripe to turn up the heat on Big Power. While UK energy prices spiralled upwards by 16.7 percent in 2009, the average increase across the rest of the European Union was a mere 3.8 percent. All of this while global energy costs generally fell by around 40 percent. It is a price differential that could not fail to bite into British industrial competitiveness. And in May it did exactly that, putting an end to a 100-year association between the American owners of Celanese Acetate and its British subsidiary – a company that once employed 20,000 people – now due to close at the end of the year. The Celanese Corporation will concentrate production in Belgium, the United States and Mexico, where energy costs are much cheaper. Bob Walters, general manager of the Derby-based British company, was compelled to admit that the British arm’s operating costs “remain the highest in Celanese Acetate.” A spokesman for the company told the local media that, “A lot of work was carried out to reduce costs but there was no way to make any inroads into reducing our fundamental energy costs, which are much higher in the UK than overseas.” He confirmed, “The biggest differential in costs between ourselves and other sites in the group is the price of energy.” George Cowcher, Chief Executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, was equally unequivocal, “Our energy prices are substantially higher than in France, Germany and Belgium. Global companies operating here will put information about their sites into a spreadsheet and if the UK operation is the most expensive it will be the one that goes.” Cowcher adds, “The concern is that other multinationals will do the same.” Conway Standing, managing director of the commercial energy broker, Utility Exchange Online, concurs. “Most of Britain’s energy companies are owned by German, Spanish and French companies which have kept any increases lower in their own countries but allowed the prices in the UK to remain high.” He adds, “Research shows that, since last summer, wholesale energy costs have fallen by 40 percent but most of the big energy suppliers have failed to pass that on.” Early in 2009 suspicions that Britain’s mostly foreign-owned power utilities were allowing UK energy prices to rise, while keeping prices in their home countries low, appeared confirmed when the OECD Consumer Price Index report showed that the German, French and Spanish owners of four of the UK’s Big Six appeared to be doing exactly that. The Index revealed UK energy inflation running at a high of 12.1 percent in the previous year, though it actually fell by 0.6 percent in Germany, 6.5 percent in France and 7.2 percent in Spain. While the two British owned power utilities British Gas, owned by Centrica, and Scottish & Southern Energy (based in Perth, Scotland) eventually did announce a 10 percent cut in prices, none of the other four followed suit. E.ON and NPower are based in Dusseldorf, Germany, EDF is French and Paris-based, and Scottish Power is owned by Iberdola, the huge Spanish utility company. In the year 2008-9 Britain saw the highest price rises in Western Europe. But Britain’s energy problems don’t end there. “Smart grids” is the new buzz phrase in the geopolitics of European energy. In a report published in February 2010 by the EU’s strategic energy technology plan information centre (SETIS), led by the Joint Research Centre (JRC), smarter power grids are central to plans if Europe is to become a low-carbon-energy economy. The report even describes the importance of electricity transmission grids as “the back-bone of the EU’s economy.” With an EU target of reducing CO2 emissions levels by 20% from 1992 levels that would require a return of 20 percent of power from renewable energy sources. That, in turn, translates to 30 to 35% of electricity power consumption from renewables, all by 2020. Integral to a strategy of constructing a series of “mutually supportive” power grids across Europe, are plans for an offshore grid in the North Sea able to integrate power from the offshore wind farms. The UK, with the natural advantage of being the windiest country in Europe, is duly forging ahead taking the lead in Europe’s offshore wind-farm development. At the beginning of 2009, Britain’s Crown Estate asked for bids, as part of its Round 3 proposals, for up to nine wind farm sites around its coastline. The bid process was concluded at the end of 2009. By late April 2010, when German energy giant RWE announced its renewables arm RWE Innogy had signed on to build up to 4,000 MW of wind power for two of the sites, the blueprint for construction was consolidated. When finally completed the whole project is expected to produce a total installed capacity of 25,000 Megawatt. Even so, the North Sea Offshore Grid consortium’s were reported in late March 2010 as concluding that the North and Baltic Sea grid would take up to 15 years to be fully operational. But given the enormous technical difficulties and other issues that lie ahead for the development of such a major enterprise in deepwater, it is a goal that may prove optimistic in terms of helping the UK’s looming energy woes. In addition, in April the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) warned that a new European Directive could well force the closure of up to 14 of the UK’s ageing power plants. The recent decision by MEPs, amending provisions to the Draft Industrial Emissions Directive, will force power plants, says the CBI, to embark on an expensive upgrade programme to help them comply with air pollution targets – or have to close by 2016. With a succession of UK governments shelving the responsibility to green-light construction of a urgently needed new generation of nuclear reactors, gas-fired plants and generators, the timing could not be worse. John Cridland, deputy director general of the CBI, said, “Given these plants are old and due to close in the 2020s, letting them run their course would allow for a smooth transition to new low-carbon energy sources and avoid creating a serious energy gap.” A final vote on the Directive is due shortly. The bottom line is a stark one for the UK caught between a rock and a hard place. The new EU Carbon Directive will be expensive and most of the new power plants being discussed will take more than a decade to come online. Second, a significant contribution from renewables may be up and running and able to make a contribution, but that too is over a decade away. With North Sea oil declining and with no real oil and gas deals in place and with bids to the UN for access to deepwater in the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans, even with drilling for gas off the Falkland Islands currently under way, no real production return is expected, again, for a decade or so. And that’s the essential point: The spectre of regular power cuts, within just a few years, is all too real. Last October, Britain’s regulator, Ofgem, published its Project Discovery report which predicted black-outs across Britain by as early as 2014 given the obstacles to bridging the energy gap. Alternative assessments are not much more optimistic. At the same time, UK consumers find themselves paying far higher energy prices than their European neighbours – effectively, crudely forced, by foreign-owned power utilities, to subsidize their European neighbours. In short it is hard to see how Britain will be able to ignore the pragmatic energy reality that hydrocarbon fuels will remain the staple of the country’s major energy mix for the next decade. In that case, the nature of the rock and a hard place – Cameron’s real power conundrum – is likely to come down to a straight choice: carbon target cuts or power cuts. By. Peter C. Glover Source: Energy Tribune
Oil prices spiked on Monday… While many OPEC exporting nations… The European ban, due to take effect at the beginning of July, on importing Iranian oil will also prevent European insurers from covering any tankers carrying crude from Tehran to the rest of the world. This effect will be felt particularly hard in London, which is the main district for marine insurance. Without insurance tankers will not transport goods, so it is of utmost importance to Asian buyers of Iranian crude that they find other means to replace the shipping insurance cover predominantly provided by London insurers. Indian and Chinese firms have already approached state insurers to provide the cover for their own shipments, however Japan and South Korea face problems due to the fact that they have earned protection from EU and US sanctions by significantly reducing their imports of Iranian crude; providing the insurance for the tankers importing the crude could risk them losing that precious protection. Britain fears that this situation could cause Japan and South Korea to aggressively bid for alternative supplies of oil, and that this will lead to a spike in prices. As a result Britain is attempting to persuade the European Union to postpone the ban on insurance by 6 months in order to provide more time for Japan and South Korea to find alternative insurance options. One diplomatic source said that, “Britain will be pushing the EU to postpone the ban on P&I insurance by six months. The main reason is pressure from Japan and South Korea as they would struggle to buy oil after July 1” By. Joao Peixe of Oilprice.com Joao is a writer for Oilprice.com
Guest: Net neutrality would hold back innovation Net neutrality would make it impossible for an Internet provider to offer faster speeds for a better price, writes guest columnist Ev Ehrlich. Special to The Times OUR country is at a crossroads regarding how the U.S. governs the Internet. A new chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Tom Wheeler, may influence the government’s relationship with the Internet like no official since the Bill Clinton administration era. Later this year a federal court will rule on whether the FCC has the power to regulate the freewheeling, privately run Internet the way the agency did the old Ma Bell telephone network. If the court rules in favor of the FCC, government will be able to put new restrictions on how the Internet runs. It’s not clear that’s what Wheeler’s predecessors wanted. In a 1999 speech, President Clinton’s FCC Chairman William Kennard said, “the best decision the government ever made with respect to the Internet was the decision that the FCC made ... not to impose regulation on it. This was not a dodge. ... It was intentional restraint born of humility.” Since then, progressives who support Net neutrality have thrown out the idea of intentional restraint. Net neutrality is the doctrine that everything on the Internet must travel at the same speed and under the same conditions. Others advocate going further, arguing that investments made by providers must be shared with competitors, a doctrine known as “common carriage.” These ideas are premised on the assertion that the Internet is a monopoly and that the U.S. is underperforming in speed and price. But data show the U.S. has risen from 22nd to ninth among nations in the speed of Internet access. Washington state ranks ninth domestically. We lead nations of similar size and low population density. We also have the lowest entry-level prices for that access of any nation save Israel. Moreover, Internet service providers have invested $250 million since 2008 and more than $1.2 trillion since the 1996 Telecommunications Act began the Clinton administration’s quest for a privately run, publicly purposed Internet. Critics didn’t anticipate wireless broadband competing with its wired counterpart. We are the world’s leader in adopting 4G wireless, which is quickly improving broadband availability. According to numbers released by the federal government last week, as of the end of 2012 nearly 99 percent of Americans had access to broadband speeds of 3 Mbps downstream and 768 Kbps upstream through either wired or wireless service. Advocates’ regulatory proposals don’t match the disease. Neutrality would make it impossible for an Internet provider to offer faster speeds for a better price, meaning fewer innovations relying on better connections. For instance, if I’m having an online visit with my doctor, I don’t want our connection buffering. But neutrality makes it harder to create that uninterrupted connection. The most important reason progressives should reject these tired theories is that they fail to further what should be the real agenda. For instance, none would lead providers to make additional investments that help close the digital divide. In fact, they would dissuade them from doing so. If we accept the idea, as we should, that there’s a role for the government to help jump-start our underperforming sectors such as health and education, then these regulations go in the wrong direction. Other advocates — backed by companies seeking market advantage — want to limit who can participate in future government auctions of airwave spectrum, which hosts wireless service. But that would slow the introduction of new wireless capability and reduce U.S. revenue earned from these auctions at a time when we need it. It’s time for those on the left to reconsider what we are trying to accomplish in Internet policy. Instead of over-regulating the companies competing and innovating to deliver high-speed connections, we should focus on incentives to make sure every neighborhood has some level of access, that our schools, hospitals and local governments improve their service and productivity online, and that online privacy is respected. It was the Clinton administration, not tea-party ideologues, that first championed the idea of a privately funded Internet serving a public purpose. Fantasies about regulation slow the progress we’ve made following that path. Ev Ehrlich, based in Washington, D.C., is a former undersecretary of commerce in the Clinton administration, president of ESC Company and a fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute.
