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Free Kiswahili synthetic voice for Freedom Fone a possibility
Freedom Fone's ability to fulfill it's promise as a must have tool for bridging the digital divide has yet to be determined. Millions of poor people have access to mobile phones, but with tariffs as high as they are in countries like Zimbabwe, experimentation in this field is still costly. And of course, for our project these are early days. The development team is still in the process of creating the variety of features that will distinguish Freedom Fone from the technically intimidating (to ordinary folk) IVR products like FreePBX, Trixbox and PBX in a Flash.
One of the recalibrations for me has been a growing appreciation of the relevance of text-to-speech synthetic voices for our platform. This isn't news to our Project Architect, Alberto Escudero Pascual. He's been convinced of its relevance from the start. In fact, in order to build an interactive online demo for Freedom Fone he integrated a commercial synthetic voice from Cepstral called Allison as a quick option for building and testing a voice menu.
As you can imagine, English speaking Allison, as good as she sounds given she's synthetic, is not an ideal voice for enunciating other languages.
As a project located in Africa we are keen to develop/acquire free synthetic voices for some of the continent's many languages and include them with the Freedom Fone software. As an open source project I hope that we can attract the contribution of free synthetic voices for many of the world's languages over time.
Yesterday I had the pleasure of speaking with Etienne Barnard at Meraka Institute in Pretoria, South Africa. To my delight he indicated that work already done in Kenya on text-to-speech for Kiswahili by a team led by Dr Mucemi Gakuru at the University of Nairobi some years ago, might be updated and made available in time for our July release of Freedom Fone version 2.
In recognition of the competitive mobile phone tariffs prevailing in east Africa and the willingness of organisations there to experiment with information on demand voice services, we will create our first localisation of the Freedom Fone GUI for Kiswahili in February 2010. The possibility of including a free synthetic voice for this audience is exciting.
So why this interest in synthetic voice? Doesn't this just mean a horrible robotic sounding Kiswahili voice? Obviously original audio files with perfect inflection are the first choice, but not all information requires the effort associated with recording audio files. Freedom Fone helps with the automatic conversion of audio files for voice menus, and it will be improved over time to make it as easy as possible to create audio files using a basic microphone attached to a computer. Still, it would be a lot quicker to automatically convey information received/produced in text format, like product prices, weather reports, breaking news using text-to-speech.
And ... not all synthetic voice sounds dreadful. Build and test your own voice menu in English using Allison and our online demo. Make it the default audio menu and call in to listen for free using Skype. To do this you will need to add Skypiax4 as a Skype contact. Let us know what you think of the experience! | <urn:uuid:9e91d94c-d9fa-40c9-ae0f-29b0e2ce4669> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.freedomfone.org/news/free-kiswahili-synthetic-voice-for-freedom-fone-a-possibility | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94065 | 672 | 1.742188 | 2 |
The newscast was over. Leno's monologue was weak. Your pillow beckoned, and you heeded the call. You began to drift toward Dreamland.
Meanwhile, Frank Hawkey was settling into his seat in the Bethlehem Area Vocational-Technical School. His goal: to type a letter to Kris Kringle.
When would he leave?
"When they kick me out," joked Hawkey, a Catasauqua resident.
Welcome to the 11:30 p.m. -- yes, p.m. -- Intro to Computers course, the vo-tech's answer to the late show. Twice a week, Bethlehem Steel Corp. workers climb the school stairs to the second-floor computer lab just when many are climbing the stairs to their bedrooms.
"The first question," says teacher Jim Trinkle, "always is, `Is the coffee pot on?'"
The course, now entering its fourth week, is one of several being offered by Bethlehem Steel to its workers under a contract provision for a career development program.
When the company asked its workers what skills they wanted to learn, "computers came in No. 1," said Greg Chajnacki, career development coordinator at Bethlehem Steel.
Nearly 80 signed up for the course; the company contracted with the vo-tech.
Then there was another hurdle: scheduling classes to meet the demand. High school students use the vo-tech during days, so the two-hour adult classes had to be before or after the school day. That stranded those who work Steel's 3 p.m. to 11 p.m. shift
"We knew that we had to accommodate swing shift workers," said Elizabeth Kane, BAVTS adult services coordinator.
Someone proposed the late-night offering; the response surprised the coordinators at the school and Bethlehem Steel. On Tuesday night, all 16 seats were filled.
Said Kane, "We never expected to get 16 people in here at 11:30."
"And why not?" some students ask.
"I'm usually up at home anyway," said Jim Kern, a Bethlehem Steel inspector, echoing a common response.
Going from work to bed is easier said than done, most agreed.
"You need a little time to unwind," said Steve Chasar, a worker in Iron Foundry.
While the computer is the first late-night course run by the vo-tech, it probably won't be the last, according to BAVTS Director Donald Foellner.
They're already planning more courses for steel workers -- including an intermediate computer course. And school officials are discussing similar programs with other companies, Foellner said.
With a changing economy and calls for education reform, no school can still look upon itself "as an 8-to-3-type operation," he said.
"There are multiple companies that are running three or four shifts," he said. "We have to market to some of those."
Foellner believes everyone benefits from such a program. The students in class last week likely agree.
Most carried no experience with personnel computers, save video games or early models that connected to the television. Their post-midnight excursion is actually an adventure into unchartered waters.
Trinkle, who volunteered to teach the late class, says his primary goal is to breed familiarity between man and machine.
"They were afraid to turn them on the first night," he said of his students.
The rest is up to the computers and the students, who learn through programmed tutorials, with Trinkle and a textbook titled "DOS for Dummies" . On Tuesday, they edited form letters or typed and formatted letters to Kris Kringle.
After five classes, it's getting to be old hat for Joe Sharga, a steel worker for 28 years who came with no computer experience.
"Once you get past the jargon, it's not that complicated," he said.
Now Sharga carries folded newspaper ads for computer sales among his class papers; he, like others, is pondering a purchase.
Kern is a Whitehall Township resident with three daughters in college. He knows he pays their student computer fees; now he knows what they get for his money.
"I knew nothing about computers whatsoever," Kern said. "I took this class to learn what it means by user-friendly."
He didn't expect the course would include so much hands-on work at the computers -- a pleasant surprise.
"It makes it more interesting," he said.
Hawkey, who works in the blast furnace, has computer experience. He's the treasurer for his bowling league and keeps files on a computer at home. This course gives him more -- a taste of word processing and database features, he said.
"And you can't beat the price," he added.
The free class is appealing, but most are drawn by the challenge of being computer-proficient, Trinkle said.
Now, several students usually come before class begins to get a head start on the computers, Trinkle said. And he has stayed past 2:30 a.m. to accommodate others who can't get enough.
"In some cases, we do have to kick them out," Trinkle said, "because the instructor's leaving for the night."
Or, more accurately, the morning. | <urn:uuid:a8326d6d-1b3a-4d84-8ccd-c12d3c7b179e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://articles.mcall.com/1992-12-20/news/2881040_1_bethlehem-steel-vo-tech-computer | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97861 | 1,105 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Egypt’s ruling military council said on Thursday that the presidential election run-off will continue as scheduled this weekend, the state news agency reported as Washington called for a full transfer of power to elected civilians in Egypt.
“The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has assured that the presidential run-off will take place on schedule on Saturday and Sunday,” the official MENA news agency said.
Earlier the Supreme Constitutional Court ruled unconstitutional a political isolation law barring senior officials of the regime of ousted president Hosni Mubarak and top members of his now-dissolved National Democratic Party from standing for public office for 10 years.
The law applies to those who served in the 10 years prior to Mubarak’s ouster on Feb. 11, 2011 after an 18-day popular uprising.
The court also ruled the whole Islamist-dominated parliament illegitimate, paving the way for the military to resume legislative powers, state media and a military source said.
Mubarak’s last prime minister Ahmed Shafiq faces the Muslim Brotherhood’s Mohammed Mursi in the vote on Saturday and Sunday.
Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for a full transfer of power to elected civilians in Egypt after a court paved the way for the military to assume the parliament’s powers.
“There can be no going back on the democratic transition called for by the Egyptian people,” Clinton told a joint news conference with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and their counterparts from South Korea.
“In keeping with the commitments that the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces made to the Egyptian people, we expect to see a full transfer of power to a democratically elected government,” Clinton said.
Clinton said that Egyptians who waged mass protests last year “made it clear that they want a president, a parliament and a constitutional order that will reflect their will and advance their aspirations for political and economic reform.”
“That is exactly what they deserve to have,” she said.
Clinton also voiced concern about recent decrees by military authorities for the election period, which come just weeks after a decades-old emergency law ended.
“Even if they are temporary, they appear to expand the power of the military to detain civilians and roll back their civil liberties,” Clinton said of the decrees.
Earlier, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland voiced hope that Egypt would preserve a “democratic” government. She said that the United States was still studying the ruling but called for the Egyptian people to “have what they fought for” in the revolution that toppled Mubarak last year.
Shafiq welcomed the court rulings that allowed him to contest the country’s leadership and descrived it as “historic verdict.”
Meanwhile, the Muslim Brotherhood’s presidential candidate the court ruling that declared as unconstitutional the rules under which Egypt’s parliamentary elections were held must be respected.
“The ruling must be respected,” Mursi said in an interview with the privately-owned Dream TV. The Muslim Brotherhood is the biggest party in Egypt’s parliament.
“I respect the decision of the Supreme Constitutional Court in that I respect the institutions of the state and the principle of separation of powers,” Mursi said, but added that he was “dissatisfied” with the rejection of the political isolation law.
“This ruling does not dissolve parliament,” he added, saying that it only applied to a third of the members of the assembly.
However, the head of the constitutional court had earlier told Reuters that the ruling would mean parliament would be dissolved and new elections held.
Mursi said he was confident that “popular isolation and popular rejection is stronger than legal isolation,” referring to this weekend’s presidential vote.
The ruling military, in charge since Mubarak’s ouster in an uprising early last year, has said it would hand power to the elected president by the end of this month.
The uncertain transition has been thrown into further disarray by Thursday’s ruling which annulled parliament. The new president’s powers were to have been defined by a constituent assembly appointed by parliament this week. | <urn:uuid:aa2c54dd-2b6c-4eb0-b496-55417cb8a241> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/06/14/220705.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966623 | 878 | 1.53125 | 2 |
I am working on a project where two my images must be AS SMALL AS POSSIBLE. I have scaled two images to the same dimensions/dpi and I've checked the color profile in Photoshop CS6 and they both look the same. They were both saved out at the same JPEG compression.
Can someone please explain to me how these two images ended up being such drastically different sizes? The dog one is 97 KB and the bunny one is 576 KB.
So after following the suggestion I changed the embedded color profiles of both of the above images and they are now nearly the same file size. However, I have two more that do have the same embedded color profile and again, these are drastically different sizes. Can you explain why? | <urn:uuid:4502526f-640a-46a8-b1c7-ee250aa14ea2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/27887/why-are-two-pictures-that-are-the-same-dimensions-dpi-such-different-file-sizes | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966594 | 151 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Bruce Bishop likes to keep his feet firmly on McComb, Ohio, soil—especially while he's filling his sprayer or nitrogen applicator. Hopping on and off trailers is not only tiring, he figures, but wastes time and can even lead to accidents.
That's why Bishop set up his 45' nurse trailer so that every operation can be performed at the ground level. The trailer's design also emphasizes safety and reliability.
The trailer carries two 2,600-gal. tanks and one 1,600-gal. tank, all of which can be used for either water or fertilizer. There's room at the rear for four herbicide shuttles.
All pumps and valves are accessible from ground level. So is the 30-gal. inductor, which is sunk in the rear deck. Shuttle hoses plug directly into the inductor, so there's no chance of them falling out and causing a spill. A nozzle inside the inductor, mounted on a 90° elbow, rinses jugs as they drain into the inductor.
All the tanks are plumbed with 3" lines. An air line from the truck's air-brake system lets Bishop blow the line clear after filling is complete. "That prevents spills when I disconnect and makes the 3" line a lot lighter to handle,” he explains.
For travel, the line stores along the edge of the trailer. It is held securely in place by rotating brackets and a 3" coupler that Bishop welded onto the truck frame.
Besides the 3" pump that fills the sprayer or applicator, there's also a 2" pump that is plumbed to the middle 1,600-gal. tank.
"When I haul nitrogen solution, I sometimes fill the two big tanks with fertilizer and leave water in the middle tank,” Bishop explains. "I use the 2" pump and a firehose to wash nitrogen off the tractor and applicator. The 2" pump also serves as a backup in case the 3" pump fails.”
Shuttle pumps are powered by a deep-cycle battery, which is charged by the trailer's taillights. "Whenever the taillights are on, the battery is charged by the truck's alternator,” Bishop says. "I use a diode to prevent the taillights from draining the battery when the lights are shut off.”
Bishop also welded a steel plate across the base of the jack stand to prevent the legs from sinking into the ground when the trailer is parked in a field. For cleanup, there's a 12-gal. freshwater tank.
You can e-mail Darrell Smith at [email protected].
- March 2010 | <urn:uuid:beaad15d-d417-4461-91e2-834a31e08d29> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.agweb.com/legacyproject/article/No-Climb_Refills_193795/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959176 | 565 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Philadelphia, PA (PRWEB) August 17, 2012
Our readers have been inquiring if The Health Magazine Zdorovie (http://www.zdorovie.com) is available through public libraries. Well, we are happy to announce that it is. 49 public and university libraries throughout the United States acquire the magazine. 10 new libraries in New York metropolitan area joined in July-August 2012.
Information is power, it’s the most valuable thing in the world, it can get you out of a bind and it can help you understand anything you need. The Health Magazine Zdorovie provides useful and timely information which can be easily accessed through subscription, distribution, online (zdorovie.com), on iPad and through libraries.
Sydney J. Harris, a prominent American journalist and author, once said, “The two words ‘information' and ‘communication' are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through.” Well, you can say that the libraries are giving out information in the hope of it getting through to the patrons. So does the Health Magazine Zdorovie, only the team doesn’t just hope, it makes sure to communicate the information in the form which is easy to understand and esthetically pleasing.
Public libraries have a tendency of gradually turning into community centers where people come to pass the time, enjoy a good book or a magazine or find the information they need. And we are very excited to be partnering with public libraries in communicating information that would best serve the needs and interests of the Russian-speaking community.
About The Health Magazine Zdorovie
The Health Magazine Zdorovie is the advocate for Russian-speaking Americans who choose to live healthier, happier lives. Whether the patrons aspire to develop a more positive outlook, lose weight, or overcome a chronic medical condition, The Health Magazine delivers beneficial and timely information, advice, tools, guidance, and support which can be easily accessed through subscription, distribution, online (http://www.zdorovie.com), on I Pad and through libraries. Zdorovie exists to help its readers maintain a healthy lifestyle and, more importantly, feel better about themselves. Every aspect of a good life—food, fashion, beauty, fitness, and relationships—is put in a healthy context through smart, substantive editorial and design that’s fresh and fun. | <urn:uuid:8ef86807-29a0-43e7-ad98-ebd1ab2849c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/8/prweb9785847.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937021 | 494 | 1.671875 | 2 |
In 1988, a merger between District No. 1 – Pacific Coast District/Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association (M.E.B.A.) and the National Maritime Union, resulted in tremendous dissatisfaction among the membership, which lasted until the spring of 1993, at which time the leadership of the various segments within M.E.B.A. entered into an interim settlement agreement, which, in fact, de-merged the merger.
In 1993, the idea of affiliating with District 1, M.E.B.A., in which we would be a separate, independent labor organization having our own constitution, by-laws and elected officials became a serious consideration.
The National Federation of Public and Private Employees was created on April 9, 1994, with the signing of the original charter by all members of the Charter Committee. The Charter Committee, comprised of dues-paying members of the individual bargaining units, had much weight and responsibility on them, as they met every other Saturday, on their own time, researching and comprehending the pros and cons of affiliation versus being a division of M.E.B.A. District No. 1. A reputable, independent third party conducted the affiliation election on a unit-by-unit basis.
At that time, there were 18 different bargaining units in the Federation of Public Employees alone, as well as the P.O.I.D. Division, which represented and still represents the United Space Alliance employees at the Kennedy Space Center. P.O.I.D. became the Federation of Private Employees at the time of affiliation in 1994. Since that time with many hours of hard work from our National Organizer, we have organized several units in the private sector in the states of Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Florida and Ohio.
© 1994 – 2013 National Federation, All Rights Reserved. Site created by: Scott J. Perrin | <urn:uuid:d8e5fda2-9bec-4574-8ea1-ac8ae8ad5849> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.federationmembers.org/Federation%20History.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964509 | 386 | 1.601563 | 2 |
May 23 2013 Latest news:
Sunday, May 6, 2012
We catch up with our favourite investigative Teutonic misanthrope Werner Herzog in unexpected circumstances – providing snippets of insight to a child-friendly Walking with Dinosaurs copy, cobbled together from a Discovery Channel programme, Dinosaur Revolution.
In the late 1980s Alan Clarke made TV drama Elephant, a caustic comment on Northern Ireland, which consisted solely of random unexplained shootings.
Dinotasia is structured like a kiddies’ remake, only with a little context. At regular 10-minute intervals Herzog briefly intones on the soundtrack as captions inform of the period and present-day location and then an animated vignette follows involving walking, fighting, eating, death and dismemberment.
I guess Herzog must have been attracted by the possibility of a project about his favourite theme “the savage indifference of nature” that was aimed at a younger audience. Still, you have to wonder how he felt about uttering lines like: “Time is more than a river, it is a fathomless ocean that separates us from what was,” or “although coincidence has no soul, it provides a kind of mercy”.
Though the film tries to present itself as serious documentary (the blurb says it is based on “cutting edge palaeontology”) a lot of Herzog’s speeches suggest a film that isn’t taking itself too seriously.
When it comes to the extinction of the dinosaurs I’m pretty sure that even cutting-edge palaeontogists don’t refer to this as “The Great Dying”.
For an adult it gets tedious pretty quickly but through a child’s eyes maybe it translates as Dinosaurs: The Good Bits. Certainly for my seven-year-old dinosaurobsessed nephew fresh off a 24-hour flight from Oz it was enough
to keep him awake and transfixed.
Though when pushed he conceded the animation wasn’t the best.
Directors: Erik Nelson and David Krentz
Narrated by Werner Herzog | <urn:uuid:59773130-92be-4e50-a3db-8241c7aa1201> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.fakenhamtimes.co.uk/what-s-on/review_dinotasia_1_1370059 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935941 | 447 | 1.554688 | 2 |
More than two decades ago, a newborn sick with fever was snatched from a New York City hospital, her frantic mother returning to the emergency room to find an empty crib. On Wednesday, police said the baby — now a woman who reached out to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children because she suspected that the people raising her were not her real family — has been found.
Carlina White was just 19 days old when she disappeared from Harlem Hospital on Aug. 4, 1987. Police searched for her kidnappers but never found enough evidence to charge any suspects. Her mother, Joy White, always had a feeling that her baby was alive, her family said.Video: Aunt of girl taken in ’87 wants to help find suspect (on this page)
"I never gave up looking for her," she told the New York Post.
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On Jan. 4, a woman known as Nejdra Nance, who was raised in Bridgeport, Conn., and now lives in Atlanta, contacted Joy White, sending along baby photos that looked nearly identical to shots of Carlina posted on a missing children's website. Nance told White she thought she might be her daughter.
Nance had long suspected that the people raising her were not her real family. After she found a photo of a familiar-looking girl on the website of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, she got in touch with the organization, which in turn contacted Joy White on Jan. 4.Video: Kidnapped girl, family ‘picking up’ from where they left off (on this page)
"She said she just had a feeling; she felt different from the people raising her," said Nance's maternal grandmother, Elizabeth White, 71. "She searched, and then she found Joy."
In a report that aired Thursday on TODAY, Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, told NBC News: "I think it's important that people recognize this girl is the hero. She's the one whose intelligence and tenacity resulted in her own recovery, reuniting her with her family."Video: Son finds birth mom at work (on this page)
After Nance got in touch with her, Joy White contacted the New York Police Department to see if it could help investigate whether Nance was really her missing daughter, Carlina White.
"It sounded legitimate and credible, so I had Missing Persons reach out to her," said Detective Martin Brown, who fielded the call. DNA tests performed on Joy White, her ex-husband, Carl Tyson, and 23-year-old Nance matched, police said: Nejdra Nance was Carlina White.
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"This is somebody who knew something was wrong in her life and took the initiative," Allen told Ann Curry live on TODAY Thursday. "She said, 'Things aren't the way they should be,' and so she reached out. All we did was follow the information that she gave us."
As part of their investigation, police are talking to retired detectives who handled the case years ago. Because she was so young when she was kidnapped, it's impossible for Nance to know if she has lived with the same family the entire time.Video: How cops learned they were dad, son (on this page)
Nance was on her way back to New York from Atlanta on Wednesday, said Elizabeth White, and Joy White was en route to the airport to meet her. But they already reunited once recently, when Nance came to New York with her 5-year-old daughter, Samani.
"It was wonderful, she didn't even seem like a stranger, she just fit right in," Elizabeth White said. "We all went up there, we had dinner together, her aunts were there. She brought her beautiful daughter. It was magic."
Elizabeth White said she didn't ask Nance too many questions about how she grew up or how she knew she was not a member of the family with whom she lived. She didn't want to push Nance too much.
"That will all come," Elizabeth White said of the history. "What's important now is our baby girl is home. She's home."Story: Abducted girl’s aunt: Kidnapper ‘destroyed my family’
"It's a message of hope," Allen told Ann Curry Thursday. "It's a message that many more of these children are recoverable. Today Carlina White becomes a symbol that the search goes on for lots of others of America's missing children."
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:b322c0b3-e8c2-468f-abbc-2b94c83ce99c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.today.com/id/41163230/ns/today-today_people/t/kidnapped-girl-finds-her-own-mom-after-years/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980994 | 1,193 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Tonight we're giving Bella's new board game a whirl for Friday family fun night. It was planned in the early hours of today, in-between coughing and couch resting and this afternoon we searched for supplies to turn it from paper to project.
Over the years there has been many a board game created in our home. Some of them have been so intricate that frustration has set in before they could be finished, other times the concept has been great on paper, but not quite polished enough to work as a project. But, today's plan was a perfect one.
You make your way to the farm house by taking turns and rolling the dice. On the way to the farm there are all sorts of homemade treasures to collect. Oh, yes....each trinket was handcrafting by Bella this afternoon - incase you're wondering there are paper horses, plasticine apples, little slabs of butter (beads wrapped in yellow paper) and bottles of milk. There are cards along the way too - lose a turn, go forward 3 spaces and collect a free horse!
Once everybody has made their way to the farm, tokens are counted and the person with the most treasure wins.
It's a nice feeling to turn a dream into reality. Sometimes little people have seriously big ideas and it's not always possible to encourage them - flying robots, time machines and my favourite from Bella's idea book - a toaster with wings! But today's dream was doable and very exciting. | <urn:uuid:ac95ae92-7623-4e30-a8e8-20bfa38dfd45> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://melissagoodsell.typepad.com/day_to_day/2011/08/make-your-own-board-games.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97741 | 304 | 1.546875 | 2 |
Analysis finds no salmonella at local farmThe Minnesota Department of Agriculture issued a consumer advisory last Thursday after routine safety testing revealed salmonella bacteria in a package of alfalfa sprouts grown by River Falls-based Jack and the Green Sprouts, N8477 770th St.
By: Debbie Griffin, River Falls Journal
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture issued a consumer advisory last Thursday after routine safety testing revealed salmonella bacteria in a package of alfalfa sprouts grown by River Falls-based Jack and the Green Sprouts, N8477 770th St.
The MDA advised people to throw away any of the product they may have had.
The MDA and the Minnesota Department of Health classified the bacteria found on the sprouts as salmonella diarizonae. The advisory said Minnesota did not know of any illnesses associated with consumption of this product.
It also said the contamination wasn’t associated with the ongoing national investigation of illnesses linked to peanut butter products.
The MDA worked with the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to investigate the contamination and to remove the product from distribution and retail facilities in Minnesota and Wisconsin, including River Falls.
The news release advises that consuming food contaminated with salmonella can cause abdominal cramping, diarrhea and fever. Anyone who believes they may be ill as a result of eating a contaminated product, should contact a health care provider.
Jack and the Green Sprouts’ owner Joe Mahoney said on Friday the MDA pulled the alfalfa sprouts it tested from a holding warehouse in the Twin Cities. The MDA called him and instructed him to call all his clients and ask them to hold the product.
He said once the agency contacted him, he used his color-coding system to track the shipment and see what seed it had come from. Mahoney found it had been shipped on Jan. 15 and 16, commenting that the shelf life for alfalfa sprouts is two weeks.
The farmer said alfalfa sprouts would have “no business” on any shelf after two weeks. He feels confident the product was contaminated during or after shipping; that the bacteria did not originate on his farm.
“Our facility is clean and we haven’t had any problem in 30 years,” he said.
The Jack and the Green Sprouts’ owner said as soon as he was notified of the positive test, he ordered two more independent tests run on just about everything at the farm: Seeds, the entire indoor growing area, wash tanks, bubbler, floor drains, corners, countertops, inside machines and outside machines.
Mahoney said both sets of all the tests came back negative. He said the farm tests every batch of product before it’s released, and none of those have shown a positive result in all his years in business.
Jack and the Green Sprouts also grows radish sprouts, broccoli sprouts, wheat grass, bean mix and sunflowers.
According to a profile posted on Minneapolis’ Wedge Community Co-op, Joe Mahoney is “a real pioneer in the local produce movement.” The profile says he uses well water, certified organic seed, and “super-clean growing conditions.” | <urn:uuid:fd508aa6-213e-432c-9528-3e94b03a2a37> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.riverfallsjournal.com/event/article/id/90644/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96291 | 678 | 1.804688 | 2 |
United Methodist General Conference (GC2012): We sit in the darkness, waiting for light.
My mind plays with the metaphors of light and dark as I rehash what I saw, heard, and felt yesterday. This statement, “we sit in the darkness, waiting for light,” appeared on a social media post after the UMC General Conference in quick succession voted to retain the oppressive forty-year-old statement, “homosexuality is incompatible with Christian teaching”, announced that the afternoon plenary would be a closed session, and turned off the auditorium lights on the gays huddled around the communion altar.
There was an abundance of hurt and harm yesterday–spiritual abuse by the gatekeepers who would create their church in their own image. So much so that gay leaders asked the bishops to remove remaining resolutions regarding human sexuality from consideration to prevent further abuse.
“I’ve only seen my partner cry twice, and we’ve been together a long, long time,” said my gay friend. “He’s been fighting this battle for forty years, and he sobbed when he realized it may not happen in his lifetime.”
O Lord, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult? They pour out their arrogant words; all the evildoers boast. They crush your people, O Lord, and afflict your heritage.
When the lights flickered on, God’s children were still there at the altar, still singing, still praying. Christians are optimists and none more so than gay Christians, clobbered again and again by their church, they rise again: a people of hope, a people of trust, a people of the resurrection.
What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
For forty years, the UMC has wandered in the wilderness and still the promised land seems a far distance. And what of the prophets who have led the struggle but who struggle still? Will they, like Moses, not cross the Jordan when the day finally arrives? Perhaps not, yet they have brought a squabbling people to the river’s edge.
“You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hid. No one after lighting a lamp puts it under the bushel basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.
There is a season for all things, and yesterday was a day for weeping. Today, we lift our lights high, and the journey begins anew. | <urn:uuid:7b058a6e-3b33-416d-b973-245e2315e82e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.theliberalspirit.com/?p=3552&cpage=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96787 | 580 | 1.539063 | 2 |
FarmVille gets its global game on
Lady Gaga, pop supremo, wearer of meat dresses, the star who has sold more than 15-million albums worldwide, announced earlier this month that she had partnered with games company Zynga to release exclusive songs through its Facebook game, FarmVille.
The singer’s fans will be able to visit GagaVille, a specially designed farm inside the virtual farming simulation game, which will contain unicorns and crystals. It’s hard to think of a clearer sign that games are now entirely mainstream.
Lady Gaga’s choice of FarmVille makes sense: it’s an enormous market. The game has about 60-million players worldwide. And FarmVille’s demographic appeal is broad. The game is inoffensive to the point of being anodyne and unchallenging to the point that some commentators say it barely deserves the title “game” at all.
But the lack of challenge is part of what’s made it successful: it can be played on any internet-connected computer, doesn’t need special equipment or particular skill, or an expensive phone or data-download plan.
In FarmVille players plant virtual crops—strawberries, bell peppers and leeks are just some of the choices—wait a few hours and then harvest them to receive coins that allow them to buy more farming supplies.
Of course, the best farming goods can’t be bought with in-game coins, but need real money. As the New York Times pointed out in a profile of FarmVille’s founder, Mark Pincus, last year, “the sums are small, but add up quickly when multiplied by millions of users”.
The illustrations are uniformly aimed at lovers of cuteness: the game features big-eyed farmer avatars, pastel-coloured trees and turkeys that are harvested not with a swift hatchet blow to the neck but by plucking their feathers. One doubts whether their “English farm” is ever going to suffer an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease or scrapie.
But the genius of the game is that players advance much more quickly if they rope in their friends. My Facebook account is littered with requests such as: “I’m trying to nourish my baby lamb! Could you send me a bottle?” Yours probably is too. Some find these requests hard to turn down and by exerting this social pressure, FarmVille has consolidated a solid user-base. Lady Gaga’s not the first to spot the business potential of a tie-in with such a popular brand: the last time I entered FarmVille’s virtual space, I was offered a “free windmill from American Express”.
It has also partnered with McDonald’s in the past, as well as raising money for earthquake victims in Haiti.
The growth of FarmVille is just the latest and most obvious expression of a change in gaming demographics in recent years. The media’s image of a “gamer” might still be of a man in his teens or 20s sitting in front of Call of Duty for six-hour stretches, but that stereotype is now more inaccurate than ever.
Games companies are increasingly creating products aimed at older women, a demographic that tends to be more interested in “casual” games that can be played in short bursts throughout the day and don’t require too much attention. Big Fish Games, which makes “hidden object” games, designed to appeal to mystery lovers, surpassed $100-million in annual revenue in 2009 and recently announced a partnership with middle-American magazine Woman’s Day.
PopCap Games, whose child-friendly game, Plants vs Zombies, was nominated for a Bafta last year, features “player profiles” on its website, including: “Barbara Simpson (36), Connecticut mom, plays Bejewelled Blitz with a baby on her lap” and “Ann Hough (48), mother, daughter bond over Plants vs Zombies”.
These games are being sold as a way to relax, to indulge in “me-time”, to entertain children and, above all, to connect with others. FarmVille, with its extremely simple game play and emphasis on social connection, has tapped into this market.
Andrea Phillips, the creator of many online games including the social-change-driven Facebook game, America 2049, says: “Games, especially Facebook games, are increasingly targeting older and more female demographics. This is because that is where the money is. Older women spend more time gaming, measured in minutes per day, than any other category of player. Ignoring the audience who wants your project the most is just bad business sense.”
James Wallis, a game designer whose new life-simulator game, Hyperlife, will be based in Facebook, agrees. “Facebook works for us because our intended audience is very broad. We want the fortysomething soccer moms, but we also want teens and twentysomethings to play it.”
And FarmVille’s success with the female demographic?
“As a friend of mine once put it, ‘Girls don’t like to die’. In FarmVille, you only ever succeed, though sometimes you succeed more than other times. This makes a lot of industry people dismiss social games. And these people are fools who have been designing the wrong sort of games. If the success of Facebook games proves anything it’s that there has always been a massive market for games, they’ve just been waiting for the right game to come along.”
Interestingly, this new group of players tend not to describe themselves as gamers. Partly as a response to that image of strung-out adolescent boys, products aimed more at women and at an older market have tended not to call themselves games at all.
What are they?
The Wii console has been marketed as “Wii Fit”, its adverts portraying it as a piece of exercise equipment, not a games console. Nintendo DS games have been marketed as “brain training”, focusing on purpose rather than play.
Although research has shown that the Wii Fit isn’t as effective as going to the gym and there’s little evidence that brain training can help slow mental decline, the “training” packaging helps to sell these games to a demographic that might be unwilling to buy something purely for fun. It’s easy now to find people who say “I’m not a gamer, I don’t play computer games” but, when challenged, will admit that they play Angry Birds on their iPhone, or MafiaWars on Facebook, or solitaire on their PC during quiet times at work. If those aren’t computer games, what are they?
FarmVille, of course, is unashamed about being a game. It’s partly that playful style that makes it a good partner for Lady Gaga, an artist famed for antics and experimentation. Gaga has also used social media to develop a deep connection with her fans. She surpassed Britney Spears last year as the most-followed user on Twitter and topped a survey of the most popular musical artists in online social media.
But Gaga isn’t the only musician tapping into the increasing reach of games. Adrian Hon, the chief communications officer of Six to Start, a games company that made an online game, Ununited Eurasia, for rock band Muse and has just created one for indie band Death Cab for Cutie, says: “Games are a good way for bands to connect to their younger fans, to engage with the sort of people who buy music and go to concerts. Labels and publishers have seen the internet primarily as a place to advertise and a source of worrying piracy, but artists tend to be much more interested in the creative possibilities.”
In all this enthusiasm one should remember that FarmVille has not been without its detractors. In a now-notorious speech, Pincus, talking about the early days of his company, Zynga, said: “I did every horrible thing in the book to get revenue right away. I mean, we gave our users poker chips if they downloaded this Zwinky toolbar which was like, I don’t know, I downloaded it once and couldn’t get rid of it ... We did anything possible just to get revenue.”
