thin inflorescence : flowers solitary in upper leaf axils ; bracts 0 ; bractlets 46 ; pedicels jointed to flower flower : sepals 45, free ; petals 45, ± 2 / 3 fused, generally white ; stamens 10, anthers dehiscent by gaping pores, awns elongate ; ovary superior, chambers 5, placentas near top fruit : capsule, loculicidal seeds several per chamber species in genus : ± 14 species : s & e asia, north america etymology : ( greek : mother of andromeda ) plant low, densely branched stem < 3 dm, glabrous or finely hairy leaf ± peltate, 25 mm, boat - shaped, elliptic, concave, leathery, glabrous ; lower surface not grooved ; margin entire, ciliate or minutely glandular, not rolled under inflorescence : pedicels glabrous or hairy flower : corolla widely bell - shaped, white, lobes 5 ; filaments glabrous ecology : moist, subalpine slopes, around rocks and areas of late snow elevation : 18003505 m. bioregional distribution : klamath ranges, high cascade range, high sierra nevada distribution outside california : to alaska, w canada, montana plants have been assigned to subsp. californica piper [ leaf 35 mm, margin minutely glandular - ciliate ; s carh ( lassen peak ), snh ] or subsp. ciliolata piper [ leaf 23 mm, margin with white, ephemeral hairs ; kr ], but study needed horticultural information : irr : 1, 2 & shd : 6, 7, 14, 15, 16, 17 ; sun : 4, 5 ; dfclt. | you can help us make sure that our distributional information is correct and current. if you know that a plant occurs in a wild, reproducing state in a jepson bioregion not highlighted on the map, please contact us with that information. please realize that we cannot incorporate range extensions without access to a voucher specimen, which should ( ultimately ) be deposited in an herbarium. you can send the pressed, dried collection ( with complete locality information indicated ) to us ( e - mail us for details ) or refer us to an accessioned herbarium specimen. non - occurrence of a plant in an indicated area is difficult to document, but we will especially value your input on those


ufos and natural selection if there is anything that is true about the ufo phenomenon it is the observation that the hallucinated or real crafts seen over the years ( from ancient history to today ) have, like animated species of the earth, have evolved, albeit at a faster pace than the biologic entities that make up life here. flying anomalies of the past, the airships of the 1890s, the flying saucers of the 50s, and ufos, right up to now, have all assumed a physical shape just one step ahead of what mankind created to fly. some suggest that the progenitors of ufos ( aliens or “ divinities ’ ) have been using the phenomenon to enlighten humans about the possibilities of flight ; namely airfoil designs that enhance lighter - than - air craft. we pose the possibility that ufos, whether a figment of the imagination, actual aircraft ( from sources yet unknown ), or mental stimulations from the creators and / or manipulators of human beings, have evolved according to the theory of darwin : natural selection ( or survival of the fittest ). early ufos were depicted or written about as if they were chariots, sometimes astronomical phenomena ( suns, comets, meteors, et cetera ). while there was a dearth of ufo sightings during the enlightenment period [ 1700s ], the resurgence in sightings or visions picked up in the late 1800s. ( that dearth during a period of intellectual stimuli is grist for investigation. ) with the airship mystery at the turn of the century – 1890 - 1899 – ufos presented an evolutionary set - back however, since earlier ufos were more aerodynamic ( sleek and futuristic ). ( this may be likened to the throwback in the evolution of man, when neanderthals appeared but couldn ’ t compete, evolutionarily, with cro - magnon man, the first real homo sapiens. ) the lacunae of dynamic ufo sightings, from 1900 to 1947 – there were some but not many – indicates, to us, a re - evaluation of, an adaptation by, the phenomenon. for what reason or by what instigation is anyone ’ s guess. nonetheless, the ufo phenomenon then progressed through the flying disk stage to the cigar shape and back to the saucer shape before settling on an egg - like configuration in the 1960s. after that the phenomenon evolved into delta or triangular shapes, some transfiguring into blobs of transient light. today the phenomenon has


fri 23 sep, 2011 tags : 1920s, 1930s, agness " aggie " underwood, gold diggers, hazel glab, herald - examiner, los angeles record, murder, robert j. james, snake handlers, william randolph hearst los angeles has always had more than its share of creative felons, so it stands to reason that it would take an equally creative, gutsy, and dedicated reporter to cover them. one of the most revered reporters who ever worked in los angeles was agness “ aggie ” underwood. underwood began her career at the los angeles record in the 1920s. she was sharp, but there were lots of sharp people in the news business at that time. what made aggie great were her instincts. she seemed to know just how to approach a story to get the most from it. by relying on her gut feelings she managed to keep several paces ahead of her competition, and to earn a reputation for solving crimes. when the los angeles record folded in the mid - 1930s aggie, who by this time loved the newspaper business ( and needed the money ), agreed to work for william randolph hearst ’ s los angeles daily, the herald - examiner. her decision to join hearst ’ s paper was the making of her career. twelve years after joining the paper she was promoted to editor. agness underwood was the first woman in the u. s. to become the editor of a major metropolitan newspaper. aggie underwood ’ s work as a reporter inspired the lecture that i ’ m going to give on october 8, 2011, 2 p. m., in the taper auditorium at the central library in downtown los angeles. the lecture is entitled “ gold diggers & snake handlers : deranged l. a. crimes from the notebook of aggie underwood ” and it is sponsored by photo friends. photo friends is a non - profit whose mission is to promote and to preserve the photographs in the collection of the los angeles public library. i hope that you ’ ll join me as i examine two murder cases from 1936, both of which were covered by aggie underwood.


the conflicted economics of ' star trek ' in honor of today ' s long - awaited ( by the ticker ) premiere of " star trek, " the 11th film in the canon and a prequel to the original series, it seemed a good time to examine the economics of star trek. as envisioned by creator gene roddenberry and first aired in 1966, " star trek " depicted a humanistic utopia set in the 23rd century, a time when technology had eradicated poverty and hunger and, largely, crime. because of this, roddenberry ' s universe had little need for ownership of private property or even money, and accumulation of wealth was depicted as anti - social. those who attempted it were portrayed as vulgar at best and dangerous at worst. ( think harry mudd. ) this sentiment carried forward through the following four live - action television series and the so - far 10 films. just in case roddenberry was unsure that fans were getting his point, he gave avarice its own non - human species in the second tv series, " star trek : the next generation, " which aired during wall street ' s ( first ) " greed is good " era of the late ' 80s and early ' 90s. the ferengi were savvy, snarling, sharp - toothed, big - eared short aliens who coveted nothing more than profit. ( it has been observed, and not without some justification, that the ferengi embodied disturbingly stereotypical semitic traits. ) the ferengi currency was based on something called " gold - pressed latinum " and their bible was the rules of acquisition, an ever - growing list of merciless rules of business, such as : " never place friendship above profit. " and even though star trek ' s enlightened characters competed for currency in various games - - including five - card stud - - it remains unclear, in roddenberry ' s universe, where the money came from to build those fleets of glorious star ships. as with many visionaries, from rosseau to hemingway to mailer, roddenberry was unable or unwilling to live by his principles. though he used his creation to denigrate the accumulation of personal wealth - - lecturing that the religion of technology would unshackle enlightened future humans from greed - - roddenberry was not above using a ferengi - like tactic to line his own pockets. many people know the instrumental theme song to the original star trek, the music that underlies william shatner ' s monologue


humans from greed - - roddenberry was not above using a ferengi - like tactic to line his own pockets. many people know the instrumental theme song to the original star trek, the music that underlies william shatner ' s monologue that begins, " space : the final frontier... " what most people don ' t know is that the song has lyrics written by roddenberry - - purely as a device to secure performance royalties into perpetuity. the lyrics, which you can see here, are dreadful and were never meant to be recorded or performed. worse, they are unnecessary. and roddenberry wrote them and laid claim to the royalties after the show ' s first season. so outraged by roddenberry ' s tactic that alexander courage, the composer of the memorable theme, scored some first - season episodes of star trek and then refused to pen another note for the franchise. so even though the father of star trek created a hopeful future largely devoid of suffering and war, as a man, he turned out to be more gorden gekko than jean - luc picard. may 8, 2009 ; 4 : 58 pm et categories : the ticker | tags : ferengi, gene roddenberry, jean luc picard, star trek save & share : previous : actual u. s. unemployment : 15. 8 % next : this week : bernanke on stress tests, economic data posted by : dude11 | may 8, 2009 7 : 57 pm | report abuse posted by : enigfv | may 8, 2009 8 : 56 pm | report abuse posted by : alan _ a | may 12, 2009 11 : 45 am | report abuse posted by : drhockey | may 12, 2009 4 : 44 pm | report abuse the comments to this entry are closed.


