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Now available on: PC
The original Diablo touched down on PCs in December of that year, introducing players to the world of Sanctuary. Most RPGs released around that time were stat-heavy affairs, where number-crunching was the order of the day, but Blizzard's opus took a different approach.
Diablo offered a stripped down role-playing experience, where the emphasis was on relatively simple combat and looting. It was a formula that caught on quickly, striking a chord with fantasy fans looking for a more palatable alternative to complex talent trees and turn-based fighting.
Gameplay was inspired by the age-old Angband, taking place from a top-down perspective and using a simple and intuitive control scheme. Character movement and attacks were carried out through mouse clicks, while spells and abilities could be mapped to keyboard shortcuts. A glance over at Diablo 3 shows how little has changed in a decade and a half.
Players could choose between three character classes - Warrior, Rogue and Sorcerer. Warriors were masters of melee combat, Rogues were skilled with ranged weapons and Sorcerers were adept in the ways of magic. The classes had all bases covered between them, laying the foundations for some enjoyable co-op multiplayer matches.
Lax security in online multiplayer was the only blemish on an otherwise impeccable product. Diablo topped numerous 'Game of the Year' lists in 1996, and earned rave reviews across the board. By August 2001, it has sold more than 2.5 million units worldwide.
Blizzard enlisted the help of Sierra Entertainment to expand the game in 1997 with the release of the Hellfire add-on, which introduced the new character classes of Monk and Bard (though the latter was a hidden extra). New dungeons, items and spells were also thrown into the mix.
Diablo was ported to the Sony PlayStation the following year, published by Electronic Arts. The console edition was unable to support online play, but added two-player co-op as an attempt at a compromise. EA's port also attracted a level of infamy among players for demanding 10 out of the 15 slots on a standard memory card.
Do you have any fond memories of Diablo? Write a comment below. | <urn:uuid:a8a89dc0-e6b2-4cd3-ae1e-8f9d48b15b56> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.digitalspy.com.au/gaming/levelup/a383727/retro-corner-diablo.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973167 | 446 | 1.507813 | 2 |
NTFS partition shared on LAN by Linux?
I was using only WinXp before, and all my data was on the extended partition, disk D.
now I have linux and windows, and my data is still on that NTFS partition, that I can access in windows and linux. I'm planning to use linux mostly and I'm wondering if I can share files from that NTFS between my mates over LAN from linux?!? they are using Windows only. I have installed Samba, I can access their computers, I tried to share a folder from NTFS partition and it says
error accessing 'file:///media/sda5/P%20stuff': Access denied | <urn:uuid:8eb24b24-aeb7-485e-8eec-81ea6767def4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.linuxforums.org/forum/hardware-peripherals/ntfs-partition-shared-lan-linux-print-100697.html | 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 | 0.960773 | 144 | 1.695313 | 2 |
Migicovsky shows Pebble watch and app.
“We're proud of it, it's a full blown consumer electronics product,” said Eric Migicovsky, CEO of Pebble, as he introduced the Pebble smart watch at CES, promising a shipping date of 23 January 2013.
It's a real watch. It sits on your wrist, tells the time and you can swim with it. It's also “a connected device, which talks to your smart phone,” Migicovsky explained.
If the production units perform like this morning's demo, Pebble has a shot at being the first mass market, non-geek smart watch. It's limited to functions that make sense to have on your wrist – receive short text messages, switch songs on your iPod, see brief push notifications and, yes, tell time. The heavy lifting is done on your smart phone.
The Pebble has a variety of interchangeable watch faces and is open to outside developers to design more. With a push of a button you can change from an analog face, to digital and to more creative displays like “fuzzy time” or pure binary.
Beyond the basics, it uses its 144 by 168 pixel e-paper display to show email, text messages and other notifications that are routed through an app on your Android or iOS device to Pebble via Bluetooth. It'll tell you when a call is coming in or track a run workout via the GPS chip on your phone. There's a backlight that you can turn on with a flick of your wrist.
It can act as a control mechanism too. For example, it'll let you select music and see what's playing on your phone or iPod Touch. The battery will last a week, then it needs a couple of hours of recharging via a magnetic inductance cord that plugs into any USB port.
The first 85 thousand watches – a six to eight week backlog – will go to the people who backed the project on Kickstarter. Then they'll start selling to the public via the web at a $150 price point. For now, there's no other retail distribution. | <urn:uuid:e23cb93c-436a-46a8-a102-15edc8b2080b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.tellusventure.com/blog/wearable-computing-delivered/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955964 | 432 | 1.570313 | 2 |
During the current contentious and highly emotional national debate over U.S. immigration policy, many pundits and policymakers have tried to draw a connection between undocumented immigrants and high rates of crime and incarceration. However, the
With the failure of Congress to reform the immigration laws last year, political leaders are searching for election-year achievements in this area. But the emerging consensus in favor of "electronic employment eligibility verification" will collapse when Americans learn the details of the technical and regulatory contraption being proposed. By the fall, Congress will decide whether to renew, expand, or perhaps discard such a program. The lines of debate are being drawn now.
Immigration has begun to level off and immigrants are climbing the socio-economic ladder and becoming increasingly important to the U.S. economy as workers, taxpayers, and homebuyers supporting the aging Baby Boom generation. | <urn:uuid:774944b4-8eb6-4926-bb5d-55f9d5a8b79c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/iec-credits?page=26 | 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 | 0.960452 | 172 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Museum displays rare tractors
“I grew up on a tobacco farm,” said Stone, curator of the Keystone Tractor Works museum in Colonial Heights. “I’ve been around tractors my whole life.”
It’s Stone’s job to look after the more than 200 tractors that make up the museum’s collection. Inside the 70,000-plus-square-foot showroom are collections of tractors, shipping trucks, classic cars, gas pumps, pinball machines, motorcycles and old neon signs.
“We have quite a few rare tractors,” said Stone, walking through rows and rows of gleaming machinery. He pointed out a strange orange tractor that looks like an overgrown Tonka truck. “This is probably one of the most sought after tractors in the world.”
“You could farm during the day and go into town at night,” said Stone, adding
-that there are only 25 working Comfortractors left.
The machines are the private collection of Keith Jones, CEO and owner of Abilene Motor Express, a Chesterfield-based trucking company.
“It’s one of the biggest [trucking companies] in the state if not the biggest in the state,” said Stone.
Since the museum opened in October 2010, it has had 10,000 visitors.
“I’m impressed that he’s worked so hard to restore these tractors and put them on display,” said Becky Jones, Keith’s daughter and museum gift shop manager. She said her father became interested in restoring machinery after refurbishing his uncle’s tractor years ago. “He wants the public to see them, and I think that’s awesome.”
The showroom holds 160 fully restored tractors, with 100 more in progress on the museum’s grounds. As he walked, Stone — a veritable walking encyclopedia of farm equipment
— ticked off facts and figures about each tractor.
In addition to tractors, the museum also features a collection of old shipping trucks and classic cars.
A side room showcases a 1958 Mack truck, a 1922 Ahrens Fox firetruck, a 1938 REO Speedwagon, a 1941 Diamond T and a 1957 Studebaker, all painstakingly restored. The room also contains Hopewell’s first firetruck, a 1938 Ford.
“It’s one of the most sought after firetrucks in the world,” Stone said.
In the lobby, visitors are greeted by three classic Thunderbirds and other cars.
One of the most avid patrons is David Grubbs, a retired crane operator who now works as a safety director for Industrial Maintenance & Service in the county.
“I’m probably in there once or twice a week,” Grubbs said. “They keep adding new things to displays there.”
Like Stone, Grubbs grew up on a farm, and has been using tractors his whole life. He said Farmalls are his favorite type of tractor because of how easy they are to work on, and that he still owns a few.
“I think everyone would appreciate a visit there [to the museum],” Grubbs said. “It’s just an awesome place.” | <urn:uuid:81a62a75-8b2d-4b7a-b5f6-6c105f5247dd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.chesterfieldobserver.com/news/2012-01-11/Front_Page/Museum_displays_rare_tractors.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950919 | 713 | 1.53125 | 2 |
Filed under: Capitalism, Democrat Corruption, Economy, Election 2012, Law, Politics, Progressivism | Tags: Bailing out the Unions, General Motors & Delphi, Obama Likes Unions
Filed under: Capitalism, Democrat Corruption, Domestic Policy, Economy, Election 2012, Law, Progressivism | Tags: Bush Provided the Funds, General Motors, Obama Provided the Failure
Vice President Joe Biden famously claimed for Obama that “Osama is dead and GM is alive,” to wild cheers of enthusiasm. Well, of course, bin Laden is dead because of a very dangerous raid by a brave SEAL team. In the “you built that” category, I give the SEAL team the credit rather than to the president who only had to say “yes” or “no,” and in spite of the media uniformly calling it “a gutsy call,” dithered for nearly a year because he couldn’t make up his mind or convince Valerie Jarrett, without whose approval he doesn’t do anything. So yes he is dead, but — you didn’t build that, Mr. President.
Barack Obama has consistently claimed that the recession was all Bush’s fault, but he doesn’t hesitate to take credit for Bush accomplishments. TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, was enacted by Congress on October 3, 2008. President Bush cut a check for $17.4 billion on December 12, 2008. Mr. Bush put money into GM and Chrysler to keep them afloat for Mr. Obama’s benefit, since Mr. Obama would have to clean up the mess if they had to be liquidated.
Normal bankruptcy proceedings would have reined in Union wages and Union pensions, which were a major reason why the companies were failing. Our bankruptcy laws attempt to hold off creditors until the company can reorganize and have a chance to succeed. Bankruptcy can save faltering companies. President Obama believed that he was “saving” the car companies from bankruptcy, which he believed to be a bad thing. And he certainly didn’t want union wages cut back or pensions reformed.
Mr. Obama likes Unions and dislikes Business. So he thought it was a good idea to illegally give a major chunk of GM to the Unions. And he illegally fired/ dumped large numbers of private businesses who were auto dealers — just put them out of business, along with their estimated 100,000 employees. He again showed his preferences with Delphi,the enormous auto parts organization, where Union wages and pensions were saved, and non-union workers, about 20,000, saw their pensions cut by as much as 70%. And of course the GM and bondholders who had first call on company assets in the case of bankruptcy by law, were illegally dumped.
Mr. Obama insisted that GM start producing the Volt, though they said the electric car was not yet ready for prime time. It costs $41,000 to make a Volt, and the sell it for $41,000. As of last November, the total taxpayer subsidy amounted to $250,000 per Volt sold. The production line is shut down again, because nobody’s buying, even with subprime loans, but GM has put $10.4 million into a retirement village to run entirely on Volts.
The administration has issued new fuel-economy mandates of 54.5 miles per gallon for 2025, which many have called the Electric Vehicle Mandate. Even the Obama Auto Task Force, as it was wrapping up the GM bailout, acknowledged the obvious to the New York Times:
At some point …the drive for profitability is likely to collide with Mr. Obama’s fuel-efficiency and low-emission goals.
So General Motors may “be alive again” but barely, and on life-support. Several sources are expecting bankruptcy again, in the not-too-distant future. Brought along much faster by the new fuel-economy rules. Funny thing. We only started having fuel-economy mandates when we experimented with gasoline price controls in the 1970s, and like all things governmental and regulatory it never goes away, even if it makes no sense at all.
Filed under: Capitalism, Democrat Corruption, Economy, Election 2012, Progressivism | Tags: Administration Claims, bls.gov - the source, Pretending Progress
—Under President Obama’s watch we have NOT created 4.5 million jobs. That’s what you might call Obama “Magic Math.” More people are entering the workforce all the time, new graduates, new immigrants, new work permits granted, military vets reentering the job market. Those add roughly 130,000 – 150,000 people a month to the size of the labor force, a number you have to subtract from any new hires.
— 14.7 Percent: The Real Unemployment Rate, including those that are working part-time due to economic reasons. (Bureau of Labor Statistics 9/7/12)
— 15,000 Manufacturing Jobs were lost in August. (Bureau of Labor Statistics 9/7/12)
—582,000 Manufacturing Jobs Lost since Obama took office.(Bureau of Labor Statistics ((/7/12)
— 43 Consecutive Months the Unemployment Rate (U-3) has remained above 8%.
— 39.2 Weeks: The Average Length of Unemployment. 5,033,000 workers have been unemployed for 27 weeks or longer. (Bureau of Labor Statistics 9/7/12) | <urn:uuid:c5488a2d-308d-4f21-9dcb-b806c9b4417d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://americanelephant.wordpress.com/2012/09/09/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965683 | 1,148 | 1.507813 | 2 |
“And you see it everywhere, it is the Tea Party. And you know, there is only one way to beat and win that war. The one thing about working people is we like a good fight. And you know what? They’ve got a war, they got a war with us and there’s only going to be one winner. It’s going to be the workers of Michigan, and America. We’re going to win that war... President Obama, this is your army. We are ready to march… Everybody here’s got a vote... Let’s take these sons of bitches out and give America back to an America where we belong."
Teamsters President Jimmy Hoffa, trying perhaps to sound feisty and combative, goes way too far. "Let's take these son of bitches out"? That connotes murder. Whatever happened to the civility Obama talked about last January? Obama took the stage after Hoffa and expressed approval!
I realize "let's take these sons of bitches out" can be interpreted to mean let's vote these terrible people out of office. But "take them out" is not an idiomatic expression that corresponds to "vote them out." Take them out? Maybe that's not the phrase he intended to use, but if it was unintended, it was still a gaffe. A revealing gaffe. Unless you're speaking in a positive way — referring to taking someone out on a date, for example — "take them out" is a violent command. With "sons of bitches" right there, it's unmistakably violent. Now, you can say it's only metaphorical, and all Hoffa really wants is to oust these people from office.
But it was only last January that Obama and many other Democrats were saying that violent metaphors, including a simple target on a map, were dangerous incitements for the unstable irrational folk out there.
UPDATE: On reflection, I'm more concerned about something else Hoffa said. | <urn:uuid:125adf02-2e82-4cdf-9f88-c0fac93ffebd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://althouse.blogspot.com/2011/09/we-got-to-keep-eye-on-battle-that-we.html?showComment=1315281769269 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967257 | 420 | 1.742188 | 2 |
How do I get a Library Card
- Live in the city of Elkhart, or in Cleveland, Concord, or Osolo Township.
- Provide identification with a current address (driver’s license, checkbook, utility bill etc.) and a picture.
- Children who can write at least their first names may obtain a card with their parents’ identification.
I don’t live in Elkhart, or in Cleveland, Concord, or Osolo Township
If you do not live in our district, you may be directed to your home library – if you have one. Or, if you wish, an individual Non-resident card may be purchased from the Elkhart Public Library for $57.00. Individual students and teachers, who are residents of the State of Indiana, who work for or are enrolled in a school that is within the Elkhart Public Library District are eligible for a card at the discounted price of $25.00.
Non-resident library cards are good for one year.
Persons who own property in the Library district may be registered as borrowers. Proof of ownership (current tax receipt) must be presented when applying for a card.
Any business or professional person who is the principal leaser or renter of a business property in the Library district may be registered as a Library borrower. Proof of lease by the principal leaser or renter must be presented when applying for a card and at all subsequent renewal applications.
Library Cards for Local Businesses
Businesses within the Library district may apply for a special borrower’s card to avail themselves of the Library’s materials for the purpose of conducting day-to-day business. Use of this card is restricted to the loan of materials directly related to agency business. It cannot be used to circumvent the intention of a non-resident fee, or to borrow materials to satisfy other than business or professional needs of the agency.
Use of Library Card at Other Libraries
The Elkhart Public Library has reciprocal borrowing agreements with all other Elkhart County public libraries, and with the Mishawaka-Penn-Harris Public Library.
To use an Elkhart Public Library card in other public libraries in Indiana, it is necessary to purchase a Public Library Access Card (PLAC).
There is also a statewide reciprocal borrowing program available to EPL resident card holders. You will need to register at each library and observe their rules and limitations for reciprocal borrowers. Several Indiana libraries do not participate in the statewide reciprocal borrowing program. To use those libraries you will also need to purchase a Public Library Access Card (PLAC). | <urn:uuid:7e8ec3d8-465d-4076-8236-3095516bdc67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.myepl.org/epl/library-cards | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935023 | 535 | 1.539063 | 2 |
Ozzie Guillen is one of the most outspoken managers in all of baseball and has been making outrageous comments on Chicago airways for the past eight years, but White Sox fans grew to love the craziness. Ozzie was added amusement to an already entertaining game of baseball. This time, he went way too far in his statement made in a Time magazine online story. Let’s just say he’s getting the HEAT of Miami and I’m not referring to climate or basketball.
Guillen is starting his first season as the manager of the recently renamed Miami Marlins and he isn’t doing a very good job creating a fan following. He was quoted in the Time piece saying “I love Fidel Castro,” and later in the story goes on to say, “I respect Fidel Castro. You know why? A lot of people have wanted to kill Fidel Castro for the last 60 years, but that (expletive) is still here.”
Miami is the home to over a million Cubans in population – primarily because it is the closest major city in the U.S. to the borders of Cuba. Fidel Castro and his dictatorship are the reason the people of Cuba had to leave their homes in paradise and find refuge in the United States, my family included. In 1962 my grandparents had to leave literally all of their belongings and get on a plane with my dad and aunt to escape the corrupt government. Castro’s ruthless treatment has completely ruined the economical status of Cuba, the country is in a state of poverty, they still drive cars from the 1950s! To no surprise, Guillen’s remarks created a predictable outcry — and to think the Marlins were counting on Guillen to bring a buzz and identity to a team lacking popularity.
