uneasy at the sight of unemployed people because these were now a burden on the economy. it should be remembered that while the ruling classes of malta discussed emigration and argued about the countries which offered the best opportunities, they themselves felt that they were only academically involved : it was the workers and the farmers that had to be induced to go. emigration was the apparent solution to the troubles of the labouring classes. an improbable complication connected with emigration was the thorny question about the privileged position of the italian language in malta. again this was an argument which only involved the educated masses ; these were themselves divided into two camps, those who favoured the british connection and therefore wished to see english the dominant language in malta, and those who felt that their culture was latin and therefore defended the position still held by italian as the language of the elite. the rank and file of the maltese were only involved as incidental to the language question. the only language that the maltese understood was their own : a semitic tongue which they have been speaking for centuries and which is still today the basic mark of their individuality at home and even more so abroad. because malta had been under foreign rulers for endless centuries, the dominating families had adopted italian as the language in which they communicated with the european mainland. a number of such families were themselves of non - maltese stock as their names indicated. the only experience they shared with the ordinary people of malta, apart from the catholic faith, was their residence on the same island. members of the higher classes and some of the clergy completed their studies in italian cities and consequently the italian language and culture became the symbol of the preponderance of the few over the native population. with the coming of the british at the beginning of the nineteenth century, the position of italian became ambiguous especially since the majority of the maltese did not feel involved in the language dispute. it was only in 1934 that the language of the people of malta was made the principal language at the law courts. the question of the italian language in malta was finally disposed of among the debris left over by axis bombs during the second world war. inevitably emigration became a political issue ; those who favoured emigration contended that the maltese should emigrate to the lands of the british empire over which the sun never set and which were protected by the union jack, itself a sign of stability, democracy and freedom. naturally if maltese decided to emigrate to countries within the british empire or to the united states, they had to learn english, and english was then expected to replace italian in schools


by the union jack, itself a sign of stability, democracy and freedom. naturally if maltese decided to emigrate to countries within the british empire or to the united states, they had to learn english, and english was then expected to replace italian in schools. the pro - english party was made up of the so - called reformers who were also supported by influential papers published in english. those who opposed the reformers stated somewhat melodramatically that emigration was an evil plan concocted by the british overlords who wanted to do away with the native population so that the english could come in and settle in the island for good. the anti - - reformers also spread the rumour that the british favoured emigration to the colonies so that they would have maltese soldiers ready to fight for them and defend their possessions. this was the political thesis of the italianate newspaper, " malta " ; sym - pathisers with this point of view did propagate the suggestion that malta was an unredeemed " island and that italy should annexe it. again. it must be kept in mind that the maltese men and women of malta and gozo were not even remotely interested in argumentations relating to anglo - saxon or latin cultures. they kept themselves out of this battle of words and their constant preoccupation was where to find work and who was willing to pay them a decent wage. however the language question did cause divisions and waste of precious years. the administration of the island was kept going even if at a somewhat languid pace. in an effort to do something to help organise emigration the british governor of the time, general sir harry barron, set up in 1907 the malta emigration committee which was composed of ten influential gentlemen who were interested in relieving malta of its over - population and who were ready to do something practical rather than lose their energy in useless verbose argumentations which seem to have been the popular pastimes of maltese leaders of those times. the committee had as its honorary secretary the energetic and resourceful globe - trotter, dr charles mattei. after completing his studies in glasgow and dublin, dr mattei returned to malta in 1906 and was soon asked by the governor to help set up the emigration committee. mattei had been to australia where he was made protector of aborigines and was then affiliated to a tribe of aboriginal cannibals. he was also in china where he witnessed the decapitation of twenty pirates. he also liked canada very much and had had the foresight to encourage


protector of aborigines and was then affiliated to a tribe of aboriginal cannibals. he was also in china where he witnessed the decapitation of twenty pirates. he also liked canada very much and had had the foresight to encourage maltese emigration to that dominion. in 1912 he went to canada to explore the possibility of sending maltese emigrants to british columbia. during mattei ' s absence, his place was taken by professor lawrence manche ' who, in the meantime, had been devoting his attention to a scheme to help organise emigration with the aid and collaboration of the colonial government, the church and the people. manche ' s was an idealist and he was genuinely surprised that in spite of his letters to the press and an occasional pamphlet written by himself, he had managed to make prac - tically no impact on either the council of government, the church or the people. he favoured vadala ' s scheme for emigration to brazil, an ill - fated venture which ended in tragedy. he opposed the introduction of taxes on landed property and considered income tax as ' very objectionable ', hoping it would be abandoned for ' voluntary and spontaneous action ' on the part of the government, the church and the people. in a letter dated august 5th 1910, manche ' states that taxpayers " are in our case, chiefly the poor country people " and the editor of the daily malta chronicle in his editorial of august 27th 1910, complains that " we do not even want to hear the name of taxes... we fear that those who would have the least difficulty in paying them are the loudest in proclaiming their utter dissatisfaction with even the mention of them ". the malta emigration committee had no money with which it could offer practical help to intending migrants. like so many other maltese bodies of the time it could only talk! the only scheme it approved ( only verbally ) was vadala ' s scheme of free emigration to brazil. and that turned out to be a colossal fiasco. the committee had no funds and its status was unofficial. it had no real power to back it. the only practical contribution it made to the movement of maltese emigration was the correspondence it entered into with the home and colonial governments. in the report published on november 26th 1910 under the signature of major general a. p. penton, president of the committee, it is stated that the gentlemen of the committee had sat for fifteen regular sessions and information had been received about such diverse countries as argentina, canada, cyprus, the transvaal


the signature of major general a. p. penton, president of the committee, it is stated that the gentlemen of the committee had sat for fifteen regular sessions and information had been received about such diverse countries as argentina, canada, cyprus, the transvaal, chile and british honduras. the report ended with an appeal to the general public to contribute generously towards a fund from which loans could be given to intending migrants. as it was constituted the emigration committee was almost useless. in a speech delivered by the lieutenant governor, sir john clauson, to the council of government on july 30th 1913, one can find an indirect comment on the inefficiency of the committee even if the speaker did not intend it as such. sir john said : " i have already alluded to the malta emigration committee, which preserves a sturdy attitude of complete aloofness from the government, which 1 much appreciate ". it was this ' sturdy aloofness ' which was so agreeable to the colonial administration, that made the committee largely useless and irrelevant and thus rendered it incapable of contributing anything substantial towards alleviating the hardship of those emigrants who were leaving their homes unaware of what was waiting for them on the other side of the world. the council of government, the gentlemen on the emigration committee, and local politicians, talked and occasionally wrote about the need of emigration in a manner which showed that the problem did not concern them ; they were only telling the lower classes that they had better emigrate to alleviate the burden on the economy and to seek a brighter future for themselves and their children. they worried about lazy youths because these were a potential threat to their way of life. the malta herald of august 1st 1910 made this point painfully clear : " it is the emigration of the masses that malta wants, of the labouring classes of the farmer and agriculturist and of the various trades ; and it is on this account that we have always advocated the establishment of technical schools for our classes ". at least this newspaper spelled out clearly who was expected to leave the island, and it did come out with a valid suggestion : that intending emigrants should be taught a trade before setting out into the wide world. the two most serious handicaps of the maltese migrant at that time were, his inability to speak english and his status of unskilled labourer. these two disadvantages must also be seen against the background of poverty and lack of financial means. the need for a technical education rather than a mere literary one for the sons and daughters of the working classes had


his status of unskilled labourer. these two disadvantages must also be seen against the background of poverty and lack of financial means. the need for a technical education rather than a mere literary one for the sons and daughters of the working classes had been felt as far back as 1867 when dr charles casolani had recommended " a general theoretical and practical school of mechanical engineering, art, manufactures, trades, agriculture etc ". casolani also suggested a nautical school stationed on a traning ship " where a general, theoretical and practical course of instruction will be given to those who, after completing their preparatory studies... were willing to embrace the naval profession ". this school - ship was also to be made available to the " lower orders " so that they could be trained as sailors. casolani suggested that primary and technical education should be geared to practical use because... " it is well known that in prussia every man is obliged to learn a trade from the prince imperial downwards ". the schools were to be the means by which the emigrants ' bread was to be earned and casolani also included instruction in cooking and in house - hold management as part of the practical education of maltese students. it is important to keep in mind that such wise suggestions were made way back in 1867 and repeated again in 1878. but the colonial administration would not shake itself into action, partly because it did not want to spend money on education and partly because of the troubled political situation in malta at that time. casolani himself was a well known imperialist. he had tied his suggestions to a very controversial condition, namely that of replacing italian with english so that that language would " knit the hearts of these islands into one harmonious concord with the british crown ". again, the need of preparing the maltese migrant with a sound education was ignored by a somnolent and indifferent council of administration and rendered almost impos - sible by the fanaticism of the two opposing political groupings which were busy arguing with each other on the language issue while the population of the two islands was left without help and leadership. and while the politicians were wasting their time in grandi - loquent rhetoric and invective, the unemployed masses of malta and gozo, farmers, workers and youngsters were leaving their homes in increasing numbers. leaders of the community were not unaware of the dangers of mass emigration and they felt that something should be done to give migrants some direction, especially when a number of migrants would apply for a passport and actually board a