To many Americans, the symbolism of a black man as President of the United States is an epitaph for racism's death--despite all of the available evidence which demonstrates how race impacts life chances in the present. In all, many across the colorline confuse an increasingly diversified class of (token black and brown) political elites, and a myth of an inclusively diverse America cooked up by the dream merchants on Madison Avenue, with a progressive vision and politics that actually empowers people of color by addressing hard questions about the maldistribution of resources in this country--inequalities that track very closely to the dividing lines of racial hierarchy and privilege. [my emphasis]The problem of the "colorline" can't be solved by trying to pretending it doesn't exist or by falsifying its realities. It's one of the most unfortunate aspects, tragedy might be an appropriate word, for the Obama Presidency that Obama himself apparently feels such a mission to reconcile people across racial and well as political colorlines with an approach that tries to bypass the problems involved rather than resolve them. Ascribing White-on-Black racism to simple emotional hatred is the most comfortable overt explanation, as is clear from its prominence in the depictions of racism in popular culture (e.g., movies). The dominant culture finds it comforting to imagine that racism is confined to people with ungovernable hatreds and undisciplined minds. This relieves the majority who are comfortable with inequitable economic arrangements from any responsibility for the inevitable consequences of those arrangements; and even from any reproach in the eyes of recognized public opinion. [my emphasis]While Garcia seems to generalize carelessly in some places in his short essay, and it conveys some of the sense of The Powers That Be Always Control Everything that plagues some of what people write from a left perspective that stays at the metaphorical 30,000 feet level. But what Garcia says here, reflecting on Obama's 2008 speech on race and his distancing himself from his long-time pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, holds up well four years later: So Obama is "change," Obama is "hope" when we shrink-wrap our minds with elastic and impenetrable delusions. Obama is not Thurgood Marshall, nor Martin Luther King, Jr., nor Malcolm X, which is why you see him in our televised Pantheon. This is also why Jeremiah Wright must be dispatched with contempt from public consideration, and why Barack Obama must elevate himself stratospherically from his once upon a time pastor, and once upon a time flock.There have been many decades of discussion over the relative weight of economic, cultural and psychological factors in racism, and there are likely to be many more. But what DeVega calls the "colorline" in the US has always been heavily defined by economic factors with the restriction of chattel slavery in the US to black Africans and people of African descent. I think commentary on racism is most incisive when it keeps its focus on the economic dimension — which I believe is central — rather than the emotionalism about "hate" wallowed in to excess by infotainment for the unthinking. It is better to focus on the intent and the purposes of the racism, which are to create and maintain economic disparities. From such focal points, one can advance policy and law enforcement arguments to eliminate these imbalances. Then, you are speaking about the here and now in a clear, unvarnished and rational manner. DeVega makes the following provocative observation about Obama's position in the long story of how those who we lately have been calling the One Percent have exploited and managed reform impulses in American politics: The election of Barack Obama is central to this story. It is clear that the colorline has been renegotiated in America since the time of the founding. However, it still remains. The Civil Rights Movement was successful as much because of peoples' activism and resistance, as for how elite actors realized that Jim and Jane Crow white supremacy was a national embarrassment in the context of the Cold War.Tags: barack obama, confederate heritage month 2012, neo-confederate, white racism More broadly, the Racial State evolved over time because the type of personal, intimate, and directly violent exploitation of the plantation (with its old fashioned "dominative" racism) was not suited for a growing industrialism, or many years later, an economy that would evolve into a global, service based, information age set of international markets and actors. As Wendy Somerson notes, in this model "structural racism and sexism are thus denied through visual inclusion within corporate culture." White supremacy in the United States (and Europe) had to "evolve" from the personal to the structural and institutional if it was [t]o remain effective at allocating resources, and the gains of the in-group and its elites were to be preserved. By comparison, South Africa's herrenvolk society failed to adapt and was subsequently torn down. The genius of American racism is how it adapted in order to survive--all the while maintaining many of the same core inequalities and hierarchies of years and decades past. The election of Barack Obama was the culmination of this transition. Multiculturalism incorporated won out. Diversity, even a type that is driven less by "justice" and more by profit maximization and the exploitation of human capital, is taken as a given. However, there is nothing at all radical about it. Ironically, I would suggest that the election of the country's first black President is the death knell for justice claims about racial equality and redistribution. [my emphasis]
Salvation Army Food Pantry Emergency Food Box From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I want to start with numbers tonight. Most folks who receive SNAP benefits exhaust them long before the end of the month is reached. While many believe that's because they've squandered their allotments, the brutal truth is the benefits provided by the system are not large enough to feed families or individuals for a full month. Fortunately, at least in most states, there are programs, usually administered by service organizations or groups with religious affiliations, that pick up the slack. Bob and I spent the day visiting food pantries that provide emergency food relief for people in our area. Oregon is a state where chronic unemployment was a problem long before the great recession affected the rest of the nation. That means we had a workable distribution system in place when the rolls of SNAP participants exploded during the recession. While what is done here may not be elegant, the logistics are efficient and surplus food reaches the poor who need the safety net it provides. Our program may not mirror what is done in your state, but because it is the one I know, I want to share it with you. The county in which I live has a large food bank that gleans and gathers surplus food from many sources and makes it available to food pantries throughout the area. Its operation is funded by the county and additional money that comes from fund raisers and individual donations. The pantries are responsible for getting food to those who need it. While they receive surplus food from the county, they are responsible for distribution costs to recipients. The county is divided into geographical distribution areas, and the size and hours of operation vary from one location to another. All, however, share a common distribution policy. There are no true means tests. Recipients must provide proof of an address and sign a declaration of need that is based on family income. There is no waiting period and once that document is signed they are eligible for emergency food assistance. That means they are entitled to one food box a month. A fail safe within the system gives participants access to four additional boxes every year. Recipients do not get to "shop" for the contents of their food baskets. The boxes are put together by agency staff and the contents depend on what is available at the time of the request and the make-up of the family. The value of the box falls within guidelines that depend on the size of the family. A box for one will contain food items worth $25. A box for two is valued at $40, while the box for a family of seven, the limit supported by the program, is $70. Obviously, the food pantries are one place where the system can be scammed. You must, however, remember that most are run by religious organizations and these folks practice the gospel that they preach. Rather than refuse one hungry man, they feed all who come their way. A recognition, perhaps, that hunger of the spirit is even more devastating than that of the body. Most SNAP participants supplement their allotments with food that is provided by food pantries and that makes them an important weapon in the fight against hunger. They are a godsend for the working poor. Menu for SNAP Challenge Day Three * Maple Baked Oatmeal with Milk Leftover Potato Soup Open-Faced Toasted Cheese Sandwiches Small Tossed Salad with Oil and Vinegar Dressing * Chicken and Noodle Casserole Recipes for the Day: Chicken Noodle Casserole 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour 2 tablespoons margarine 1-1/2 cups milk 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/4 teaspoon pepper Juice of half a lemon lemon 1 teaspoon dried tarragon or thyme leaves 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons cooking oil 2 cups diced chicken 1 cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed and drained 4 cups cooked egg noodles 1/2 cup shredded cheese (i.e. Cheddar, American, Colby) 1) Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Lightly spray a 1-1/2 quart casserole with cooking spray. Set aside. 2) To make white sauce: Melt margarine in a 2-quart saucepan. Stir in flour and cook until foam subsides, about 2 minutes. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add lemon juice, tarragon and Parmesan cheese and stir until smooth. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. 2) To prepare chicken: Lightly season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a skillet until it shimmers. Add chicken and saute until it is no longer pink. Transfer chicken to prepared casserole dish. 3) To assemble casserole: Stir vegetables, chicken and noodles into white sauce, mixing well. Turn into prepared casserole dish. Top with grated cheese and bake for about 30 minute, or until heated through and cheese has melted. Yield: 4 servings. Maple Baked Oatmeal 2 tablespoons butter or margarine 1-1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 3/4 cup milk 1/4 cup maple-flavored syrup 1 egg, slightly beaten 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place margarine in a 9 x 4 x 3-inch bread pan and place in oven to melt.Do not allow to burn. 2) In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oats, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, mix together milk, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla. 3) Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well, making sure oats are completely moistened. 4) Remove bread pan from oven and pour oat mixture into it. Stir mixture until most of margarine is incorporated. 5) Bake for 30 minutes, or until edges are golden. Serve hot with additional milk. Yield: 3 servings. One Year Ago Today: Rum Raisin Biscuits Two Years Ago Today: Minced Chicken with Oyster Sauce Three years Ago Today: Roasted Garbanzo Beans with Cajun Spice