The Marlins distanced themselves from Guillen’s ignorant remarks immediately, releasing a statement on Friday that said: “There is nothing to respect about Fidel Castro. He is a brutal dictator who has caused unthinkable pain for more than 50 years. We live in a community filled with victims of this dictatorship, and the people in Cuba continue to suffer today.”
Criticism is not a new thing for Guillen, often described as a “loose cannon”, but Guillen has instead sounded remorseful and said he’s had difficulty sleeping since the Time magazine online story ran Friday.
Guillen, born in Venezuela, has lived in Miami for the past 12 years. USAtoday.com quoted Guillen, “I feel sad because I know I hurt a lot of people. I’m Latino. I live in Miami. I have a lot of (Cuban) friends and players. They know who I am. They know how I feel.”
You have a lot of apologizing to do Mr. Guillen, you’ve lost yourself many new fans and even some old ones for your ignorance this time. | <urn:uuid:8936ad8f-55aa-4e41-8f67-5d7bc26dd543> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://brittanymarques.com/tag/miami-marlins/ | 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 | 0.977599 | 616 | 1.546875 | 2 |
It’s the system that this creative genius employs that can unlock your marketing department’s thought-process, too. If you’ve ever been stymied about strategy, terrified over tactics, cornered by creative or deadlocked with deadlines, Cleese’s suggestions will boost your thought-process.
* Use your unconscious mind to find solutions. “Every great breakthrough comes from the unconscious, ” says Cleese. While our culture favors the analytical mind which uses logic to solve problems, the comedic talent believes that an overreliance on our right brain creates its own set of problems. We try to become too efficient. “We are always trying to save time and we become anxious because of deadlines,” he explained.
* "Don't suppress creativity; it's like driving with the brakes on,” warns this now professor-at-large at New York’s Cornell University. Unlock your unconscious mind with a good night’s sleep when working on a project or problem. Often the unconscious mind works best on a solution while you are not awake.
* Avoid interruptions. Interruptions are the most destructive roadblock to creative thinking. Find a place and a time to think creatively without outside interference. . . no phone, TV, computer. Creative thoughts can be realized if people give them time and a non-interruptive environment. You can train yourself to be creative by just leaning to be quiet. If people put the time and effort in, something happens, Cleese said.
* Do not get anxious if a solution does not come right away. A highly creative person realizes that a more patient, less deliberative type of thinking is good for solving problems.
* Once the unconscious mind starts working, the results will be surprising. “What you will get is unarticulated ideas – vague notions and whims, “the actor/writer notes. “You will have no idea what will come up.”
* Don’t analyze the information or thoughts too soon. Cleese believes “you have to give it time. You have to wait until it begins to make sense.”
* Repeat the entire process. “Take the information from your unconscious, see what works and what doesn’t, and then relegate it back to the unconscious,” explains the Monty Python star. After all, Cleese wrote 13 drafts of the screenplay "A Fish Called Wanda" before it became a film!
The unconscious mind works for everyone.
Cleese demonstrates how the system actually worked for him. Donna J. Tuttle recounts this story in her blog entitled, Writeontime. The blogger attended a dinner party with the famed actor prior to his lecture. Tuttle writes. . .
“True creativity, Cleese says, comes from the unconscious portion of the mind. For example, Cleese once wrote down a problem. He left it for a couple of days, and the answer arrived in his head quite naturally when he wasn’t tumbling the issue over and over in his brain. He lost a script and rewrote it from memory. When he found the original script and compared the two, the second was almost word-for-word — except, well, better. Cleese believes his brain edited that work while it simmered in his unconscious, safe from real-world, task-driven edit mode.”
While I’ve read about this incubation/unconscious mind theory in various books, I’ve never really heard someone validate its practicality. I know that from now on when faced with a bank marketing problem . . . whether it’s strategic, tactical or creative , I’ll be thinking about John Cleese. | <urn:uuid:a0074e39-d467-473d-b837-d571a540b91d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.jarnsdorf.blogspot.com/2009/05/can-creative-genius-john-cleese-improve.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947188 | 779 | 1.765625 | 2 |
The LECOM Erie Bridging the Gaps program led by Raeann Carrier, PhD, held their 17th annual poster presentation on Wednesday, September 5th 2012. The presentation marks the culmination of a summer-long community service effort of 28 students serving 18 different community organizations.
The following is an excerpt from the LECOM Connection article “LECOM and BTG – Partnering for almost Two Decades”
Providing community service, promoting public health in underserved communities, and training community-responsive health and social service professionals are principles that are, and that have remained, at the core of all that is the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine.
|BTG Program Director Raeann Carrier, PhD addresses the attendees of the poster presentation.|
The Director of the Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine Bridging the Gaps (BTG) program, Raeann Carrier, PhD, understands those core principles and she is very proud to note LECOM’s 20th Anniversary of medical scholarship as it coincides with BTG’s 20th Year of service. For 17 of those years, LECOM has been a steadfast and unswerving “community service partner” with BTG.
As BTG celebrates the history and growth of bridging those gaps, it seems a fitting time to reflect upon the history of the program and the way in which it grew into existence. In a world rife with imbalances and incongruences, BTG found its purpose in providing support to the crucial work of organizations that serve the most vulnerable within local communities. The BTG organization has sought to produce a group of health and social service professionals who possess both the passion and skill to advocate coupled with the care and compassion for those facing the direst of needs. BTG-involved students evidence a changed perspective after participating as community allies who serve to reduce the barriers to health and well being created by poverty and education deficits. The daily commitment of the BTG educational and medical partners is essential to fostering the betterment of society. As LECOM looks to the next decade in health care education, it will remain resolute in its fundamental pledge of purposeful community service, which has come to form a cornerstone of its hallmark educational principles.
As the LECOM mission unites with the BTG purpose, the resultant blend of commitment to service resonates throughout the region. In the absence of such community service, quality of life becomes contracted and society as a whole becomes dispirited. LECOM holds as a tenet the principle that service is as vital to the person who serves as it is to the recipient of the service. It is the way in which one finds purpose and it underscores the essence of societal growth and development. The mission of community service, and of its consequent commitment to serve, encompasses the fundamental substance of LECOM. With the aphorism of “The Community is our Campus” as the credo of the College, the institutional mission of LECOM recognizes that the magnitude of social complexities will require that all citizens and institutions make an earnest commitment to service as a way of life and as the purposeful responsibility of humankind. Providence and a caring heart, rather than governments or mandates, lead one to service. With a core rich in purpose and with a soul sustained by grace, it can be said that volunteers may well be the only human beings upon the face of the earth who reflect the compassion of a nation with their unselfish caring, patience, and humanitarianism. LECOM is proud to train such men and women and prouder still to note the value that their deeds carry to others.
To learn more about the LECOM Bridging the Gaps program and to continue reading this article, follow this link to the 2012 Summer Edition of the LECOM Connection: LECOM and BTG – Partnering for almost Two Decades.
Bridging the Gaps began in Philadelphia in 1991 at one academic health center. The program is now administered by the Bridging the Gaps Consortium comprised of members from University of Pennsylvania, Drexel University, Temple University, Thomas Jefferson University and Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine and three affliated programs at Bryn Mawr College, LaSalle University & University of the sciences. Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Lehigh Valley health Network & Medicine & Dentistry of New Jersey joined the Consortium to form the Bridging the Gaps Network. Lucy Wolf Tuton, Ph.D., from the University of Pennsylvania is the Program Executive Director.
The Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine offers innovative and affordable education in osteopathic medicine, dentistry and pharmacy. From campuses in Erie, Pennsylvania,Greensburg, Pennsylvania and Bradenton, Florida, LECOM believes that when mind, body and spirit come together the impossible becomes suddenly possible. It is a calling each and every one of our students embodies to become the best they can be. To prevent disease and treat it. To give hope. Can you hear the calling?
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- LECOM Announces Erie Bayfront Expansion Plans | <urn:uuid:b1c1ee84-14c1-4853-89ad-b57eecfef880> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lecom.edu/news.php/LECOM-Erie-Holds-Annual-Bridging-the-Gaps-Poster-Presentation/49/2207/606/3352 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699273641/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516101433-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.935149 | 1,230 | 1.757813 | 2 |
Tinatin Ninua, Programme Coordinator for political corruption at Transparency International, writes on the need for more transparency in reporting of political party finances in Croatia.
A recently published report on the Western Balkans calls for effective oversight of political party funding that needs to be addressed both by public institutions and civil society. While political parties tend to mobilise significant amounts of money for elections, looking at their financial transactions during regular activities can be very insightful since parties often tend to start campaigning long before the official campaign period commences. The question is whether the election funds mobilised and spent outside of the official campaign period are properly reported and accounted for in a transparent and timely manner.
The example of the Croatian election held last Sunday illustrates why this is important. The official election campaign period in Croatia started on November 17 although by that time most of the contestants in the race had already put up their billboards and engaged in other forms of active voter outreach. Ten days before the election watchdog groups Transparency International Croatia and GONG had said that two of the biggest political groups in the race had been reporting less than what they have spent, according to the independent estimates. Two groups monitored the amount of media space used for election advertising and calculated their value according to the publicly available price lists.
Observers agree that this election represented the first real test for the application of the new law, the Political Activity and Election Campaign Financing Act which was passed earlier this year and has introduced stricter provisions on reporting and disclosure requirements for parties.
As indicated by the findings of the report on transparency in funding of Political Parties in Croatia launched in Zagreb two weeks ago the reliability of official party reports in the past has scored quite low, suggesting that it is not always possible to obtain an accurate idea of financing from official records of political parties. Reports which have to be filed to the Central Election Commission after the election will demonstrate how parties comply to the new requirements. It will also show to what extent the oversight will be exercised, particularly when it comes to identifying the breaching of rules and sanctioning the violations.
However, for the oversight to work it needs to make sure that parties are properly reporting on all funds raised and expenses undertaken. For that purpose there needs to be a clear distinction between regular financing of parties and funding of election campaigns. The Central Election Commission has stated that all expenditure related to elections has to be reported irrespective of the timing of transactions falling in the campaign period. In other words, parties have to report how much money they have paid for placing ads, holding meetings and purchasing services for printing election related material even before the official campaign period kicked off .
However, for the Central Election Commission to know whether parties are in fact reporting on all their election related expenses they will need to see that annual reports of parties do not contain any expenditure that could be related to elections. And this is where the loophole of the current system lies. The expenditure part of the annual reports of parties are not detailed enough to allow that kind of analysis and comparison.
As part of its recommendations of the report, Transparency International Croatia is calling for making expenditure section of the annual financial reports sufficiently detailed. This would allow the identification of vendors and transaction times. That would help the oversight agencies to detect any possible violations and identify to what extent parties have procured services for election purposes outside of the election periods. Such details could help to bring teeth to the new law and make it a real instrument of effective oversight in the hands of the supervising institutions and greater public. | <urn:uuid:06762b1c-7374-4b8a-bbcf-972f02834744> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blog.transparency.org/2011/12/06/the-devil-is-in-the-details-more-transparency-is-needed-for-effective-oversight-of-party-finance-in-croatia/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969522 | 705 | 1.757813 | 2 |
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Runaway emu causes a flap in Combe Florey
NEIGHBOURS got more than they bargained for when a fugitive emu cropped up on their quiet street.
The brown-feathered runaway was on the loose in Combe Florey last week - and was held hostage in somebody's garden over night.
Neilson Smith couldn't believe his eyes when he saw the giant bird - usually found in its native Australia rather than Somerset - roaming around his street before it hopped over his fence.
But police officers ruffled its feathers when they cornered it on Friday (December 7) afternoon.
Mr Smith, of The Combe, said: “It was getting stressed and I wouldn't have been surprised if it jumped back over the fence and escaped.
“My neighbour called me up and said 'look out your front window, there's something strange'. So I asked him if it was an army tank or something, and when I looked out it was an emu.
“It was well and truly on the loose. Police were guarding it in the garden but I don't think having patrol cars around an emu is what they're paid to do.”
The flightless bird was contained by police while the owner was tracked down.
But the Smith household had a new addition for the night when its owner asked for a charitable favour.
Mr Smith added: “The police station called and they had established who the owner was but asked us to keep the bird until the owner could collect it.
“They phoned Friday evening and asked us to keep the emu until Saturday morning. It was collected in the morning with no ill effects.”
- Emus used to fall under the Dangerous Wild Animals Act 1976.
- The bird, native to Australia, is the second largest in the world, behind the ostrich.
- They are flightless and can reach up to two metres in height.
- An emu can reportedly reach speeds of up to 43mph. | <urn:uuid:ef7619db-e2f3-47f9-9808-960aa86ed054> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.somersetcountygazette.co.uk/news/10103190.Runaway_emu_causes_a_flap_in_Combe_Florey/ | 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 | 0.987233 | 445 | 1.828125 | 2 |
Well I thought MyIASM lack of ACID was widely derided and apparently updates weren't even atomic versus crash recovery, and they now default to using innodb engine which is full ACID.
But the article didn't really mention durability. It mentioned lack of integrity, whereas durability seems like it was implied ("MyISAM tables effectively always operate in autocommit = 1 mode").
You can definitely turn off fsync on RDBMS which I think is used to do bulk populates of a new database. But there is definitely that point of populating the thing to transitioning to live data when you need a durable point too. But this is because crash recovery at this point is trivial (recreate the db) compared to the larger cost of fsync. | <urn:uuid:c2ac781c-3511-43af-9f4d-4a8bebae074a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lwn.net/Articles/421268/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967433 | 158 | 1.59375 | 2 |
(Page 2 of 2)
Los Angeles — Garcetti’s name has broader cachet in L.A. for another reason: His father, Gil Garcetti, was the city’s district attorney who oversaw the prosecution of the 1995 O.J. Simpson murder trial, in which the retired football star was famously acquitted. The high-profile trial, in the first of the elder Garcetti’s two terms in office, elevated the family name to such a degree that many Angelenos today often mistake the son for the father.
Eric Garcetti’s Council District 13 is a 13-square-mile collection of neighborhoods, strung like multicolored beads along Sunset Boulevard between downtown and Hollywood. It covers the gamut of L.A.’s ethnicities and proclivities, including Thai Town, Little Armenia, Koreatown and Filipinotown; the gay/lesbian and hipster enclaves of Silver Lake; Echo Park and Los Feliz. There are also swathes of Mexican and Central American areas where a casual visitor might easily imagine having taken a wrong turn in an El Salvador barrio, in Guatemala, or Tijuana.
Latinos count for more than 60% of the quarter-million inhabitants of the densely populated district, which has a median income of about $24,000.
Paramount Pictures, the only major movie studio still located in Hollywood, is the district’s biggest employer. Tourists flock to the district’s attractions, like the Hollywood Walk of Fame. But unemployment is high, and 40% of the district’s children live in poverty.
The problems in the district have sparked a raging battle over urban redevelopment, which has generated the only major controversy of Garcetti’s time in office. Along with Villaraigosa, Garcetti supports a community plan that envisions high-rise apartment complexes and mixed-use commercial towers in the district, fostering a living-and-working neighborhood anchored to Hollywood’s new subway stop.
Garcetti trumpets the plan, recently approved by the city council, as coming on the heels of a “second golden age of Hollywood,” as he put it at a January gathering of 300 business and community leaders hosted by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.
Many residents oppose the plan. Increased street traffic and noise from Hollywood’s status as the new center of L.A.’s nightclub scene already has the neighborhood up in arms. Many longtime residents fear the loss of much of Hollywood’s funky, rundown but affordable housing to sleek skyscrapers that will block views of the Hollywood Hills and its celebrated sign.
Garcetti, an unapologetic booster for development, sees even an upside to L.A.’s horrendous traffic.
“Hey, we’re not Detroit, which doesn’t have any traffic,” he cheerfully told the Forward. “I want to make sure L.A. is the creative center of the world.”
He envisions bands playing and food trucks plying vittles to welcome travelers, a citywide music festival rivaling Austin, Texas’s South by Southwest and “a great street-level experience.”
Garcetti’s enthusiasm notwithstanding, skeptics are not hard to find. “The City Council is not popular,” noted Raphael J. Sonenshein, executive director of the Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Institute of Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles. He cautioned that Garcetti’s long tenure on the city council could pose a stumbling block on his way to City Hall.
His ethnic roots could be a plus, within limits, said Sherry Bebitch Jeffe, political analyst and senior fellow at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy. “You can’t go around campaigning on being Jewish or Latino, or it would appear to be pandering,” Jeffe said.
Garcetti is hot on Jewish entrepreneurialism, philanthropy and community involvement. “I feel like it’s my community,” he said. Though he came from a secular family, he attended Wilshire Boulevard Temple’s summer camp. He has visited Israel several times, and cites the Roth Family Foundation, created by his grandparents, for its contributions to diversity programs, high school dropout prevention and environmental causes. He views Judaism, he said, “as a vehicle for activism.”
Garcetti’s cross-cultural connections have on occasion proven invaluable. His attendance at an Episcopal high school allowed him to help save the Silverlake Independent Jewish Community Center a few years ago when it was foundering financially. He contacted Episcopal Bishop J. Jon Bruno, who played basketball at the JCC in his youth, and helped persuade him to step up with an interest-free loan.
