• fertility
    Coatlicue is the chief fertility goddess in the Aztec culture.

    Photograph by Victor R. Boswell Jr.

    Fertility Gods
    Soil fertility and human fertility were both extremely important to ancient people. Almost every ancient culture had a deity associated with fertility. The deity was worshipped and offered sacrifices in order to ensure a healthy crop and healthy children. Fertility deities can be gods, such as Kokopelli, the fertility deity of many cultures of the American Southwest. Fertility deities can also be goddesses, such as Hathor, who was worshipped in Egypt.

    Fertile Crescent
    The Fertile Crescent is an area in the Middle East where many aspects of civilization, including agriculture and writing, were first practiced. The region stretches in an arc from the modern-day countries of Iraq and Kuwait on the Persian Gulf, up to the southern part of Turkey, down along the Mediterranean coast of Jordan and Israel, and ending in northern Egypt. The soil of the Fertile Crescent is extremely fertile, which allowed agricultural communities, and eventually cities and civilization, to develop.

    Fertility can refer to the ability of soil to sustain plant growth, or it can refer to the number of live births occurring in a population.

    Fertile Soil

    Agronomists, or people who study the uses of plants, use the term to refer to soil. Plants grow easily in fertile soil because it contains large amounts of nutrients. These nutrients, which help keep plants healthy, come from minerals and decaying plant and animal matter. Minerals may have been deposited in the soil during the last glacial period, or Ice Age.

    Fertilizers can be added to soil to increase fertility. Fertilizers contain nutrients such as phosphorous, nitrogen, and potassium. Composted plant matter, called humus, is a natural fertilizer that can improve soil fertility. Manure, or the droppings of some animals such as bats or cows, is also an excellent fertilizer. Many companies manufacture fertilizers for use on specific crops. These fertilizers can be applied directly to the soil or to the plants.

    Poor farming techniques, certain grazing practices, and erosion can make the soil less fertile. Planting a single crop, year after year, can drain the soil of nutrients. Overgrazing by too many cows, goats, or sheep can prevent new grasses from growing. Erosion allows the soil to either blow away by wind or drain away by water.

    Fertile soil is usually found in river basins or in places where glaciers deposited minerals during the last Ice Age. Valleys and plains are usually more fertile than mountains. The Pampas, for example, is an extremely fertile plains region in South America. The Pampas includes parts of Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay. The Pampas supports both farming and ranching.

    Human Fertility

    For demographers—people who study population statistics—fertility means the number of live births occurring in a population.

    The general fertility rate is the number of live births per 1,000 women of childbearing age (usually ages 15 to 44) in a given year. Governments keep track of the general fertility rate to determine if their population will grow, shrink, or stay the same size. This determines such things as how much food needs to be produced, what sort of public transportation is needed, and how health care is addressed.

    Fertility rates tend to be lower in industrialized nations, such as the United States, than in underdeveloped countries. There are many reasons for this. Mothers and children have greater access to health care in industrialized nations. This means children’s mortality rates, or the number of children who die before turning five, are much lower. Women also have greater access to family planning services. The fertility rate in the developed, industrialized nation of South Korea, for instance, is about 1.2. This means that most women have one child. The fertility rate in neighboring North Korea is nearly 2, meaning most women have two children. North Korea is a developing country.

    Women in industrialized nations have access to more education and professional development. Many women choose to go to school or get a job instead of having children at a young age. Many choose not to have children at all. This lowers the fertility rate in industrialized nations.

    Industrialized nations usually have a school system for young children. In developing nations, young children may work to support their families instead of going to school. The fertility rate may rise because more children means more workers. In industrialized nations, children are not expected to take care of their parents and grandparents.

    The tendency for industrialized nations to have lower birth rates is not always true. The United States has the highest birth rate of all industrialized nations, at about 2. This is far higher than developing nations such as Uruguay (1.9), Tunisia (1.7) or Thailand (1.6).

    In order to maintain a stable population, each woman must bear two children—one to replace each parent. High fertility rates—where most women give birth to more than two healthy babies—can lead to overpopulation. Low fertility rates—where most women give birth to one child or no children—can lead to a dwindling population.

    Some nations want to increase their fertility rate. Japan has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world. The general fertility rate hit a record low of 1.21 in 2009, even though the Japanese government made efforts to encourage women to have children. The country's population is declining and the average age is getting older.

    Some want to decrease their fertility rate. China’s famous “one child policy” is a good example of this. China is the most populous country in the world. The Chinese government believes that lowering the fertility rate would increase the resources, such as education and jobs, available to its citizens. In the late 1970s, China set taxes and economic fines for families with more than one child. (The fines and taxes do not apply to ethnic minorities and other groups, such as rural farm families.) As a result, the fertility rate in China has dropped. China now has a lower fertility rate than the United States.

    Fourteen countries have fertility rates with at least six children per woman. These countries are Afghanistan, Angola, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Timor Leste, and Uganda.

    Fertility does not always correspond to population. Despite their high fertility rates, the countries listed above make up less than five percent of the world’s population. Countries with much larger populations, such as India, China, and the United States, have lower fertility rates.

  • Term Part of Speech Definition Encyclopedic Entry
    agronomist Noun

    person who studies soil and its role in agriculture.

    childbearing age Noun

    age at which a female can give birth to offspring.

    compost Noun

    mixture of decaying organic material, such as food waste and plants.

    correspond Verb

    to match or be similar to.

    crop Noun

    agricultural produce.

    Encyclopedic Entry: crop
    decay Verb

    to rot or decompose.

    deity Noun

    very holy or spiritual being.

    demographer Noun

    person who studies patterns in human populations.

    deposit Verb

    to place or deliver an item in a different area than it originated.

    drain Verb

    to empty.

    dwindle Verb

    to shrink.

    encourage Verb

    to inspire or support a person or idea.

    ensure Verb

    to guarantee.

    erosion Noun

    Encyclopedic Entry: erosion
    farming Noun

    the art, science, and business of cultivating the land for growing crops.

    fertility Noun

    capacity of soil to sustain plant growth; or the average number of children born to women in a given population.

    Encyclopedic Entry: fertility
    fertilizer Noun

    general fertility rate Noun

    number of live births per 1,000 women of childbearing age.

    glacial period Noun

    time of long-term lowering of temperatures on Earth. Also known as an ice age.

    glacier Noun

    mass of ice that moves slowly over land.

    Encyclopedic Entry: glacier
    government Noun

    grass Noun

    type of plant with narrow leaves.

    graze Verb

    to feed on grass, usually over a wide pasture.

    Hathor Noun

    fertility goddess of ancient Egypt.

    health care Noun

    system for addressing the physical health of a population.

    humus Noun

    material that forms when plant and animal matter decays.

    Encyclopedic Entry: humus
    Ice Age Noun

    last glacial period, which peaked about 20,000 years ago.

    industrial Adjective

    having to do with factories or mechanical production.

    Kokopelli Noun

    fertility god of the ancient North American southwest.

    manure Noun

    animal excrement or waste used to fertilize soil.

    mineral Noun

    mortality rate Noun

    the ratio of the total number of deaths to the total population in a given time and area. Also called the death rate.

    mountain Noun

    landmass that forms as tectonic plates interact with each other.

    nitrogen Noun

    nutrient Noun

    substance an organism needs for energy, growth, and life.

    Encyclopedic Entry: nutrient
    overpopulation Noun

    Pampas Noun

    flat grasslands of South America.

    phosphorus Noun

    chemical element with the symbol P.

    plain Noun

    flat, smooth area at a low elevation.

    Encyclopedic Entry: plain
    population Noun

    total number of people or organisms in a particular area.

    population statistics Noun

    patterns in populations of organisms.

    potassium Noun

    chemical element with the symbol K.

    professional development Noun

    opportunities to improve in a career.

    public transportation Noun

    ranch Noun

    large farm on which livestock are raised.

    sacrifice Noun

    destruction or surrender of something as way of honoring or showing thanks.

    soil Noun

    top layer of the Earth's surface where plants can grow.

    sustain Verb

    to support.

    underdeveloped country Noun

    country that has fallen behind on goals of industrialization, infrastructure, and income.

    valley Noun

    depression in the Earth between hills.

Tell us what you think


HF interference from BPL or PLC

Three more Broadband-on-Power areas added to the list and more detail:

Cullman,    AL - PowerComm test
Atlanta,    GA - (soon) Southern Company
Potomac,    MD - 70 - Current Technologies/ Potomac Electric Power Co
St Louis,   MO - (may be Cape Girardeau?)
Raleigh,    NC - Progress Energy
Willmington,NC -
Briarcliffe,NY - Con-Ed
New York,   NY - (soon) Con-Edison
Dublin,     OH - American Electric Power (AEP)
Hyde Park,  OH - Cincinatti, about 100 users
Allentown,  PA - Amperion (in the Emmaus area)
PhiladelphiaPA - (soon) Pennsylvania Power and Light
Manassas,   VA -

Remember, there are no signals when people aren't using it, so be careful
about reporting "nothing heard".  THis is not chicken-little.  I'm just
helping people share information about where these Broadband tests are
being conducted so that HAMS living nearby can be alerted to listen..
(or transmit)...

for... FInding even 1 out of 50 users in a city is a needle in a haystack!