injectable nanogel can monitor blood - sugar levels and secrete insulin when needed. cambridge, mass. - in work that recasts archaeologists ' thinking aboutpeoples living in the western region of ancient mexico, mit researchershave shown that these people had a significant impact on other culturalgroups by producing large numbers of metal artifacts and distributing themto centers as far south as belize. because the majority of these artifacts, such as bells andtweezers, were symbols of sacred and political power, by exporting them thewest mexican peoples not only affected economic systems but also influencedreligious and ritual behavior. " they were exporting a religious ideology, " said dorothy hosler, associate professor of archaeology and ancient technology in the departmentof materials science and engineering. professor hosler and andrew w. macfarlane, a research affiliate in the department and an associateprofessor at florida international university, are authors of an article onthe work in the september 27 issue of science. west mexican peoples were one of many cultural groups, includingthe aztec and maya, who lived in a region archaeologists call mesoamerica. this region encompassed central and southern mexico, guatemala, belize, western honduras, and el salvador. until now, archaeologists had thoughtthat the west mexicans were relatively isolated and had little impact onother mesoamerican peoples. the new work, which links copper and bronze artifacts excavated atmany sites in mesoamerica to west mexican ore deposits, " is the firstevidence we have that west mexican peoples were interacting intensivelywith other mesoamerican groups, " professor hosler said. " so it alters ourthinking about the economic and social networks in this period [ ~ a. d. 1200 - 1521 ]. " in the summer of 1995 professor hosler spent two months in mexicocollecting ore samples from 15 deposits in west mexico, oaxaca, and easternmexico ( veracruz ). with a permit granted by mexico ' s national institute ofanthropology and history, she also took samples of 171 copper artifactsfrom a variety of mesoamerican archaeological sites. " i came back to mitwith boxes and boxes of artifact and ore samples, " said professor hosler, who is also a member of the mit center for archaeological materials. the researchers then determined the ratios of lead isotopes in eachsample ( isotopes of an element have different atomic weights ). lead isotopeanalysis, a standard technique, " can be used


is also a member of the mit center for archaeological materials. the researchers then determined the ratios of lead isotopes in eachsample ( isotopes of an element have different atomic weights ). lead isotopeanalysis, a standard technique, " can be used to identify ore sources forartifacts made from copper and copper alloys by matching the isotopicsignatures of ore lead to those of the artifacts, " the researchers write inscience. professor hosler notes that mit undergraduate jennifer pinson, nowa junior in materials science, played a key role in the analysis. " sheworked all last year on the project ; at one point she went to florida tohand - deliver ore samples to professor macfarlane because we were afraid wemight lose them if we shipped them. " ( the samples were analyzed atprofessor macfarlane ' s lab. ) the lead - isotope results showed that most of the mesoamericanartifacts sampled were indeed made of metal smelted from west mexican ores. these analytical data combined with historical and archaeological evidencetherefore show that the west mexicans were exporting artifacts throughoutthe mesoamerican region. among the archaeological evidence that supports this conclusion isthat " as far as we know, other mesoamerican peoples did not develop thetechnical expertise to make these artifacts, " professor hosler said. shenoted that west mexican bells, for example, are difficult to cast. " last january, mit professors sam allen, linn hobbs, and i led a class in ancientmexican bell casting. the students spent two weeks trying to cast copies ofthese bells, and we don ' t have it exactly right yet. " professor hosler concluded that although she had suspected that thewest mexicans played a major role in the production and distribution ofmetal artifacts, " until the lead isotope analysis we had no way ofsubstantiating what we thought might be true. " for more information about mit research on the history ofmaterials, go to : < http : / / tantalum. mit. edu / dmse _ research / crabrochure / history _ of _ materials. html >. the work reported in science was supported by a grant from grupomexico ( industrial minera mexico ), american smelting and refining company, and southern peru copper.


influenza pandemics are natural phenomenon that have occurred from time to time for centuries – including three times during the last century. they present a real and daunting challenge to the economic and social wellbeing of any country, as well as a serious risk to the health of its population. there are important differences between ' ordinary ' winter flu and pandemic flu. these differences explain why we regard pandemic flu as such a serious threat. pandemic influenza is one of the most severe natural challenges likely to affect the uk, but sensible and proportionate preparation and collective action by the government, essential services, businesses, the media, other public, private and voluntary organisations and communities can help to mitigate its effects. these inter - pandemic years provide a very important opportunity to develop and strengthen our preparations for the potentially devastating impact of an influenza pandemic, and the government will continue to take every practical step to prepare for and mitigate its health and wider socio - economic effects. the department of health ( dh ) [ external website ] is the lead department for planning for a human influenza pandemic. however, given the wide impacts of a pandemic all government departments are involved in planning to mitigate its impacts. this website brings together available information on a possible influenza pandemic in order to support planning at all levels of society. however well developed, plans are unlikely to be successful without the active support of individuals and communities. therefore, a key part of the response will be to encourage the public to follow government advice and adopt basic hygiene measures to manage or reduce their own risk of catching or spreading the virus. ensuring that all of us are fully aware of the necessary precautionary and response measures, are prepared to cooperate actively with them and accept responsibility for helping themselves and others must therefore be an integral part of our overall preparedness strategy.


older patients can donate kidneys, study finds the thousands of people waiting for a new kidney may find hope in a new study that finds older people can safely donate the organs. johns hopkins doctors found that kidney transplants performed using organs from live donors over the age of 70 are safe for the donors and help save lives of those who recieve them. although the study found that kidneys from older donors were more likely to fail within ten years of transplant when compared with kidneys from donors ages 50 to 59, patients who received older donated kidneys were no more likely to die within a decade of transplantation than those whose kidney donors were between 50 and 59. “ a lot of people come up to me and say, ‘ i wish i could donate a kidney, but i ’ m too old ’, ” dr. dorry segev, an associate professor of surgery at the johns hopkins university school of medicine. “ what our study says is that if you ’ re in good health and you ’ re over 70, you ’ re not too old to donate a kidney to your child, your spouse, your friend, anybody. ” segev acknowledged that “ it ’ s better if you have a younger donor. but not everyone has a younger donor. and an older live donor is better than no live donor at all. ” the research looked at records from 219 living people over age 70 who donated a kidney in the united states between 1990 and 2010. the team matched those donors with healthy people in the same age group and found that the donors actually lived longer than those who had both of their kidneys. more than 90, 000 patients are on the waiting list for kidneys from deceased donors in the united states, and many die waiting for an organ to become available. in some parts of the country, the wait for a kidney can be as long as 10 years, and those who can often turn to living donors, both relatives and friends, to ask for organs. people can function normally with one working kidney.


banned books week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. typically held during the last week of september, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. banned books week brings together the entire book community – - librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types – - in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. the books featured during banned books week have all been targeted with removal or restrictions in libraries and schools. while books have been and continue to be banned, part of the banned books week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. this happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read. in honor of banned books weeks, the public libraries of suffolk county are holding a contest featuring six different books over six days via live - brary social media, including facebook, twitter and pinterest. today ' s book is " the jungle " by upton sinclair. here ’ s how the contest works : http : / / bit. ly / qnal0b facebook contestants should “ like ” the post to be entered into a random drawing that day for the chance to win a book by that featured banned book author. twitter contestants should “ re - tweet ” the post to be entered into a random drawing that day for the chance to win a book by that featured banned book author. pinterest contestants should “ re - pin ” the post to be entered into a random drawing that day for the chance to win a book by that featured banned book author. finally, all users that like, re - tweet and / or re - pin will be entered into a random drawing to win a sony e - reader at the end of the week.


aggersborg n56 59 43 e9 15 17 fyrkat n56 37 23 e9 46 13 trelleborg n55 23 39 e11 15 55 the trelleborg fortresses include trelleborg near slagelse, fyrkat near hobro, aggersborg near løgstør and nonnebakken in odense, of which only the former three have been preserved for posterity. the trelleborg fortresses are characterised by having a circular rampart with a moat and four roofed gates. the fortresses have a severely geometrical street system, the inner area being divided into squares, each with four longhouses arranged in a quadrangle. the architecture of all four fortresses is uniform and strictly symmetrical, as clearly illustrated by the circular shape of the fortifications and the location of the gates at the four points of the compass - apparently without regard to the terrain. dendrochronological tests and c14 tests have shown that the trelleborg fortresses were built around 980. but the fortresses probably did not last very long, perhaps only 10 to 20 years. for example, fyrkat was destroyed by fire and was not rebuilt. as the trelleborg fortresses were all built around 980, they have traditionally been linked to harald bluetooth ' s efforts to unify denmark and norway and make the danes christian in accordance with his runic stone proclamation. another interpretation links the fortresses to the conquest of england and therefore to harald bluetooth ' s son, sweyn forkbeard. whatever the case, the fortresses must be viewed as a monumental and military manifestation of the central power of the late viking era. research and dissemination in outline. following the recognition in the 1930s of trelleborg near slagelse as a fortress complex of the past, an archaeological excavation of this discovery and the three other fortresses was subsequently carried out and completed by the mid - 1960s. the archaeological excavations are documented in several monographs and articles of a high professional standard. apart from minor exploratory digging, no further archaeological investigations of the fortresses themselves have been conducted after the completion of the extensive archaeological excavations. however, since 2007 the royal fortresses project has focused on excavations in the wetlands near the fortresses in order to possibly relate the fortresses to the naval power of their time. the three fortresses are all listed, and they are owned by the national museum of denmark ( trelleborg and fyrkat ) and the danish forest and nature agency ( ag