As in every city, politics creates a small town when it comes to relationships. When Garcetti is asked about his opponents, he generously gives credit to Greuel and Perry, both City Council veterans. He also faces a potential contest with Yaroslavsky — his mentor and the officiant who presided at his marriage to Amy Wakeland — with cheerful equanimity.
With another bite of Junior’s chocolate chip rugelach and only a slight hint of how hard he will campaign for the job, Garcetti said, “I will stick to who I am and what I do.”
Contact Rex Weiner at [email protected] | <urn:uuid:f3f55896-1776-4fc7-8e1b-9acd34ea81f4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://forward.com/articles/158762/eric-garcetti-embodies-la-melting-pot/?p=2 | 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 | 0.9559 | 1,151 | 1.5 | 2 |
This history of benefiting the community is fundamental to the Jewish Home’s initiatives and philosophy, and informs its membership in “Building a Healthier San Francisco” – a collaboration of San Francisco hospitals, Department of Public Health, United Way, human services’ providers, philanthropic foundations, and numerous community-based organizations.
The following gives an overview of these community services from July 2011 to June 2012. For a complete account, download our comprehensive Community Benefit Report that covers this time period.
In 2009, the Jewish Home initiated its site master plan, with the goal of bringing it into alignment with health care reform and the way in which care will be delivered in the future. To accommodate seniors’ diverse and changing wishes, needs and interests, the Home aims to develop a full continuum of care that will be sustainable and viable for generations to come; serve a broader range of individuals than it does currently; and also revitalize the surrounding community, benefiting San Francisco as a whole. With this integrated model of housing and services – encompassing residential care and skilled nursing, independent and assisted living memory care, short-term rehabilitation, acute geriatric psychiatry, and community-based healthcare services – individuals will be able to age in place or be served through home- and community-based clinics and programs, technological advances, and innovation.
While the Jewish Home may be changing the mix of services it provides, its mission to enhance and enrich the quality of life for the Bay Area’s older adults remains steadfast, as does its efforts to continue to provide the best care and services possible to its key population of frail, vulnerable elders, including charitable support. In general, the Jewish Home serves the most medically/cognitively frail, as well as financially indigent elders (82 percent of Jewish Home residents are indigent and/or Medi-Cal recipients who do not pay the full cost of care), with an average age of 87.
Innovations on the Jewish Home’s Alzheimer’s Garden Unit include an enclosed garden accessible only to this living environment and the creation of a more homelike setting in order to better serve these individuals. Furthermore, the careful, selective use of the WanderGuard (a signaling device that alerts when a person wearing one is about to exit the facility) enables the Home to care for many more residents with Alzheimer’s, as they may then safely reside on other living environments located on the campus. This also affords these individuals greater freedom to enjoy a variety of secure areas and outdoor spaces.
STARS, the Jewish Home’s short-term and rehabilitation services program, is designed for those age 65 or older who require temporary skilled oversight – including medical rehabilitation and management by on-site physicians, nursing care, and physical, occupational and speech therapies – usually following discharge from an acute hospital or an acute illness, with the goal of returning to the community. In response to the greater need for short-term and rehabilitation services, the Home has significantly expanded the number of beds initially allotted to this type of care.
The Jewish Home is one of the only enterprises in 14 Bay Area counties that ensures the emotional and mental health of seniors through its on-site acute geriatric psychiatry hospital. In fact, it is an imperative service to the greater Bay Area community, as many other similar services have closed. Licensed by the Department of Public Health, acute short-term stays are available to both voluntary and involuntary patients, thus serving a greater number of elders in their time of psychiatric crisis.
Mental health problems in the elderly are often combined with multiple, chronic illnesses that can frequently be disabling. The Jewish Home’s multidisciplinary expertise is applied to diagnose and treat the acute psychiatric issue, while also working with the patient and their family/caregiver to address other aspects of their health. Individualized treatment plans include therapy, specially focused activities, and expert, dedicated care – delivered by geriatric-care professionals who recognize older adults’ complex medical needs and their differing reactions to medications, in addition to acute psychiatric illnesses. Additional modalities, such as acupuncture, has helped many of these patients deal with panic attacks, chronic pain and anxiety issues, and the inclusion of live classical music offerings support a more soothing, healing environment.
The fact that the hospital regularly has a near-full census further solidifies that there is a need for this unique program that addresses older adults’ combined emotional, physical, medical, and medicinal requirements. It is a need that the Jewish Home is successfully meeting.
The Jewish Home aims to promote and protect the community’s health by advancing and sharing knowledge and understanding of the factors that affect health. The following are some of the numerous endeavors undertaken during fiscal year ending June 30, 2011.
The Jewish Home’s president and CEO was in attendance at Aging Services of California’s annual conference in Palm Springs, Calif., in May 2012. (Aging Services is the leading advocate for quality nonprofit senior living and care, representing over 400 nonprofit providers of aging services that collectively serve more than 100,000 seniors.) In addition to being present while the immediate past chair of the Jewish Home’s board of trustees received Aging Services’ Trustee of the Year award, the Home’s CEO was honored to be asked to give the reflection at the conference’s Opening General Session, consistent with this year’s theme, “Inspire, Serve and Advocate.”
The Jewish Home’s president and CEO and chief financial officer attended the 2011 Ziegler Senior Living Finance + Strategy Conference held in Colorado Springs, Colo., in September 2011. This invitation-only event is the industry’s leading conference, focusing on cutting-edge finance and strategic positioning trends affecting today’s senior living providers.
The Jewish Home’s chief administrative officer serves on LeadingAge’s 2012 Not-For-Profit Leadership Cabinet. LeadingAge is made up of 5,400 nonprofit organizations in the United States, 38 state partners, businesses, research partners, consumer organizations, foundations and a broad global network of aging services organizations that reach over 30 countries. The leadership cabinet is charged with, amongst other things, reinforcing the responsibilities that nonprofits have as stewards of philanthropic support and public interest; demonstrating that nonprofits are serving the public good; preparing a report that reflects on the challenges to tax-exemption and recommend actions that nonprofits can take; and communicating nonprofits’ purpose, strength and impact to entities upon which nonprofits rely, such as policy makers, funders, donors, and the public at large.
Director of the Jewish Home’s Center for Research on Aging was selected as the recipient of the 2012 American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics (ASCPT) William B. Abrams Award in Geriatric Clinical Pharmacology. The award honors an investigator in geriatric clinical pharmacology for outstanding contributions to the field. ASCPT consists of over 2,100 professionals committed to promoting and advancing the science and practice of human pharmacology and therapeutics. The Society focuses on improving the understanding and use of existing drug therapies, and developing safer and more effective treatments for the future.
The Jewish Home’s chief nursing officer was able to bring back a complement of best practices ideas and innovative programs from other healthcare communities and organizations as a result of his attendance at the March 2012 American Society on Aging Conference in Washington, D.C. As the conference included an advocacy day at Capitol Hill, there was an opportunity to meet with the lobbyists for a variety of programs and bills advocating for older adults. Discussions covered the Affordable Care Act, reauthorization of the Older American’s Act, entitlement programs, and enhanced quality of life for those we serve. Conference workshops dealt with geriatric care management, care transitions, and quality assurance programs.
The Jewish Home recognizes that providing and collaborating in educational opportunities for adults foster personal and professional development, enhance a sense of community, and promote cross-cultural understanding, cooperation, and support. Below are a few examples of the learning programs and information-sharing made available over the fiscal year ending June 30, 2012.
Over the past 39 years, the Jewish Home has partnered with San Francisco City College in offering several adult education classes to the general community. Approximately 20 to 25 students enroll each semester in the Creative Arts class at the Jewish Home, a weekly all-day endeavor of nine months’ duration. As this class includes resident artists, a spirit of collaboration and participation between the Home and the community is fostered and strengthened. Tai-chi Chia® Mind/Body/Spirit/Health is another course provided through City College that meets weekly at the Home each semester. It is also open to the general community and has an enrollment of 20 to 25 students. Two separate classes were held this past fiscal year, so as to accommodate English-speaking residents as well as those for whom Russian is their primary language.
The Jewish Home’s rabbi and director of Jewish Life regularly teaches in the Jewish community and participates in both educational and leadership development programs with other agencies. Organizations include: Jewish Family and Children’s Services; Union for Reform Judaism; Bay Area Jewish Healing Center (this involves joint training and supervision of spiritual care partners for the collaborative end-of-life program, Kol Haneshama); Northern California Presbyterian Homes & Services, covering an annual event entitled “The Day of the Spirit”; and Bay Area congregations. He is often invited to make presentations to chaplains, Jewish professionals, and lay people on the use of poetry and sacred texts in pastoral care, and on spiritual issues related to aging, illness, dementia and death.
The rabbi’s community teachings, his studies, and his work at the Jewish Home enhance and complement one another. Doorways of Hope: Adapting to Alzheimer’s, a chapter he penned, was included in the book Broken Fragments: Jewish Experiences of Alzheimer’s Disease through Diagnosis, Adaptation, and Moving On (ed. Douglas J. Kohn, 2012). Doorways of Hope combines the rabbi’s experience at the Home with scholarship on Jewish tradition, dementia, and the literature of pastoral care. The entire volume can be useful across the board – from Jewish Home staff and volunteers, to residents and family members.
Director of the Jewish Home’s Center for Research on Aging moderated a panel titled Healthy Brain Aging: What People of all Ages Need to Know in February 2012. Sponsored by the Business Leadership Council of the San Francisco-based Jewish Community Federation, the panel addressed genetics, dementia, and Alzheimer’s disease. Attendees learned about the latest research on recognizing the problems associated with one’s aging brain, as well as remedies to treat the symptoms.
The influx of elderly Russian émigrés to the Bay Area had a significant impact upon San Francisco’s Jewish community. The Jewish Home continues to address this population’s need for residential care, programs, and services. With the assistance of full-time Russian-speaking staff in a range of disciplines and departments, over 140 Russian-speaking residents benefit from the robust Russian services program offered by the Home.
Older adults, particularly low-income seniors, frequently tend to self-isolate. Furthermore, the challenges of shopping for and preparing a healthful meal can be quite overwhelming. In response to this identified need, the Jewish Home – equipped with one of the only kosher kitchens in the Bay Area capable of preparing meals for upwards of several hundred people in any given week – has collaborated for more than 10 years with the San Francisco Jewish Community Center (JCC) to provide hot, nutritious meals to community-dwelling seniors, regardless of their religious or cultural affiliation.
The Home prepares approximately 15,000 meals per year (about 1,250 a month) for the JCC. Additionally, the Home prepares frozen meals that are delivered to seniors who are unable to go to the center, due to illness or injury.
The Jewish Home also ensures that our community seniors are not forgotten or alone during special times. That means preparing tasty, traditional food for 11 important holidays throughout the year.
Seniors in our community need a place to feel at home and interact with friends. Without these meals, many of them would be at risk for poor nutrition and social isolation. Providing fare for the JCC’s older adults is consistent with the Jewish Home’s philosophy of partnership with the nonprofit community in service to our elders.
The Jewish Home’s medical director for short-term and rehabilitation services (STARS), the Home’s community liaison, associated team members and colleagues continue to inform, provide community outreach, and establish strategic partnerships with Bay Area professionals and entities with respect to the Home’s on-site short-stay programs, namely STARS and its acute geriatric psychiatry hospital. The following reflect the range of this past year’s undertakings:
The Jewish Home’s partnership with teams from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) results in referrals in various areas: UCSF’s congestive heart failure team works with STARS to diminish the need for post-operative re-admission by following patients during their STARS stay and thereafter at home. This program is being replicated in association with St. Mary’s Medical Center, San Francisco. UCSF’s orthopedic surgery team begins the STARS admission process on the day of surgery in preparation for admission to STARS on day four. UCSF’s stroke recovery bridge program admits patients to STARS for lower impact rehabilitation. The goal is to increase patient strength to allow for more intensive (acute) rehabilitation. This program is being replicated with St. Mary’s, Saint Francis Memorial Hospital, and California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC), Davis Campus. UCSF’s palliative care team prepares patients to be admitted for end-of-life palliative care.
All case managers have been informed that the Jewish Home has become a member of the Health Net alliance. It is notable that Health Net’s medical management director has established STARS as their preferred provider (“first choice”) for seniors requiring such services. This preferred provider status is directly related to the Jewish Home’s five-star rating from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.
As part of a new bridge program, Stanford Medical Center refers patients to the Home’s STARS program; STARS rehabilitates patients until they are able to transfer to another facility for acute rehabilitation.
The Jewish Home partners with local high schools that aim to involve youth in their community by encouraging them to fulfill needs in their respective milieus. Mutual goals include the promotion of civic responsibility and the development of leadership skills. During this past fiscal year, students from Archbishop Riordan High School, Galileo High School, and Saint Ignatius completed their community service requirements at the Home.
The Home also partners with local colleges to host service-learning programs, which combine experiential learning with community service. This past year, students from City College of San Francisco and San Francisco State University were placed at the Home.
Regarded as one of the premier training sites for rabbinic interns specializing in geriatric work, the Home continues to provide training and supervision to rabbinic students from Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion in Los Angeles, Calif. (in cooperation with the Kalsman Institute on Judaism and Health), and Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion (HUC-JIR) in New York. The students gain knowledge about aging and the illnesses associated with old age from residents, staff members across all departments, volunteers, and family members. Through this essential on-the-job training, the students learn about collaboration, discover how a large institution works, and how a rabbi functions within this kind of setting. These internship opportunities also enable Jewish Home residents to experience the gratification of being mentors to young rabbinic students.
Second-year medical students from University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) are hosted by the Jewish Home’s rabbi every fall/winter as part of the students’ essential core curriculum. In fiscal year 2012, 30 medical students chose to attend five sessions at the Jewish Home. The program helps the medical students appreciate the challenges and rewards of working with patients and families during serious and terminal illness. The students observe the rabbi’s style of visitation with Jewish Home residents, study texts and poems with him, and reflect on ways in which pastoral care may be integrated into a physician’s practice.
In partnership with UCSF, a graduate student pursuing a master’s in nursing completed her internship at the Jewish Home by piloting a new training that focuses on developing nursing unit-specific quality improvement (QI) programs. Taking QI measures and practices from the overarching facility-wide level to individual units has resulted in enhanced team work, a greater sense of community among staff, increased self-worth, creative problem-solving, and the opportunity to share in successes. The UCSF student has reported the program’s positive outcomes to UCSF and other comparable facilities.
With the Jewish Home’s chief nursing officer acting as preceptor, the Home is offered as an internship site for San Francisco State University (SFSU) students in the administrator-in-training program. This forms part of SFSU’s master’s in gerontology curriculum.
Achieve, a year-round, four-year high school scholarship and enrichment program for underserved, low-income minority students, opens a world of possibilities by providing students with access to quality education – including cultural, career, and community service experiences. A total of 32 achieve students from Archbishop Riordan High School and Mercy High School participated in an academic-year program at the Jewish Home, where they assisted residents of the Home with a variety of activities, ranging from Oneg Shabbat (post-Sabbath) services to acting as companions. Partnerships and interactions such as these result in a deeper understanding and appreciation of both generations’ perspectives, life experiences, and challenges.
The Home frequently participates in joint educational programs with religious and non-religious youth groups, ranging from kindergarteners to those attending middle school. Teachers from synagogues often request visits to the Home when they wish to introduce their students to the wider Jewish community, educate them about the cycle of life, and respect for elders. Their visits are also intended to promote the concept of community service. The Home collaborates with, among others, Bay Area Mitzvah Corps, Brandeis Hillel Day School, Congregation Beth Am, Congregation Beth El, Congregation Beth Sholom, Congregation Emanu-El, Congregation Kol Shofar, Congregation Sha’ar Zahav, Congregation Sherith Israel, Mercy High School, Peninsula Beth El, Peninsula Jewish Community Center, and Peninsula Temple Sholom.
The Young Adults Division (YAD) of the Jewish Community Federation provided community service at the Jewish Home by assisting with activity programming and celebrating the Jewish holidays with the Home’s residents and patients. These kinds of undertakings make for rewarding and enjoyable interactions across generations.
Employment Plus, a nonprofit agency, seeks both paid and voluntary employment for adults with developmental disabilities and provides on-the-job support through job coaching. The long-term goal of the program is to have individuals become fully integrated, participatory, and contributing members of the community in which they work and live. The short-term goal is to maximize each individual’s self-reliance, independence, and productivity. The Home serves as a work site for four adult participants in this program who perform duties in the Home’s Environmental Services department one and a half hours per day, four days a week, accompanied by a job coach.
Medical social workers, hospital discharge planners, and other geriatric specialists gathered at the Jewish Home in October 2011 for the Home’s 11th annual hosting of the Bay Area Social Workers In Health Care event. This much-anticipated occasion once again featured a reception, a dinner, and an enlightening hour of continuing education. From Isolation to Inclusion: Reaching and Serving LGBT Older Adults was the title of the evening’s special programming component, presented by the director of Education and Outreach at Openhouse. With Openhouse’s focus on developing critically needed housing, services and community programs to support the health and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender older adults, the evening’s guests learned how to create welcoming, safe, and secure environments for LGBT clients.
The Jewish Home is a mid-size employer in the city of San Francisco and provides employment to more than 700 employees each year, ranging from skilled labor to executive-level positions.