> Powerline communications (PLC) technology uses the existing local electric
> Telecom Council, which represents 850 power companies that also offer
> telecommunications services.

de WB4APR, Bob

You are currently subscribed to aprssig as: bruninga@usna.edu


It is so darn hard to keep up with social media. Yes, I say that a lot, but I say it a lot because trying to keep up with new platforms, apps, tools, guides, and everything else related to social media is like trying to keep up with a Porsche when you are on a bicycle.

Monitor Social Media Activities with Useful Tools

To help clear through the clutter, Social Media Examiner published a list of 22 social media tools that they culled from their contributing writers. I went through the list and whittled it down to the ones I found to be the most helpful and useful. So here goes, in alphabetical order:

Argyle Social: Combines social publishing, engagement, and analytics in one dashboard. You can even separate out Facebook and Twitter shares to customize content for each channel.

Cinchcast.com: Record blog posts, articles, presentations, or, well, anything else you want to share as an audio recording. You can use the web or phone to make the recording, add text and photos, and share it on Facebook and Twitter.

FormuLists: Better manage and engage with your Twitter followers. You can filter and network with people based on location/bio keywords, Twitter activity, number of followers and a whole lot more.

HubSpot: A one-stop shop for social media stuff: Connect with the tools that help you optimize your social media programs, peruse a directory of Twitter apps, and rate and shares social media monitoring software and other sites.

Posterous: Post blog posts, videos, photos, and audio to 20 social media channels by sending one email.

PostRank: Track where and how users engage and what they pay attention to — in real-time. Their data measures actual user activity, the most accurate indicator of the relevance and influence of a website, blog post, or author.

Screenr: Easily create instructional or educational videos that combine screen captures with audio. Videos will play everywhere on the web (and on iPhones).

Storify: Aggregrate and curate photos, videos, tweet, and other content from the web for events, product launches, etc.

Sysomos: Monitor your social media conversations on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, and forums in one place.

Trunk.ly: Use this social media bookmark solution to keep track of the links you like or Tweet.


0.0 stars out of 5 stars based on 4 reviews
Panaeng Gai (Panang Curry with Chicken)
Saved for later (29)

Total Time: 2-3 hours

Active Time:

Makes: 4 servings

Panaeng is a slightly sweet, thick Thai curry that is not as spicy as others. It is characterized by the presence of peanuts in the curry paste, and optionally, in the finished product. One can happily substitute beef, other meats, or even vegetables for chicken, although cooking times should be adjusted to account for the change.

This recipe has earned me quite a reputation amongst my friends and family, who often request it and usually fight over seconds when I make it. One friend told me that this was the best thing anyone has ever cooked for him, and other proposed marriage to me after eating this dish. (My friends are lovely, dramatic people.) It is quite time consuming to make a curry paste from scratch, but there is nothing time-sensitive in doing so, so it can be a several-hour joy that can be spread across the day and savoured as the different ingredients are prepared and release their wonderful, diverse bouquet of aromas in your kitchen.

Curry paste can be prepared in advance and will keep in the fridge for several days, but does lose some of its flavour and can dry up. It is best tightly wrapped in plastic wrap to maintain freshness.

Once the paste is prepared, the curry itself is quite easy to make. It is most frequently served with jasmine rice, but I prefer to eat it with fresh rice noodles (ho fen, as one might use in preparing Pad See Eew), which provides a deliciously slurpy – if not somewhat messy – base for the rich and luxurious curry sauce.

  1. 1First we prepare the curry paste: place the peanuts in a small saucepan and cover with a generous quantity of water. Turn stove to high heat, and when boiling, reduce slightly. Cook at a steady boil for 60 minutes to soften and sweeten.
  2. 2One at a time, roast the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, white peppercorns, and freshly grated nutmeg in a small pan over medium-high heat until darkened, but not burnt. This should take about a minute (with the exception of the nutmeg, which will take seconds), during which you should stir gently from time-to-time to ensure even roasting. When finished, grind all the spices together using a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle.
  3. 3To prepare the lemongrass, remove a couple of the outer leaves. Chop away the top 2/3rds of the stalk and reserve for lemongrass tea. Remove the nub at the bottom. Slam the remaining 1/3 of each lemongrass stalk with the blunt edge of a knife along its length to break it somewhat, and then slice it into very thin rounds. It is important to slice as thinly as possible, as lemongrass is difficult to break apart when processing the ingredients into curry paste. Furthermore, it is the peel (avoiding the pith as best as possible) of the kaffir limes that you want: the actual limes themselves may be used for other purposes.
  4. 4Add all ingredients to a food processor in approximately the order above (the idea is to have the smaller or oiler ingredients on top to ensure even blending). Blend on medium speed for around 5-10 minutes or until desired consistency is reached (the mixture should be resemble a thick paste). Stir occasionally by hand to help the blending process. Alternatively, if one does not have a food processor, a blender can be used, or if one is ambitious, preferably, the procedure can be done by hand using a mortar and pestle. A food processor often leaves identifiable sliced ingredients, which is not optimal, and slicing as opposed to crushing does not release the maximal amount of flavour. One good time-saving option is to blend in the food processor and then finish by pounding in a mortar and pestle until a fine paste is achieved.
  5. 5We now prepare the curry: in a wok over high heat, bring one cup of coconut cream to a rolling boil, and add the curry paste. Fry the paste in the cream for five or six minutes, boiling steadily, until the mixture is thick. (It is optimal if the oil separates from the coconut cream during this process; however, this is unlikely to happen in canned creams as they may have been homogenized. This can be assisted by adding one tbsp of, preferably, palm oil, or alternatively, vegetable oil to the cream.)
  6. 6Add the fish sauce, lime leaves, and sugar, and stir for one minute or until sugar is entirely dissolved.
  7. 7Add some more coconut cream to thin the mixture slightly, and mix in the chicken and allow to cook for five minutes, stirring frequently. Add the remaining coconut cream (you may use more than the two cups for a thinner curry) and stir, returning to a boil. Add the peanuts, the red pepper, and the chillies if using, and cook for one more minute. Stir in the basil and remove from heat.
  8. 8Garnish with lime wedges, sprigs of Thai basil, red pepper slivers, shredded lime leaves, or a couple tablespoons of coconut cream. Serve immediately with jasmine rice or fresh rice noodles that have been boiled for about 10-20 seconds.

Member recipes are not tested by the CHOW food team.

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Web designFeature

The designer's guide to grid theory

Whether you work in web or print, you need to understand grid theory - even if you eschew grids. Here's what you need to know.

Grids are like the invisible glue that holds a design together, so whether you work in print or on the web you need to understand grid theory.

There's been a resurgence in the popularity of the grid in recent times. This has come about as the web has matured into a more capable design platform, and web designers (and developers) have created reusable CSS libraries and frameworks to simplify the process of deploying and leveraging grids to create balanced page layouts. For an entire generation of designers on the web, however, the grid is something of a mystery. While art college graduates will know all about it, for self-taught web designers, there's much theory and rationalisation of the grid as a design tool that simply isn't covered by the typical blog posts and conference talks.

Guide to the grid

We're here to set that straight with this simple pocket-sized guide to the grid, including a small smattering of theory! While some designers actively eschew grids in favour of a more intuitive, free-form layout, the most successful do so having worked with grids for years - they understand the rules before they break them.

So whether you're a traditionally-taught designer or just finding your way without any formal training, we'll help you out with the basic terminology, practice and purpose of the grid. So, with that promise made, let's get started.

01. Grids establish a meter and rhythm

The foremost purpose of a grid, in graphic design at least, is to establish a set of guidelines for how elements should be positioned within a layout. Not only does an effective grid provide the rhythm for a design, but it also defines the meter.

The rhythm and meter of a layout is an important part of making the content accessible, helping the viewer to understand where to find the next piece of information within the layout. It sets expectations and defines the rules, timbre and - in some cases - voice of the design. Think of a grid as providing the road-map along which your viewers travel.

So, how do you use a grid to establish a meter and rhythm?

02. Grids define and reflect proportion

A key aspect of the grid is its ability to help determine and define proportion. In print, proportions most commonly echo the size of the media; the shape and orientation of the paper are often reflected in the size and shape of images included within a layout, for example. This feels comfortable because the reader subliminally understands the context of the layout as a result of the physical shape and size of the delivery mechanism (in this case, a piece of paper!).

On the web this idea of reflection isn't quite so important, but grids can be be used in the same way to anchor content back to the screen. Screens can be more fluid, and as a designer it's not possible to know with the same confidence what size and shape of screen will be used to view content.

Regardless of this, proportion and scale are important tools in a layout so using a grid to determine and enforce rules helps to define that all-important set of signposts that helps the reader to access and understand content.

03. Grids, the rule of thirds, and the golden ratio

The whole concept of a definitive grid 'system' is a relatively recent invention in the world of design. Grids have existed intuitively since the earliest days of man drawing and writing, but it's only recently that layout has been considered in a scholarly fashion, and as such they've never existed in isolation from other best-practice, well understood layout tools. One such example of cross-over is where the golden ratio meets the grid.

The golden ratio (also known as the golden mean) determines the most pleasing set of proportions for an element, and is simplified to the 'rule of thirds'. When used in combination with a grid, these simple rules for size, position and proportion can help ensure a layout feels both coherent within itself, but also appealing aesthetically. Why would you want to appeal in these terms? Because by doing so, you're making the content more accessible to the reader. Remember that a grid is the invisible glue behind content - in most cases it should be transparent to the viewer.