The social element of the game means that non-players get deluged by FarmVille spam. And game theorist Ian Bogost has suggested that social games are more destructive of personal time than other kinds of gaming, saying that they “abuse us while we are away from them, through obligation, worry and dread about missed opportunities”.
When I shut down a console game, it pauses the action and allows me to resume it at a later time. If I try to step away from FarmVille, it will continue without me and I’ll miss opportunities to grow crops or receive special items, making games such as this potentially more compulsive and harder to quit.
But these misgivings don’t have much effect on the bottom line. The games industry is growing somewhere between 10% and 20% a year, a figure that the film and the music industry could only dream of. We might not all be wearing meat dresses in 10 years’ time, but in hooking up with FarmVille, Lady Gaga is a forerunner of things to come.— | <urn:uuid:56a41951-4a4d-4f9e-ad5e-bba0d057e583> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mg.co.za/article/2011-05-31-farmville-gets-its-global-game-on | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963459 | 2,007 | 1.554688 | 2 |
Verses with the word doubtless in the Apocrypha (2 verses):
1 Maccabees 13:6
Doubtless I will avenge my nation, and the sanctuary, and our wives, and our children: for all the heathen are gathered to destroy us of very malice.
2 Maccabees 7:23
But doubtless the Creator of the world, who formed the generation of man, and found out the beginning of all things, will also of his own mercy give you breath and life again, as ye now regard not your own selves for his laws' sake. | <urn:uuid:5ae04dba-b0bc-4c12-8e35-b86797cd13ce> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.artbible.info/concordance/d/4749-3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951588 | 122 | 1.625 | 2 |
Narrated Al-Amash:I asked Abu Wail, "Did you take part in the battle of Siffin?" He said, 'Yes, and I heard Sahl bin Hunaif (when he was blamed for lack of zeal for fighting) saying, "You'd better blame your wrong opinions. I wish you had seen me on the day of Abu Jandal. If I had the courage to disobey the Prophet's orders, I would have done so. We had kept out swords on our necks and shoulders, for a thing which frightened us. And we did so, we found it easier for us, except in the case of the above battle (of ours).' " | <urn:uuid:7eb1cef9-7489-4a0a-8c9d-959e7e8a0924> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sacred-texts.com/isl/bukhari/bh4/bh4_409.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984562 | 140 | 1.53125 | 2 |
The principal looked at the faces in the large crowd gathered together in the school's gymnasium.
Let's try something different this year, he said.
If you have a veteran in your family, or someone currently serving in the military, stand up.
The crowd of students and adults rose to their feet, with hardly anyone left sitting in the bleachers and chairs.
"That shows you the magnitude of service and the commitment of those who have served others," Bermudian Springs Middle School Principal Wade Hunt said.
And that service and commitment was honored on Friday at the school's annual Veterans Day assembly - always held a little earlier than the holiday.
"I think we should honor veterans every day," said guest speaker, Retired Col. Terrence "Mac" McClain. "I'm delighted that we have an opportunity to get a head start on it today."
It was an assembly filled with patriotic music performed by the school's band and chorus and with a special presentation of colors conducted by the VFW Memorial Team from East Berlin. It was a time for speeches that served as a reminder not only to thank veterans but to honor them with our own actions - to remember the courage and heroism shown throughout our history while serving as role models and exhibiting good citizenship today.
In looking to the past, students at Bermudian Springs Middle School had the chance to submit essays to the Patriot's Pen contest created by the National Department of the Ladies Auxiliary to
The top two essays written by eighth-graders Brilee Carey and Andrew Phillippi were read aloud by the students on Friday and will go on to compete at the district level of the contest.
Brilee said her thoughts to the founding fathers could be summed up in three words - why, wow and what.
Why did they want to break apart from England and what gave them the courage to commit what was considered an act of treason against their home country? Along those lines, "wow" is the only word that she could find to describe all the work that went into creating our country.
"I admire you and look up to you," she would tell them.
Andrew said it'd be tempting to tell them all about the accomplishments in the last three centuries - from the moon landing to the invention of the X-Box, he said, drawing laughs from the crowd.
But, just as the country will say to veterans on Nov. 11, the most important thing to tell them would be "thank you," he said.
"Thank you for the courage to stand up for your belief in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness," Andrew said.
Thank you for knowing that
Helping others and serving the greater good is part of what makes someone a hero, as McClain would explain as he spoke to the crowd, who listened intently.Some would think heroes are people who have medals, or anyone who wears a uniform.
"It's what the person does in that uniform that makes them a hero," McClain said.
And being a hero isn't limited to the military, he added.
"Each and every one of you in this audience has that capability and opportunity to be a role model," he said. "I think you can honor veterans by each and every one of us becoming a citizen hero."
That means having character and doing the right thing, even when it's hard or unpopular with others. It's as big as standing up for someone being bullied, he said, and as little as helping someone pick up books that fall in the hallway.
"Focus. Make the right decision. Do the right thing," McClain said, "and you will become an American citizen hero." | <urn:uuid:7b9b1436-b219-4716-af7b-e660430e548b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eveningsun.com/news/ci_21916397/bermudian-springs-celebrates-veterans?source=most_viewed | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984883 | 754 | 1.578125 | 2 |
March for Babies
Last year's ambassador family Bonnie & Jason Shelby with daughter, Georgia.
Did you know the prematurity rate for infants in Memphis is among the highest in the nation? So, too, is our infant mortality rate. That’s why the work the March of Dimes does is so important. During the organization’s February kick-off for the March For Babies fund-raiser, guests learned of the research being done to understand the root causes of prematurity and birth defects in infants. The organization’s aim is help moms deliver healthier, full-term babies.
The annual fund-raising walk, which takes place Saturday, April 27th, at Shelby Farms, brings together many families whose lives have been touched by prematurity or other birth issues. Last year’s march raised $559,000. The goal is to raise $600,000 this year.
James Jones was among 50 walkers acknowledged during the kick-off as those who raised more than $1,000 for the organization. As a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, Jones has been involved with the March of Dimes for 20 years. “I do it because I like knowing this organization makes a difference for families.”
Mom Penny Callonas has participated in the March For Babies for the past decade. “My daughter was just 16 months old when my second child, Trace, died of SIDS” at eight weeks of age. Penny honored his life by organizing Trace’s Team. Today, that team is made up of more than 30 friends and family members.
Friends walk alongside Jessica Vinson, too, a mom who heads up Team Riley. Jessica’s daughter, Riley, was delivered seven weeks premature in 2007. She and her husband first encountered the March of Dimes vis-a-vie a booklet they were given at the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit, one the March of Dimes publishes that explains the medical terminology parents encounter with a premature infant. Though her daughter passed away eight days later, Jessica recognized the important work the organization does. Last year, Team Riley raised more than $14,000, thanks in part to an adult soccer league tournament fund-raiser the couple hosts. “We’ve got good friends who support us,” says Jessica. “They know the issue of prematurity is near and dear to our hearts.”
In addition to the walk, this year the March of Dimes has partnered with the Children’s Museum of Memphis (CMOM) to support an interactive exhibit that will educate children on the importance of a healthy lifestyle. The new exhibit is scheduled to open at CMOM later this month.
If you’d like to put together a team or walk as an individual in the March For Babies, go to the March of Dimes website and sign up on the online registration form. You’ll be raising money for a good cause.
Come walk at Shelby Farms
Get your team together now!
Registration: 8 a.m. Walk: 9 a.m.
Distance: 4 miles. Event steps off from the park’s visitor center. | <urn:uuid:8835f331-a578-435a-ba97-959ebf456029> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.memphisparent.com/Memphis-Parent/March-2013/March-for-Babies/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967489 | 667 | 1.75 | 2 |
David Finch on his wife, Asperger’s Syndrome and their Marriage being saved
It wasn’t working, any of it. Our third year of marriage threatened to be our last. I’d become cynical and withdrawn, obsessive and preoccupied, dismissive and unhelpful.
“I don’t know when things got bad,” Kristen said, wiping away tears. “I feel like I’ve lost you and I don’t know what will bring you back.”
In reality she hadn’t lost me. She’d found me. The facade of semi-normalcy I’d struggled to maintain was falling away, revealing the person I’d been since childhood. I didn’t even know what was wrong with me, though my wife, a speech pathologist who works with autistic children, had her suspicions. Even so, it would be another two years before she would put all the pieces together and attach a name to what was ruining our marriage: Asperger’s syndrome....
Read it all. Some of you may recognize that this was used by yours truly in a recent sermon--a great story--KSH
Filed under: * Culture-Watch
Health & Medicine
Marriage & Family
Posted October 11, 2012 at 6:00 am
To comment on this article: Go to Article View
The URL for this article is http://www.kendallharmon.net/t19/index.php/t19/article/45421/
1. Sarah wrote:
RE: “Many of us who have the disorder, identified by the Austrian pediatrician Hans Asperger in 1944, could probably pass for normal if it weren’t for three defining characteristics: egocentricity, odd and sometimes repetitive behaviors, and an obsession with a special interest.”
That’s it—a “syndrome” for two character disorders and OCD.
We know this because he admits—twice—that he was able to control the behaviors when he wanted to impress somebody—that is, his future wife.
“What I needed initially were communication skills and a sense of empathy, neither of which, in my case, had been factory-installed. Fortunately, I was living with a highly qualified therapist with a strong motivation to help. Her objective: re-invent our marriage. Her first mission: figure out how to get me to communicate.
I know: a lot of husbands could use a lesson in this, right? For us, however, this went way beyond the typical husband/wife dynamic. Whenever my routine got disrupted, or I was made to do something that didn’t interest me, I would shut down, unable to engage in any constructive way. . . . Acquiring empathy seemed a taller order, given that my Aspergerish point of reference is myself in every circumstance.”
Another name for this is “Small Child Disorder” which all of us experience as well.
I don’t like my routine to get disrupted—I’m selfish that way—and a “sense of empathy” is not “factory-installed” in a lot of people. That’s what parents are for. And yes, I like my “point of reference” to be me, too—and I’d like to talk about all my hobbies to other people and force them to pretend to listen, as well.
It doesn’t trouble me that a spouse talks about how his wife helped him to overcome his egocentricity and selfishness and lack of empathy—the things he needed to acquire as a child but which his parents failed to give him—as well as helped him to acquire a few social skills. That’s a good thing, and I appreciate that.
What bothers me is that now some basic character and behavioral sins [that’s what we call them] have been classified and labelled for him as a “syndrome” that we must all now think of as a “disability”—maybe even one that can get him extra time on tests, and some SS disability, if we work it right, as well as a category under the ADA so that workplaces have to modify their whole lives for his behavior.
It’s just very very very very old at this point.
October 11, 10:55 am | [comment link]
2. stevejax wrote:
Sarah—you obviously speak of which you do not understand. My middle son is on the Asperger’s Spectrum. This is not nurture.. as you suggest. Nor is it a combination of other “character disorders”. Your belittling tone towards the author, and others who suffer from this condition, is very disheartening and ungracious.
October 11, 1:03 pm | [comment link]
4. Barbara Gauthier wrote:
I also have a son with Asperger’s. He was wired differently from his other two brothers from the time he was born. He did not speak until he was 4 although he somehow taught himself to read English fluently when he was 27 months old. The primary way he communicated was through the written word. Only gradually did he acquire verbal language skills. His brain apparently processes all language the way adults process foreign languages. He did not have a “mother tongue” and basically learned English as his first foreign language. He is now fluent in both English and Spanish, scoring 5 on both the English and the Spanish AP exams.
He has had to learn social skills very intentionally because he cannot naturally pick up the non-verbal social cues that most children have mastered by the time they are two or three. He was very involved with various student groups in high school although he never developed any close friendships. He was nearly 20 before he finally mastered the social rhythm of listening/speaking that is essential to natural conversation. He began asking other people questions about what they thought or how they felt. This was a huge milestone for him.
He is now a first-year grad student in math at Princeton and is adapting far more easily than I ever thought possible. (Researchers estimate that upwards of 90% of university math professors have some Asperger’s characteristics—the quintessential absent-minded math professor!). He told me last week that he had decided to join the church choir and had been asked to be part of the men’s fellowship group. He is trying to make social connections with other students for the first time.
We’ve found an analogy very useful in helping people understand the limitations and strengths of Asperger’s (and yes, there are strengths, profound strengths). Most people are like incandescent light bulbs, that shed a uniform light all around them. Asperger’s individuals are like lasers, which focus extremely intently on a very small area and shed very little if any peripheral light around them. My son’s strength in upper level math is definitely related to his God-given ability to concentrate intensely for long periods of time on something of great interest to him.
We love him. He is fun and witty and honest as the day is long. We appreciate deeply the strengths that he has and we continue to encourage him on fine-tuning needed coping skills in the social areas of his life, just as the article above describes so eloquently.
October 11, 7:24 pm | [comment link]
5. Mark Baddeley wrote:
Thanks for the link Kendall, it does fill the picture out even further. But I think the NYTimes article gives enough information to enable the reader to see that #1’s comments are completely offbase:
First she allowed me to complete my 8:30 p.m. routine, fully aware of how essential it is to my peace of mind: circle the downstairs, note which lights are on, and stare out the front window, visually lining up the neighbors’ rooftops.
Do you rock back and forth or side to side for comfort, to calm yourself, when excited or overstimulated? Where’s the hidden camera?
Do you get frustrated if you can’t sit in your favorite seat? Friendships have ended over this.
As I exited yet another gas station without getting gas, she asked, “Because it has an odd number of pumps?”
Does any of that sound like standard sinful egocentricity in a functioning adult?
The comments were made by just handwaving away the OCD elements of the report as tangential to the diagnosis, thus the whole matrix could be then attacked as ‘Small Child Disorder’ - just standard sinfulness.
October 11, 9:26 pm | [comment link]
6. Sarah wrote:
RE: “Does any of that sound like standard sinful egocentricity in a functioning adult?”
Nope—it sounds like OCD—not “tangential” at all.
And no, “the whole matrix” could not then be “attacked as ‘Small Child Disorder’”—I was quite specific about what parts were “Small Child Disorder”—and we are all afflicted with “Small Child Disorder.” I did not at all include OCD under “Small Child Disorder”—I was very clear, which tells me that somebody actually didn’t agree with the principle that I stated—which is certainly fine, but please don’t accuse me of saying what I didn’t say.
Making everything into a “syndrome” and thus a diagnosed-disability is what I protest against.
And further—when did sinful behavior become something that nobody can feel sympathetic towards? Why must a cluster of character disorders perforce be a “diagnosed illness” before people can be gracious?
My ungraciousness was not towards the author’s actions—my ungraciousness was towards the ridiculous “diagnosis”—diagnoses of various “syndromes” which many physicians see with increasing and strengthening frequency and must perforce medicate, cure, and enable with further furrowed brows and concerned looks.
Why must we only be allowed to furrow the brow and issue the concern when it’s an illness? Why can’t we show the concern when it’s a cluster of OCD and character disorders? It sounds as if his wife has been most gracious and kind with somebody who has taken a very very long time to grow up. That is a good thing—and his gratefulness for her care is also a good thing.
I have known many people with the non-OCD behaviors that this man describes. They are very painful conditions, and the people are deeply lonely—such actions create and further isolation, which means people then are even less able to develop the skills this man is developing, and that he should have developed when he was younger.
So yes—I heartily disagree with precisely the same thing that I stated in my first comment as my disagreement, which was particularly stated.
October 12, 10:47 pm | [comment link]
7. Sarah wrote:
I should add that, even sadder to me is that people who are functioning—even high-functioning, with work and relationships and hobbies—now get to be “classified” as disabled and handicapped, with a real live “disorder.” It’s as if nobody is allowed to just be different from other people, or have common everyday sins, unless it’s nicely labeled as a Terrible Disability With A Proper Medical Name For It [and of course, a good Washington DC lobbying group too].
I myself have a terrible condition called mythophobia that, coupled with my kainophobia and a touch of OCD, has caused me to be perceived as “ungracious” and “belittling” on this very thread, when in reality it is merely my cluster of special, unique disorders that has left that erroneous impression.
I have not yet received empathy for this merely because—so far—no one has yet publicized this rare cluster of syndromes to the appropriate people in order to get it properly acknowledged and its research and rehab funded.
October 12, 11:04 pm | [comment link]
© 2013 Kendall S. Harmon. All rights reserved.
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Not long ago I went to a military park located in the middle of a fairly good-sized city. I arrived bright and early, and as I headed into the visitor center, I noticed a couple walking their dogs along the trail. I didn’t really think anything about it.
After seeing the exhibits, I hit the trails myself, where I encountered more dog-walkers. In fact, I saw many more dog-walkers than sightseers. I was seemingly the only person on the battlefield with a map and a camera instead of a dog leash and a sport bottle.
I finally arrived at the park’s largest, most impressive monument. Sitting on the base was a college student, her back leaned against the pedestal on the front, with a textbook open in her lap and a cellphone stuck against her ear. The battlefield was apparently a study lounge as well as a dog park.
As the morning progressed, the park got more corwded. Dog-walkers began to give way to walkers and joggers, in ever-increasing numbers. By this time I’d started counting “battlefield users” as compared to “battlefield visitors,” for the purpose of reporting my findings in a planned blog post on the subject of battlefield use, which you are now reading. I finally had to give up counting. There were simply too many walkers and joggers to keep track of, although I think I could accurately state that they outnumbered the obvious tourists by ten to one or more.
They came at me one by one and two by two. They came with large, friendly dogs and they came with small, nervous dogs. They came with strollers. They came wearing fashionable, color-coordinated jogging suits, and they came with mp3 players of all shapes and colors. There were quite literally dozens of them.
One guy in particular stands out in my mind. I was reading an interpretive sign when I heard rapid footfalls, and turned to see a sweaty fellow with headphones in his ears, decked out in what appeared to be a uniform obtained from the Fantastic Four. He came to a stop, caught his breath, nodded hello, and then crouched over, put his hands on the ground, propped his feet on a bench, and did a set of push-ups.
Of course, this issue of “multi-tasking” is something that many historic sites face. Some of them actually include “fitness trails,” with pull-up bars and the whole nine yards.
Chances are, if you’ve done any kind of work with historic sites, you’ve had to accomodate unconventional use of your facilities to one degree or another. It’s worse for small institutions like museums that are a part of bigger ones like government entities or universities. If you’re a staff member at one of these institutions-within-an-institution, there’s a chance that somewhere up the line there’s a supervisor who doesn’t really know why you exist, and doesn’t really care. And if that’s the case, God help you. Sooner or later you’re going to end up having to justify your performance in terms that have nothing to do with what you’re technically supposed to be doing.
In other words, if you’re doing public history, you’ll eventually find your institution being put to some strange and unintended uses. Sometimes this can be a good thing. It gives your site a larger role in the life of the community than it would otherwise have, and I think most people who manage historic sites and museums want members of the community to feel something like a sense of proud ownership with regard to it. It helps motivate them to get involved and support the place.
Still, there was something about the inundation of joggers and dog-walkers at this battlefield that was more than a little disturbing. Patriotic obligation aside, there’s simply the question of good taste. At the end of the day, a battlefield is a place where a great many dreadful things happened within the space of a few hours. You’ll find few places in America where death and violence have taken place on such a concentrated scale. I suppose people have every right to use battlefield trails for no purpose other than exercise, but this behavior does indicate a rather striking failure of perception.
Of course, this problem of internalization isn’t limited to battlefield “users.” It’s also common among battlefield “visitors.” Your common tourist, visiting a military park to learn and to see the sights, may never fully appreciate the horror involved in the notion of thousands of men trying desperately to kill each other within such a relatively confined area. But the common tourist does, at least, take the field for what it is primarily intended to be.
In one sense, the very scale of violence that took place on most battlefields may work against our ability to comprehend the loss of life. We can all identify with an individual life lost, but how do you get your head around thousands of them? At some point one stops thinking in terms of human lives and starts thinking in terms of abstract numbers.
When I graduated from high school my parents and I went to New York. I had long wanted to visit the American Museum of Natural History, so we had to make our way over to the Central Park West district. Walking back, we passed the Dakota, where a small group stood reverently outside the entrance where John Lennon was shot. They took pictures, as tourists will do, but their overall demeanor was consistent with what you’d see at a cathedral. In fact, they wouldn’t have been out of place at the site of Bergen-Belsen. The emotional impact seems to work in inverse proportion to the body count. Kill one prominent man, and you sancitfy an otherwise ordinary spot. Kill scores of anonymous soldiers and farm boys, and the impact diminishes rather than increases.
This perverse arithmetic doesn’t speak very highly of the value we place on human life. But of course the major factor involved isn’t math but time, that most corrosive of all agents when it comes to memory.
Two hundred years from now, our descendants might very well be going to the top of One World Trade Center for no other reason than to admire the view. They’ll think it a fine place to have their pictures made and propose to their girlfirends; the fact that it was once the scene of unimaginable misery may sadly be nothing more than a vague, almost subconscious awareness.
Jefferson stated that the earth belongs to the living, and he believed it to be cause for hope. In many ways it is, but there’s a certain tragedy in it, too. | <urn:uuid:30a7c482-b326-4fa0-a1bc-ce1a19064c9a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pastinthepresent.wordpress.com/2009/04/30/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976513 | 1,427 | 1.664063 | 2 |
The course work for which each student is responsible normally includes lectures, discussions, and other classroom activities as well as texts and outside readings, assignments, and examinations. Excessive absence from class should and does adversely affect learning and performance. Consequently, regular class attendance is expected of all UWP students.
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While instructors are expected to make reasonable allowances for absences caused by illness and other circumstances beyond a student's control as well as field trips and co-curricular activities, making up missed work is solely the student's responsibility.
In the case of unanticipated absence (personal or family illness or emergency), the student should inform the staff of the Assistant Chancellor for Student Affairs and ask that instructors be notified. Upon returning to class, the student should consult the instructor(s) to obtain assignments, etc., for makeup work and deadline(s) for its completion.
In the case of a field trip or other anticipated absence, the student should as far in advance as possible, obtain approval from the instructors of all classes which will be missed. The instructor is expected to inform the student what will be missed, what makeup work will be required/accepted and when it will be due, and possible consequences of missing class activity which cannot be made up. An instructor is in no way obligated to seek out a student who has been absent for any reason nor to place other students or him or herself at a disadvantage in order to facilitate making up work.
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There’s an individual who comments on The Simple Dollar (and a few other personal finance blogs) who identifies him- or herself as “Minimum Wage.” This person is singularly focused on the issues of low wage earners, and while his/her comments can be frustrating, sometimes Minimum Wage is really effective at pointing out how some advice simply isn’t appropriate for people in that situation. What good is portfolio advice to a minimum wage earner? What good does it do to talk about how to buy a $200K+ house when you’re making $7 an hour? Not much.
I know where Minimum Wage is coming from. I grew up in a household with a far below average income, and while we may have done all right for ourselves, I grew up around people who existed in true poverty. Thankfully, I was able to take advantage of the great opportunities that life offered me – and the great foundation that my parents gave me as a person – and was able to find a better, financially healthy life where I could raise my children without a regular sense of necessity underlying day to day life.
But what can a person do if they’re in Minimum Wage’s situation? Here are the ten things I would do if I found myself only able to earn minimum wage.
1. Go rural.
It is far, far easier to make a living on minimum wage in a rural situation. There are many small towns where you can find a room to rent for $100 a month and a small apartment to rent for $200 a month. Yes, these really exist – I see them fairly regularly when I get out in the more rural areas of Iowa. Even better, these areas often have lots of jobs for minimum wage workers – I see lots of help wanted signs around these towns and notices inside of town halls and gas stations looking for workers.
2. Don’t drive.
A car is a giant money suck. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts about it, if you’re working minimum wage, your car is killing you. Ditch the car – get whatever cash you can from it. Then choose a place to live where you can get to work by foot or by bicycle. In a small town, it’s pretty easy to reach any other place in the town (and many places in the nearby countryside) on foot or by bicycle, and it’s something that people often do to cut corners.
3. Find the free stuff.
In towns of any size, there are resources available for the impoverished, from free dinners at churches to food giveaways to soup kitchens. The library provides free entertainment in the forms of books, music, and internet access. There are parks, recreational activities, and countless other things even in the smallest of rural towns. Look around for the free stuff and use it – it’s there for everyone to utilize. When you must spend money, be as frugal as possible. Ramen is very cheap, filling, and full of carbs, for example.
4. Don’t be proud.
Pride often keeps people from walking into a soup kitchen. Don’t let it. That kind of pride is an obstacle ground into you by a life in a consumerist society. People who are there to help you want to help you stand on your own two feet – give them that opportunity. Look for every opportunity to help you with your situation, from consulting to WIC to Medicaid to welfare (regardless of my political feelings on it, it’s definitely a resource someone in that position should use). If you don’t know where to start, start off by asking a pastor or a clergyman for help.
5. Minimize your required commitments.
Repaying debts? Call the debtors and explain your situation and ask for an abatement. This won’t get rid of your debt, but it can minimize your requirements for the time being. If you have children that you simply can’t support, look for opportunities to help you with that burden – your family is a great place to start, for example. Don’t saddle yourself with burdens heavier than you can carry or you’ll do nothing but collapse. You don’t become strong by carrying 500 pounds of weight on your back – you become strong by learning how to carry ten pounds, then adding more as you go along.
6. Take every side opportunity you can.
There are all sorts of little opportunities to make more money if you pay attention. Doing things like helping someone shingle a roof for $10 an hour cash is an opportunity you can’t let pass by. Free meals? Take them. Twenty bucks for helping an old man clean out his garage? Do it. Ask around for odd jobs and other small-scale moneymaking opportunities – perhaps even get started on your own “handyman” business.
7. Minimize your possessions.
There are a lot of reasons for doing this. The biggest one is that the more stuff you have, the more money you’ve wasted. Also, fewer possessions mean that you need less room to live. For a while, all of my worldly possessions (clothes included) fit in a single Rubbermaid tub – and that made it extremely easy to actually live in someone’s living room for a while.
8. Make a steely commitment to succeed.
Even after you’ve done all of this, it still takes some serious commitment to make all of this work. You can get yourself in a position where you’re not spending more than you make, but it takes commitment to stay there. Remind yourself every day that you’re not going to waste money and that you’re going to spend less than you earn this week – and this month – and this year. That’s the one way you can get ahead.
9. Save automatically.
So what do you do when you are making more than you’re spending? Take that extra money and put it into a savings account. But just doing that every once in a while won’t cut it. Keep most of your money in a checking account, then go to the library and use the internet access there to set up an online savings account with a big bank, like ING or HSBC. Set up an automatic savings plan there to withdraw $10 a week from your main checking – or maybe even more. Then walk away and forget about it. What will happen? After a year, you’ll have $530 or so in the account. If you’ve put in more weekly, you’ll have even more.
10. Educate yourself.
While you’re putting yourself in a better financial place, spend your spare time educating yourself. Take classes at the nearest community college and work towards some kind of degree. If you need to, transfer to a state university – if you’ve been working on minimum wage for a long time and are actually making strong progress towards a degree, they will help you big time with paying for it. The key is getting started – see what your local community college has to offer.
One final tip: don’t give up the dream.
If you’re working a minimum wage job, either you’re very young, very lazy, or very unlucky. All of these can be overcome, but they take time and commitment and a lot of hard work. It’s very easy to give up the dream of a better life when you’re doing this. Don’t. You can succeed and you will succeed if you spend every day taking steps in the right direction. Surround yourself with people who are also fighting to go in the right direction. Don’t be resentful of people in a better situation than you – instead, use them as inspiration and realize that if you keep on the path, you’ll get there too. | <urn:uuid:b1d6af3e-bd80-4279-9981-4b961da038c1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2007/10/07/ten-steps-to-financial-success-for-a-minimum-wage-earner/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955153 | 1,664 | 1.804688 | 2 |
We walk the desert, uphill past a mama dog lounging under a gray sky feeding her pups. We climb past brightly colored homes made of wooden planks and sheets of plastic.
When we arrive at the house a little girl cracks the door and says, in Spanish, “I’m not mama.”
We wait for mama and when she comes she’s barefoot. Her hair is pulled back and her son’s sweaty face rests in the curve of her neck.
She opens the door and we walk through. Her house is a facade opening into a roofless courtyard. In the courtyard are laundry lines draped in grandmother’s hard work hung out to dry. And a room made of scrap wood, scrap metal, scrap plastic. Inside the room are two beds where three children, mama and her husband sleep.
[RSS subscribers, click through to see the video.] Press play on the video below and then click and drag the image to see in all directions.
Layla kneels before big sister, smiling, asking what the dog’s name is. “Mickey Mouse,” she laughs. And we laugh too.
Layla asks the best questions, really listens, asks some more. So she unearths the best story.
Mama was poor once – in every way. She was hungry, unable to feed her children every day. She was pregnant and sick. Her husband drank too much.
Then someone from a local church – Christ Leads Church – knocked on her door and told her about Compassion International. Soon she was seeing doctors, given the nutrition a growing baby needs…and wanting to know more about these people who were helping her. So she started going to their church; just curious.
And curiosity lead to faith. And faith spread to her husband. “Through prayer he no longer drinks and together our family goes to the church now.”
Mama smiles retelling it all; raking that sweaty baby boy’s hair away from his face with her fingers.
“Thanks to God,” she says, “we now have a better life. We live! We breathe! We eat!”
Later, I remind the team that Compassion’s goal isn’t to turn the poorest of the poor into middle class. If that were the goal? Then Compassion has failed mama.
The goal is to meet her most basic needs – physical, social, emotional, cognitive, spiritual.
And for Mama to give thanks.
When the offering was collected from Corinth for the starving in Jerusalem, Paul said he was passing the plates to bring help to the poor and thanks to God.
You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us [this offering of yours] will result in thanksgiving to God. This service you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. – 2 Corinthians 9:11,12
This is why I have more than enough: I have been made rich so that I can be generous toward others so that they can live and breathe and eat and give thanks to God.
This is why Compassion serves the poorest of the poor through local churches in twenty-six countries: When God’s people give, He gets thanked.
We hold hands in a circle, bow our heads and listen as Layla prays. She asks God to bring work to Mama’s husband, to help Mama’s children become all she dreams for them. “Amen.”
“Gracias,” Mama smiles.
The two women kiss cheeks. “Chow.”
“‘Adios’ is goodbye forever,” the translator explains. “‘Chow’ is goodbye for now.” | <urn:uuid:417d1931-d232-4dd5-a648-5fd5a57006b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://shaungroves.com/2012/11/poverty-in-peru-thanks-to-god/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970576 | 824 | 1.601563 | 2 |
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Best of Summer: In this summer-long series National Post reporters and photographers take us to places with a claim to fame, obscure or otherwise.
in Palmyra, N.Y.
The 9,000 folding chairs facing the Mormon holy site called Hill Cumorah are filling up quickly two hours before the annual pageant is set to begin just after sundown. This is the opening performance of what will be a week-long run and each night pilgrims who have travelled from all around the world to be here will occupy nearly every seat.
Tonight they have come to sit in this field in a scrubby, slightly woebegone part of upstate New York under oppressive heat to see a reenactment, by a cast of 800, of The Book of Mormon, the foundational story of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Mormons say Joseph Smith, a poorly educated farm boy, found gold plates etched with hieroglyphics on this hill in 1823 after he was directed to the spot by an angel. In 1827, the angel told Smith he was finally deemed worthy to take the plates and translate them into English. Once he was done, the plates were taken back to heaven.
For 90 minutes tonight, the hill will explode with fiery eruptions, cataclysmic battles, warnings from prophets and scenes of Jesus Christ suspended in mid-air that recall what Mormons say was his visit to an ancient tribe of Israel in the Western Hemisphere just after his crucifixion and resurrection 2,000 years ago.
Mormonism burst out of a period of intense religious fervour called the Great Awakening. The new sects that came forth were all in the Protestant tradition and differed over subtle interpretations of the Old and New Testaments, but the basic Christian story was the same with the same prophets and apostles.
However, Mormonism contains tribes, characters and prophets completely unknown to 99.9% of the world’s Christians.
“Here’s this guy saying Jesus visited the New Word, he adds a new book that’s supposed to complete the Bible, brings in a whole new level of religious history that takes place in the Americas and introduces characters no one has ever heard of,” says Prof. Jon Butler, a professor of religious history at Yale. “The people of his time were tired of all the schisms around them. Smith gave them a vision. He gave them a new truth in a time of great confusion and argument.”
This then is ground zero for the faith, and for the faithful.
Nearly everyone gathered here tonight brings rock-ribbed faith and cheerfulness to unheard of levels. It is hard to imagine a friendlier people squeezed into a similar-sized plot of land on the planet. To anyone outside the Mormon faith, this kind of openness can be oddly unnerving. Anyone carrying a bag of popcorn or a paper cup of homemade lemonade from the concession stand to his seat must constantly rearrange their treats in order to shake the many hands that constantly reach out to greet.
“Is this your first time at pageant? Do you know about the Mormon Church? Ask us anything you want.”
The scene epitomizes the term wholesome; Mormons do not smoke, drink alcohol, coffee or tea. And they never swear, at least not public.
Before the play begins, the actors mingle with the crowd as if greeting long-lost friends. The costumes look like an odd mixture of wardrobes that flew off the pages of 1,001 Arabian Nights and Cecile B. DeMille’s film The Ten Commandments.
Even the young people, who look you in the eye when they speak, manage to linger with older folks without once looking bored or edgy.