Histopathology of breast cancer among African-American women† This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America. Although the overall incidence of breast cancer in African-American women is lower than in white women, African-American women younger than 50 years old have a higher incidence of breast cancer than white women. African-American women with breast cancer have a poorer survival rate than white women and are more likely to die of breast cancer in almost every age group. To explain this disparity, we studied a substantial body of literature that reported a biologic difference in the tumors found in African-American and white women. Specifically, more aggressive histopathologic patterns have been described among African-American patients with breast cancer when compared with white women. In addition, there are data that support an ethnicity-related variation in the expression of breast tumor hormonal markers. The objective of this study was to critically evaluate the existing published data on the histologic features of breast cancer to determine whether breast cancer in African-American women is a histologically more aggressive disease than in white women. We conclude that the aggressive tumor histology reported in African-American women has not been analyzed carefully with respect to the age of the patient at the time of diagnosis and the stage of disease at presentation. Furthermore, there is a need for central pathology review using accepted, published criteria for diagnosis of uncommon and controversial histologic subtypes of breast cancer. Cancer 2003;97(1 Suppl):253–7. Published 2003 by the American Cancer Society. Age of Onset Although the overall incidence of breast cancer is lower among African-American women than among white women, the incidence rates among African-American women younger than 50 years old are higher than among white women.1 In general, African-American women develop breast cancer 5–10 years earlier than white women.2, 3 In the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results program, the median age at diagnosis of breast cancer for African-American women was 57.0 compared with 64.0 for white women.1 Newman and Alfonso4 evaluated breast cancer in women younger than 50 years old and found that significantly more African-American patients than white patients were diagnosed at a young age. Similarly, Kovi et al.5 reported that a higher percentage of African-American women (68%) younger than 54 years old were diagnosed with breast cancer compared with white women of the same age (53%). Their observation was based on data compiled by the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology experience with breast cancer from 1980 to 1983. Disease Stage and Survival Rates In addition to developing breast cancer earlier, African-American women with breast cancer present at a more advanced stage with larger tumor sizes and more positive lymph nodes.2, 4–10 African-American women present with an excess of Stage II disease and are twice as likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer than white women. Several studies reported a worse overall 5-year survival rate among African-American patients with breast cancer.8, 11 Stage for stage, African-American women have a worse survival rate than white women. The mortality rate of African-American women with breast cancer also exceeds that of white women.11 Numerous studies have evaluated tumor biology to explain the disparities in survival rates between African-American and white women. Several investigators found an increase in gross tumor size, high nuclear grade, and tumor necrosis among women with breast cancer.2, 3, 12–15 Elmore et al.2 found that tumors in African-American women were larger, contained necrosis, and were more likely to have lymphovascular invasion compared with tumors in white women. However, when confounding variables such as income, medical insurance, and screening mammography were controlled, most pathologic differences between the races were no longer significant. Aziz et al.3 found a higher incidence of nuclear Grade 3 tumors among African-American women with breast cancer than among white women. However, their sample size was small (323 patients) and the results were not statistically significant. In addition, age-specific comparisons were not performed in that study. In 1985, Ownby et al.13 completed a retrospective review of 1078 breast cancer patients from Detroit. They found that compared with white women, a higher percentage of African-American women with breast cancer were classified as nuclear Grade 3, had more lymph node involvement at the time of diagnosis, and had a greater percentage of Stage IV disease. These authors attributed some of these findings to a higher rate of obesity among African-American patients. This observation of a higher prevalence of obesity among African-American patients with breast cancer has been substantiated by Jones et al.16 They reported that severe obesity was significantly associated with advanced disease in African-American women with breast cancer. Chen et al.12 reviewed 963 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients as part of the black/white cancer survival study. In this well designed study, not only was there a central pathology review, but the reviewing pathologist was blinded to patient demographics. The authors found that after adjusting for age, stage, and metropolitan area, African-American women were more likely than white women to have high-grade nuclear atypia and a higher mitotic activity. Although white women of high socioeconomic status (SES) had more favorable tumor histology compared with white women with a low SES, the same relationship was not observed for African-American women. Several authors have reported an increased tumor nuclear grade among all women younger than 40 years old who have been diagnosed with breast cancer. Independent of race, they observed less well differentiated tumors among younger women.17–20 In a review of 1869 consecutive diagnoses of breast cancer patients, Fisher et al.20 found a statistically significant difference in the number of nuclear Grade 3 carcinomas in unselected women younger than 40 years old (P < 0.0001) when compared with older women. In the same study, lobular carcinoma was reported more frequently in women aged 70 years or older. In an evaluation of breast cancer in women 35 years of age or younger, Rosen et al.19 found a high incidence of poorly differentiated tumors (53%), medullary carcinomas (11%), and estrogen receptor (ER)-negative carcinomas in this young cohort. Kollias et al.17 reported similar findings in an evaluation of 2897 women with breast cancer: high nuclear grade, lymphovascular invasion, and an increase in medullary carcinoma were observed in women younger than 35 years of age when compared with older women. Many authors have emphasized that medullary carcinoma comprises a large percentage of breast cancer subtypes in African-American women and point to the high nuclear grade of these tumors as evidence of an aggressive tumor histology in African-American women.5, 8, 14, 21, 22 Unfortunately, none of the aforementioned studies reported the diagnostic criteria used to make the diagnosis of medullary carcinoma. Moreover, most of the studies did not have a central pathologic review of the cases or age-matched controls. Natarajan et al.14 reviewed the cases of more than 40,000 women in the 1982 American College of Surgeons breast cancer curvey and found that 6.8% of African-American women had medullary histology compared with 2.7% of white women. In the same study, papillary carcinoma was identified in 2.1% of African-American patients compared with 1.1% of white women. Evaluating data from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology's experience with breast cancer from 1980 to 1983, Kovi et al.5 found an excess of medullary, mucinous, and papillary carcinomas among African-American patients compared with white patients. However, only mucinous carcinoma occurred significantly more frequently among African-American women (4.8%) than among white women (2.1%; P ≤ 0.05). In reviewing the University of Texas Health Science Center's experience with breast cancer, Elledge et al.8 found twice the frequency of medullary carcinoma in African-American women than in white women (5.2% vs. 2.6%, respectively). However, this information was obtained from both patients records and a review of their pathology reports, not from a central pathology review. In a retrospective review of 708 African-American patients treated at Harlem Hospital between 1964 and 1986, Freeman and Wasfie22 found that 9% of all types of breast cancers treated were medullary carcinomas. Unfortunately, a control group of white women was not used for comparison in this study. Claus et al.21 evaluated the data of 4071 patients with breast cancer. They found an increased incidence of medullary carcinoma in African-American women (11%) compared with white women (5%). Although medullary carcinoma was reported more frequently among African-American women compared with white women, the mean age at diagnosis of medullary carcinoma was significantly younger than the age at diagnosis of other histologic tumor types, adding the confounding variable of age to the interpretation of the data. In most large series, medullary carcinoma accounts for less than 5% of all breast cancers and occurs most often in young women. In addition, the histologic diagnosis of medullary carcinoma is fraught with interobserver variability and the disease entity is frequently overdiagnosed.23–25 None of the studies that compared histopathologic observations and race mentioned the diagnostic criteria used to make the diagnosis of medullary carcinoma and most studies did not include a central pathology review. Ownby et al.,13 Simon and Severson,9 Newman and Alfonso,4 Mittra et al.,26 and Chen et al.12 reported no variation in tumor histology by race. In addition, Williams et al.27 did not find an increase in medullary carcinoma among the 1270 African-American women studied at Howard University Hospital. Moreover, medullary, mucinous, and papillary carcinomas are tumors with a good prognosis, which would portend a good outcome and be antithetical to an aggressive tumor histology hypothesis. As illustrated by the data of Claus et al.,21 age at presentation was a confounding variable in the examination of patients with medullary carcinoma. They found that medullary carcinoma occurs most often among young women and that young African-American women are more likely to develop breast carcinoma than white women. The findings on lobular carcinoma have been inconsistent. Studies have shown lobular carcinoma to be both more and less frequent in African-American women when compared with white women.5, 14, 15, 21, 27, 28 However, Newman and Alfonso4 and Elledge et al.8 reported no racial differences in the frequency of lobular carcinoma among African-American and white patients. Hormonal Status of Tumors Several historic studies have found that African-American women have less hormone-positive tumors than white women, a fact that has been linked to the clinical aggressiveness of breast cancer among African Americans. However, Newman and Alfonso,4 Muss et al.,28 and Ownby et al.13 found no significant differences in ER or progesterone receptor (PR) status in African-American women