04. 960 grid systems on the web

Understanding the value and benefit of having a grid system in place, it's understandable that web designers have moved to adopt grids. The practicalities of using a grid on the web are such that a few common sizes have become the standard, with the most common being the 960px grid system. 960px is a good size because it has many factors (whole numbers it can be divided into): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15, 16, 20, 24, 30, 32, 40, 48, 60, 64, 80, 96, 120, 160, etc. Being able to divide the grid up in this way provides a lot of flexibility for the width of columns, offering a good multi-purpose and reusable grid system. Needless-to-say, numerous designers have been busy wrapping up the 960px grid into a helpful set of CSS libraries. One such example can be found at http://960.gs, but there others available if you look around.

05. Grids provide a foundation and balance

As we've seen, grids exist primarily to help determine the position and balance for a layout. This can be used to help ensure that content is presented in an easy-to-understand order, but conversely by providing a firm foundation a grid can also be used to highlight specific areas of content simply by breaking elements outside the grid. The viewer will naturally identify these break-outs and be drawn towards them, giving the designer the opportunity to play with the hierarchy of a layout and tweak the semantic meaning of a piece of work.

06. Grid work with other key design principles

Don't forget that the grid is just one tool alongside many basic principles you can use to enhance your layouts. Don't get overly caught up in using a grid rigidly - some of the best designs break all the rules of grid layout and are all the more successful for doing so. Understanding how and when to use or not use a grid can only really come from experience - so experiment! Check out our other articles on design theory to pick up other handy tools and principles you can use to enhance your designs.

Do you use grids in your layouts? Let us know in the comments below.

Words: Sam Hampton-Smith

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Now Playing: 12-24-13 Marketplace Tech - NSA vs. RSA

One of the most respected cyber security firms in the business, RSA, has reportedly accepted money from the National Security Agency to push a flawed security product. This is connected to earlier revelations about the NSA building back doors into encryption to help its surveillance programs. Plus, Netflix's programming for kids. And, news of a little app that might be helpful to parents by providing video proof, sort of, that Santa was here.


Attack of Phantom Fat

‘Phantom fat’ can linger after weight loss

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    Martin Diebel
    Losing weight is just the first step. Next comes shedding the heavy burden of a larger-than-life self-image. Even after dramatic weight loss, some are plagued by lingering "phantom fat."

    Even though Kellylyn Hicks has lost about 85 pounds over the last year and a half, and gone from a size 24 to a tiny size 4, she still worries she won't fit into chairs.

    While out shopping, she fears that she’ll bump her hip into a shelf and break something. A few years ago when she was heavier, she accidentally knocked over and broke a wolf figurine and had to pay $60 for it.

    “It's been really hard to change my self-image,” says Hicks, 37, of Chesapeake, Va. “I still feel like I'm this enormous person who takes up tons of space.”

    Body-image experts say it’s not uncommon for people, especially women, who have lost a lot of weight to be disappointed to some extent to discover that they still aren’t “perfect.” The excess fat is gone when they reach their goal weight, but they may have sagging skin, cellulite or a body shape that they still deem undesirable. Like Hicks, some even continue to see themselves as though they are overweight.

    “People who were formerly overweight often still carry that internal image, perception, with them,” says Elayne Daniels, a psychologist in Canton, Mass., who specializes in body-image issues. “They literally feel as if they’re in a large body still.”

    “Body image is a lot harder to change than the actual physical body is,” Daniels says.

    'Waiting for the other shoe to drop'
    Another contributing factor, especially for yo-yo dieters, can be fear of regaining the weight, says Joshua Hrabosky, a psychologist at Rhode Island Hospital who studies body image and counsels obese people undergoing bariatric surgery.

    “They’re still in the back of their minds maybe waiting for the other shoe to drop,” he says. People who’ve gained and lost and gained again may be less likely to embrace a new image that they worry won’t last.

    Hrabosky co-authored a research paper in 2004 that discussed the notion of a phantom fat phenomenon. “We were kind of playing on the concept of phantom limb,” he says, in which people who’ve lost an arm or leg feel like the limb is there and even causing them pain or itching.

    Still focused on the fat
    The findings suggest that “people who undergo major weight loss may experience improvements in satisfaction in appearance, though still not necessarily as much as someone who was never overweight,” Hrabosky explains. “But they are also still more invested or preoccupied with appearance than someone who was never overweight.”

    Though she’s lost 50 pounds, Nell Bradley, 25, of Atlanta, says she’s more weight-conscious now than five years ago when she weighed 200 pounds.

    “I’m so afraid of being that size again,” says Bradley, who exercises three to four times a week and watches her diet to keep her weight in check. She’d like to lose about 10 more pounds.

    Even five years later, she still hasn’t shaken the image of her heavier self. “Now I’m down to 155 to 160 and I still feel like I'm at the weight that I was before,” she says. “It's weird because sometimes I'll shop and immediately look for clothes in my size when I was nearly 200 pounds. I always have problems seeing myself in the mirror or in pictures.”

    Experts say part of the problem in our body-obsessed culture is that many women — and increasingly more men — have highly unrealistic expectations of what weight loss can do for them. Too often, they think hitting their ideal weight will make them look like a swimsuit model in a magazine, and they’re disappointed when that’s not the case.

    People who expect perfection can “get stuck in dichotomous thinking that you’re fat or you’re perfect, and there’s no gray area in between,” says psychologist Leslie Heinberg, who counsels bariatric patients at the Cleveland Clinic. “So if you’re not perfect, you’re ‘fat.’”

    'Blind spot' about own body
    Heinberg says a lot of her patients who’ve lost large amounts of weight know they have a “blind spot” when it comes to their new body, so they really have to work at believing they look the way others see them.

    “It can take years after surgery, after losing weight, for people to really buy that,” she says.

    Think of getting a dramatically different hairdo and then doing a double-take upon seeing your reflection in a store window, Heinberg says. “Losing 80 pounds is much more of a cognitive shift than getting new highlights,” she explains.

    Some people will adjust naturally and more quickly to the weight loss than others, experts say.  But it’s time to get help when people are experiencing significant distress, sadness or depression, they say, or their feelings are interfering significantly with their normal activities (such as not going to parties or children’s events, always looking in the mirror or avoiding intimacy with a partner).

    Counseling may involve challenging distorted ways of thinking about one’s appearance (by studying before-and-after photos, for instance, or bringing out the “fat pants” and seeing the difference in the mirror), learning how to think about oneself in a more positive manner, and working to engage in activities one’s been avoiding.


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Hope's Speech

This is from a story I wrote about a girl named Hope who has to decide whether to stand up for what she believes in and face death, or give in and let more people die.Anonymous 2 years, 8 months ago

        <a href="http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5353022/Hope%27s_Speech"
          title="Wordle: Hope's Speech"><img
          alt="Wordle: Hope's Speech"
build #1439


Hands-On Experiences

Most of the classes in the graphic arts management program are held in the Applied Technology Building, located near the center of campus. The building is equipped with state-of-the-art teaching technologies, including wired classrooms, computer labs, and teaching labs. The graphic arts labs are outfitted with current prepress, scanning, proofing, plate making, press, and finishing equipment to provide you with hands-on learning opportunities.


Benoît Mandelbrot, the French-American mathematician known for his work with fractal geometry, died on Thursday. Mandelbrot lent his name to the Mandelbrot set—the very beautiful, stoner-friendly mathematical object in this video.

Mandelbrot didn't "discover" the Mandelbrot set, but it was named in his honor thanks to his extensive work with it. He also coined the the term "fractal," after spending time thinking about what should be a fairly simple question: How long is the coast of Britain?

The coastline is infinite! How cool is that? Here's another, longer video of the Mandelbrot set, courtesy programmer Michael Hogg Make sure you turn on HD!:

[NYT; videos by Michael Hogg]


7 Best Eco-Friendly Diapers

honest diapersYou want to save the planet, but you've got this baby who poops a lot. What's a mom to do? Try some eco-friendly diapers! There are loads of options out there now, ranging from cloth to totally disposable, and I've tried almost all of them. (Well, except for that no-diaper "elimination communication" option.) Here are seven earth-friendly diapers, with how much they cost, what makes them green, and how to tell if they're the right diapers for you.

poop & diapers start slideshow


Charges paid and indirect taxes: all compulsory sums paid by the establishment to public agencies. Some examples are: municipality and establishment charges, and registration and licence issuance fees.

Employed members of households engaged in household industries:  people aged 6 and over, engaged in manufacturing activities at the household's residence through all or part of the year.

Establishment licence (agreement in principle):

 the primary permit issued for founding a manufacturing establishment.

Exploitation licence:  the permit granted to the manufacturing   unit   after   going    successfully through the test production, to be able  to  come into operation.

Hand-woven carpet cooperatives: the cooperatives engaged in production of different kinds of hand-woven carpets and similar products by providing such services as preparing

Industrial services: the contractual activities, minor repairs of buildings, machinery, office equipment and vehicles, as well as installation and putting products into operation.

Input value: the total value of primary materials, non-durable work tools and instruments used, fuel consumed, water and electricity purchased, material and parts used to establish or make capital assets plus the cost of industrial services.

Manufacturing cooperatives: cooperatives which take action in various areas of  industry according to the field of activity   mentioned in their statutes through making use of their members capitals, manpower and expertise.

Manufacturing establishment:  a certain place where an accumulation of capital and labour force are invested for manufacturing one or more products.

Manufacturing establishments productivity: proportion of value added to the number of establishments.

Non-industrial services: renting of buildings and machinery, communications, commercial insurances, etc.