Four teenage boys, three dressed as Nephites and one dressed as a Lamanite, make their way over to me to ask if I have any questions about the play or about Mormonism. Two are from Connecticut, the others from New Hampshire and Washington State. They all say it is tough being a teenager in a Mormon world, but their faith is far more important.
“Why would I do something that would harm me? My family and my faith are everything,” says Zach.
Many of the people gathered here know they are living in what some observers have called the “Mormon Moment.”
There are only 13 million Mormons in the world, but it is growing at a faster rate than most any other Christian faith. There are now two Mormons seeking the Republican presidential nomination — former governors Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman — and Democratic Senate Majority leader Harry Reid is a convert to Mormonism.
The Broadway play, The Book of Mormon, a good-natured musical satire on two young Mormon missionaries, was accepted by most Mormons with good humour.
But there is a dark side to this moment. HBO shows like Big Love, about a polygamous family, continue to spread the myth that Mormon men have multiple wives. Numerous websites and books continue to label the church as a mind-controlling cult. Polls in 2008 showed many Americans would not want Mr. Romney as president because of his Mormonism.
Popular journalist Jon Krakauer’s Under the Banner of Heaven told the story of a breakaway fundamentalist Mormon sect involved in a grisly murder but also depicted a violent strain running through the entire faith.
“The book pathologized the religion,” said Kathleen Flake, an associate professor of religious studies at Vanderbilt University, and a renowned Mormon scholar.
“When I tell people I’m a Mormon they fall silent; they don’t know what to say…. I know this dimension. I’ve known it since I was a child. Many people think that Mormonism is stupid.”
She adds this anecdote: “Once I was on a double date, I was a law student at the time, and it came out that I was Mormon. And the guy on the other side of the double date said, ‘But you’re smart.’ People think Mormonism is dumb and phony. Those are the two things they think about it. Those who are more liberal think it’s cruel.”
Mormonism is a religion but sitting among these pilgrims there is more of a sense of being among a people connected by blood rather than just beliefs.
Sociologist Thomas O’Dea wrote: Mormons have come “closer to evolving an ethnic identity on this continent than any other group.”
Those here tonight believe The Book of Mormon not only completes the Bible by telling the story of 1,000 years of “Judeo-Christian” history that took place in the Americas, but also restores Christianity to its true form.
Over nearly 600 pages, the book tells of how a prophet named Lehi, along with his extended family, sailed to this continent from Egypt before the Babylonian exile of the Jews in 600 BC. It tells of how two of his feuding sons, Laman and Nephi, created two tribes that warred with each other for generations. Then Jesus came just after his crucifixion in Jerusalem to preach the gospels and for a time peace prevailed. It finally ends with a battle worthy of Revelation in which the Lamanites, believed by Mormons to be the forbearers of Native Americans, exterminate the Nephites in one final battle.
The book was supposed to have been written by a Nephite warrior and prophet named Mormon on the eve of his people’s destruction. It is Mormon who is said to have commanded his son Moroni in 400 AD to bury the plates so that one day the story could be told.
David Cook, a lawyer from nearby Rochester, is here with his wife and one of their sons to be part of tonight’s pageant.
At first, he is dressed like almost every other Mormon man here: white shirt and tie. Later in the evening, however, he and his wife will don the costumes of a Nephite couple and will be killed in the epic battle scene.
In the church hierarchy, Mr. Cook holds the title of “Area Seventy,” roughly equivalent to an archbishop. There are no paid clergy.
At the top point is the president, considered to be a living prophet who can receive and give revelations from God.
Mr. Cook, who is also involved with Habitat for Humanity and liberal Democrat politics, has deep Mormon roots. His third great-grandfather on his mother’s side, Heber C. Kimball, was one of the first men to read the first printing of The Book of Mormon and an early convert to the faith who ended up making the perilous trek to Utah.
As he leads me on a tour of the site, Mr. Cook points out the origins of Mormonism all around. There is the Sacred Grove behind the Smith family farm, the place where he believes Joseph Smith, at age 14, had a vision of God and Jesus, both appearing as men. We go into a replica of the Smith farm and stand in the bedroom where in 1823 an angel named Moroni is believed to have hovered above Smith’s bed and told him where to find the plates. On Sept. 22, 1827 Smith was finally deemed worthy enough to take the plates away and translate them into English.
“A remarkable thing happened on that night,” explains Mr. Cook. In Mendon, where his ancestor Heber C. Kimball lived, people looked up in the sky and said they saw an army marching across the heavens from one horizon to the other. “They didn’t know what it meant but they viewed it for some time.”
In 1830, the year The Book of Mormon was published, Smith and five followers formally organized the denomination now known as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Over the next 17 years the Mormons were chased out of New York, Ohio, Missouri — where the governor threatened them with “extermination” — and Illinois, where Smith was murdered by anti-Mormons. By the time they sought their own safe promised land in Utah, there were nearly 80,000 members, thousands of whom died along the way.
The surroundings of this holy spot in upstate New York hold neither the glory of Jerusalem nor the beauty of Rome, but the reverence among those here tonight brings equal awe. Mormon history is so relatively young that everyone knows about the persecutions, the violent assaults on early church members, and the gruelling trek across the country.
Jon Butler of Yale University said the genius of this religious story is that Mormonism “cleaned the slate” and created a new story set in America for which there was no precedent.
“This new story had no history so you can’t argue about it. It’s not like Presbyterians arguing over an interpretation of the Bible. With The Book of Mormon you either accept it or not. And once you accept it there’s nothing to argue about.”
For most Christians, especially evangelicals, the Bible is a closed canon, said Prof. Flake of Vanderbilt. “It’s a well in which they dip into to learn how to live their lives. And by bounding the Bible it makes religion safe.
“That’s why Mormons are considered dangerous because they’re enacting it, they’re still doing it. You see these characters out of the 19th century and even 20th century and you can’t help but think of Moses and Peter and Paul on the road to Damascus. There are few more dramatic stories than Mormonism.”
As the smoke clears on the stage below Hill Cumorah, the Angel Moroni buries the golden plates. The scene then switches to a young Joseph Smith, signalling that the gap has finally been closed and the only true American religion is about to begin.
The production is jaw-dropping. But intead of raucous cheering, there is only polite applause and beaming faces. Here the play holds no surprises.
“It’s all about faith,” says one of the many volunteers. “Read the Book of Mormon for yourself and then decide. God will tell you it’s all true.”
Holy Post is intended as a forum for everyone who has an interest in today’s great religious issues. You will find a range of commentary on religion and society, internecine battles within faith and the meaning and purpose of religious beliefs and observance. All views are welcome and being religious is not a requirement to join in the comment sections.
If you would like write a story for us, please drop a line to editor Charles Lewis at [email protected] or call him at 416-383-2472 to let him know what you have in mind.
Also, feel free to send him comments and suggestions.
Powered by WordPress.com VIP | <urn:uuid:a544309a-7dea-49c3-851f-06acaf9f0878> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://life.nationalpost.com/2011/07/16/finding-what-it-means-to-be-mormon-in-america/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963535 | 2,736 | 1.765625 | 2 |
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s hard-line president lashed out with a new outburst at Israel on Wednesday, calling the Nazi Holocaust a “myth” used as a pretext for carving out a Jewish state in the heart of the Muslim world.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s comments drew quick condemnations from Israel, the United States and Europe, which warned he is hurting Iran’s position in talks aimed at resolving suspicions about his regime’s nuclear program.
The White House said his remarks showed why Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. Germany, one of three European Union countries leading the nuclear talks, called his statements “shocking and unacceptable.”
Iran and the Europeans are due to resume the U.S.-backed negotiations soon, possibly in late December, trying to find a compromise on reining in Tehran’s nuclear program and avoiding a confrontation.
Washington says Iran is secretly trying to build warheads. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, and Ahmadinejad reiterated Wednesday that his regime refuses to give up key processes that can produce weapons-grade material as well as fuel for atomic reactors that generate electricity.
It was difficult to measure the impact that increasing anger over Ahmadinejad might have on the negotiations.
The Europeans have not threatened to call off the talks, which they see as vital to a peaceful resolution of fears over Iran’s nuclear ambitions. But Ahmadinejad’s words, which come as the top U.N. nuclear watchdog agency has said it is losing patience with Tehran, could lead Europe to take a tougher stance.
Ahmadinejad isolating Iran?
So far, Ahmadinejad has appeared to only escalate his rhetoric in the face of widespread international criticism, suggesting he may be seeking to fire up supporters at home.
Some allies warn that he is isolating the country when it needs support for its nuclear program. But supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final word on all matters, has stood by the president, even calling this week for Palestinian militants to step up their fight to drive Israelis out of Jerusalem.
Ahmadinejad provoked an outcry in October when he called for Israel to be “wiped off the map.” When that drew international anger, he responded by holding large anti-Israel rallies.
Last week, he expressed doubt about Nazi Germany’s slaughter of 6 million European Jews during World War II, raising a new storm of criticism. On Wednesday, he went a step further and said for the first time that he didn’t believe the Holocaust happened.
During a tour of southeastern Iran, Ahmadinejad said that if Europeans insist the Holocaust occurred, then they are responsible and should pay the price.
“Today, they have created a myth in the name of Holocaust and consider it to be above God, religion and the prophets,” Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in Zahedan. “If you committed this big crime, then why should the oppressed Palestinian nation pay the price?”
“This is our proposal: If you committed the crime, then give a part of your own land in Europe, the United States, Canada or Alaska to them so that the Jews can establish their country,” he said.
The White House said Ahmadinejad’s words “only underscore why it is so important that the international community continue to work together to keep Iran from developing nuclear weapons.”
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev said the speech illustrated “the mind-set of the ruling clique in Tehran and indicates clearly the extremist policy goals of the regime.”
The German government summoned the Iranian charge d’affaires to express its displeasure.
“I cannot hide the fact that this weighs on bilateral relations and on the chances for the negotiation process,” Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in Berlin.
In unusually strong comments, the president of the European Union’s administrative body, Jose Manuel Barroso, said Iranians “do not have the president, or the regime, they deserve.”
“It calls our attention to the real danger of that regime having an atomic bomb,” Barroso added.
EU foreign ministers were likely to discuss Ahmadinejad’s comments during an EU summit Thursday, commission spokeswoman Emma Udwin said.
Moderates seek a different stance
Inside Iran, moderates have called on the Islamic cleric-led regime to rein in the president. His election in June sealed the long decline of Iran’s reform movement, which had largely dropped the harsh anti-Israeli and anti-U.S. rhetoric of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and sought to build international ties.
In his speech, Ahmadinejad also took aim at the United States and the West, saying they had harmed Muslims.
“If your civilization consists of aggression, making oppressed people homeless, suffocating the voices of justice and bringing poverty to a majority of the world’s people, we say loudly that we hate your hollow civilization,” he said.
© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:a3b347a8-b605-4918-9f6e-626cbcfe25a5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbcnews.com/id/10460807/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950966 | 1,081 | 1.742188 | 2 |
Official Session Description
The presenters have evangelized open personalized publishing platforms and have struggled with establish closed environments as the basis for teaching and learning with technology. Their overall quest has led them to find powerful and flexible online publishing platforms. In a series of lightning talks, the presenters will share work at their respective organizations that they believe to be useful to others in the teaching and learning community. Each will select a project or problem that poses a significant challenge, which will then be discussed by all attendees.
Find the description online at the Educause site. | <urn:uuid:65b6d89f-666a-4445-896f-f1814dc327fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://eli2009.wordpress.com/2009/01/08/official-session-description/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952278 | 111 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Google looks to make your e-mail smarter with Priority Inbox
Google is rolling out a new feature called Priority Inbox for those of us who suffer from e-mail overload.The feature will pop up as an option for Gmail and Google Apps users starting Tuesday.
Priority Inbox divides your inbox into three sections: “important,” “starred” and “everything else.” It monitors your messages and sorts them based on a number of criteria, including how often you correspond with the sender, how often you read a message that contains certain keywords and whether the message is addressed just to you. The most pressing messages appear at the top of your screen so you don’t miss them and can respond to them first.
Interestingly, one of the technologies used to determine whether e-mail is important is based on how Gmail determines if a message is spam.
Keith Coleman, Gmail’s product manager, said Google had been working on a way to solve e-mail overload since it came out with Gmail. The idea is that over time, as you interact with the new system, it gets smarter, figuring out what’s important to you. Gmail focused on its power users so it could solve the biggest problems and make life easier even for light users.
“This is the new model for getting through your inbox,” Coleman said.
During testing with 10,000 Google employees and thousands outside the company, Google found that users spent 13% less time reading e-mail, adding up to a week’s worth of time saved each year. “Once people started using it, they couldn’t go back,” Coleman said.
To be fair, that has often been the case with products made by other companies that have tackled the inbox overload problem in Gmail or Xobni, which works with Microsoft Outlook.
From my unscientific testing, Priority Inbox works pretty well. One click on a prompt asking if you want to enable Priority Inbox, and it’s activated. You can choose from a few options, such as keeping important messages in that section even after they are read. You can also tell Gmail if it has mistakenly decided a message is important when it isn't. But keep an eye on that “everything else” section where Google sometimes mistakenly dispatches important messages.
“Every person has a different opinion on what an important message is,” Coleman said. “Getting that to work is really hard.”
-- Jessica Guynn | <urn:uuid:efba2751-0d4d-4a1e-9865-b16742efba95> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2010/08/google-looks-to-make-your-e-mail-smarter-with-priority-inbox.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946799 | 526 | 1.804688 | 2 |
Regular, moderate aerobic activity, like walking, is a great way to perk up and ease your fatigue. Caffeine might give you quick energy, but isn't a great solution. It can keep you awake at night, which can make you sleepier during the day. That's also why, in general, it's better to avoid naps. When you nap, you may not be tired enough at bedtime to get a full, good night's sleep. | <urn:uuid:c141c416-1ec7-4e7d-9ec9-527f1d93b2ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://women.webmd.com/rm-quiz-fatigue-myths | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976613 | 94 | 1.84375 | 2 |
MORE than 11,000 low-paid Tasmanian community sector workers will receive their first Equal Pay increase today under new federal legislation.
Workers within the sector, most of whom are women, will receive a 2.5-5 per cent increase in wages every December for eight years, on top of the minimum wage adjustment increases every July.
Health and Community Services Union assistant state secretary Tim Jacobson said the Equal Pay increases, which in this instalment equated to a rise of between $17.15 and $57.20 in base weekly wages, were of huge benefit to employees.
"It's recognition that community sector workers are way behind what most Australians would consider to be fair pay and that they need to catch up fast," he said. "It's also recognition that it's becoming increasingly difficult to attract and retain people in the industry."
Mr Jacobson said the increases were largely supported by employers and peak industry bodies.
"A handful of employers are trying to wriggle out of their legal obligations and we're not having a bar of it," he said.
"Their workers are entitled to this Equal Pay increase and any attempt to thwart the law will be met with zero tolerance."
Lyn Nichols, who is employed as a support worker in the disability sector, welcomed the increase.
"It's great, it's been a long time coming," she said.
Fellow disability support worker Janet Phillips, who also works in outreach aged care, agreed.
"It's wonderful, but there's a long road to go," she said. "We're looking after someone's loved ones people don't understand how much responsibility we have." | <urn:uuid:da243f9c-4bdc-44f0-95f2-ddb81cbacea8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.themercury.com.au/article/2012/12/01/367426_print.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983657 | 338 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Please rate our new website
17 January, 2012
The Ministry of Education, supported by UNICEF, donors and multiple partners is delighted by the confirmation of a new $55.7 million dollar grant to the country’s education sector. In a move that represents a decisive vote of confidence in the quality of the Government of Afghanistan’s plans for the development of the sector - and its capacity to successfully carry out those plans - the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) has recently confirmed its decision to award the multi-year grant to the country
The announcement by the GPE Secretariat is the culmination of months of work led by the Ministry of Education. The process of developing the GPE proposal was marked by an unprecedented combination of efforts among donors and other key stakeholders, and has already brought greater coherence and sense of common purpose to the sector.
President Hamid Karzai, who repeatedly emphasizes the importance of education hailed the development, saying “Education is crucial to ensuring the future peace, stability and prosperity of Afghanistan. Membership in the GPE, and the award of this grant, illustrate the international community’s faith in the Government of Afghanistan’s leadership in this crucial sector.”
The strategy devised by the Ministry of Education will cover a range of initiatives, with a focus on accelerating girls’ attendance at school by working with community leaders, recruiting and training additional female teachers, providing alternative pathways to formal education and ensuring schools are kept safe through the efforts of communities themselves. Minister Wardak advocated on behalf of Afghanistan at a GPE donor conference and Board meeting held in November 2011in Copenhagen, emphasizing, “When a girl is educated, she is less likely to die in childbirth, more likely to send her children to school and is able fully to contribute to the development of her community and of her country. To ensure its future, Afghanistan must maximize the potential of its entire people, including strong, educated and empowered Afghan women.”
Minister Wardak acknowledged the wholehearted support that donor governments and other partners have offered to the Ministry of Education, highlighting in particular the role of the Danish Government which, through the DANIDA representatives at its Embassy in Kabul, serves as GPE Coordinating Agency in Afghanistan, .
The GPE programme will be directly implemented by the Ministry of Education, with UNICEF serving as supervising entity. In this latter role, UNICEF provided technical support to the development of the GPE proposal and when implementation begins will support the government in ensuring the monitoring of activities and fund utilisation. UNICEF Representative in Afghanistan, Peter Crowley, echoed the Minister’s comments on the importance of education, stressing “For the past 60 years UNICEF has worked with government and communities in Afghanistan to help provide children with buildings to learn in, pencils to write with and teachers to learn from.” He further added “All children have the right to education, and UNICEF particularly welcomes the emphasis this government is placing on the education of girls, which is the smartest investment that any country can make and brings the greatest returns.”
The GPE is an international consortium of countries working to provide financial and technical assistance to education programmes in conflict, post-conflict and developing countries. For further information please see: | <urn:uuid:2a8ab9e7-2ed0-432c-8a90-68b446086994> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://moe.gov.af/en/announcement/6357 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953352 | 673 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Corporate Income Tax (Audio)
By Jenifer Jones
The House Taxation Committee killed a measure that allows voters to decide whether South Dakota should broaden the corporate income tax. Had voters approved House Joint Resolution 1002 in the next election, it would impose the tax on all corporations that are making money. Representative Gerald Lange is a sponsor of the resolution. He says the tax is a way of generating income in a tough time. Representative Kristi Noem is against the resolution. She says a corporate income tax would hurt businesses.
"I think people come to South Dakota because we have a favorable tax climate," Noem says. "I think corporations appreciate it. They look to us as a place where they would like to start their businesses. And for this reason I think this bill would be dangerous and especially the method that we'd go about trying to impose such a law in our state."
The committee voted nine to six to move the resolution to the 41st legislative day.
Member stations can download the audio file here. | <urn:uuid:9bad3704-ba34-4e5b-8827-9b9edbfa66d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.sdpb.org/statehouse/shows.aspx?MediaID=57813&Parmtype=TV&ParmAccessLevel=sdpb-all | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981291 | 209 | 1.8125 | 2 |
June 22, 2007
Welcome to our 'Water Planet' issue. As you may have noticed, our recent issues have turned away from season-specific kigo to broader themes that are not so tied to a single region. The idea of a water theme came from Lary Fraser, who mentioned it almost casually to me in an email.
Like so many good ideas, it stuck. It was prescient, too, as global warming, changes in weather patterns and the prospect of losing our polar caps dominated the news in the period while I was collecting haiga and preparing the issue. We share with all living things a dependence on H2O, so much so that we may be barely aware of how much. It's been calculated that there are 326 million trillion gallons of water on the planet. It's all in a constant cycle of flux between ocean, lakes, rivers, aquifers, snow and ice, clouds, atmospheric humidity, bottled drinks, and even 65% of our own bodies. Such a huge and important topic won't be fully covered in one issue of Haigaonline—call it an exploration, then, and we hope you enjoy the haiga we've assembled for you here.
It's always enjoyable welcoming newcomers to Haigaonline, but in this issue we have also one important goodbye: Hiromi has informed me that Shisen has moved away from Ehime Prefecture and is no longer able to be our resident calligrapher. We wish her the best in her new position, and thank her for her long participation in Haigaonline's most distinctive feature, the Traditional Haiga section.
Next year at this time, we will enter our tenth year of publication. The first issue of Haiga Online, (as it was called when Jeanne Emrich founded it) was published in May 1998. For an e-zine, that is longevity! Unfortunately, our archive of past issues on Geocities goes back only to when an'ya became editor. For me, the period before that is a dim memory and I've long wanted to know if anything from Jeanne's editorship still exists.
Quite by chance, I found a list of contributors to the original issue still preserved on Jeanne's site at AOL (http://members.aol.com/Jemrich/index.html), and the full May 2000 issue (http://members.aol.com/GlennE5/May2000mainpg.html). In addition to the Traditional Haiga section, the issue also featured Shishen's calligraphy for the poetry of her friend Okano Hitoshi. Please do take a moment to paste these urls into your browser and admire her beautiful work. We will miss her.
Once again, my profound thanks to our resident staff and to all the artists, poets and readers who have made this journal the wonderful resource that it is. And a very happy Summer Solstice to all of you! | <urn:uuid:20538b07-f5e2-48e6-8cc8-71a476a6d520> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.haigaonline.com/issue8-1/start.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960681 | 599 | 1.703125 | 2 |
We don’t always end up where we want to be
Sometimes we end up in places we do not want to be.
I enjoy spring turkey hunting, and shortly after season had opened, I set out on a hunt. I had decided to hunt on our home place and on our neighbor’s place because I already knew where an old gobbler was roosting. To get into position to kill this bird, I developed a plan.
This plan was not sophisticated or something that I had written in an essay and submitted to Miss Judy for approval. It called for me to enter the woods at a different place than usual, follow a long ridge, and then slowly descend into a bottom where this turkey was known to court the ladies. I arrived long before daylight.
To help me make my way through the dense woods and over the fallen obstacles I was sure to encounter, I carried with me a small flash light. When it is so dark that you can’t see your hand in front of your face, a flashlight, no matter how small, is a wonderful thing.
Remember, I was hunting in a place where I had grown up. My brother and I had explored these hills and hollows from our early childhood until we were grown. I thought I knew every square inch of this place including where the best trees were to harvest squirrels or the trees where turkeys roosted. I had walked about 30-yards down this ridge when my light flashed across something white. Curious, I held the light on the object and walked over. When I reached the object, to my surprise, I saw three more “white objects” nearby, one of which was lying near a large oak tree. They were tombstones. I had walked into a family burial plot that dated back to the late 1800’s. I had never seen these tombstones before, but I did pause to set one fallen tombstone back where I thought it belonged. I must admit, however, that I had a strange feeling come over me like someone was watching. I felt better when the fallen tombstone was upright. But I had never been to this place before, and to tell you the truth, I wish that I had stumbled across this cemetery during daylight hours.
Today, America is stumbling through the woods leaderless and without a flashlight. Since World War II, America has been the recognized leader of the free world, but no more. What happens in America affects the rest of the world, Europe in particular, and what happens in Europe affects America.
Let’s be honest with each other. Europe has had a free ride. Most of the countries in the European Union have either small armies or no army. Germany, for example, has a large contingent of American forces stationed there. America is the defender of Europe. Without American taxpayers and the American Army, any third world dictator could march in and seize many of the EU states. So it would seem that since the expense of defending oneself is shouldered by another country, Europe would be an economic engine where prosperity is not only “around the corner,” but well in hand.
Mismanagement, corruption, socialism, Marxism, and ignorance of the basic laws of economics have taken their toll on Europe French President, Nicolas Sarkozy said last week, “Allowing the destruction of the euro is to take the risk of the destruction of Europe. Those who destroy Europe and the euro will bear responsibility for resurgence of conflict and division on our continent.”
These are words that must be taken seriously, even though they come from a weak leader. Yet, President Obama and Vice-president Joe Biden are more interested in blaming Republicans for the economic mess the Democrats have created than exercising leadership in world affairs.
We are now at a place we do not want to be. Sarkozy and the French are exercising more leadership than America. At least, they are beginning to recognize the errors of their ways. If America continues on its present economic course, we will be as hapless and as dysfunctional as Europe, and all of this is completely unnecessary.
President Obama and Vice-president Joe Biden continue to demand passage of a “Jobs Bill” that has already been rejected by the Democrats in the Senate. What kind of leadership is this?
Joe Biden is worse than incompetent. He is an embarrassment to all Americans and to the rest of the world. Last week, “he warned that more people would likely be raped and murdered if President Obama’s jobs bill is not passed.” The American people can already see through what Biden is saying. There is no “Jobs Bill,” only a “raise your taxes bill.” Yet Biden passes for a great leader in the Democrat Party.
Unfortunately, America’s present leaders have put us at a place we don’t want to be. If rapes and murders increase as Biden has proclaimed, then I already know whom to blame, and it isn’t George Bush. | <urn:uuid:6aaa8c9b-d93c-4663-b334-6196544111ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.yazooherald.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1725:we-dont-always-end-up-where-we-want-to-be&Itemid=27&el_mcal_month=3&el_mcal_year=2013 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979933 | 1,031 | 1.59375 | 2 |
Apple is making big moves today in the textbook world, offering books that cover 5 years of subject matter for a mere $15 each. Announced at an event in New York City today, the company has already made the books available through the iTunes Store.
There are 7 books available, at present:
- E.O. Wilson’s Life on Earth
- Algebra 1
- Environmental Science
Interestingly enough, there are actually two versions of the biology book, one published by Pearson and another from stalwart McGraw-Hill. What’s perhaps even more compelling though, is that Apple is offering free trials of the books; something that we’ve not seen from the company before.
The release is not without its challenges, however. Schools must agree to adopt the ebooks on iPad format, and that’s no small task. In many schools the books are ages old and schools rent them to the students for a small annual fee. Still, others have recently invested big money into newer books, so getting them to move the line to a digital version is going to be difficult.
Apple has quite a few other tricks up its sleeve today, including a free tool to let you publish your own books. You can catch up with all of the news from Apple’s education event by clicking here. | <urn:uuid:aa27bed7-95b8-4490-806b-3bcabd595614> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thenextweb.com/apple/2012/01/19/apples-new-textbooks-are-live-and-you-can-get-them-right-now/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96657 | 272 | 1.648438 | 2 |
updated 03:55 pm EDT, Thu June 5, 2008
iPhone specs change
Earlier reported design molds for the 3G iPhone have allegedly changed, potentially rendering case molds by companies such as Griffin useless. iDealsChina reports that the dimensions used by Griffin, and possibly other iPhone accessory manufacturers, are 2mm shorter and 0.5mm thicker than the newly leaked designs. While both incarnations of the 3G iPhone are heavily steeped in rumor, the news would badly affect manufacturers who have already invested time and money into the new cases.
Protective cases require a tight fit to be able to function properly, since any leeway could provide enough space for the device to move around and potentially damage it. When purchasing accessories for an unreleased device, it is advisable to ensure that the company provides a return policy should the case not fit. | <urn:uuid:dfd7730a-6201-4c28-8f70-3c77ef21aabc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.macnn.com/articles/08/06/05/iphone.specs.change/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94737 | 173 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Vt. considering changes to baitfish rules
Board considering changes and clarifications
Vermont anglers are going to have the opportunity to weigh in on plans to change the rules about baitfish.
The Fish and Wildlife Board is considering regulation changes intended to minimize the risk associated with the use and movement of baitfish while providing more flexibility with the species they can use as bait.
They will also clarify how and where they can transport baitfish.
The primary changes to the regulation add pumpkinseed, bluegill, rock bass, and banded killifish to the statewide approved baitfish list. It will also allow alewife and white perch to be used on Lake Champlain.
Hearings are scheduled for Oct. 22, in Newport, Oct. 23 in Bomoseen and Oct. 24 in St. Albans.
All the hearings will be held from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Copyright 2012 by WPTZ All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. | <urn:uuid:7762f86e-1498-480d-b24a-5c31de5084fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wptz.com/news/vermont-new-york/burlington/Vt-considering-changes-to-baitfish-rules/-/8869880/16890932/-/view/print/-/vn6uarz/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.941368 | 216 | 1.695313 | 2 |
By Chris Scott Barr
With eleven different Doctors, Doctor Who fans have a lot to choose from, and a lot of different Sonic Screwdrivers as well. Most of them are simply replicas that do nothing but look fancy. Others come in the form of a pen, stylus or some other semi-useful device. My question is why not make one that’s a screwdriver?
They do indeed make one that drives screws, as they say. It has three interchangeable (and reversible) tips, for a total of six different heads. The tips store neatly away inside the screwdriver when not actually in use. It also lights up and has sound effects. Really, what more could you ask from a Sonic Screwdriver? | <urn:uuid:10b61e32-bd83-40f6-822b-a2208f4ef055> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ohgizmo.com/2010/11/page/3/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959231 | 149 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Singer Jarvis Cocker has traveled to the Arctic Circle in his new role asa Greenpeace ambassador - and was moved to tears at the region's majestic landscape.
there's a process going on and we really shouldn't be f**king around with that. We don't understand it
The Pulp frontman has signed up as the face of the environmental campaign group's Save the Arctic drive, which aims to curb oil drilling operations on the ice cap.
He has joined Greenpeace officials on a fact-finding journey to the Arctic, and admits he welled up with emotion when he realized the effect man's activities could have on the area.
Cocker tells The Observer Magazine, "I was up on the deck and I wanted to start crying. I can't say why - it was perhaps because there was a spectacular type of landscape, and also that thing where there's no sign of people - and that's how it should be.
"Now you might comment 'Well, that's all right for you to say, becauseyou went there and you saw it.' But the point was that there are these forces, like these glaciers moving rocks and stuff over millions of years,and there's a process going on and we really shouldn't be f**king around with that. We don't understand it". | <urn:uuid:bb33137f-da83-4bd5-a2e6-11e571bc56e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/musicnews/Jarvis+Cocker-242103.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989773 | 264 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Mutter und Kind im Krankenhaus, Somalia 1992 Christ Steele-Perkins, Magnum
2004, Oil on canvas
120 x 95 cm
The paintings of Ulrich Lamsfuss reproduce images found in a wide variety of media, from National Geographic, travel and fashion magazines to cinema and art history. He painstakingly duplicates each image, working his way across a feint pencil grid with the numbing precision of a computer plotter, square by square, top left to bottom right. Built up in oil over several long weeks, they are the very opposite of the sources on which they are based, momentary snapshots captured in a fraction of a second.
Mutter und Kind is based on a reportage photograph taken in a Somalian hospital at the height of the country's civil war by award-winning Magnum photojournalist Chris Steele-Perkins. Stefan Jellheden, meanwhile, reproduces an advertisement created by the Danish photographer for Louis Vuitton itself based, as it happens, on a famous 1963 news photograph of a burning Vietnamese monk.
They could not, it seems, be more different. The first, a contemporary African pieta, is a private moment of grief and suffering, and terribly real. The second, intended from the outset for mass public consumption, was carefully scripted, staged and produced. As representations of the contemporary world, however, they are each as valid as the other. It is this that interests Lamsfuss, as he seeks through exacting replication to transform the society in which he lives into a painted hyperreality. | <urn:uuid:d582c593-0e9e-4545-867c-f658684d2df3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk/artists/ulrich_lamsfuss.htm?section_name=body_language | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943633 | 321 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Saturday, October 23, 2010
"Marriage was invented to get inlaws," says Stephanie Coontz, director of research and public education for the Council on Contemporary Families and the author of Marriage, A History: How Love Conquered Marriage." Coontz told attendees at Friday's 2010 PopTech conference in Maine that marrying for love is a radical idea. Here's the video:
What do you think? Let us hear from you. | <urn:uuid:f880f7f3-2479-4c59-acce-859efab54b64> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://causeglobal.blogspot.com/2010/10/poptech2010-on-marriage.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962768 | 91 | 1.703125 | 2 |
It’s strange to be truly startled and taken aback by the powerful effects of properly utilized 3D not in some Hollywood blockbuster where half of a major Midwestern American city is blown to smithereens by giant transforming robots, but during a quiet, understated, impressionistic documentary/tribute to influential German choreographer and dancer Pina Bausch (directed by Wim Wenders, no less). In fact, this might be the most amazingly you-are-there use of the technology since James Cameron landed us on Pandora. It’s just that, along with the fantastical visas and bounding, leaping, protruding dancers, you wish that the movie were more than just pretty. Sadly, it’s not. And boring is boring, even while wearing silly plastic specs.
Wenders originated the project with Bausch, who is something of a legend in the performing arts world, but died suddenly and unexpectedly in 2009 mere days after being diagnosed with cancer. That certainly must have reshaped the project’s conceptualization, which Wenders claims was influenced by the “U2 3D” concert movie, but what it’s ultimately done is left a huge hole in the center of the film where its heart should have been.
Structurally, the film is centered around large chunks of Pina’s (presumably) most influential dances – these are both performed on a stage to classical musical compositions and, in the film’s liveliest moments, in outdoor spaces, to a whole range of different music (from glittery contemporary electro-pop to swinging jazz). Interspersed with these pieces are confessional interviews with many of Pina’s peers – dancers who knew and worked with the choreographer and who comment on everything from her style of direction to the life lessons they’ve taken away following her death. Wenders photographs these moments in stark compositions, with the performers gazing into the camera, their mouths static, their words coming across via voice over narration. Occasionally, too, there’s a moment where we see Pina at work in archival footage, telling a performer how to move, a cigarette dangling precariously out of the side of her mouth.