compared with white women.Similarly, Elmore et al.2 found no difference in ER expression in tumors involving African-American and white patients and Chen et al.12 reported no statistical difference in ER status between African-American and white patients. However, using data from the 1982 national survey of breast cancer, Natarajan et al.14 found that only 63% of African-American patients with breast cancer had ER-positive tumors compared with 74% of white women over the age of 50.In women younger than 50 years of age, 45% of African-American patients had ER-positive tumors compared with 58% of white women. Statistical analysis of these data was not reported. Similarly, Mohla et al.29 reported a low incidence of ER-positive tumors in a group of 142 African-American women who underwent surgery at Howard University Hospital. In that study, 46% of the tumors were positive for ER using tissue cytosol assays, compared with 56% ER positivity in the literature at that time (presumably for all races). Freeman and Wasfie22 reported a lower percentage of ER-positive tumors in African-American women compared with white women in their study of 703 patients with breast cancer treated at Harlem Hospital (50% vs. 66%). However, less than 10% of their patient population of 703 (70 women total) was examined for ER status. Pegoraro et al.30 reported that 49% of black women with breast cancer in South Africa had ER-positive tumors compared with 67% of South African white women. Yet it is known that nuclear grade and hormone positivity are inversely related independent of racial origin. ER positivity is strongly associated with age at diagnosis, being more prevalent among postmenopausal women. Some researchers adjusted for age or stratified by age group when comparing hormone receptor status between African-American and white women, which may account for the inconsistent study findings. Elledge et al.8 stratified ER status by age and race of patients with breast cancer. For women younger than 35, there was no significant difference in ER or PR hormone status by ethnicity. However, in women older than 35, white women had a higher percentage of ER-positive tumors compared with African-American women (P < 0.001). Gordon31 reported a clear association between social class (measured as educational level) and the diagnosis of ER-negative tumors after controlling for age, race, and other known risk factors of breast cancer. No clinically significant difference in Her-2/neu status between African-American and white women with breast cancer has been identified.8, 10, 32 In addition, Wu et al.32 found no difference in the plasma level of Her-2/neu in African-American and Hispanic women. A higher S-phase fraction in tumors of African-American women has been described by both Elledge et al.8 and Shiao et al.33 S-phase fraction, an indicator of proliferative activity, correlates with the degree of histologic differentiation, nuclear grade, and ER immunoreactivity. However, S-phase fraction is not an independent indicator and adds little additional prognostic information. Both Elledge et al.8 and Shiao et al.33, 34 found no difference in DNA ploidy or p53 expression in African-American women compared with white women. Shiao et al.34 identified p53 genetic alterations in 20.0% and 19.2% of African-American and white patients with breast cancer, respectivelyAlthough the proportion of patients with p53 gene alteration was similar, the location and types of genetic mutations were different between African-American and white women. Expression of CYP1A1, a gene that produces an enzyme that can metabolize some carcinogens, is increased in African-American women with breast cancer. In a small pilot study evaluating 21 African-American women and 30 white women, a microsatellite polymorphism was identified in the African-American patients with breast cancer, but not in the white women.35 However, another study found no association of this polymorphism among women with breast cancer.36 This critical literature review suggests that the aggressive tumor histology reported in African-American women has not been analyzed carefully with respect to the age of the patient at diagnosis and the stage at presentation. Any association with age at presentation is problematic as it is difficult to obtain adequate matched control cases because breast cancer is relatively uncommon in young women (e.g., 4% in the Kollias et al. study17). Advanced stage at presentation and early age at diagnosis remain real race-related differences between African-American and white women and can explain many of the observed adverse histopathologic findings (increased nuclear grade, cell turnover and necrosis, and hormonal receptor status). Therefore, we conclude that independent evaluation of race will require age-matched, stage-matched, treatment-matched, and SES-matched studies to eliminate many of the confounding variables. In essence, it is extremely difficult to rule out nonbiologic factors in the assessment of histopathology in African-American women. In addition, ease of availability of medical care (including insurance coverage and income) and the availability of screening mammography are linked to clinical outcome and have been reported, in at least one study,2 to account for most pathologic differences. Genetic epidemiologic evidence does not support that there is sufficient racial heterogeneity to expect profoundly different disease histopathology or treatment response strictly on the basis of race. In fact, more than 80% of genetic variability is identified within individuals of the same population.37 One major observation from this review is that there is a need for central pathology review using accepted published criteria for diagnosis of uncommon and controversial histologic subtypes of breast cancer, i.e., medullary carcinoma in African-American women. There is also a need for central review of tumor nuclear grade for standardization and consistency. It is difficult to make recommendations based on historical studies of breast cancer in African-American women because most studies reporting on tumor histopathology and race had no central pathology review. In addition, many studies had small sample sizes, which could be addressed by future multiinstitutional research on breast cancer in special populations.
A VHF radar has been established at a site near Resolute Bay in Nunavut, Canada (75°N, 95°W), which has the capability to make a variety of measurements relating to the atmospheric and ionospheric environment in the polar regions. The site is very close to the north geomagnetic pole, and therefore the radar is well situated to make some unique measurements. The system is a multipurpose instrument with good remote control capabilities. It can be used as a wind profiler radar to study the lower troposphere, as a mesospheric radar to study polar mesosphere summer echoes (PMSE) in summer, as a meteor radar to determine winds in the altitude region of 80–100 km, and as an ionospheric radar to study 3 m scale irregularities in the E and F regions. The radar has some unique design features, partly dictated by the rough terrain in which it is sited. In this paper, the radar system is described, including description of some unusual approaches to deal with special conditions at the site, and then some key early results are presented. Important findings include error determinations for tropospheric wind measurements, detection of PMSE, correlations between PMSE and atmospheric temperatures at 86 km altitude, measurements of mean winds and tidal characteristics over a full year, and detection of various normal modes of oscillation in the 80–100 km region, especially in nonsummer months. Some of these features will be discussed here, but more detailed discussions will be left to related papers in this issue.
Gary Johnson on Principles & Values Libertarian presidential nominee; former Republican NM Governor My desire to serve has been with me for as long as I can remember. As early as fourth grade, I remember thinking I would like to run for high office someday. When my teacher did a class survey, I was voted most likely to become President of the US. That might have been when the political bug bit me. Overall, I think I view big government in the same way that the novelist and philosopher Ayn Rand did--that it really oppresses those that create, if you will, and tries to take away from those that produce and give to the non-producers. Near the end of college, I'd been working construction for a contractor who built from the ground up. It was good fortune for me: I learned electrical, foundations, masonry, sheetrock, framing and painting. But the contractor ran out of work, and I needed about $30 a week to get by. So, I started looking around for other jobs. I passed out circulars door-to-door that read, "College student needs work. Will do carpentry, painting, cement, anything and everything." That was the origin of Big J. Kate is beautiful, she's athletic, she's smart. We're in love. I asked her to marry me while we were on a chair lift at Taos. At one point, early in our time together, Kate asked me about my politics and political philosophy. What it was, how I'd come to it. I gave her a copy of "Atlas Shrugged." Kate and I each wear an engagement ring. A: Steve Jobs comes to mind--he represents incredible innovation. Maybe Bill Gates. I didn't have any business heroes growing up. One of the realities of my life is that those I thought were heroes were not. Q: Who is your favorite political philosopher? A: [Chicago economist and Free to Choose author] Milton Friedman. A: By giving voice to millions of Americans who are not satisfied with the traditional parties. And insuring that Republicans who are nominated will be part of the solution, not the problem. A: The majority of Americans are classical liberals--fiscal conservatives and social liberals--who believe that the best government is the government that rules the least and the best that government can do for me, the individual, is to allow me as an individual to make the choices and the decisions that only I can make. When that crosses over the line and I potentially can do harm to others, that's when the government needs to step in. The Adherents.com website is an independent project and is not supported by or affiliated with any organization (academic, religious, or otherwise). Such factors as religious service attendance, belief, practice, familiarity with doctrine, belief in certain creeds, etc., may be important to sociologists, religious leaders, and others. But these are measures of religiosity and are usually not used academically to define a person’s membership in a particular religion. It is important to recognize there are various levels of adherence, or membership within religious traditions or religious bodies. There’s no single definition, and sources of adherent statistics do not always make it clear what definition they are using. The National Governors Association (NGA) is the collective voice of the nation’s governors and one of Washington’s most respected public policy organizations. NGA provides governors with services that range from representing states on Capitol Hill and before the Administration on key federal issues to developing policy reports on innovative state programs and hosting networking seminars for state government executive branch officials. The NGA Center for Best Practices focuses on state innovations and best practices on issues that