Output value: the total value of products manufactured, gains against industrial services, changes in inventory of products under manufacturing, difference between sale value and purchase value of products sold without   any changes, value of capital assets manufactured by the establishment, the value of electricity and water produced and sold less the value of the non-sellable wastes of produced goods.

Private (cooperative): where the whole or more than 50% of its shares belongs to the members of the cooperative.

Private (non-cooperative): where the whole or more than 50% of its capitals belongs to persons.

Public: where over 50% of the capital belongs to the ministries, government agencies, Islamic Revolution institutions, municipalities, or other public sector bodies.

Receipts and payments for non-industrial services: receipts and payments of the establishments for services like renting of buildings and machinery, communications, telecom munications, transport, auditing, legal and educational services, commissioning, etc.

Value added of manufacturing activities: the output value less the input value.

Workforce productivity: proportion of value added to the number of workers.


Tag: Patriot Act

Weekend Links

Incredibly Mild PATRIOT Reform too Much for Dems

But wait, it gets worse.

Supremes to Hear PATRIOT ‘Material Support’ Challenge

As I mentioned in passing in my post yesterday, one of the reforms in Russ Feingold’s JUSTICE Act involves tweaking the USA PATRIOT Act’s definition of “material support” for terrorism to ensure that it doesn’t cover things like humanitarian aid or legal assistance. Today, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case concerning that very issue:

The key plaintiff in the current appeal is the Humanitarian Law Project, a Los Angeles, California-based non-profit that says its mission is to advocate “for the peaceful resolution of armed conflicts and for worldwide compliance with humanitarian law and human rights law.” HLP sought to help the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, a group active in Turkey. Known as PKK, the party was founded in the mid-1970s and has been labeled a terror organization by the United States and the European Union. Its leaders have previously called for militancy to create a separate Kurdish state in parts of Turkey, Iraq, Syria and Iran, where Kurds comprise a population majority. […]

Another plaintiff is an American physician who wanted to help ethnic Tamils in his native Sri Lanka. Much of the island nation is controlled by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which has also fought for decades to carve an independent state. The government claims the Tamil Tigers have “used suicide bombings and political assassinations in its campaign for independence, killing hundreds of civilians in the process.”

HLP and a group of Tamil doctors say they merely wanted “to provide their expert medical advice on how to address the shortage of medical facilities and trained physicians” in the region but “they are afraid to do so because they fear prosecution for providing material support.”

A federal appeals court agreed with the groups that the statute as written is unconstitutionally vague; the government wants to preserve the current broad language. Arguments won’t take place until early next year, but if you can’t wait for a preview, check out this exchange between David Cole and Paul Rosenzweig on PATRIOT’s material support provision, part of a highly illuminating series of debates on aspects of the law (as originally written) hosted by the American Bar Association.

Contempt of (Secret) Court?

At last week’s House Judiciary Committee hearing on the PATRIOT Act, Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA) raised an interesting question I haven’t seen discussed much: What happens to someone who willfully violates an order of the highly secretive Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court? (FISA)

Generally, courts have the right to enforce their own orders by finding those who disobey in contempt, and a line from a rare public version of an opinion issued by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court of Review suggests that the same holds here, noting that a service provider who challenged the (now superseded) Protect America Act “began compliance under threat of civil contempt.” (There is, interestingly, some redacted text immediately following that.) Contempt proceedings normally fall to the court that issued the original order.

A finding of civil contempt will typically result in the incarceration of the offending party until they agree to comply—and on the theory that the person “holds the keys to their own cell,” because they’ll be released as soon as they fall in line, normal due process rules don’t apply here. Of course, there are ways of violating the order that make it impossible to comply after the fact, such as breaching the gag rule that prevents people from disclosing that they’ve been served with orders, or (getting extreme now) destroying the records or “tangible things” sought via a Section 215 order. In those cases, presumably, the only recourse would be criminal contempt, for which you’re supposed to be entitled to a jury trial if the penalty is “serious” and involves more than six months incarceration.

That obviously raises some interesting problems given the extraordinarily secret nature of the FISA Court. In the public version of the opinion I linked above, the name of the petitioner and all identifying details are redacted, even the ruling was released six months after it was handed down, so as to avoid tipping off targets about specific providers that have received orders.

Now, I’m going to take a leap of faith and assume we’re not at the point of “disappearing” folks off our own streets, but it is a puzzle how you’d actually carry out enforcement and penalty, if it ever came to that, consistent with the secrecy demanded in these investigations.

A Preliminary Assessment of PATRIOT Reform Bills

Hearings were held on both sides of the Hill last week to consider a trio of surveillance powers set to expire under PATRIOT Act sunset rules. But the stage is set for a much broader fight over the sweeping expansion of search and surveillance authority seen over the past eight years; the chairmen of both the House and Senate Judiciary Committees have announced their intention to use the occasion to revisit the entire edifice of post-9/11 surveillance law. Two major reform bills have already been introduced: Sen. Russ Feingold’s JUSTICE Act and Sen. Patrick Leahy’s USA PATRIOT Sunset Extension Act. Both would preserve the core of most of the new intelligence tools while strengthening oversight and introducing more robust checks against abuse or overreach. The JUSTICE Act, however, is both significantly broader in scope and frequently establishes more stringent and precisely crafted civil liberties safeguards. Most observers expect the Leahy bill to provide the basis for the legislation ultimately reported out of Judiciary, the central question being how much of JUSTICE will be incorporated into that legislation during markup later this week. While the surveillance authorities and oversight measures covered in each bill are varied and complex, it’s worth examining the differences in some detail.

One thing to get out of the way first: Most of the press coverage I’ve seen of Feingold’s bill to date leads with the provision that would repeal the retroactive legal immunity Congress granted to telecommunications firms that participated in the National Security Agency’s program of warrantless wiretaps. During last year’s debate over reforms to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, most reporters seem to have decided that because the immunity controversy was the sexiest or the easiest aspect of the FISA amendments to explain, it was also the most important. Which is pretty much backwards. Granting retroactive immunity was a bad idea, but the repeal clause in the JUSTICE Act is (a) not terribly likely to pass, and (b) ultimately trivial compared with the need to place reasonable limits on powers that, without strong oversight, could permit large-scale spying on Americans. In a paradoxically somewhat ominous development, a separate telecom immunity bill was introduced Monday with the co-sponsorship of both Feingold and Leahy, along with Chris Dodd and Jeff Merkley. I say “ominously” because it can be read as indicating a consensus among Democratic senators to focus on the headline-friendly immunity issue at the expense of the more important safeguards on future surveillance. More hopefully, breaking it out could be a “we tried” move designed to win plaudits from allies and draw fire from enemies without letting the measure be a poison pill in the broader reform bill, where the stuff that matters ends up. Time will tell, obviously.

Lone Wolves

That aside, let’s start with the three expiring provisions, which I discussed briefly last week.  The so-called “lone wolf” provision allows the special investigative powers of FISA, which normally require a target to be an “agent of a foreign power,” to be used on non-citizens who lack any apparent affiliation to a terrorist group, but nevertheless are thought to be engaged in “international terrorism or activities in preparation therefor.” The Leahy bill would renew it; Feingold’s JUSTICE Act does not. Lone wolf authority has never been invoked, suggesting that, as yet, it has been neither subject to abuse nor particularly urgently needed. But since the statutory definition of a “lone wolf” requires evidence of criminal conduct—engagement in “international terrorism”—any case in which it would apply should also be a case where investigators would be able to obtain an ordinary Title III criminal warrant.

That seems like the more appropriate approach for some of the cases that the Justice Department apparently thinks would be covered, such as a person who “self-radicalizes” by reading terrorist Web sites. If that is the extent of the “international” connection required, the provision uncomfortably blurs the line between domestic national security investigations, for which the Fourth Amendment demands a traditional warrant, and foreign intel investigations where an array of special considerations closely linked to the actual involvement of “foreign powers” justify greater leeway for investigators.

Roving Taps

Both bills would renew FISA’s “roving wiretap” authority, which permits investigators to eavesdrop on targets without specifying a particular phone line or e-mail account in advance, in order to deal with suspects who may rapidly change communications venues in an attempt to thwart surveillance. Under FISA, however, owing to the difficulties inherent in foreign intel surveillance, the target of a warrant can be merely described rather than directly identified.  This led to worries about “John Doe” roving warrants that would contain neither the target’s name nor any particular location. Congress added some extra language in 2006, requiring the target to be “specifically described”—that is, if not a name, a precise enough description to single out a unique individual—in roving warrants, and also required after-the-fact notice of the court when surveillance “roved” to a new facility.

Given the secrecy inherent in FISA proceedings, it’s impossible to know precisely how investigators and the court have interpreted this new language, or whether it truly provides an adequate safeguard. Where the Leahy bill would renew roving as currently written, JUSTICE adds the requirement that roving warrants contain the “identity” of the target, and codifies the principle that roving taps should only be activated during periods when it is reasonable to believe the target is “proximate to” the facility. The latter language, it should be noted, may actually have the practical effect of loosening restrictions on roving taps. Even in roving cases, FISA’s minimization provisions require an evidentiary “nexus” between the target and a facility that “is being used, or about to be used” by the target. The “proximity” standard pulled across from the Title III criminal context may actually be more permissive.