to possibly relate the fortresses to the naval power of their time. the three fortresses are all listed, and they are owned by the national museum of denmark ( trelleborg and fyrkat ) and the danish forest and nature agency ( aggersborg ), respectively. together with the local authorities, these institutions are in charge of the necessary management of the fortresses and adjoining areas. on completion of the excavations, work was carried out at trelleborg and fyrkat to mark the ramparts, moats and holes for posts from the fortress longhouses. at aggersborg this work was restricted to the ramparts and the moat. in addition, a reconstruction of a longhouse was built outside the trelleborg fortress complex in the early 1950s and at fyrkat from 1980. besides, a museum was built at trelleborg in 1995, presenting the finds from the fortress and finds from the viking era in general. a small complex of reconstructed viking era houses was built next to the museum. about one kilometre from fyrkat a reconstruction of a viking era farm from the time of the fortress was built from 1992 to 2002. information about both the farm and the fortress is presented here. a small museum was erected at aggersborg to accommodate an exhibition about the fortress and its age, as well as welfare facilities. the three preserved fortresses all form part of the recreational areas of their respective regions. signposts have been put up, and other material to guide visitors is available. good access, parking and welfare facilities are provided at the fortresses, although the quality of the facilities varies from fortress to fortress. individual elements of the property and their mutual relationship, including to the landscape. today, the visible elements are the fortifications, which include the ring fortress and the related defences and, at trelleborg, a perimeter fort and moat. the original ramparts consisted of a complex oak - wood structure with an inner skeleton and outer lathing. as any buildings on the parapet and above the gates can only be reconstructed on a hypothetical basis, the fortresses are only visible in the landscape today in the form of reconstructed embankments without woodwork or moats. in addition, reconstructions of the longhouses traceable in the fortresses have been built at fyrkat and trelleborg, respectively. the fortresses are all located in landscapes typical of their respective regions, in river valleys and relatively close to the coast. at both trelleborg and fyrkat extensive nature restoration projects have been conducted over the last decade


trelleborg, respectively. the fortresses are all located in landscapes typical of their respective regions, in river valleys and relatively close to the coast. at both trelleborg and fyrkat extensive nature restoration projects have been conducted over the last decade in order to recreate the natural conditions prevailing at the time of the fortresses. the landscapes surrounding the fortresses thus clearly demonstrate the strategic location of the fortresses and the military reasons for building them at what must be described as viking era junctions. justification de la valeur universelle exceptionelle justification of the significance ( in terms of cultural history ) of the property in a north - european or global perspective. the ring fortresses, trelleborg, aggersborg and fyrkat, represent the most prominent archaeological evidence of the monumental defences of the viking era in present - day denmark. no contemporary counterparts exist in either the nordic countries or europe. the fortresses should probably be viewed in relation to the unification of denmark and norway referred to on the large runic stone in jelling and therefore as part of the lengthy process that resulted in the integration of the nordic countries into the european community of culture and the establishment of the scandinavian states. furthermore, having been built around 980, the fortresses should be viewed in relation to the contemporary expansion of dannevirke, which forms part of the transnational application for inscription on the world heritage list. satements of authenticity and / or integrity archaeological investigations of large parts of the fortresses have been conducted and presented in several scientific publications of a high standard. the archaeological investigations documented that the fortresses were largely unaffected by later use, apart from cultivation. following the archaeological investigations, the collapsed ramparts at trelleborg and fyrkat were marked in the terrain, and the moats were cleared. at aggersborg, where the original embankments had to a wide extent been levelled by ploughing, the rampart and the moat were re - established. all these works and the marking of other structures inside or near the fortresses were conducted on the basis of the complete and detailed documentation provided as a result of the excavations. in connection with the final submission of an application for inscription on the world heritage list, efforts are being made to provide a general overview of the management and dissemination plans, establishing whether the fortresses are affected by development - related conditions and their status in terms of management. comparison with other similar properties no similar fortresses from the viking era exist. therefore, it is hardly possible to tell what inspired the construction of the


by chris wickham london ( reuters ) - large - scale engineering projects aimed at fighting global warming could radically reduce rainfall in europe and north america, a team of scientists from four european countries have warned. geoengineering projects are controversial, even though they are largely theoretical at this point. they range from mimicking the effects of large volcanic eruptions by releasing sulphur dioxide into the atmosphere, to deploying giant mirrors in space to deflect the sun ' s rays. proponents say they could be a rapid response to rising global temperatures but environmentalists argue they are a distraction from the need to reduce man - made carbon emissions. critics also point to a lack of solid research into unintended consequences and the absence of any international governance structure for such projects, whose effects could transcend national borders. a small geoengineering experiment in the uk was recently abandoned due to a dispute over attempts by some of the team involved to patent the technology. in this new study scientists from germany, norway, france and the uk used four different computer models that mimic the earth ' s climate to see how they responded to increased levels of carbon dioxide coupled with reduced radiation from the sun. their scenario assumed a world with four times the carbon dioxide concentration of the preindustrial world, which lead author hauke schmidt says is at the upper end, but in the range of what is considered possible at the end of this century. they found that global rainfall was reduced by about 5 percent on average using all four models. " climate engineering cannot be seen as a substitute for a policy pathway of mitigating climate change through the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, " they said in the study, published in earth system dynamics, an open access journal of the european geosciences union. under the scenario studied, rainfall diminished by about 15 percent, or about 100 millimeters per year, compared to pre - industrial levels, in large areas of north america and northern eurasia. over central south america, all the models showed a decrease in rainfall that reached more than 20 percent in parts of the amazon region. ( editing by mark heinrich )


explorationcounting consonants! think about some of the words you know how to read or write. look at them in a book or write them down on a piece of paper. count the number of vowels and the number of consonants in each word you examine. what do you notice about the number of consonants versus the number of vowels? do some words have lots of consonants, while others have lots of vowels? do most words seem to have at least a few of each?? what do you think would be different if there were more or fewer consonants in each word? sources & links bickford, j. albert and david tuggy. “ the principle organs of articulation. ” the summer institute of linguistics in mexico. 05 sep. 2009 < http : / / www. sil. org / mexico / ling / glosario / e005bi - organsart. htm > " vocal tract. " the american heritage® dictionary of the english language, fourth edition. houghton mifflin company, 2004. 05 sep. 2009. < dictionary. com http : / / dictionary. reference. com / browse / vocal tract >. " consonant. " merriam - webster online dictionary. 2009. ” ¨ < http : / / www. merriam - webster. com / dictionary / consonant > " consonant. " encyclopædia britannica. 2009. encyclopædia britannica online. 05 sep. 2009 < http : / / www. britannica. com / ebchecked / topic / 133627 / consonant >


the da vinci code the da vinci code is a novel by dan brown published in 2003. it has sold over 60 million copies to date and a film version was released in 2006. the book ' s popularity in part derived from its sensationalistic claims about the history of christianity, which are in large part based on an earlier non - fiction work, holy blood, holy grail, by michael baigent, richard leigh, and henry lincoln. the text of the novel is prefaced with a claim that all documents and artwork referenced in the novel really exist, and within the context of the story many of the book ' s claims are presented as being common knowledge among historians. however, the da vinci code does not represent the views of mainstream biblical scholarship, the liberal wing thereof, or informed skeptics of christianity. claims about the bible the da vinci code alleges that constantine commissioned a massive re - write of the new testament for political reasons. jesus, supposedly, really was an important historical figure, but constantine ' s rewrite made him much less human by, among other things, removing all reference to his marriage to mary magdalene and the child he had by her. it is suggested that the various non - canonical gospels could provide important insights into the life of jesus. there are a large number of new testament manuscripts dating from 200 a. d. onwards. while comparison of these various manuscripts reveals isolated instances of tampering, there is no evidence of a massive re - write in constantine ' s era or any other. also, the canonicity of the various books had been largely decided by constantine ' s era, though the status of revelation was still hotly disputed. the surviving non - canonical gospels appear to have been written after the canonical ones, and portray jesus in a much more exalted light. while the historical content of the canonical gospels is debatable, scholars agree that they are much more likely to contain historical information than the later books. the da vinci code also refers to a book called q, which it suggests may have been written by jesus himself and is currently being kept hidden away in a vault somewhere. scholars have indeed concluded that matthew and luke did indeed copy some of their works from a now - lost collection of sayings, and this is referred to in the literature as q. however, there is no reason to believe that q was written by jesus himself, nor is there any reason to think that a secret copy has survived somewhere. the priory of sion the da vinci code claims that there is a secret


from lawguru wiki template : crimpro in united states constitutional law, the exclusionary rule is a legal principle holding that evidence collected or analyzed in violation of the u. s. constitution is inadmissible for a criminal prosecution in a court of law ( that is, it cannot be used in a criminal trial ). the exclusionary rule does not apply to all violations of the fourth, fifth, or sixth amendments. an example of this is the 2006 supreme court ruling hudson v. michigan, the exclusionary rule is designed to provide a remedy and disincentive, short of criminal prosecution, for prosecutors and police who illegally gather evidence in violation of the fourth and fifth amendments in the bill of rights, which provide for protection from unreasonable searches and seizure and compelled self - incrimination. the exclusionary rule applies to all citizens or aliens ( illegal or documented ) that reside within the united states. it is not applicable to aliens residing outside of u. s. borders. united states v. alvarez decided that property owned by aliens in a foreign country is admissible in court. certain persons in the u. s. receive limited protections, such as prisoners, probationers, parolees, and persons crossing u. s. borders. corporations, by virtue of being, also have limited rights under the fourth amendment ( see corporate personhood ). the fruit of the poisonous tree doctrine holds that any evidence discovered indirectly through an illegal search or seizure is inadmissible in court. the rationale is that the evidence would not have been found were it not for the violation of the fourth amendment and therefore must be suppressed because it is the " fruit of the poisonous tree. " if the prosecution can prove that the evidence in question would have been discovered even without the illegal search, then this evidence is admissible. this principle is known as inevitable discovery. history of the rule the exclusionary rule was created in 1914 in the case of weeks v. united states. this decision, however, created the rule only on the federal level. it was not until mapp v. ohio, 367 u. s. 643 ( 1961 ) that the exclusionary rule was also held to be binding on the states through the fourteenth amendment, which guarantees due process. this landmark decision was considered by former justice potter stewart as " the most important search and seizure decision in [ american ] history. " the court ' s rationale for its holding in hudson is that a search whose only illegality is the failure to announce cannot uncover any evidence that would