range from education and health to technology, welfare reform, and the environment. NGA also provides management and technical assistance to both new and incumbent governors. Since their initial meeting in 1908 to discuss interstate water problems, governors have worked through the National Governors Association to deal with issues of public policy and governance relating to the states. The association’s ongoing mission is to support the work of the governors by providing a bipartisan forum to help shape and implement national policy and to solve state problems. Fortune Magazine recently named NGA as one of Washington’s most powerful lobbying organizations due, in large part, to NGA’s ability to lead the debate on issues that impact states. From welfare reform to education, from the historic tobacco settlement to wireless communications tax policies, NGA has influenced major public policy issues while maintaining the strength of our Federalist system of government. There are three standing committees—on Economic Development and Commerce, Human Resources, and Natural Resources—that provide a venue for governors to examine and develop policy positions on key state and national issues. [Note: NGA positions represent a majority view of the nation’s governors, but do not necessarily reflect a governor’s individual viewpoint. Governors vote on NGA policy positions but the votes are not made public.] Founded in 1963, the Republican Governors Association (RGA) is the official public policy and political organization of the Republican governors and governors-elect of the United States of America The RGA will enhance the visibility of the Association as a unified policy-making and political force with the national media, business community and government through a coordinated communications strategy. By building more awareness of the policies of the Republican governors, the political and policy objectives of the Association as a whole can be achieved. Currently, there are 29 Republican governors representing roughly 60 percent of the American people. Established in 1984, the Western Governors' Association is an independent, non-partisan organization of governors from 18 western states and three U.S.-flag Pacific islands. The Association was formed to provide strong leadership in an era of critical change in the economy and demography of the West. The Western Governors recognize that many vital issues and opportunities shaping our future span state lines and are shared throughout the West. \|Other governors on Principles & Values:\|\|Gary Johnson on other issues:\| Gubernatorial Debates 2014: AL: Bentley(R) vs.Griffith(D) AR: Ross(D) vs.Hutchinson(R) vs.Griffin(R,Lt.Gov.) AZ: Ducey(R) vs.DuVal(D) vs.Mealer(AE) vs.Gilbert(L) vs. CA: Brown(D) vs.Kashkari(R) CO: Hickenlooper(D) vs.Beauprez(R) vs. CT: Malloy(D) vs.Foley(R) vs.Walker(R,Lt.Gov.) FL: Scott(R) vs.Crist(D) vs.Snitker(L,Lt.Gov.) GA: Deal(R) vs.Carter(D) vs.Hunt(L) HI: Ige(D) vs.Aiona(R) vs. IA: Branstad(R) vs.Hatch(D) vs. MA: Coakley(D) vs.Baker(R) &Polito(R,Lt.Gov.) vs. ME: LePage(R) vs.Michaud(D) vs.Cutler(I) MI: Snyder(R) vs.Schauer(D) NM: Martinez(R) vs.King(D) NY: Cuomo(D) &Hochul(D,Lt.Gov.) vs.Astorino(R) vs.Hawkins(G) vs. OK: Fallin(R) vs.Dorman(D) PA: Corbett(R) vs.Wolf(D) vs. AK-I: Bill Walker AR-R: Asa Hutchinson AZ-R: Doug Ducey IL-R: Bruce Rauner MA-R: Charlie Baker MD-R: Larry Hogan NE-R: Pete Ricketts PA-D: Tom Wolf RI-D: Gina Raimondo TX-R: Greg Abbott Up for re-election 2014: AK-R: Sean Parnell AL-R: Robert Bentley CA-D: Jerry Brown CO-D: John Hickenlooper CT-D: Dan Malloy FL-R: Rick Scott GA-R: Nathan Deal HI-D: Neil Abercrombie IA-R: Terry Branstad ID-R: Butch Otter IL-D: Pat Quinn KS-R: Sam Brownback ME-R: Paul LePage MI-R: Rick Snyder MN-D: Mark Dayton NH-D: Maggie Hassan NM-R: Susana Martinez NV-R: Brian Sandoval NY-D: Andrew Cuomo OH-R: John Kasich OK-R: Mary Fallin OR-D: John Kitzhaber PA-R: Tom Corbett SC-R: Nikki Haley SD-R: Dennis Daugaard TN-R: Bill Haslam VT-D: Peter Shumlin WI-R: Scott Walker WY-R: Matt Mead Term-Limited or Retiring 2014: AR-D: Mike Beebe AZ-R: Jan Brewer MA-D: Deval Patrick MD-D: Martin O'Malley RI-I: Linc Chafee TX-R: Rick Perry 731 E South Temple, Salt Lake City, UT, 84110 Web contact in lieu of EMail
City of Opa-locka History The City of Opa-Locka was the vision of aviation pioneer, Glen Curtiss. Opa-locka is an urban community occupying 4.2 square miles in the North-Western area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city boundaries are as follows: on the North-NW 151st Street, on the South - N.W. 125th Street, on the East – NW 45th Avenue on the West. On May 14, 1926, Opa-locka was chartered as a town by twenty-eight registered voters. The area was originally named by the Native Americans “Opa-tisha-wocka-locka” meaning “a big island covered with many trees and swamps” but the name was quickly shorten to Opa-locka. The City was developed based on the Arabian Nights theme which is evident by the large collection of Moorish architecture throughout the city and with street names like Sabur, Sultan, Ali Baba, Sharazad, Aladdin and Sesame. Mr. Curtiss and architect, Bernhardt Muller, built 105 buildings with an array of domes, minarets and outside staircases. By the time Mr. Curtiss completed his vision for Opa-locka he had built a self-contained city with a hotel, zoo park, golf course, archery club, swimming pool, airport, and train station. The September 1926 hurricane badly damaged the City, destroying many of the structures, but the surviving Moorish style buildings continue to give Opa-locka its unique appearance. Opa-locka currently has twenty buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The U.S. Navy opened a base at the Opa-locka Airport shortly after the hurricane which allowed the City to thrive after the hurricane but the base closed in the 1950s. The City experienced a decline, and was labeled a "struggling community" in South Florida. Despite the challenges, the City has regained the spirit it was founded with in 1926. Under the direction of Mayor Myra L. Taylor, city officials have vowed to turn the city around by focusing on crime prevention, cleaning up the city and maintaining financial stability. This drive has generated an increased sense of community, pride among Opa-locka residents and a major drop in crime. In keeping with that vow and to advance community pride, the city became the first community in the United States to commemorate the first African-American President of the United States by renaming a mile-long section of Perviz Avenue from Oriental Boulevard to Ali-Baba Avenue, Barack Obama Avenue on February 17, 2009. In addition to the unique buildings, Opa-locka has a large general aviation airport, three parks, two lakes and a railroad station which is currently the tri-rail station. The City is comprised of a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial zones. Despite its limited resources, the City was the backdrop for the making of movies such as Texas Justice, Bad Boyz II and 2 Fast 2 Furious.
Haas, Guido; Geier, Uwe; Frieben, Bettina and Köpke, Ulrich (2005) Estimation of environmental impact of conversion to organic agriculture in Hamburg using the Life-Cycle-Assessment method. Working paper, Institut für Organischen Landbau - Universität Bonn. Commissioned by the Ministry of Environment of Hamburg, Germany, an environmental impact assessment using the Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) method was carried out during 1995 and 1996. In a scenario, the effect of a complete transition from conventional to organic agriculture of about 5,674 ha and 4,669 livestock units in a rural part of Hamburg was investigated using 9 impact categories. The study was based on the analysis of 15 farms representative of the farms in the region, mainly dairy and beef cattle farms with some cash crops, in close cooperation with local advisers and other experts. Several workshops were held to integrate the local public, in particular the experts and administrative staff related to farming and nature protection. It was estimated for the study area for the year 1995 that through the conversion to organic agriculture, the eutrophication potential could be lowered by reducing the nitrogen (N) surplus by 75% (from 311 t to 77 t) and turning the phosphate (P) surplus of 47 t into a deficit of 19 t. The ammonia emission decreased to 69% of the conventional level (from 238 t to 165 t) resulting in a similar reduction of the acidification potential (from 474 t to 328 t SO2-equivalents). Compared to conventional farming, 55% of the primary energy was saved by organic agriculture (38,540 instead of 84,760 GJ), which also lowered the global warming potential by 31% from 26,365 t to 18,271 t CO2-equivalents. No pesticides were used, thus saving about 22.7 t of chemical agents. This would lead to positive effects in the impact categories drinking water quality, human toxicity and ecotoxicity, especially as most pesti¬cides were applied illegally and not in compliance with the regulations regarding minimum distance to surface water. The biodiversity impact assessed by evaluating several indicators during field visits showed a clear improvement for arable land, permanent grassland and landscape structures (such as ditches and field boundaries). No differences were determined for the categories soil protection and landscape image due to specific site conditions and cropping system effects. The study confirmed the suitability of the LCA approach for com¬paring different farming systems. However, the results led to strong reactions from some experts and particularly farmers and their representatives. \|EPrint Type:\|\|Working paper\| \|Keywords:\|\|Ökobilanz, environment, LCA, ecobalance, life-cycle-assessment, natural resources, nutrient balance, organic farming, urban area, Hamburg\| \|Subjects:\|\| Environmental aspects\| "Organics" in general \|Research affiliation:\|\| Germany > Agricultural Engineering Office Haas\| Germany > University of Bonn > Institute of Organic Agriculture > Environment \|Related Links:\|\|http://www.agrarhaas.de/4.html, http://www.iol.uni-bonn.de\| \|Deposited By:\|\|Haas, Dr. Guido\| \|Deposited On:\|\|08 Sep 2008\| \|Last Modified:\|\|12 Apr 2010 07:37\| Repository Staff Only: item control page