215 “Tangible Thing” Orders

Last of the provisions expiring this year is authority  under section 215 of FISA, to compel the production of “any tangible thing”  from just about anyone, though it’s primarily intended to cover various kinds of business records. Under the original PATRIOT Act, this required only a certification to the secret FISA court that the records or objects sought were “relevant” to an investigation. In 2006, Congress added a requirement that applications for 215 orders include some factual showing of relevance, but many kinds of requests were deemed presumptively relevant.

Both bills tighten this up, with some minor differences. All now limit 215 orders to records pertaining to suspected agents of foreign powers, the activities of those agents, or persons known to be in direct contact with or otherwise linked to those agents. This preempts expanding friend-of-a-friend fishing expeditions where the target’s father’s brother’s nephew’s cousin’s former roommate’s colonoscopy results are potentially “relevant.” Feingold adds a “least intrusive means” requirement when the records pertain to “activities”—since in that case the presumption is that the identities of the specific targets are unknown, and the order seeks to discover them. Feingold’s bill also permits records to pertain to a “subject of an ongoing and authorized national security investigation” other than an agent of a foreign power, which would appear to broaden the scope of accessible records.

Neither bill responds to the concern raised by civil libertarians that “contact” with a suspect is too vaguely defined. Again, since we’re necessarily ignorant about precisely how courts have construed the “relevance” standard, it wouldn’t hurt to make explicit that when the records sought pertain to non-targets in “contact” with a target, there be some showing that establishes a nexus between the nature of the contact and the investigatory purpose to obtain foreign intelligence information.

National Security Letters

That covers the expiring provisions. Fortunately, both bills recognize that it would be fruitless to tighten restrictions on 215 orders without doing something to rein in the vastly more frequently used National Security Letters. An Inspector General audit found that in at least one instance, the FBI improperly used NSLs to obtain information they had previously sought under a 215 order, and which the FISA court had denied on the grounds that the investigation raised First Amendment concerns.

More generally, it’s believed that, especially after Congress imposed some restrictions on the scope of 215 orders, investigators have preferred to instead rely on relatively unfettered NSLs whenever possible. Almost 50,000 were issued in 2006 alone, and the majority were used to obtain information about U.S. persons.  These are slightly more restricted in their application, allowing acquisition of records from telecoms and “financial institutions,” but PATRIOT removed many limitations on the types of records that could be sought from those institutions, and post-PATRIOT reforms vastly expanded the definition of “financial institution” to cover many businesses we wouldn’t intuitively describe that way: pawnshops, casinos, travel agencies, businesses with lots of cash transactions, and probably your nephew’s piggy bank. Crucially, they are issued by investigative agencies—mainly the FBI—without court approval. Inspector General audits have discovered rampant misuse of this tool.

Both bills contain language parallel to their 215 sections requiring a tighter link between the records sought and the subject of the investigation. Significantly, the JUSTICE Act also restores pre-PATRIOT limitations on the kinds of records that can be sought, limiting NSLs to relatively basic information about clients or subscribers and requiring a court order for more sensitive data. The Leahy bill would establish a new four-year sunset for expanded NSL authorities; Feingold’s does not, presumably because it already substantially rolls back PATRIOT’s expansion of those authorities. Greg Nojeim of the Center for Democracy and Technology argues that NSL reform is the most important part of the PATRIOT reauthorization debate.

Gag Orders

NSLs and 215 orders are both routinely accompanied by gag orders, which several courts have found to raise significant First Amendment problems.  Both bills allow recipients of NSLs or 215 orders to challenge both the orders and any accompanying gag, and shift the burden of proof from the recipient to the government to show that the gag—now limited in duration, but renewable—is necessary to avert harm to an investigation or to national security. Previously recipients seeking to challenge a gag were in the unenviable position of proving that there was “no reason” to think disclosure could have any adverse consequence. JUSTICE, however, goes further in detailing the specific kinds of harms that may justify imposition of a gag, and requiring a showing a direct link between the alleged harm and the particular investigation, while the Leahy bill permits more generalized and vague allegations of harm.

Also covered under both bills are pen registers and trap-and-trace devices, typically bundled together under the rubric of “pen/trap” surveillance, which involves acquiring communications metadata—the numbers and times of incoming and outgoing phone calls, e-mail addresses, Web URLs visited, and the like—under a lower standard than would be required for a full-blown search or wiretap. Again echoing the language of their 215 and NSL provisions, both bills put some teeth into the “relevance” requirement by limiting whose metadata can be obtained. JUSTICE, however, also imposes these limits on criminal pen/trap orders for the first time, closing a potential loophole that would remain if only FISA pen/trap orders were covered.

Reporting and Audits

Finally, the Leahy and Feingold bills both include an array of enhanced reporting requirements, mandating somewhat more detailed public disclosure of how often different investigative tools are used. Leahy’s bill also requires the Inspector General of the Department of Justice to conduct a series of annual audits, with reports to Congress, on the use of “tangible things” orders, pen/trap surveillance, and NSLs.

JUSTICE-Only Reforms: FISA Amendments Act

That covers the terrain in which the two bills overlap.  But arguably the most important difference between the Leahy and Feingold bills—and along with more stringent NSL reform, perhaps the most important component of the JUSTICE Act that should be ported into whatever bill is finally reported out of Judiciary—concerns the changes made to the ill-advised FISA Amendments Act passed last year.That law gave the Attorney General broad power to authorize wiretaps aimed at communications between the U.S. and other countries, with only anemic court oversight.

The JUSTICE Act provides stronger barriers to “reverse targeting,” in which an authorization nominally directed at a party abroad is granted for the purpose of eavesdropping on a particular U.S. person’s foreign communications. The new language clarifies that surveillance is impermissibly “reverse targeted” when it is a “significant purpose”—as opposed to “the purpose”—of the surveillance to listen in on the American party. When one side of a communication is in the U.S., the bill triggers additional requirements that either the particular communication be relevant to terrorism (not merely “foreign intelligence,” which is far broader) or that the foreign side of the communication is affiliate with a terrorist group.

Perhaps most important of all, JUSTICE bars “bulk collection”—massive, vacuum cleaner acquisition of international communications—by requiring that at least one party to any communication “acquired” be an actual individual target, though not necessarily a named or known target. While this is plainly intended to prevent the kind of Orwellian computer-filtered fishing expeditions civil libertarians have worried might be authorized, it’s important to note that there’s a potentially huge loophole here, involving ambiguity about the point at which a communication is technically “acquired.” It’s too complicated to cover in detail here, but I’ve written about it in my previous life as a journalist. If, as the government has argued in the past, acquisition only occurs when an intercepted communication is “fixed in a human readable format,” the new language would bar bulk recording in an intelligible form, but not necessarily bar bulk collection for computer filtering. Again, the issues here are fairly complex, and I’m working on a paper that takes them up in greater detail.

Other JUSTICE-Only Reforms

There are a hodgepodge of other changes in the ambitious JUSTICE Act, and I’ll just mention very briefly some of the most important ones. The bill puts some stricter limits on the granting of so-called “Sneak-and-Peek” warrants, which allow for disclosure of a search to its target to be delayed for long periods. As David Rittgers observed yesterday, these were sold as necessary for terror investigations, but as with some other PATRIOT powers, have ended up being invoked overwhelmingly in ordinary criminal cases. It tweaks the language of a PATRIOT provision designed to allow monitoring of computer hackers to prevent abuse. It narrows the definition of the crime of “material support” for terrorism to make clear that it covers knowing support for criminal activities—as opposed to, say, humanitarian aid. And it ensures that PATRIOT’s definition of “domestic terrorism” can’t be applied to (legitimately illegal but non-terrorist) civil disobedience by political groups.

Either bill would do a great deal to halt the erosion of civil liberties safeguards we’ve seen over the past eight years, and in general these are reforms well crafted to provide oversight and checks against abuse without depriving investigators of tools vital to legitimate national security investigations. The most important items here, however, are the more stringent limitations on National Security letters embodied in the JUSTICE Act, and that legislation’s common-sense limits on the frankly astonishing discretion to authorize surveillance granted the executive branch under the FISA Amendments Act. How those provisions fare will tell us how serious Congress is about protecting civil liberties.

PATRIOT Act Provision Used for Drug Cases

The PATRIOT Act contained a number of tools that expanded the power of federal law enforcement officials. One of these, the “sneak and peak” warrant, allows investigators to break into the home or business of the warrant’s target and delay notification of the intrusion until 30 days after the warrant’s expiration. This capability was sold to the American people as a necessary tool to fight terrorism.

In Fiscal Year 2008, federal courts issued 763 “sneak and peak” warrants. Only three were for terrorism cases. Sixty-five percent were drug cases. The report is available here.

Ryan Grim has more on this, including video of Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) grilling Assistant Attorney General David Kris.

What You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt You (Surveillance State Edition)

While there are many choice tidbits to relate from Tuesday’s hearings on PATRIOT Act reform at the House Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution—not least the fellow who had to be wrestled from the room, literally kicking and screaming, after he tried to stand and interrupt with a complaint about alleged FBI violations of his civil rights—I’ll just relate a novel theory of the Fourth Amendment advanced by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).

The ACLU’s Mike German, a former FBI agent turned surveillance policy expert, was explaining that it’s hard to know whether expansive surveillance powers are being abused, they’re mostly used in secret and deployed via third-parties like financial institutions and telecoms, who have little incentive to raise much fuss or draw attention to their cooperation. King interrupted to suggest that if we weren’t hearing about constitutional challenges, then it was probably safe to assume there was no Fourth Amendment harm. German tried to reiterate that the people whose privacy interests were directly harmed typically would not know they had ever been targeted.