were leaving their homes in increasing numbers. leaders of the community were not unaware of the dangers of mass emigration and they felt that something should be done to give migrants some direction, especially when a number of migrants would apply for a passport and actually board a ship without any precise idea as to where their destination lay. professor manche ' was of the idea that three solutions could be tried in order to put the migratory movement under some sort of dis - cipline. he thought that emigration from malta and gozo could either be organised by a syndicate as a private enterprise, or be taken up by the church with its system of parishes by which practically anybody in these islands could be reached, or by the colonial administration which would provide the cash needed in order to help penniless migrants defray, at least part of the expenses involved in order to reach the final destination. however, manche ' himself, rightly felt that the ultimate responsibility lay with the colonial administration. he had the foresight to come to the conclusion that " emigration on a large scale cannot be undertaken either by capitalists or by the church ". he was justified when he said that organising emigration on some logical footing was the duty of the political men wh6 sat on the council of government under the chairmanship of the representative of the british crown. that same conclusion had been arrived at by sir adrian dingli who in a memorandum published in october 1878 had suggested that emigration to cyprus should be taken in hand by the government, and maltese colonists in cyprus should be given financial aid by the state and work under the protection of the british government. manche ' was also not favourable to the then prevalent idea of creating a greater malta overseas where the emigrant, though he had left his original country, could settle in a place peopled by settlers of his own race, speak his own language, hold the same old traditions and practise the religion of his fathers. instead, manche ' was of the idea that the governor should send a representative to an area marked as a possible site where maltese could successfully settle ; this representative would help intending emigrants to find accommodation and work and also act as interpreter. this representative would naturally be a maltese who would receive from the maltese government remuneration depending on the total of emigrants he had helped to settle on that site. another sound suggestion put forward by manche ' was the granting of a free passage to " bona fide " emigrants. this could be done, manche ' thought, by entering into an agree - men


had helped to settle on that site. another sound suggestion put forward by manche ' was the granting of a free passage to " bona fide " emigrants. this could be done, manche ' thought, by entering into an agree - ment with some steamship line such as the " cairn line " or the " anglo - hellenic steam navigation company ". this suggestion was an extremely valid one because lack of available cash was the major obstacle in the way of maltese emigrants. had this suggestion been taken up in 1910 when manche ' had made it, many maltese would have left for north america. the irony of it all was that although the maltese did have intelli - gent spokesmen for their cause, since malta was a colony and lacked the strength of a representative form of government, the maltese could talk and write in vain because their ideas were not backed by political power. decisions about their livelihood did not rest with them but with their colonial masters. besides practical suggestions, professor manche ' made other useful recommendations. manche ' wanted " a reliable clerk " to be appointed here in malta who would collect information about receiving countries and make such information available to those who were interested. this clerk was to make sure that migrants were fit to embark and were also serious in their minds about their decision to emigrate and therefore qualify for a free ticket. his other duty would be to circulate regulations to the towns and villages and with the help of the local parish priest to explain in maltese such regulations to the illiterate. since manche ' was himself a doctor of medicine he was very insistent on migrants being in good shape. he had pleaded with the authorities to help stamp out trachoma. manche ' reasoned that good health was indispensable for the success of an emigrant on whose clean bill of health rested the chance of finding work. moreover stringent sanitary regulations barred unfit immigrants from gaining a foothold into the new country and manche ' himself knew... " of several maltese who were precluded from disembarking... suffering the loss not only of their probable employment but also the expense incurred in going there and back ". manche ' also suggested that emigrants should be of good conduct and have their certificates signed by the police and their parish priest. the same emigrants were to possess at least £10 before setting out on their destination. manche ' felt that emigrants should preferably be unmarried ; if they had a family they should carry with them suffi -


the police and their parish priest. the same emigrants were to possess at least £10 before setting out on their destination. manche ' felt that emigrants should preferably be unmarried ; if they had a family they should carry with them suffi - cient capital to support their dependants until they found employment. skilled migrants and agriculturists were to be preferred to those who had had little or no experience of any specific type of work. however, unskilled workers, of whom malta had an over abun - dance, could be sent to " virgin lands " where all kinds of work was required. those who knew some english were to be preferred to those who knew no english at all. finally, manche ' was of the opinion that areas of high concentration of maltese immigrants should never be without the two men indispensable for a sense of security : a priest and a doctor. these two must be maltese in order to freely communicate with their fellow countrymen. unfortunately none of these suggestions were ever taken up. there were some maltese who thought that the best way to organise emigration was for the maltese to buy land in australia, rhodesia or british east africa and emigrate there in large numbers, about 50, 000, in order to create an area that in future would be something like another malta - the greater malta already alluded to. it was thought that a capital of about £1 00, 000 was needed to realise this project. needless to say that the administration never even considered the idea because anything that involved money was discreetly ignored. some hoped that the church would provide the necessary capital ; this would be a patriotic contribution to help those who were in need and would also advance the cause of religion because emigrants from catholic malta would plant the cross in the heathen parts of darkest africa. the royal commission of 1911 in its report made public the following year accepted the idea of founding a maltese colony which would serve as a nucleus for future migrants and would also solve the thorny problem of communication since the maltese spoke only their own language. the commission called the suggestion of creating a maltese colony as " the only arrangement practicable ". the church did set up a " league of the apostleship of prayer " which had as its aim the giving of moral and material help to those in dire need. the league established a penny bank which accepted small deposits from people who were saving for their passage. the league was also involved in correspondence about the feasibility of establishing a maltese colony in floresville, texas, u. s.


to those in dire need. the league established a penny bank which accepted small deposits from people who were saving for their passage. the league was also involved in correspondence about the feasibility of establishing a maltese colony in floresville, texas, u. s. a., or in the area around the town of malta in the state of montana. in floresville there were already some maltese colonists with - a maltese priest amongst them. in 1910 the league was corresponding with the bishop of great falls in montana, u. s. a., who had expressed interest in receiving catholic im - migrants in his diocese. again the work of the league was largely ineffectual. it was an ecclesiastical body which had no official status and had to rely on charity for funds. members of the league did ask the administration for funds ; it appealed to the wealthy classes. none would listen. eventually the only concrete result of the league was the setting up of the penny bank and its correspondence with catholic prelates and associations abroad thus dis - seminating information on the conditions prevailing in various lands. the church had tried to play a part in the development of organised emigration from malta but did not have the necessary status to sponsor a national exodus, nor was the participation of the church in a purely economic and political venture desirable. more - over, emigration itself was a controversial issue which divided political opinion in malta. the governor, on the other hand, had no objection to allowing thousands of maltese leaving their island and he was equally glad that that was a process by which the administration was relieving its exchequer of unwanted people without spending a penny. another alert maltese gentleman, who was himself a convinced imperialist, urged the government to move in the matter of emigration because that was a challenge which was not to be - left in the hands of inept philanthropists. the gentleman in question was commander v. e. speranza who in january 28th 1911 was in the chilean port of valparaiso aboard his ship " guatemala ". speranza had been interested in the movement of emigrants from malta to british possessions for a very long time. he was also a determined opponent of those who upheld the privileged position of the italian language in malta and he wrote that the compulsory teaching of english in all maltese schools should be instituted without hesitation and with all possible speed. moreover speranza felt that the excessive population of the island was a blessing rather than a headache. speranza reasoned that as the population increased more maltese would emigrate and thus strengthen the loyal numbers of british


without hesitation and with all possible speed. moreover speranza felt that the excessive population of the island was a blessing rather than a headache. speranza reasoned that as the population increased more maltese would emigrate and thus strengthen the loyal numbers of british subjects in the colonies in which they settle. speranza felt that the immediate adoption of the english language as the principal one in all government schools was imperative. the teaching of english to maltese students was a wise investment in the future. speranza suggested the creation of a mutual benefit scheme between malta and the receiving country. speranza wisely suggested that maltese should settle in the australian state of victoria. he proposed sending a small pioneering party to test local conditions and prepare the way for the thousands who were to follow. speranza suggested that a loan of £100, 000 at 3 % interest should be floated by the malta government and the interest paid by an increase in taxation. speranza was not listened to ; he had however foreseen a situation which was to develop some forty years later when emigrants from malta would depart in their thousands towards australia and many would prefer the state of victoria. speranza like manche ' before him talked to deaf ears. when it came to money matters the ears of the colonial administration were stone deaf. the question of emigration hinged on one fundamental requirement : that of finance. most of the unemployed and the under - employed were too poor to spend money on their tickets to go to distant countries such as u. s. a. and australia. and these were the people who needed to go. because of lack of money emigrants only ventured as far as the countries bordering on the mediterranean because these were near enough and going there did not entail much expense. organised emigration was not possible unless the state was prepared to assist financially those who wanted to go. a letter dated april 6th 1911 which appeared in the daily malta chronicle, suggested the setting up of a voluntary fund to which some two hundred contributors would donate £5 each in order to raise a fund of £1, 000 which was to be made available to applicants who were seeking their future beyond the shores of these islands. the idea was that needy migrants would be given a loan to help them obtain their passage money and these would repay the loan as soon as they found work. if they felt like it they were to give a donation to the fund. the two hundred contributors were to expect no return for their money ; any payments would go towards increasing the fund so as to help more people buy their tickets.