former justice potter stewart as " the most important search and seizure decision in [ american ] history. " the court ' s rationale for its holding in hudson is that a search whose only illegality is the failure to announce cannot uncover any evidence that would not have been uncovered if the announcement had been properly made, and therefore the suppression of evidence is not an appropriate remedy. exceptions to the rule the exclusionary rule does not apply in a civil case, in a grand jury proceeding, or in a parole revocation hearing. in any of these circumstances, illegally obtained evidence will not be barred by the rule. furthermore, such evidence can be admitted to impeach the credibility of the defendant ' s trial testimony ; however, this exception applies only if the defendant testifies, and the evidence is relevant to call into question the truthfulness of the defendant ' s testimony. the inevitable discovery doctrine was adopted first by the united states supreme court in nix v williams in 1984. it holds that evidence obtained through an unlawful search or seizure is admissible in court if it can be established, to a very high degree of probability, that normal police investigation would have inevitably led to the discovery of the evidence. this decision was upheld because given the fact that the exclusionary rule was created specifically to deter police and state misconduct, excluding evidence that would inevitably ( hypothetically ) have been discovered otherwise would not serve to deter police misconduct. in people v. stith, the court stated that this doctrine may not be used to admit primary evidence but only secondary evidence, i. e. evidence found as a result of the primary evidence. the attenuation exception to the exclusionary rule is that evidence may be suppressed only if there is a clear causal connection between the illegal police action and the evidence. the evidence must result from the unlawful conduct. a three - pronged test was created in people v. martinez to determine whether there was sufficient attenuation of this connection ( i. e. the lack of connection between the disputed evidence and the unlawful conduct ) : ( 1 ) the time period between the illegal arrest and the ensuing confession or consensual search ; ( 2 ) the presence of intervening factors or event ; and ( 3 ) the purpose and flagrancy of the official misconduct. the independent source exception allows evidence to be admitted in court if knowledge of the evidence is gained from a separate, or independent, source that is completely unrelated to the illegality at hand. this rule was formally accepted in people v. arnau. the good - faith exception may allow


the atoll is closed to the public and travel to the island is not allowed. both the us and the kingdom of hawaii annexed johnston atoll in 1858, but it was the us that mined the guano deposits until the late 1880s. johnston and sand islands were designated wildlife refuges in 1926. the us navy took over the atoll in 1934, and subsequently the us air force assumed control in 1948. the site was used for high - altitude nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s, and until late in 2000 the atoll was maintained as a storage and disposal site for chemical weapons. munitions destruction is now complete. cleanup and closure of the facility was completed by may 2005. toxic waste from both operations is buried on the island. the fish and wildlife service and the us air force are currently discussing future management options, in the interim johnston atoll and the three - mile naval defensive sea around it remain under the jurisdiction and administrative control of the us air force. tropical, but generally dry ; consistent northeast trade winds with little seasonal temperature variation. strategic location in the north pacific ocean ; johnston island and sand island are natural islands, which have been expanded by coral dredging ; north island ( akau ) and east island ( hikina ) are manmade islands formed from coral dredging ; egg - shaped reef is 34 km in circumference some low - growing vegetation. highest point : summit peak, at 5 meters get in by plane there is an abandoned airstrip on johnston island. by boat [ add listing ] buy there is currently no economic activity on johnston atoll. [ add listing ] sleep there are no public accommodations on johnston atoll.


troubleshooting problems while in safe mode safe mode is a troubleshooting option for windows that starts your computer with only basic services and functionality. if an existing problem does not reappear when you start windows in safe mode, you can eliminate the default settings and basic device drivers as possible causes. if you haven ' t installed any new programs or hardware recently, you can use the process of elimination to help you find the problem. try starting all of the programs you commonly use, including the programs in your startup folder, one by one to see if a program might be the cause of the problem. the program might be incompatible with this version of windows. try using system restore to restore your system to a point in time when it worked correctly. for more information, see what is system restore? the driver for the device might be incompatible with this version of windows. for information about uninstalling a device driver, see tips for fixing common driver problems. if uninstalling or restoring the driver back to a previous version does not fix the problem, try uninstalling or removing the hardware, and then restarting your computer. try restarting your computer using safe mode with networking, the only safe mode option that allows networking and internet capabilities. if you can ' t connect using this option, be sure to rule out hardware issues by restarting your computer and also any network hardware you are using, such as a modem or router. for more information, see troubleshoot internet connection problems. system restore can return your system files to a previous point in time before you noticed a problem. for more information, see what is system restore? if system restore does not fix the problem, try running startup repair from your windows installation disc. for more information, see startup repair : frequently asked questions.


wed june 6, 2012 children getting ct scans at higher risk for cancer originally published on wed june 6, 2012 7 : 29 pm audie cornish, host : new research out today indicates that a popular medical test may increase the risk for some forms of cancer. a large international study found that cat scans, which are also known as ct scans, can increase the risk for leukemia and brain cancer in children. npr ' s rob stein joins us now to talk about the new findings. and, rob, i understand the concerns about these scans have been building for a long time. so what ' s the specific source of worry here? rob stein, byline : well, the concern, really, is about radiation. x - rays emit very low levels of radiation, but ct scans use a lot of x - rays. and so that can build up and accumulate over time and expose people to fairly significant amount of radiation. and if you get enough ct scans, you get exposed to a significant amount of radiation and can potentially boost your risk for cancer. cornish : so this is the first study really, directly, to look at the safety of ct scans. and tell us exactly how they did this. stein : that ' s right. previous studies that have tried to take a look at it are really based on extrapolations of data collected for other reasons. it really was based mostly on data collected from the survivors of the bombings in hiroshima and nagasaki in world war ii. and they would extrapolate from that data to try to determine what their radiation risk was. in this study, for the first time, they looked directly at patients who are getting ct scans and then followed up to see if they developed any kinds of cancers, in this case, the - it was based on 180, 000 patients in britain who got ct scans. cornish : and these findings are pretty alarming. i mean, what exactly did they find out? stein : right. what they found was that for kids, it seemed to increase the risk for two types of cancer : leukemia and brain cancers. and based on the findings, they calculated that kids who got two or three ct scans of the head would have three times the risk of brain cancer than people got exposed to less radiation than that. and if you got five to 10 ct scans of the head, your increased risk for leukemia would be tripled. cornish : now, the takeaway from this hasn ' t been that people shouldn ' t do ct scans, but why is that? stein : well, there


to 10 ct scans of the head, your increased risk for leukemia would be tripled. cornish : now, the takeaway from this hasn ' t been that people shouldn ' t do ct scans, but why is that? stein : well, there are really two reasons. one is that the risk, even though it is - seems to be elevated, is still very low. leukemia and brain tumors are fairly rare cancers. so even if you increased the risk by a factor of three, the risk is still very, very low. and on the other side of the ledger sheet is the fact that ct scans are very valuable medical tools, and they can save a lot of lives by being - enabling doctors to diagnose and treat patients very quickly. cornish : so, rob, in the end, what should we understand about the study? stein : well, really, the take - home message is that doctors should be much more selective in how to use ct scans. like everything else, ct scans can have a lot of benefits, but they can have a potential downside. and so doctors should just think twice about ct scans when they order one. there ' s an estimate that maybe 80 million ct scans are done each year in the united states, and maybe half of those may be unnecessary. so their thinking is that doctors could just pick and choose a little bit more carefully and think, do i really need to do this test? or is there another test that i could use that has less radiation? and that way, everybody will be safer. cornish : npr ' s rob stein, thank you. stein : oh, thank you, audie. transcript provided by npr, copyright national public radio.