And for a while, at least, you just go with the sheer visual opulence, gliding along as the images unfold – a caravan of dancers simulating the change in season via hand gestures while they walk along the precipice of a giant quarry; performers sloshing around in simulated rain while a giant meteorite looms overhead; a man with donkey ears pasted to the side of his face rides a subway car, suspended from above like the Batman ride at Six Flags. Wenders films these sequences beautifully, which is sort of shocking given his track record and reputation as an old school traditionalist.
But at some point you want more. The dances themselves are wondrous and beautiful, although at some point, if you don’t have an extensive understanding of impressionistic dance, they fail to make an impact. Sometimes the words of the dancers, during their interviews, are illuminating, particularly when they speak of the fascination Pina had with the elements (evidence by an early staged number where a layer of earth is spread across the stage floor and, again, that bit where people are dancing through puddles). You can get snatches, here and there, of what she is trying to convey, most of it being incredibly sophisticated conceptual stuff about what it means to be a modern woman, but they come in flashes and without an corroborating evidence (in the form of either historical or critical context), you’re mostly left guessing.
Maybe Wenders assumes that everyone knows who Pina is, or that they’ll get so caught up in the majesty of the performances that even if they don’t, they’ll still be compelled. As the movie wears on, though, the spectacle becomes less substantial, and the thematic underpinnings harder to grasp, no matter how expressive the dancing is. What’s even more baffling is why Wenders would choose to not include anything about Pina’s contribution to film, as a performer in Fellini’s “And the Ship Sails On” and as an inspiration for Almodovar’s brilliant “Talk to Her.” These moments could have at least provided a shorthand between those audience members unfamiliar with her work previously, and the giant chunks of her pieces unfolding before us now. Instead, it’s yet another piece of biographical back story that could have been incorporated but remains out of reach.
And that’s really the chief complaint with “Pina” – that she remains aloof throughout the movie’s running time, this kind of mystical source of inspiration and creativity that we can never quite get a handle on. It’s always hard when investigating an artistic genius, but there are ways to go about it and avenues to take that Wenders doggedly refuses. For the movie to mean more than just a series of pretty dances in stunning three-dimensions, he should have allowed us to form an emotional bond with the choreographer. Not only would it have made the performances mean more (at a running time of over 90 minutes, by the end of it you can barely muster enough enthusiasm to care) but it would have made her death even more heartbreaking – this woman who created so much, her life cut so horribly short. Instead, Wenders implication that the pieces speak for themselves, coupled with his glacial sense of pacing and rhythm, make this fanciful documentary/performance film a tough slog to sit through. [C-] | <urn:uuid:647cdc6e-1178-4b3e-abef-58b5d7920869> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.indiewire.com/theplaylist/nyff_11_review_pina_is_a_gorgeously_photographed_three-dimensional_sleeping | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958901 | 1,173 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Cannabis Sativa Seeds is the proper name for hemp seeds. ‘Hemp Seeds’ is usually the term used for the whole hemp seed as it comes from the plant (after cleaning). The hemp seeds are then de-hulled and the ‘hulled hemp seed’ or ‘de-hulled hemp seed’ or ‘hemp nut’ or ‘shelled hemp seed’ is then produced. This part is soft and creamy, whereas the whole seed is cruncy. Hemp oil is usually produced from the cold-pressing of the whole hemp seed. The byproduct is a flour which, after some processing, is turned into hemp protein powder. The hulled seeds are a soft exfoliant, the protein a more coarse exfoliant, the flour the most coarse exfoliant and the oil an excellent omega-3, 6 and 9 base.
Consuming hemp foods is not legal in Australia or New Zealand. Firstly we must remind you to check the legislation in your country for consuming low-thc hemp food products. All of our products contain NO drug affects whatsoever and in most of the countries where hemp foods allowed the following suggestions are offered:
Everyone is unique! No one person is like another, so dosages and quantities vary considerably, however the following are approximate guidelines for the average person:
Hemp Seeds: 2 Tablespoons sprinkled onto your breakfast or in your smoothie. 1-2 Tablespoons more throughout the day with your other meals.
Hemp Protein: 2-12 Tabelspoons in your smoothie. Yes! This really does depend on how much you exercise, how big you are, your metabolism etc.
Hemp Oil: 1-2 Tablespoons either as it is, on per person in salad dressing or in your favourite smoothie
We have not found any evidence to show that consuming larger quantities causes any negative affects and have not found any evidence of overdosing on these products. Your body is usually a good indicator and will tell you when it's had enough.
This is not meant as advice and should only be considered as part of your entire diet and lifestyle and General Practitioner's (Doctor) advice.
No! Other companies have been selling a 'hemp protein flour' or similar named product that is just ground hemp meal. Hemp Foods Australia has developed a proprietary technique to not only grind the hemp seeds superfine, but to separate much of the fibre, carbohydrate and fats from the best protein ever! Our 50% hemp protein is as high as it is possible to go without using chemicals and heat (some other companies may choose to do this, we prefer to use mechanical and raw processes only). We hope you enjoy our super-fine protein powder for your chosen use.
In the past we have opened up our Hemp Farms to the public and shared through workshops and tours our innovations and vision for industrial hemp. Due to recent changes in Australian politics and potential food laws we have chosen to focus our energy on preparing for what we hope to be a new industry for the benefit of all Australians. This involves manufacturing our organic hulled hemp seeds, hemp oil and hemp protein, reducing our prices, improving our quality and sharing our products with all whom are interested for skincare production.
During these times of change (currently 2013) we feel the most sustainable solution for us all is to keep our focus on the production and therefore have to turn down visitors to our farm at this time. But don't worry! We will open again soon after Australia has chosen a clear path for a positive future. We will let you know when that changes via Facebook, or if you join our mailing list, and enjoy free recipes, while you wait.
Yes, we sell hempseeds wholesale to businesses. If you have an ABN then please contact us with your business information. We sell to manufacturers, wholesalers, distributors and retail stores, as well as direct to you.
More on industrial hemp, and all it's uses: http://www.hempowered.com
Visit an Australian hemp farm and learn all about hemp: http://www.hempfarm.com.au
Want to know how to build a hemp house? http://www.thehempbuilder.com
Can hemp be an alternative to plastics? http://www.hempplastic.com
Question – Which of the following conditions should ensure optimal protection of the nutrients in Hemp Seeds?
1. Storing Hemp seeds in vacuum-sealed bags?
2. Storing Hemp seeds in bags that have had their opening heat-sealed to melt the plastic together?
3. Storing Hemp seeds in a heat-sealed bag that also includes a separate oxygen absorber (those little white packets you find inside some food containers that say "do not eat")?
Answer - Each of the above methods aims to prevent the seeds coming into contact with oxygen. As you know, oxygen "oxidises" the precious oils inside the Hemp seeds. However – the answer to the question is that NEITHER of the above techniques is any better than the other, nor is it any better than storing the seeds in any kind of bag that readily allows air to get in amongst the seeds.
Why? Because the seeds, even after dehulling (so long as the nut is not crushed) have their own oxygen-free barrier built in. The surface of the seed prevents oxygen penetrating and making contact with any sensitive nutrients. As long as the seeds are not crushed or exposed to temperatures higher than 40 degrees Celsius, the light, air and heat sensitive components inside (namely – the oils) remain protected.
Think about how seeds grow on the plant – they are subjected to 12 hours a day of oxygen, sunlight and temperatures up to and above 40 degrees celcius. They were designed to thrive under these conditions and maintain the vitality of their essential oils right up until the moment you swallow them. That is, as long as the seeds are not crushed or exposed to temperatures much hotter than 40 degrees Celsius.
Hemp Foods Australia ensures the hemp seeds, hemp protein and hemp oil that are produced never reach temperatures above 40 degrees and all products are packed as soon as possible in light and moisture sensitive packaging and stored in cool-rooms.
Perhaps more of a threat to the seeds than air is moisture which is why Hemp Foods Australia has always and will always use packaging that prevents moisture from making contact with the seeds.
As our ongoing research indicates, using vaccum sealing, heat sealing or oxygen-absorbing pillow packs does not seem to be a worthwhile expense. So, in an attempt to maintain the lowest possible pricing while ensuring maximum protection of nutrients, we are currently trialing new packaging and will phase out practices that add no measurable benefit to the product integrity.
Hemp Seeds and Hemp Protein, once open – keep your products in a cool dark place.
Hemp oil should always be stored in a cool-room or refrigerator
They are high in essential fatty acids omega-3 and omega-6 and GLA, contain 24% high quality protein and excellent fibre. All are useful in various forms of cosmetic product and bodycare manufacture. Industrial hemp is a sustainable crop that can be grown in 100 days and also used for plastics, paper, fuel, textiles and building materials. You can learn more about hempseed nutrition on this site.
Yes, hempseeds are legal nearly everywhere in the world, except Australia (early 2013). As soon as you put it in the ground to grow, it becomes illegal – so best to eat it The dehulled hemp seeds, hemp oil and hemp protein are legal everywhere in the world that we are aware of. In Australia they are legal to have ‘for non-human consumption’. Therefore we cannot and do not promote hemp as a food in Australia. Yet. See our legislation page for further details.
Yes. To buy from us, please contact us for a freight quote.
We are proud to make 100% of our products here in our factory in Bangalow, Northern NSW, Australia. At the time of writing (2013) all of our products are 100% Australian Certified Organic.
Our goal is to use 100% Australian grown seeds as well. Due to current high demand we are unable to source Australian Certified Organic Seed. To ensure there is enough seed available to produce our high quality products we need to import seed. Whenever we import seed we guarantee 100% that our product is certified organic (to Australian standards or above) and our seed is never irradiated or treated in any way (we ensure this is traceable all the way). In fact our seed is shipped in refrigerated containers so non-organic products cannot contaminate them. Due to strict Australian Quarantine, Customs and Organic regulations and the terms of our special licenses we are sure that we control the quality of our seed direct from the farm to our cool-rooms, production facility, packing and then storage until it leaves to our distributors, retailers and you. Until it leaves us, all of our seed is kept in temperature-controlled environments. Our mechanical raw and cold-process ensures our product is the best we can possibly do for you based on our teams 33+ years of experience in the hemp foods industry.
Our dream is to grow all of our seed around our factory and we have a very clear plan that is in action today to make this happen as soon as possible. If you know of any locally grown organic seed growers we are always open to new suppliers once we have audited them for quality control. | <urn:uuid:77f2fd94-f6b7-43ec-b42c-b91a59812234> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hempfoods.com.au/faq/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947341 | 1,963 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Floor Transcript: Recognizing the Career of Retiring Congressman Henry Hyde12/07/2006
Mr. LIPINSKI. Thank you, Congressman Kirk, for the opportunity to come today to speak about Henry Hyde, who has been a great statesman, who has served his district from Illinois and the Nation in such a great manner for so many years. It is a great honor to rise to recognize his dedication as a public servant and as a skilled legislator, and a real pillar, especially in the foreign policy community.
Since 1975, Congressman Hyde has faithfully served his constituency in the Chicagoland area. And all Americans, now, on his retirement, we take this opportunity to thank Henry for his outstanding contributions and influence on our country.
Before entering the U.S. House, Representative Hyde served in the Illinois General Assembly, beginning in 1966, which I note is the year that I was born. So I don't quite remember that, when Henry first started serving the State legislature. But he rose in the State legislature to the position of majority leader, and he earned a reputation as an articulate debater.
When he was then elected to Congress, he brought his knowledge, his skills and his passion to the House to serve our country. In the House he has served on the Select Committee on Intelligence, he has chaired the Committee on the Judiciary, and currently chairs the Committee on International Relations.
Because of his work, his tenure and his record, the Chicago Tribune has called HYDE one of the most respected Members of Congress, and an eloquent and intellectual powerhouse.
Now, I remember back in 1983, my father had first been elected to the House. I remember coming here and how thrilled I was to have the opportunity to meet Henry Hyde. He was so well known. Everyone knew what an articulate man he was and how much passion he had, how much knowledge he had; and he was a true statesman. And I really respected his position that he took in his fight against the Soviet Union in the Cold War. That is something I really respected. And because everybody, no matter where they stood on any issue, had so much respect for Henry Hyde, it was a thrill back then to meet HENRY.
Now I have had the privilege of serving for 2 years with Henry in the House; and I know I have heard, through my 2 years, stories from Members and their experiences with Henry over the years. And I have talked with Jim Oberstar about the Hyde amendment and how JIM would talk with HENRY about this and how they worked together to bring forth the Hyde amendment.
Henry is willing to work together to reach consensus and to reach important goals for our country. No matter what you thought about where he stood on issues, you listened to Henry Hyde because you knew when he spoke he would be eloquent, he would have good arguments, and you should listen to him.
Now, I am very happy that I had this opportunity to serve with Henry. He has served our Nation so well. He has served the State of Illinois so well, and I know that his legacy will certainly reflect his commitment to Illinois, to his district, and to our Nation. His insights, his passion, and his presence will deeply be missed.
He truly was also a man of faith, which he brought here and always used that; it was always important to what he did in the House. We wish Henry all the best in his retirement. And we are all truly grateful for his service. | <urn:uuid:3ef3c815-ae39-4f67-9d9d-1a22760398e9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lipinski.house.gov/floor-statements/floor-transcript-recognizing-the-career-of-retiring-congressman-henry-hyde/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.990947 | 717 | 1.523438 | 2 |
by Emmy Summers
Not only are traps cruel, they are also completely indiscriminate. Every year, dogs, cats, birds, and other animals—including endangered species—are "accidentally" crippled or killed by traps placed in public areas across the country. The only way to prevent animal companions and other
We owe an incredible debt of gratitude to the men and women of our armed forces. Great musicians have recorded songs as a tribute to the heroic sacrifices our military makes for us. What song best represents these sacrifices? Watch the attached videos if you aren't familiar with the songs (or just
by GOOD WOLF
PLEASE click on this link to add your name to this government 'WE THE PEOPLE' petition----it is said that if we meet the 100,000 signature deadline by February 19, 2013, the President will, personally, view and consider our
Update The size of the reward has grown to $8,000. The Humane Society of the United States added an additional $5,000 reward, and Scooter's Pals added an additional $500. Reward offered for information on fatal puppy burning case in Sacramento; NEWS LINKS: Penny Eims -
we have the right to arm our selves for protection from the world around us, and i need 1,000,000 people to sign this so please help.
Ernie hasn't shared this campaign on Twitter yet.
Ernie hasn't shared this campaign on Facebook yet.
Ernie hasn't shared this campaign on LinkedIn yet. | <urn:uuid:deb0e25f-c70d-4620-8621-5ddc39617b5b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.causes.com/profiles/184457379 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368710006682/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516131326-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945496 | 307 | 1.632813 | 2 |
From his home in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, he trekked 2,210 miles until he reached Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
With both of his identical twin sons in the armed forces, Mobley had a deep-rooted motivation for his mission to raise awareness and "show our military how much we appreciate and support their service." He called his endeavor Operation Hero Trek.
"I could have quit and gone home anytime I wanted to, but all I had to do was think about the men and women who are overseas who don't get to go home," he said in a Marine Corps report by Cpl. Andrew D. Johnston.
"I did this for them and they deserve the recognition for their service, not me."
His twins Matthew and James joined the military, the Army and the Marine Corps respectively, in 2004.
According to the Corps, Sgt. James Mobley is an infantry team leader with 2nd Battalion, 9th Marine Regiment, and was still deployed to Afghanistan when his father started his epic walk.
In a turn of good timing and coincidence, Mr. Mobley got to Camp Lejeune just the day before his son returned from Afghanistan on May 26th. The trek wasn't expected to end until this week.
Mobley's faster-than-anticipated pace may have been spurred on by the flood of well-wishes and donations he received from strangers inspired by his commitment.
"At one point this guy just came running up to me and handed me money for donations. He heard about the walk on the news or som thing...Just to be able to have complete strangers come out and support the walk renewed my faith in America."
All of the donations he collected are going to military charities, like the Wounded Warrior Project and Adaptive Adventures. His goal has been to encourage people to learn more about the troops serving around the U.S. and overseas.
"There are still people overseas fighting and getting killed and all you see on the front page is gossip—human sacrifice has been moved to page 8."
Through the trek, he hoped to see America from a whole different perspective while stopping at various military sites along the way, and sharing his gratitude.
In turn, service members came out in force to support Mobley.
Marines from his son's battalion who weren't deployed joined him for the last 4.9 miles of the hero trek. And they walked together triumphantly until his journey's end.
Here's the route he planned: | <urn:uuid:f1cca05e-a76e-4772-a8d4-a2076129693d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.businessinsider.com/mike-mobleys-operation-hero-trek-2012-6 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.986147 | 514 | 1.625 | 2 |
If you know anything about the quiet Southern African country of Botswana, the chances are that it will chiefly be because you have read the delightful novels of Alexander McCall Smith.
Botswana is indeed one of the most pleasant and successful countries in Africa.
Bushmen are fighting to remain in their Kalahari reserve
But two important cases which will come before the courts in the capital, Gaborone, next week will hint at the direction Botswana is taking.
And many people around the world may feel anxious as a result.
The Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) in Botswana is a vast, arid, yet immensely rich area, which for tens of thousands of years has been one of the chief hunting-grounds in southern Africa for the Bushmen.
They are small, hardy, intelligent and gentle people, who have eked out a life for themselves while the rest of humanity developed along completely different lines.
Bushmen is the term they themselves use.
They speak a series of remarkably intricate languages, involving a variety of clicking sounds. And they can live comfortably in terrain where you and I would die of thirst within two days.
But there are diamonds under the CKGR - potentially an important source, controlled by an offshoot of the gigantic De Beers organisation.
The Botswana government decreed that the Bushmen should be moved out of the reserve, and onto relocation sites outside, and this started in 1997. Their villages were pulled down, and they were expelled. It was often an ugly process.
When I last went to the CKGR, I saw that the wells the Bushmen had used were broken up and concreted over. There is something particularly distasteful about destroying wells in a desert.
I also went to the relocation site at New Xade. At a shebeen (bar), I saw men staggering round, drunk from early in the morning on the beer which costs next to nothing.
Their villages were pulled down, and they were expelled. It was often an ugly process
Prostitution is rife, and so are sexually transmitted diseases unknown in the reserve itself.
When the Botswana government takes foreign guests to New Xade on fact-finding trips, it shows them the showcase schools and clinics which have been built for the Bushmen. The VIP buses take a detour in order to miss the shebeens.
A group of 240 Bushmen have taken the Botswana government to court, demanding the right to return to their ancestral lands. A new session of the hearing will begin next week.
This case has dragged on for a long time - so long that 20 of the original Bushmen litigants have died in the meantime.
The Bushmen believe the government wants to wear them down and drain their money through delaying tactics.
The government lawyers ask witnesses the same questions again and again, and there are frequent adjournments. The judges are not friendly to the Bushmen.
Yet even though they expect to lose here, they have to continue. If the case goes to appeal, the judges will be drawn from other Commonwealth countries, and the Bushmen are confident of winning.
The other case which will be heard next week is that of an Australian academic, Professor Ken Good, who teaches at Gaborone University.
President Mogai says the Bushmen do not belong to modern society
In February, after he had publicly criticised the evictions of the Bushmen, he was issued with a deportation order, which he is contesting. His students staged a demonstration in his support.
Why should the Botswana government, whose record is otherwise impressive, choose to damage itself in the eyes of the world like this?
Some of it seems almost personal. President Festus Mogai is a charming and intelligent man, but he has a particular hang-up about the Bushmen - "Stone-Age creatures", he once called them.
He believes they do not belong in a modern, go-ahead state, and should be forced to integrate into Botswanan society.
And then there are the diamonds.
Glory of Africa
I used not to believe that this was the real cause, but now I have changed my mind.
Somehow, it is too much of a coincidence that so much wealth lies under the land of so few Bushmen.
De Beers strongly denies any link with the evictions, knowing how badly this allegation would damage a corporate image it has done a great deal to improve.
Yet it is hard to get rid of the suspicion that if De Beers really wanted the Bushmen back on the land, the Botswana government would agree.
Instead, the Botswana government is planning to change the clause in the constitution which protects areas like the CKGR.
Once this is changed, it will be easier to evict the Bushmen forever. And eventually, perhaps, the mining of diamonds could start.
Still, there have been no further evictions since February 2002, and none of the disgusting beatings and torture which accompanied the earlier forced removals.
Some 250 Bushmen have managed to make their way back into the reserve, and have so far been allowed to stay there. While the court case continues, they are probably safe.
There are Bushmen in many of the surrounding countries, but the CKGR group is the most viable and independent group of all.
The harshness of the Kalahari has always protected them from cattle grazers, agricultural farmers, and developers - but not, alas, from diamonds.
Nor from a government which finds them an irritating nuisance - instead of understanding that they are one of the great glories of Africa.
Read John Simpson's previous columns:
I have not heard of the novels you mention. However, I have lived in Botswana, have travelled over the Kalahari, have been concerned that the Basarwa/Bushmen were not allowed to live their lives in their own way when they harm no one. I saw the carefully fenced off diamond areas back in the 70's and feared that those areas would expand. What a pity that the world demands these bits of stone such that the Botswana government (for whom I had great respect in the 70s) feels it must evict people and try to mould them into a common mould which does not fit them.
The so-called UN should be acting in cases like these to step in and protect indigenous populations where simple greed is the driving force. Soon the closest thing to nature will be the green concrete we walk on and Ray Mears will be a myth. We owe it to our grandchildren to protect unique ways of life. Our way of life could be next!
Sean, Penzance, Cornwall
It's always about profit, not people. Whether they be Bushmen in Africa or the various aboriginal tribes of Canada, if there are resources under or on the land, the TRUE owners/residents of that land are forced off. Hopefully, the Bushmen will win their fight, as that will help inspire other aboriginal groups fighting for their land rights.
Joanna, Calgary, Canada
This account seems extremely one-sided as it does not provide any element of support from the Botswanan government to the Bushmen of Botswana. I am currently completing my PhD at Queen Mary Intellectual Property Research Institute on issues related to the rights of indigenous peoples and in the course of my research I have travelled to South Africa and have been following very closely the issues of the South African San and the Botswanan Bushmen. I am very sympathetic to their concerns but at the same time, I think governments have this difficult task to reconcile the necessity to satisfy the needs of specific groups while addressing issues of national interest.
Marcelin Tonye Mahop, London, UK
In a world often set on destroying its own history, native tribal peoples everywhere are at risk and so often go unnoticed. It's easy to see the troubles in advanced nations like Iraq but no one can say that their very culture is endangered. John Simpson's done a good job to highlight this cause, as without the surviving tribes of the world we would all be poorer - diamonds or not! I wish them all the best in their Commonwealth appeal.
John Muir, Edinburgh
Thank you for such an insightful article. Sadly, we don't change much over the years. We relocate people and then give them just enough to buy beer and keep them under a thumb. I've never been to this part of the world, but your last comment was wonderful. I'm sure these people are their nation's gift. We should instead be watching and learning how to live with less. We could start by living with less diamonds. Again, thank you.
As a human race, we would go to extreme measure to protect other species on Earth, why can't we use the same approach to other human race? But when there is money involved, it's often difficult. Just look at hunting for whales and the killing of seals.
Michael Yue, London, United Kingdom
I am a citizen of Botswana who has lived in the areas referred to and who is very much sympathetic to the plight of the Bushmen. With due respect, this is the most ridiculous account I have heard on the issue by a professional and respected journalist. I am disappointed because I always had respect for Mr Simpson and thought him to be credible. Why do Western journalists always have to shamelessly ferment fantasies when they report on Africa? The reason Western campaigners have failed to get the support of the locals stems mainly from their persistence to use disinformation, supposedly, to create a more appealing picture for their Western audience.
Edward Dintwa, Gaborone, Botswana
The Bushmen have always been persecuted - many generations have been enslaved by Bantu. Pressure should be brought to bear on De Beers to influence the Botswana government, and the Bushmen should be allowed to choose their future.
Stephanie Wiffen, Pershore, Worcestershire
This is another sad case of the world elite placing profits before human dignity. I'm reminded of the relocation programs the US forced on native Americans. I'm sure De Beers in tandem with the media will successfully slide this cultural tragedy through without much world attention. That's how they work.
Starr Feeler, Ft Worth, TX, USA
It's not often that I read news and even vaguely understand what it's all about but John Simpson's report hit a soft spot. Great reporting and I sincerely hope that somebody listens; although I doubt it. Sadly, where money; especially in the shape of diamonds, people lose out. I just hope that De Beers and the Bushmen can come to an understanding. Surely they are big enough to let them live there while they make lots and lots of money!
Frank Lee, Limassol, Cyprus
I think it's a disgrace that companies like De Beers should have so much clout over the government. Places that are protected for their raw and natural beauty need to stay that way. So the president calls the Bushmen "Stone Age Creatures" maybe they are but they are probably happier with the little they have as long as they maintain a semblance of cultural identity.
Gideon, London (Ethiopian)
This is really a story that should hit the headlines because these people have been removed from places where they should be. Stone age creatures¿ I think that's a misunderstanding of modernisation. If the mining starts in yet another place it will affect their already dry country.
I've just returned from South Africa and I had the opportunity to hear from a field researcher about the Kalahari Bushman's way of life. I genuinely believe that we in the First world could learn much from the sustainability techniques they have practiced over 40,000 years.
Martyn Emery, Stockholm, Sweden
Mr Simpson stated in the article that "Why should the Botswana government, whose record is otherwise impressive, choose to damage itself in the eyes of the world like this?" Botswana leaders are not stupid. A good name for Botswana means a lot of benefits for the country's economy and image. I am sure they value what the rest of the world think about us and violation of human rights openly will surely damage our good reputation. Then the question is "why would they do that? If the reason is for diamonds, does Mr Simpson think we are so ignorant that we don't know what happened with the sale of mink coats?
The industry suffered because of the ban on killing of the animals. Then surely our leaders are not stupid to chase away the Bushman for the love of diamonds and money only to be hit with the same kind of ban on Botswana diamonds. Mr Simpson needs to check his sources. Whatever the reason is for removing the Bushmen, it is not diamonds. Our diamonds are clean; they are used for the benefit of everyone, including the Bushmen. Botswana is one of the safest countries in Africa. Human rights are respected, that's why there are no civil wars here.
We are trying hard to attract investors to diversify the diamond based economy. Why would someone like Mr Simpson want to destroy that? We pride ourselves for being one of the shining democratic examples of Africa. We don't seize anyone's land by force, we don't fight each other, we don't exile any political activists, we don't kick anyone out of the country without a good reason and we don't remove the Bushmen from their land.
Vincent Moloi, Gaborone | <urn:uuid:f716a0ff-9bf0-4fae-8d90-c99f518bc406> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4480883.stm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970508 | 2,773 | 1.554688 | 2 |
HARRIMAN (WATE) - Synthetic marijuana, marketed as incense, was banned in Tennessee in 2010. However, manufacturers are going around the law by altering a chemical slightly, and making it legal again.
Now Tennessee lawmakers are trying to get synthetic marijuana off the shelves for good.
Synthetic marijuana is more powerful than marijuana, and sometimes it's effects are deadly.
Steven Hubbard, 21, says his friends have had bad reactions after smoking synthetic marijuana.
"They said that they started hallucinating and got them really sick off of it. I don't know if they went to the hospital. I just know they got sick and didn't like it after that," Hubbard said.
After trying synthetic marijuana, you could end up in a hospital. Health officials say the substance can cause effects from anxiety and vomiting to seizures and hallucinations, or even death.
Roane Medical Center officials say someone overdosed a few weeks ago with synthetic marijuana in their system.
Poison Control Centers across the nation report more than 5,500 calls relating to synthetic marijuana as of October 31. That's almost double the number of calls received in 2010.
State Rep. Julia Hurley (R-Lenoir City) says she received several calls from parents whose children have become ill after trying synthetic marijuana.
"We have children across the state of Tennessee dying every day from these illegal substances being manufactured by 16 to 19-year-old children not understanding the chemical compounds or the makeup or how it will affect the human body, so it's a huge issue," Hurley said.
Roane County Sheriff Jack Stockton says his deputies are seeing the substance more now than ever and people experimenting with it are getting younger.
"We see more and more kids around the middle school age experiment with these types of drugs," Sheriff Stockton said.
The sheriff says the best way to combat the problem is to inform people of the danger and have a strong law banning the substance.
House Bill 2218 has been introduced in the Legislature. It would make any compound similar to any controlled substance illegal. Also substances that have an effect on the body similar to a controlled substance would be illegal.
The bill also adds that if the substance is not for human consumption, it would be legal as long as it's not packaged in a way to present potential for abuse.
So even though the synthetic substance may be sold as bath salts or incense, if it's packaged in a manner to present a potential for abuse it would be illegal.
If the bill passes, it would mean anyone caught possessing or selling the substance could end up behind bars.
"There will be penalties on all ends for manufacturers, distributors and buyers. If it were a 19 year old who would be purchasing this, it would fall under our new law as a felony charge," Hurley explained.
But legal or not, Steven Hubbard says after his friends' experiences with synthetic marijuana he won't touch it. "Anyone who tells me they are hallucinating from marijuana, that's not for me."
Rep. Hurley says if the bill becomes law, any store owner caught selling synthetic marijuana could have their beer licenses pulled. They could also lose the right to sell state lottery tickets.
She says she's confident the bill will pass. If it does, it's not clear when the new law would be enforced because additional time is needed to inform the community about it. | <urn:uuid:1beb5de5-a787-46e9-8ba7-79e21e7728eb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wate.com/story/16921362/tennessee-lawmakers-take-aim-again-at-synthetic-marijuana | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980832 | 699 | 1.8125 | 2 |
ANCHORAGE (AP) -- Alaska's largest city will be one of the first places nationwide to get a new service that bypasses traditional wires, instead beaming phone calls and high-speed Internet directly into homes.
AT&T Wireless, which is planning the service, says it could dramatically change the way communications services are delivered.
Up to 20 towers, most of them current cell phone towers, will be used to relay calls and data signals between Anchorage homes and AT&T's switching center. A small antenna shaped like a pizza box will connect home devices to the wireless network.
The network is under construction and AT&T plans to start offering service in Anchorage by the end of the year, Michael Keith, chief executive and president at AT&T Wireless, told the Anchorage Daily News in an interview.
Prices haven't been set yet but will be competitive with other local phone and high-speed Internet services, Keith said.
The service, when it's rolled out across the country, could save AT&T billions in fees it now pays local phone companies. Last year, AT&T paid $14.7 billion in local and long-distance access charges, almost a third of the company's total expenses, according to its annual report.
The new service initially would be offered only to households, with small businesses next on the list. Customers will be able to surf the Internet and make phone calls at the same time, according to AT&T.
In addition to Anchorage, AT&T is rolling out the Digital Broadband service this year in San Diego, Los Angeles and Houston. It hopes to make the systems available to 15 million homes nationwide by 2003.
''Anchorage will teach us how to sell it in smaller communities,'' Keith said.
Peninsula Clarion ©2013. All Rights Reserved. | <urn:uuid:b47845b1-e42e-4597-9f06-4b121c716578> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://peninsulaclarion.com/stories/091700/ala_091700ala0030001.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934446 | 374 | 1.804688 | 2 |
As I said yesterday, I want to share some more of the editorial comments that have appeared in college and university newspapers around the country. I’m very pleased that all of these places have recognized the importance of standing up for free speech whenever and wherever it is attacked. Butler happens to be the site of this attack, and I happen to be the recipient of that attack, but as so many editors from around the country recognize, it could happen elsewhere if people don’t protest.
Here’s a sampling of what’s been written:
From The Daily Texan at the University of Texas Austin (11/04/09): The piece, written by a member of the paper’s editorial board and entitled “Viewpoint: Gagging the Bloggers,” says “The school had no case to fall back on, no proof of libel or damage that Zimmerman’s comments may have caused. Instead, officials resorted to a questionable standard.” The column goes on to say, “Despite a win on the legal side, Zimmerman now has to face a much more questionable and judicially suspect form of trial — campus disciplinary proceedings.” The column concludes very powerfully by arguing:
While free speech and press are not guaranteed on private campuses, we applaud Zimmerman’s use of off-campus press to spread news of the administration’s tyrannical response to critical speech — likely curbing similar oppression of speech at other private institutions.
Officials at Butler are bullying students, which makes the school look terrible, but the truly frightening aspect of their actions is the message they are sending and the precedent they are setting for other private institutions around the country. If they punish Zimmerman, it will be out of childish anger and folly, not out of respect for the institution.
Butler University’s administration has already managed to embarrass the university and taint its professional image on a national level far beyond anything a mere blog could do.
We hope that Butler, and universities around the country, learn that in a nation of free thinkers and speakers, sometimes the best way to ensure a message is spread is to try to oppress it.
From the Indiana Daily Student at Indiana University (11/01/09): An editorial entitled “Bulldog bullies” takes Butler’s administration to task:
While the lawsuit has been dropped, possibly because of public backlash to the idea of a university suing one of its own students, campus disciplinary proceedings continue.
As students, we should be outraged. While it is repetitive to reiterate the merits and even the necessity of free speech, especially in a supposedly open and intellectually fostering environment such as a college campus, students should be supported by their university in all forms of “inquiry” and “interactive dialogue” – even the kind that is critical of the university administration.
Students should be able to speak out against their university without fear of legal action or the help of the ACLU, which agreed to take Zimmerman’s case to court.
Butler has become the first university in the United States to file a lawsuit against online speech. While the legal case has now been dropped, it nevertheless sets an alarming precedent – one that we, as students, have a duty to protest.