Staff of the Jewish Home supported the efforts of Jewish Family and Children’s Services (JFCS) by donating a significant number of new and gently used coats for JFCS’s clients of all ages. The Jewish Home shares JFCS’s commitment to helping those who need it most, fostering strong individuals, strong families, and a strong community.
Staff of the Jewish Home had the benefit of participating in HealthWorks in October 2011. This wellness program, run in collaboration with Kaiser Permanente, provided a comprehensive health screening covering blood pressure readings, body fat percentage, BMI, total cholesterol and glucose.
The Jewish Home embarked upon a new process in 2011 to hear directly from residents and staff about their levels of satisfaction in various areas. In partnership with a research company, anonymous and thus confidential surveys were conducted to help identify community and organizational strengths, provide standardized data that is comparable across communities, and impart information to direct quality improvement efforts. An interdepartmental task force has been charged with developing and implementing detailed action plans to improve life and work experiences at the Home. These surveys are ongoing, with the next survey process scheduled for completion in March 2013.
The Home’s Emergency Management Committee is responsible for ensuring that both residents and staff are primed, equipped, and safe during any expected (and unexpected) crisis, and that all are educated, as well. This committee also partners with community agencies, attending external meetings with other hospitals to share policies and ideas, and participating in citywide table-top drills. This enables hospitals, skilled nursing homes, and San Francisco’s first responders to practice emergency preparedness in a larger, citywide response mode.
The Jewish Home’s security personnel conduct patrols of the facility’s perimeter and abutting neighborhood area as a regular part of their 24-hours, seven-days-a-week security measures and safety protocols. By working in concert with the local police department, being vigilant about tracking unusual occurrences, and maintaining open lines of communication with the SFPD, the Home’s security team plays a significant role in preventing some neighborhood crime, while continuing to ensure the safety of its residents, patients, staff, visitors, and nearby dwellers.
The Jewish Home successfully partners with local organizations, fostering dialogue, collaborations, and ongoing communications with its neighbors.
Since the inception of the Excelsior Street Festival 10 years ago, the Home has served as a major sponsor of this annual event.
A strong Jewish Home contingent, including family members and good friends, raised funds for and took part in the Walk to End Alzheimer’s in September 2011. This nationwide event raises awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s care, support and research to treat and prevent the disease, and to provide programs to improve the lives of millions of those affected.
Enriching the quality of life of older adults is the Jewish Home’s mission – and also an accelerated scientific imperative. The need for research to develop new therapies for disorders of aging, diseases of the elderly, and prevention of age-associated diseases is even more essential and relevant today. Statistics show that people are living longer and geriatric care has changed; it now focuses on quality of life – helping individuals retain their physical and mental capacities for as long as possible.
The March 2012 appointment of the first occupant of the Jewish Home-based Harris Fishbon Distinguished Professorship in Clinical Translational Research in Aging will advance this urgent need for more geriatric research and further the Jewish Home’s mission of ensuring that people enjoy quality of life. This new, prestigious position is key to the success of the Jewish Home’s goal of being the leading center for geriatric clinical research in the San Francisco Bay Area.
With one in four older adults living with four or more co-occurring chronic conditions – many of them serious and thus contributing to high illness burden – the Fishbon appointee will lead the development of a research program to improve the care and health of older adults, including very old persons, by translating research findings into clinical benefits and therapies.
The Fishbon professorship is the product of a research partnership established in 2010 between the University of California, San Francisco, and the Jewish Home. The Jewish Home’s elderly population provides UCSF with the ideal setting for this research, while UCSF, one of the nation’s most significant academic medical centers, is an excellent partner in this work.
Director of the Jewish Home’s Center for Research on Aging and her co-investigator from UCSF’s Division of Geriatrics continue to study how multiple medications affect elderly Americans who suffer from multiple diseases, and how to improve their treatments. This ongoing study is made possible through funding by a National Institutes of Health challenge grant, an award garnered by the Jewish Home’s research director through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The Jewish Home’s chief nursing officer teaches two core classes, Aging Processes and Aging and Diversity, to students seeking a master’s degree in gerontology from San Francisco State University. His curriculum includes a day-long intern program at the Jewish Home. Designed to introduce the students to the unique aspects of working in a skilled nursing facility and encourage them to make it their career choice, the program covers every facet of the Home – from patient care, to meeting spiritual needs, to fundraising, and everything in-between. This experience brings the students’ course work to life and broadens their understanding of serving the elderly – a population that is growing faster than any other. In addition to expanding their knowledge base, students have an opportunity to view the Jewish Home’s high standards and philosophy of care. Outcomes are proving to be most positive: To date, a number of students have chosen to take up available positions at the Home.
In collaboration with the San Francisco-based American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Home serves as a weekly on-site acupuncture clinic, helping acupuncture students gain experience in treating elders and providing residents who choose to manage their treatment through this modality with the opportunity to do so in a suitable setting and convenient manner.
As a complement to traditional medical care, Healing Touch – a therapeutic approach that uses gentle, non-invasive hands-on touch and energy techniques – has proven to be a particularly good tool for decreasing agitation in residents with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. This award-winning program has been enthusiastically embraced by the Home’s culture, by the medical community, and beyond.
At the initiative of the Jewish Home’s rabbi and director of Jewish Life, the Home implemented Kol Haneshama: Jewish End-of-Life/Hospice Volunteer Program – a program of volunteer and staff training that the Jewish Home co-sponsors with the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center. The Home and the Healing Center have worked in close partnership with the Zen Hospice Project, a nationally recognized innovator in the training of volunteers for end-of-life care. In addition to the interagency cooperation that exists between the Jewish Home, the Bay Area Jewish Healing Center, and the Zen Hospice Project as a result of this program, numerous families have benefited from knowing their loved one formed a close relationship as they approached the end of their life.
The needs that this award-winning, nationally recognized program addresses is enhanced by the work of the Home’s Palliative Care Committee, an interdisciplinary group that looks beyond symptom management to the psychosocial and spiritual aspects of the end of life, of dying residents, and their families.
Congruent with the Jewish Home’s philosophy that no one who is actively dying should be going through this process alone, the Home collaborates with two Bay Area home care agencies, scheduling sitters (caregivers) for the times that staff may not be available, when family members live at a distance, or in those cases where the resident/patient does not have loved ones. These caregivers receive personal training by the Home’s chief nursing officer, thereby gaining valuable skills in the care of the elderly.
The Jewish Home has a 140-plus-year history of community benefit to the elderly population of the Bay Area. Objectives to continue this history of service are a principal part of the Home’s organizational philosophy and strategic planning initiatives. Specific activities to address community benefits include transforming the Jewish Home’s campus into a model of care that will benefit more older adults in the Bay Area (including the frail and vulnerable), address urgent societal challenges (such as the huge wave of baby boomers reaching retirement age), and help sustain the Jewish Home’s charitable mission by being financially viable; along with Jewish Home & Senior Living Foundation, establishing Jewish Senior Living Group to develop a broad and integrated network of senior living communities, programs, and services in the Bay Area; exploring collaborations with organizations whose missions are similar to that of the Jewish Home’s, with the intent of extending the breadth of care, programs, and services so as to better serve constituent members.
The board of trustees of the Jewish Home is committed to its long tradition of service to the entire community and, in particular, the underserved. It will continue to identify and plan for needs as the ages and demographics of both members of the community and the Home’s residents undergo change. | <urn:uuid:7066553c-d1fe-411e-8dc5-d12fe7f49b51> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jhsf.org/about-community-benefit.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.947118 | 6,197 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Stress during fetal life increases the risk of affective and immune disorders later in life. The altered peripheral immune response caused by prenatal stress may impact on brain function by the modification of local inflammation. In this study we have explored whether prenatal stress results in alterations in the immune response in the hippocampus of female mice during adult life.
Pregnant C57BL/6 mice were subjected three times/day during 45 minutes to restraint stress from gestational Day 12 to delivery. Control non-stressed pregnant mice remained undisturbed. At four months of age, non-stressed and prenatally stressed females were ovariectomized. Fifteen days after surgery, mice received an i.p. injection of vehicle or of 5 mg/kg of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Mice were sacrificed 20 hours later by decapitation and the brains were removed. Levels of interleukin-1beta (IL1beta), interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interferon gamma-inducible protein 10 (IP10), and toll-like receptor 4 mRNA were assessed in the hippocampus by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Iba1 immunoreactivity was assessed by immunocytochemistry. Statistical significance was determined by one-way or two-way analysis of variance.
Prenatal stress, per se, increased IL1beta mRNA levels in the hippocampus, increased the total number of Iba1-immunoreactive microglial cells and increased the proportion of microglial cells with large somas and retracted cellular processes. In addition, prenatally stressed and non-stressed animals showed different responses to peripheral inflammation induced by systemic administration of LPS. LPS induced a significant increase in mRNA levels of IL-6, TNF-alpha and IP10 in the hippocampus of prenatally stressed mice but not of non-stressed animals. In addition, after LPS treatment, prenatally stressed animals showed a higher proportion of Iba1-immunoreactive cells in the hippocampus with morphological characteristics of activated microglia compared to non-stressed animals. In contrast, LPS induced similar increases in expression of IL1beta and toll-like receptor 4 in both prenatally stressed and non-stressed animals.
These findings indicate that prenatal stress induces long-lasting modifications in the inflammatory status of the hippocampus of female mice under basal conditions and alters the immune response of the hippocampus to peripheral inflammation. | <urn:uuid:4bf90e3b-8896-466f-bb91-fe9fc77f32f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.myjournals.org/index.php?nr=208508 | 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 | 0.934194 | 517 | 1.71875 | 2 |
By BEN LEFEBVRE
The use of rail cars to transport crude oil in the US reached a record in 2012 and continues to rise, the Association of American Railroads said Thursday.
Refiners increasingly depend on rail cars to bring in the oil being produced in increasing quantities throughout the US and Canada. Innovations in drilling techniques have allowed oil companies to cull oil from shale formations in South Texas, North Dakota and elsewhere faster than pipeline companies have been able to connect the wells to market.
A record 233,811 carloads of crude oil traversed the US in 2012, up from 65,751 carloads the year before, the association said. In January, crude oil and fuel shipments via rail averaged 13,043 carloads a week, up 54% from the 2012 weekly average, the association added.
"There's never been a year when they've been 250% plus up," said Kevin Sterling, analyst at BB&T Capital Markets. "The tank car manufacturers, they're building tank cars as fast as the orders come in."
In Canada, rail shipments of crude oil and finished fuel reached an average of 6,838 carloads in January, up 35% from the 2012 average.
Rail shipments of oil will continue to rise as PBF Energy, Phillips 66 and other refiners increase their demand for oil from West Canada, Cushing, Okla., West Texas and the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota, analysts have said.
Kinder Morgan Energy Partners said Thursday its joint-venture project KW Express would build a 210,000 bpd crude-by-rail project on the Houston Ship Channel, a major conduit for oil coming to the Houston refining belt.
The use of rail cars is also expanding further to the east coast, where PBF runs two refineries that had been dependent on more expensive imported oil.
"We're convinced this is a very, very long-term trend," PBF chairman Tom O'Malley said of railcar-oil delivery during a call with investors.
Dow Jones Newswires | <urn:uuid:17128832-a931-4809-af2a-036fae5e9ff3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/Article/3159048/Refining-Diesel/US-crude-rail-deliveries-hit-record-high-still-rising.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964819 | 421 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Segmental retaining walls are walls made of pre-formed concrete blocks. (read more below...)
When most people think of these kind of retaining walls, they envision the basic concrete wall blocks you can get at stores like Home Depot. But in reality, that's just one type of retaining wall block of the hundreds that are available these days. There are a wide variety of wall blocks to choose from.
There are two main reasons you'd chose this variety of retaining wall over a rock wall. First, to create a formal look. If you have a paver patio or other concrete structures in your landscape or just want to have a more contemporary, formal look then this kind of wall can complement the rest of your landscape or home. Second, you'd want to consider a segmental retaining wall if structural integrity is critical. Rock walls can fail or move. But a properly built segmental retaining wall should never fail. So if it's important that the wall never fail because of what it's retaining, then this variety of wall would be the way to go.
The first thing you ought to consider when constructing a segmental retaining wall is construction procedures and base preparation. A wall built quickly and cheaply is probably not a wall that will last. A retaining wall is a functional feature of your landscape that, when constructed well, can be a thing of beauty. However, a poorly built wall will quickly become an eye sore, even if the best materials have been used.
The most expensive retaining wall is the one you have to pay for twice!
At Lewis Landscape Services, we believe strongly in doing things right the first time. There are no shortcuts accepted when we construct a wall. We know that base preparation is key to the final product and throughout the building phase, all rules of engineering will be closely followed. The owner, our project manager, and each of our installers are certified wall builders. We'll make sure your wall gets built to your liking and will last for a long, long time.
To begin, simply complete our online quote request form and one of our Portland Retaining Wall experts will evaluate your information and contact you promptly to begin your personalized bid process. Or call today to set an appointment: 503-524-3679.
Lewis Landscape Services of Beaverton Oregon, specializes in concrete block retaining walls in the SW Portland Oregon area, and surrounding cities. See our Service Areas section for more details. | <urn:uuid:23f0bfa7-9a2e-4c21-858e-d50e5c33ad89> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lewislandscape.com/retaining_walls.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944214 | 492 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Hortiscope: Hire professional to trim poplar tree annuallyQ: I had a question concerning the growth of red maples. How can I tell if the tree is in shock or is stunted? About six years ago, I planted two red maples in the front yard. One tree is almost five times the size of the other. I am wondering what could be wrong. Both get adequate water, and we have not experienced a drought. I’m wondering if I didn’t remove enough of the root sack or if it is bad soil.
By: Don Kinzler, INFORUM | <urn:uuid:655cc993-3000-4676-b03b-0acf96da1f3e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.agweek.com/event/contentEmail/id/341634/contentType/article/publisher_ID/1/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.946215 | 127 | 1.8125 | 2 |
I am at a loss to understand how this bill opens an opportunity for criminals that was not previously there, nor do I see how denying Transgender rights affords society a magic lock on public bathrooms that keeps villains out. The juxtaposition of crime with Transgender rights seems meant to remind us of a time when homosexual activity was illegal; a time that many of the opponents of this bill think longingly of.
There are hate groups out there still churning up imaginary issues for us to buy into and using our fears against us. Women’s suffrage and the Civil Rights Movement have taught us that hate will never fade completely away; it is an unpleasant reality of social dynamics we must learn to live with. We have a responsibility to be good neighbors to one another and to examine the facts carefully when we are asked to give our opinions or pass judgment. We should be as careful and fair with other people’s issues as we would have them be with ours.
What concerns me the most about what I see happening in reference to H1728 is how good people will listen to hate mongers and follow them so readily, accepting their unfounded untruths as fact. We need to be ever vigilant not to shirk our responsibility as Americans to defend the liberty others died to give us, or we dishonor that sacrifice. In saying that H1728 will open the bathroom door to predators of women and children the opponents of Transgender rights are attempting to play the moderate middle for fools, hoping that people won’t care enough to examine the facts for themselves, since they’ve seen this method work so well in the recent past with other issues.
I pray that we will learn from our mistakes and in the future have the courage to look where we should and remember our duty to one another as a unified people. I hold hope that this future will come soon.
“Some people ask why, I ask why not?” ~Robert Kennedy | <urn:uuid:a7423d6d-03ac-4170-b5fa-a12e1d70107b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://livelovelearn247.blogspot.com/2011/05/wheres-bathroom.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706499548/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516121459-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97403 | 398 | 1.507813 | 2 |
You'll forgive me for not being impressed but I've seen it before. Remember the rumor spread about her supposedly eating lobster, caviar, and champagne at the Waldorf-Astoria while Obama was preparing for the third Presidential debate in 2008? It didn't happen. Not that it matters, however. After all, why let truth stand in the way of a good rumor.
But there is a new thing in this recent smear. Members of the right, such as Rush Limbaugh, have compared Mrs. Obama to Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France during the French Revolution who was executed for crimes against the state. It's a talking point which several have repeated so don't think the comparison is spontaneous or by accident.
Antoinette's name is byword for uncaring extravagance mostly due to the legend of her comments regarding why the people of France were raising hell. Allegedly when she was told that they have no bread, she remarked "let them eat cake." The story symbolized her supposed nasty attitude regarding her subjects.
And so we have members of the right now using Mrs. Obama's vacation in Spain with her daughter to spread the meme that she is just like Antoinette in the fact that she is doesn't care about people suffering from this awful climate of recession in the United States.
However, I would advise those on the right to tread lightly with this comparison. While it is not known for a fact that Antoinette said the "let them eat cake" comment, it is known that the rumors were used to make her public enemy number one in France. She was not popular for a multitude of reasons, one of which because she was foreign (Austrian). Therefore any negative rumor told about her gained immediate popularity
So subsequently when she, her husband Louis XVI, and the rest of their retinue were arrested, she was subjected to many indiginities by the French mobs hungry for blood including:
- nearly made to stare at the head of her mutiliated friend (Maria Teresa Luisa of Savoy, Princess of Lamballe) as crowds paraded it on a stick outside of her window,
- being separated from her family and falsely accused of molesting her young son, a charge which she denied so vehemently that it is said she nearly turned the women who were against her to her side,
- and even suffering a final indignity of being denied privacy before her execution to take care of the hemmorraging caused by her uterine cancer.
Certainly things are not as extreme for Mrs. Obama as they were for Antoinette the irony here is stark. Members of the right are using a historical symbol of uncaring extravagance to smear the First Lady while forgetting that this same figure became that symbol due to substantiated rumors designed to flame mobs against her.