That, King declared, was precisely the point. Surveillance of which the subject never became aware, he said, could be compared to a “tree falling in the forest” when nobody’s around. In other words, if you aren’t ultimately prosecuted, and don’t even feel subjective distress as a result of the knowledge that your private records or communications have been pored over, then it’s presumably no harm, no  foul. If we take this line of thinking literally, sufficiently secret surveillance can never be unconstitutional, which would seem to make King a spiritual cousin of Richard “if the president does it, that means it’s not illegal” Nixon.


Heart & Vascular Hospital

202 S. Park Street
Madison, WI 53715
Telephone: (608) 417-6259
Location: Meriter Hospital - 10 Tower

Echocardiography, ECHO

What is Echocardiography?

An echocardiogram is a noninvasive, risk-free test that uses ultrasound waves to assess cardiac structure and mobility, particularly of the valves. During the test, a small transducer is held against the chest. The transducer sends ultrasound waves that bounce off parts of the heart. A computer uses the information coming from the transducer to make an image of the heart. The image is displayed on a monitor, and it can be recorded on videotape or printed on paper.

The echocardiogram usually combines three different techniques:

  • The M-mode echo produces an image that looks more like a tracing than a heart. The M-mode echo helps measure the size of the heart chambers.
  • The two-dimensional (2-D) echo shows the actual shape and motion of the different heart structures. The images represent "slices" of the heart in motion.
  • The Doppler echo allows doctors to assess the flow of blood through the heart. You may hear a swooshing or pulsating sound with this test. This is not the actual sound of your heart, but an amplified computerized audio signal.

How do I prepare for the procedure?

There is no special preparation for echocardiography. You may eat and go about your normal activities, unless you are told otherwise. Make sure you wear a two-piece outfit because you will be instructed to undress from the waist up and wear a hospital gown.

What happens during the procedure?

You will lie on a hospital stretcher. Electrodes (small sticky patches) are placed on the chest and shoulders to monitor the heartbeat. You will need to lie quietly during the test on your left side with your head elevated slightly. An odorless water-soluble gel is applied to the chest. An Echo Tech moves the transducer over the chest to obtain different views of your heart. You may be asked to change positions and to exhale or hold your breath for a few seconds. The images are recorded on videotape and printed on paper. The Echo Tech is not authorized to give you your results. The doctor will either be present during the test, or you may be able to get the results before you leave. Otherwise, your doctor will discuss the results with you during an office visit.

Why is the Echo done?

The echocardiogram gives doctors information about the heart, such as:

  • Size of the heart - The echo is used for measuring the size of the heart chambers and thickness of the heart muscle.
  • Pumping strength - The test shows whether the heart is pumping at full strength or is weakened. It can also help determine whether the various parts of the heart pump equally.
  • Valve problems - The echo shows the shape and motion of the heart valves. It can help determine if a valve is narrowed or leaking and shows how severe the valve problem is.
  • Other uses - The echo may be used to detect the presence of fluid around the heart, blood clots, or masses inside the heart, or abnormal holes between heart chambers. Sometimes, the echo is combined with an exercise or dobutamine stress test to see how well the heart pumps when it is accelerated.

Where is the test performed?

Generally done in the Meriter Heart & Vascular Hospital.

How long does this test take?

The test is painless and takes 20 to 45 minutes to complete.


Winning The Card Game: Preparing Employers For The Employee Free Choice Act

Sunday, February 1, 2009 - 00:00

Since the 1970s, the political and economic influence of labor unions has progressively diminished as the number of American workers who belong to unions has decreased. Today, the percentage of private sector workers that belongs to labor unions is less than 8 percent of the total non-governmental workforce. This erosion of membership and political influence has not gone unnoticed by the labor movement. Despite the relatively unfavorable political climate and a Republican majority on the National Labor Relations Board ("NLRB"), labor unions have significantly increased their efforts to organize unrepresented workers across all industries in recent years. However, the organizing successes achieved have been more than offset by devastating job losses in the unionized manufacturing sector which historically has been the primary membership base of the U.S. labor movement.

A. The Employee Free Choice Act

The legislative solution devised by the labor movement to reverse the steady decline in union membership is the Employee Free Choice Act ("EFCA"), a substantial revision to the National Labor Relations Act ("NLRA") to promote organizing through a mandatory card check process. The proposed bill will eliminate secret ballot elections except in those rare circumstances when the petitioning labor union requests an election. In the vast majority of cases, the petitioning union will be certified as the bargaining representative if a majority of the employees sign authorization cards designating the union as their bargaining representative. Unlike secret ballot elections, however, there are no procedural safeguards to ensure that union authorization cards are not obtained through coercion, deception or other inappropriate means.

Devoid of any details regarding the new card check process, the proposed EFCA leaves to the NLRB the responsibility for establishing new rules for compulsory card check recognition.In particular, the proposed bill prescribes that the NLRB will "develop guidelines and procedures for the designation by employees of a bargaining representative." These putative "guidelines and procedures" will include the form of the authorization card and procedures for determining the validity of the signatures on the authorization cards. Significantly, the proposed bill is silent about such significant matters as how long an authorization card will be deemed valid or whether an employee can revoke his authorization card. Further, the proposed bill provides no details regarding how the NLRB will assure that authorization cards are not obtained through unlawful means.

The EFCA would also provide unprecedented penalties against employers who violate the NLRA during union organizing drives or first contract negotiations. Specifically, the EFCA would provide civil fines of up to $20,000 per violation for unfair labor practices committed during union organizing drives. The EFCA would also provide for treble back pay, increasing the amount an employer is required to pay when it discharges or discriminates against employees during organizing campaigns. Finally, the EFCA would provide that the NLRB must seek a federal court injunction against an employer when there is reasonable cause to believe the employer discriminated against employees, threatened to discharge employees, or engaged in conduct that interfered with employee rights during an organizing drive or first contract negotiation. Significantly, the enhanced remedies and monetary penalties provided by the EFCA can be imposed only against employers. Thus, unions that commit even egregious unfair labor practices during organizing efforts will be subject only to the traditional NLRB posting requirements and make whole remedies - not treble damages and fines.

Perhaps the most revolutionary and troubling aspect to the proposed legislation is the provision for mandatory first-contract mediation and interest arbitration. Pursuant to the EFCA, if an employer and a newly certified union fail to reach an agreement on their first contract within 90 days, either party can refer the dispute to the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service ("FMCS") for mediation. If the mediator is unable to get the parties to agree after 30 days of mediation, the open contract terms would be submitted to mandatory interest arbitration, with the contract terms binding for two years. Thus, rather than the current system under which the government has no authority to impose contract terms on private parties, the proposed EFCA would empower federal arbitrators to impose contract terms on employers for up to two years regardless of the impact on the employer or its employees. Further, unlike interest arbitration in the public sector or even in Canada, the proposed bill does not prohibit unions from engaging in a work stoppage before, during or after the interest arbitration process.

Notwithstanding the potential adverse impact of labor agreements forced on employers through mandatory interest arbitration, the proposed EFCA provides no guidance regarding the procedures and legal standards that will apply to this novel process. Instead, the bill dictates that the FMCS will promulgate "regulations" for the interest arbitration process. Remarkably, the bill provides no substantive legal standard for the interest arbitrator. Further, the proposed law imposes no apparent limits on an interest arbitrator's discretion to impose contract terms. The bill also leaves open the question as to whether an interest arbitrator will be permitted to order any party to waive statutory rights (such as the right to strike) or order compulsory union membership (union security). All of these important issues are left up to the judgment of the FMCS - a mediation agency with virtually no history or experience in adjudicating interest arbitration disputes.

B. Management Strategies To Prepare For The EFCA

Although President Barack Obama has been vocal in his support for the EFCA, the proposed bill has many flaws and will be aggressively opposed by employer groups in the Congress. Thus, there is no certainty that the EFCA in its current form will become law. Whether the current form of the EFCA is enacted, however, employers can be confident that the new administration will bring significant changes to the make-up of the current two-member NLRB and the processes utilized by the agency to administer the Act. As a result, the employer community should begin planning for a changing legal regime that tips the balance in favor of labor unions and a concomitant surge in union organizing.

In the past, employers could successfully oppose an organizing drive - even after a union obtained authorization cards from employees - by running an aggressive anti-union campaign prior to the NLRB election. Under the EFCA as proposed, employers will no longer have such opportunities. Even if the EFCA does not pass in its current form, however, any future changes in the law designed to facilitate organizing will almost certainly seek to reduce or eliminate the opportunity for employers to run such anti-union campaigns. Thus, any strategy for avoiding unionization in the future cannot await the appearance of a labor union on the scene but must be proactive. In other words, to be successful, employers must build union resistance in their workforce prior to the advent of any union organizing activities.

Know the Rules - To prepare for future union organizing activities, employers must understand the legal rules that apply to the union representation process. A threshold issue in any union organizing situation is identifying the employees who are subject to being organized. As a general rule, managers and supervisors are not considered employees under federal labor laws and have no legal right to organize. However, the Board's analysis of who is an employee and who is a supervisor is a highly fact-dependent inquiry, and is subject to change as the membership of the Board changes. Identifying eligible voters is critical because employers can require that managers and supervisors help promote employer objectives, including lawful opposition to unionism. Moreover, employers can commit unfair labor practices if their managers and supervisors are involved in circulating union authorization cards or attending union meetings.