from socialist worker uk : http : / / www. socialistworker. co. uk / art. php? id = 25015 tue 7 jun 2011 women ’ s oppression and violence against women are features of our society. but can we get rid of them? sadie robinson looks at the roots of sexism and offers some answers the world can be a bad place to be a woman. women make up a staggering 70 percent of the world ’ s poor. being female shapes every aspect of women ’ s lives — from things like work, housing, health and education to our most intimate relationships. in britain, the most obvious evidence of women ’ s oppression is the 17 percent pay gap between men and women. but the most sickening signs are acts of rape and violence — and the widespread tendency to blame the victims. the shocking nature of sexual violence can make many people think that humans are inherently brutal. they despair of ever creating a world without sexual violence and systematic oppression. the level of violence against women is appalling. it ’ s estimated that at least 47, 000 women are raped in britain every year — while the conviction rate for reported rapes is just 6. 5 percent. but the vast majority of men do not rape women. and most men are not violent towards women. rape doesn ’ t happen because of men ’ s “ natural ” instincts. it results from the way that class society distorts sexuality and alienates people from each other and themselves. women ’ s oppression benefits capitalism — it plays an ideological and an economic function. people create the environments and the societies we live in — but because we feel we have no control over it, the world appears as an alien entity. we become alienated from ourselves and from each other. rape and sexual violence are some of the most extreme forms that this alienation takes. this combines with a view of sexuality that sees sex as a commodity like any other, which can be bought and sold — or taken. nearly a third of people in britain think that a woman was at least partly to blame if she was raped while she was drunk. dominant ideas about sexuality blame women for “ encouraging ” rape and treat men as little more than animals unable to control themselves. so justice secretary kenneth clarke ’ s recent comments, which seemed to dismiss some rapes, such as date rape, as barely rapes at all, unfortunately came as no surprise. clarke ’ s comments did cause an enormous outcry, and his views are heavily contested. but those at the top of society — politicians


some rapes, such as date rape, as barely rapes at all, unfortunately came as no surprise. clarke ’ s comments did cause an enormous outcry, and his views are heavily contested. but those at the top of society — politicians, judges, those who own the media, and so on — promote sexist ideas. those who own newspapers and tv stations fill them with images depicting women as sex objects, not people in their own right. and it ’ s normal for rape trials to raise what a victim was wearing, if she was out late, if she had been drinking and if she ’ d had sex with the rapist before. of course, lots of women, and men, do challenge sexist ideas and fight for reforms to improve women ’ s lives. but sexist ideas are widespread because of women ’ s position in society and how our society distorts sexuality. the revolutionary karl marx described how the dominant ideas in any society are the ideas of the ruling class. this doesn ’ t mean they are the only ideas — but it means they are the strongest. but why would the ruling class want to encourage this view of women? what do they get out of it? women ’ s oppression hasn ’ t always existed. it emerged when human societies began to form into classes. marx and his collaborator frederick engels identified the family under class society as the key to women ’ s oppression. engels described the emergence of the family as “ the world historical defeat of the female sex ”. they saw that how people secure their basic existence shapes human behaviour and ideas. the family emerged alongside private property and the state. before that, women and men lived in hunter - gatherer societies where they did different but equal work and had an equal say in decision - making. marx and engels called this “ primitive communism ”. as societies developed, they began to produce a surplus in excess of what they needed to meet their basic needs — something that could be stored and controlled. and the production techniques that created it tended to prioritise men ’ s labour over women ’ s for the first time. once a ruling class developed the men who came to dominate wanted “ legitimate ” heirs to pass the surplus on to. control of women and sexual relationships became key to owning it. the family unit developed with an ideology that treats women as second - class citizens and as a form of property to be controlled by men. these ideas help legitimate and encourage violence against women. that doesn ’ t mean that nothing ever changes in class societies. a


family unit developed with an ideology that treats women as second - class citizens and as a form of property to be controlled by men. these ideas help legitimate and encourage violence against women. that doesn ’ t mean that nothing ever changes in class societies. a woman ’ s position in a family under capitalism is very different from how it was under feudalism. and even under capitalism women have fought to transform their lives over the past century. most women in britain today work outside the home. people have more sexual freedom than they did in the past. and changes in women ’ s lives and ideas have had an impact on men too. so it ’ s much more common for men to do jobs that would have previously been seen as women ’ s work such as nursing. men spend more time caring for their children today than they did in the past. housework is no longer the sole responsibility of women in many homes. huge changes have occurred within capitalism, partly due to the changing needs of the system and partly because of mass pressure and struggle from ordinary people. these changes show that the idea that men and women have fixed, unchanging roles is wrong. but important as the changes are, women ’ s oppression remains. and our rulers are constantly trying to roll back the gains we have made. so being a wife and mother is still seen as key to a women ’ s identity. society overemphasises sexual relationships — and tells women that unless they nab themselves a man they ’ re a failure. and women who don ’ t want children are still often seen as inexplicably strange. women ’ s oppression, like other oppressions, serves to divide the working class. instead of ordinary people seeing themselves as having a common interest against the rich, women and men can be sucked into seeing each other as the main enemy. this is highly useful for our rulers — and they know it. the family also plays a key economic function for capitalism. women are expected to maintain the current workforce and nurture the future one — while often being part of that workforce at the same time. they raise children, care for sick or elderly relatives, and maintain a household. they save capitalism a fortune by providing all of these services for free. this isn ’ t to say that every home and every relationship is simply a weight around women ’ s necks. often people value their personal relationships and home life above all else, because they seem to offer a haven from the stresses of the outside world. but that doesn ’ t change the role the family plays under


is simply a weight around women ’ s necks. often people value their personal relationships and home life above all else, because they seem to offer a haven from the stresses of the outside world. but that doesn ’ t change the role the family plays under capitalism. and for a lot of the time, people looking for comfort and sanctuary in the family are disappointed. the haven they hoped to find ends up being a pressure cooker where built - up tensions are unleashed — and women often bear the brunt of them. the key role that the family plays explains why our rulers hate criticism of it and attack anyone who falls outside it. that ’ s why there is homophobia, panic over single parents and pressure on single people to get married. this also shapes the way people think about rape. most women who are raped know their attacker, and violence is more likely to happen within families — yet the most common view of rape is of a shadowy stranger leaping out of a bush late at night. sexist ideas are so ingrained because women ’ s oppression has existed for thousands of years, since the rise of class societies. this is why it seems so natural and permanent. but some of those who argue that we can ’ t challenge oppression do so because they have an interest in maintaining it. and it helps them to focus on individual acts of violence, because that distracts from the systemic oppression at the heart of capitalism. we can end women ’ s oppression — but to do it we need to get rid of the system that props it up. oppression affects all women, but the impact is vastly different depending on class. it is key to a system that ruling class women do very well out of — which is why we can ’ t rely on alliances with rich women to win change. ordinary people have a common interest in getting rid of capitalism. it wrecks the lives of working class women and men. it relies on oppression to divide and weaken the working class. and it atomises us and distorts even our most intimate relationships. in the process of creating a new world, people transform themselves. they throw off what marx called the “ muck of ages ” and ideas that have survived for centuries start to fall away. and in every revolutionary movement, women come to the forefront to lead the struggle. revolution isn ’ t a fairytale. already this year we ’ ve seen revolutions in egypt and tunisia that have thrown out dictators and raised the prospect of workers ’ control of society. collectively, we have the power to smash the system and create real


supersonic without the boom sonic booms usually mean something cool. the space shuttle is coming in for a landing or a jet fighter is flying overhead. we don ’ t hear them very often, so when we do it ’ s an event. but imagine if aircraft manufacturers designed and built a vehicle that carried passengers or cargo at supersonic speeds over land. sonic booms would be happening all the time ; and they ’ re loud and annoying. that ’ s why the concorde flew over the ocean. noise regulations in most countries wouldn ’ t allow it to fly over land because of the sonic booms it generated. sonic booms are keeping a new era of supersonic cruise flight from happening. for us to ever be able to enjoy the benefits of flying people or cargo over land at super - fast speeds, we have to figure out how to turn down the volume on sonic booms. nasa has been doing flight tests and simulations and ground experiments — with cool names like “ quiet spike, ” “ sonicbobs, ” “ sonicbrew, ” “ lancets, ” “ house vibes, ” “ low boom / no boom ” – to help find answers. continue reading : nasa - see also : dear reader we hope you enjoyed wordlesstech! don ' t forget to join our community on facebook


this brightly colored salamander can be locally abundant where forested habitat remains intact, but quickly declines or disappears when woodlands are cleared or disturbed by cutting or invasive species. moist, closed canopy woodlands are preferred habitat. they tend to avoid swamp forests subject to flooding, and are absent in disturbed forests that have been recently grazed, burned, or harvested for timber. temporary or semi - permanent ponds either within or adjacent to the woods are critical habitat elements. spotted salamanders spend most of their time in burrows underground – up to four feet below the surface. they are occasionally found under or within rotting logs, leaf litter, and other moist places. hibernation occurs on land, usually near breeding ponds. they have granular glands that produce secretions which can repel some predators. most glands are located behind the eyes and on the tail. reproduction and growth migration to breeding ponds occurs in late may to mid - april, and is triggered by thawing of the ground and higher humidity. this species returns to the same breeding ponds each year, and uses established routes when traveling to and from breeding ponds – even entering and leaving ponds at same point each time. eggs are laid one to several days after sperm transfer. the female can lay 50 - 300 eggs in one large mass or several smaller clusters attached to sticks or vegetation, egg masses form a symbiotic relationship with some types of algae – algae provide larvae with additional oxygen, while benefiting from carbon dioxide released by embryos. eggs hatch in 20 - 60 days and metamorphose in 60 - 90 days, although some larvae may over - winter. females reach sexual maturity at 3 - 5 years old, while males reach maturity at 2 - 3 years old. they may live more than 20 years. their future depends on presence of undisturbed woodlands and associated temporary and semi - permanent ponds any human activity that opens forest canopies ( i. e. elective logging ) can lower humidity creating unsuitable conditions construction of roads running between wooded uplands and lowland breeding sites can lead to mass mortality of migratory salamanders. sometimes collected for biological supply and the pet trade, persistent exploitation could threaten local populations. acidic precipitation is another concern as eggs and larvae may be sensitive to pond acidification. - ephemeral wetlands. - permanent wetlands.