they found work. if they felt like it they were to give a donation to the fund. the two hundred contributors were to expect no return for their money ; any payments would go towards increasing the fund so as to help more people buy their tickets. at the sitting of the council of ministers held on july 30th 1913, the lieutenant governor at that time, sir john clauson, promised £300 for the setting up of an emigration information office. this was an idea which had been put forward by the royal commission of 191 1. the commissioners had suggested that the pamphlets and information printed by the emigrants information office in london should be translated into maltese and made available throughout different towns and villages in malta. two years later the local administration was still toying with the idea, when finally sir john clauson made it known that the emigrants information office was to be part of the passport branch in valletta... " where we have our finger on the pulse of the emigration movement and through which practically every emigrant passes ". sir clauson made it clear that if the emigration information office started functioning, its sole aim would be to furnish information on the same basis as the malta emigration committee of 1907. migrants were to be exempted from the 2s6d fee which they normally had to pay when they applied for a passport as long as he " furnishes us with information as to the circumstances of his emigration and destination ". the lieutenant governor also hoped that the information given by those intending to go abroad would help the administration in building up a picture of the dimensions of emigration from these islands. the people ' s insistence on the need for assisted passages remained ignored because, in sir john ' s words... " it has been decided not to ask the council for funds to promote emigration by advances to emigrants ". the official reason given by the administration was that money offered by the state... " would have dried up the springs of private subvention to emigrants ". sir john thought that state help would be an unnecessary interference in the migration of maltese. he also somewhat vaguely described migration as... " an aggregation of personal movements for private business purposes ". it was obvious that the migrants had no one to turn to when it came to actually asking for cash. men with philanthropic ideas could express noble thoughts and set them down in writing, but what the migrant needed was funds to help him buy expensive tickets which were normally beyond his reach. to appeal for voluntary contributions was touching but useless. typical useless suggestions were the


men with philanthropic ideas could express noble thoughts and set them down in writing, but what the migrant needed was funds to help him buy expensive tickets which were normally beyond his reach. to appeal for voluntary contributions was touching but useless. typical useless suggestions were the execution of musical pro - grammes at the argotti gardens in floriana for the leisured classes, proceeds from which were supposed to go towards helping migrants. others thought that " subscription balls " could be organised and money raised for the purpose of providing financial help to those who intended to emigrate. there were noteworthy exceptions to the general rule of high - sounding but useless suggestions. these two honourable exceptions were two gentlemen, vincenzo bugeja and giovanni pappaffy. bugeja was a wealthy philanthropist who left substantial sums of money to help the orphans and other unfortunate children. in his will bequeathed money to an emigration fund. this money was to be used towards defraying some of the expense which travel then entailed. in 1912 the number of applications had already exceeded by far the amount of money available ; the bugeja fund was, by that year, in a depleted condition. however, between 1909 and 1911 the board entrusted with the running of the bugeja fund had helped sixty six applicants and given out a total of £2669. 1s. 4d. that was no inconsiderable sum for those days. the destinations of those who received help from the bugeja emigration fund were many but those who wished to emigrate to north america outnumbered the others. in north america three destinations seem to have been popular. these were new york, california and winnipeg in canada. other stated their destinations as north africa, australia, the united kingdom and tasmania. the other benefactor of maltese emigrants was greek - born giovanni di niccolo pappaffy who was born in 1792 in salonika and emigrated to malta when he was only eighteen years of age and later on married a maltese girl who herself had been born in corsica. the pappaffys both knew the hardships of emigration and since their business in malta had been highly profitable they decided to set up the pappaffy fund to help subsidise those who wished to seek their future elsewhere. giovanni was himself a very highly respected citizen, so much so that he was one of the spokesmen for the con - stitutional rights of the maltese before the royal commission of 1836. giovanni grew to respect the good qualities of the maltese worker and he encouraged young men who were unemployed to seek their future


he was one of the spokesmen for the con - stitutional rights of the maltese before the royal commission of 1836. giovanni grew to respect the good qualities of the maltese worker and he encouraged young men who were unemployed to seek their future where their qualifications could help them to advance in life. when pappaffy died in 1886 he had left in his will £1 0, 000 to the maltese people and he stipulated that the interest from that capital was to go towards financing the passage fare of those who wished to emigrate. those eligible to receive help from the pappaffy fund were to be young lads between eighteen and twenty - four, who had a working knowledge of the first four rules of arithmetic, who knew two of the following languages : italian, french, english or greek, and who mastered the beautiful art of calligraphy. the pappaffy fund had been a generous gesture from a greek to the maltese people whom he admired. up to 1961 a total of 554 migrants had received assistance from the fund which totalled £23, 786. 15s. between the years 1908 - 191 1, sixty - two emigrants received subsidies from the fund and of these only two had returned home, and these because of ill health. although some had gone to egypt and the sudan, the majority, twenty - two in all, preferred north america. eleven chose australia, five of whom settled in sydney, while others went to the united kingdom the others to mediterranean countries. the gestures of bugeja and pappaffy were commendable and they should have inspired similar efforts from those who were always ready to give suggestions but did nothing practical. but bugeja and pappaffy were mere drops in the vast sea that surrounded the maltese islands. moreover the money from these two funds never really reached the illiterate masses of the people who most urgently needed financial assistance. pappaffy ' s conditions effectively e xcluded dockyard workers and farmers who could hardly write in their own language much less know anything about the art of calligraphy. in addition, married men, women, applicants who had more than twenty - four years, and those with no education were all debarred from the benefits offered by pappaffy. one commentator justly moaned about bugeja and pappaffy when he wrote in 191 1 : " these exist, for all - practical purposes, for the benefit of those who have not yet experienced the bitterness of disappointment ; working men, married generally, who can no longer support here their wives, their children


a meagre sum of money to go away from what had been his home and country, only to be crushed by failure ; probably the cause of this fail u re was trachoma. the problems of lack of finance and occasional ill health debarred the way to emig - ration, but the migrant from malta had another disadvantage. he had no one to clearly suggest to him where to go. in 1911 professor manche advised against emigration to canada and australia because canada was too cold and australia was too english. sub - sequent history of maltese emigration was to prove manche wrong. manche was right however when he said that california was a good place to go to. he also suggested the american states of texas, kansas, missouri and oklahoma, but emigration to these states never got started. charles mattei recommended emigration to british columbia and the american pacific states of washington, oregon and california. others suggested australia, rhodesia and british east africa, particularly the sudan, this latter country was preferable because of its relative accessibility, its affiliation within the british empire and because... " it must not be forgotten that we are more or less of punic origin and that the southern sun agrees with us better than the northern ices and snow ". the maltese themselves had shown a marked preference to the u. s. a. some others had gone to canada and a trickle had even ventured as far as australia. the old established maltese settlements in north africa continued to thrive. the royal commission of 1911 had considered egypt and the sudan as the only openings left to maltese emigrants, with the exception of california. the com - missioners noted that... ', the maltese have long been accustomed to emigrate to north africa, and we believe that they are perfectly capable of taking advantage, without government assistance, of such openings as present themselves ". one cannot but note the commission ' s anxiety not to involve the administration in organising some form of financial help to needy emigrants. it came as no surprise when the commissioners admitted that they could find no satisfactory conclusion to the problem of emigration because only governments had the power to do so. the colonial administration remained adamant on its refusal to proffer financial assistance to prospec - tive migrants and because of lack of hard cash no real and effective organisation could be put into the maltese emigration movement. although emigration as the alternative to excessive population had been advocated at least since 1895, a thinking section of maltese society had refused to accept emigration as the panacea to maita ' s problems


and effective organisation could be put into the maltese emigration movement. although emigration as the alternative to excessive population had been advocated at least since 1895, a thinking section of maltese society had refused to accept emigration as the panacea to maita ' s problems. the national party, with its pro - italian feelings, had opposed emigration for reasons already stated. since 1903 the elected members in the council of administration were mostly from the ranks of the national party and these expressed their xenophobic fears about the number of foreigners who were coming in while the maltese were being urged to emigrate. the organ of the national party, " malta ", on february 7th l9ll called the attention of its readers to the large number of settlers from england who had made their permanent abode on the island. the paper also complained about foreign workers who had been previously recruited to work on the breakwater and on other naval works and who had stayed in the island when there was no longer any need of them because major construction works had ended by 1907. another paper, " the malta herald " of february 9th 1911 noted that such men and their families... " all seem to have found means of living,... the fact must not be lost sight of that malta is our own, and for the maltese in preference to aliens ". even pro - emigration sources voiced their concern about the inflow of outsiders and called for effective checks on foreigners running profitable businesses in competition with locals. it seemed then that all thatan alien needed to settle in malta was a money guarantee which was easily obtainable even by those who had absolutely no uncontrolled emigration, on the other hand, was worrying some observers among whom are to be included the two gentlemen who were so involved in the movement : manche and mattei. as early as august 5th 1910, manche warned that mass emigration could inflate wages because of the dearth of available men. manche proposed the reclamation of abandoned farmland which was state property. this land would then be offered free of charge to whoever was willing to work it and then, after five years the tenant would start paying a nominal rent. during the sitting of the council of government held on february 8th 1911 dr mattei noted the large number of able - bodied men who were leaving the island. dr mattei calculated that for every migrant who had left the island ( he had earlier on calculated that some 300, 000 maltese were abroad! ) the local exchequer was losing some £40, 000, allowing l s 8d a day for the