Lyme disease is an infection caused by a bacteria normally found in deer and transmitted to humans by deer ticks. The deer tick is found in grassy areas, so people who work, play and hike in these areas are at particular risk. It is not known how long the tick needs to be in contact with the skin in order to transmit the disease. Lyme disease was first described in 1975. It has been identified in almost all the states. Most cases happen in people who live in, or have recently traveled to, the Northeastern and upper Midwest regions of the country. People of any age can get it. Late spring and summer are peak seasons. Tell your doctor if you travel to areas of high risk for Lyme disease, especially during summer months. Taking precautions is very important to avoid getting this potentially dangerous condition. - While hiking, stay on hiking trails and avoid deep grassy areas. Wear pants, long sleeve shirts, and high socks. - Check for ticks on household pets and anyone who may have come in contact with high-risk areas. - If a tick bite is suspected, contact your family physician immediately. Symptoms are complex and sometimes confusing. The infection begins at the site of the tick bite. Most people do not remember a tick bite or finding a tick on their body. There may be a red spot that looks like a target shape. A rash develops at the site of the bite and spreads to other parts of the body (Erythema migrans). In initial stages, Lyme disease causes flu-like symptoms of fever, malaise, rash, neck stiffness, and joint pain. These symptoms may take days or weeks to show up. Other symptoms include the chills. Joints may become tender with minimal swelling and no redness. The knee is the joint most often affected. In later stages, the disease affects the heart and nervous system and causes Lyme arthritis. See your doctor to diagnose Lyme disease. He or she may use imaging studies to help make the diagnosis. - In acute stages, X-rays of affected joints may show soft-tissue swelling. - In the chronic stage, signs of swelling, joint fluid, and arthritis may be seen. Using only an analysis of the blood to diagnose Lyme disease can be difficult. The signs of inflammation, such as the white blood count, sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein will be higher, but this is true of other diseases in addition to Lyme disease. Specific tests, such as serologies, may take up to four weeks to six weeks to become higher than normal (elevated). An elevated serum titer indicates that the body is responding to an exposure to the bacteria. However, the bacterial infection may have been cleared and so an elevated serum titer does not necessarily reflect an active infection. If joint swelling is present, a culture of the fluid may indicate the presence of an active infection, but is only positive about 60 percent to 70 percent of the time. A more sensitive test called PCR is being developed to detect the presence of the bacteria. Lyme disease is usually suspected in an individual who has been exposed, has a tick bite, and has joint pain. In cases where it is not clear if the patient has been exposed, the doctor will need to rule out other potential causes for the symptoms. These can include soft-tissue infections, septic arthritis, and rheumatologic diseases, such as juvenile arthritis. Most cases of Lyme disease respond to a one-month course of antibiotics. The appropriate antibiotic depends on the patient's age, allergies, and special medical conditions (such as pregnancy). The prognosis is excellent if the infection is recognized early. Even with treatment, a small number of individuals can go on to develop chronic arthritis. The prophylactic treatment for an individual presenting after finding a tick on their body is controversial. Talk with your doctor. A vaccine has been developed, but it is currently not recommended because of potential side effects. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 9400 West Higgins Road Rosemont, IL 60018
Every mile you walk puts 60 tons of stress on each foot. Your feet can handle a heavy load, but too much stress pushes them over their limits. When you pound your feet on hard surfaces playing sports or wear shoes that irritate sensitive tissues, you may develop heel pain, the most common problem affecting the foot and ankle. A sore heel will usually get better on its own without surgery if you give it enough rest. However, many people try to ignore the early signs of heel pain and keep on doing the activities that caused it. When you continue to use a sore heel, it will only get worse and could become a chronic condition leading to more problems. Surgery is rarely necessary. Heel pain can have many causes. If your heel hurts, see your doctor right away to determine why and get treatment. Tell him or her exactly where you have pain and how long you've had it. Your doctor will examine your heel, looking and feeling for signs of tenderness and swelling. You may be asked to walk, stand on one foot or do other physical tests that help your doctor pinpoint the cause of your sore heel. Conditions that cause heel pain generally fall into two main categories: pain beneath the heel and pain behind the heel. Pain Beneath the Heel If it hurts under your heel, you may have one or more conditions that inflame the tissues on the bottom of your foot: - Stone bruise. When you step on a hard object such as a rock or stone, you can bruise the fat pad on the underside of your heel. It may or may not look discolored. The pain goes away gradually with rest. - Plantar fasciitis (subcalcaneal pain). Doing too much running or jumping can inflame the tissue band (fascia) connecting the heel bone to the base of the toes. The pain is centered under your heel and may be mild at first but flares up when you take your first steps after resting overnight. You may need to do special exercises, take medication to reduce swelling and wear a heel pad in your shoe. - Heel spur.When plantar fasciitis continues for a long time, a heel spur (calcium deposit) may form where the fascia tissue band connects to your heel bone. Your doctor may take an X-ray to see the bony protrusion, which can vary in size. Treatment is usually the same as for plantar fasciitis: rest until the pain subsides, do special stretching exercises and wear heel pad shoe inserts. Pain Behind the Heel If you have pain behind your heel, you may have inflamed the area where the Achilles tendon inserts into the heel bone (retrocalcaneal bursitis). People often get this by running too much or wearing shoes that rub or cut into the back of the heel. Pain behind the heel may build slowly over time, causing the skin to thicken, get red and swell. You might develop a bump on the back of your heel that feels tender and warm to the touch. The pain flares up when you first start an activity after resting. It often hurts too much to wear normal shoes. You may need an X-ray to see if you also have a bone spur. Treatment includes resting from the activities that caused the problem, doing certain stretching exercises, using pain medication and wearing open back shoes. - Your doctor may want you to use a 3/8" or 1/2" heel insert. - Stretch your Achilles tendon by leaning forward against a wall with your foot flat on the floor and heel elevated with the insert. - Use nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications for pain and swelling. - Consider placing ice on the back of the heel to reduce inflammation. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 9400 West Higgins Road Rosemont, IL 60018
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From Methods n Molecular Srology, Vol 56 Crystallographrc Methods and Protocols Edlted by C Jones, 6 Mulloy, and M Sanderson Humana Press IncTotowa, NJ 205 Page 206 206 Podjarny, Rees, and Urzhumtsev Experimental data(5) 2nd to lasl cycle 1 Fourier Transformation I-) (4) MERGING Binary options low deposit globalcashcard Fcal Cal t (3) inverse Binary options 101 jumper Transformation I tt P t (2) DENSITY MODIFICATION I lnterprelation f-lMap P mod - -Mam cycle - Addiiional Information Fig. Moreover, 1993.Binary options korea 2018
Ouray Ice Park History Since its inception over two decades ago, the Ouray Ice Park has BECOME one of the premier ice climbing venues in the world. Part 1: The Genesis of the Ouray Ice Park By Peter Shelton Back in the early 1980s, Ouray in the winter was essentially Rip Van Winkle-Ville. Driving through town on our way to skiing the backcountry, some mornings there wasn’t a single car on Main Street, no human form stirring in the frosty air. Then a remarkable and unlikely thing happened. People started coming to Ouray to climb manmade frozen waterfalls. The genesis story of the Ouray Ice Park may be apocryphal, but I like it. It involves an old friend Bobo, née James Burwick, a jack-of-all-trades mountaineer come to the San Juan’s in the early 80s. One day, legend has it, he peered into the dark slit of the Uncompahgre River gorge upstream of the Camp Bird Road bridge and saw an eighty-foot icicle dripping out of a leaky water pipe. The old penstock (a hydroelectric pipeline) wound down the gorge from a dam a couple of miles upstream. And everywhere it leaked, there was another icicle. Bobo and friends rappelled down the cliffs and spidered back up the undulating ice. They wore 12-point crampons on their clunky mountaineering boots, wool pants and boiled-wool Dachstein mittens. When they reached the top—oops—their big, clumsy ice axes sometimes accidentally punched new holes in the metal pipe. Well darned if a new climb didn’t materialize after a few days or weeks. Of course, Bobo wasn’t the first to climb ice around here. In 1974, ice pioneers Jeff Lowe and Mike Weiss climbed Telluride’s Bridal Veil Falls, the highest one-stage drop in Colorado at 365 feet. ABC’s Wide World of Sports very publicly broadcast the attempt. The notoriety horrified the Idarado Mining Company, which owned the land. Lowe had to sneak past Idarado guards for subsequent climbs, as no landowner in those days would condone such death-defying craziness. But Lowe wasn’t crazy; he was on the cutting edge. Part 2: An Insider’s Story of the Ouray Ice Park By Samantha Wright In 1991, Bill Whitt, a California windsurfing bum turned ice climber, and local attorney turned real estate developer Gary Wild bought a hotel together in Ouray called the Victorian Inn. They dreamed up the Ouray Ice Park as a way to drum up winter business. But before they could start farming ice, they had to get the blessing of Eric Jacobson, the owner of the Ouray Hydroelectric Plant, who owned an easement right through the Uncompahgre Gorge. As Whitt tells the story, Jacobson and Wild were not crazy about each other. But then one day, “Gary walked over to the hydro plant with a six-pack, sat down with Eric, they started drinking beers, and it was like, “I love you, man,” and boom, it was solved. They worked it all out. Without that, there would never be an Ice Park.” In the early days of ice farming in the Uncompahgre Gorge, “there was a lot of trial and error, Whitt said. “Nobody had done anything like this before. It was a grassroots effort personified. And it was also a pain in the ass. We’d run hoses and stuff, and that worked great for half a night, then they’d be frozen solid. So we’d strip the hoses, take them down to the Victorian Inn, put ’em in the hot tub, defrost them, than take them back up and hook them up again.” Miraculously, it worked. The ice started growing, Ice climbers flocked to Ouray from around the world. Et. Voila, the Ouray Ice Park was born. “Everyone thought we were mental,” Whitt said. They said it would never make any money and it was the stupidest thing ever. There are still locals that wish it never started.” But most folks today agree that the Ice Park changed Ouray, and the sport of ice climbing for the better. Part 3: The Ouray Ice Park Today Bill Whitt and Gary Wild’s effort to “farm” ice attracted enough attention that in 1997 Ouray Ice Park, Inc. (OIPI) was officially established to organize the Ouray Ice Park. Nearly two decades later OIPI has continued to improve the Park’s plumbing system, increase access to new terrain in the Gorge, and finance and maintain extensive infrastructure throughout the Park. The Ouray Ice Park currently has over one mile of vertical terrain and over 200 ice and mixed climbs stretching along the Uncompahgre Gorge. Each winter, OIPI hosts the Ouray Ice Festival to celebrate the Park and raise funds for its operation. Despite the high cost of its maintenance, the Park remains free and open for public use. In over 20 years of operation, it has become one of the premier ice climbing venues in the world.