scientists are issuing a stark new warning for people who have had a heart attack and continue to use popular painkillers like advil ( ibuprofen ) or celebrex ( celecoxib ) : don ' t take them unless you absolutely have to. danish researchers report that taking these nonsteroidal anti - inflammatory drugs — or nsaids — after a heart attack greatly increases the risk of death or a second heart attack, and the risk persists for years. " it ' s very frightening. there seems to be no safe treatment window " for nsaids once you ' ve had a heart attack, said anne - marie schjerning olsen, a cardiologist at copenhagen university hospital gentofte who, along with colleagues, reviewed the records of nearly 100, 000 patients who had suffered a heart attack between 1997 and 2009. about 44 percent of them received at least one prescription for an nsaid. among people who didn ' t take nsaids, olsen says, the cardiovascular risk after a first heart attack declines rapidly during the first year. " after five to 10 years it ' s almost the same " as the general population, she says. but heart attack survivors who took any nsaid other than low - dose aspirin had a higher risk of having a second heart attack or dying. the overall death risk rose 59 percent one year after the heart attack and 63 percent five years after, she said. similarly, the risk of coronary death or a second heart attack rose 30 percent one year after the initial heart attack and 41 percent five years after. what this means in absolute terms is that during the first year there were 20 deaths per 100 people among the nsaid users, compared with only 12 deaths per 100 people among non - nsaid users. in their analysis, published in circulation, a journal of the american heart association, the danish researchers accounted for other medical conditions and medications that patients might have been taking, olsen said. they could only estimate the dosages people took, but on the average they seemed to be taking standard doses as prescribed on the label, she added. in addition to ibuprofen and celecoxib, they studied rofecoxib ( vioxx ), diclofenac ( voltaren ) and naproxen ( aleve ), of which naproxen was found to pose the least cardiovascular risk. but as olson points out, it can cause stomach bleeding. " it ' s not easy, " she says.


##ren ) and naproxen ( aleve ), of which naproxen was found to pose the least cardiovascular risk. but as olson points out, it can cause stomach bleeding. " it ' s not easy, " she says. " you have to look at each individual patient and find out what kind of pain treatment they need. " wayne ray, a professor of preventive medicine at vanderbilt university who also has studied nsaids and heart health, said the danish study provides further evidence of the risks involved in taking these drugs after a heart attack. the danish researchers found that, compared with earlier studies, the risks are even " a bit higher than others have found, " he said. celecoxib and diclofenac clearly carry the highest risk ( rofecoxib was pulled from the shelves in 2004 ). " these generally should be the last alternatives for this patient population, " ray said. for older patients with muscle or skeletal pain, doctors should first try nondrug remedies, such as physical therapy or exercise, he said. topical medications, such as analgesic heat rubs, can also reduce pain. acetaminophen ( tylenol ) can be a good option, if taken in the proper dose, although it is risky for people with liver disease and those who drink heavily. finally, ray says, " if nsaids are necessary, use the safest nsaid, in the lowest effective dose for the shortest time period. " olsen, meanwhile, says that even as nsaid risks have become clear, many doctors and patients have not gotten the word. " somehow, more education is needed, " she says. " we have to find how to get the message out. " go to the aarp home page for tips on keeping healthy and sharp, and great deals.


listen to this week ' s lesson about the origins of the ukulele and then take the online quiz. your lesson this week : origins of the ukulele - from madeiran guitar to hawaiian icon. your teacher is steve roberts from the blue mountains ukulele club. listen to the podcast and then take this week ' s self improvement quiz. you can also subscribe to self improvement wednesday by copying this address into your podcast application : 1. in 1879, immigrants from which archipelago reportedly entertained honoluluans with nightly street concerts? c ) tierra del fuego 2. santo, nunes and dias were primarily what type of tradesmen? d ) cabinet makers 3. what was an early name for a four - stringed madeiran guitar? 4. which is a common translation for the word ukulele? a ) flying fox b ) angry ant c ) jumping flea d ) busy bee 5. which author ' s step - daughter wrote the only known first - hand account of the hawaiian king playing the ukulele? a ) sir arthur conan doyle b ) mark twain c ) thomas hardy d ) robert louis stevenson 6. who along with his sons leonardo and julius started a production company claiming to have invented the ukulele? a ) jose do espirito santo b ) manuel nunes c ) augusto dias d ) king david kalakaua 7. which expo is historically credited with popularising the ukulele and hawaiian music on the mainland? a ) the great exhibition of 1851 b ) columbian exposition of 1893 c ) exposition universelle of 1900 d ) panama pacific international exposition of 1915 8. in the early 20th century, ukuleles began to be manufactured en masse with which affordable material? c ) koa wood answers : 1. b ) 2. d ) 3. a ) 4. c ) 5. d ) 6. b ) 7. d ) 8. a ) next week : time in the ancient world with dr anne rogerson from the university of sydney.


in 2009 - 10 the gross value of total victorian agricultural production was $ 10, 347. 3 million, an increase of 1. 4 % ( or $ 146. 8 million ) from 2008 - 09. at the same time, the local value of victorian agricultural production increased by 0. 7 %. in 2009 - 10 livestock disposals contributed 29. 0 % to the total gross value of victorian agricultural production, followed by livestock products with 24. 2 % and fruit with 11. 7 % respectively. do you know how the value of your state or territory ' s agricultural output is determined? the gross value of agricultural commodities produced ( vacp ) is the value placed on recorded agricultural production at the wholesale prices realised in the market place. the local value is the value placed on commodities at the point of production ( i. e. farm gate ). it is calculated by deducting marketing costs from the gross value of commodities produced. marketing costs may include freight, cost of containers, commission and other marketing charges. quantity data for most agricultural commodities are collected from absagricultural surveys or the agricultural census. remaining commodity data are obtained from non - abs sources, and are comparable across time. these documents will be presented in a new window. unless otherwise noted, content on this website is licensed under a creative commons attribution 2. 5 australia licence together with any terms, conditions and exclusions as set out in the website copyright notice. for permission to do anything beyond the scope of this licence and copyright terms contact us.


fairness for all - the work of the immigrants ' rights project make a difference your support helps the aclu defend immigrants ’ rights and other civil liberties. why we defend the constitutional protections of due process and equal protection apply to everyone in the united states, including non - citizens – even those not here lawfully. however, politically disenfranchised immigrants are an especially vulnerable group and are routinely denied these basic rights embodied in our constitution and bill of rights. eroding the fundamental rights of immigrants is dangerous for us all. when the government has the power to deny legal rights and due process to one group, all americans ’ rights are severely threatened. due process and equal protection in the immigration process our nation has the authority to control its borders and to regulate immigration but not in a way that denies immigrants their fundamental rights. the united states must exercise the awesome power to exclude or deport immigrants in a manner consistent with the rule of law, the fundamental norms of humanity and the requirements of the constitution. unfortunately, immigrants are routinely denied their constitutional right to a day in court. moreover, immigration laws require the automatic deportation of even longtime lawful residents for many minor offenses, regardless of how long they have lived here or whether they have a citizen spouse or children. detention is increasingly being used as an immigration enforcement strategy, and immigrants, including those with legal status, are detained for prolonged periods – sometimes several years – without any legal determination that they pose a danger to society or a flight risk that would justify their detention. in addition to being cruel and unnecessary, prolonged detention makes it nearly impossible for individuals to fight their immigration cases, including those with strong claims to remain in the u. s. most immigrants held in detention have never been convicted of a crime, and those who have committed crimes have already served their sentences been released. nonetheless, immigrants in deportation proceedings, including those seeking asylum, are held in conditions almost identical and in many cases worse than the conditions imposed on prisoners serving sentences for violent criminal offenses. dozens of immigrants have died in immigration detention because of inadequate medical care and a lack of minimal standards and oversight. in states, towns, cities and counties across the u. s., there is a growing movement to introduce anti - immigrant laws that attempt to drive out undocumented immigrants and their families and punish those who employ or rent to them. in addition to violating the constitution and federal civil rights laws, these laws promote distrust of immigrants, including those here legally, and fuel xenophobia and discrimination. business owners, local law enforcement, landlords


punish those who employ or rent to them. in addition to violating the constitution and federal civil rights laws, these laws promote distrust of immigrants, including those here legally, and fuel xenophobia and discrimination. business owners, local law enforcement, landlords, city employees and hospital staff are forced to take on the unfair burden of acting as immigration agents, though they lack the skills and training to determine an individual ’ s immigration status or the authenticity of immigration - related documentation. as a result, people who are perceived as looking or sounding foreign – whether or not they are here legally or are u. s. citizens – are refused employment, medical treatment and housing and are harassed by the police. immigration enforcement is a federal responsibility and local anti - immigrant ordinances only hurt city economies and community relations. rather than waste resources on unlawful and mean - spirited laws, responsible officials should seek to fight discrimination and ensure that their laws are fair for all of their residents. immigrant workers, who often lack knowledge of u. s. labor laws and afraid to assert their legal rights as employees, are commonly exploited by employers who refuse to pay them minimum wage or over - time. laws meant to curtail the hiring of undocumented workers often end up as major roadblocks to gainful employment for u. s. citizens and other legal residents. federal contractors and businesses in several states must check the eligibility of all potential workers – u. s. citizens and immigrants alike – against e - verify, a flawed federal database program with a high error rate. using such an error - ridden database leads to problems for lawful workers who must persuade multiple bureaucracies to fix their records if they want to keep their jobs. rather than run the risk of suffering the laws ’ penalties, many employers would simply rather not hire individuals they perceive as foreign - born resulting in widespread employment discrimination. looking latino and speaking spanish is far from the probable cause the police must have to question and arrest a person. yet that ’ s exactly what happens to many latinos in this country, whether they are u. s. citizens or non - citizens who are legal residents. these types of stops are rampant and violate the fourth amendment ’ s prohibition of warrantless searches and seizures, which applies to everyone regardless of immigration status. recently, the department of homeland security has expanded programs that allow certain state and local law enforcement agencies to engage in federal immigration enforcement activities. the programs have led to illegal racial profiling and civil rights abuses, including the unlawful detention and deportation of u. s. citizens and permanent residents