. dr mattei calculated that for every migrant who had left the island ( he had earlier on calculated that some 300, 000 maltese were abroad! ) the local exchequer was losing some £40, 000, allowing l s 8d a day for the wealth - producing labourer and an active life - span of some forty years. without wholly accepting mattei ' s statistics and calculations it was obvious that the less pleasant effects of emigration on a grand scale were already tothering those who had the future well - being of malta at heart. after all the best investment of a nation has a ~ been its working population and an exodus of healthy men from an island contained a quarter of a million people could have had a debilitating effect. maltese who had already settled abroad were writing cautious letters home ; some dissonant voices were occasionally heard through the press. a certain mr charles e. bonavaia who had emigrated to western australia wrote a critical letter bearing the date of may 30th 1913 in which he criticised the way malta was being governed and stated that the present hardship in the island could have been avoided if those who were responsible had planned for the island ' s development. bonavia wrote... " although malta is over - populated, if things were carried on there as they are in other parts of the world, the island, small as it is, would be big enough to hold the lot of them ". bonavia was not typical of the average emigrant. he was highly educated and was a graduate of the royal university. malta ' s ever active press did not accept emigration as the final solution. the protection of local products by levying taxation on imported goods was another suggestion to improve the economy of malta. the attitude of the average maltese on importation and taxation was ambivalent to say the least. maltese mentality had been influenced by colonial thinking. locally produced articles were thought of as low class and imported products were considered better simply because they were made in other countries. while imported goods flooded the local market - in 1910 the import bill rose to the tune of about £2, 000, 000 - there was fierce opposition to any imposition of duties on foreign goods. the national party was steadfastly opposed to duties and taxes and consequently the council of administration was not able to give protection to local goods. the editor of the daily malta chronicle in an editorial of august 27th 1910, bemoans the fact that a maltese gentleman would extend his patronage to a foreign barber because that was the trendy thing to do ; foreign shoes


give protection to local goods. the editor of the daily malta chronicle in an editorial of august 27th 1910, bemoans the fact that a maltese gentleman would extend his patronage to a foreign barber because that was the trendy thing to do ; foreign shoes were more fashionable. the painting inside the parish church at birkirkara, completed at a cost of about £5, 000 was entrusted to a foreigner ; the same thing had been done when the church of st paul in valletta was decorated by an italian. the editor, conscious of the fact that so many maltese were out of work, put the question : " have we no local talent? " what malta sorely needed at that time was a form of a representative government that would look after the civilian needs of the people. to the british, the island was a strategic base necessary for the domination of the mediterranean to guard the sea - routes to india. few cared about the real needs of the people : education, health, and a stable economy that was not wholly dependent on the strategy of imperial policy planned in london. in 1887 a constitution had been granted which tried to reconcile imperial and maltese interests through a system of dual control. the council of government was made up of twenty members, fourteen of whom were to represent the maltese electorate, while the governor retained the power of the veto to safeguard imperial interests. this constitution was revoked in 1903 because of constant clashes between colonial and national needs. the island was again to be ruled by a council with elected members who were outnumbered by those representing the interests of the empire. this constitution was despised by the maltese, and the representatives of the people very often resigned soon after they were elected. this they did as a form of protest. the maltese could not speak with one voice, divided as they were by internal political divergencies. however, radical spokesmen for the unemployed began to address the masses. one such angry voice was that of manwel dimech ( 1860 - 1921 ) who opposed malta ' s colonial status, called for economic and political independence, wrote in favour of the maltese language when others were arguing for the supremacy of either english or italian, and championed the cause of the emancipation of women. dimech had con - siderable influence among dockyard workers some of whom joined his radical league of the enlightened ( xirka tal - imdawwlin ) which he founded in 191 1. when war broke out in 1914 dimech was exiled to alexandria, egypt, where he died in 1921. during the first three months of 1913 a


enlightened ( xirka tal - imdawwlin ) which he founded in 191 1. when war broke out in 1914 dimech was exiled to alexandria, egypt, where he died in 1921. during the first three months of 1913 a local newspaper wrote about " a veritable flow tide of emigration from malta to british north america ". in march of that year at least one hundred and fifty emigrants departed for canada and the editor of that paper speculated whether those were the beginnings of what might in future be something like seven thousand leaving every year. that forecast never materialised because of the declaration of war in 1914. no official statistics were kept. when sir f. mowatt of the royal commission of 1911 asked e. p. s. roupell how many maltese had emigrated during the last few years, roupell regretted that he did not know. when intending emigrants applied for their passports and the clerk asked them what their destination was, according to roupell ' s evidence, many would simply tell him to put in any place he liked. two years later, in 1913, roupell ' s successor, clauson, spoke of... " the stream of emigration... during the last few months the exodus to canada has been so great... ". a statement published in " the malta herald " bearing the date of june 6th 1912 shows that between january 1 st 1909 and may 1 st 1912 there were 1, 222 passports issued which covered 1, 203 emigrants. it must be borne in mind that such statistics do not include mediterranean ports but only countries such as australia, canada, u. s. a. and brazil. the largest number of applicants, 602 in all, were those who wanted to emigrate to u. s. a. one other difficulty in establishing the number of emigrants during the period in question is that malta had no direct routes with the receiving countries and therefore, most emigrants had to go to north america or australia through a european port. ships calling at valletta sailed for naples, genoa, marseilles or le havre and then the maltese had to embark on a transatlantic liner. men who left malta ' s ports in this manner would be listed as having gone to europe and not to america or australia. it is also a known fact that a sizeeable number of passengers who had embarked for north african ports such as, port said, tripoli or tunis, would then carry on their journey to more distant parts of the world the report of the malta


. it is also a known fact that a sizeeable number of passengers who had embarked for north african ports such as, port said, tripoli or tunis, would then carry on their journey to more distant parts of the world the report of the malta emigration committee of november 26th 1910 showed that during 1907 - 1910 the trend of emigration from malta was to western seaboard of u. s. a. and canada where some maltese had been settled since 1895. that report showed that in california alone there were about two hundred maltese. during 1910 some three hundred emigrants, mostly from mosta and naxxar had settled in san bruno, california, where... " they were almost all living together in the same place ". in a letter written on may 19th 1911 dr charles mattei claimed that during the eleven months between april 1910 and may 1911 he had sent about five hundred maltese to north america. it is possible though, that this number includes the previous three hundred already mentioned in the report of november 1910. according to reports printed in various newspapers of the time, between february 1912 and march 1913 about one hundred migrants left to various destinations within the u. s. a. this should bring the total number of known departures to about 600. such a conjecture is compatible with the figure of 602 persons, who according to the statement issued in 1912, had applied to emigrate to the u. s. a. the migratory movement from the maltese islands during the first fifteen years of the twentieth century was only a very small part of the vast emigration that was going on from europe to other less populated parts of the world. the drawbacks which made this process difficult for the maltese were also experienced by other european migrants, but at least no maltese emigrant ever left his island because of political or religious persecution. on the other hand the maltese did have some peculiar problems of their own : their country of origin was largely unknown and because of this they very often aroused suspicion. the maltese described themselves as europeans who were also british subjects. but to call oneself british without being able to speak english was somewhat contradictory. malta was a colony with no responsible parliament and the colonial administration was never very interested in the civilian needs of the population because to the british policy - makers the island ' s value was purely strategic and related to the defence and interests of the empire. emigration was not the most desirable solution to the underdevelopment of malta ' s economy ; it did however, offer some respite. after all many major european nations looked on emigration as a solution