In 1996, LeAnn Rimes burst out of nowhere with her debut single "Blue," which immediately captured the attention of country fans across America. It wasn't just the fact that her rich, powerful vocals were remarkably similar to Patsy Cline's -- it was the fact that Rimes was only 13 years old. Like Tanya Tucker and Brenda Lee before her, she had a hit with her debut single and was barely a teenager at the time. It was quite an auspicious way to begin a career. Born in Jackson, Mississippi, but raised in Garland, Texas, Rimes (born August 28, 1982) began singing as a child, performing at local talent contests. At the age of 11, she released her first album on an independent record label called Nor Va Jak. That same year, Bill Mack, a Dallas disc jockey and record promoter, met Rimes, and impressed by her talents, he took her under his wing and began cultivating a plan to break her into the mainstream. The cornerstone of Mack's plan was a song called "Blue," which he had written in the '60s. Mack claimed that he had written the tune for Cline, but she had died before she was able to record the song. Throughout 1995, Rimes' career continued to gain momentum, as she performed more than 100 concerts and appeared on television shows across Texas. After Mack arranged a recording contract for Rimes with Curb Records, the label sent out a release with the single of "Blue" that claimed the DJ had been waiting over 30 years to find the right vocalist to sing it. The story was an exaggeration: "Blue" had been recorded by no less than three different artists, including Bill Mack and Kenny Roberts, who both released versions on Starday in the '60s, and in 1993, Kathryn Pitt released the record as a single in her native Australia. Nevertheless, the story was repeated throughout the country and mainstream music press, adding to the growing myth that Rimes was the successor to Cline's tradition. "Blue" and its accompanying album of the same name became major hits in the summer of 1996. Blue debuted at number three on the pop charts, selling over 123,000 copies within its first week of release -- the largest figure to date in the history of the SoundScan tracking system. Rimes was nominated for the Country Music Association Horizon award and the CMA Best Country Singer, becoming the youngest singer in the history of the CMA awards to receive a nomination; she won neither award. After two quickie 1997 releases -- Unchained Melody: The Early Years and You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs -- she issued her second proper LP, Sittin' on Top of the World, in 1998. Her self-titled third album followed a year later and I Need You appeared in early 2001. The next year, Rimes emerged with a sexy flair for the pop-oriented Twisted Angel, but returned to contemporary country in 2005 with This Woman. Her 2006 effort, Whatever We Wanna, found her going back to pop and was released exclusively in Europe. In 2007, she kicked off the Evan Almighty soundtrack with the gospel rave-up "Ready for a Miracle," appeared on Hal Ketchum's single "In Front of the Alamo," and began promoting her next album, Family, with the single "Nothing Better to Do." Rimes spent 2008 on tour with Kenny Chesney, then returned in 2011 with the Vince Gill- and Darrell Brown-produced Lady & Gentlemen, a collection of classic country tunes reinterpreted from a female perspective. Over the next few years, Rimes continued to work on Spitfire, the album that would conclude her contract with Curb. It was originally promised for 2012 but was pushed back to 2013, eventually surfacing on digital services in May and then released physically in June. Spitfire debuted (and peaked) at 36 on the Billboard charts and spawned no hits. In 2014, she announced that she would release a series of seasonal holiday EPs over the next three years, beginning with 2014's One Christmas. Within a year, the holiday EP project turned into a standard full-length holiday LP, with Today Is Christmas appearing in the fall of 2015. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Engendering Genocide: The Akayesu Case Before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda Beth Van Schaack Stanford Law School July 1, 2008 HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCACY STORIES, Foundation Press, 2008 Santa Clara Univ. Legal Studies Research Paper No. 08-55 This article - which will appear as a chapter in a "law stories" volume on Human Rights Advocacy - discusses the role that advocacy by women's rights and human rights organizations and activists played in gaining legal recognition of the concept of genocidal rape within international criminal law. The chapter discusses the procedural history and jurisprudential contributions of the case against Jean Paul Akayesu before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda. The chapter then traces Akayesu's legacy with respect to gender justice with respect to subsequent cases before the ad hoc international tribunals and within the Statute of the international criminal court. The Chapter concludes that while feminist advocacy produced important concrete results in the Akayesu case, when placed in this larger context, the Akayesu case better exemplifies the difficulty faced by activists in influencing the prosecutorial and adjudicative process, where prosecutorial discretion is paramount and tribunals may only rule on the evidence that properly appears before them. Number of Pages in PDF File: 30 Date posted: July 13, 2008 ; Last revised: March 5, 2014 © 2016 Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This page was processed by apollobot1 in 0.219 seconds
The Failure of Mandated Disclosure University of Chicago Law School Carl E. Schneider University of Michigan Law School March 1, 2010 U of Chicago Law & Economics, Olin Working Paper No. 516 U of Michigan Law & Econ, Empirical Legal Studies Center Paper No. 10-008 This article explores the spectacular prevalence, and failure, of the single most common technique for protecting personal autonomy in modern society: mandated disclosure. The article has four sections: (1) A comprehensive summary of the recurring use of mandated disclosures, in many forms and circumstances, in the areas of consumer and borrower protection, patient informed consent, contract formation, and constitutional rights; (2) A survey of the empirical literature documenting the failure of the mandated disclosure regime in informing people and in improving their decisions; (3) An account of the multitude of reasons mandated disclosures fail, focusing on the political dynamics underlying the enactments of these mandates, the incentives of disclosers to carry them out, and, most importantly, on the ability of disclosees to use them; (4) An argument that mandated disclosure not only fails to achieve its stated goal but also leads to unintended consequences that often harm the very people it intends to serve. Number of Pages in PDF File: 103 Date posted: March 9, 2010 ; Last revised: June 25, 2013 © 2016 Social Science Electronic Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This page was processed by apollobot1 in 0.235 seconds
Spring Break is next week. The break comes right after midterms, and students will be ready for a break. Some of them might come home to you to visit, others might go to the beach (either in the US or the Caribbean). Some will go on Wake Alternative Break for service projects. If your Deacs are planning to travel for Spring Break, you probably want to talk about spring break safety with them. University Police and other campus offices are hosting a Safe Spring Break info session this Thursday, March 3rd (see details). If for some reason your Deac can’t go to the Safe Spring Break program, we surfed the web and found some resources and advice below. General info: the web site youngadults.about.com has some guidelines for things parents and students should discuss well before spring break. Personal safety: the parenting web site Sheknows.com offers some good guidelines, covering topics such as: “Stick with friends you know and trust. Never go out alone or leave a safe place with strangers. Even if you meet people or locals on your trip and they seem friendly, they might not have the best intentions. While indoors, also be careful of going into closed spaces such as elevators and stairwells by yourself. Be a stranger. Don’t give out personal information, or tell strangers what hotel you’re staying in or where you’re going. Drink responsibly. If you consume alcohol, make sure you get your drinks directly from the bartender or a person you know and trust. Don’t leave your drinks unattended. Go with your gut. Be aware of your surroundings. If you feel like something is amiss, trust your instincts. If you’re being followed, the Office of International Education at the University of Richmond suggests, “Step into a store or other safe place and wait to see if the person you think is following has passed. Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to ask someone to double-check for you to see if all is safe. Display confidence. By looking and acting as if you know where you’re going, you may be able to ward off some potential danger.” Lock up. When going to the beach or pool, leave important valuables and documents (especially your passport) in your hotel’s safe deposit box, not in your room. Stay safe in your hotel room. A spring break safety tip sheet from Longwood University recommends the following: “Ensure there is a peep hole in the door and that the dead bolt and other locks are in good working order. Never open your door to anyone you do not know. If the person states they work for the hotel, call the front desk and confirm this before allowing them entry.” Choose transportation wisely. Use recommended shuttle services or buses to get around. Only use reputable, licensed taxi services.” Finally, a reminder that not everyone leaves campus for Spring Break. If your Deac is staying here, he or she should take note of the Dining Hours of Operation, as dining venues and availability are adjusted. There is also a Grocery Store Shuttle this Friday. Power through those midterms, students! Relief is coming this weekend!
PatientPlus articles are written by UK doctors and are based on research evidence, UK and European Guidelines. They are designed for health professionals to use, so you may find the language more technical than the condition leaflets. The term nummular means coin-shaped, so both terms describe the characteristic round (or oval) erythematous skin plaques. This is purely a dermatological condition that does not affect other systems. Infection is common but is secondary rather than causative. The prevalence is around 2 per 1,000 people. It is more common in men than in women. There is a peak incidence in both males and females of around 50-65 years of age and a second peak in women of around 15-25 years of age. It is rare in children. There may be a past history of atopic eczema and dry or sensitive skin. - There are characteristic round or oval erythematous plaques. They are most often on the extremities, especially the legs. However, they may occur anywhere on the trunk, hands, or feet. The face and scalp are not involved. Lesions are often symmetrical. - The lesions start as erythematous or violaceous papules or vesicles. They coalesce to form confluent plaques. - Erosions may appear over the lesions due to excoriation, as itch is intense. - Early lesions, especially vesicles, often have staphylococcal infection, which produces a yellowish crust. Gross infection, with cellulitis surrounding the plaques, requires oral antibiotics. - After a few days, plaques become dry, scaly and more violaceous, particularly when below the knee. The lesions then flatten to macules, usually with brown hyperpigmentation from the inflammation. It gradually lightens but the pigment may never completely fade, particularly below the knee. - Plaques may clear in the centre and resemble tinea corporis. - The condition varies in intensity rather than being constant. - The eruptions are intensely itchy but they may also burn or sting. Pruritus is always worst at night, almost irrespective of the aetiology. - There tends to be seasonal variation in intensity. It is worse in cold and dry weather and better in warm and humid conditions. - Add notes to any clinical page and create a reflective diary - Automatically track and log every page you have viewed - Print and export a summary to use in your appraisal - Tinea corporis usually has few vesicles, a raised narrow border and scale on the outside of the plaque. - Other forms of dermatitis, including asteatotic eczema and atopic dermatitis, are very similar but fortunately treatment is similar. - Contact