in writing secure php, i covered a few of the most common security holes in websites. it ' s time to move on, though, to a few more advanced techniques for securing a website. as techniques for ' breaking into ' a site or crashing a site become more advanced, so must the methods used to stop those attacks. most hosting environments are very similar, and rather predictable. many web developers are also very predictable. it doesn ' t take a genius to guess that a site ' s includes ( and most dynamic sites use an includes directory for common files ) is an www. website. com / includes /. if the site owner has allowed directory listing on the server, anyone can navigate to that folder and browse files. imagine for a second that you have a database connection script, and you want to connect to the database from every page on your site. you might well place that in your includes folder, and call it something like connect. inc. however, this is very predictable - many people do exactly this. worst of all, a file with the extension ". inc " is usually rendered as text and output to the browser, rather than processed as a php script - meaning if someone were to visit that file in a browser, they ' ll be given your database login information. placing important files in predictable places with predictable names is a recipe for disaster. placing them outside the web root can help to lessen the risk, but is not a foolproof solution. the best way to protect your important files from vulnerabilities is to place them outside the web root, in an unusually - named folder, and to make sure that error reporting is set to off ( which should make life difficult for anyone hoping to find out where your important files are kept ). you should also make sure directory listing is not allowed, and that all folders have a file named " index. html " in ( at least ), so that nobody can ever see the contents of a folder. never, ever, give a file the extension ". inc ". if you must have ". inc " in the extension, use the extension ". inc. php ", as that will ensure the file is processed by the php engine ( meaning that anything like a username and password is not sent to the user ). always make sure your includes folder is outside your web root, and not named something obvious. always make sure you add a blank file named " index. html " to all folders like include or image folders - even if


to the user ). always make sure your includes folder is outside your web root, and not named something obvious. always make sure you add a blank file named " index. html " to all folders like include or image folders - even if you deny directory listing yourself, you may one day change hosts, or someone else may alter your server configuration - if directory listing is allowed, then your index. html file will make sure the user always receives a blank page rather than the directory listing. as well, always make sure directory listing is denied on your web server ( easily done with. htaccess or httpd. conf ). out of sheer curiosity, shortly after writing this section of this tutorial, i decided to see how many sites i could find in a few minutes vulnerable to this type of attack. using google and a few obvious search phrases, i found about 30 database connection scripts, complete with usernames and passwords. a little more hunting turned up plenty more open include directories, with plenty more database connections and even ftp details. all in, it took about ten minutes to find enough information to cause serious damage to around 50 sites, without even using these vulnerabilities to see if it were possible to cause problems for other sites sharing the same server. most site owners now require an online administration area or cms ( content management system ), so that they can make changes to their site without needing to know how to use an ftp client. often, these are placed in predictable locations ( as covered in the last article ), however placing an administration area in a hard - to - find location isn ' t enough to protect it. most cmses allow users to change their password to anything they choose. many users will pick an easy - to - remember word, often the name of a loved one or something similar with special significance to them. attackers will use something called a " dictionary attack " ( or " brute force attack " ) to break this kind of protection. a dictionary attack involves entering each word from the dictionary in turn as the password until the correct one is found. the best way to protect against this is threefold. first, you should add a turing test to a login page. have a randomly generated series of letters and numbers on the page that the user must enter to login. make sure this series changes each time the user tries to login, that it is an image ( rather than simple text ), and that it cannot be identified by an optical character recognition


numbers on the page that the user must enter to login. make sure this series changes each time the user tries to login, that it is an image ( rather than simple text ), and that it cannot be identified by an optical character recognition script. second, add in a simple counter. if you detect a certain number of failed logins in a row, disable logging in to the administration area until it is reactivated by someone responsible. if you only allow each potential attacker a small number of attempts to guess a password, they will have to be very lucky indeed to gain access to the protected area. this might be inconvenient for authentic users, however is usually a price worth paying. finally, make sure you track ip addresses of both those users who successfully login and those who don ' t. if you spot repeated attempts from a single ip address to access the site, you may consider blocking access from that ip address altogether. one excellent way to make sure that even if you have a problem with someone accessing your database who shouldn ' t be able to, you can limit the damage they can cause. modern databases like mysql and sql server allow you to control what a user can and cannot do. you can give users ( or not ) permission to create data, edit, delete, and more using these permissions. usually, i try and ensure that i only allow users to add and edit data. if a site requires an item be deleted, i will usually set the front end of the site to only appear to delete the item. for example, you could have a numeric field called " item _ deleted ", and set it to 1 when an item is deleted. you can then use that to prevent users seeing these items. you can then purge these later if required, yourself, while not giving your users " delete " permissions for the database. if a user cannot delete or drop tables, neither can someone who finds out the user login to the database ( though obviously they can still do damage ). php contains a variety of commands with access to the operating system of the server, and that can interact with other programs. unless you need access to these specific commands, it is highly recommended that you disable them entirely. for example, the eval ( ) function allows you to treat a string as php code and execute it. this can be a useful tool on occasion. however, if using the eval ( ) function on any input from the user, the user


for example, the eval ( ) function allows you to treat a string as php code and execute it. this can be a useful tool on occasion. however, if using the eval ( ) function on any input from the user, the user could cause all sorts of problems. you could be, without careful input validation, giving the user free reign to execute whatever commands he or she wants. there are ways to get around this. not using eval ( ) is a good start. however, the php. ini file gives you a way to completely disable certain functions in php - " disable _ functions ". this directive of the php. ini file takes a comma - separated list of function names, and will completely disable these in php. commonly disabled functions include ini _ set ( ), exec ( ), fopen ( ), popen ( ), passthru ( ), readfile ( ), file ( ), shell _ exec ( ) and system ( ). it may be ( it usually is ) worth enabling safe _ mode on your server. this instructs php to limit the use of functions and operators that can be used to cause problems. if it is possible to enable safe _ mode and still have your scripts function, it is usually best to do so. finally, be completely and utterly paranoid much as i hate to bring this point up again, it still holds true ( and always will ). most of the above problems can be avoided through careful input validation. some become obvious points to address when you assume everyone is out to destroy your site. if you are prepared for the worst, you should be able to deal with anything. ready for more? try writing secure php, part 3.


electrical workers by shutterstock - it is undeniable that the unemployment rate would be lower if fewer government jobs had been cut. - private sector employment is important for the simple fact that state & local tax revenues fund public sector salaries. - the private sector, despite turbulent economic times and uncertainty, continues to be the engine of economic growth. editor ' s note : this article originally appeared in the new york times ' room for debate in response to the question : are government layoffs the problem? what effect have public - sector job cuts had on the economy? could governments have responded to the recession in any other way? it is undeniable that the unemployment rate would be lower, and the recovery more pronounced, if fewer government jobs had been cut. but if the private sector is " doing fine, " as president obama famously said, could one reason be those losses in state and local jobs? the answer is yes. during 2009 and 2010, president obama and congress spent 2. 6 percent of gross domestic product at the state and local level primarily through the american recovery and reinvestment act. but despite this huge stimulus spending, the share of g. d. p. contributed by state and local governments has collapsed since 2007. while state and local spending accounted for nearly 13 percent of g. d. p. in 2008, barely 11 percent of g. d. p. comes from state and local spending today. meanwhile, the private sector, despite the turbulent economic times and the recent uncertainty surrounding the fiscal cliff talks, has continued to be the engine of economic growth. despite shedding a large number of workers at the start of the recession, the private sector has added 5. 0 million new employees since june 2009 as state and local governments have dropped 682, 000 jobs. private sector g. d. p. has continued to grow as businesses innovate and become more productive, finding ways to survive and grow in a challenging business environment. public sector workers, particularly those involved in education, have an important role to play in the economy. in most states, they account for about 14 percent of all jobs. but real economic growth has to start in the other 86 percent of the economy, where most workers earn their living. indeed, private sector employment is important if even for the simple fact that state and local tax revenues fund public sector salaries. as of january, the unemployment rate for those classified as government workers by the bureau of labor statistics is only 4. 2 percent, compared to 8. 6 percent unemployment in the private sector. clearly


teaching toward a world without war elizabeth gray vining, 1902 – 1999 a philadelphia native and member of germantown monthly meeting, elizabeth gray vining published her first book for young adults at the age of 22, and went on to publish over 60 more in her lifetime. at the age of 42, elizabeth wrote weekly releases on the activities of afsc for quaker papers and other religious publications, when she was selected to be the first woman to tutor the crown prince of japan. her name had been suggested to the education commission by then executive secretary clarence e. pickett, who had visited emperor hirohito and heeded his request for help in finding an american tutor for the crown prince. after listing elizabeth ’ s many accomplishments in a letter of recommendation, clarence pickett added that she was “ one of the most lovely and cultured women that i have ever known, ” but “ she would not lift a finger to seek the appointment. ” once chosen, the american press expressed elizabeth ’ s position as an opportunity to spread the values of american democracy. but she was clear that this was an opportunity to build bridges : “ i am not here in japan as a missionary, ” she declared. “ i will present my views and let my pupil go on from there … i hope i can contribute to the peace and understanding of the world. the emphasis will be on a world without war, and on nations working together for peace. ”