A related issue that must be considered is the scope and breadth of the employee group or "bargaining unit" subject to being organized. As presently drafted, the proposed EFCA does not change existing rules concerning appropriate bargaining units. The NLRB's unit analysis is highly fact-specific and focuses on the common interests of employees and the operational interrelationship of work functions and locations. Understanding the risk of union organizing necessarily requires an understanding of the scope of potential bargaining units that are subject to being organized.

Employers must understand the parameters of what constitutes permissible opposition to union organizing. In other words, employers must understand the legal "do's" and "don'ts" when it comes to opposing unionization. Unfortunately, the Board's rules with respect to these activities are complex, inconsistent and constantly in flux. Further, the scope of prohibited conduct goes beyond mere campaigning. It is important that any employer preparing for union organizing activities understand these rules and design a comprehensive strategy that complies with applicable law. This is especially true since the proposed EFCA will heighten the penalties for violating these rules.

Circle the Wagons - Planning and organization are essential elements in opposing unionization of an employer's workforce. Unions have a playbook that they utilize in planning and executing an organizing campaign. Employers should have a similar plan to resist unionization. In order to develop an effective program, managers and supervisors at all levels must be trained in effective union avoidance techniques and encouraged to communicate the employer's views to employees on a regular and on-going basis.

Adopting, communicating and enforcing fair employment policies and practices must be a mandatory element of any successful strategy. An employer that violates employment laws (such as anti-discrimination or wage/hour statutes) or treats employees unfairly substantially increases its risk of organizing. Employers should audit their employment policies and practices to be certain that they are lawful and consistently enforced. By maintaining and enforcing lawful work rules and company policies, and consistently enforcing those rules, an employer reduces its risk of union organizing.

Another important step is to implement and enforce lawful and effective hiring practices and standards. An employer can significantly mitigate the risk of union organizing by adhering to good hiring practices, conducting thorough background checks and maintaining competitive wage and benefit packages. Importantly, the best defense against union organizing is to hire high-quality employees.

Spread the Word - Once the employer has mobilized and educated its management team, the employer must effectively disseminate its union-free message to the workforce. In order to do so employers should develop and implement comprehensive communication programs to keep employees informed about business conditions, industry trends and operational performance. Employers should make every effort to have a partnership with employees such that workers at all levels are invested in the success of the business.

In conjunction with such communications, employers should emphasize that their operations are union-free and that the direct and open relationships between management and employees is a competitive advantage for the business. Additionally, managers and supervisors must be prepared to articulate the employer's views that the union is not a good idea for the employees or the company and to inform employees about the legal impact of signing a union authorization card. An effective communications program should outline a multi-faceted approach to deliver the core messages through newsletters and other print media, e-mail distribution, bulletin boards and closed circuit television and employee meetings.

C. Conclusion

There is little doubt that the labor movement believes that the election of their candidate, Barack Obama, presents a tremendous opportunity to turn the tide in the 30-year decline in union density in the United States. Organized labor provided vast amounts of money and personnel to support the Obama campaign with the expectation that a Democratic administration would be sympathetic to the cause of declining unionism. Having assisted with Mr. Obama's historic election victory, it is highly likely that the EFCA will be reintroduced in the new Congress and aggressively championed by organized labor. However, even if the EFCA does not pass, some form of labor law reform legislation is likely to be enacted. Moreover, the new administration will almost certainly usher in a more union-friendly NLRB. Consequently, employers should plan now for a surge in union organizing activities and develop strategies to respond to a revitalized labor movement.

Brian West Easley is a labor and employment Partner in the Chicago office of international law firm Jones Day.

Please email the author at with questions about this article.


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Word of the Day


939.05 Annotation There is a distinction between conspiracy as a substantive inchoate crime under s. 939.31 and conspiracy as a theory of prosecution for a substantive crime under s. 939.05 (2) (c). State v. Jackson, 2005 WI App 104, 281 Wis. 2d 137, 701 N.W.2d 42, 04-1603.
939.05 Annotation The unanimity requirement was satisfied when the jury unanimously found that the accused participated in the crime. Lampkins v. Gagnon, 710 F. 2d 374 (1983).
939.05 Annotation This section does not shift the burden of proof. The prosecution need not specify which paragraph of sub. (2) it intends to proceed under. Madden v. Israel, 478 F. Supp. 1234 (1979).
939.05 Annotation Liability for coconspirator's crimes in the Wisconsin party to a crime statute. 66 MLR 344 (1983).
939.05 Annotation Application of Gipson's unanimous verdict rationale to the Wisconsin party to a crime statute. 1980 WLR 597.
939.05 Annotation Wisconsin's party to a crime statute: The mens rea element under the aiding and abetting subsection, and the aiding and abetting-choate conspiracy distinction. 1984 WLR 769.
939.10 939.10 Common law crimes abolished; common law rules preserved. Common law crimes are abolished. The common law rules of criminal law not in conflict with chs. 939 to 951 are preserved.
939.10 History History: 1979 c. 89; 1987 a. 332 s. 64; 2007 a. 97.
939.10 Annotation The common law privilege to forcibly resist an unlawful arrest is abrogated. State v. Hobson, 218 Wis. 2d 350, 577 N.W.2d 825 (1998), 96-0914.
939.12 939.12 Crime defined. A crime is conduct which is prohibited by state law and punishable by fine or imprisonment or both. Conduct punishable only by a forfeiture is not a crime.
939.14 939.14 Criminal conduct or contributory negligence of victim no defense. It is no defense to a prosecution for a crime that the victim also was guilty of a crime or was contributorily negligent.
939.14 Annotation A jury instruction that a defrauded party had no duty to investigate fraudulent representations was correct. Lambert v. State, 73 Wis. 2d 590, 243 N.W.2d 524 (1976).
939.14 Annotation This section does not prevent considering the victim's negligence in relation to causation. This section only means that a defendant is not immune from prosecution merely because the victim has been negligent. State v. Lohmeier, 205 Wis. 2d 183, 556 N.W.2d 90 (1996), 94-2187.
939.20 939.20 Provisions which apply only to chapters 939 to 951. Sections 939.22 to 939.25 apply only to crimes defined in chs. 939 to 951. Other sections in ch. 939 apply to crimes defined in other chapters of the statutes as well as to those defined in chs. 939 to 951.
939.20 History History: 1979 c. 89; 1987 a. 332 s. 64; 1987 a. 399, 403.
939.22 939.22 Words and phrases defined. In chs. 939 to 948 and 951, the following words and phrases have the designated meanings unless the context of a specific section manifestly requires a different construction or the word or phrase is defined in s. 948.01 for purposes of ch. 948:
939.22(2) (2) "Airgun" means a weapon which expels a missile by the expansion of compressed air or other gas.
939.22(3) (3) "Alcohol concentration" has the meaning given in s. 340.01 (1v).
939.22(4) (4) "Bodily harm" means physical pain or injury, illness, or any impairment of physical condition.
939.22(5) (5) "Commission warden" means a conservation warden employed by the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.
939.22(6) (6) "Crime" has the meaning designated in s. 939.12.
939.22(9) (9) "Criminal gang" means an ongoing organization, association or group of 3 or more persons, whether formal or informal, that has as one of its primary activities the commission of one or more of the criminal acts, or acts that would be criminal if the actor were an adult, specified in s. 939.22 (21) (a) to (s); that has a common name or a common identifying sign or symbol; and whose members individually or collectively engage in or have engaged in a pattern of criminal gang activity.
939.22(9g) (9g) "Criminal gang member" means any person who participates in criminal gang activity, as defined in s. 941.38 (1) (b), with a criminal gang.
939.22(9r) (9r) "Criminal intent" has the meaning designated in s. 939.23.
939.22(10) (10) "Dangerous weapon" means any firearm, whether loaded or unloaded; any device designed as a weapon and capable of producing death or great bodily harm; any ligature or other instrumentality used on the throat, neck, nose, or mouth of another person to impede, partially or completely, breathing or circulation of blood; any electric weapon, as defined in s. 941.295 (1c) (a); or any other device or instrumentality which, in the manner it is used or intended to be used, is calculated or likely to produce death or great bodily harm.
939.22(11) (11) "Drug" has the meaning specified in s. 450.01 (10).
939.22(12) (12) "Felony" has the meaning designated in s. 939.60.
939.22(14) (14) "Great bodily harm" means bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death, or which causes serious permanent disfigurement, or which causes a permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ or other serious bodily injury.
939.22(16) (16) "Human being" when used in the homicide sections means one who has been born alive.
939.22(18) (18) "Intentionally" has the meaning designated in s. 939.23.
939.22(19) (19) "Intimate parts" means the breast, buttock, anus, groin, scrotum, penis, vagina or pubic mound of a human being.
939.22(20) (20) "Misdemeanor" has the meaning designated in s. 939.60.
939.22(20d) (20d) "Offense against an elderly or vulnerable person" means a violation of s. 940.285 (2) (a) that caused death, great bodily harm, or bodily harm to the victim or s. 940.295 (3) (b) that caused death, great bodily harm, or bodily harm to the victim.
939.22(20m) (20m) "Offense related to ethical government" means a violation of s. 13.69 (6m), 19.58 (1) (b), or 946.12.
939.22(20s) (20s) "Offense related to school safety" means a violation of s. 948.605 or 948.61 (2) (b).
939.22(21) (21) "Pattern of criminal gang activity" means the commission of, attempt to commit or solicitation to commit 2 or more of the following crimes, or acts that would be crimes if the actor were an adult, at least one of those acts or crimes occurs after December 25, 1993, the last of those acts or crimes occurred within 3 years after a prior act or crime, and the acts or crimes are committed, attempted or solicited on separate occasions or by 2 or more persons:
939.22(21)(a) (a) Manufacture, distribution or delivery of a controlled substance or controlled substance analog, as prohibited in s. 961.41 (1).
939.22(21)(b) (b) First-degree intentional homicide, as prohibited in s. 940.01.
939.22(21)(c) (c) Second-degree intentional homicide, as prohibited in s. 940.05.
939.22(21)(d) (d) Battery, as prohibited in s. 940.19 or 940.195.
939.22(21)(e) (e) Battery, special circumstances, as prohibited in s. 940.20.
939.22(21)(em) (em) Battery or threat to witness, as prohibited in s. 940.201.
939.22(21)(f) (f) Mayhem, as prohibited in s. 940.21.
939.22(21)(g) (g) Sexual assault, as prohibited in s. 940.225.
939.22(21)(h) (h) False imprisonment, as prohibited in s. 940.30.
939.22(21)(i) (i) Taking hostages, as prohibited in s. 940.305.
939.22(21)(j) (j) Kidnapping, as prohibited in s. 940.31.
939.22(21)(k) (k) Intimidation of witnesses, as prohibited in s. 940.42 or 940.43.
939.22(21)(L) (L) Intimidation of victims, as prohibited in s. 940.44 or 940.45.
939.22(21)(m) (m) Criminal damage to property, as prohibited in s. 943.01.
939.22(21)(mg) (mg) Criminal damage to or threat to criminally damage the property of a witness, as prohibited in s. 943.011 or 943.017 (2m).
939.22(21)(n) (n) Arson of buildings or damage by explosives, as prohibited in s. 943.02.
939.22(21)(o) (o) Burglary, as prohibited in s. 943.10.
939.22(21)(p) (p) Theft, as prohibited in s. 943.20.
939.22(21)(q) (q) Taking, driving or operating a vehicle, or removing a part or component of a vehicle, without the owner's consent, as prohibited in s. 943.23.
939.22(21)(r) (r) Robbery, as prohibited in s. 943.32.
939.22(21)(s) (s) Sexual assault of a child, as prohibited in s. 948.02.
939.22(21)(t) (t) Repeated acts of sexual assault of the same child, as prohibited in s. 948.025.
939.22(21)(u) (u) Sexual assault of a child placed in substitute care under s. 948.085.
939.22(22) (22) "Peace officer" means any person vested by law with a duty to maintain public order or to make arrests for crime, whether that duty extends to all crimes or is limited to specific crimes. "Peace officer" includes a commission warden and a university police officer, as defined in s. 175.42 (1) (b).
939.22(23) (23) "Petechia" means a minute colored spot that appears on the skin, eye, eyelid, or mucous membrane of a person as a result of localized hemorrhage or rupture to a blood vessel or capillary.
939.22(24) (24) "Place of prostitution" means any place where a person habitually engages, in public or in private, in nonmarital acts of sexual intercourse, sexual gratification involving the sex organ of one person and the mouth or anus of another, masturbation or sexual contact for anything of value.
939.22(28) (28) "Property of another" means property in which a person other than the actor has a legal interest which the actor has no right to defeat or impair, even though the actor may also have a legal interest in the property.
939.22(30) (30) "Public officer"; "public employee". A "public officer" is any person appointed or elected according to law to discharge a public duty for the state or one of its subordinate governmental units. A "public employee" is any person, not an officer, who performs any official function on behalf of the state or one of its subordinate governmental units and who is paid from the public treasury of the state or subordinate governmental unit.
939.22(32) (32) "Reasonably believes" means that the actor believes that a certain fact situation exists and such belief under the circumstances is reasonable even though erroneous.