- join over 1. 2 million students every month - accelerate your learning by 29 % - unlimited access for just £4. 99 per month compare and contrast a motor nuerone and a bacterium the first 200 words of this essay... the aim of this essay is to compare and contrast a salmonella bacteria ( prokaryotic ) cell with a motor neurone ( eukariotic ) cell. cells are the basic structures contained in all living organisms, their function, size and shape differ depending on which organism serves as its host. they are catagorised as either eukaryotic or prokaryotic cells, prokaryotic being the old greek term meaning ' before nucleus '. it wasn ' t until the 17th century that cells were discovered by the european antonie van leeuwenhoek with his latest invention - a very primitive microscope. these new discoveries were later named by an english scientist by the name of robert hooke. ( wikipedia 2007 ) the eukaryotic cell can be found in either animals or plants, although the two are very different in both structure and function. the animal cell has a complex internal structure containing many membrane bound organelles that individually have a defined role to play within the cell - more detail will be given about the motor neurone later in this essay. most animal cells have the same basic parts, namely, nucleus, cell membrane, and cytoplasm with various membrane bound organelles ( see appendix 1 ). the prokaryotic ( bacteria ) cell has a more found what you ' re looking for? - start learning 29 % faster today - over 150, 000 essays available - just £4. 99 a month not the one? we have 100 ' s more molecules & cells ( view all ) - cellular structure amd function - investigating the effect of temperature on enzyme activity - to investigate how temperature affects the concentration of... - regulation of glycolysis. - a level biology revision notes - how organelles work together - modern solutions for mesothelioma an issue report - describe how the organelles in the beta cells work together... - vaccination and the components of the immune system - research project. type 1 diabetes, is there a solution? " " simon. politics and international relations. university student. " " sabreena, england. a level student. biology and chemistry.


implementation plansbecause all 24 school systems in maryland have unique academic and community needs, they all chose to design their programs locally. therefore, there are 24 different implementation models around the state. some districts require students to conduct individual service - learning projects in the community. most school districts infuse service - learning activities into the existing curriculum to help students use their academic skills to solve real community problems. districts are encouraged to review and revise their plans, based on lessons learned during implementation. despite the variance between district plans, all 24 maryland school systems infuse service - learning into existing courses as all or part of their plan. by adding experiential, community - based service activities to existing curricula, teachers enhance their students ' learning. in most cases, students complete all three service - learning elements - - preparation, action, and reflection - - as part of their regular school day. in other systems, students carry out one or more elements as part of a class and perform the remaining piece ( s ) on their own after school or on weekends. some school systems require that students conduct independent service - learning projects to fulfill part of the graduation requirement. in these systems, students are given guidelines stating how much service is expected and which organizations are appropriate sites for service. students perform service projects in the community, independent of their school, and keep track of the hours of service. contact information for the service - learning coordinator in each school system, a summary of their implmentation plan, and their service - learning fellows can be obtained through the navigation bar to the right.


the grand canyon might be older than we thought a lot older. contrarian scientists have posited a new theory that the canyon is not just 6 million years old, as the consensus now stands, but actually about 70 million years old. that would mean the grand canyon was a giant hole in the ground while t - rex still roamed the earth. the proposition that the canyon is far more ancient than now thought and, in fact, that it wasnt carved out by the colorado river but by two other rivers that no longer exist has sparked a spirited throw - down between two scientific camps. it i simply ludicrous, said one geology professor who is convinced the canyon is only about 6 million years old. i see all the data as aligning very nicely for an old canyon model, said another. so, are we laymen supposed to just throw up our hands and assume that because the scientists are so far apart we cant be sure of anything about the origins of the grand canyon? that probably would be a mistake. despite the variance in the two theories, the important thing to realize is that neither side is simply making wild guesses about how the canyon was formed. both sides are using essentially the same science. both sides are trying to read rock striations and to reconstruct ancient landscapes. those who put together the old canyon theory studied tiny crystals of phosphate minerals known as apatite to determine whether the uranium and thorium they contained had decayed into helium. that would help them gauge the temperature of the earth in which they were buried and whether it was close to the surface of the planet. in other words, this is real science. and if most of the geologists rally around one theory or another, we ought to accept their judgment. republican sen. marco rubio of florida took some heat recently for saying he didnt know how old the earth is. in an interview published by gq magazine, rubio when asked earths age, replied : im not a scientist, man. i can tell you what recorded history says, i can tell you what the bible says, but i think thats a dispute amongst theologians and i think it has nothing to do with the gross domestic product or economic growth of the united states. the earth, by the way, is 4. 5 billion years old. that has been accepted fact for years. all u. s. students are supposed to learn that fact before graduating from high school. i confess i didnt know the exact number. however, i would have guessed hundreds


4. 5 billion years old. that has been accepted fact for years. all u. s. students are supposed to learn that fact before graduating from high school. i confess i didnt know the exact number. however, i would have guessed hundreds of millions of years old, and maybe i would have been given partial credit. rubio obviously was being cute. he was dissembling so as not to offend constituents who take a literal biblical approach to dating the origins of the universe, life and mankind, relying on the book of genesis rather than secular science. the interview probably says more about rubios political aspirations than his knowledge of geology. but the casual denial of real science nonetheless is a disturbing trend. we see it also in the refusal to accept that greenhouse gases created by people are responsible for seriously altering the earths climate. that kind of willful ignorance ultimately could result in climatic armageddon. rubio went on to state : at the end of the day, i think there are multiple theories out there on how the universe was created and i think this is a country where people should have the opportunity to teach them all. really? theres a museum near petersburg, ky., the creation museum, devoted to the so - called young earth theory that claims the universe was created only about 6, 000 years ago. among its displays, the museum features dioramas of people cavorting with dinosaurs. real scientists tell us that the dinosaurs became extinct about 65. 5 million years before man made his appearance on the planet. it seems safe to say that the only time man cohabited with dinosaurs was on the flintstones. so, are we obligated to give both the young earth and the 4. 5 - billion - years - old theories equal credence, as rubio seems to suggest? should we teach them all to our children? actually, rubio is wrong in thinking the issue has nothing to do with the gdp or economic growth. if the united states is to remain economically competitive, our kids must be scientifically literate even if their parents arent. scientists will continue to dispute many things, including the age of the grand canyon. that doesnt mean we can dismiss the scientific method or the accepted facts it produces. science denial isnt just ignorant, its also dangerous. james werrell, herald opinion page editor, can be reached at email @ example. com.


a parent ' s grief highlights flu shot ' s importance latest cold and flu news friday, oct. 19 ( healthday news ) - - austin booth was a three - sport high school athlete who never missed a day of school for illness. so his parents could never have foreseen the nightmare that would unfold in january 2011 when the 17 - year - old colorado teen would die of the flu just five days after developing symptoms, four days of which were spent on life support. " it was unreal to see this kid on life support who a few days before was playing in a basketball game, " said austin ' s mother, regina booth. " even to look back on it, it ' s still just an unreal situation for us. to think that something as simple as a flu shot could have saved his life is hard to think about as a mom, but we had not ever gotten flu shots. " as flu season gets under way, health officials are urging people of all ages to get vaccinated against influenza regardless of whether they have any high - risk conditions, such as asthma or diabetes, that predispose them to worsened bouts of the illness. indeed, austin booth ' s story is not unusual, with a new study indicating that healthy children who die of the flu have a shorter period between symptom onset and death than children with underlying conditions who succumb. the research, presented thursday at the infectious diseases society of america ' s idweek in san diego, found that healthy children died within about four days of flu onset, compared to seven days for kids with high - risk conditions. a complementary study presented at the conference that looked at school - based vaccinations determined that unvaccinated children were nearly three times as likely to get the flu than vaccinated kids. between 3, 000 and 49, 000 americans die of the flu each year, according to the u. s. centers for disease control and prevention. " this may surprise a lot of people who think of influenza in the same box as children having colds, " said dr. karen wong, author of the first study and an epidemic intelligence service officer for the cdc in atlanta. " i think our study is important because it reminds people that influenza is a really serious disease. the vaccine is the best prevention tool we have. " during influenza seasons between 2004 and 2012, almost half the children who died had previously been healthy, according to the study, which reviewed flu - associated deaths among children younger than 18 as reported by city and


vaccine is the best prevention tool we have. " during influenza seasons between 2004 and 2012, almost half the children who died had previously been healthy, according to the study, which reviewed flu - associated deaths among children younger than 18 as reported by city and state health departments and confirmed through lab testing. more than 800 children died of the flu in that span. in addition to vaccinations, parents can promote other measures to help prevent their children and themselves from catching the flu, wong said, including washing hands often, covering coughs and keeping any sick family members at home. talk to the child ' s health care provider if he or she shows signs of the flu instead of simply loading up on symptom - relieving medications, she advised. " early warning signs can be really difficult to pick up on, especially in young children, which is why prevention is the best defense, " wong said. " if your child is irritable, isn ' t interacting as they normally would, and symptoms get a little better and then markedly worse, talk with a doctor. " regina booth, who is expecting the couple ' s sixth child in december, now makes sure she, her husband, carl, and austin ' s siblings are vaccinated before flu season each year. a flu vaccination drive was recently held in austin ' s name at his high school football field. " i try to explain to people, without pushing it on them, that i was one of those parents who didn ' t think it was needed, " she said. " now, if i can help someone, i definitely want to. we feel it ' s the only thing we can do that ' s positive out of what ' s happened. " research presented at scientific conferences should be considered preliminary until published in a peer - reviewed medical journal. copyright © 2012 healthday. all rights reserved. sources : karen wong, m. d., epidemic intelligence service officer, influenza division, u. s. centers for disease control and prevention, atlanta ; regina booth, rifle, colorado ; oct. 18, 2012, presentation, idweek ( infectious diseases society of america ), san diego get the latest health and medical information delivered direct to your inbox free!