can a ray of sunshine help the critically ill? tuesday, april 3, 2012 tau researcher finds that vitamin d deficiency is associated with increased mortality in intensive care patients scientists have long believed that vitamin d, which is naturally absorbed from sunlight, has an important role in the functioning of the body ' s autoimmune system. now prof. howard amital of tel aviv university ' s sackler faculty of medicine and sheba medical center has discovered that the vitamin may also affect the outcomes of patients in intensive care. in a six - month study, prof. amital and his colleagues found that patients who had a vitamin d deficiency lived an average of 8. 9 days less than those who were found to have sufficient vitamin d. vitamin d levels also correlated with the level of white blood cells which fight disease. the study, which was published in the journal qjm : an international journal of medicine, demonstrates further research into giving patients vitamin d could confirm that it will improve their survival outcomes. adding days of life to measure the impact of vitamin d levels on the survival of critically ill patients, the researchers designed an observational study. over the course of six months, 130 patients over the age of 18 admitted to an intensive care unit of a tau - affiliated hospital and requiring mechanical ventilation were admitted to the study. patients who had taken vitamin d supplements prior to admittance were excluded from the study population. upon admittance, patients were divided into two groups based on vitamin d concentration : those who had 20 nanograms or more of the vitamin — the amount defined as the national institute of health as sufficient — and those who were vitamin d deficient based on the same criteria. in total, 107 patients suffered from vitamin d deficiency. survival curves indicate that while patients with sufficient vitamin d survived an average of 24. 2 days, those who were deemed to be deficient in vitamin d survived an average of only 15. 3 days — patients with sufficient vitamin d levels survived an average of 8. 9 days longer. they were also found to have a better wbc count. seek out sun — or supplements these findings merit further investigation, prof. amital says. he suggests that the effects of vitamin d supplementation in critically ill patients be further assessed in future studies. the initial results indicate only that vitamin d concentration may be an indicator of survival, he says. but don ' t wait until you ' re in poor health to start taking vitamin d, suggests prof. amital. vitamin d appears to enhance the function of the immune system in numerous ways, and


background : a new type of stethoscope relies on ultrasound to enable doctors to hear the sounds of the body in extremely loud situations, such as during the transportation of patients in medevac helicopters, or wounded soldiers in blackhawk helicopters. how it works : these new ultrasound models transmit a sound signal into the patientıs body. this sound is reflected back to the stethoscope at a slightly different frequency because it bounces off the internal organs, changing the sound wave patternı essentially, the doppler effect. the difference in frequencies between the transmitted sound wave and the returning sound wave received by the instrument can be computed to determine the motion of the internal organs. this difference in frequency is then converted into audible sound. ultrasound stethoscopes produce a markedly different sound than conventional ones. an acoustic stethoscope yields a ılub - dubı sound from a heartbeat with the first beat being the strongest. an ultrasound stethoscope yields a ıta - da - taı pattern with the second beat being the strongest. the problem : traditional stethoscopes transmit and amplify sound within the range of human hearing : from 20 hertz to 20, 000 hertz. most body sound, such as that of the heart and lungs, fall into the 100 to 200 hertz range. current acoustic stethoscopes detect and amplify vibrations that allow doctors to hear the heart and lungs better. however, they become difficult to use around 80 decibels ı a noise level comparable to an alarm clock or a busy street, - - and are useless above 90 decibels. modern electronic stethoscopes improved that threshold to 95 decibels by replacing the earpieces with loudspeaker inserts, which provide a better seal over the ear canal. they also have electrical cables instead of the conventional tubing, decreasing acoustic noise. but this is still not sufficient to make the instruments useful in very noisy environments. the ultrasound stethoscope is nearly impervious to loud noise and can make accurate readings at noise levels up to 120 decibels, similar to the volume experienced in the front row at a rock concert. the doppler effect : both sound waves and light waves exhibit the doppler effect. just as a train whistle will sound higher as it approaches a platform and then become lower in pitch as it moves away, light emitted by a moving object is perceived to increase in frequency ( a blue shift ) if it is moving toward the observer ; if


why the jews? : the reason for antisemitism from the bestselling authors of " the nine questions people ask about judaism " comes a completely revised and updated edition of a modern classic that... show synopsis from the bestselling authors of " the nine questions people ask about judaism " comes a completely revised and updated edition of a modern classic that reflects the dangerous rise in antisemitism during the twenty - first century. the very word " jew " continues to arouse passions as does no other religious, national, or political name. why have jews been the object of the most enduring and universal hatred in history? why did hitler consider murdering jews more important than winning world war ii? why has the united nations devoted more time to tiny israel than to any other nation on earth? in this seminal study, dennis prager and joseph telushkin attempt to uncover and understand the roots of antisemitism - - from the ancient world to the holocaust to the current crisis in the middle east. this postmillennial edition of " why the jews? " offers new insights and unparalleled perspectives on some of the most recent, pressing developments in the contemporary world, including : - the replicating of nazi antisemitism in the arab world - the pervasive anti - zionism / antisemitism on university campuses - the rise of antisemitism in europe - why the united states and israel are linked in the minds of antisemites clear, persuasive, and thought provoking, " why the jews? " is must reading for anyone who seeks to understand the unique role of the jews in human history.


science fair project encyclopedia william bligh ( september 9, 1754 - december 7, 1817 ) was an officer of the british royal navy and colonial administrator. he is best known for the famous mutiny that occurred against his command aboard hmav bounty. after the bounty mutiny he became governor of new south wales, where his stern administration engendered another insurrection, the rum rebellion led by john macarthur. bligh was born in plymouth, a seaport in south - west england, and went to sea at the age of eight. in 1776, he was selected by captain james cook for the crew of the resolution and, in 1787, selected as commander of the hmav bounty. he would eventually rise to the rank of vice admiral in the british navy. william bligh ' s naval career consisted of a variety of appointments and assignments. a summary is as follows : - july 1, 1762 : ship ' s boy and captain ' s servant, hms monmouth - july 27, 1770 : able seaman, hms hunter - february 5 1771 : midshipman, hms hunter - september 22, 1771 : midshipman, hms crescent - september 2, 1774 : able seaman, hms ranger - september 30, 1775 : master ' s mate, hms ranger - march 20, 1776 : master, hms resolution - february 14, 1781 : master, hms belle poule - october 5, 1781 : lieutenant, hms berwick - january 1, 1782 : lieutenant, hms princess amelia - march 20, 1782 : lieutenant, hms cambridge - january 14, 1783 : joined merchant service as lieutenant - 1785 : commanding lieutenant, merchant vessel lynx - 1786 : lieutenant, merchant vessel brittania - 1787 : returns to royal navy active service - august 16, 1787 : commanding lieutenant, hmav bounty - november 14, 1790 : captain, hms falcon - december 15, 1790 : captain, hms medea - april 16, 1791 : captain, hms providence - april 30, 1795 : captain, hms calcutta - january 7, 1796 : captain, hms director - march 18, 1801 : post captain, hms glatton - april 12, 1801 : post captain, hms monarch - may 8, 1801 : post captain, hms irresistible - may 2, 1804 : post captain, hms warrior - may 14, 1805 : governor of new south wales - september 27, 1805 : post captain, hms porpoise - july 31, 1808 : commodore, hms porpoise - april 3, 1810 : commodore, hms hindostan - july 31, 1810 : appointed rear admiral of the blue - june


september 27, 1805 : post captain, hms porpoise - july 31, 1808 : commodore, hms porpoise - april 3, 1810 : commodore, hms hindostan - july 31, 1810 : appointed rear admiral of the blue - june 4, 1814 : appointed vice admiral of the blue the voyage of the bounty in 1787, bligh took command of the bounty. he first sailed to tahiti to obtain breadfruit trees, then set course for the caribbean, where the breadfruit were wanted for experiments to see if breadfruit would be a successful food crop there. the bounty never reached the caribbean, as mutiny broke out onboard shortly after leaving tahiti. in later years, bligh would repeat the same voyage that the bounty had undertaken and would eventually succeed in delivering the breadfruit to the west indies. bligh ' s mission may have introduced the akee to the caribbean as well, though this is uncertain. ( akee is now called blighia sapida in binomial nomenclature after bligh ). the mutiny, which broke out during the return voyage, was led by master ' s mate fletcher christian and supported by a quarter of the crew. the mutineers provided bligh and the eighteen of his crew who remained loyal with a 23 foot ( 7 m ) launch, provisions sufficient to reach the most accessible ports, a sextant and a pocket watch, but no charts or compass. bligh disdained the obvious course of action, which would have been sailing for nearer spanish ports where they would be repatriated to britain after delays. bligh was confident in his navigational skills and considering his first responsibility to be getting word of the mutiny as soon as possible to british vessels that could pursue the mutineers, so he embarked instead on a 3618 nautical mile ( 6701 km ) voyage to timor. in the successful 41 day voyage, the only casualty was one crewman killed by hostile natives. to this day, the reasons for the mutiny are a subject of considerable debate. some feel that bligh was a cruel tyrant whose abuse of the crew led members of the crew to feel that they had no choice but to take the ship from bligh. others feel that the crew, after having been exposed to freedom and sexual excess on the island of tahiti refused to return to the " jack tars " existence of a seaman. they hold that the crew took the ship from bligh so that they could return to a life