dermatitis may show a pattern from the offending agent. - Lichen simplex chronicus often occurs on the lower legs, the neck, the scalp, or the scrotum. It is lichenified or thickened by chronic scratching, more violaceous and, often, has no clear border. - Stasis dermatitis may occur simultaneously on the lower extremities and venous stasis may lead to the development of both conditions. - Plaques of psoriasis are often found on the extensor surfaces, especially at the elbows and knees and the scalp is often involved. The scale is usually thick and silver. - Scrapings of lesions should be analysed to exclude tinea. - If there is secondary infection, swabs should be taken. - Patch testing may be useful to exclude other causes in severe or persistent cases. - Biopsy is not usually required. Most patients with discoid eczema have dry sensitive skin. The cause of the condition is unknown but irritation from insect bites, chemicals or abrasions may be involved. Venous insufficiency and stasis may aggravate the condition on the lower legs. Severe discoid eczema has been reported after administration of interferon and ribavirin for hepatitis C. The basic components of treatment are: - Rehydration of the skin. - Treating infection. - Reducing inflammation. - Patients should shower or bathe once or twice a day in cool water. Moisturisers or medicated topical preparations should be used to seal the water in the skin. - If medication is applied to damp skin it helps seal it and aids penetration. - Topical steroids reduce inflammation. Usually mild ones are adequate but, in severe disease, stronger steroid applications may be required and, in very severe cases, oral steroids can be needed. Ointments tend to be more effective than creams. The effect of topical applications can be enhanced by occlusion or by applying ointment on wet skin that has been soaking and has not been dried. - Tacrolimus and pimecrolimus have been used in steroid-resistant cases. - If there is secondary infection then antibiotics are required. Oral antibiotics, effective against staphylococci and streptococci, should be used. - Antihistamines can reduce pruritus and aid sleep. As the pruritus is not a direct effect of histamine, the sedative effect is more important than the antihistamine action and so the older, sedating ones are needed. A higher dose at night will aid sleep. - Tar preparations may reduce inflammation, particularly in older, thickened, scaly plaques. - After the eruption has resolved, continue aggressive hydration to reduce the frequency of attacks, especially in dry climates. Moisturisers for sensitive skin may be applied or petroleum jelly applied to damp skin after showering. - Resting in a cool, moist environment helps, whilst a hot dry environment aggravates the problem. - Sunlight or phototherapy may benefit chronic cases. Ultraviolet radiation helps reduce the inflammatory activity within the skin but there is risk of heat worsening the pruritus and ultraviolet light has its own problems, including carcinogenesis. - Paediatric patients have responded to methotrexate. - Secondary infection may occur. - Excoriation or infection may leave permanent scars. - Lesions on the lower extremities are slow to heal and may leave permanent brown macules. It tends to be a chronic and recurrent disease. Attention to features that reduce relapse will make life more tolerable. - Use moisturisers freely to keep the skin well hydrated. - Avoid hot baths but cool or lukewarm ones are permissible. Do not use soap. Oils may be added to the bath. - After a bath or shower, pat the skin dry and apply an emollient. - Wear loose clothes of materials that do not irritate. - A room humidifier may help, especially with central heating or air conditioning. Further reading & references - Burgin S, Nummular Eczema, Lichen Simplex Chronicus, and Prurigo Nodularis, Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine, Eighth Edition, 2012. - Krupa Shankar DS, Shrestha S; Relevance of patch testing in patients with nummular dermatitis. Indian J Dermatol Venereol Leprol. 2005 Nov-Dec;71(6):406-8. - Hashimoto Y, Kanto H, Itoh M; Adverse skin reactions due to pegylated interferon alpha 2b plus ribavirin combination therapy in a patient with chronic hepatitis C virus. J Dermatol. 2007 Aug;34(8):577-82. - Lebwohl M et al; Treatment of Skin Disease: Comprehensive Therapeutic Strategies, 2013. - Gutman AB, Kligman AM, Sciacca J, et al; Soak and smear: a standard technique revisited. Arch Dermatol. 2005 Dec;141(12):1556-9. - Han YW, Kim HO, Park SH, et al; Four cases of facial discoid lupus erythematosus successfully treated with topical pimecrolimus or tacrolimus. Ann Dermatol. 2010 Aug;22(3):307-11. doi: 10.5021/ad.2010.22.3.307. Epub 2010 Aug 5. - Roberts H, Orchard D; Methotrexate is a safe and effective treatment for paediatric discoid (nummular) eczema: a case series of 25 children. Australas J Dermatol. 2010 May;51(2):128-30. doi: 10.1111/j.1440-0960.2010.00634.x. Disclaimer: This article is for information only and should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of medical conditions. EMIS has used all reasonable care in compiling the information but make no warranty as to its accuracy. Consult a doctor or other health care professional for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. For details see our conditions. Dr Richard Draper Dr Laurence Knott Dr Hannah Gronow
Last week, news from Beijing mentioned Malaysia as the regional electric vehicle manufacturing hub for Chinese carmaker Beijing Auto International Corporation (BAIC). Now, further details have emerged, with the plant in Gurun, Kedah, expected to be operational in July 2016 with an initial investment of up to RM300 million, Bernama reports. Amber Dual Sdn Bhd is the JV’s local partner, and its managing director Shabudin Md Saman said the project has got off the ground in Gurun. The bulk of R&D work is mainly to change the left-hand drive system to right-hand drive at the cost of about RM50 million. Prototypes are expected to be ready in December, with production expected to start in July next year. BAIC’s Gurun plant, which is being built at the cost of between RM200 million and RM300 million, will also serve as a marketing centre for BAIC vehicles for both the Malaysian market and the ASEAN region. BAIC is targeting production of between 2,000 and 3,000 EVs next year, with a gradual yearly increase. “Our company has also set our mind on a higher goal as we do not want to rely solely on BAIC technology, instead we aim at adding value in the vehicle design. We aspire to lead Malaysia’s electric vehicle technology. Government help is also needed as electric vehicle technology requires high financing, especially in installing vehicle battery-charging facilities,” Shabudin said. “We are also working on battery technology on our own. For an electric vehicle, the battery alone accounts for one-third of its cost,” he added. Kedah chief minister Datuk Seri Mukhriz Tun Dr Mahathir, who was in Beijing to witness the signing of the deal between BAIC and Amber Dual last week, is hoping for spin-offs. “With the plant in Gurun, it will contribute to the growth of Kedah’s economy. As electric vehicles are the latest technology, we expect that there will be suppliers who will enter the electric vehicle business,” he said.
WASHINGTON – Construction employment declined in 162 out of 337 metro areas, including the Providence-Fall River-Warwick and the New Bedford metro areas, from June 2011 and June 2012, according to a report from the Associated General Contractors of America. The Providence-Fall River-Warwick area lost 800, or 4 percent, of construction jobs during the year, dropping from 20,500 to 19,700 jobs in the metro area in June. The New Bedford metro area lost 100 construction, mining and logging positions during the year, dropping the number of jobs 4 percent from 2,300 in June 2011 to 2,200 in June 2012. According to Association officials, construction employment declined or remained stagnant in most metro areas as the public sector cut back on investments in new construction and infrastructure and economic growth slowed. “The construction sector continues to shrink or stagnate in most metro areas as demand for new construction remains weak in too many places,” Ken Simonson, the association’s chief economist said in a statement. “It is hard to see how the construction employment picture will improve significantly in the short term until the economy picks up more steam.” Statewide, Rhode Island fared better than the Providence metro area, increasing its construction employment by 300 jobs, or 2 percent, from June 2011 to June 2012. The Ocean State’s construction jobs increased from 16,500 in June 2011 to 16,800 in June 2012. Statewide, Massachusetts lost 5 percent of its construction jobs over the year, dropping from 115,700 jobs in June 2011 to 110,300 in June 2012. For the full Associated General Contractors of America report, visit www.agc.org.
Rock, paper, iPhone Charles Herndon has scoured the fields and Lake Erie shore along Ohio’s Kelleys Island for most of his 60 years, seeking boulders that carry a story that he can reveal. Stone sculptures litter the outdoor gallery at his home, and dozens more sculptures occupy pedestals and floor space in a more traditional albeit cluttered indoor gallery. Touching is allowed as long as visitors remove their shoes to avoid introducing dirt and other particles that might damage his art. Herndon’s favorite sculpture is one he’s named So Far, No Farther. Glaciers and tugs of the earth and water pushed this piece of gabbro rock so far and no farther, and then Herndon applied his tools and took it, again, so far and no farther. He fell in love with the stone so much that he kept track of how long he worked on it: 333 hours. I comment that he’s invested a lot of time in one sculpture. “Yes,” he said. “But it came to me with 10,000 years in it.” Pulling out the beauty that lies within each stone requires a blend of the old and the new in Herndon’s workshop. In the early years, all of his work was done with hand tools. Then the head of the sculpture department at his art school passed along a set of power tools. “That really set me going,” he said. The power tools help him start each new sculpture, but three-quarters of the work on each is left to his hands. Decades of pressing into unforgiving rock have left his hands, as he puts it, “kind of pulpy” and now arthritic from the wear and tear. With water washing over the rocks in order to bring out their color, Herndon rubs the stones by hand with abrasive bricks of silicone carbide to smooth them and bring out the shape that he wants. “It’s very subtle, something I couldn’t possibly do with the tools. It’s where the magic is,” he said. Folding in technology Our relationship with reading is not nearly as old as the rocks in Herndon’s gallery. For roughly 5,500 years, man has been trying to share messages and ideas through symbols on cave walls, then pages of paper, and then computer screens. Reading is an unnatural act. Scholars tell us that no genetic code puts reading into our repertoire. Unlike breathing, seeing, speaking, hearing, tasting, or touching, reading is a skill that humans have had to acquire, each one on their own. Each of us reads because of the careful and repeated instruction of other human beings who taught us to do so. The power tools of the new technologies haven’t really changed the core of reading. Eyeballs and brains still must interpret odd squiggles on a page and make sense out of them. Those new tools haven’t even done much to speed up each individual’s process of reading. But technology has clearly made the difference in disseminating the written word in ways that were almost unimaginable even at the dawn of the Internet 20 years ago. Technology has unleashed a cacophony of communication, and we have flung ourselves at opportunities to share our discoveries and insights. How else do you explain 271 million people willingly reducing their thoughts to 140 characters so they can use Twitter each month? And what about the millions of blogs being published around the world? The power tools of reading — our computers, phones, and tablets — have expanded our world and given us access to untold volumes of human thought. But, as Maryanne Wolf counseled in my interview with her (p. 14 of the November issue of Kappan), each of us must slow down and read deeply. In the same way that Herndon uncovers the magic of his stones through hand sanding and refining, we must turn slow down in order to uncover our own thinking about what we read. To find the mysteries in our thinking, we all have to polish the stone.

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