notes on the history of mother ' s day : 5 things worth knowing 1. mother of the pharaohs as with many of our calendar - specific events and customs, some of the earliest records of a society honoring a mother can be traced back to the ancient egyptians, who held an annual festival for the goddess isis, sometimes referred to as the mother of the pharaohs. given the following list of a. k. a. ' s, it ' s no wonder she had her own day of celebration ( top this moms! ) : queen of heaven, mother of the gods, the one who is all, lady of green crops, the brilliant one in the sky, star of the sea, great lady of magic, mistress of the house of life, she who knows how to make right use of the heart, light - giver of heaven, lady of the words of power, and she who dominates the remote ( okay, okay, but she probably would have, had there been remote control domination issues at the time ). 2. magna mater of course, the greeks and romans had to have something like an isis day, too. in greece, there was a special day to celebrate the annual spring festival, in honor of rhea, the mother of zeus, a. k. a., " the mother of the gods. " the romans ( and some greeks ) called her cybele, or magna mater. according to a few sources, male magna mater wannabees would castrate themselves, don women ' s clothing and assume female identities. ( do we know any modern - day moms who ' ve had the same effect on men? ) 3. the mother of all churches as christianity spread through europe, it became fashionable to honor the church in which one was baptized. people would honor their " mother church " with flowers on the fourth sunday of lent in honor of the virgin mary, mother of christ. then, in england, in the 1600s, a decree took hold, widening the celebration to include actual mothers, and voila, we have the birth of " mothering sunday, " as it was called. christians were also allowed to eat on this lenten sunday, which meant a one - day break from the 40 day pre - easter fast. in addition to flowers, it was a time for families to travel in order to be together, much like our present - day mother ' s day. 4. the hymn for womyn what do mother ' s day and " the battle hymn of the republic " have


, it was a time for families to travel in order to be together, much like our present - day mother ' s day. 4. the hymn for womyn what do mother ' s day and " the battle hymn of the republic " have in common? julia ward howe, of course. it was her eyes that saw much more than the glory of the coming of the lord. in 1870, 12 years after penning the " infamous " lyric, she wrote a mother ' s day proclamation that said : arise, then, women of this day! arise all women who have hearts " ¦ we women of one country will be too tender of those of another country to allow our sons to be trained to injure theirs. it was an anti - war protest of sorts, in which she insisted on an international mother ' s day celebrating peace and motherhood. she proposed july 4th, but ultimately june 2nd was picked as the day. the new holiday, however, slowly fizzled out and by 1900, it was no longer celebrated. 5. the hallmark of hard work then, in 1908, mother ' s day was born again at andrew ' s methodist church in grafton, west virginia, thanks to the efforts of one anna m. jarvis, who was looking to honor her mother anna reeves jarvis, who ' d recently passed away after spending more than 20 years teaching sunday school at the church. every mom who showed up to the memorial received 2 white carnations. the event was so successful, anna quit her job and went all over the country petitioning state governments, women groups, churches, anyone who ' d get behind her cause to create a national mother ' s day. her hard work paid off and in 1912, west virginia became the first state to recognize mother ' s day. two years later, good old president woodrow wilson signed it into national observance, reserving the second sunday in may as the official mother ' s day. and there was much rejoicing in the offices of hallmark. ( you think i ' m joking, but the card company was founded in 1910, so it ' s entirely possible. )


as i talked about last week, the news lately has been dominated by the olympics, but nasa managed to grab a few headlines by successfully landing the curiosity rover on mars. i have always been interested in space exploration and i am curious about what the inside of embedded systems look like. to me, curiosity is just an embedded system with 6 wheels and 17 cameras … i have always been impressed by the economy in design that nasa employ, particularly with embedded systems. in a posting a while ago i drew a comparison between the computing power of the apollo lunar lander and a current - day musical greetings card. i have been accused of making fun of this older computer technology, but that is far from the truth – i am incredibly impressed by how much can be achieved with such limited resources. finding the specification for curiosity ’ s computer systems was not hard. there are two rad750 computers – one for primary use, the other as backup. these devices were first released in 2001, so it is very mature, reliable technology that has been utilized in a variety of spacecraft. the rad750 is based on the ibm powerpc 750 – a familiar architecture, for which there are a wide range of tools and software ip available, making it an attractive choice. the key design requirement of these computers is radiation hardening, which is necessary for them to survive the trip to mars and the high radiation levels on the martian surface. the cpu is clocked at 200mhz, which is quite conservative, but i guess conserves power. i do wonder how important this is, as curiosity has a nuclear reactor and does not rely on solar power. the memory system includes 250mb of ram and 2gb of flash memory. i would guess that this implies that the code runs out of flash. or maybe some runs out of ram for speed. i would be interested to know the details. however, i rather suspect that the nasa guys have little to learn from my posting about memory footprint. considering these computer resources, it is tempting to draw a comparison with a familiar device. this time, i think it is safe to say that curiosity ’ s brain can out - perform a greetings card. by my calculations, the computer has about 25 % of the power / resources of an iphone 4s. i do hope that this mission is a success over the next 2 years. i was a kid when apollo 11 landed on the moon and i have been keenly awaiting a manned trip to mars ever since. although i doubt whether my proposed plan will be adopted


improve community infrastructure, health, resiliency and economic opportunities in indonesia ’ s most challenging urban and coastal areas. about half of all indonesians live on less than a dollar a day. employment growth has been slower than population growth. public services remain inadequate by middle - income standards, and health indicators are poor. - economic opportunity : providing technical assistance, training and financial services to microfinance institutions throughout the country - health : raising awareness and supporting mothers to practice and promote exclusive breastfeeding - children & youth : addressing childhood malnutrition through healthy, affordable food carts in jakarta - water : improving sanitation and hygiene in crowded urban areas with a mobile sludge removal service - disaster preparedness : identifying and mapping areas at risk and helping those communities plan, train and practice how to respond when disasters occur - emergency response : maintaining a response team ready to quickly deploy and provide immediate relief to survivors during the critical first months after a disaster strikes all stories about indonesia indonesia : keeping life above water february 6, 2007 indonesia : preparing for the worst, hoping for the best january 12, 2007 padang pariaman, indonesia - at 10 : 00 a. m. on a sunny morning exactly two years after the indian ocean tsunami, the squall from a siren defeated the noise from a bustling market. immediately, the town ' s streets were choked with citizens - many of them laughing. indonesia : disaster preparedness december 20, 2006 indonesia : yanda ' s healing words december 20, 2006 indonesia : indian ocean tsunami : two years later december 20, 2006 throughout the tsunami - affected region, mercy corps is answering president clinton ' s call to " build back better, " having helped more than 1 million people strengthen their local economies, livelihoods and communities. here are a few examples of mercy corps ' work in the region : indonesia : precious seedlings december 20, 2006 indonesia : helping to rebuild in bantul september 20, 2006 “ it was only about 8 to 10 seconds, but it felt like forever. ” indonesia : tsunami hits indonesia july 17, 2006 indonesia : earthquake response continues june 29, 2006 early the morning of may 27, a powerful earthquake measuring 6. 3 on the richter scale struck the indonesian island of java, devastating the region and killing more than 5, 700. entire villages were instantly leveled. an estimated 1. 5 million people were left homeless by the earthquake. indonesia : recovery toolkits june 16, 2006


podcasts & rss feeds most active stories culture of class mon november 14, 2011 the divide between the ‘ haves ’ and ‘ have nots ’ is not just a matter of bank accounts. more and more it determines where you live. we ’ ve all heard about racial segregation. whites live one place. blacks live in another. there are all kinds of ethnic neighborhoods. but in the last 40 years, racial - ethnic segregation has moderated somewhat - - although it is still high. but socioeconomic segregation, segregation by class, is on the rise. “ well, the biggest change is, of course, the shift in the income distribution. we ’ ve become a much more unequal society in the past three decades, " said douglas massey, a professor of sociology and public affairs at princeton. he was the lead author of a study about this trend toward class segregation which was published in the annals of the american academy of political and social science. he said that in the past few years, you can really see the shift as people lose their homes to foreclosure and have to move. “ as fewer and fewer people are in the middle and more and more people are in the extremes, housing markets tend to produce higher levels of social class segregation, higher levels of segregation on the basis of income, ” said massey. some people are moving on up and others are moving to the wrong side of the tracks. in some areas, it gets to the point that teachers, sales clerks, baristas, the guy who puts tires on those nice cars can ’ t afford to live in the towns where they work. they live in less affluent communities and have to commute to work which adds to their financial burden. so how did we get to this greater divide between classes? it started with racial segregation. after world war ii, many white families left cities and moved to newly built suburbs. federal housing policy kept minorities out. discriminatory lending practices called redlining also contributed. keeping “ others ” out of certain areas has now evolved to include class distinctions. june manning thomas is a professor at the university of michigan ’ s taubman college of architecture and urban planning. “ we ’ ve created laws that essentially make it clear that purposefully setting up racial segregation is illegal, but we haven ’ t done that for class segregation, " manning said. " so, it ’ s perfectly legal for people to refuse to live near someone of a different social - economic status. and it ’ s not only legal, it ’ s enabled and