The editorial goes on to conclude:
Butler University’s mission statement, as found on its Web site, reads as follows:
“Butler’s mission is to provide the highest quality of liberal and professional education and to integrate the liberal arts with professional education, by creating and fostering a stimulating intellectual community built upon interactive dialogue and inquiry among students, faculty and staff.”
For our technology-based generation, “inquiry” and “interactive dialogue” have taken on new forms, such as blogs, but remain the essential foundation of a liberal education and rightfully belong in a university’s mission statement.
While Butler University has given lip service to the ideas, in practice they are attempting to silence those students at their own institution who practice “inquiry” and “dialogue” under the charges of libel, defamation and harassment.
Butler is wrong to use its scarce resources to attempt to intimidate one of its own students into silence. Zimmerman did not libel but rather expressed critical opinions. His blog was a valuable outlet for dissent, conversation and, most importantly, “interactive dialogue and inquiry among students, faculty and staff.”
From The State News at Michigan State University (10/28/09): The paper’s editorial entitled “Student blogger lawsuit sends dangerous message” Butler is harshly taken to task for its actions:
It seems obvious to us the administration’s goal simply was to silence the unidentified writer from crafting a bad image of Butler.
Zimmerman said the blog was a forum — a place for discussion. Like most blogs, these so-called libelous statements seemed to be opinions, not presented as factual statements. Therefore, they wouldn’t seem to fit the definition libel. It doesn’t help Butler’s case that a dean of a university most likely could be deemed a public figure in court, and thus open to greater scrutiny than a normal person.
What is most appalling is that a university is suppressing a student’s right to free speech. In no way is it OK for an administration to sue its own student for expressing a valid opinion. This lawsuit simply undercuts the public’s ability to have honest exchanges of viewpoints.
Will this lawsuit deter students from expressing any contrary opinion on a university’s campus? How is what Zimmerman did any different from a student blowing off some steam in a Facebook status except for the amount of people who viewed it? Many of us have criticized a professor or class utilizing Twitter as well.
Good thing MSU doesn’t file a complaint for every bad economics exam we discuss.
If Butler was afraid of bad public relations because of this blog, it really turned the tables on itself. This story now is on a national level, amplifying originally what it tried to contain.
Butler’s administration appears to have acted recklessly. It suppressed a student’s thoughts at the interest of a valued reputation. This probably isn’t the first case of criticism that has surfaced at a university. Butler should develop a thicker skin and realize universities across the country are criticized every day — through many different mediums. It shouldn’t sue a student based off his or her opinion.
The editorial concludes by noting “Sorry Butler, suing your students doesn’t shush harsh statements. If anything, it just makes them more deafening.”
Although I’m not going to quote from them, you might also want to check out the editorials in The Candor at Benedictine University (11/10/09) and The Stylus at the State University of New York at Brockport (11/11/09). | <urn:uuid:cff85f6e-cecc-4713-9153-2a5b1181f1bd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.akadoe.blogspot.com/2009/11/chorus-part-two.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954611 | 1,443 | 1.507813 | 2 |
28. KASTURBAI'S COURAGE
Thrice in her life my
wife narrowly escaped death through serious illness. The cures were due
to household remedies. At the time of her first attack Satyagraha was going
on or was about to commence. She had frequent haemorrhage. A medical friend
advised a surgical operation, to which she agreed after some hesitation.
She was extremely emaciated, and the doctor had to perform the operation
without chloroform. It was successful, but she had to suffer much pain.
She, however, went through it with wondeful bravery. The doctor and his
wife who nursed her were all attention. This was in Durban. The doctor
gave me leave to go to Johannesburg, and told me not to have any anxiety
about the patient.
In a few days, however, I received
a letter to the effect that Kasturbai was worse, too weak to sit up in
bed, and had once become unconscious. The doctor knew that he might not,
without my consent, give her wines or meat. So he telephoned to me at Johannesburg
for permission to give her beef tea. I replied saying I could not grant
the permission, but that if she was in a condition to express her wish
in the matter, she might be consulted, and she was free to do as she liked.
'But,' said the doctor, 'I refuse to consult the patient's wishes in the
matter. You must come yourself. If you do not leave me free to prescribe
whatever diet I like, I will not hold myself responsible for your wife's
I took the train for Durban
the same day, and met the doctor, who quietly broke this news to me: 'I
had already given Mrs. Gandhi beef tea when I telephoned to you.'
'Now, doctor, I call this a
fraud,' said I.
'No question of fraud in prescribing
medicine or diet for a patient. In fact we doctors consider it a virtue
to deceive patients or their relatives, if thereby we can save our patients,'
said the doctor with determination.
I was deeply pained, but kept
cool. The doctor was a good man and a personal friend. He and his wife
had laid me under a debt of gratitude, but I was not prepared to put up
with his medical morals.
'Doctor, tell me what you propose
to do now. I would never allow my wife to be given meat or beef, even if
the denial meant her death, unless of course she desired to take it.'
'You are welcome to your philosophy.
I tell you that so long as you keep your wife under my treatment, I must
have the option to give her anything I wish. If you don't like this, I
must regretfully ask you to remove her. I can't see her die under my roof.'
'Do you mean to say that I must
remove her at once?'
'Whenever did I ask you to remove
her? I only want to be left entirely free. If you do so, my wife and I
will do all that is possible for her, and you may go back without the least
anxiety on her score. But if you will not understand this simple thing,
you will compel me to ask you to remove your wife from my place.'
I think one of my sons was with
me. He entirely agreed with me, and said his mother should not be given
beef tea. I next spoke to Kasturbai herself. She was really too weak to
be consulted in this matter. But I thought it my painful duty to do so.
I told her what had passed between the doctor and myself. She gave a resolute
reply: 'I will not take beef tea. It is a rare thing in this world to be
born as a human being, and I would far rather die in your arms than pollute
my body with such abominations.'
I pleaded with her. I told her
that she was not bound to follow me. I cited to her the instances of Hindu
friends and acquaintances who had no scruples about taking meat or wine
as medicine. But she was adamant. 'No,' said she, 'pray remove me at once.'
I was delighted. Not without
some agitation I decided to take her away. I informed the doctor of her
resolve. He exclaimed in a rage: 'What a callous man you are! You should
have been ashamed to broach the matter to her in her present condition.
I tell you your wife is not in a fit state to be removed. She cannot stand
the least little hustling. I shouldn't be surprised if she were to die
on the way. But if you must persist, you are free to do so. If you will
not give her beef tea, I will not take the risk of keeping her under my
roof even for a single day.'
So we decided to leave the place
at once. It was drizzling and the station was some distance. We had to
take the train from Durban for Phoenix, whence our Settlement was reached
by a road of two miles and a half. I was undoubtedly taking a very great
risk, but I trusted in God, and proceeded with my task. I sent a messenger
to Phoenix in advance, with a message to West to receive us at the station
with a hammock, a bottle of hot milk and one of hot water, and six men
to carry Kasturbai in the hammock. I got a rickshaw to enable me to take
her by the next available train, put her into it in that dangerous condition,
and marched away.
Kasturbai needed no cheering
up. On the contrary, she comforted me, saying: 'Nothing will happen to
me. Don't worry.'
She was mere skin and bone,
having had no nourishment for days. The station platform was very large,
and as the rickshaw could not be taken inside, one had to walk some distance
before one could reach the train. So I carried her in my arms and put her
into the compartment. From Phoenix we carried her in the hammock, and there
she slowly picked up strength under hydropathic treatment.
In two or three days of our
arrival at Phoenix a Swami came to our place. He had heard of the resolute
way in which we had rejected the doctor's advice, and he had, out of sympathy,
come to plead with us. My second and third sons Manilal and Ramdas were,
so far as I can recollect, present when the Swami came. He held forth on
the religious harmlessness of taking meat, citing authorities from Manu.
I did not like his carrying on this disputation in the presence of my wife,
but I suffered him to do so out of courtesy. I knew the verses from the
I did not need them for my conviction. I knew also that there was a school
which regarded these verses as interpolations: but even if they were not,
I held my views on vegetarianism independently of religious texts, and
Kasturbai's faith was unshakable. To her the scriptural texts were a sealed
book, but the traditional religion of her forefathers was enough for her.
The children swore by their father's creed, and so they made light of the
Swami's discourse. But Kasturbai put an end to the dialogue at once. 'Swamiji,'
she said, 'whatever you may say, I do not want to recover by means of beef
tea. Pray don't worry me any more. You may discuss the thing with my husband
and children if you like. But my mind is made up.' | <urn:uuid:789f7d0c-0dff-4cc3-a641-784528c140da> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.columbia.edu/itc/mealac/pritchett/00litlinks/gandhi/part4/428chapter.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.985444 | 1,672 | 1.804688 | 2 |
13 December 2000 - 30 January 2001
The exhibition devoted to the South African artist Zwelethu Mthethwa (born in Durban, South Africa, in 1963) told the story of a dormitory community on the outskirts of Cape Town through photographs and installations. In a series of images entitled Motherd and Child, Sacred Homes, and Rebirth, the artist described the rituals and beliefs still intact among the African ethnic group, throwing the existential dynamics that coexist inside a multi-racial society like that of South Africa into sharp relief.
The exhibition also featured a video installation entitled Rebirth that consisted of three simultaneous screenings that showed visitors the gradual physical and spiritual rebirth of a patient thanks to a shaman's treatment.
Exhibition curated by Teresa Macrì and Maria Grazia Tolomeo.
Mounted by Enzo Serrani.
Catalogue edited by Maria Grazia Tolomeo and Teresa Macrì, with essays by the curators; published by Marco Noire Editore, Turin 2000. | <urn:uuid:5f413c7d-3b15-42b3-8009-6b961ed3f6ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://english.palazzoesposizioni.it/categorie/categoria-287 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943828 | 212 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Advantages good for safety
Disadvantages infringes on others
The idea of these reviews is to be honest, and look at both sides of an argument. So I can't understand why people use them to shout abusive messages. People can use phones if they wish, they can smoke, and take drugs, but that doesn't mean it's good for them. Things have advantages and disadvantages, phones are great for safety reasons communicating and so on.I say people can smoke of they wish, but if s/o is smoking and blowing their smoke in my face it would make me angry, just like if s/o is talking loudly on the phone, that annoys me. People can use phones, but shouldn't ruin trips to the cinema for others....
Attention, this is the first review from this author
Instead of giving a negative rating, consider:
Help this member by giving your advice
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Add your comment | <urn:uuid:6a55d1bb-40c7-4c73-b411-79fa24743d2d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ciao.co.uk/Mobile_Phone_Etiquette__Review_24793 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969512 | 210 | 1.515625 | 2 |
- About EUD
- Political Programme
March 16, 2009
EU costs every family £4,700, says new study
£4,700 a year: that´s the cost of Britain’s membership of the European Union to the average household, according to new research by the Taxpayers´ Alliance. That´s £2,000 for every man, woman and child in the country.
Roger Helmer, Conservative MEP for the East Midlands, has launched a hard-hitting advertising campaign across the region to highlight the huge cost of the EU to taxpayers. Featuring the slogan: "The EU: It´ll have the shirt off your back", it focuses on the massive economic penalties of EU membership.
The slogan is backed up by fuller details on Mr. Helmer´s web-site at www.rogerhelmer.com, setting out the economic costs of membership, and other consequences of EU rules that affect people up and down the region -- like post office closures and fortnightly rubbish collections, which are driven by EU regulations. Full details of the Taxpayers´ Alliance research are available on http://www.taxpayersalliance.com.
The campaign comes as many families across Britain, and across the East Midlands, are suffering from financial challenges, and many are worried about their jobs, their businesses and their mortgages. Helmer argues that this is the right time to highlight the wastefulness of the European Union, and how it is making Britain less competitive in a globalised world. Commenting on his campaign, which appears in major regional papers in March, Helmer says: "The costs of EU membership were too high even in the good times -- and are getting worse following Tony Blair´s agreement to start giving up the British rebate. But now that we´re facing the worst recession in living memory, these costs are simply unsupportable".
Speaking of the advert, Mr Helmer commented; “I´m delighted with the ad. It´s a compelling image which commands attention, and it makes its point with economy and with humour. I fully expect that a few socialist kill-joys will call it sexist -- but then I don´t do political correctness!"
A postcard featuring the ad, and the key points about EU costs is available from Mr Helmer’s office at: [email protected] or Boswell House, 9 Prospect Court, Courteenhall Road, Blisworth, Northamptonshire, NN7 3DG.
Note to editors
For more information please visit www.rogerhelmer.com | <urn:uuid:bbc21f2e-6cca-4566-844e-befd9cfa75be> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.eudemocrats.org/eud/news.php?uid=149 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939691 | 539 | 1.640625 | 2 |
New England braced Friday for another major snowstorm, just two weeks after a mammoth record-breaking blizzard buried much of the region.
The peak of the storm is forecast for Saturday night through midday Sunday. It is not expected to be as strong as the blizzard, but the storm could still pack a powerful punch, with between 6-18 inches of snow expected in some places.
Interior portions of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine will see the heaviest snow, while the major metro areas of Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and New York City are expecting rain. Boston is on the line between rain and snow.
"I've had enough. I'm ready for spring," said Elaine Cardinal, a resident of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, CNN affiliate WHDH reported.
The storm, combined with high winds, could lead to downed trees and power lines.
It will likely disrupt travel on roads and create delays at airports, before heading out over the Atlantic on Monday.
"Boston will be ready," said Mayor Thomas Menino. "We will be out treating the roads before the snow, and our plows are ready to hit the streets this weekend."
The winter storm is separate from one that hit 20 states this week, pummeling baseball fans in Wisconsin and dumping record snow in parts of Kansas.
In spite of the snow, Milwaukee Brewers fans showed up at Miller Park to camp out for their shot to buy individual tickets for Brewers home games. Tickets go on sale Saturday. | <urn:uuid:48a8d98d-2c2e-413e-adac-ef533b3a7eb1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.wbaltv.com/news/national/Major-snowstorm-headed-for-New-England-again/-/9379440/19031928/-/item/0/-/3bxna2/-/index.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.951921 | 305 | 1.5 | 2 |
Since this opinion comes from a motion to alter or amend the judgment, it skips over a lot of things, as will I, but one part of the holding is of significant interest—read on for a cautionary note on drafting a license to use a name. Bart had a license from Mercado (whose continuing validity was in question) to use Mercado’s name and likeness. When a dispute arose, Mercado sued for, among other things, violation of his publicity rights.
The court found that Bart only had the right, pursuant to the license, to use Mercado’s name and likeness for existing or new materials related to Mercado’s psychic and astrological services. New materials were defined as materials “relating to Mercado's psychic and astrological services of whatever nature whatsoever,” but that turned out to be insufficient.
In the modern economy, services can change fast. Bart’s co-defendant used Mercado’s name and license for waltermercado.net, providing interactive astrological and psychic consultation through the internet, including some daily horoscopes published under Mercado’s name as well as live psychic readings. Likewise, co-defendant Waltervision entered into a contract allowing another company, SCI, the right to use the Mercado mark in connection with various 800 numbers, prepaid paid calling cards and pay per call live astrological and psychic readings through 900 numbers, including the creation of a new website, Telewalter.com, and the use of Mercado's name and likeness to advertise the astrological and psychic services being sold. SCI produced gift cards featuring Mercado's name and likeness and a press release for the launch of “Walter Mercado's Psychic and Astrology Network, starring Walter Mercado.” Defendants also operated an SMS/text-messaging service using his name and likeness with horoscopes not created by Mercado. Co-defendant Walter Int’l published horoscopes using Mercado’s name and likeness in a Mexican newspaper; Mercado didn’t write them.
The court found that these weren’t New Materials under the contract because they didn’t relate to Mercado’s psychic and astrological services. “This is not necessarily contingent on Mercado providing personal services to Bart, but New Materials must relate to psychic and astrological services provided by Mercado himself.” The contract’s use of the term “produce” didn’t mean “create,” since the contract itself was written “in a manner that distinguishes between the two verbs. The Preexisting Materials provision uses the verbs ‘created or originated,’ while the New Materials provision does not use the verb ‘created.’” Thus, the right to develop new materials “contemplates a product already in existence that is related to Mercado's psychic and astrological services. It does not give Bart the right to create new materials using Mercado's Name and Likeness. If the parties had intended to grant Bart such a right, the parties could have used the verbs ‘create’ or “originate,’ as they did in the Preexisting Materials section.”
Because of the limitation of the contract, even though defendants might own the mark, they were unable to expand the scope of their services without violating Mercado’s right of publicity. I leave as an exercise for the reader how this might have been fixed, from Bart's perspective.
When the court turned to the false advertising claims, matters grew even more complicated. Bart, as owner of the mark, might have the right to use the mark to advertise its services even if it didn’t have the right to use Mercado’s name and likeness. The court considered the mark to be “a type of endorsement.” Bart, as owner, could use its own mark as an endorsement for advertising purposes without becoming liable for false endorsement. Endorsement doesn’t require actual involvement in or development of the sponsored product. (What about the FTC Guidelines, then?)
However, “endorsing a product and saying a product is created by the endorser are two different things.” Thus, even as owner, Bart couldn’t advertise Mercado as the source of its products, except for the preexisting materials and the new materials that were in some way Mercado’s work product. (Great example for Mark McKenna’s investigation of the meaning of Dastar.) For example, the website featured Mercado's photo and signature with a message that read “Live consult with my most profound psychics.” The court ruled that defendants couldn’t use this photo and signature to promote the website, nor could they refer to “Mercado's most profound psychics.” Instead, if they owned the mark, they could use it to refer to the business—e.g., “‘profound Walter Mercado psychics’—but Bart cannot say it is selling the work product of Mercado.” (Are consumers likely to understand this distinction? What about the domain name?)
Likewise, ads for the SMS service couldn’t use Mercado’s name and likeness. Further, defendants couldn’t “advertise the SMS Services as if Mercado himself were authoring the horoscopes and messages or has personally selected the psychics authoring the same.… However, advertising consults from ‘Mercado's powerful psychics’ or that consumers ‘will be connected with the good energy of Walter Mercado’” would be allowed if Bart owned the mark. (Hunh? How is that not using his name?)
Mercado also claimed a violation of his moral right to avoid attribution. But Puerto Rico law only provides an attribution right, not a right against attribution for work not the author’s: “[t]he author or beneficiary of a literary, scientific, artistic and/or musical work has the right to benefit from it, and the exclusive prerogatives to attribute to him/herself or retract its authorship, dispose of his/her work, authorize its publication and protect its integrity ...” | <urn:uuid:e25d5747-3756-412f-b10b-a63453767edf> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://tushnet.blogspot.com/2012/08/when-does-right-of-publicity-trump-tm.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94736 | 1,320 | 1.585938 | 2 |
in England, Guglielmo Marconi was awarded the first radio patent. He had succeeded the previous year in sending long-wave radio signals over a distance of about two kilometres. And in 1897, Marconi formed a wireless telegraphy company to develop its commercial applications. In 1901, he sent the letter ''S'' across the Atlantic from Cornwall, England to a receiving station in St. John's, Newfoundland.
In 1904, actor Johnny Weissmuller was born in Timisoara, Romania. He was Tarzan in the movies, and played Jungle Jim on the big screen and also on TV in the mid 1950's. He died following a series of strokes Jan 20, 1984 at age 79.
In 1908, radio & TV announcer Ben Grauer was born in Staten Island NY. Starting in 1932 on NBC Radio, Grauer covered the Olympic Games, presidential inaugurations, and international events. He is best remembered as the NBC radio and TV host of the annual New Year's Eve broadcasts live from Times Square. During his 40-year broadcast career, he hosted over half a dozen TV programs on NBC including game shows, quiz shows, concerts and news programs. His career at NBC ended in 1973, and he died after a heart attack May 31, 1977 at age 68.
In 1917, actor Max Showalter (below)was born in Caldwell Kansas. He guested on episodic TV 1,000 times over a 35 year period, with recurring roles on The Stockard Channing Show (1980), and The Swift Show (1949). He played Ward Cleaver in the original pilot for Leave It To Beaver. He died of cancer July 30, 2000 at age 83.
In 1937, The Fabulous Dr. Tweedy was broadcast on NBC radio for the first time, the summer replacement for Jack Benny. Frank Morgan starred as the absent-minded Dr. Tweedy.
Also in 1937, CBS radio presented the first broadcast of Second Husband. The show continued on the air until 1946.
In 1942, The Choristers, a Winnipeg chamber choir, began weekly broadcasts on the C-B-C network under the direction of W-H Anderson. In 1952, the program was re-named "Sunday Chorale,'' and became devoted exclusively to church music. It aired until 1969, a total of 27 years.
In 1952, TV broadcasting started in Canada when Radio Canada's Channel 2 in Montreal began airing a test pattern.
In 1953, the coronation of 27-year-old Queen Elizabeth II was broadcast around the world. The crowning of the new Queen of England became one of the first international news events to be given complete coverage on television. All three American TV networks plus the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) provided colorful descriptions of the pomp and circumstance. Most viewers saw the coronation in black and white because color TV was not yet the standard of the industry. Quality of the pictures, in fact, was lacking compared to today's international and often instantaneous broadcasts. There was no satellite transmission at the time. The "live" pictures were relayed by shortwave radio.
In 1956, CBC Radio rebroadcaster CBUE 740 Hope signed on. At this time there were only 30 other low power relay transmitters located throughout B.C. Private stations in the larger communities were still CBC affiliates as a requirement of license, though they only carried a small percentage of the schedule.
In 1956, "Moonglow and Theme from Picnic" by Morris Stoloff topped the charts and stayed there for 3 weeks.
In 1957, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev was interviewed by CBS-TV. News correspondent Daniel Schorr was first to question the Soviet leader.
In 1958, pioneering rock-and-roll Disc-Jockey Alan Freed did his first show on WABC, New York after being fired from WINS New York. He left WABC in November of 1959 amidst allegations he had accepted payola.
Also in 1958, the next Top 20 hit single by Johnny Mathis, "A Certain Smile" was released.
In 1962, Ray Charles started a five week run at No.1 on the Billboard singles chart with the Don Gibson penned country ballad 'I Can't Stop Loving You.'
Also in 1962, Island Records released its first single, "Twist Baby" by Owen Gray. Island became home to such acts as Jethro Tull and Traffic. Later, reggae artists like Bob Marley and the Wailers were featured on the label.
In 1964, The Rolling Stones made their US TV debut in an interview on the late-night ' Les Crane Show' on WABC-TV in New York.
Also in 1964, the original Broadway cast album of "Hello Dolly!" starring Carol Channing was certified as a Gold Record.
In 1965, King Records released James Brown with his own composition "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag." It would make it into Billboard's Top Ten pop singles, and is ranked number 71 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
In 1967, the Beatles' album, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, was released in the U.S. (on Capitol) -- one day after its release in the U.K. (on Parlophone).
The world is still humming and singing along and tapping fingers and toes to the likes of A Day in the Life, Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds, With a Little Help From My Friends, When I'm Sixty-Four, She's Leaving Home, the title song and several others. It had taken the Fab Four only 12 hours to record their first album, Please, Please Me. It took the supergroup 700 hours to complete Sgt. Pepper's.
In 1968, Canadian pianist-composer Andre Mathieu died in Montreal at age 39. Both the welcoming song and official theme music of the 1976 Montreal Olympics were arranged from excerpts of Mathieu's works.
In 1969, the National Arts Centre in Ottawa opened with a performance by the National Ballet of Canada. Among the other performers during the two-week inaugural festival were the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, contralto Maureen Forrester and singer Gordon Lightfoot.
In 1970, George Harrison recorded "Isn't It A Pity."
In 1972, the '50s group Dion & the Belmonts reunited for a show at Madison Square Garden in New York. The concert was captured on the L-P ''Reunion.''
In 1973, Paul McCartney had both the No.1 positions on the Billboard charts when 'Red Rose Speedway', went to the top of the album chart and 'My Love', started a four week run as the No.1 single.
In 1975, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "Thank God I'm a Country Boy,'' by John Denver.
In 1977, actor Forrest Lewis, who began acting all over the radio dial in 1929, and moved effortlessly into much the same work during the first two decades of the TV era, died after a heart attack at age 77.
In 1978, Columbia Records released Bruce Springsteen's fourth album, "Darkness On The Edge of Town." It was his first new LP in three years.
Also in 1978, on NBC TV's "Midnight Special" Crystal Gayle hosted Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.
In 1979, actor Jim Hutton, best remembered on the small screen as sleuth Ellery Queen in the mid 1970's, lost his battle with liver cancer at age 45.
Also in 1979, "Hot Stuff" by Donna Summer topped the charts and stayed there for 3 weeks.
In 1980, two-thousand fans stormed the gate at Ontario Place in Toronto after being locked out of a concert by Teenage Head. The mob wrecked cars and fought with police and each other.
In 1981, Barbara Walters interviewed the legendary Katharine Hepburn on TV and asked what kind of tree she would be.
In 1985, the No. 1 Billboard Pop Hit was "Everybody Wants to Rule the World,'' by Tears For Fears
In 1987, bandleader Sammy Kaye, whose trademark in the 1940's and '50s was ''Swing and Sway with Sammy Kaye,'' succumbed to cancer at age 77. His band scored major hits with 1941's ''Daddy,'' 1942's ''There Will Never Be Another You'' and 1950's ''Harbor Lights.''
Also in 1987, Andres Segovia, the world's foremost classical guitarist, died at his Madrid home at 94. Segovia is credited with establishing the guitar as a concert instrument and was one of the few classical guitarists to earn a gold album.
In 1988, former Temptations singer David Ruffin was sentenced in Detroit to two years probation and 50 days of community service for cocaine use. A bag containing cocaine residue was found with Ruffin's personal papers when police raided a house the previous July. Ruffin would die of a drug overdose in Philadelphia two years later.
In 1989, Rolling Stones bass guitarist Bill Wyman, age 52, married 19-year-old Mandy Smith in Bury St. Edmonds, England. When the couple divorced in 1991 Wyman said they'd spent only five days together while married.
In 1990, actor Rex Harrison (My Fair Lady), died at age 82 of pancreatic cancer. Besides his many successes on the stage & in film he performed 8 times on TV's Ed Sullivan Show. Among his TV dramatic assignments were appearances on The US Steel Hour, The Dow Hour of Great Mysteries & Omnibus, plus two TV movies.
Also in 1990, actor Jack Gilford, best remembered as the rubber-faced star of Cracker Jack TV commercials in the 60's & early 70's, succumbed to stomach cancer at age 82.
In 1991, Larry Gatlin announced the Gatlin Brothers Band would break up after their current tour. The Gatlins had 15 top-10 country hits, beginning with 1979's "All the Gold in California.''
In 1992, Alberta-born singer k-d lang publicly declared her homosexuality in an interview with the Advocate, a U-S gay and lesbian publication.
Also in 1992, Wilson Phillips released their 2nd CD "Shadows and Light" which would peak at #4 on the Billboard album chart.
In 1993, Aerosmith appeared at the Landon Arena in Kansas, the first night of their 169-date Get A Grip world tour.
In 1995, country star Travis Tritt spent the night in a Nashville hospital after collapsing in a recording studio. He was treated for severe exhaustion and dehydration.
Also in 1995, Stone Roses guitarist John Squire smashed his collarbone in a cycling accident causing the band to pull out of major gigs.
In 1996, a depressed TV host Ray Combs, who had lost his job as host of Family Feud, committed suicide in a mental ward at age 40.
In 1997, jazz trumpeter Doc Cheatham, whose professional career began in the 1920s, died in Washington following a stroke. He was 91. Among the many jazz notables Cheatham performed or recorded with over his seven-decade career were Cab Calloway, Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and Count Basie.
In 1998, a publicist for Anne Murray announced that the singer and her husband of 23 years, Bill Langstroth, had separated.
Also in 1998, Helen Carter, who performed with the legendary Carter Family country music group, died in a Nashville hospital at age 70. She was the daughter of Mother Maybelle Carter, who formed the original Carter Family with her husband A-P Carter and cousin Sara Carter in the '20s.
Still in 1998, rock 'n' roll Hall of Famer Rod Stewart performed a series of one-hour shows along the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood to promote his current album "When We Were the New Boys." Leaving behind the arenas and amphitheaters that had been his usual haunts for a quarter-century, the 53-year-old singer began his whirlwind minitour with a free concert in the Tower Records parking lot before playing at the Roxy, then the Whisky.
Again in 1998, one of Canada's best-known concert promoters, Donald Tarlton, announced he was leaving the business after more than 30 years. Known in the business as Donald K. Donald, Tarlton promoted most of the major Montreal arena and stadium concerts.
In 1999, Andy Simpkins, a top-ranked jazz bassist who toured for many years with singers Sarah Vaughan and Carmen McRae, died of stomach cancer at Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, Calif. He was 67.
Also in 1999, Junior Braithwaite, one of the original members of Bob Marley's Wailers, was shot and killed in Kingston, Jamaica. He was 47. Braithwaite, who had recently returned to his Jamaican homeland after more than 20 years in Chicago, was one of two men shot by unidentified gunmen in the home of a local musician. Former bandmate Peter Tosh was killed in a similar manner in 1987.
Still in 1999, the final episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" aired.
In 2000, the RIAA certified Garth Brooks' "Double Live" at the 13 million level. This matched the highest-certified live album record held by Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's "Live 1975-1985."
In 2001, comedienne Imogene Coca, who shared top billing with Sid Caesar in the very early 1950's on NBC TV's legendary Your Show of Shows, died at age 92.
In 2002, we first heard that Paul McCartney had thrown his fiancée Heather Mills’ engagement ring out of a hotel window during a loud argument. Guards at Miami’s Turnberry Isle Resort later used metal detectors to recover the $25,500 ring.
In 2003, U.S. federal regulators voted to allow companies to buy more television stations and newspaper-broadcasting combinations in the same city. The previous ownership restrictions had not been altered since 1975.
In 2006, "Not Ready to Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks went to #1 for 14 weeks on the VH-1 music video chart, making it the biggest hit ever on its weekly chart.
In 2008, guitarist and singer Bo Diddley died of heart failure at his home in Florida aged 79. The legendary singer and performer was known for his homemade square guitar, and influenced artists from Buddy Holly, to Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones and U2.
Also in 2008, Van Halen's North American tour wound up at the Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, MI. The trek grossed more than $93 million over 74 shows – a record amount for the band.
In 2009, Cher sued Universal Music Group on behalf of herself and her late partner Sonny Bono, claiming the label owed them $5 million in unpaid royalties.
In 2010, Paul McCartney was awarded the U.S. Library of Congress' Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the highest honor given for pop music, at a concert hosted by President Barack Obama at the White House.
Also in 2011, singer/songwriter Randy Newman was on hand to help unveil his new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2011, jazz pianist/composer Ray Bryant, who played solo, with his own trio, and who also accompanied the likes of Carmen McRae and Jimmy Rushing, died at age 77.
Also in 2011, Canada's country superstar Shania Twain was honored with her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Actor Milo O'Shea (Oz, QB VII, Ellis Island) is 86.
Singer Sammy Turner (Lavender Blue) is 80.
Actress Sally Kellerman (Chemistry, Centennial) is 75.
Rock singer Jimmy Jones is 75.
Actor Stacy Keach (Lights Out, Prison Break, Mike Hammer) is 71.
Singer William Guest with Gladys Knight and the Pips is 71.
Drummer Charlie Watts of the Rolling Stones is 71.
Actor-director Charles Haid (Third Watch, Hill Street Blues) is 69.
Composer Marvin Hamlisch is 68.
Former child actor Jerry Mathers (Leave It To Beaver) is 64.
Winnipeg-born actress Joanna Gleason (West Wing, ER, Hello Larry) is 62.
Actor Dennis Haysbert (The Unit, 24) is 58.
Comedian Dana Carvey (SNL, Dana Carvey Show, One of the Boys) is 57.
Toronto-born former newsman/anchor Kevin Newman (ABC News, Global National) is 54.
Singer Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet is 52.
Alberta-born actor John C. Turner (Wiseguy, Lonesome Dove: The Outlaw Years) is 51.
Singer Merril Bainbridge is 44.
Rapper B-Real of Cypress Hill is 42.
Actress Paula Cale (Joey, Providence, Murphy Brown) is 42.
Comedian/TV host Wayne Brady (Let's Make a Deal, Don't Forget the Lyrics, Drew Carey Show, Wayne Brady Show) is 40.
Actor Wentworth Miller (Prison Break) is 40.
North Vancouver-born actress Leah Cairns (Battlestar Gallactica, Kyle XY, Godiva's) is 38.
Keyboardist Tim Rice-Oxley of Keane is 36.
Actor Zachary Quinto (Heroe, 24) is 35.
Actress Nikki Cox (Las Vegas, Nikki) is 34.
Actor Deon Richmond (Sister Sister, Cosby Show) is 34.
Actor Justin Long (Ed) is 34.
Singer Irish Grinstead of 702 is 32.
Drummer Fabrizio Moretti of The Strokes is 32.
White Rock BC-born actress Jewel Staite (Stargate: Atlantis, DaVinci"s Inquest, FlashForward) is 31.
Country singer Dan Cahoon of Marshall Dyllon is 29.