Perhaps Limbaugh and the rest shouldn't worry about how much Mrs. Obama compares to Marie Antoinette and worry about how they compare to those bloodthirsty French mobs who demanded Antoinette's blood. | <urn:uuid:8da9de93-6cb5-4f47-9077-9f2b00a176b1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://holybulliesandheadlessmonsters.blogspot.com/2010_08_07_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987866 | 615 | 1.507813 | 2 |
THE POWER OF CHEMISTRY
When recruiting top executives, a headhunter must also consider soft skills.
They may not belong to the top movers and shakers, but nevertheless are involved in achieving spectacular results for the German economy. We are talking about the top management of German mid-sized companies.
Our example: The sole owner of a group of 3 companies operating in three distinct markets with about 1000 employees has been running his business together with a general manager. After nearly 30 years, he is now looking for a suitable successor. Who can be entrusted with such an important position? During an extensive conversation with an executive recruiter, another topic that was discussed was how all three companies could benefit from the change. The owner and the recruiter agreed that the ideal successor would have to be a highly skilled electrical engineer with prior work experience in innovative companies involved in mass production in the electrical, plastics and/or precision engineering industries.
There are various ways to proceed with this search.
First, one could place a recruitment ad and mention the hiring company. This would require that a top manager would always be available to field phone inquiries, which in our case study was not possible. The alternative was a consultant’s ad, where the hiring company would be described without actually mentioning its name. The position would be depicted as an exciting, challenging and interesting career opportunity, in the hope of reaching the correct target group and enticing readers to send in their applications.
After considering all the options and the job requirements, the recruiter recommended executive search. The reason: People who run mid-sized companies have very specific expectations about their future executives. Executive search is therefore most likely to produce the ideal candidate.
The first impression countsHow does the headhunter proceed? First, the researcher compiles a list of companies in the required industries where seemingly suitable candidates are employed. This delicate task requires a researcher with a high degree of intelligence, sensitivity, empathy, a quick mind and excellent communication skills. Of course, he/she speaks fluent German and English and has the ability to overcome obstacles.
What follows is the first phone contact by a consultant with prospective candidates. As in a face-to-face meeting, the same rule applies: You’ll never get a second chance to make a first impression! It is at this point that first contact prevails or is derailed. The successful recruiting of a top manager absolutely depends on the qualification and capability of the recruiter.
Once the first objective of seeking out suitable candidates is finished, we come to the second phase. Here we must get an accurate first impression of the candidates. Our experience shows, that highly capable top executives decide very quickly, if they are interested in continuing the initial contact. This short description of phase 1 and 2 might mistakenly lead to the belief, that the entire search process is relatively easy and uncomplicated. In reality, however, the search is full of obstacles, hurdles and voice mails. In our above-mentioned case study, 20 information folders that did not identify the hiring company were sent to interested candidates, outlining in detail the focus of the position including the requirement to strategically drive all three companies to the fore.
The second phone contact made after the receipt of the information folder establishes a preliminary profile of the candidate. Is he/she suitable both professionally and personally? Are we talking to a generalist, with an excellent theoretical as well as professional background and broad experience? Does he/she have strong strategical skills with the ability to lead three companies with a total of six General Managers to new and ambitious goals? Five of the contacted candidates appeared to be suitable and a face-to-face interview seemed warranted for both sides. Such personal interviews are geared to evaluate the personality of a candidate and to make certain that the chemistry between the employer and the candidate is right. The candidate has the right to expect full answers to his questions with regard to facts and figures of the hiring company, which of course now has been named.
Gut DecisionsIt is also the task of the personnel consultant to make the client aware of the pitfalls, which can affect him personally, when hiring his dream candidate. This puts the consultant into a moderating role and requires gut feeling to ferret out if these two individuals can and will work together successfully. Of the three candidates presented, one was truly the right one. It was almost like love at first sight. This demonstrates that such decisions are often gut decisions.
What have we learned? One can attract a top candidate, who will bring to the table entrepreneurial spirit and deliver excellent results, if he is given a detailed description of the strengths and weaknesses of the client company, a clear definition of a vision & mission statement and the expressed assurance that the sought-after candidate will be able to lead a company, business unit or division as though it would be his own.
There are no patent solutions, but the initial recruiting phase is very important for a long and healthy working relationship. This is where personal traits play a much more significant role than technical qualifications. In so-called exit interviews with executives one often learns, that in the final analysis, personal problems between the parties led to the separation. Here we hear words like corporate culture, management style, but in reality it comes down to this: If you restrict a very competent position holder, and we are only talking about such people here, in the way he can handle his job, this becomes very frustrating to such an individual and will sooner or later lead to his resignation.
As in real life: If, after great consideration and with the help of a recruitment professional, two people are put together who demonstrate optimism and positive thinking and are flexible, then such a business relationship should last at least five years. | <urn:uuid:f4d99eb7-181c-48ff-93d5-852316be6a0a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.konstroffer.de/index.php?id=30&L=1 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704713110/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516114513-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.965694 | 1,166 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Friday, 09 March 2012 00:00
Two recent house fires, one in New Jersey and one right here in Levittown has prompted me, in the interest of fire safety, to review both of them. The fire in South Plainfield, NJ two weeks ago took the lives of four young children and one adult. It scarred the lives of the members of that volunteer fire department’s members. They witnessed horrors there that they will long remember.
The other house fire took place in Levittown on Feb. 24. In that fire, three children and one adult escaped with very minor injuries. The Levittown Fire Department volunteers responded quickly and extinguished the fire.
Both are two early morning house fires with occupants inside, two very different outcomes. Which house fire closely resembles your home?
The common denominator in both these fires is obviously smoke detectors.
As you may have heard on the TV reports, there were no working smoke detectors in the New Jersey fire and people died a horrible death. In the Levittown fire, smoke detectors were present and operated and the occupants escaped. The family’s pet dog also shares the credit for also alerting them.
If there were working smoke detectors in the New Jersey fire, I’m sure the outcome would have been different. In this day and age, there is no excuse not to have smoke detectors in your home to alert your loved ones.
Most fire departments give them away for free; some will even come and install them for you if you can’t. The Nassau County Fire Marshal’s office, whose job it is to investigate fires, reports that residential fires where a working smoke detector was present, there was no loss of life!
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to understand that these simple, cheap devices save lives, and yet the many fire chiefs I have spoken to report that many homes they have entered did not have a smoke detector.
In New York, it’s the law; at least one working smoke detector must be present. Enforcement is difficult. What is most frustrating is when there is a fire and death or serious injury result no charges are filed, (unless its a rental, then they go after the landlord). As long as we let this happen these fires will occur again and again.
So I ask again, which of these homes bests describes your home? There are many different types of smoke detectors out there, some talk to you. There have been studies where it was found many children are not awakened by the standard smoke alarm. Do you know if your alarms will wake your family in time?
You should also have an escape plan. Once the smoke alarm wakes you, what’s your plan to get out? If you have questions, call your fire department for advice.
Levittown Fire Department | <urn:uuid:fab079d1-5367-4bcc-beb7-012d82cd27d0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.antonnews.com/levittowntribune/opinion/21442-letter-a-story-of-two-house-fires.html | 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 | 0.974786 | 584 | 1.679688 | 2 |
Earlier this year we reported that Ericsson was teaming up with DJ and producer Avicii to create a crowdsourced hit song.
Things kicked off with a call-to-action for Avicii’s fans and fellow producers to contribute their own sounds from across the world, with segments submitted online and Avicii acting as executive producer, curating content like the bassline, effects, melody, rhythms, and vocals.
Well, that track is now available, with Avicii trawling through 13,000 submissions from 140 countries to create ‘X You’ from 4,199 producers.
The collaboration was in partnership with Ericsson, At Night Management, and Universal Music Sweden, and was designed to show how a networked society enables innovation and business transformation.
Avicii selected weekly semi-finalists, with fans voting for the final sounds and beats which he used to create the final track which premiered at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona. Ericsson President and CEO Hans Vestberg said:
“I am excited to see the possibilities and the creativity come alive into one song crafted by Avicii and all the fans. It starts a flow of thinking for all industries to re-invent the way they collaborate across time and borders. Music is one of the first industries being transformed by networking, collaboration and new technologies. We now see TV, publishing and the whole entertainment industry going down the same path.”
Ericsson launched the latest in its Networked Society short film series back in October, focusing on the future of learning. The film taps some of the leading minds in education and technology, and the 20-minute video is well worth a watch just to give you a snapshot of where we’re currently at in education, and where we’re going.
This followed on from the Swedish telecommunications giant’s previous short film, Thinking cities: The challenges of urbanization in a networked society, which explored the challenges and opportunities of urbanization in a connected world.
This latest Ericsson project isn’t the first attempt at creating a hit song via the gift of crowdsourcing. Indeed, just last year the Reddit community came up with Reddit Top of the Pops, a subreddit constituting a collection of threads aimed at getting a pop song to the top of charts. It didn’t succeed.
It still remains to be seen whether Avicii’s effort will become a hit or not, these kinds of things can’t really be controlled as it’s entirely up to the music-loving public to decide. It will be distributed on digital platforms such as Spotify, iTunes and VEVO, with all proceeds to be donated to charity.
Feature Image Credit – Thinkstock | <urn:uuid:5e6df9de-6a9a-4c46-ae2d-336d33fff43e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thenextweb.com/insider/2013/02/27/ericsson-teams-up-with-dj-and-producer-avicii-to-try-and-crowdsource-the-worlds-first-hit-song-2/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.937727 | 570 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Midway was actually founded on Dec. 11, 1961 by Ed Mills, Wallace Pate, Boyd Marlowe, Henry Deer and Seth Dingle, but didn’t start providing service until 1962. The first employee was Fire Chief William Dotter.
For its first 20 years of existence, Midway relied on volunteers like John Stewart, who joined in 1977.
Before there was a standardized 911 system for emergencies, Waccamaw Neck residents had to call the Litchfield Inn or the Seagull Inn if there was a fire. Whoever was on duty at the inns would then call the volunteers.
“Sometimes it took awhile to get all the volunteers out,” Stewart said.
There was also a siren at the firehouse on Highway 17 near the Shell station, but if you didn’t live nearby you couldn’t hear it.
Stewart said because the community was so small and everybody knew each other, volunteers would often get directions like “go to the Smiths’ house and take a right and the fire is down that road.”
When Mike Mock took over as chief in 1978 he raised money to buy pagers for the volunteers.
As the Waccamaw Neck continued to grow, Mock realized that Midway needed full-time firefighters. He raised money and worked with the county for years before hiring Sam Rudolph in 1986.
In those days, Midway responded to less than 200 calls per year. Doug Eggiman, who was the third full-time firefighter hired and is now the chief, said people were amazed when the yearly tally topped 300. In 2011, Midway responded to more than 2,300 calls.
Midway’s evolution continued with firefighters training to become EMTs and paramedics to supplement the Pawleys Island Rescue Squad.
“There weren’t a lot of programs like that in the state,” Eggiman said.
Around 2003, with fewer volunteers available, the Rescue Squad asked Midway to take over water rescues. By 2005, the Rescue Squad officially became part of Midway.
As Midway grew, firefighters moved from the old station on Highway 17 to the headquarters station off Willbrook Boulevard, which was recently rebuilt, and to stations in DeBordieu and on Beaumont Lane.
“It’s been incredible to watch the department grow and it’s been incredible to watch the people grow,” Eggiman said.
• • •
Georgetown County is inviting all former Midway employees and volunteers to an anniversary celebration on Sunday at 2 p.m. at the headquarters station. Please RSVP to 545-3620.
By Chris Sokoloski | <urn:uuid:24147cc3-3215-4483-8d48-b72101e4414e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.waccamawtimes.com/Midway-celebrates-half-century | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.971557 | 562 | 1.734375 | 2 |
While the “Question 2” ballot initiative poses a real threat to the people of Massachusetts, the same pro-doctor prescribed death lobby has been promoting a nearly identical measure far and wide across the nation for nearly two decades with very limited success. Despite numerous ballot initiatives, court challenges, and well over one hundred legislative efforts, doctor-prescribed suicide has been affirmatively legalized only in Washington and Oregon. (In Montana, the high court says that doctors are permitted to raise consent as a defense in a homicide or civil case.) Once several key points about the law are considered, most states have rejected the notion that doctors ought to be able to prescribe death to patients.
1. The proposed initiative cannot be legally restricted to only the competent.
While the ballot initiative that is currently being promoted claims to restrict doctor prescribed suicide to only the competent, there is no requirement that the patient be given a psychiatric evaluation. It is a well established psychological fact that nearly every terminally ill patient who desires death is suffering from treatable depression. This means that a physician, with no previous relationship with a patient, can prescribe suicide to that patient without even a specialist’s evaluation to see if there is common depression, or other judgment-impairing conditions.
Even more shockingly, State courts have ruled time and again that if competent people have a right, the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment requires that incompetent people be “given” the same “right.” Under the Massachusetts state constitution, this would also be the case. Consequently, a “surrogate” could direct doctor-prescribed death for those unable to make decisions for themselves, such as patients with an advance Alzheimer’s.
2. The proposed safeguards are extremely difficult to enforce.
Even if the safeguards were legally meaningful, which they are not, how would one go about enforcing them? Suppose that a cancer patient who has recently moved to Massachusetts requests doctor prescribed suicide and is given the lethal drugs. Then her daughter, who lives out of state, only finds out about it once her mother has committed suicide. Suppose the daughter knew her mother was being treated for early dementia in a nearby state. Not only would there be no legal requirement to notify the daughter, she also would have a very difficult time seeking legal recourse. Under the proposed initiative, the standard of care doctors are required to meet is lowered far below the regular standard of care in malpractice lawsuits.
What is even more disturbing is that in Washington and Oregon, death certificates are not permitted to give suicide as the case of death. Moreover, in those states the health department must destroy the required underlying reporting paperwork after only one year. This makes both potential litigation, and identifying true numbers of suicides very difficult.
3. While it is claimed that only religious and pro-life groups oppose these measures, the strongest opponent of these laws in the states are disability rights groups and medical societies.
One very outspoken group against the practice of doctor-prescribed death is the disability rights group “Not Dead Yet.” According to the group’s website, “Since 1983, many people with disabilities have opposed the assisted suicide and euthanasia movement. Though often described as compassionate, legalized medical killing is really about a deadly double standard for people with severe disabilities, including both conditions that are labeled terminal and those that are not.” There is a long list of national and state disability rights groups that join them in opposing these laws.
Additionally, the Massachusetts Medical Society’s House of Delegates voted overwhelmingly to retain the Society’s long-standing opposition to physician assisted suicide. The final tally was 178 to 56. That position was reaffirmed last week.
4. Not one person in Oregon has chosen suicide because he or she was in pain.
In Oregon, where doctor prescribed death has been legal for well over a decade, there have been several studies conducted through family members and even patients before they died about why they are using suicide. Shockingly, not one person has requested suicide because he or she was in pain. In fact, the studies show the predominate motive is fear of becoming a burden.
Moreover, modern medicine has the ability to control pain. A person who seeks to kill him or herself to avoid pain does not need doctor prescribed suicide, but a doctor better trained in alleviating pain.
5. There is evidence that the overall state suicide rate for teens and other will rise.
Oregon’s suicide rate, which excludes suicides under its physician-assisted suicide law, has been “increasing significantly” since 2000 according to a 2010 state-issued report. Moreover, the suicide rate in Oregon is a full 35% higher than the national average. Not attempting to prevent suicide in the very ill, and in fact encouraging it, appears to have also had an effect on suicide in general.
With so much on the line in Massachusetts, the state cannot afford to legalize this dangerous and uncontrollable practice of turning doctors from healers into those who prescribe death to their most vulnerable patients.
This article courtesy of NationalRighttoLifeNews.org. | <urn:uuid:74ddc6ba-5590-4e34-aacf-acb6d1d8535d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://catholiclane.com/5-key-facts-bbout-the-dangerous-assisted-suicide-ballot-measure-in-ma/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00019-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.969856 | 1,051 | 1.710938 | 2 |
Homemade cinnamon buns, donuts, cookies and cakes, McKay's Bakery does it all. They even go the extra mile to feed the less fortunate.
"Every day we pick up the donated goods and take them to Love and Care Ministries."
After attending a church service, McKay's manager Rhonda Smith decided she needed to give back to the community in some way.
"About a year ago we started its just nice to give and help out."
Instead of just throwing away perfectly edible food, McKay's donates the treats to Love and Care Ministries.
"It's very important to help out each other."
It goes to show how recycling something can really help out the community. It's another way people are Going Green.
If you would like to help out, you can always stop by or call into McKay's and place an order for Love and Care Ministries, and they will take care of the rest. | <urn:uuid:24bfc513-db6a-4e75-9243-90d3a52550e4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://bigcountryhomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=224622&nxd_237113_start=15 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963675 | 194 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Authorities are still puzzled over how four Civil War-era pistols displayed at the Ordnance Room at Jefferson Barracks could have been stolen.
St. Louis County Police are investigating the thefts, which went unnoticed until the Civil War in the West exhibit closed last week.
The pistols were on loan from two different collectors, said J.D. Magurany, the museum's site manager.
The guns were stolen sometime in the last three weeks, and the building is secured at night with steel plates over the door and an alarm, police told KMOV. There were no signs of forced entry or an activated alarm in the last three weeks.