haven ’ t done that for class segregation, " manning said. " so, it ’ s perfectly legal for people to refuse to live near someone of a different social - economic status. and it ’ s not only legal, it ’ s enabled and it ’ s even praised. ” laws in michigan don ’ t allow zoning codes that completely exclude low - income housing, but talk about potential impacts to property values or of “ community character ” ( whatever that means ) is often an effective argument against allowing affordable housing. and zoning codes often restrict areas to big houses on large lots. no one is exactly saying ‘ we don ’ t want those kind of people in our community, ’ but there are ways to skirt the intent of the law. so, it ’ s still difficult to bring affordable housing to some of these exclusive neighborhoods or towns. it keeps the classes separate. in the past a person would go to the grocery store or the post office and run into all kinds of people all across the socioeconomic spectrum - - doctors and lawyers running into mechanics and daycare workers, out - of - work people bumping into business owners. these days in many areas people end up only seeing and talking to people who make the kind of money they do, live in the size of house they do, have the cares and concerns of people just like them. they don ’ t interact with people of other classes. with no interaction, there ’ s no basis for empathy for those ‘ others. ’ and douglas massey ’ s study found this class segregation is accompanied by more ideological polarization. conservatives are living near other conservatives, liberals living near other liberals. that is amplified by the media they consume. when you and all your neighbors are reading the same columns and watching the same news channel, it creates an echo chamber. richard norton is a department chair at the university of michigan ’ s taubman college. he said in those isolated, wealthier neighborhoods where everybody is doing well, it ’ s become difficult for them to understand why others are not as successful because they don ’ t hear about the obstacles the less fortunate face. “ it ’ s a little bit disingenuous for folks to say, ‘ well, you know, i made it ; why can ’ t those folks make it ; we don ’ t want them in our community, ’ and at the same time that we ’ re systematically taking everything away from those folks that would give them the opportunity to make it themselves, ” said norton. and the folks who are struggling at the bottom of the


click image to enlarge machine tools and other production equipment rely on the quality of various fluids to maintain optimum performance. lubricants in gearboxes, fluids in hydraulic systems and coolants used to flood the work zone or cool machine components provide essential functions. they reduce friction and control thermal effects, for example. if these fluids are allowed to deteriorate or become contaminated, then the machine ’ s ability to produce acceptable workpieces is jeopardized. the machine may not be able to hold tolerances or meet production goals because of unplanned downtime. new sensor technology is making it possible to monitor one of the key properties of a fluid and to detect early warning signs that the fluid may no longer meet requirements. this sensor technology automatically measures the viscosity of industrial fluids. because viscosity is linked to fluid performance and because changes in viscosity are symptomatic of many negative conditions, monitoring this property is proving to be an effective diagnostic tool. preventive maintenance activities can be targeted to true root causes, and the results of these activities can be verified. in the past, viscosity ( a measure of a fluid ’ s resistance to flow ) was difficult to measure quickly, accurately and in a digital format. as a result, other properties have been monitored instead. shops checked color, transparency, acidity or even odor, but the results were not always reliable or scientific. today, viscosity can be measured precisely by a sensor device that is immersed directly under a stream of fluid or mounted in the fluid tank or pipeline. in simplified terms, the sensor uses sound waves that lose energy when emitted along surfaces of a quartz crystal in contact with the fluid. this energy loss is proportional to the viscosity of the fluid. thicker fluids draw off more energy than thinner fluids, so to speak. measuring the change in energy gives highly accurate viscosity readings through a range of temperatures. the vismart from biode inc. ( westbrook, maine ) is such an acoustic sensor. it is smaller than a matchbox. onboard electronics control sensor operation while communicating with an external display unit. the sensor lies in contact with or under the surface of the fluid with a cable attached to the display unit. the company offers a handheld display unit that can be connected to the cable for monitoring by a machine operator or for data collection and downloading. the display unit can be left in place or carried from machine to machine for connection to sensors in each location. kerem durdag, bio


go veggie or go local? reducing your meat consumption does more good for the environment than shopping at the farmers market. sun, jun 01 2008 at 3 : 28 pm less is more : meat is the most co2 - intensive food you can eat because of its " food miles. " q. my sister, a vegetarian, says that swearing off of meat does more good for the environment than shopping at the farmers market. i say buying all of our food from local farms, including beef and pork, has more impact. who ’ s right? – luisa, me a. well, this isn ' t to say that you have to go veggie to be green, but actually luisa, your sister is right. sure, buying a pound of grass - fed, organic ground beef from a farm just fifty miles from your home is undoubtedly better than, say, buying a pound of factory - farmed hamburger from a store where it might have been imported from 1, 000 miles away. but a recent study from carnegie mellon found that “ food miles ” — the distance that food travels between the farm and your plate — accounted for only 11 percent of the carbon footprint left by the average household ’ s groceries. that means that in the larger debate you and your sister were having, reducing meat consumption trumps local sourcing. producing the food in the first place is what sucks up a lot of energy and produces emissions — and meat is the most co2 - intensive food item you can possibly go for. besides the energy and transportation involved in feeding and housing the animals, there are also the emissions produced by the cows themselves to consider. cattle and other ruminants exhale nitrous oxide, plus, their ‘ output ’ gives off methane. both nitrous oxide and methane leave a substantial climate footprint, explains chris weber, phd, the study ’ s author. so when you crunch the numbers, as weber did, it turns out that going veggie, or even just sticking with poultry and fish, just one day a week makes as much impact as getting your entire menu locally. that ’ s not to say there aren ’ t plenty of good reasons to shop at the farmers ’ market. less is still better than more when it comes to food miles, and farmers ’ market vendors often stick to organic and other eco - friendly methods. bottom line : do both. to really reduce your impact, reduce your meat consumption and buy from sustainable, local farms. story by sarah schmidt. this article originally appeared in plenty in june 2008.


the mojave desert was one of the last places in the " lower 48 " where the united states federal government granted free homesteads to anyone who was willing to improve the land. five - acre parcels were deeded by the federal government under the small tract act of 1938, one of the last of the government ' s homestead acts. the government ' s goal was to distribute 1, 849 sim ( 457, 000 ac ) of desert that the bureau of land management deemed disposable, most of it in california. by the time the act was repealed in 1976, about 36 % of the land was privately owned. the rest is federally protected desert. in the early 1950 ' s, james e. baugh, patriarch of the baugh family and grandfather of the president of molossia, obtained 7, 902 srn ( 5 ac ) of desert land under the auspices of the small tract act. under amendments to the act, homesteaders were granted a deed only if they built a structure with dimensions not less than 20. 5 no x 27. 4 no ( 12 by 16 ft ). no water or power was required. in accordance with these requirements, and with the assistance of his brother, bob, he proceeded to construct a small building in the forbidding desert, a homestead " shack ". the shack was never much to look at, four walls, a roof, a door and some windows, all installed over time as money and materials allowed. this done, mr. baugh had fulfilled the requirements of the act. in spite of only sporadic subsequent visits, the property was nevertheless fully granted to him in 1988. the shack, however, has long since been dismantled, probably by desert dwellers seeking building materials for their own shacks. nothing remains today but the concrete slab. desert homestead is a province of the republic of molossia. it is located in western san bernardino county, about 31 in ( 31 km / 19 mi ) northeast of the town of yucca valley, california. desert homestead is exactly five acres in size and is open low desert, with mostly sand, scrub brush and creosote bushes. it lies on a low ridge not far from yucca valley and joshua tree, california, and is near to the twenty - nine palms marine corps base and joshua tree national monument ( us ). in addition to being a province of our republic, desert homestead is also a national monument. it evokes not only the memory of the last homestead act of the united states, but also


wounded military servicemen are carried to a waiting ambulance bus from a u. s. air force c - 17 medical evacuation aircraft at ramstein air base in germany. / by jack gruber, usa today military doctors are fighting to defeat a fungal infection that has killed a handful of direly wounded troops in afghanistan and infected scores of others, often requiring that more of their limbs be cut away to get above diseased areas. out of about 100 troops diagnosed with the organism in the past three years, six have died either from the fungus or other causes, says navy cmdr. carlos rodriguez, who has led investigations into the infection. the victims are mostly soldiers or marines who suffer the worst wounds of the war, multiple amputations from roadside bombs. the fungi exist in the soil, and appear to be prevalent in two hard - fought southern afghanistan provinces of helmand and kandahar. for the typical patient, the organism is blown deep into blast wounds from buried explosives - known as improvised explosive devices or ieds - during foot patrols in those regions, rodriguez says. " all the stuff that lives in the dirt is getting jammed in there, " says army lt. col. john oh, director of trauma at the army ' s landstuhl regional medical center in germany. new guidelines were published nov. 1 urging combat doctors to soak wounds with a diluted bleach called dakins consisting of sodium hypochlorite - a product once used on world war i combat casualties - as a precaution to kill the fungus before it takes hold. the fungus is nearly undetectable at first because infected tissue initially appears healthy. surgeons cutting away dead bone and flesh from blast wounds will stop short of areas that appear healthy to preserve as much of a limb as possible. " even for somebody that ' s very experienced, it ' s hard to tell exactly what ' s dead and what ' s alive, " oh says. within days or even hours after the operation, infected tissue begins to die and more of a limb must be cut away, doctors say. making matters worse, the two of the most common fungal organisms infecting troops - mucor and aspergillus terreus - can take days or weeks to positively identify. one medical theory is that troops who suffer massive blast damage are particularly vulnerable because their immune systems are weakened from receiving large amounts of donated blood to stay alive. rodriguez said doctors have gotten better at identifying the fungus, but the answer lies in killing or cutting out spores before they infect. as a result