Chart Toppers - June 2
1952 Kiss of Fire - Georgia Gibbs Blue Tango - The Leroy Anderson Orchestra Be Anything - Eddy Howard The Wild Side of Life - Hank Thompson
1961 Travelin’ Man - Ricky Nelson Daddy’s Home - Shep & The Limelites Running Scared - Roy Orbison Hello Walls - Faron Young
1970 Everything is Beautiful - Ray Stevens Love on a Two-Way Street - The Moments Cecilia - Simon & Garfunkel My Love - Sonny James
1979 Hot Stuff - Donna Summer Love You Inside Out - Bee Gees We are Family - Sister Sledge If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me - Bellamy Brothers
1988 One More Try - George Michael Shattered Dreams - Johnny Hates Jazz Naughty Girls (Need Love Too) - Samantha Fox Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses - Kathy Mattea
1997 MMMBop - Hanson Say You’ll Be There - Spice Girls You Were Meant for Me - Jewel Sittin’ on Go - Bryan White
2006 Hips Don’t Lie - Shakira featuring Wyclef Jean Bad Day - Daniel Powter Temperature - Sean Paul Why - Jason Aldean | <urn:uuid:1cecd502-3141-413a-8fc7-f4aecf1f726a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pugetsoundradio.com/cgi-bin/forum/Blah.pl?m-1338612672/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953496 | 4,015 | 1.796875 | 2 |
20 CFR 404.1104
Claimant, W, filed an application for widow's insurance benefits as the widow of R, the worker. The evidence established that on February 10, 1967, a Texas trial (divorce) court orally granted W a divorce from R, and so entered it on the court docket. The worker died in June 1967. The judgment of divorce had never been reduced to writing and signed by the court. In August 1969 a Texas Court of Civil Appeals, pursuant to a motion of the claimant dismissed the divorce action and set aside the docket entry of February 10, 1967, on the basis that no written judgement had been entered in the action.
The question of whether W is entitled to widow's insurance benefits depends on whether her marriage to R was terminated by a divorce before his death. (Under certain circumstances, not pertinent here, a surviving divorced wife may qualify for widow's insurance benefits. See SSR's 67-18, C.B. 1967, p.33 and 67-55, C.B. 1967, p.39.)
The pertinent part of Vernon's Annotated Texas Rules of Civil Procedure, rule 306a, provides:
Furthermore, rule 164 of the Rules of Civil Procedure, supra, provides:
A situation, similar to the facts in the instant claim, was considered by the Supreme Court of Texas in Dunn v. Dunn, 439 S.W.2d 830, 833, 834 (Tex. 1969. There the wife sought a divorce, the matter was heard, an oral pronouncement made by the court, and the defendant husband died prior to the signing of the judgment. The court stated:
Turning to the question of whether the matter before the trial (divorce) court had become moot due to the death of a party, thereby justifying dismissal, the court said:
Since it thus appears that the order of dismissal of the Court of Civil Appeals was not supported by Texas law and was contrary to the holding of the Texas Supreme Court in a similar case, it was ineffective to restore W's marital status. Accordingly, W was granted an effective divorce from the date noted on the docket sheet of the trial court; therefore, it is held that W's relationship as R's wife was terminated on such date and she is not entitled to widow's insurance benefits.
Back to Table of Contents | <urn:uuid:771f69fc-f3fe-4959-955f-8e0a9391213d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ssa.gov/OP_Home/rulings/oasi/53/SSR70-21-oasi-53.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97511 | 484 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Top 10 Articles
A Relaxed Approach To "White-Collar Crime"
Jul 09, 2010
According to a report at Securities Docket: “In Ireland, an official at the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, the country’s corporate watchdog, acknowledged that no one prosecuted for white-collar crime by the ODCE has been jailed in the 10-year history of the office.”
This seems to me an entirely sensible approach to so-called “white-collar crime.” I exempt clear and demonstrable fraud, when there are victims that remain unrecompensed. But apart from that, I confess, I am coming to believe that no so-called economic crimes should be punished by prison sentences. The law of economic crimes is simpy not well grounded on clear and convincing violations of natural rights, on acts that lawyers called malum in se.
Of course, as this story shows, the sensible and healthy Irish approach will likely fall victim very soon to more contemporary trends. | <urn:uuid:f3f28b75-48af-4b7b-8797-a409c895f3df> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.atlassociety.org/brc/blog/2010/07/09/relaxed-approach-white-collar-crime | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958169 | 208 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Mulla Nasrudin used to stand in the street on market days to be pointed out as an idiot.
No matter how often people offered him a large and a small coin, he always chose the smaller piece. One day, a kindly man said to him: “Mulla, you should take the bigger coin. Then you will have more money and people will no longer be able to make a laughing stock of you.”
“That might be true,” said Nasrudin, “but if I always take the larger, people will stop offering me money to prove that I am more idiotic than they are. Then I would have no money at all.” | <urn:uuid:341e3ab9-51e6-45fe-9e49-4acf267ab1fc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://peopleforothers.loyolapress.com/2012/12/21/wisdom-story-132/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974081 | 145 | 1.617188 | 2 |
I just got this message in my Gmail.
Someone recently tried to use an application to sign in to your Google Account, [email protected]. We prevented the sign-in attempt in case this was a hijacker trying to access your account. Please review the details of the sign-in attempt:
Saturday, November 10, 2012 3:06:05 AM GMT
IP Address: 184.108.40.206
Location: Hefei, Anhui, China
If you do not recognize this sign-in attempt, someone else might be trying to access your account. You should sign in to your account and reset your password immediately. Find out how at http://support.google.com/accounts?p=reset_pw
If this was you, and you want to give this application access to your account, complete the troubleshooting steps listed at http://support.google.com/mail?p=client_login
The Google Accounts Team
There was also a red banner atop my gmail.
So does this mean the person just tried accessing my account, or did they actually get my password and get as far as logging in before being blocked?
I changed my password. I also ran full virus scan and full malwarebytes scan but found nothing.
I am more worried about my banking information which I logged on today.
I've never been hacked so I am wondering if they actually got in my account or just were trying to access it with random passwords. | <urn:uuid:c1c9a6e0-ac06-4a9b-b809-d2be677d49d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?p=34224246 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957592 | 308 | 1.65625 | 2 |
April 16, 2012
Are Your Kids Ready for Cell Phones?
Are your kids begging for a cell phone? Consider these costs and benefits before you make the decision to get them one.
Many parents wrestle with whether or not to give their children cell phones. Being able to reach kids in an emergency is a compelling reason to say yes. But you also should weigh the high cost of calling plans and the possibility that your kids might be able to access inappropriate content.
Review your mobile carrier's parental controls plan for features like: being able to cap phone minutes and text messages; block mature content; and restrict time-of-day usage. And, since no filtering tool is completely foolproof, discuss safety issues with your kids and make sure they're comfortable coming to you with issues.
Bottom line: If your child is ready for a cell phone, don't be afraid to set ground rules and monitor their activity carefully.
Email to a friend | <urn:uuid:d3e6ffd2-94a1-45b5-b036-5bc8fe42e111> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://practicalmoneyskills.com/personalfinance/experts/practicalmoneymatters/radio/series.php?id=64 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949583 | 193 | 1.53125 | 2 |
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Securing Wordpress is some important task. If the Wordpress is not protected, it might lead to several harmful aspects which would affect your business in a bad way. As wordpress increases its ways and chances of protection also increase. There are several plugins and themes for the protection of Wordpress. Wordpress’ core addresses all the issues clearly and quickly. Obviously the wordpress team, like every other team is conscious about maintaining its veracity.
World famous open source “WordPress” growing high day by day as for as compare with other open sources, one of essential component of wordpress is “Wordpress Plugins” which is today topic because some time we found required plugin but still need some customizations, then we find solutions from internet or ask to wordpress developers with some cost, we are trying to reduce your time and cost through these “How to Develop Useful WordPress Plugins – 20 WordpressTutorials” to involve its functionality out there the elementary features by plugins.
These of all wordpress plugin tutorials make life more comfortable to get desired results, one thing more which I would like to share with you wordpress newbies and professionals, these of all wordpress tutorials based on beginners to intermediate level of schools, so try these tutorial to become more proficient in wordpress. | <urn:uuid:0a28c49b-1428-4575-9de5-08a3ce396f36> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tutoriallounge.com/category/open-source/wordpress-plugins-open-source/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00020-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945059 | 673 | 1.570313 | 2 |
Migaloo is the only known white (albino) humpback whale in the world and he lives in our East Coast waters. He was first officially photographed in 1991 of Cape Byron, his age then was estimated to be around 5 years, so we estimate his age to be around 25 years in 2011
He migrates annually with all the other humpbacks, but can be quite elusive and sometimes has not been seen travelling the coast until he has reached is destination in far North Queensland and sometimes has not been seen for a few years running – where does he go?
On the 1st July 2009, we saw Migaloo at 9.45am off Burleigh Heads, Gold Coast Queensland. He was 10 nuatical miles off shore swimming with two other Humpback whales. He is awesome!
MIGALOO UPDATED SIGHTINGS:
Whitsundays July 09
22/9/09 – Burnett Heads Qld 4pm – travelling south
28/9/09 – Byron Bay NSW – travelling south with a very large group of humpbacks
This journey is 549 klms by car, it took Migaloo 7 days to get from Burnett Heads to Byron – therefore 549 klms divided by 7 days = 78.43 klms per day divided by 24hrs = 3.27 klms per hour.
Migaloo is travelling at around 3.5 klms per hour as the car drives – nautical miles yet to be worked out.
2010 – Migaloo was sighted – supposedly a few times up the east coast, firstly at
Crowdy Head 1pm Sunday 20th June
Byron Bay 9am Monday 28th June – probably Baloo
Fraser Island Monday 28th June – is there two? No only one Migaloo and the correct sighting is Fraser Island.
To find out more information and facts about migaloo you can visit www.migaloo.com.au
Migaloo off Port Macquarie 13/6/05
|Migaloo off Port Macquarie 13/6/05||
a very rare site
Migaloo off the Gold Coast 1/7/09
“My Auntie” is Tweed Heads Icon Whale
‘My auntie’ is one of the best known whales in Trish’s catalogue. She has been watching and photographing her since 1994.
Trish has photographed her in Hervey Bay in 1994, 1997, 1998, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005 and 2006.
My Auntie has had calves 1997 (Sagan), 2002 (Hodda a female) and 2006 (Ryle).
‘My Auntie’ is a particularly interesting whale and Trish is preparing an extended film about her and her calves.
She was named by Trish and Paul Hodda, President of the Australian Whale Conservation Society in 1994.
Her 2002 calf was named after Paul.
Her 2006 calf ‘Ryle’ was named by the Vice-Chancellor of Southern Cross University Paul Clark
during our 2002 Whale Research Expedition.
‘My Auntie’ had been hit by a boat in her early life and had propellor marks on the right hand side of her head and a strangely shaped dorsal, which is how we recognise her.
Trish Franklin ©The Oceania Project/iWhales.org.
My Auntie has been observed in seven of 13 years, between 1994 and 2006. During the first encounter in 1994 we learned she was a female and her size suggested she was an older whale. Propeller marks on the left hand side of her head and, damage to her dorsal fin show that she had survived a vessel strike. The shape of her damaged and distinctive dorsal led to her name.
Above: My auntie puts her fluke high out of the water as she leads the males a merry chase during a competitive group encounter in 2001.
My Auntie was observed in competitive groups in 1994, 1998 and 2001. A competitive group consists of males involved in very strong interactions amongst each other in pursuit of a single female, known as the nuclear female. The behaviour amongst the males includes strong breaths, bubble streaming, head-lunges, and lob-tails. Often, as the aggressive interactions between the males escalate, they will intentionally bump and scrape into each other, causing vertical and horizontal marks. Usually one male adopts a dominant position, as principal escort beside the female, while other males called ‘challengers’ seek to displace him from the female’s side. Some males stay on the outskirts of the action and are called secondary escorts. These may be younger males watching and learning how to behave within a competitive group. Curiously females generally emerge unmarked from competitive groups but, like My Auntie, they often make their dominance and intentions very clear with strong behaviours such as lob-tails, and inverted lob-tails.
The left hand side of My Aunties propeller damaged dorsal.
Peru, a challenger to Hans Solo, has damage to his dorsal fin
from interactions with other males within the competitive groups.
He also displays the horizontal and vertical lines typically seen
on the bodies of mature male escorts. | <urn:uuid:e1d725f8-2898-4613-9060-ef99b22626c4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://aquaticbluecharters.com.au/migaloo/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970197 | 1,092 | 1.8125 | 2 |
A couple from England has turned to artwork and an after-school club to capture the imagination and interest of children in the San Lorenzo Valley.
Malcolm Mackinnon, the associate pastor at First Baptist Church of San Lorenzo Valley, and his wife, Donna Mackinnon, have launched a free after-school club for children in kindergarten through fifth grade that integrates art with Biblical teaching.
The club meets from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays at San Lorenzo Valley Elementary School.
Malcolm Mackinnon, a soft-spoken preacher with an English accent, found artwork to be an effective teaching tool while at Bible college in the UK in the 1990s.
The concept was introduced to him as he helped lead chapel services.
“The organizer wanted three paintings going at the same time (during chapel),” he said. “She asked if I would do one of them.”
While creating those works of art, he noticed something.
“The effect of this thing was so powerful. People were moved and emotionally involved,” he said. “There was something to this.”
A short while later, Malcolm Mackinnon used a similar technique while talking to a group of bored, yawning children.
“The kids came closer, and they were paying attention,” he said.
But a drawing or painting is not the only thing that keeps the children’s attention now. Malcolm gives a children’s message each week at SLV Baptist and always has a twist or turn in the artwork and story.
For example, he has one painting of two homes — one looks shabby with a small yard, and the other appears to be a well-kept mansion. After asking the children which place they would rather live in — they usually answer the mansion, he said — he unfolds the bottom portion of the picture, showing a cliff’s edge underneath the mansion, held up by several small wooden posts, while the shabby home has a beautiful lawn.
The photo illustrates the Biblical story Jesus tells about building ones’s house, and life, on solid ground rather than sand.
“I try to be creative,” Malcolm Mackinnon said. “I try to think about interesting Bible stories, and I think of the final image — what I want to get across, and then ways to disguise the picture.”
Malcolm Mackinnon found that he loved talking to children, and he eventually worked in 13 schools in England giving talks with his artwork. He met his wife Donna at one of the schools where she was teaching.
The Mackinnons will now share their talks during the free after-school club in Room 15 at San Lorenzo Elementary, 7155 Highway 9, in Felton. Called the Good News Club, the Tuesday afternoon group for kindergartners through fifth-graders is open to children from all around the San Lorenzo Valley. They will play games, participate in activities and hear Malcolm Mackinnon’s stories.
The Mackinnons also host a youth group from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesdays at the church, 7301 Highway 9, in Felton.
To register for the club, families can visit the San Lorenzo Valley Elementary School office, 7155 Highway 9, in Felton; call the Mackinnon residence, 335-2657; or stop by the club.
To see Malcolm Mackinnon in action, go to www.youtube.com and search for “Malcolm Mackinnon children’s talk.” | <urn:uuid:10e471f1-dedd-4a4e-a162-683e14e196b8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://pressbanner.com/view/full_story/20144050/article-After-school-art--story-club-begins-in-Felton- | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973056 | 733 | 1.71875 | 2 |
The Tri-Border area
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguaythe argentine province of misiones occupies the thumb of the northeastern part of the country that pushes up against brazil on the north and east and against paraguay on the west... it's called the "tri-border" area and has been rife with smuggling for years and years... last year, the u.s. military cut a deal with paraguay to station u.s. troops on its soil...
(from september 2005... my post on the same subject
is from december 2005...)
Controversy is raging in Paraguay, where the US military is conducting secretive operations. 500 US troops arrived in the country on July 1st with planes, weapons and ammunition. Eyewitness reports prove that an airbase exists in Mariscal Estigarribia, Paraguay, which is 200 kilometers from the border with Bolivia and may be utilized by the US military. Officials in Paraguay claim the military operations are routine humanitarian efforts and deny that any plans are underway for a US base. Yet human rights groups in the area are deeply worried.
Paraguaynow the tri-border area is back on the radar and we can anticipate increasing u.s. involvement in the region, most likely, as this article states, via paraguay, a desperately poor country that, unlike argentina and brazil who keep the u.s. at arm's length, isn't likely to turn down aid of any sort, even if it's from the u.s...
For years, this [tri-border] region -- where the boundaries of Paraguay, Brazil and Argentina converge -- has been considered a teeming stew of globalization's more unseemly byproducts. Much of the trade that crosses the borders, officials say, is illegitimate. The region is full of smuggled goods and laundered money.the gwot gives the u.s. an excuse to stick its nose into EVERYONE'S business... and it's too bad it has to be in this area which contains one of the world's most spectacular natural attractions - foz de iguazu (iguazu falls)...
Now U.S. officials are launching a broad series of new measures aimed at uncovering money-laundering rings that they believe are funding Hezbollah and other radical groups.
Ciudad del Este's Friendship Bridge is a favored route for moving contraband goods into Brazil. U.S. investigators say that Arab immigrants are involved in laundering proceeds from black market sales to support such radical groups as Hezbollah in Lebanon.
"I am highly confident that's the case," said Daniel Glaser, deputy assistant treasury secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes. "We believe there is evidence."
The U.S. Embassy's legal adviser in Asuncion, Paraguay has held training courses during the past year for investigators and prosecutors in charge of combating possible terrorism links, according to the Justice Department.
Four times the width of Niagara Falls on the
US/Canadian border, Iguazu Falls are divided
by various islands into separate waterfalls
on various levels.
Submit To Propeller | <urn:uuid:c45c553d-791a-44e4-a2f7-41cc7f465d93> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://takeitpersonally.blogspot.com/2006_07_30_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937611 | 656 | 1.710938 | 2 |
U.S. economic recovery continues to look better, according to the stock market and a boatload of economic stats last week. Stocks jumped 133 points on the Dow, which hit a 30-month high following its seventh straight weekly rise. Early fourth-quarter profit reports from Alcoa, Intel, and JPMorgan all beat expectations. Share prices are back to June 2008 levels, before the financial meltdown.
Interesting factoid: The mid-cap S&P 400 is now a half percent above the Oct. 9, 2007, all-time stock market peak. Small-cap indexes are about 4 percent below that peak. The NASDAQ is just 2 percent below that peak, while the S&P 500 and the Dow are 17 percent below. I note this because what seemed to be unattainable now looks to be more attainable.
Stocks are a pretty good leading indicator of the economy. A message here is that we are healing.
Last week’s flurry of economic reports send the same message. The index of industrial production continues to rise, and is now 6 percent above year-ago levels. While we’re not getting any help from the housing sector, one positive surprise in this new recovery cycle is that manufacturing is leading the way. That’s good. People are still making things — including, by the way, business equipment. That sector is up 17 percent from year-ago, showing that profitable businesses are putting money to work in the supply side of the economy.
On the demand side, retail sales continue to rise, and are 8 percent above year-ago. And total sales throughout the economy — retail and wholesale — are running 8.5 percent above year-ago. Inventory-to-sales ratios are very low.
The glitches? Early inflation pressures continue. The producer price index jumped over 1 percent in December and is 4 percent above year-ago. Where’s Ben Bernanke’s deflation? Energy and food prices are soaring. The CRB food commodity index is up 35 percent over the past year. Crude oil is drifting toward $100. Raw industrials are up near 20 percent. Energy-price increases are spilling over into the CPI, with gasoline nearly 14 percent above December 2009.
Inflation is a tax on the economy: a tax on business profits and a tax on consumer incomes. This could be the biggest surprise of the new year. Far too much Fed pump priming and a shaky dollar could undermine the recovering economy.
To find out more about Lawrence Kudlow and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate web page at www.creators.com.
© Creators Syndicate Inc. | <urn:uuid:0b5f3db8-be3f-4491-ad2d-89c1a7cfd2ea> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.moneynews.com/LarryKudlow/larry-kudlow-Stocks-US/2011/01/18/id/383084 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943187 | 558 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Last night was the opening for the Quinlan Arts Center’s ‘Sound Off’, a juried exhibition of about sixty works of art inspired by music. In operation for more than 60 years, the Quinlan began as a sketch club in 1946 and has grown into a renowned regional arts organization. The exhibit will be up until August 13th.
The arts center is located on historic Green Street and while I didn’t get shots of the area, I found these lovely photos on Flickr by Robert Lz. Worth an hour’s drive north, just don’t go at rush hour.
Here are some shots from the opening. I spent some time talking to a few artists and one of the curators, art historian Ana Pozzi-Harris. The other curator, John Amoss, happened to be playing guitar in the band.
my painting Blues for Ravel, oil on canvas panel, 11″x14″. Inspired by Maurice Ravel’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, a late composition from 1923-27. He experimented with the jazz influenced second movement ‘Blues. Moderato’ and was himself influenced by American Blues and George Gershwin’s work.
My favorite piece in the show was Joseph L. ‘Doc’ Johnson’s Bango Drum. Mixed media. I talked to Doc at length about not just art, but his archaeological findings of early artifacts in the area. A limestone kiln was discovered in 2007 near Gainesville and this comprehensive article defines archaeology and describes the challenges of protecting Early Georgia sites. This link offers information on the timeline of early human activity in the Southeast.
Another interesting work was Marsha Richter’s Garden Mandala Quartet.
First prize winner Hyoungsesk Kim and his painted plywood sculpture, Embryo.
The HoboHemians played backup to the crowd’s hum with Django Reinhardt’s Hot Club renditions and other bouncy tunes.
Parking lot sculpture. | <urn:uuid:793d1729-59f4-405f-a637-0874e9abeffa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.furiousdreams.com/blog/?p=9402 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958769 | 424 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Our newest booklet will help you teach your community about the tragic human rights abuses in the Middle East, including gender and sexual apartheid and the lack of free speech and civil rights. Only 3 inches by 4 1/2 inches, this 32-page booklet fits into your pocket or purse. They are light and colorful and very popular with people of all ages. Order for your friends, synagogue, church, school, or campus.
Order a packet of 5 booklets or save money by ordering 25 or 100 booklets in a single order. For orders over 1,000 copies, please send us an e-mail with your request and contact information. We ship our brochures standard ground (7 to 10 business days). | <urn:uuid:97d47bad-1153-47e7-8530-2543132ae98b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.standwithus.com/Apartheid/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.934516 | 144 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Net Revenue per Acre Is Better than Yield per Acre
Jun 01, 2010
I was watching "AgDay" yesterday and noted in the business section that Mark Gold of Top Third Ag Marketing was the guest and had a discussion on how gross revenue per acre is more important than yield per acre. His insight was that it can be more important to budget for getting top marketing dollars for your crop than to worry about the greatest yield per acre. With the improvements in technology, farmers can get great yields on their crops; however, if they end up with the bottom third for their price, they will end up net losers for the crop year.
I believe that you need to take this concept one step further and key in on net revenue per acre, not gross revenue. My definition of net revenue per acre is to take your gross revenues from crop sales and government payments and then subtract all direct input costs related to this crop. For example, let's take two farms. One farmer is able to achieve 175 bu. of corn per acre and sells it for $3.75. The farmer spends $300 per acre on direct inputs (fertilizer, oil and gas, labor, etc.). The other farmer gets only 160 bu. per acre; however, he sells it for $4.00 per bushel and spends only $250 per acre on direct input costs. Which farmer makes the most money?
The answer is the second farmer. Farmer No. 1 has gross revenue of $656.25 per acre and net revenue per acre of $356.25. Farmer No. 2 has gross revenue of only $640.00 per acre; however, his net revenue is $390.00 per acre, which is about $34 higher than farmer No. 1.
As you can see, a farmer needs to key in on maximizing net revenue per acre, not just the yield per acre. | <urn:uuid:eb0056a0-0157-43b9-a568-163e344a0268> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.agweb.com/blog/The_Farm_CPA_243/Net_Revenue_per_Acre_Is_Better_than_Yield_per_Acre_10445/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948493 | 386 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Tags: boot , car , lightning , static electricity , sparks , cats , rubbing , Riyadh , Saudi Arabia
With its location should include Riyadh sure of the driest places on Earth. Rather, just as dry as it is in the desert. It brings so many things with it.
One of these things is the increased likelihood of static electricity. Once a humidity below 45%, results in faster charging of friction in humid air than was the case. According to our living room weather station we usually have thus 30% and probably a few out there, namely in the direction of less than 10%.
Now it is such that by movement of course is always friction in the game. For example, when moving in the car when you drive with your shoes on the floor mats. If you do not then watch out, you get to your car, when the door gets a tidy. And I mean a proper arc of reproducible up to 2 cm
Since my black dress shoes, unfortunately, have a full rubber sole, I know in advance that I'm using it to get off the feet must be very careful or I must stick to a drop off equipment. And I'm here to open the door with his left hand while still on the door frame until I got out with both feet and reached the floor. Excluding the hand off too early or had only one foot on the ground before you let go of the door frame, there is a reminder just another wiped Meanwhile, I've become accustomed to this conscious disembarking is already used so that a static discharge me for some time is no longer happening. Before I had got used to it, internally, where preparations were already on the beat as soon as the hand towards the car door for closing went. Meanwhile I am getting out but relaxed again
The cats relates to the increased probability of charge of course. So I often hear the caressing of the Panther Bitzeln in the fur and always wonder if they really feel it. Resisted, however, they have not yet Mean, if one has been stroked and then sniff their noses together. Since it can happen then know that a flash of a small nose. Because they have definitely not yet used, if one wants to give the look of both then Believe | <urn:uuid:c5a63010-aa39-4e92-bd2b-32ba60f3172a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cratoo.de/en/2010/06/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972628 | 454 | 1.679688 | 2 |
The deal with Santa Claus
When I was a child, my parents never introduced Santa Claus to my sister or me. We went shopping with my parents during December, so the source of people’s presents was perfectly clear. As the gifts were purchased, they were wrapped and placed under the tree throughout the month, and it was exciting to see the bounty of packages build up. Stockings were our one concession to popular Christmas lore, and we received things like travel-sized lotion, Chapstick, and floss in ours. This mythical Santa Claus was more of an “other people” concept; my sister and I simply accepted that other kids and other parents told each other this story, even if we didn’t do the same at our house, kind of like eating Lucky Charms. Mom warned us not to broach the subject of Santa Claus at school, lest we interfere with this familial conversation, so we didn’t let it slip that we didn’t believe in Santa Claus.
As an adult, the perpetuating story of Santa Claus still mystifies me. When I went to my first Thanksgiving with JG, I unknowingly opened a can of worms with the college-aged cousins by asking, “So, what’s the deal with Santa Claus? Is he a fairy, or what?”
“He’s not a fairy!”
“He’s a magical person!”
“Haven’t you ever seen The Santa Clause?”
“You were such a deprived child!”
Despite wild gesticulation, passionate rhetoric, and high volume, I was unable to grasp the childlike wonder that people associate with a belief in Santa Claus. Because I had never bought in, I was branded a cynic. The idea that Santa would watch over kids and mark down wrongs and rights was downright creepy, and no one seemed to mind that the North Pole has no viable landmass for a factory. Isn’t it at least understandable that an overweight, sweatshop-owning, speed-limit-breaking, cookie-stealing trespasser is hardly a comforting image, regardless of the quantity or quality of presents? Granted, I have a certain bias against breaking and entering because our house was burglarized when I was four, but still…
Outside of the “magic of Santa Claus” — which I interpret to mean breaking the sound barrier in a non-FTA-approved vehicle — my greatest conundrum regarding Santa Claus is that adults continue to insist on his existence among each other. My particular confusion excludes any type of child-storytelling, though that is a mystery on its own. What is it about Santa Claus that provokes twenty-year-old cousins to stand up, shake their fists, and cite Disney movies as proof of their beliefs? What is it that makes me have to thank Santa Claus when I know that the gift was from my mother-in-law, despite what the gift tag says? Is it an effort to recapture some idyllic time of innocence when “magical people” in sleighs were possible? Or is Santa Claus simply something to debate, like the echoes in “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer” or how exactly Frosty could ever come “back again someday”?
Frankly, my world was less complicated before I contemplated the existence of Santa Claus, thank you very much. | <urn:uuid:92483847-859a-45aa-8134-b4063d6e5f9d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://definitelyra.wordpress.com/2007/12/19/the-deal-with-santa-claus/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971919 | 723 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Home » Opinion » Editorials
Beer at liquor stores? Just say no
Foes say plan to hype nano brews is unconstitutional
NH House panel rejects beer tax increase
House Bill 275, sponsored by Rep. Robert Cushing, D-Hampton, would order the Liquor Commission to engage in a two-year pilot program under which it would sell and market beer brewed in New Hampshire.
Clearing regulatory obstacles that hinder the growth of New Hampshire's young craft beer industry is a worthy goal, and other legislation has been proposed to do that. This bill, though, has too many negatives.
The bill's fiscal note states that it is likely to reduce the state's income from state liquor stores because beer has a much lower profit margin than wine or spirits. That alone ought to be enough to doom the bill. Liquor store revenue helps keep other taxes low. We should not reduce that revenue just to help one small industry.
Even if the idea were revenue-neutral, there are other considerations. Beer is a lucrative revenue source for convenience stores and grocers, particularly those in border and tourist towns. And in the last few years, specialty beer stores have popped up to cater to craft beer enthusiasts. Adding beer to state liquor stores would force these businesses to compete with the state (as some do with wine), although at an even more pronounced disadvantage.
Liquor stores can get good prices through large volume discounts (as can chain grocers), and they have a monopoly at highway rest areas. Even with wine sales at liquor stores, tourists, particularly men, might make a side trip into town to buy beer. If liquor stores sell both beer and wine, the impact on local businesses could be profound, as traveling parties could get all of their alcohol from the state without having to leave the highway.
Legislators should spike this bill and focus on other regulatory burdens that hurt small breweries.
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UPDATED: Derry marks a soldier's death
Experts weigh in on UNH logo designs | <urn:uuid:40263d4b-3c0c-447f-803b-c64514b69405> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.unionleader.com/article/20130130/OPINION01/130139998/0/NEWS02 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947519 | 703 | 1.664063 | 2 |
Health insurance frauds: Experts warn of sharp rise in mediclaim scams
"In insurance industry, number of grievances received or number of frauds committed is an indicator of growth trend of particular segment. In entire insurance sector, 90 per cent of frauds and grievances come from health policies," said Niraj Kumar, General Manager, Oriental Insurance Company.
He was addressing a seminar on health insurance at Amity University yesterday.
Kumar said if one has to draw two curves for health insurance segment, one indicating growth and second learning curve, it can be observed that the growth curve is ahead of learning curve.
This, he added, implies that industry's main aim is only to sell and market health policies, but there are important takeaways in such shortcomings so that the level of mistrust between insured and insurer can be minimised.
Richard Kipp, Managing Director, consulting firm Milliman said, health insurance in India has increased tremendously over few years but India needs to be cautious in its growth vis-à-vis the US where growth has now become stagnant.
Neeraj Basur, Chief Financial Officer, Max Bupa Insurance Company said that there is lack of trust level among hospitals, third party administrators, insurance companies and customers.
The trust level has to improve and all stakeholders have to understand that it is the customer whose interest is the binding factor, he added.
R R Grover, Advisor,
Be the first to comment. | <urn:uuid:ec1fe53e-2cf4-4ba7-b22c-764cb8598abc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.financialexpress.com/news/health-insurance-frauds-experts-warn-of-sharp-rise-in-mediclaim-scams/1079294 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959118 | 295 | 1.59375 | 2 |
(TREND HUNTER) Scarification is the next big thing in the tattoo world–although clearly it is not a tattoo. Scarification refers instead to the practice of using scar tissue naturally produced by the body to form designs,… [More]
Please read the rest of Trend Hunter’s article and then come back here for more on this important subject.
This is a very, very extreme form of design on skin. This can only be reversed by having skin grafts which would look much worse than the controlled design of the scarification, as such, scarification should not be taken lightly and thoroughly thought out prior to having this done.
You are taking the chance of Keloids, which form within scar tissue. Collagen, used in wound repair, tends to overgrow in this area, sometimes producing a lump many times larger than that of the original scar. You have a higher risk of infection due to the large areas and depth of the open wound that needs to heal.
Let us face facts, you are paying someone other than a doctor or nurse to take a scalpel and cut free sections of your skin in a designed pattern you have chosen. You must be sure that this individual is extremely hygienic in preparation for this, that all products are sterile and that you are healthy enough to do this. The area for scarification must be exceptionally cleaned before, during and after the procedure to avoid getting a staph infection. Remember, they are cutting away strips of your skin. This will be more painful than you ever thought a tattoo would be and if you thought tattoos were permanent, with this, there is no going back, no changing your mind once it is done.
Think carefully before you do this. If you still want to go for it, check out the people who are doing it and be sure you are in good hands before paying for this with your skin and money.
Scarab Body Arts is a studio dedicated to scarification and is the source for this photo. But these are only bits and pieces of our body parts and not the whole person. Rectify the beautiful girl in the above picture with these below and imagine that lovely face with this style of “art.”
Branding is another way to achieve scarification, but the cutting gives a more precise design and can be controlled easier. Both are painful and you will not know how evenly you will scar until after you have done this procedure.
Personally, I don’t care for this trend and hope that the individuals that have this done don’t regret this decision down the road. I know everyone says that about tattoos as well, but to me, tattoos and scarification are two very separate forms of body modification in that tattoos are like putting permanent clothes on, and scarification/branding are definitely modifying your body for life. I can remove a tattoo or cover it with another one. Scars, especially if you tend to Keloid, are there forever and can cause you problems if the Keloids get out of control.
You don’t know if you Keloid until it happens, so is it really worth it? Only you can decide for your self and while it isn’t for me, I want those that do it to be safe and hopefully happy with the results considering what you will go through to get it. | <urn:uuid:936c1b6e-c343-46b0-8638-26138c4ade67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://delaney55.wordpress.com/2008/11/08/scarification-is-this-trend-going-too-far/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964641 | 683 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Albany, N.Y. (AP) - A group advocating smokers' rights has sued the New York Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation to remove outdoor no-smoking signs from state parks, beaches, pools and historic sites, saying they subject smokers to hostile confrontations.