Geek Out

What It Would Look Like If You Connected Every Subway In North America

In reality, we’d all get a lot more up close and personal with a lot more people we don’t want to be up close and personal with. But looking at transit as art might help you suppress some of your frustration with your own city’s system.


Home |Space | News

Is dark matter a wimp or a champ?

The mysterious dark matter that makes up most of the material in the universe may actually have an electric charge, a new study suggests. If so, it might help explain why astronomers see so few dwarf galaxies in orbit around larger ones.

Dark matter is detected by its tug on light and visible matter, so astrophysicists have largely assumed that it interacts mostly through the force of gravity - and not electromagnetism, for example. Indeed, the leading dark matter candidates, known as weakly interacting massive particles, or WIMPs, are electrically neutral.

But theorists Leonid Chuzhoy and Rocky Kolb of the University of Chicago say it may be time to consider the possibility that dark matter is actually composed of charged massive particles, or CHAMPs. That would mean magnetic fields could push on or deflect dark matter - adding another way for it to interact with the known universe.

The idea for CHAMPs is not new - it was actually discarded more than a decade ago, after underground particle detectors failed to pick up any sign of such candidates.

Now, a new analysis suggests the particles may exist - just not in our galactic neighbourhood. That's because the shape of the Milky Way's magnetic field could prevent CHAMPs from entering the galaxy's disc of stars, where the Earth resides.

'Prematurely rejected'

Any CHAMPs in the disc would have been cast out long ago, slingshotted outwards by the magnetic fields of rapidly expanding supernovae remnants, the team says.

"We have to keep our minds open about what dark matter could be," Kolb told New Scientist. "I think it's a brilliant idea that could have been prematurely rejected."

Avi Loeb of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts, agrees that it is worth keeping an open mind. "The nature of dark matter is not known, so it's always healthy and important to explore unconventional possibilities," he told New Scientist.

If dark matter is electrically charged, it would be more likely to collide with normal matter. That's because it could couple with ordinary matter through its magnetic fields. Normal matter might also bounce off its electrostatic fields like a billiard ball.

Massive particles

For example, CHAMPs must bump into normal matter fairly rarely in order to create cosmic displays like the Bullet ClusterMovie Camera and MACS J0025. In these collisions of galaxy clusters, ordinary matter gets jumbled up in the crash but dark matter continues on unimpeded.

Finding CHAMPs may prove tricky. The proposed particles would weigh at least 100,000 times the mass of the proton, too heavy to be created by the world's most powerful particle accelerator, the Large Hadron Collider, which is set to start up on Wednesday.

Their weight might also make them difficult to observe in space. Charged particles such as electrons and protons emit radiation when they are accelerated by magnetic fields, but CHAMPs would be too massive to produce much light, says the team.

Still, neutral versions of the particles could be found on Earth, says Chuzhoy. If CHAMPs are negatively charged, they might have bound to iron and other elements to create supermassive varieties that could be detected by their weight. These elements might also absorb and emit telltale X-rays that could be observed by telescopes.

Missing dwarfs

Charged dark matter could help explain some cosmic conundrums.

Because CHAMPs would collide more often with normal matter, they could blast gas from growing dwarf galaxies. This could inhibit star formation and explain why astronomers see so few dwarf galaxies in orbit around the Milky Way and nearby giants.

Since CHAMPs can be accelerated by the magnetic fields in stellar explosions, the particles might also explain why there seems to be less dark matter at the centres of dwarf galaxies than simulations predict.

But Loeb notes that the Milky Way's magnetic field might not prevent CHAMPs from reaching the planet.

That's because charged particles from beyond the galaxy do manage to reach Earth. Mysterious ultra-high energy cosmic rays, for example, appear to enter the Milky Way along 'open' magnetic field lines.

Chuzhoy suggests that some of these cosmic rays could actually be CHAMPs.

Smoothed out

When the universe was very dense, particles of light, or photons, smoothed out subtle ripples in ordinary matter. But dark matter is supposed to have remained clumpy after the big bang, creating small pockets of mass that drew in surrounding material to form larger structures such as galaxies.

If photons can collide with CHAMPs, that might make dark matter smooth as well. "You wouldn't be able to make galaxies at later times," Loeb told New Scientist. "[The researchers] have to do more work to make it a viable scenario."

The galaxy's magnetic field lines appear to be horizontal, lying in the same plane as the galactic disc (shown, edge on). That could keep electrically charged dark matter particles outside of the disc, and beyond detection by Earth-based experiments (Image: 2MASS/J Carpenter/T Jarret/R Hurt)

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 Carol Kidron, the author of a new paper, did interviews with Jewish-Israeli children of Holocaust survivors and Cambodian-Canadians whose parents were persecuted at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Virtually all subjects rejected the pathologizing construct of transmitted Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.  Scientists don't like when anecdotes are evidence but in anthropology, all that can be known are what people say and the children's stories show key differences in the genocidal legacies of Cambodian-Canadian and Jewish-Israeli trauma descendants.

While the Jewish-Israeli subjects felt that they bore some emotional scars that were passed on by their parents, they opposed the idea that they have been afflicted by these inherited traces of the Holocaust. Instead, these 'markers of emotional difference' may serve instead as an empowering way to carry on their parents' memory. Cambodian-Canadians not only resist the stigma of trauma but do not feel that the genocide has not left them psycho-socially impaired in any way. Instead of remembering tragedy, the Cambodian-Canadian subjects invoked Karma and subscribed to Buddhist forward-looking attitudes.

Cultural paradigms may valorize or marginalize the importance of remembrance, and the author calls for scholars and humanitarian workers to take into account the diversity of cultural frameworks for remembrance when dealing with descendants of genocide victims. In other words, it's all subjective.

Published in Current Anthropology