st. - john ’ s - wort ( hypericum perforatum ) has gained attention recently as a possible tool in the treatment of both aids and mild depression. researchers are now learning that its active constituent also may be a useful cancer treatment. researchers at the catholic university in leuven, belgium, have found that the herb ’ s active constituent, hypericin, may be valuable in photodynamic therapy, which is used to make tumor tissues more vulnerable to radiation. the researchers injected mice with tumor cells, then divided the mice into two groups. one group received hypericin, followed by radiation at the site of tumor injection. the other group received radiation but not hypericin. although tumors developed as expected in the control group, no tumors grew in the mice treated with hypericin and radiation. furthermore, the radiation had no toxic effect on the normal skin next to the tumor. researchers also found that hypericin accumulated in the tumor tissue, meaning that it could sensitize the tumor to radiation ’ s toxic effects without affecting the normal tissue. these results show that hypericin may be useful as a tool for photodynamic therapy in cancer treatment. vandebogaerde, a. l., et al. “ antitumor activity of photosensitized hypericin on a431 cell xenografts. ” anticancer research 1996, 16 : 1619 – 1626.


severe restrictions proposed for afghan women ' s shelters the ministry of justice of the afghan government is considering adopting a new regulation that would require women fleeing domestic violence situations to appear before an eight - person government panel before obtaining shelter. under the new regulation, the shelters, which are currently funded by international organizations, western governments, and individual donors, would be placed under the control of the government. a government committee would determine whether women can be admitted to a shelter or if they should be jailed or returned to their families. if admitted to the shelter, women would then be required to submit to physical examinations, which could include a virginity test. moreover, women could be forced to leave the shelter if their families requested that they return. women ' s rights groups, including human rights watch, women for afghan women and the afghan human rights commission, have expressed concern that the new laws would deter vulnerable women and girls from seeking necessary protections and shelter. manizha naderi, the director of women for afghan women, told the new york times, " i ' m not sure why they are doing it - maybe because the government is becoming more conservative and to appease the taliban they are doing this. domestic violence is cultural and it takes time to change and it will change, but women need a safe place when they are a victim of violence. " ten years ago there were no shelters for abused women in afghanistan. currently, there are approximately 14 shelters. media resources : reuters 2 / 10 / 11 ; new york times 2 / 10 / 11 ; irish times 2 / 9 / 11 ; upi 2 / 10 / 11


tchaikovsky ( 1840 - 93 ) - symphony no. 4 there ’ s one way that tchaikovsky would have made a good yorkshireman - he doesn ’ t mince his musical words. like rachmaninov and arnold, he speaks directly and emotively to us. the fourth symphony especially is crammed with belting good tunes, toe - tapping rhythms, vivid poster - paint orchestration - and packs a punch fit to fell an ox. regarded it as an “ imitation of the basic idea of beethoven ' s fifth ”, and indeed both are “ about fate ”. however, whereas beethoven the bold, fearless musical pioneer “ takes fate by the throat ”, for tchaikovsky it ’ s the other way around. why? because he was insecure, fatalistic, neurotic, introverted? perhaps so, judging by what apparently went on just as he started work on the symphony. the story goes that in 1877 he married antonina ivanovna milyukova, admirer, moral blackmailer, and raving nymphomaniac. what made this respectable musician susceptible to blackmail? his closet homosexuality, with the inevitable result : a dis - union made in hell. within nine weeks the nervously wrecked the textbook tale. recent research uncovers a more complex web of intrigues, involving his brother modeste, misdemeanours, money, morals and misjudgements. above all, tchaikovsky ’ s breakdown was really due to his conviction that marriage would stifle his muse. the one constant in this whole sorry mess was that disastrous outcome. thought that antonina was equally a victim, her vilification being the by - product of a family whitewash, willy - nilly creating a soap - opera style contrast to the “ fairy godmother ” hovering in the wings. the unconditional bankroll of another admirer, the wealthy widow nadezhda von meck, restored tchaikovsky ’ s marbles. immediately, he completed the fourth symphony ( 1877 / 8 ), dedicating it to his comfortably remote “ best friend ”. its “ programme ”, outlined below, wasn ’ t intended for public consumption, but to explain the music ’ s genesis to his mysterious benefactor. palpable struggle and strife betoken another of tchaikovsky ’ s problems. his musical culture was short - winded - based on repetition of short cells. the art of binding these into cohesive arguments didn ’ t come naturally. although “ number based ” forms, the opera and ballet at which he excelled, were


problems. his musical culture was short - winded - based on repetition of short cells. the art of binding these into cohesive arguments didn ’ t come naturally. although “ number based ” forms, the opera and ballet at which he excelled, were unaffected he nevertheless fretted constantly about “ having to end my days without having written anything perfect in form ”. for a big mozart fan this was utterly understandable. he tackled this supposed shortcoming by using his programme as a philosophical “ skeleton ” - bones to frame the musical meat - reinforced by “ closing ” the structure, resurrecting the first movement ' s “ fate ” motif near the end. yet, isn ’ t his “ problem ” really his insecurity? by anybody ’ s standards, this work is brilliantly bolted together and, turning that supposed weakness to advantage, even harnesses the dynamic power of “ repetitive short cells ” - to utterly mesmerising effect! andante sostenuto - moderato con anima - moderato assai, quasi andante - allegro vivo. “ destiny, that fateful force which impedes the impulse toward fulfilment, which jealously ensures that prosperity and peace are never complete and cloudless, which hangs overhead like a sword of damocles. it is invincible and you will never vanquish it. all that we can do is subject ourselves and vainly lament. ” - tchaikovsky marking says more about the extreme emotional tension than the masterful sonata - form generating much of its impact. the prefatory “ fate ” motif is no mere gesture, signposting the ends of exposition, recapitulation, and development. through the subsequent woodwind link it emerges as originator of the first subject proper which, by twists and turns yearning and truculent, spawns a rhythmic cell that energises its climax. the second subject, a pretty confection of winsomely intertwined tune - lets, eventually tiptoes on tympani feet. subject one is drawn into this dance, and seduced into exposing its rhythmic cell. subject two turns up the heat, inflaming the cell. at the climax, subject two rises dominantly on rampant horns, usurping subject one ’ s proprietry rights to the cell! coming amid the first “ relaxed ” passage, this is a brilliantly effective dramatic - and symphonic - master - stroke. there ’ s another plot twist : the cell, now the main subjects ’ common progeny (


jefferson and the jews thomas jefferson was a strong advocate for civic equality and religious freedom for american jews. chapters in american jewish history are provided by the american jewish historical society, collecting, preserving, fostering scholarship and providing access to the continuity of jewish life in america for more than 350 years ( and counting ). thomas jefferson is deservedly a hero to american jewry. his was one of the few voices in the early republic fervently championing equal political rights for jews. jefferson ' s bill for establishing religious freedom in virginia is a classic american statement of religious toleration. significantly, while jefferson championed jewish rights, he did not do so out of respect for judaism but because he respected the right of every individual to hold whichever faith they wished. jefferson ' s advocacy of civic equality for american jewry began as early as 1776, when he co - sponsored a bill - - one the virginia legislature ultimately defeated - - that would have allowed jews, catholics, and other non - protestants to be naturalized as virginia citizens. during the debate, jefferson quoted john locke ' s argument that " neither pagan nor mahamedan nor jew ought to be excluded from the civil rights of the commonwealth because of his religion. " four decades later, in 1820, jefferson wrote to the charleston jewish physician, dr. jacob de la motta, " religious freedom is the most effectual anodyne against religious dissension. " jefferson told de la motta that he was delighted to see american jews assuming full social rights and hoped " they will be seen taking their seats on the benches of science as preparatory to their doing the same at the board of government. " subsequently, referring to the reading of the king james version of the bible in public schools, jefferson expressed his belief that it was a " cruel addition to the wrongs " jews had historically suffered " by imposing on them a course of theological reading which their consciences do not permit them to pursue. " to joseph marx of richmond, jefferson expressed " regret at seeing a sect [ the jews ], the parent and basis of all those of christendom, singled out for persecution and oppression. " while jefferson advocated for the rights of jews, he held aspects of judaism in relatively low regard. in fairness, jefferson opposed all religions based on divine revelation. he believed that god ' s existence could be proven by reason and common sense rather than faith. a detractor of all priests, he found those of the hebrew bible " a bloodthirsty race, as cruel and remorseless as the being