Just as puzzling as how the guns were stolen is why someone would take four civil war pistols. They aren't efficient enough to rob a bank or commit some other crime, said Gary Stevens, communications director for the Missouri Civil War Museum, according to Fox2Now.
The pistols could be worth thousands of dollars, depending on how old they are, how they were made and whether they can be tied to specific civil war soldiers, Stevens told Fox2Now.
But now that the guns—and their serial numbers—have been plastered all over Facebook, they'd be very difficult to sell.
“It’s a shame," Stevens told Fox2Now. "This is a piece of American history now that’s been found and now it’s gone missing. Someone took it."
The stolen guns include:
- Navy Colt pocket model 1851, serial # 197044
- Army Colt model 1860, serial # 19272
- Remington, serial # 48038
- LaMotte pistol
Anyone with information on the crime is asked to call the St. Louis County Police Department at (314) 889-2341. | <urn:uuid:27af460c-6925-4eb7-a042-54d2a22a1f66> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mehlville-oakville.patch.com/articles/no-answers-in-stolen-civil-war-pistols-case | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97434 | 368 | 1.609375 | 2 |
MPs query £1.85m overseas aid spent on Pope visit
MPs have asked ministers to explain why £1.85m ($3m) from the international development budget was spent on the Pope's UK visit in September.
They queried the "surprising" transfer from the Department for International Development (Dfid) to the Foreign Office and what it was spent on.
Dfid said the cash would not affect overseas aid spending as it was taken from its "running costs" budget.
But Labour said an equivalent sum should be returned to Dfid.
The part of Dfid's budget used to pay for staffing and administration costs is not ringfenced from spending cuts - unlike core overseas development aid which is protected from the budget squeeze across government.
The coalition has pledged to giving 0.7% of gross national income as overseas aid by 2013 but Labour is questioning whether this will happen.Annual accounts
Pope Benedict's four-day visit in September was estimated at the time to have cost Whitehall departments £10m. Roman Catholic churchgoers also contributed to the costs of the visit.
MPs on the international development select committee said they were surprised to discover the transfer of £1.85m while examining Dfid's annual accounts, money the committee said was "supposed to be for overseas development aid".
End Quote Dfid spokesman
This money does not constitute official development assistance”
"Many people will be as surprised as we were to discover that UK aid money was used to fund the Pope's visit last year," its chairman, Liberal MP Malcolm Bruce, said.
"Ministers need to explain exactly what this was spent on and how it tallies with our commitments on overseas aid."
The committee also warned that a commitment to send more UK aid to war-torn and fragile states would make it more difficult to keep track of how the money was being spent, and meant less would go to some poor countries where it could achieve more.
Mr Bruce said the committee supported the government's aim to focus on fragile states - which made up the bulk of those countries furthest from achieving the Millennium Development Goals to tackle global poverty.
But he added: "War-torn or fragile states are inevitably more vulnerable to corruption and maladministration."'Historic commitment'
A Dfid spokesman said the department was one of several which part-funded the Pope's visit.
He added: "Our contribution recognised the Catholic Church's role as a major provider of health and education services in developing countries.
"This money does not constitute official development assistance and is therefore additional to the coalition government's historic commitment to meet the 0.7% UN aid target from 2013.
"The committee acknowledges that we are right to focus on conflict-ridden countries, home to some of the world's poorest people."
Labour said the Foreign Office should return the money to the Department for International Development.
The government "shouldn't be siphoning off Dfid funds to subsidise Foreign Office expenditure on state visits", said Harriet Harman, the party's deputy leader and international development spokeswoman.
"Dfid money should be to tackle poverty and global inequality, not to support Foreign Office diplomacy." | <urn:uuid:1993a6e2-91c4-49ad-a976-b44f60d7e157> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12351583 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.970483 | 664 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Games have gotten some kids in trouble again, but this time it's a far cry from the Devin Moore case, which continues to make headlines. This time the source of the problem wasn't an M-rated game like Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas or Doom, it was the seemingly innocuous Super Mario Bros.
In the town of Ravenna, Ohio, five teenage girls, ages 16 and 17, crafted some life-sized power-up boxes modeled after those in the NES classic. The cardboard boxes were covered in shiny, gold wrapping paper and had the black question marks familiar to most gamers. As an April Fools joke, the girls laid 17 of these boxes around the town in public spaces Friday morning.
The humor was lost on some residents, however. After noticing one package on the steps of a church, a concerned citizen reported the "suspicious package" to local authorities, who called in the county's hazardous materials unit and the bomb squad.
Upon further inspection, no materials designed to harm people, mushrooms to increase a person's size, or flowers that bestow the ability to project bouncing fireballs were found inside the boxes. The packages were empty.
Ravenna Police Chief Randall McCoy told the online edition of the Record-Courier that one girl came into the police department with one of her parents and claimed responsibility, saying it was just a joke.
Apparently, the girls got the idea from the Web site Qwantz.com, which gives detailed instructions on how to make the boxes. The Web site intended the posting to inspire art projects, and several subversive artists have submitted photos of their Mario blocks in action across the country.
The girls face possible criminal charges for their actions. While most in the online community think the authority's actions are a tad extreme, McCoy defends the proceedings of his department.
"The potential is always present when dealing with a suspicious package that it could be deadly," McCoy told the Record-Courier. "In today's day and age, you just cannot do this kind of stuff."
A posting on Quantz.com responds to the incident in Ravenna. "Not everyone has the same cultural context and not everyone is relaxed about public spaces. [The idea of the project] is to bring a smile to people's faces, to get them to connect with their neighbors, to bring color into an otherwise grey urban landscape. [We] are deeply sorry that things are not working out in Ravenna." | <urn:uuid:0fd1eeb3-0712-4bbd-9f91-f1568f2f9b67> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://m.gamespot.com/news/power-up-prank-lands-gamers-in-trouble-6147012 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963413 | 500 | 1.523438 | 2 |
|Volume VII. No. 11
Shebat 5610 February 1850
The Congregation House of Israel of Philadelphia, who, as we learn from the Asmonean, lately made an appeal to the Israelites of New York for aid to redeem their new Synagogue building from pecuniary embarrassment, gave a ball on the evening of December 26, to collect funds for the same purpose. We have not heard how large the sum realized was; but, to judge from the smallness of the company and the great expenses always attending public festivities of the kind, we should not think that the surplus could have been large. We hesitate not in saying that we consider such a means of aiding a Synagogue quite objectionable, although we approve of it for purely charitable purposes, and its projectors might have known that the result would be a disappointment. We are at the same time happy to state, that several persons belonging to another congregation have resolved to advance the money requisite to release the building from the danger which lately threatened it of being sold at public auction, and the congregation will thus be enabled to extinguish the debt gradually in the course of a very few years. We would with pleasure mention the names of the public-spirited gentlemen engaged in getting up the loan, if we did not think that they would, for the present at least, prefer the silent consciousness of having done a good and religious act. Whilst upon the subject, and as our editorial career does not often give us an opportunity of speaking on it, we think it requisite to caution all congregations against the great impropriety of Synagogue building without the requisite means. It is not right to erect a fine structure, and then depend upon a good providence to provide the means of payment; as our wise men teach us אין סומכים על הנס “We must not depend on miracles.” Better, far better would it be to worship in a simple room, no matter how plain, till means are gradually accumulated, than plunge into debt without any reasonable prospect of extrication. It is true, the worshippers at the Synagogue in question had the promise from the architect that he would get the funds advanced; but he could not keep his promise, and <<573>>hence the sore trial they had to encounter. It is the first time, to our recollection, that a Jewish place of worship was under legal seizure in this country; and we put it, therefore, on record, to let it act as a warning against rising communities to guard against the recurrence of it in future. We love to see “beautiful dwellings of Israel’s God;” but we prefer that no stain of impropriety and the charge of asking undue favours should be brought against any who bear the name of Jew, hence we say what we have done. Still we would have kept silence had the application for relief not been trumpeted forth in the daily papers of our city, and the Jewish weekly organ of the New York Israelites.
Dr. Raphall.—The Elm Street Congregation of New York have done themselves lasting honour in electing the Rev. Dr. Morris Jacob Raphall as preacher, and superintendent of the school they mean to establish. He is not charged with any simply ministerial duties, as the congregation have a Hazan and a reader of the Sepher independently of Dr. R. His election is for life; and whilst capable of discharging his duties, his salary is fixed at $2000 per annum, and in case of disability, he is to have a retiring pension of from $500 to $1000. This is the first time in America that such a liberal endowment has been made for a religious teacher solely, and, we repeat, it redounds to the honour of the people as much as it is an evidence of the superior merit of the learned divine, who so immediately upon his arrival in this country found a highly numerous body of Israelites capable of appreciating his talents and anxious to secure the benefits of his instruction for themselves and their children. We hope that it will be our privilege to record more such testimony of appreciation of religious teachers before long in other parts of the country; and we may also state at once that at no time since the discovery and the settlement of America were there so many able ministers of our blessed religion in it; and we confidently trust that they will be able, with the blessing of God, to plant Judaism here on a permanent basis, and to be made the instruments in making this land indeed the refuge of the pious Israelite, whither he may flee from all the places where he is oppressed.
Dr. Raphall’s Lectures on Hebrew Poetry.—For several weeks past we have had Dr. R. as a visitor in Philadelphia. After he had finished his course of six lectures on the poetry of the Bible, in New York, he resolved to travel through the southern portion of the Union previous to his entering on the permanent discharge of his duties as minister of the Elm Street congregation. He had preached in the Portuguese, Wooster Street, and Pearl Street Synagogues, besides his own, and was then invited to deliver a lecture for the benefit of a chari<<574>>table society in Baltimore on the evening of the 27th of December, after which he preached on the following Sabbath in the Lloyd Street Synagogue. The week following he returned to our city, where many had expressed a desire to hear him both preach and lecture. In consequence of which he delivered a sermon in our Synagogue on Sabbath Shemoth, on the mission of Moses. And it is not necessary to say that the impression he produced was the most profound on an audience composed of persons of all the four congregations of our city, together with many Christians who had come in consequence of a public notice of Dr. R.’s intention to speak. We have before expressed our opinion on his manner and matter, and therefore need not repeat it now. Suffice it that he fully responded to the standard which public expectation had set up. He has since then preached in the Synagogue House of Israel to a large congregation, composed as was his first audience. His second sermon was on Exod. ix. 27, and he was especially happy in his application, which produced a marked and visible effect upon all present. On Wednesday evening the 9th of January, Dr. R. gave his first lecture on the Poetry of the Hebrews, in the Hall of the University of Pennsylvania, which had been kindly placed at his service, gratuitously, by the trustees of the institution, as no charge is ever made for the use of the hall, and can only be obtained as above. Though his first audience was not so large as it ought to have been, it was composed of men of the highest intellectual endowment of various Christian denominations, independently of the large number of Israelites present. The theme was the character of Hebrew Poets and their inspired productions; and an analysis of the remains of the earliest poetry as found in the hook of Genesis; and touched lastly on Job; and though he spoke for near an hour and a half, and this entirely from memory, without any note before him, he never tired his hearers, and kept their attention fixed to the last. His second lecture, on the evening of the 12th, was much better attended. The subject was the book of Job, the character and nature of which he very clearly elucidated. He claims for this most ancient of all poems to be a perfect drama, and though we do not agree with him in this point, since upon the same reasoning the book of Exodus might also be called one, still he showed enough that there is a great deal of the dramatic, melodramatic character rather, in the book of Job. He averred also that Moses was not the author of it, since its style is different from the Pentateuch and the xc. Psalm, the acknowledged productions of Moses, and it contains besides 76 roots not found in any other part of the Bible. The third lecture, on the evening of the 16th, was on the poetry of Moses proper, the song at the Red Sea, the final song and blessing of Moses at the conclusion of Deuteronomy, and the 90th <<575>>Psalm, and Dr. R. stated that Moses was not alone the legislator, but became likewise the prototype of all subsequent poets and orators of his people, no less than he has been often imitated by those of modern nations. He concluded with the triumphal song of Deborah. Whilst writing this, the above was all yet delivered by Dr. R., the nature of our magazine being so that we cannot wait for the completion of the course, on the 27th of this month, to notice the whole series. It is possible that we may have to say something on the subject hereafter; though we are not sure that we shall, as several congregations will have an opportunity of listening themselves to his eloquent exposition of the force and beauty of the Psalmists and Seers of our race, since at Baltimore already he has been invited to speak; is expected, as we see by the papers, at Charleston, and will pass through Savannah, Mobile, New Orleans, and Cincinnati, before returning to New York for the Passover holydays. Both Jews and Christians vie in showing him attention in our city, and no stranger was ever received with more kind hospitality, and we are sure that the same will await him wherever he goes.
Young Men’s Hebrew Benevolent Association of N. Y.—This praiseworthy society, organized last January, numbers now two hundred members. They contribute two dollars per annum, and the object is to give fuel to the poor during winter. We are requested to state that donations and subscriptions will be thankfully received by the secretary, H. B. Herts, Jr. of 86 John Street, New York.
Cincinnati.—The seventh anniversary dinner of the Gentlemen’s Hebrew Benevolent Society of Cincinnati took place on Sunday, 16th December, at the hall of the Lodge Street Synagogue,—Mr. Jacob Seasongood, President; Rev. J. K. Gutheim, Vice-President, presiding, supported by Mr. L. Arnold, Treasurer, and Mr. Henry Mack, Secretary. After the cloth was removed, grace was said by Rev. J. K. Gutheim, preceded by a psalm by Rev. Mr. Henry, both of which honours were sold for the benefit of the Society, and presented respectively. The President announced, that in consequence of the awful visitation of the cholera during the past year, the reserve fund of the Society had been materially encroached on, and appealed, not without success, to the audience, not to let the Society be compelled to lessen its exertions the coming year. The regular toasts were as follows:— 1. Our anniversary. We hail its arrival with joy. May our poor brethren revert to it with gratitude, and look forward with hope for its return. 2. The United States. Amidst the crash of empires, down<<576>>fall of dynasties, and usurpations of tyrants, her policy of universal religious toleration is an example, a lesson, a blessing, and a warning. 3. The city of Cincinnati, emporium of the West. May she long continue to enjoy the prosperity she deserves. 4. The Holy Land. From a distance of time and space, as the cradle of religion and civilization. 5. Education. Train up a child in the way it should go, and when it gets old it will not depart therefrom. 6. The Ladies’ Hebrew Benevolent Societies, our co-operators in deeds of benevolence. We hail them as worthy coadjutors, and pray for their prosperity. 7. Charity. As the rosebud expands under the genial influence of the sun’s rays, so does the human heart expand under the heavenly influence of charity. 8. The fair sex. Ever present in our days of trouble, let us not forget them in our moments of rejoicing.—After the 7th toast was responded to by Rev. J. K. Gutheim in his masterly manner, the contributions were taken up, and with a very favourable result. The utmost hilarity prevailed during the whole evening. Mr. Nathan Maltzer presented the Society with a splendid specimen of Hebrew chirography, executed with a pen by a son of Rev. H. A. Henry. The offering was made with a view of being raffled off for the benefit of the Society, and will no doubt increase the funds to the amount of one hundred and fifty dollars. Although the gift was highly and justly appreciated by the audience, still their applause was not equal to the deserved praise bestowed on the youthful artist for his masterly production. The company dispersed at about half past 11 P. M., after a most happy reunion.
The United Ladies’ Sewing Society, at their regular annual meeting, elected as officers—Mrs. Elias Mayer, Directress; Mrs. Phineas Moses, Second Directress; Mrs. Abraham Moss, Treasurer ; Mrs. Adolph A. Mayer, Secretary.
It was resolved that the Society hold a tea-party and soiree for the benefit of its treasury, which has become much exhausted by the unusual demands during the past epidemic.
Rev. James K. Gutheim.—This gentleman has at last yielded to again enter the ministry, and has accepted a call, from the German Congregation at New Orleans, La. The Crescent City has robbed the Queen of the West of one of the brightest jewels in her diadem. The Jewish population of Cincinnati had thought that Mr. G. had renounced holy orders, or they would not have relinquished him so easily. He carries with him the good wishes of a host of friends, the affections of many, and not a feeling of enmity from any one. How could it be otherwise, where urbanity, moral rectitude, and a just, gentlemanly, and benevolent deportment meet with their due reward? L. A. | <urn:uuid:5d480dca-4925-4359-a7c5-2269775abfae> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://jewish-history.com/Occident/volume7/feb1850/news.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.980491 | 2,924 | 1.648438 | 2 |
Gillard is a quick study in foreign affairs, but Abbott has a way to go.
JULIA Gillard and Tony Abbott both used the commemoration trip to Bali as a staging post for foreign visits in the past few days - the PM has been to Afghanistan and India and the Opposition Leader went on to Jakarta.
Gillard was always going to have the easier task of it. Leaving aside Afghanistan, fundamentally a meet-and-greet for the troops, India has reason to welcome Gillard. She has delivered for it.
In recent years Labor's ban on uranium exports to India had become an irritant in the relationship. Gillard was not the only Labor figure in driving its overturn by the ALP national conference late last year, but it was her imprimatur that counted. The change was made on her watch and, while exports are some time away, her visit to Delhi this week cleared the ground for the next stage - the negotiation of safeguards - to begin.