NYC Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment says the signs are misleading since the Cuomo administration in May suspended planned restrictions that would be enforced with a potential disorderly conduct ticket.
Parks officials instead plan to make a formal rule to designate smoke-free areas in limited outdoor settings within its 178 state parks and 35 historic sites.
They aim to ban smoking where many people congregate, like playgrounds, pools and all state parks in New York City.
Meanwhile, signs remain up with voluntary compliance.
The suit also opposes new regulations to limit outdoor smoking.
(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) | <urn:uuid:ef20087c-3c7c-47a5-b740-9bee9bc0603a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.13wham.com/news/local/story/No-Smoking-Signs-New-York-State-Parks/UsFWC1KTl0K2DFr1cO_CLg.cspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705559639/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115919-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933546 | 199 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Arielle Moore says her classmates constantly threw paper, flipped lights and smoked in the classroom, making it an impossible learning environment.
Strobe lights and smoke in the air are common in a night club, but in a classroom?
A freshman at Clayton Valley High School in Concord, California says that's just what she had to endure in algebra as her classmates went wild.
"People smoking marijuana in the classroom. They smoke cigarettes." Arielle said. "There was one kid who peed in a bottle and threw it across the room."
Arielle Moore used her cell phone to capture 30 seconds of the bizarre behavior she witnessed in her class so she could show her parents how hard it was to learn in the environment.
When school officials saw the chaotic snippet, they suspended a few students -- including Arielle. They say she wasn't allowed to videotape the classroom.
They eventually cleared Arielle's suspension. | <urn:uuid:64fa31fc-bec6-475a-9813-95457755521d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/weird/Girl-Suspended-for-Taping-Chaos-in-Classroom.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978073 | 189 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Capitalist Revolutionary | Keynes Hayek
Roger E Backhouse & Bradley W Bateman | Nicholas Wapshott
Capitalist Revolutionary: John Maynard Keynes
Roger E Backhouse & Bradley W Bateman
Harvard University Press, 208pp, £20
Keynes Hayek: the Clash That Defined Modern Economics
W W Norton, 382pp, £18.99
The ideal of good capitalism is now in vogue. Ed Miliband, Will Hutton, Vince Cable and Robert Skidelsky are all for it - some explicitly and others implicitly. On one level, this is hardly surprising: given a choice between good and bad capitalism, who but a pantomime villain would opt for the latter? But there is more to the vogue than that. Since the implosion of the Soviet empire 20-odd years ago, bad capitalism has ruled the roost almost everywhere. The long, slow march from the buccaneering, exploitative capitalism of the 19th century to the tamed capitalism of the mid-20th has gone into reverse. Inequality has soared, welfare entitlements have been cut back, social capital has been run down and private interests have ridden roughshod over the public good. To cap it all, a decade of manic speculation and debt-fuelled consumption recently culminated in the second most destructive financial and economic crisis in capitalist history.
Though the evils of bad capitalism are manifest, it is not so clear how to switch to good capitalism. In the immediate aftermath of the crisis, the answer seemed obvious: regulation. Unfortunately, that is less an answer than another way of phrasing the question. Regulation is never morally neutral. Regulators need to have remits of some kind and the remits are bound to reflect values. To regulate at all, they have to have some notion of how a capitalist economy ought to function; and economics is not a value-free "science", as too many modern economists, in thrall to physics envy, like to think.
From Adam Smith to John Maynard Keynes, the great economists of the past saw economics as a historical, philosophical and, above all, moral discipline: not for nothing was it, in its early days at Cambridge, part of the moral sciences tripos. It was not until the second half of the last century that mathematics drove out ethics, history and philosophy, with disastrous results: one of them was the proliferation of sophisticated forms of financial engineering that were supposed to have banished risk and that led to the crash of 2008. The first step to good capitalism, therefore, is to re-moralise economics.
In their tantalisingly brief but thought-provoking study of Keynes, Roger E Backhouse and Bradley W Bateman have started to do just that. Keynes, they show, was much more than an astonishingly innovative economic theorist and accomplished man of affairs. He was also a moral philosopher. Unless economic progress has a moral objective, he wrote, "we must not sacrifice, even for a day, moral to material advantage". He abhorred the utilitarian world view that lay at the heart of classical economic theory. The fundamental utilitarian dogma - that markets are driven by rational, individual utility maximisers - seemed to him morally repulsive as well as factually incorrect. He thought that capitalism was the least bad economic system available but he also thought it was morally defective. The moral problem of the age, he wrote, was:
. . . concerned with the love of money, with the habitual appeal to the money motive in nine-tenths of the activities of life, with the universal striving after individual economic security as the prime object of endeavour, with the social approbation of money as the measure of constructive success, and with the social appeal to the hoarding instinct as the foundations of the necessary provision for the family and for the future.
Unfortunately, Keynes's alternative to utilitarianism was also defective. As an undergraduate at Cambridge and later as a member of the Bloomsbury group, he had learned his ethics from the Cambridge philosopher G E Moore. Backhouse and Bateman show that Keynes's economic vision was saturated with Moore-ite assumptions. Moore was no utilitarian; the individual utility maximiser played no part in his system. Yet he, too, was an individualist - more so, in some ways, than the utilitarians had been. For him, morality was private, not public; only "states of mind" were valuable in themselves and the most valuable were "the pleasures of human intercourse and the enjoyment of beautiful objects".
In place of the individual utility maximiser was the individual host to states of mind and participant in human intercourse. In some of his writings, Keynes looked forward to a day when uplifting states of mind would supersede vulgar money-grubbing but he never escaped from the ethical narcissism of his youth and early manhood. He offered good capitalism in the distant future, when society was rich enough to afford it. In the meantime, the most that could be hoped for was state intervention to mitigate the worst excesses of bad capitalism. As the collapse of the Keynesian system in the 1970s and early 1980s made brutally clear, it was not enough.
It still isn't. One of the most dangerous failings of the left is its persistent unwillingness to see that bad capitalism has been legitimised by a passionately held moral vision: that, as Nicholas Wapshott shows in his path-breaking account of the long intellectual duel between Friedrich Hayek and Keynes, Hayekian neoliberals do not believe that bad capitalism is bad. On the contrary, they believe it is good, or at least as good as it gets. For Hayek, the managed economy that Keynes and his followers begat was the first step on the road to serfdom. For him and his neoliberal disciples, the unhindered pursuit of individual self-interest in free, competitive markets is morally right, as well as economically efficient.
Despite the current crisis, this vision is still enormously seductive. It bathes immense disparities of reward in the odour of sanctity. It tells the ultra-rich that they are morally entitled to their riches and assures the aspirant middle and working classes that if they obey its precepts, they, too, will be rich, or at least richer. Above all, it runs with the grain of a society in awe of the holy trinity of choice, freedom and the individual, in virtually every sphere of life, from the most intimate to the most public.
Good capitalism will not replace bad capitalism until that trinity is toppled from its perch. What is needed is a new public philosophy, hammered out in a national conversation transcending old divisions of party and creed. The conversation has already started. Will Hutton's Them and Us and Martha Nussbaum's Not for Profit are notable contributions to it. So are Rowan Williams's recent interventions in public debate and so is the Occupy movement . We can't know how it will end. Yet the objective is clear: to weave together the insights of Burkean conservatives, social liberals such as John Stuart Mill, ethical socialists such as R H Tawney, faith communities and, not least, the burgeoning green movement. The great challenge of our times is to make that conversation bite.
David Marquand's latest book is "The End of the West: the Once and Future Europe" (Princeton University Press, £16.95)
Tags: John Maynard Keynes
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- Eleanor Margolis | <urn:uuid:5ba530c4-d61f-4f9b-b483-7e640d89a2d8> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.newstatesman.com/books/2012/03/capitalist-revolutionary-keynes-hayek | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959176 | 1,646 | 1.84375 | 2 |
In 2008, Traders Hotel, Manila began working with Baranggay Maytubig. The hotel adopted the neighboring local community and started its engagement to assess their needs for the Embrace project called Maytubig Day Care Center (MDC). The day care was primarily run by Community Government Officials in tandem with the Department of Social Welfare and Development and recently supported by the hotel. In 2009, there were 30 kids enrolled; in 2012, the hotel sponsored 35 kids at the centre, ranging from 3-5 years old.
The target for the first 5 years will be a transformation from a kids day care centre to a learning hub for grade school and high school youth. The aim is to combat poverty by providing them with education and sourcing free scholarships. The centre will be a place where they can study and do research. Graduates from the scholarships will also be the future caretakers of the kids from the day care. Since they came from it, the hotel believes that they will then take care of it.
Colleagues participate in the special programmes planned for the kids of the Maytubig Day Care Center. Some of the annual activities carried out through staff volunteer involvement include a recognition day for the honorable students (March), refurbishment of the day care centre (May/June), nutrition month parade (July), educational field trip (September), Trick or Treat (October) and Christmas party (December).
Traders Hotel, Manila gives its support to out-of-school youth and young adults by providing great opportunities through training programmes for those who want to learn and make their own small enterprises; and a six-month internship programme in the hotel for those who want to work. They will be assigned to specific department where they will learn and excel. The ones who have completed the programme will be given a chance to be part of the Traders talent pool for future employment.
The hotel has prepared a number of planned programmes for the Maytubig Day Care Center. The most recent activity for the 2012-2013 school year was titled Trick or Treat this Halloween, where the kids of Maytubig Day Care Center wore costumes and volunteers offered tours of the hotel. All colleagues were encouraged to take part in the programme by decorating their work areas, wearing costumes and giving out candy to the kids who came by their areas. Afterwards, the kids, together with their parents and teachers, were served meals. The hotel also gave gifts to the kids who wore the best costumes.
Visit or contribute to Baranggay Maytubig.
For details, please contact Traders Hotel Manila’s Human Resources Department at (632) 708-4888 ext. 2922. | <urn:uuid:dcea3145-e103-4d42-9789-ba202b22796a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shangri-la.com/corporate/about-us/corporate-social-responsibility/csr-projects/embrace/combating-poverty-with-education/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959189 | 542 | 1.601563 | 2 |
Whatever candidate (if any) you’re in favor of, we could bet that you’re probably tired of seeing advertisements and political signs everywhere. [Mark] wrote in with a hack that allows you to actually use these signs for something fun, making a RC airplane!
[Mark] gives a full bill of materials in his article, but the featured component is campaign sign. This isn’t LawyerADay, so we’re not sure of the legality of taking them. After election day at least, it’s doubtful anyone will care. Of course you’ll also need a motor, prop, and RC controls, as well as some dowels to attach the tail section to the main body, so don’t buy the “campaign promise” that this is a free airplane.
CAD diagrams are available of the cutouts, as well as how to cut the signs to form hinges without any other parts. This is quite clever, and a video of the plane in action on a table is available on the site. According to [Mark], no video was rolling on its test flight, but it did fly before some interference grounded the plane. Hopefully he’ll be able to get some footage of it in action soon! | <urn:uuid:be76cda1-7ba4-4bc5-bba3-2397b9d8287d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://hackaday.com/2012/10/27/rc-airplane-made-from-political-signs/?like=1&source=post_flair&_wpnonce=a832ba55c5 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963029 | 262 | 1.84375 | 2 |
|Uploaded:||October 25, 2008|
|Updated:||October 25, 2008|
Well I thought I was going to be gone for the day but I found two tutorials left in my vault that just needed to be submitted. In this next drawing lesson I will be showing you how to draw Gary the snail from SpongeBob Squarepants step by step. Now everyone knows this snail from the popular Nickelodeon animated series SpongeBob Squarepants. Gary is a delightful little pet that is pink and green in color with big round snail like eyes. He moves slow but not that slow and he often leaves a trail of snail slim behind him when he is excited from being happy or nervous. SpongeBob absolutely loves his darling pet snail unconditionally. I mean even when he thought that Gary wanted to be with Patrick instead of him, he still tried to get his loved pet back. Of course the tears that SpongeBob shed for Gary in that episode was wasted because the only reason why Gary wanted to be with Patrick is because he had a cookie in his back pocket. Gary may be a snail in appearance, but inside he is all cat. For a sea critter you would think that naturally he would make some sort of bubbly nose or something right? But no, that is not the case when it comes to Gary the snail. Instead he communicates by meowing and he also has a full set of teeth. There was an episode when Squidward bought a female pet snail for the snail race competition which SpongeBob almost forcefully signed Gary up for. That was totally hilarious especially when Gary kept getting flat tires. That was a sweet episode, there is so many different episodes to choose from it really is hard to label one particular show that I could call my favorite. In this lesson you will learn how to draw Gary the snail from SpongeBob Squarepants step by step. I will be back in a jiffy folks with one more tutorial from my secret vault of sketches in a bit so stay tuned kiddies. | <urn:uuid:05aaa18a-0326-4aef-960a-8faf561566da> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dragoart.com/tuts/1048/4/1/how-to-draw-gary-the-snail-from-spongebob-squarepants-drawing-sheet.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980246 | 406 | 1.703125 | 2 |
It’s a pity Shakespeare (1564-1616) is no longer compulsory reading in Singapore schools. So many girls here have the perfect figure to play the boy-girl roles of Shakespeare’s comedies. No offence meant. It’s just that Shakespeare is taken so seriously it throws people off. Lighten up, please, Shakespeare wrote for entertainment. One may ask where’s the fun in King Lear or Hamlet. Well, for now, I will confine myself to the comedies only.
The choice may seem curious, particularly on this day which may or may not be his birthday but is certainly his death anniversary. But we all have our favourites and I prefer the comedies.
I just commented on the figures of the heroines of Shakespeare’s comedies. Obviously they couldn’t be DD cups if they had to pass themselves off as young men, which they did so well that other women fell in love with them. Much of the fun in Shakespeare’s comedies comes from the sexual confusion of the characters in the plays. In Twelfth Night, Orsino woos Olivia, who falls in love with Viola, who is in love with Orsino. No, Olivia isn’t a lesbian, she sees Viola dressed as the youth, Cesario. Now there’s no way Viola could have passed off as a youth if she had DD cups. Rosalind, in As You Like It, couldn’t have had an hourglass figure either — or she wouldn’t have been able to dress up as the young man, Ganymede. Not even her father, the Duke, nor her lover, Orlando, can recognise her.
One wonders about the men in Shakespeare’s comedies. They are silly putty in the women’s hands! Excluding Prospero the magician in The Tempest, of course. That’s why I love the comedies. They get the sex thing so right! I know, being a married man myself. Not that my wife could have ever passed herself off as a young man. Thank goodness, I wouldn’t have liked being fooled like Orlando!
But my wife has the same high spirits and vivacity as Rosalind. That’s what’s so attractive about the heroines of Shakespeare’s comedies — their wit and vivacity and high spirits. I think that’s what Shakespeare prized most about women. He couldn’t have been one of those gentlemen who prefer blondes. The Dark Lady of his sonnets had to be a brunette. She could have even been black, according to the writer William Boyd. Shakespeare, of course, expressed mixed feelings about the Dark Lady. But the exotic appealed to him. Otherwise how could his most celebrated heroine be the Egyptian Cleopatra? He was alive to sexual attractions across colour lines and their tensions too, or he wouldn’t have written Othello. But I am straying from the comedies.
My wife prefers the tragedies. After all, she teaches Shakespeare in her college in Calcutta (Kolkata). But I prefer the high jinks of the comedies. And the fun doesn’t stop at cross-dressing. There are other complications too. Think of the shenanigans in the wood near Athens in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Act II, Scene 2 and Act III, Scenes 1 and 2.
Shakespeare can be bawdy but not lascivious. I haven’t read Venus and Adonis and his Poems so I don’t really know, but I don’t think he wrote anything as explicit as some of the passages in Spenser’s Faerie Queene.
My Shakespeare is far from perfect but I am grateful we had to do Shakespeare in school in India. So did my son for his Indian School Certificate examination before going to college in America last year. He and I both read Julius Caesar but he also had to read The Tempest.
By the way, yesterday was Lenin’s birthday. | <urn:uuid:1b31d049-d630-4221-a99e-d2bb0e00f9ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pressrun.net/weblog/2006/04/shakespeare.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969989 | 860 | 1.773438 | 2 |
In The Nation, art critic Barry Schwabsky, an American living in England, writes:
In recent decades the philosophy of art has been much preoccupied with the enigma of why a given object does or doesn't count as a work of art. Since the challenge of Duchamp's Fountain and other readymades, according to the Belgian writer Thierry de Duve, the form of aesthetic judgment has undergone a shift: from "this is beautiful" to, simply, "this is art." For the philosopher, art status is like a light switch, either on or off. But the everyday art world is nothing like that, which is why the sociologist Howard Becker complains that the philosopher's art world "does not have much meat on its bones." For Becker, as for artists, collectors and critics, whether something is a work of art or not is the least of it. In the sociologist's art world, hierarchies, rankings and orders of distinction proliferate. Status and reputation are all, and questions about them abound. Why does the seemingly kitschy work of Jeff Koons hang in great museums around the world while the equally cheesy paintings of Thomas Kinkade would never be considered?...
The same kinds of question could be asked in other fields, but in the art of the past hundred years or so such questions have been of the essence: art is the field that exists in order for there to be contention about what art is. And such questions are not just for the cognoscenti; they've caught the fancy of a broad public as well. Once the man in the street saw a Picasso painting and said, "My kid could do better." Today, that child has grown up and is bemused but no longer outraged to read that a shark in a fish tank is worth a fortune but has been generously loaned to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Now he admires, at least grudgingly, the clever scamp who could orchestrate that, and finds the whole affair rather interesting to talk about--even if the object itself might not, he suspects, be much to look at.
The idea that the man in the street talks about Damien Hirst or anyone else of his ilk is a very London-centric notion. On my walks, I drop in sometimes at the two local art galleries, which sell mostly to mid-level entertainment industry people concerned with impressing other entertainment industry people. Neither gallery would touch a stuffed shark. They sell mostly representational or quasi-representational paintings by living artists that are fairly attractive -- stuff that would be pleasant (or at least tolerable) to have in your house. There's more professional visual talent in LA -- directors of photography, set decorators, costume designers, editors, special effects directors, lighting men, etc. -- than probably anywhere else in the world. And the contemporary art scene is of little interest here.
This is not to say that at the high end of the LA social scale, the values of the contemporary art world are not upheld. For example, LA's community-leader-for-life, billionaire real estate developer Eli Broad, has used his vast wealth to scar the city with his hideous artistic taste:
This is the enormous sculpture that Broad paid to have implanted outside the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. From one angle, it looks like a chicken's skeleton made out of old airplane parts. I guess its prominent position is supposed to be an "ironic" reference to Los Angeles's historic role in the airplane industry. It's a whole bunch of twisted airplane parts scrambled together like the worst airplane crash in the history of the world. My father, a stress engineer at Lockheed, spent 40 years squinting at microscopic photographs of metal fatigue precisely to prevent beautiful airplanes from turning into abortions like this -- because in the real crashes he investigated, where he spent weeks picking parts out swamps and wheat fields to figure out why the plane went down, intertangled with the metal bits were scraps of human flesh.
Schwabsky goes on to allude to the fact that the question of what get's called "art" in our culture is less philosophical than sociological:
One unusual aspect of the art world--at least among the people who buy art rather than make it--goes unmentioned by Thornton, although a number of her interlocutors subtly allude to it: the fact that, at least in the United States and England, art's collectorship is heavily Jewish, and perhaps to a lesser extent, so is its "administration." Consider that in London, the unprecedented intensity of interest in contemporary art might never have happened were it not for the efforts of two men, both Jewish: the Iraqi-born collector Charles Saatchi and Nicholas Serota, the director of the Tate Gallery. One collector compares an evening sale at Christie's to "going to synagogue on the High Holidays. Everybody knows everybody else, but they only see each other three times a year, so they are chatting and catching up." A Turner Prize judge compares art to the Talmud: "an ongoing, open-ended dialogue that allows multiple points of view." Thornton observes the director of Art Basel, the world's most important contemporary art fair, making his round of the stands: he shmoozes his clients, the dealers, in French, Italian and German, and, Thornton observes, "I believe I even heard him say 'Shalom.'"The implicitly Jewish ethos surely feeds into the feeling that the art world is somehow set apart, part of the establishment perhaps but only "in a funny sense."It's important to keep in mind that the Museum of Modern Art in NYC is a high WASP creation -- the founding committee met in John D. Rockefeller Jr.'s living room.
Still, it's not just Jewish buyers, but also Jewish critics, too, who determine "what is art" these days, as Tom Wolfe pointed out in his wonderful little book The Painted Word a third of a century ago. Rather than write about three famous gentile painters of the 1940s-1960s, Pollock, Rauschenberg, and Johns, he wrotes about the three Jewish critics, Greenberg, Rosenberg, and Steinberg, respectively, who explained why we should care about them.
And for awhile, Americans did care about contemporary art. Time and Life used to run detailed coverage of the New York art scene when I was a kid. But now, the near-universal opinion in America is that contemporary art of the airplane crash sculpure variety is not just a joke, but an unfunny joke, so nobody pays any attention anymore. Now that Dave Barry has retired, I almost never hear about the British Turner Prize anymore in American publications.
I suspect that one reason that the contemporary art scene in Britain is going stronger than in America is because Britain has fewer Jews, so contemporary art got a later start as a big whoop-tee-doo, so the public hasn't gotten quite as sick of it yet.
The basic problem is that Jews tend to be cognitively stronger with words than with images, so they are better at making up theories about why a stuffed shark is art rather than determining which art objects are beautiful and which are not. (To see how stark the ethnic cognitive divide is, look at lists of nominees for the Oscar in Best Cinematography vs. the Oscar nominees for Best Adapted and Best Original screenplays.)
When artistic status is largely determined by critics and collectors who, on average, come from a culture where people are cognitively stronger with words and numbers than with images, who are better at making up verbal theories than at painting pictures, you get in-joke art for people who want other people to notice that they are smart enough to get the joke.
golf course architecture, which functions exactly like a traditional art form, is never considered "art." (The pictures are from the Cypress Point Golf Club, designed in the 1920s by Alister MacKenzie.) Golf course architecture has had its ups and downs, but it hasn't driven itself into a ditch like contemporary art. For once, the WASP upper class, which runs the United States Golf Association, didn't lose it head. It kept sending the U.S. Open back to the great pre-1930 courses, keeping alive old standards of excellence.
Thus, here's the last course designed by Mike Strantz, the remake of the Monterey Peninsula Shore Course, before his death at age 50 in 2005 (golf course architecture has needed a romantic hero who died young):
Cognitive ability makes a big difference in art criticism. For instance, I have a decent two-dimensional visual capability (I can often figure out the designer of an unknown golf course I see from an airplane), but I'm weak at three dimensions. For a long time, this lack didn't stop me from confidently sounding off about golf course architecture. But as I've gotten to know the inner circle of golf architecture aficionados over the last few years, people like electrician Tommy Naccarato, one of the most influential amateur enthusiasts in the country, who has on file in his brain 3-d maps of thousands of golf holes, I've found myself with less to say on the subject as I better grasp my shortcomings. It's not just that they've worked harder at understanding golf course architecture than I have, but that they're smarter at it than I'll ever be. | <urn:uuid:f37b4e8a-a231-4f03-9045-5fffb6502d22> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://isteve.blogspot.ca/2008_11_09_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963958 | 1,940 | 1.632813 | 2 |
I am deeply saddened by the loss of innocent life in Newtown, Connecticut.
However, I am grieved by the answers given by a number of psychologists and other professionals to the questions of "why" or "how" a person could do such a horrible thing as taking the life of innocent people, especially children.
I have heard answers that range from, "we don't know why people do these things," to using words I can neither spell nor pronounce to describe some sort of mental disorder. They also advised us not to be afraid to discuss these horrific events with our children, and to be sure to encourage our children to talk about their feelings and to remind them that our schools and our homes remain a safe haven for them.
May I suggest the answers to such difficult questions are within our reach. They are right before our eyes. The answers are provided by God, the author of life, and they apply to every man, woman, and child.
While we discuss the reasons for the latest tragedy at Sandy Hook school, consider the number of threats and/or potential lawsuits regarding the presence of the Ten Commandments, a nativity scene, or any reference to God in our schools, government buildings or on public lawns.
We have already seen a renewed interest in gun control legislation. Some individuals will call for better security in our schools and public buildings. Some individuals will say the right answer is to arm our teachers, public officials or the public at large.
There will be additional measures either suggested or taken that will appear to solve the increasing rise in violence against humanity, but I doubt if they will work. After all, if we would only pass legislation to prohibit drunk driving, then there would be no more deaths from drunk driving. And if we would pass laws that prohibit drug usage than we would have no more deaths from drug overdoses.
America needs to get back to the basics of what made this country great...a belief in God who created life and the world.
Our world, our culture will continue to see an increase in tragedies, injustice, pain and heartache because man will continue to reject the truth of God’s word.
WILLIAM K. TOBIAS/Grand Blanc
Check out more Flint Journal Opinion pieces and letters at www.mlive.com/opinion/flint. | <urn:uuid:4b90f005-7222-4b0a-80c5-a35d863720d1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mlive.com/opinion/flint/index.ssf/2012/12/letter_william_k_tobias.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.959453 | 475 | 1.679688 | 2 |
What are we missing? Is there a key link we skipped, or a part of the story we got wrong?
Let us know — we’re counting on you to help Encyclo get better.
The Journal Sentinel was created of the 1995 consolidation of the Milwaukee Journal and Sentinel. Journal Communications, which also owns numerous weekly newspapers and radio and television stations, was employee-owned until going public in 2003.
The Journal Sentinel has charged for access to its Packer Insider site since 2001 and began charging for its website in January 2012. It offers a metered model, with the first 20 articles per month free, and a digital subscription costing $2.35 per week. In the initial stages of the plan, about three quarters of the online subscribers came from outside the Milwaukee area, largely because of interest in the paper’s coverage of the Green Bay Packers.
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that allows content creators to designate how they want to exercise their intellectual property rights, primarily online. Creative Commons was founded in 2001 by a group of law and intellectual property experts that included Lawrence Lessig, Hal Abelson, Eric Eldred, and Eric Saltzman as an alternative to the “all… | <urn:uuid:898e1035-b2d4-482a-ad31-f6086f9fe421> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.niemanlab.org/encyclo/milwaukee-journal-sentinel/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948107 | 247 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Patriots and Politics
The Hiller Instinct: Patriots and Politics
After watching the playoffs this weekend, I wish politicians had to play by the same rules as the Patriots...
The biggest difference between the Pats and the pols is that--in the NFL--the game ends.
But, in Washington , the game never ends: one fiscal cliff only leads to another. And if it even looks like politicians are getting ready to make a tough call, there's always a filibuster that can delay the game.
Another big difference: in the NFL, you always know who won the game; but, in Washington, you can't be sure.
Washington's two political teams--the Democrats and the Republicans--claim victory no matter what legislation is passed, and each calls the other "losers."
Since neither side ever admits a loss, no one really knows who's winning or losing.
In football, referees make sure the teams play by the rules.
But, in Washington, there are no referees to keep the political game honest.
Instead there are advocates, lobbyists and strategists all working to get laws and rules changed in their favor.
So it's no mistake the New England Patriots have our respect... While our patriots in Washington usually don't. Patriot games have more integrity than political games. | <urn:uuid:b4735602-23ba-4899-9913-f3dd7d6ec2fd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www1.whdh.com/features/articles/hiller/BO149536/patriots-and-politics/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.957633 | 268 | 1.773438 | 2 |
Fond Memories: The Oregon Trail
Does the classroom classic really hold up?
As advanced and beautiful as games may be these days, it's good to know your history. With over three decades of videogame releases, there are hundreds of titles from yesteryear that still hold a special place in our hearts. Games may be getting longer, prettier, and more complex, but that doesn't take anything away from games we played back in the day, and that's where our Fond Memories come in...
Game: The Oregon Trail
Platform(s): Apple II series, Mac, PC, Atari 8-bit
Release Date: Original created in 1971, re-released multiple times
Favorite Line: "You died of cholera."
Favorite Moments: Reaching Chimney Rock, hunting buffalo, leaving nasty tombstones in my wake...
Remember when computers first started appearing in schools in the eighties? Apple IIs, TI-99s, and Commodores materialized in the backs of classroom like magic oracles. More fortunate schools benefited from full computer labs -- dedicated rooms lined with monitors and keyboards. Here, students were supposed to dip their toes into the impending digital world -- a bold coming age where the entire workforce was refashioned and information became a precious but plentiful commodity.
Students waited very patiently for the rhapsodizing to end so they could attend to the business of not dying from cholera. Really, that's all these computer classes were to Reagan Era kids -- an excuse to play Oregon Trail and Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego. Learning was involved, though, as these twin titans were loaded with historical facts. But it was done on the sly. The path to Oregon ran right through lessons on geography and the need for smart resource allocation. (If only these budgeting tutorials were remembered over the last few years...)
Certain games take on a life of their own thanks to heady doses of nostalgia. Oregon Trail is most certainly one of those games. The game is almost universally celebrated by gamers in their thirties because it represents a very special time in their lives. Gameloft's upcoming Oregon Trail remake for the iPhone is eagerly anticipated because of this finely-aged good will.
However, nostalgia has a tendency to sand down the rough edges of the real deal. And so with that in mind, let's take a peek at Oregon Trail in the cold light of 2009 and see if it is truly an ageless classic or if it is better left on the memory shelf.
What It Was All About
Oregon Trail is actually much older than the eighties. Creators Paul Dillenberger, Bill Heinemann, and Don Rawitsch originally put the game together in 1971. It wasn't until 1974 that Oregon Trail started to catch fire when it was spread by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium (MECC) through a school network. Soon, it was commercialized and sold on floppy disks nationwide. Over time, it was updated and eventually became the game we all now know by heart.
The goal of Oregon Trail is to reach the sweet grasses of the fertile Willamette Valley. You travel the famed Oregon Trail that thousands of wagons took in the 19th Century, starting in Independence, Missouri. Right away, you must make some critical decisions that affect the rest of the game and the fortunes of your settlers. When did you want to make the journey? Starting earlier in the year would make frontload the trip with hardship, for example. Your previous career also affected your performance. Were you a banker, and thus able to manage money better? Or were you a carpenter, in turn making it easier for you to maintain your wagon?
Once you had made your selections, you started out along the trail. The journey is no cakewalk. You are constantly under threat of sickness and disaster. How many settlers lost their lives to cholera and dysentery because of poor planning or riding the trail too hard? Setting the right speed for your journey is important because you run through food and supplies much faster by hurrying too often. The oxen that pull your carts cannot withstand three months of rushing. However, taking your time wasn't always a good idea. Extra exposure to the elements often resulted in trouble. And then there is resource management. There are towns where you can buy necessary supplies. This is where being a banker could come in particularly useful since you started with extra cash. But on the other hand, if you were a carpenter, you didn't need to buy as many repair parts since you kept your wagon tip-top by default. See, every decision puts out ripples that affect almost all facets of the game.
Hunting minigameCome to think of it, Oregon Trail might be one of the earliest instances of minigames, too. If you ran low on food, for example, you could go hunting in a very rudimentary shooting event. You just shoot animals that scamper across the screen. It's not heavy action, but we took all the action we could get before going home and turning on traditional videogames like the Atari 2600.
Lest it go overlooked, one of the best features in Oregon Trail is dying. It's not because reaching Oregon is some kind of bummer; you could leave your names behind on tombstones for other players to see. This meant the game was ripe with opportunities for troublemaking. Raise your hand if you were able to sneak in a vulgar tombstone.
Why I Loved The Game
What is so astounding about Oregon Trail -- the original Oregon Trail, that is -- is that all of this holds up. The genius of the design is that it doesn't smother you with decisions like so many current real-time strategy games. Your choices are limited, but none of them are superfluous. Everything has real weight. And because these decisions really do affect the flow of the game, each pass through it is truly different as long as you don't always adhere to the same strategies. Even then, you still have unforeseen troubles popping up right and left that keeps you on your toes.
While kids tried to get through the learning as quick as they could in 1985, you'll be struck by the pacing of the educational attempts in Oregon Trail now. MECC knew something that so many imitators did not. Do not beat kids over the head with facts and figures. Instead, make reaching a landmark something of a reward and then slip that history lesson in there. Carmen Sandiego was genius at this, too. You want to catch this international villain with the awesome trench coat so bad that you are happy to find out the number one export in Peru.
More games could stand to learn from these classics. And that goes for hardcore games, too. Any game that has to do with something historical should feature some cleverly hidden education. Look at God of War. There is some great mythology in there and it is presented in such a way that you might be inspired to look up more about the subject outside the game. (Too bad it's so violent that kids cannot benefit from its richness.)
Find a copy of the old school Oregon Trail and give it a run. You will be shocked by how well it plays even after experiencing more than 30 years of gaming advancements. It is a testament to the power of good design. It's a fond memory that will not let you down. | <urn:uuid:09bb761c-b623-4bd2-a029-7b0c5ef414e5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ign.com/articles/2009/03/05/fond-memories-the-oregon-trail | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974212 | 1,515 | 1.671875 | 2 |
In the last three months, StoryCorps recorded interviews in six different towns in the land of 10,000 lakes. While partnering with the Great River Regional Library of Minnesota, we recorded in Annandale, Elk River, St. Cloud, Melrose, Little Falls and Staples. We heard stories from all walks of life — including farmers, mothers, teachers, nurses, doctors, and soldiers of Central Minnesota.
Our partner, the Great River Regional Library, is a group of thirty-two branch libraries that provide books, materials, computers, programming and information services to almost 450,000 residents. The branch libraries are a source of knowledge and information in their communities, and for March, April and May they were our host family.
In our visit to Staples, Carol Weber, 63, came with her husband Rick Weber, 64, and her mother-in- law, Mrs. Marlys Weber, 87. During their interview, Mrs Marlys talked about her heritage, meeting her husband and her family. Halfway into their interview, Rick and Mrs. Marlys talked about how Ernie, Marlys’ husband, started the family business. “Ernie’s Food Market” was different than most grocery stores in Staples, MN. At that time, most grocery stores had a person that would take their order in, the order would be filled for them and the customer paid for it at the counter. Ernie started the first self service grocery store in Staples, and for a while it even provided both services.
Mrs. Marlys also described how she helped her husband stocking the store and how Ernie’s Food Market keeps growing and growing. Ernie retired and currently Ernie’s Food Market has a different owner, but it is still the town’s main grocery store and still has the neon sign to let you know who used to own it.
To learn more about The Great River Regional Library, please visit http://www.griver.org/ | <urn:uuid:c999d645-574b-4bb7-9f08-8c2fa3b17519> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://storycorps.org/locations/staples/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973796 | 407 | 1.554688 | 2 |
.- The Archdiocese of Mexico has expressed its support for Courage Latino, a Hispanic version of the successful Catholic ministry for homosexuals founded by Father John Harvey. The Courage office in Mexico will be under the guidance of Father Buenaventura Wainwright. According to the coordinator of ministries for the Basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Msgr. Agustin Rivera, those who wish to join the group will be able to obtain information confidentially at the Basilica.
Father Wainwright said the founder of Courage, Father Harvey, explained the objectives of the ministry to the General Assembly of the Mexican Bishops’ Conference on Monday. Courage has been in existence since 1980 and is now beginning to open chapters in Latin America.
“The response from the bishops was very positive. We have had success in this direction,” said Father Wainwright. He also indicated that Courage Latino would make use of “reparative therapy” as a way of helping homosexuals to overcome their tendencies.
Msgr. Rivera and Fathers Wainwright and Harvey celebrated Mass at the Basilica of Guadalupe during which Msgr. Rivera praised the work of Courage and introduced its Hispanic version to those attending.
During his homily, Msgr. Rivera said the ethical relativism humanity is experiencing is dangerous, “in which each person wants to live his own life style and demand and ask for his own rights. These situations are legislated by governments themselves, such as same-sex unions.”
For his part, Oscar Rivas, a successful Courage member, said that in order to maintain the necessary discretion this type of pastoral work requires, the location where the first Courage Latino group will meet will not be publicly disclosed. | <urn:uuid:a293dc48-ee33-49bf-8d62-404ac353a50f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/mexican_bishops_express_support_for_catholic_homosexual_outreach_group/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967918 | 357 | 1.765625 | 2 |
- GRAMMY Live
The GRAMMY Foundation Grant Program announced today that $100,000 in grants to help facilitate a range of research, archiving and preservation projects on a variety of subjects will be awarded to 11 recipients in the United States, Canada and the Dominican Republic.
Research projects include a study that will test rehabilitation therapy that uses music to cue and facilitate arm movements in people recovering from stroke; and preservation and archiving initiatives include a project that will protect a long-lost collection of aluminum discs containing more than 100 hours of live jazz performances from the swing era; and another that will identify and catalogue the most fragile reel-to-reel recordings of live performances and related oral histories in the collection of the oldest continuously running folk music coffeehouse.
"For nearly 25 years, our GRAMMY Foundation Grant Program has provided critical support to an exceptional range of scientific research, archiving and preservation projects," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy and the GRAMMY Foundation. "We have funded projects ranging from research on understanding the brain function that spares musical memories in Alzheimer's disease patients, and speech therapy that capitalizes on the fact that many patients who can't talk can still sing after a stroke, to the preservation of content related to the legacy of synthesizer pioneer Dr. Robert Moog, and experimental sound recordings made by Alexander Graham Bell, Emile Berliner and Thomas Edison. I am proud to say that our Grant Program is truly safeguarding the past and fostering the breakthroughs of the future."
The GRAMMY Foundation Grant Program is generously funded by The Recording Academy. To date, the Grant Program has awarded more than $5.5 million to nearly 300 noteworthy projects. The Grant Program provides funding annually to organizations and individuals to support efforts that advance the archiving and preservation of the recorded sound heritage of the Americas for future generations, as well as research projects related to the impact of music on the human condition. In 2008 the Grant Program expanded its categories to include planning grants for individuals and small- to mid-sized organizations to assist collections held by individuals and organizations that may not have access to the expertise needed to create a preservation plan. The planning process, which may include inventorying and stabilizing a collection, articulates the steps to be taken to ultimately archive recorded sound materials for future generations.
For more information on the 2011 Grant Program recipients, click here. The deadline each year for submitting letters of inquiry is Oct. 1. Applications for the 2012 cycle will be available at www.grammyfoundation.org/grants in late June 2011.
These are the most read, shared and discussed articles on GRAMMY.com right now. | <urn:uuid:d448a98b-0898-42d2-9738-0e519c7218ed> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.grammy.com/news/grammy-foundation-announces-2011-grant-program-recipients | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930444 | 547 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Queensferry RNLI’s station is Scotland’s busiest
THE Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) crew members at Queensferry are a busy bunch – probably the busiest in Scotland.
New RNLI statistics revealed the station was the most called in the country last year, launching 66 times and rescuing 163 people.
Confirmation that they operate the nation’s most active lifeboat came as little surprise to volunteers at RNLI Queensferry’s newly-opened centre on Newhalls Road.
Over the years, they’ve been called out to everything from plane crashes and burning boats to emergencies, including the case of a man who fell from the Forth Road Bridge and that of a pregnant woman suffering a miscarriage while she was stranded on Cramond Island.
The going is tough, not least because crew members have to hold down demanding day jobs so they can afford to head out to sea when help is needed.
David Smart, 46, helmsman and joint operations manager who’s an electrician and mechanic when he’s not on call, said news that his was Scotland’s busiest boat was “not unexpected”.
However, he said he wasn’t about to give up saving lives.
“It’s difficult to explain – the work just gets into you and becomes part of your system,” he said. “It’s a way of life.”
Annual statistics from the RNLI showed lifeboat crews are needed more than ever across Scotland. Last year, a record 1055 people were rescued by the charity’s members.
There was a big increase in the number of people saved after being cut off by the tide – up to 72 from 35 in 2011, with many of those lifted from Cramond Island.
However, Queensferry team members have, over the years, used their lifesaving skills in situations that tested them to the limit.
Mr Smart said his memories of searching a small mail plane which plunged into the Forth with the loss of two lives on February 27, 2001, were still vivid.
“That was a particularly hairy day,” he recalled. “The plane was on a relocation flight to Northern Ireland but the engines seized up and it ended up on the rocks, close to Granton Harbour.
“Happily, there was no-one else on board. The pilot and the co-pilot, unfortunately, perished. It was scary as, at the time, we weren’t sure the plane didn’t have other passengers on board.
“I remember it was snowing, there was sleet – a horrible night, very rough, which made the mission extremely difficult.
“The cold was the biggest thing. It slows you down very quickly – it’s all you think about in the end.”
However, he insisted that, after years in which the equipment used by lifeboats has become much more sophisticated, his crew members were ready to tackle the perilous situations they are forced to confront.
He said: “Since I started out, serving on a lifeboat has become a lot more technical. There’s more electronics involved. In the past you just had a radio – now you have radar, GPS, a direction-finding set, as well as other navigation equipment.
“A lot of training is needed to be able to use the equipment quickly. You also need to be able to administer first aid and CPR, and handle casualties with head and spinal injuries.”
However, Mr Smart’s more recent recruits, many of whom have jobs that bear little resemblance to the challenge of saving lives at sea, said they had thrived on the challenge.
Mobile DJ Craig Maison, 24, also from South Queensferry and now in his sixteenth month as a crewman, said: “For me, being in the RNLI has always been about helping other people.”
“I’m a community first responder in Queensferry for the Scottish Ambulance Service and it’s all experience for my end goal, which is to join the ambulance service as a full technician and then move up as a paramedic.”
For Mr Maison, the satisfaction of lifeboat work comes from dealing with rescue missions which can change dramatically in minutes.
He said: “There was one time we had to uplift two people from Cramond Island and it was while we were coming alongside the pontoon in Granton Harbour that we noticed there was this yacht that was throwing up plumes of thick black smoke, 15, maybe 20, feet into the air.
“Then we saw two people on the pontoon screaming for help – a woman in her thirties and a young girl. We had to disembark very suddenly and discovered the cabin was full of smoke, with the woman’s husband on board trying to sort it out.
“The engine had seized and was heating up, but we were able to work quickly to shut off the boat’s fuel system so the engine starved itself. What we thought was a 45-minute job turned into something much longer.
“The entire pontoon was in danger. If the engine hadn’t been stopped, the yacht could have caught fire, along with all the other boats.”
He added: “The job started with something routine but then became a race against time. After finishing, I was told about a situation in Rosyth when a similar problem caused the whole boat to catch fire.”
Crews said that in a non-stop society, an ability to act in unpredictable situations had become crucial.
Crew member and Ryanair pilot Tom Glasby, 26, revealed he would always remember a mission by his team to save a man who fell from the Forth Road Bridge in May last year.
He said: “He was unconscious and not breathing when the team found him, so CPR was administered and we managed to get him breathing again.
“That’s what being in the RNLI is all about – responding to the unexpected. It gives you a sense of giving back and helping the community. You get a real sense of pride.”
Andy Clift, RNLI regional operations manager for Scotland, said: ”The figures show that our volunteers dedicate a huge amount of their time to saving lives at sea. To know that they are on call 24/7, every day of the year, is reassuring for all of us who venture out to sea around the Scottish coast.”
CREW members at the RNLI’s Queensferry branch have hailed the opening of a state-of-the-art lifeboat station at Hawes Pier as a development that will help save lives.
The building – opened officially in November – features launch and training facilities, as well as a shop selling stationery, gift cards and RNLI souvenirs.
Deputy launch manager and charity fundraiser Ross Mackay, 37, said: “This facility will really help us. One of the main changes will be that we are now able to push out from the station’s main door and straight onto the pier.
“You’re knocking a minute, maybe two, off our launch time . . . when you’re talking about someone out on the water, it makes all the difference.”
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Weather for Edinburgh
Friday 24 May 2013
Temperature: 3 C to 13 C
Wind Speed: 20 mph
Wind direction: North east
Temperature: 7 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: West | <urn:uuid:e9426a2d-d649-4973-b3ad-30f9587ea1e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.scotsman.com/edinburgh-evening-news/latest-news/queensferry-rnli-s-station-is-scotland-s-busiest-1-2753189 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980678 | 1,617 | 1.796875 | 2 |
One in 10 shops in UK high streets and shopping centres were empty in October - the worst figure since the British Retail Consortium's nationwide survey began in July 2011.
As retailers continue to battle against stagnating sales and rising costs, the new figures showed last month's town centre vacancy rate at 11.3%.
A fifth of store units are currently empty in Northern Ireland, while the rate for Wales is 15.1% and for the North & Yorkshire region the rate is 14.6%. Greater London had 7.6% of its units lying empty.
BRC director general Stephen Robertson said the latest figures would set "alarm bells ringing" and the financial challenges for both customers and retailers were far from over.
Big brands including JJB Sports, Clinton Cards, Blacks Leisure, Game and Peacocks have either disappeared or scaled back their presence in town centres after going into administration.
And the collapse of electricals chain Comet this month will be another blow.
Mr Robertson renewed his call for Chancellor George Osborne to freeze business rates, which are set to increase by 2.6% in April.
He said: "Many retailers are battling stagnating sales and rising costs, and next year's threatened business rates increase can only make matters worse.
"If the Government wants to breathe life back into our town centres and ensure the retail industry can play its full role in job creation, it needs to freeze rates in 2013."
In response, a Department for Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "Empty shops are a wasted economic opportunity that spoil the town centre.
"That is why we are proposing to scrap the damaging red tape that is keeping so many shops boarded up, allowing young entrepreneurs to open pop-up shops and turn the high streets into an exciting start-up launchpad.
"The best thing Government can do to help businesses is to provide them with a stable economic environment, which is why we want to protect local firms from soaring tax bills.
"We've postponed the revaluation, which will stop soaring tax bills for 800,000 firms, and given businesses the option of spreading this year's increases out over three years.
"Councils also have the power to grant discretionary discounts, and we've temporarily doubled small business rate relief, meaning approximately a third of a million businesses - including many small shops - are currently paying no rates at all."
More From Sky News | <urn:uuid:19397931-3209-4082-b3a8-273e82c9a070> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/empty-shops-rate-sets-alarm-061721628.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966032 | 488 | 1.609375 | 2 |
It is a hot summer day in July. You and your human companion are out in the yard. They are working in their garden, while you are cooling off in the shade underneath a tree. Could life get any better than this? Sadly, it only takes a split second for our lives to change from the ideal to the tragic. Such was the case of Hero.
Perhaps it was a squirrel or some other animal. Maybe it wasn’t an animal at all. No one will ever know what it was that caught Hero’s attention that day, and sadly, into the path of a car. Despite every effort to save his life, his prognosis was grim. Hero would not make it.
For our human friends, it doesn’t get any worse than this. Or does it? Imagine again, our human loves us, would do anything in this world for us to get well again, but they can’t help us. Why? The cost of our treatment is very expensive and much more than they can afford. Sadly, love and devotion can’t pay our medical expenses. Hero, if he hadn’t been so critically injured on that fateful day, his family would have been able to pay for his expenses. Sadly, for many Labs and their families this is not the case. Tragedy often gives birth to inspiration, and this was no different.
Determined not to let Hero’s death be in vain, his family wanted to make a difference. In 1999, Labrador Life Line (LLL) was born. A year later it became a 501c3 nonprofit organization. A community of Lab lovers, LABSR4U , turned Hero’s death into a positive. Determined to give purebred Labrador Retrievers a fighting chance, they wanted to give them, a “life line.” The life line would help those families who were unable to afford medical treatment for their beloved four-legged family members. It gives the Labs a chance they would otherwise not have.
The Face of the Organization
Hero’s life couldn’t be saved, but his death was not in vain. Every year, because of the vision and inspiration of Hero’s family, purebred Labrador Retrievers lives can now be saved because of funding assistance from LLL. Lives that otherwise would not have been. Thanks to the continued support and generosity of our donors, we continue to assist more Labs each year. Labrador Life Line also gives tribute to Hero and his legacy. Hero is the “face” of the organization. The logo is a sketch of Hero’s face with a life preserver around him.
Luv and sloppy kisses, | <urn:uuid:24424cf8-44c7-448e-97bb-cda4c78194ad> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://labradorlifeline.org/wordpress/?tag=logo | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697380733/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516094300-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980704 | 558 | 1.828125 | 2 |
INDUSTRY COLLABORATION AND PARTNERSHIPS
BSR: J.Crew is a member of BSR, an organization for companies committed to socially responsible business practices, and we are proud to partner with them on initiatives that are improving working conditions around the world. More information on BSR can be found at bsr.org.
HERproject: HERproject is a BSR program focused on educating factory workers, particularly women, about general health and nutrition, as well as reproductive and maternal health. The program is designed to benefit both workers and factories. A healthier workforce can reduce absenteeism, improve morale and motivation, increase productivity and result in a better quality of life for the workers and better returns for the factory.
Since launching in 2007, HERproject has reached more than 200,000 female workers and more than 25,000 male workers in over 150 factories around the world. Since 2011, we have launched the program at eight factories in China and Indonesia, reaching over 6,300 workers. In 2011, J.Crew was a finalist for an Award for HERproject training session
Business Action on Health from the Global Business Coalition on Health (GBC Health) based on our participation in HERproject. For more information on the project, visit herproject.org.
Fair Factories Clearinghouse: J.Crew is a member of the Fair Factories Clearinghouse (FFC), a nonprofit organization dedicated to facilitating continuous improvement in workplace conditions through technology and collaboration. Our membership in the FFC has allowed for improved communication with our business partners and has made us more effective and efficient in our program operations. More information can be found at fairfactories.org.
J.CREW REsponsible sourcing
READ MORE →
The suppliers that manufacture our products are regularly inspected... READ MORE →
We terminate a business relationship only as a last resort if a critical issue of noncompliance is identified or... READ MORE →
READ MORE → | <urn:uuid:2b7ef655-4cd0-4a98-ac9e-b410074d7020> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jcrew.com/flatpages/social_res_april1_4.jsp?bmUID=jPh1H23 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950416 | 400 | 1.539063 | 2 |
| Quote #7
"This is best for Ender, too. We're bringing him to his full potential." (11.10)
If the mind game is meant to be something like therapy for trouble super-geniuses, then here we’re given a slightly different purpose for manipulation: the school administrators are messing with Ender in order to make him the best he can be. (This is probably Anderson speaking.) Note that here, the manipulation is not just for the benefit of humanity – it’s not just that Ender is a tool. The speaker also thinks “this is best for Ender.” So here we have a slight defense of manipulation.
| Quote #8
He held up a limp hand. "See the strings?" (13.105)
Here Ender is complaining to his sister (during his visit to Earth) about how he’s being manipulated by the adults in his life and has no real options. In other words, he feels like a puppet. Which is exactly what Peter called him in 2.64. Just a coincidence, right? Or maybe we’re meant to draw some comparison between the different manipulators in Ender’s life.
| Quote #9
“We play by their rules long enough, and it becomes our game." (13.114)
What exactly is Val saying here? She’s trying to comfort Ender by telling him that he’s not a puppet other people's games, he’s actually a player. Is she right? The school administrators’ other quotes (that we pulled here) make us reconsider our attitude towards manipulation: oh, well, if Anderson says that manipulation is good for Ender, maybe he’s right. But here, Val takes another approach. She seems to be saying that we can escape manipulation by…ignoring it? Or leaning into it? This seems like a radically different approach from, say, Dink’s awareness of manipulation. | <urn:uuid:d55a4df4-1c51-4cf8-acf1-e1429c96a00a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.shmoop.com/enders-game/manipulation-quotes-3.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969389 | 408 | 1.585938 | 2 |
YouTube has made a lot of people famous who may never have had the opportunity to become discovered. While not everybody gets a chance of stardom, a few have and they have done it up big. Who are the top musicians who have been discovered through this medium?
1. Arnel Pineda – Once a Filipino singer and songwriter, now lead singer for the rock band Journey. Videos of Pineda performing cover songs for Journey, Survivor, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Air Supply, The Eagles and Kenny Loggins began appearing on YouTube in 2007. From the videos, that same year, Pineda was asked to audition for Journey. By the end of the year 2007, Pineda was named the lead singer of the band.
2. Justin Bieber – Bieber may be one of the biggest rising stars right now and he’s only 16. This Canadian pop and R&B singer was discovered on YouTube by Scooter Braun, who later became his manager. Bieber was flown into Atlanta, Georgia where he had the opportunity to consult with musician Usher. Bieber soon signed with Usher creating the Raymond-Braun Music Group and then later with L.A. Reid and Island Def Jam. Bieber is known for his breakthrough single “One Time”, which was released in the summer of 2009 and charted on the top thirty in ten countries. HE followed this single up with his “My World.” His studio release “My World 2.0″ will be released March 23, 2010.
Bieber started performing at the age of 12 where he won second in a local singing competition. He also taught himself how to play the piano, drums, guitar and trumpet. It was in 2007 that his mother began posting videos on YouTube so that his family and friends, who could not attend his performances, could see him sing. Once discovered, Bieber became a hot commodity. He has appeared on The Today Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Good Morning America and Chelsea Lately to name a few. He also had the opportunity to perform for U.S. President Barack Obama at the White House Christmas In Washington music special that benefited the National Children’s Medical Center. Beiber has toured with Taylor Swift on her two-stop return to the United Kingdom Fearless Tour. Bieber was named the hottest star of 2009 by J-14, newcomer of the year by MuchMusic, and listed by Celebuzz as one of the Top 10 YouTube stars of the 2000s decade
3. Esmee Denters – This Dutch singer-songwriter attracted the attention of Justin Timberlake in 2008, who later went on to sign her to his label Tennman Records. In 2009 she released her debut studio album “Outta Here”. The album reached number five in the Netherlands. Her debut single, also the title song of the album was released in the Netherlands in 2009. So far it has reached the top 10 in several European countries. The album was released in the UK on January 11, 2010 and features the previous 2008 charity duet with Timberlake, “Follow My Lead” as an additional bonus song.
4. Terra Naomi – This rock and pop artist became famous with her song “Say It’s Possible” through YouTube. Naomi is from New York State but currently lives is Los Angles. She writes, performs and plays guitar and piano. Naomi won the first YouTube “Best Music Video” award in 2006. She signed a publishing deal with Universal Publishing and a record deal with Island Records in 2007.
5. Lisa Lavie – Another Canadian born singer and songwriter who used the Internet to promote her music has had her vocals appear on soundtracks of major motion pictures. Lavie released her debut album in 2008 “Everything or Nothing”. Her album reached #20 on iTunes pop chart. Her featured video was a finalist among all videos in the 2007 YouTube Awards.
6. Mia Rose – Rose, is an English/Portuguese singer songwriter. Rose posted daily videos singing cover songs on YouTube starting 2006. She set a record within a month for the number of subscribers. In 2009 she wrote and recorded “Let Go” selling it on iTunes in Portugal where it became the best selling download and number 2 in Portuguese charts. Rose has been featured in Rolling Stone, The Sun, The Age and BBC Radio 5 Live.
Getting a chance to be heard, as a musician, is always a difficult task. Getting discovered is even more challenging unless you are somebody who knows somebody. Thanks to new social networks, musicians that normally wouldn’t get their chance, finally are.
Jeff Bachmeier is owner of 977music.com, an online music and online radio station network providing live streaming Internet Radio channels with music from the 50’s thru Today. Users can also choose to create their own customized on demand playlist through their own social media profile. For more information please visit http://www.977music.com.arnel pineda, esmee denters, justin bieber, lisa lavie, terra naomi, youtube | <urn:uuid:f4e48e36-f7c9-4d8f-be02-9939f10a70b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://977music.com/blog/2010/03/musicians-discovered-on-youtube/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978946 | 1,060 | 1.5625 | 2 |
As one of America's most widely read and influential film critics from the 1960s through the '80s, Judith Crist was known for her often-caustic reviews that earned her a reputation as "the critic most hated by Hollywood."
Director Billy Wilder once joked that inviting Crist to review a film was "like asking the Boston Strangler for a neck massage."
Director Otto Preminger referred to her simply as "Judas Crist."
A self-described "movie nut" since she marveled at a silent Charlie Chaplin in "The Gold Rush" as a child in the 1920s, Crist put in 18 years as a reporter, feature writer, second-string drama critic and arts editor at the New York Herald Tribune before she finally realized her childhood dream of becoming a movie critic in the early 1960s.
Thanks to a long New York newspaper strike, she began reviewing theater and movies on a local TV station in 1963. Her appearances caught the eye of the producer of NBC's "Today" show, and she began a 10-year freelance run as network TV's first theater and film critic.
And when the newspaper strike ended in 1963, Crist was named film critic at the Herald Tribune. She was the first woman to become a full-time film critic at a major American newspaper.
From the beginning, she gained notoriety as a gutsy critic who pulled no punches.
In a scathing review of "Spencer's Mountain," a family drama starring Henry Fonda and Maureen O'Hara, she blasted Radio City Music Hall for its Easter-time showing of a film "that for sheer prurience and perverted morality disguised as piety makes the nudie shows at the Rialto look like Walt Disney productions."
The review touched a nerve:Warner Bros.sent her a telegram barring her from its screenings, and Radio City withdrew its advertising from the paper.
"Was I fired — or moved elsewhere in the paper?" Crist said in a 1997 speech. No, she said, the Herald Tribune "simply ran an editorial decrying my nemeses as childish and declaring that the Tribune's critic, right or wrong, had the right of free speech."
Crist continued to exert that right in her reviews, including offering this assessment of the over-budget 1963 epic "Cleopatra," starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton: "At best a major disappointment, at worst an extravagant exercise in tedium."
But Crist, who later became founding film critic for New York magazine and spent 22 years as a critic for "TV Guide," didn't just find fault with films.
"One of the joys of criticism is in wanting to share discovered pleasure," she once wrote. "You can't kill the trash, but at least you can give the good a push and pass it on."
A critic, she said in a 1989 interview with the Jerusalem Post, "is an individual voicing his or her own opinion. He's not the voice of God. In my reviews, I say what I think of a film and why, and my readers know my tastes by now. Some hate my taste, and so I'm reliable for them, too, since they know they'll like what I hate."
In 1971, Crist began hosting film weekends in Tarrytown, N.Y. She continued doing the popular weekend events, which included film screenings and appearances by actors and filmmakers, until 2006.
The daughter of a fur trader, she was born Judith Klein on May 22, 1922, in New York City and spent much of her childhood in Canada before the family returned to New York.
Movies were a constant.
"The greatest day of my life I cut school and went to see 'Gone With the Wind' at the Capitol for 25 cents, then across the street to the Rialto to see 'The Grapes of Wrath' and down to 42nd Street for 'Grand Illusion' on Broadway," she said in an interview with Eve's Magazine. "And there was still 75 cents left over to sustain us with an enormous chunk of many-layered whipped cream pie at Hector's."
A 1941 graduate of Hunter College, she received a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University in 1945.
From 1958 until last February, when she became ill, Crist was an adjunct professor of writing at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
Her husband, William B. Crist, an educational public relations consultant, died in 1993.
She is survived by her son, editor and publisher emeritus of the Daily Racing Form, who said his mother continued her lifelong love of the movies to the end.
"Absolutely," he said, "She watched many hours a day of Turner Classic Movies and was frequently discovering something she hadn't seen in 60 years." | <urn:uuid:746b8a17-80ff-4445-8384-305b85ba1855> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.baltimoresun.com/entertainment/la-me-judith-crist-20120808,0,1687953.story | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981644 | 982 | 1.671875 | 2 |
Progressive Policy Institute Offers Suggestions to Boost Housing
By: Krista Franks
Americans have lost $7 trillion in home equity in the past five years, and nearly 12 million homeowners are currently underwater.
The Progressive Policy Institute says these issues deserve just as much attention in the upcoming presidential election as the issue of unemployment, and in a January report, the institute offers a few suggestions to improve the housing market – and ultimately, the economy at large.
The first of the institute’s three suggestions is one it says has already been supported by Sen. Robert Menendez
(D-New Jersey) and Richard Smith, president and CEO of Realogy.
Shared appreciation mortgages, the Institute says, “are not only ‘fair’ but could actually work.”
In a shared appreciation mortgage, a homeowner receives a lower balance on his or her mortgage loan but promises to share any future appreciation when he or she eventually sells the home.
The institute’s second suggestion is for congress to create a “HomeK” account to help potential first-time homebuyers save for a down payment.
Under the proposal, individuals could designate up to 50 percent of their existing 401(k) contributions up to $50,000 toward a down payment on a home.
Lastly, the institute urges congress and the administration to end “regulatory uncertainty over whether a 20% down payment is required for a mortgage to be a ‘qualified residential mortgage’ under the Dodd-Frank Act.”
“[T]his requirement would unnecessarily stifle demand for housing and burden prospective buyers,” states the Progressive Policy Institute.
Since its launch, DS News magazine has positioned itself at the forefront of an
evolving industry. Always current with the most up-to-date
default servicing news, DSNews.com keeps you informed through daily Web casts,
community forums, and a wide range of industry resources. | <urn:uuid:7217041d-d286-45e0-9c82-6cb1e8e89ec4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dsnews.com/articles/progressive-policy-institute-supports-offers-suggestions-to-boost-housing-2012-01-20 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944583 | 403 | 1.640625 | 2 |
At the last summer meeting of the I*EARN Management team which was hosted by Israel, three teachers received the 1993 I*EARN Teacher of the Year Award.
The teachers who share the award are as follows:
Each winner is an active participant in the Holocaust/Genocide Project and receives a monetary award which can be used to "build on personal and professional relationships through face-to-face meetings."
All three winners participated in the first annual study mission to Poland and Israel in 1993. Students and teachers from the United States met Israeli students, parents, and teachers in Poland and were later hosted by the Israelis in their homes in Israel.
Copyright © 1994-2005 by iEARN. All rights reserved.
Access the HGP's An End to Intolerance Web page.
Access the Holocaust/Genocide Project's Home Page. | <urn:uuid:fc256545-f023-4cac-83bc-309837fe8a61> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iearn.org/hgp/aeti/1994-teachers-of-year.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965132 | 173 | 1.773438 | 2 |
The iPhone 5 arrived late last year with a number of new features. It’s both thinner and lighter than its predecessor, it’s faster, and it has an improved camera.
But one of its smaller, lesser talked about features is the fact that it can snap photos while the phone is in video mode. Of course, a lot of you probably already know about this. But for those that don’t, we’ll show you how right after the break…
As you’d expect, it’s extremely simple. All you have to do is open up your camera app, switch to video mode, and start recording. After a second or two, you should see a camera icon pop up in one of the corners (depends on iPhone’s orientation).
Keep in mind that photos snapped during video recording will be of significantly less quality than other images. Videos are shot in 1080p, which equates to 1920×1080. And the iPhone 5′s 8MP camera normally takes photos at 3264×2448.
Nevertheless, I could see this coming in handy in a number of situations, such as a parent videotaping their child at a sporting event. It’d allow them to grab the perfect action shot, without stopping the recording.
Sure, there’s nothing ground-breaking here. But if you didn’t know, now you know. | <urn:uuid:1c968f2d-61a8-4443-a369-1752f393127d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.idownloadblog.com/2013/01/28/how-to-take-photo-while-video/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+iphonedlb+%28iDownloadBlog%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935837 | 292 | 1.546875 | 2 |
First, shot them off in an open, flat area at least 50 feet from any building. Be sure to have a fire extinguisher or water hose nearby. And only use fireworks according to the directions, don't try to alter or combine them.
Check out the entire press release from the city below.
This is the third year in which fireworks can be sold within the city limits of Fayetteville for the 4th of July holiday. The public may lawfully use consumer fireworks within Fayetteville, with some exceptions.
Fireworks may only be discharged upon private property with the consent of the property owner and between the hours of 10:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. on July 1st, 2nd, and 3rd, and from 10:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. on July 4th and at no other time or date. If any person less than the age of 16 years is present, an adult (at least 21 years of age) must supervise the discharge of all fireworks. Skyrockets or aerial fireworks attached to a stick (bottle rockets) may not be discharged within the city limits of Fayetteville.
Please be advised that the use of fireworks comes with the need for safety precautions. Safety depends on using them legally and responsibility. Therefore, taking extra precautions can avoid injury and property damage by consumer fireworks. The Fayetteville Fire Marshal's Office wants you to have a safe holiday; therefore, we ask that you please consider the following recommendations:
- Proceed with caution!!
- Provide an open area,
- no over-hang of foliage
- minimum of 50' clearance from building/spectators/vehicles
- flat surface to set fireworks on
- Provide a working fire extinguisher and water hose
- Read label and instructions of each fireworks product
- Don't use if the item has been damaged or has been wet
- If any person under 16 years of age is present while fireworks are discharged, an adult at least 21 years of age must supervise
- Do not wear loose clothing or open-toe shoes
- Only use fireworks as intended. Don't try to alter them or combine them
- Alcohol and fireworks do not mix. Just like having a designated driver, have a designated igniter.
Celebrations can become tragic when someone is injured by consumer fireworks. We want you to have a safe holiday, so please take the time to provide a safe environment. Happy 4th of July! | <urn:uuid:4107c07e-2c10-4ac5-9f2d-31a3e54ad17d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://nwahomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=341322&nxd_90162_start=27800 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.953842 | 513 | 1.65625 | 2 |
|First, Read This||3|
|1. Conversions—Fake or Real||7|
|2. How to Be a Born-Again Christian||20|
|3. God Has Rules Too||30|
|4. The Balance in Faith and Works|
|5. Saved Only “in Christ”||40|
|6. Beware the Counterfeits||47|
|7. It’s Still a Fight||59|
The name of Jesus has today become a part of the witnessing vocabulary of many thousands of young and old alike. The second coming of Christ, being born again, what Jesus means to us here and now, have become topics for everyday conversation. Songs of religious experience are competing with those about romance. Revival has happened before, and has accomplished startling results. But today, as never before, it’s happening among youth.
On many college and university campuses—even those not particularly noted for religious connections—the name of Jesus is openly discussed in a new, positive way. Youth from comfortable homes, from the poor, the drug scene, from the well educated, have been moved to accept Christ in large numbers. Thousands have sensed the miraculous experience of being converted. And Seventh-day Adventist youth are experiencing revival too. But now what? Where do we go from here?
Being born again, justified, converted—whatever we choose to call it—is the beginning. But what about the days and weeks and months of growing up into Christ? What about that lifetime experience we sometimes call sanctification?
The word of God and the counsels of Ellen White lead us to the conclusion that we are justified by faith and accepting Christ, but we are sanctified by faith and obedience. The truly born-again Christian not only talks about, but lives a life that testifies that he is, in fact, a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. | <urn:uuid:651695ce-8279-40c0-85c2-fea607b03367> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://egwtext.whiteestate.org/publication.php?pubtype=Book&bookCode=NL&lang=en&pagenumber=2 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956752 | 394 | 1.6875 | 2 |
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