The Jakarta visit by Abbott and his shadow minsisters, on the other hand, involved something the Indonesians do not want to hear: that a Coalition government would press them to do more of the heavy lifting in deterring asylum seekers from setting out for Australia - including accepting a tow-back policy.
Gillard, who returned home yesterday, went to India ahead of releasing the government's white paper on ''Australia in the Asian Century''. That will be about how in coming years we can benefit, especially economically, from a closer relationship in a dynamic region that will have a rapidly growing huge middle class. (Provided we get our skill set right.)
India is a case in point. Trade has grown from about $3 billion in 2000 to $20 billion: the goal is for it to double to $40 billion by 2015. But at the moment the trade is narrowly based. For example, we sell substantial education services, but there is great potential to export many other services.
In her comments in Delhi, Gillard repeatedly stressed that, thanks to the economic reforms that the two countries have undertaken (India's are more patchy than Australia's), their interests have converged.
While Australia's preoccupation is paramount in widening economic opportunities, the Prime Minister was also talking up the prospect of closer defence ties, including joint naval exercises. In a region where the long-term security outlook is necessarily somewhat uncertain given China's growing power, Australia looks to both developing the best possible relationship with the region's giant but also cultivating other strategic partnerships.
Inevitably, uranium was always going to be the headline interest of the visit, because the earlier ban had taken such broad symbolism. After an Indian-Australian business forum on Tuesday, Lindsay Fox and the ANZ's Mike Smith, two of the business delegation accompanying Gillard, said the end of the ban had removed an obstacle and so facilitated business relationships.
The uranium ban is not the only issue that made for some tension with India in recent years. The other was violence against Indian students which led to much negative publicity in India. Gillard was also a key player in dealing with this problem, visiting India as deputy PM and education minister at the height of the furore in 2009, as the government put measures in place to regulate shonky education providers.
In his remarks after meeting Gillard, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said he had conveyed appreciation on both the uranium and education issues.
In the early stages of her prime ministership, Gillard famously admitted she would be more at home in a classroom than on the international stage. Now she is at ease on the foreign circuit, comporting herself competently. The ground is well prepared for her; she has a friendly style that engages other leaders. As Barack Obama has said, she is a quick study. She has learnt a lot in a short time.
Abbott is further back in the learning process, although he started with more natural interest and knowledge in the area. From what we have seen he is anything but a natural diplomat. Yesterday he displayed ignorance about how lobbying for Security Council seats is played out when he said: "Let's face it, the competition is Finland and Luxembourg and if Australia can't come first or second in a three-horse race involving Finland and Luxembourg there's something wrong with us."
If Obama is re-elected next month and the Coalition wins next year, it will be fascinating to see how the Obama-Abbott relationship develops. Bill Clinton and John Howard had little time for each other, and it showed. Would Abbott try harder with a Democrat president, or would it be a repeat of the early Howard years? Would Abbott seek to play an innovative role as did Kevin Rudd in the G20, or be happy to just have Australia along for the ride?
The relationship with Indonesia would be a crucial test for Abbott. Currently he is talking to the domestic audience rather than worrying too much about the Indonesians - his visit notwithstanding.
But government compromises have to be made for the sake of wider diplomatic interests. Just as senior ALP figures came to accept that denying uranium to India was not sustainable, so a Coalition government would come under strong pressure to take more account of Indonesian feelings when it came to the tow-backs.
Michelle Grattan is political editor. | <urn:uuid:375b7b20-1533-4309-badc-88c22c21e600> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.stawelltimes.com.au/story/407861/pm-abott-on-a-steep-foreign-learning-curve/?cs=2040 | 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 | 0.975719 | 1,078 | 1.5625 | 2 |
08-Oct-2006 -- I was in Nevada for the annual National Council for Geographic Education (NCGE) conference. As 600 geography educators were gathered to discuss and learn about the latest geography education techniques, including field work and geotechnologies, it seemed only fitting that a confluence trek should cap off the events. For the past four years, I had attemped a confluence during each of the NCGE conferences, beginning with the ill-fated marsh slog that Shannon White and I lived to tell about, and ending with last year's woody hike in Alabama. This year would be entirely different: A Water Confluence.
My colleague and friend Barbaree Duke and I had discussed visiting this confluence for several weeks leading up to the confluence. We had planned to visit it with Dr. Shannon White, but given the heavy presentation schedule that we were all under at the conference, we could not fit it in before Shannon had to leave the country. The only window of time we had was after my last workshop, fittingly, about GPS and topographic mapping, and before the time I needed to depart for the Reno Airport. This window was only two hours and 30 minutes long. Would it be enough to make a dash for the confluence?
During the previous day, I had discovered via telephone calls that most of the boat rental companies were closed for the season. The exception was Ski Run Marina, which was luckily not far from the conference hotel in South Lake Tahoe. Not wanting to waste time walking to the marina, we took a taxi and arrived at 10:45am. However, it took quite awhile for us to be briefed on safety procedures and to check out the boat, and it was 11:30am before we actually set out on the water. Our boat was quite comfy, with a cover, a windshield, and room for seven passengers. I had never piloted a boat before, but fortunately, Barbaree was quite the expert. She soon had us quietly motoring out in the "no wake zone" toward the northwest--straight toward the confluence. After passing the last buoy, she moved forward fearlessly from the green shallow waters to the deep blue of Lake Tahoe.
The GPS gave slightly over 4 miles (6.4 km) to the confluence. Obviously, on a water confluence trek, we were able to steer directly to the confluence. Lake Tahoe is a beautiful place for a confluence adventure. It is the highest lake of its size in the USA and is the largest alpine lake in North America. An average 1,400,000 tons of water evaporates from the surface of Lake Tahoe every 24 hours, yet this drops the lake level only one-tenth of an inch. The water is so clear that a white dinner plate is visible at 75 feet (23 m) below the surface. There are 63 tributaries draining into Lake Tahoe with only one outlet (Truckee River). The lake never freezes due to the constant movement of water from the bottom to the surface, although certain bays freeze usually once in a generation. The elevation is 6,229 feet (1899 m), is 22 miles (35.4 km) long by 12 miles (19.3 km) wide, and has 72 miles (116 km) of shoreline. Its maximum depth is 1,645 feet (501 m) with an average depth of 989 feet (301 m). This was truly one of the most beautiful confluence treks I had been on.
After 30 minutes, we were only a few hundred meters away. Barbaree deftly maneuvered our boat to The Spot. I had great difficulty given the choppiness of the water to obtain a clear photograph of the GPS unit without dropping the camera and the GPS receiver into the lake. After five minutes, we were satisfied. We could clearly see every shore from the spot, and were closest to the shore to the northeast. The clear water was as beautiful as it is famed to be. The temperature stood at 55 F (13 C) under clear skies and a moderate breeze. I had been to 120 West only once before, in 2003, just one degree north of here. I had been to 39 North more than any other line of latitude, at least a dozen times in the central and eastern USA. This was my first water confluence since my trek on the English Channel to 51 North 1 East in 2004.
This is a very special confluence. It lies at the "elbow"--the point in Nevada where the boundary changes from north-south to northwest-southeast. The California-Nevada boundary runs hundreds of kilometers from Oregon due south to Lake Tahoe along 120 West. Actually, as I discovered during my mountain climb to 40 North 120 West in 2003, the state boundary lies slightly to the east of 120 West. South of the elbow, the boundary changes directions and runs southeast toward Arizona at the Colorado River.
Barbaree wanted to see the landscape toward Emerald Bay on the southwest shore of the lake, so we made our way toward these beautiful slopes. After 15 minutes, we took photographs and then took off for the marina. The change in our direction took us directly into the wind. We slowed and encountered some severe bone-jarring bumps--one of which caused me to exclaim aloud, as I thought my intestines were being shaken loose. One of the jars knocked the boat cover loose. Barbaree did a commendable job minimizing the worst of the body slams. We made slow progress toward the marina, but arrived at 12:25pm. We hastily checked back in with the staff, called a taxi, and arrived back at the hotel with 10 minutes to spare. A wonderful way to end our week of geography education! | <urn:uuid:a77764db-e361-415f-85fa-ddcbbe6ed626> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?lat=39&lon=-120 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975207 | 1,189 | 1.585938 | 2 |
IRS reminds you that Medical Expenses are sometimes Deductible
Washington, D.C. – If you or others claimed on your tax return paid medical or dental costs in 2012 that insurance or other sources didn’t pay, you may get a tax deduction for some of those costs.
The IRS wants you to know these seven things about claiming those types of costs.
Seven Things About Medical Deductions
1. You must itemize You can only claim medical and dental expenses if you itemize deductions instead of claiming the standard deduction.
2. Deduction is limited You can claim medical and dental expenses that total more than 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income.
3. Costs had to be paid in 2012 You can include medical and dental costs you paid in 2012 even if the services were provided in another year. Keep good records to show what you paid.
4. Whose expenses qualify You may include most medical or dental costs you paid for yourself, your spouse and your dependents, but some exceptions and special rules apply. Read more at www.IRS.gov.
5. Types of costs you can claim You can normally claim the costs of diagnosing, treating, easing or preventing disease or treating some part or function of the body. For drugs, only prescriptions and insulin qualify. You can also claim the cost of medical, dental and some long-term care insurance.
6. Don’t forget travel costs You may be able to claim the cost of travel needed to get medical care. That includes the cost of public transportation or an ambulance as well as tolls and parking fees. If you use your car for medical travel, you can deduct the actual costs, including gas and oil, or you can deduct the standard mileage rate for medical travel, which is 23 cents per mile for 2012.
7. Tax-favored saving for medical costs Funds taken out of Health Savings Accounts or Flexible Spending Arrangements may be tax free if used to pay qualified medical costs including prescriptions and insulin.
Read more in Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses, or Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans, available at www.irs.gov or by calling 800.TAX.FORM (800.829.3676). | <urn:uuid:7fae34ad-0f53-4570-8458-452a6d1567c5> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.paristn.net/articles/2013/02/22/irs-reminds-you-that-medical-expenses-are-sometimes-deductible/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.945253 | 471 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Catholic faithful gathered at St. Patrick's Cathedral react to the news of a new pope on Wednesday in New York. / Bebeto Matthews, AP
U.S. Catholics who dreamed of an American pope got their wish - in a way - on Wednesday.
A South American. It was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio, archbishop of Buenos Aires, who emerged from the conclave as Pope Francis.
Some U.S. church scholars were thrilled, others cautious, and at least one was critical of another aging pope who may be unwilling or unable to make crucial changes in the church.
Here is a pope who has contended with all the issues of the modern West - gay marriage, abortion, contraception, women's rights, the swelling tide of cultural secularism and global poverty. Yet he is also known for standing firmly for core doctrine like the doctrinaire popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI before him.
New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said that while Francis doesn't have a booming voice "and he may have sounded timid, he has a great confidence."
And Francis has strength that will matter in the USA, says R. Scott Appleby, a history professor at the University of Notre Dame.
"The fact that he is an experienced administrator with a spirit of humility may mean he will be strong in cleaning up the sexual abuse scandal," Appleby says.
Francis also has the administrative talent to bring the creaking, scandal-plagued bureaucracy of the global church, the curia, into order. Appleby called Francis "a model of personal holiness" who may inspire believers worldwide.
But Catholic University sociologist William D'Antonio has more questions than answers about Pope Francis.
If he's so devoted to the poor, "will he support the growth of labor unions throughout the world to improve the lives of the mass of wage workers?" he asks.
And is he open to any change of mind or of teaching regarding gays and lesbians?
D'Antonio points out, "While that is an important civil rights issue in the U.S. and other Western countries, it is not seen in that light among the hierarchy in Latin America, and his record suggests orthodoxy on the matter."
For those who wanted to see a CEO-style pope who can bring modern efficiency, transparency and integrity to the bureaucracy known as the curia, the sociologist wondered whether Francis has "the skills or even the desire, much less the knowledge, on how to reorganize, cleanse and begin the development of a less hierarchical curia? I guess we will have to keep tuned."
Catholics may be wary of Pope Francis' conservative views on culture, but still couch their comments in hopeful tones.
Sister Simone Campbell of NETWORK, a Catholic social justice lobby, says she was "heartened by this choice and what I know of his life." She says she expects that a South American pope "will know about the poor and the impact of globalization on the poor of the world."
U.S. nuns have been under withering criticism by the Vatican and Benedict XVI, accused of straying from a focus on doctrine and spending too much time on social causes. Campbell expresses concern that "for women, the issue of machismo will be a challenge. It will be important to have our voices included in his reflections."
A statement from Equally Blessed, a coalition of four Catholic groups concerned with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues, urged Pope Francis to listen to their concerns.
They charge, though, that as archbishop of Buenos Aries, Bergoglio made statements "not worthy of a pope or anyone in pastoral ministry" and called his writings "profoundly discouraging to LGBT Catholics."
The statement said, "During an unsuccessful campaign against marriage equality legislation in Argentina, he wrote things that, frankly, could be considered hateful, calling the legislation that authorized same-sex marriage 'a machination of the Father of Lies.' He also said adoption by same-sex parents was a form of discrimination against children."
Boston University religion professor Stephen Prothero took a strong, critical stand Wednesday.
Prothero, author of a best seller on global religions, God Is Not One, called the choice of Bergoglio "symbolically rich yet substantively empty for the U.S. church."
Francis, an Argentine of Italian heritage, is "a combo of the First World and the Third World," he said, but he makes no compromises "on any of the issues where many Americans want to see reform, including women priests, priestly celibacy, abortion, contraception or same-sex marriage."
"How much energy and time is this guy going to have?" Prothero asks. "He looked to me frightened when he stood on the balcony, and he has reason to be. He has a church clamoring for reform and the institution around him is committed to the status quo.
But one young Catholic sees much to appreciate in Francis.
Lynn Freehill, a freelance writer for Busted Halo, a website for young Catholics, likes that he is a Jesuit, a religious order known for "a remarkable record of scholarship and open-mindedness."
And she likes that he is from Latin America, "where such a high proportion of the world's Catholics live. The church there has a strong sense of social justice, and that's one of the aspects of our faith that I value the most. It's essential that we as a church speak up for the poor and downtrodden."
That said, whoever was elected would get a warm welcome from her. No matter who leads her church, Freehill says, she'll always be a practicing Catholic. On Wednesday, she was "excited - 'popeful,' as they say - about our new leader!"
Contributing: Eric J. Lyman in Rome
Copyright 2013 USATODAY.com
Read the original story: U.S. Catholics hopeful, but wary, of new Pope Francis | <urn:uuid:c2368c55-5d9d-4ca8-95d0-5f5ef14e4239> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.democratandchronicle.com/usatoday/article/1986115 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966838 | 1,246 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Treasure Valley employers have gone pink. Theyre getting behind their workers efforts to raise money for breast cancer research, awareness, prevention and treatment.
Organizations from Northwest Nazarene Universitys baseball team which donated about $1,000 to the St. Lukes Mountain States Tumor Institute this year to help families battling all types of cancer to Les Bois Credit Union are rallying money and in-kind support with the backing of their higher-ups.
Most of the time, the effort is driven by personal stories. With about 20 of every 100,000 women in Idaho dying of breast cancer in recent years, and about 120 of every 100,000 fighting it, the cancer is a devastating reality for many Idahoans. That connection drives the most unlikely crews to deep involvement in breast cancer fundraising. Even cowboys.
BLINGING AGAINST BREAST CANCER
Keeley Wilson tears up when she thinks about the grandmother she lost to breast cancer when she was 12 years old.
I felt that nobody should have to do that, says Wilson, an electrical designer for MotivePower Inc. in Boise.
When she started her job at MotivePower about 10 years ago, she did the annual Susan G. Komen fundraising walk by herself. Then she approached Mark Warner, vice president, and asked whether she could put together a company team.
He has backed us 100 percent ever since, she says. Its snowballed every year.
Wilson and her four core co-organizers hosted their first real fundraising event this year, a week before Mothers Day in a Meridian parking lot. Called Bling Your Bra, they decorated bras in different themes and auctioned them off. They held a raffle, took donations and sold T-shirts. Musicians played in the background. It didnt hurt that some of Wilsons male co-workers modeled the bras.
Weve done fundraising, done collecting money $5 or $10 but that doesnt work, she says. What works is getting people involved. ... Theyre having fun, and theyll reach into their pockets.
They raised about $3,000. Wilson plans to triple that next year. She hopes to move the event to a high-traffic Downtown Boise location.
Support from Warner has fueled the effort, she says. He gave the organizers $1,000 this year to buy T-shirts and prizes for the breast cancer walk, and he and other executives usually join in for the walk, Wilson says.
With the recession and everything else going on, we were overjoyed that he still gave us that support, she says. Were so grateful that he gives us that out of his budget every year.
REAL MEN WEAR PINK
The Caldwell Night Rodeo has been doing pink-themed events for nearly a decade, according to George Combs, marketing manager. A rodeo directors wife started a Power of Pink Walk about five years ago in memory of another directors wife who had died in the 1990s. The event raised more than $7,000 this year, and its gone from 14 participants to more than 200 in five years, Combs says.
Before that, the rodeo did a Power of Pink Night in partnership with the Wrangler Corp. Eventually it became a locally organized event in partnership with the Saint Alphonsus and West Valley medical centers. The rodeo has raised more than $250,000 for the hospitals to provide mammograms and breast-cancer screenings to women who cant afford them or dont have health insurance.
It came full circle, he says, when a rodeo directors sister couldnt afford a mammogram. She applied for a free screening, was diagnosed with breast cancer and went through treatment, Combs says. She kind of was our spokesperson a year ago, he says.
The rodeos fundraising supports mammograms through West Valley Medical Center in Caldwell and Saint Alphonsus Health System. The rodeos fund has also helped others donate. Kuna High Schools varsity boys soccer team donated more than $2,300 last year to the rodeos Power of Pink Fund and donated again last month.
GOING PINK OR GOING HOME
Homecoming is always a big week, but it took on extra importance for Middleton High School about four years ago. A teachers wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer, and the girls volleyball team and their coach decided to give the family some support.
The effort started small, but in just a few years it has exploded into a weeklong event. At the various Homecoming games volleyball, soccer and football the school will honor breast cancer victims and survivors during halftime or between games. They conduct silent auctions at the games and sell T-shirts. The organizers last year gave special recognition during the football game to the teachers wife, Karla Brown, who lost her battle with cancer. They made a $3,000 donation to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Idaho affiliate in her name.
The schools leadership class, made up of juniors and seniors, has taken up the event as a service project.
I was all for more help! says Lori Thornton, the volleyball coach and social studies teacher who helped create the event.
Now the core team putting together the event has 15 to 20 students, two or three faculty members and four or five coaches. This years theme is Go Pink or Go Home, riffing on the breast cancer awareness color and the Homecoming week.
During the schools breast cancer awareness week, four groups of guys sang and danced. Students will vote for their favorite groups by donating money, which will be given to the local Susan G. Komen affiliate.
The students plan to build a giant pink ribbon out of small honoraria theyre selling for $1 each. It will hang in the gym.
Everybody is always really supportive about the event, both from the administration and the (school) district, Thornton says. For example, the school must have liability insurance to protect itself and the Komen affiliate in case theres a problem.
Administrators also donate personal items for the fundraisers, she says.
This year, breast cancer still casts a shadow over the school. One staff member is fighting it, and others are affected through family members and friends. But the students, coaches, athletes, administrators and teachers hope their Homecoming Week efforts will make it harder for that shadow to stick around.
Audrey Dutton: 377-6448 | <urn:uuid:acc9002a-7ef4-4e79-96f9-cf95436a5952> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.idahostatesman.com/2012/10/03/2296349/employers-join-the-cause.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972957 | 1,317 | 1.515625 | 2 |
Errol Flynn: Style Spotlight
Peter O’Toole, Guy Pearce, and Jude Law have each tried their hand at portraying this larger-than-life Australian actor on the big screen, but none have fully captured Errol Flynn’s swashbuckling swagger and debonair style.
Flynn may be most famous for the sword-fighting heroes he played in films and the laundry list of scandals in his personal life (he even titled his autobiography My Wicked, Wicked Ways), but he also deserves recognition for the influence his sense of style has left on the generations of leading men who followed in his footsteps.
Flynn was a fashion chameleon. He epitomized the luxurious, extravagant lifestyle he lived off-screen with smart suits and patterned ties, and became the embodiment of rugged machismo in the roles he played on-screen. He even made Seinfeld-style puffy shirts look cool.
What may have come to define his style more than anything, though, were his grooming habits. He sported a hairstyle of controlled waves that was one of the most popular looks of the 1930s, and a pencil mustache that has now become synonymous with his suave and caddish ways.
And we can’t forget his most lasting contribution to popular culture: the phrase “in like Flynn,” which refers to his unparalleled prowess with the ladies. | <urn:uuid:26f4997f-c73f-4c16-a611-c6908d9b0f56> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dmarge.com/2012/05/errol-flynn-style-spotlight.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700264179/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516103104-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.983841 | 287 | 1.523438 | 2 |
Texas leader in fighting senior hunger elected to the Meals On Wheels Association of America Board of Directors
Vinsen Faris, former President of the Meals on Wheels Association of Texas and Executive Director of Meals-on-Wheels of Johnson and Ellis Counties, has been elected to the Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) Board of Directors.
Faris’ leadership role comes at a critical time.
Six million seniors – one in nine – face the threat of hunger in America, according to research (www.mowaa.org/research) sponsored by MOWAA.
The MOWAA Board governs the national organization which is committed to ending senior hunger in America by the year 2020.
Texas ranks #2 on MOWAA’s "Top Ten Senior Hunger States" list, based on the same research.
The list ranks the states (highest to lowest) based on the percentage of seniors in each state who are at risk of hunger.
The research also revealed that 8.9 percent of seniors in Texas - nearly one in ten - were food insecure between 2001 and 2007.
"I have seen first-hand that so many of Texas’ seniors depend on Meals On Wheels – bringing the food and companionship they need to survive," said Faris. "I know that senior hunger is a problem that also reaches far outside the borders of Texas.
"By serving on the MOWAA Board of Directors, I hope to improve the lives of seniors across the country."
"Vinsen Faris has stepped up to the plate to help MOWAA end senior hunger by 2020," said MOWAA CEO and President Enid Borden.
"He has dedicated his life to helping hungry and homebound seniors and I know he’ll bring his passion and dedication to our cause.
"I look forward to Vinsen serving a successful term on the MOWAA Board."
Faris was elected to the MOWAA Board of Directors this summer, and was sworn-in to begin his two-year term during MOWAA’s recent Conference in Atlanta.
In March of this year, the Board appointed Faris to fill an unexpired term – a position he held until his election.
Meals-on-Wheels of Johnson and Ellis Counties
is a community benefit organization that serves needy elderly and disabled persons throughout Johnson and Ellis Counties. Founded in 1976, the organization currently serves more than 3,000 homebound persons per year in a two-county service area. Meals-on-Wheels provides home-delivered meals, transportation services, caregiver education, "Ani-Meals" pet food program, and information & assistance support to families with needy elderly and disabled family members. For more information, contact Meals-on-Wheels at 817-558-2840 or 972-351-9943, or online at www.servingthechildre nofyesterday.org.
The Meals On Wheels Association of America (MOWAA) is the oldest and largest national organization in the United States representing those programs that provide meals to people in need. MOWAA’s mission is to end senior hunger by 2020. To obtain more information about MOWAA or to locate a local Meals On Wheels program, visit the MOWAA Web site at www.mowaa.org. | <urn:uuid:174d8217-a09a-43a7-8c86-ff9ecb1a2ec9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.elliscountypress.com/news/community/10532-texas-leader-in-fighting-senior-hunger-elected-to-the-meals-on-wheels-association-of-america-board-of-directors.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960727 | 707 | 1.632813 | 2 |
There is a special type of concentrative meditation which is known as 'Chakra meditation'. In essence, this is Kundalini yoga -- the practice of causing psychic energy (kundalini) to flow upward energizing the various chakras along the way. The technique is very simple and will eventually produce powerful results but patience is necessary. As each chakra is activated and energized by this practice, it is believed that increased psychic and astral abilities will result until at last the crown chakra is reached. With this, full enlightenment is attained. With some kundalini awakens all by itself but the vast majority must diligently worked at it.
To practice this chakra meditation, you simply need to concentrate on the chakras, beginning with the root chakra, and moving progressively upward. See the listing of Chakra attributes for correspondances to assist in this. Focus on each center as you visualize them opening and your psychic energy traveling upward from the root chakra opening and energizing each higher chakra. As mentioned, each chakra has certain properties associated with it, so that this type of visualization will raise your overall consciousness, promote astral projection as well as a greater awareness of your spiritual self.
It is favorable to get into a daily routine for your meditations if at all possible. Ideally, 15 to 30 minutes a day is adequate, but by all means, find what works best for you. Naturally, being in good physical condition and having flexability is very helpful too. Diet will also play a vital role. If you are a fast food junkie and or couch potato don't expect noticable results.
You will know if you are achieving results because you will either feel light tingling vibration or buzzing sensations or a sensation of warmth and possibly a light throbbing in the chakras.
Next Back Chakra & Meditation Index Main Index | <urn:uuid:73a1dd3b-e9b1-4faa-82f3-27b2afb8c51b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://wicca.com/celtic/chakras/kundalini.htm | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.94479 | 383 | 1.53125 | 2 |
|The Venture Compound|
|1st appearance:||The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay|
Venture Industries is the privately held company founded by Jonas Venture Sr. and passed along to his son Thaddeus. Years later half went to Jonas. Built on the marvelous inventions Jonas Sr. created, the company thrived before Thaddeus S. Venture took over. It seems like Thaddeus is training Dean Venture in science so that someday he will take over the reins of the company.
Venture Compound
The home of Venture Industries, the Venture Compound is on a massive piece of land that includes a full-service runway for aircraft of all types, numerous hangars for storage, living quarters for the Ventures, training facilities, spacious grounds, moving walkways, and, of course, Dr. Venture's lab, to name a few features. What used to be the Advanced Arachnid Research Lab was renovated as a rental property, which now houses Dr. Byron Orpheus and The Alchemist. In The Doctor is Sin, Dr. Henry Killinger helped breathe life into the long-defunct industrial center of the Compound as part of his arrangement with Dr. Venture, though only for a few glorious hours.
Oo Ray
A weapon Rusty showcased at a UN peace conference in The Terrible Secret of Turtle Bay. It melts matter, while emitting an "Oooo" sound. The applications are limitless. If it ever fell into the wrong hands it could possibly be modified and used as a weapon after a fashion.
- See main article: Gargantua-1
Space station designed by Jonas Sr. and built by Venture Industries.
- See main article: X-1
Experimental jet built by Venture Industries.
Experimental boat given to Jonas Jr. by Thaddeus as part of a property split.
Metasonic Locator
Underwater salvage device created by Thaddeus to find and exploit an earlier spacecraft created by Jonas Sr..
Begun by Jonas, Jr as a governmental contract. Dr. Venture attempted to use it in it's incomplete form, only to have his body split into numerous pieces in random locations.
Vacuum Boom-Vroom
A vacuum created by Dr. Venture, which he was unable to find buyers for.
Venturestein Project
- See main article: Venturestein
A re-animation project focusing on cheap labor/military forces.
Fun Facts
- The Venture Compound main building, especially as it is shown in season 3, is a near-perfect replica of the General Motors Futurama pavilion from the 1964 New York World's Fair. That same building is the one pictured at the end of Space Ghost: Coast to Coast.
- In the Season 2 episode I Know Why the Caged Bird Kills, the car Dr. Venture and Orpheus take has "Venture Motors" labelled on the side, indicating that Venture Industries once manufactured automobiles. | <urn:uuid:18b04388-6f52-44e6-8c10-c1f190aca1b7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.venturefans.org/vbwiki/Venture_Industries | 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 | 0.943234 | 600 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Leland Showers and Rose Clark had been thinking of moving away from New Orleans for a long time. Hurricane Katrina made the decision for them.
Showers, 35, and Clark, 32, along with their four children, moved to Grand Ledge in September of 2005 as part of a Federal Emergency Management Administration relocation program. A church in the Lansing suburb offered the family use of its parsonage for one year, and the children were enrolled in school by the third week of September.
“We definitely plan on staying,” Showers said. “We feel like we’ve landed in a nice, pleasant, peaceful neighborhood. Somewhere the kids can actually go outside and play.”
Showers said although the poor quality of schools in New Orleans played a role in the decision not to return, crime played an even larger role.
“The city is more violent than ever before,” he said. “Here, the kids can come and go, play with their friends, and we don’t worry all the time.”
Showers has found full-time employment at Meijer, while Clark works part-time for a party planning company. The children, two boys and two girls who range in age from 7 to 14, spent almost an entire academic year in their new Michigan schools last year.
“I think we moved here September 15 and they started school on September 19, so they didn’t miss too much,” Showers said. “The schools here are so much better than what they had. The classes aren’t nearly as crowded.”
Showers said it was typical to have 30 or more students in a class at the schools the children attended in New Orleans.
“The kids are doing much better in school,” Showers said. “It’s really a new learning experience for all of us.” | <urn:uuid:a8b7825b-45d6-4946-84f3-f3fbf6e02de2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mackinac.org/7903 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.984805 | 400 | 1.609375 | 2 |
Contact: Orli Cotel (415) 977-5627
January 20th, 2010
Sierra Club Announces New Executive Director
(San Francisco). Michael Brune, a respected leader whose strategic vision and hard-charging charm have driven a number of important environmental victories, has been named executive director of the Sierra Club, the nation’s oldest, largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization.
Brune, 38, takes leadership as the club, founded in 1892 by iconic conservationist John Muir, plunges headlong into the most important environmental battle of the 21st century, notching up dramatic successes against greenhouse gas-polluters and helping create the clean energy future that is the best defense against potentially catastrophic climate disruption.
Brune’s alignment with this ambitious mission is reflected in his critically acclaimed book, "Coming Clean – Breaking America’s Addiction to Oil and Coal". Published by Sierra Club Books in 2008, the volume details a plan for a new green economy that will create well-paying jobs, promote environmental justice and bolster national security.
"The grassroots volunteers and staff of the Sierra Club have won some of the country’s most significant environmental battles" said Brune. "I believe the Sierra Club’s best work lies ahead, and I’m excited to be a part of it."
Allison Chin, president of the organization’s board of directors, said: "We look forward to the innovative thinking and inspired leadership Michael brings to the Sierra Club at a pivotal moment. The board was particularly impressed by Michael’s credentials working with volunteers and his proven talent for bending the will of powerful adversaries without breaking the bonds of civility that keep them at the table."
Brune holds degrees in Economics and Finance from West Chester University in Pennsylvania, and comes to the Sierra Club from the Rainforest Action Network, where in his seven years as executive director he earned a reputation for using bold but respectful confrontation to encourage corporate responsibility. At age 26, he led a historic consumer-education campaign that ultimately persuaded Home Depot to stop selling wood from endangered forests. Time magazine called that victory "the top environmental story of 1999." Under Brune’s leadership, Rainforest Action Network went on to win more than a dozen other key commitments from America's largest corporations, including Citi, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Kinko’s, Boise, and Lowe’s.
Like most Sierra Club activists, Brune has his roots in the outdoors. He learned to walk at a campground in Maine, and says he grasped the importance of protecting the natural world as a teenager, when hypodermic needles and chemical pollution washed up on the shore near his New Jersey home, closing beaches and keeping him from the waves he’d grown up body surfing. He and his wife, Mary, attribute their ongoing passion for environmental activism in part to concern that their outdoors-loving children, Olivia, five and Sebastian, one, inherit a healthy world. He is particularly interested in promoting programs that link the Club’s traditional protection of wild places, including National Parks, to urgently needed climate change solutions.
As the Sierra Club’s 6th executive director, Brune assumes a position formerly held by such legendary environmentalists as David Brower and Michael McCloskey. He succeeds Carl Pope, who, since taking leadership of the Club in 1992, has steadily increased its political clout and intellectual heft while building an influential base of more than 1.4 million members and supporters in all 50 states. Pope will maintain his 37-year tenure with the Club in the role of executive chairman, continuing to help shape Club strategy and collaborating with Brune, Chin and chapter leaders to connect the Club with policy makers, the media, other non-profits and donors.
"I am thrilled that someone with Mike’s leadership, passion and creativity is taking up the torch to lead the Sierra Club as it faces the next generation of environmental challenges. The Club is fortunate to have him as our next leader," said Carl Pope.
"I am humbled and inspired to follow Carl Pope in this position," said Brune. "In no small measure because of Carl, the Sierra Club, with its extraordinary history of success and commitment to grassroots-driven programs that promote positive and pragmatic solutions, is uniquely positioned to lead our country to the clean energy future it needs and deserves."
For a full biography, photos, blog and video links and other press information, please go to: www.sierraclub.org/ed
To set up interviews, or for additional materials, please contact Orli Cotel, (415) 977-5627 | <urn:uuid:9ce5afcc-22ec-4a3c-a8de-9f819132b599> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://action.sierraclub.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=154481.0 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.949459 | 954 | 1.507813 | 2 |
Editor's note: Bruce Feiler is a columnist and the author of "The Secrets of Happy Families: Improve Your Mornings, Rethink Family Dinner, Fight Smarter, Go Out and Play, & Much More." To hear more from Feiler, don't miss "Sanjay Gupta MD," at 7:30 a.m. ET Saturday and 4:30 p.m. ET Sunday.
(CNN) -- A tip for stressed-out parents: Beware conventional wisdom.
If parents have heard anything in the last few years, it's that family dinner is great for kids. And there is research that suggests this. Children who regularly eat dinner with their families are less likely to drink, smoke, take drugs or develop eating disorders.
Yet here's the bad news: Fewer and fewer of us can make this happen with our schedules. A UNICEF study found that the United States ranked 23rd out of 25 countries in the percentage of children who eat the main meal of the day with their parents several times a week.
Now here's the good news: There is an alternative. Dig deeper into the research and the data offer encouraging news for parents and a clear solution.
I wasn't interested in promoting an ideology or defending a country -- I wanted to know what works. I wanted proven solutions to the very real problems my wife and I faced with our young daughters. So I set out to meet real families, innovative scholars, and experts ranging from elite peace negotiators to engineers at Google to Warren Buffett's bankers.
I wanted to figure out: What do happy families do right, and what can I learn from them to make my family happier?
One of the biggest revelations was about family dinner. It turns out there's only 10 minutes of productive time in any family meal, according to linguistics expert Lyn Fogle. The rest is taken up with "Take your elbows off the table" and "Pass the potatoes."
Researchers have found you can take that time and place it at other times of the day and still reap the same benefits. Can't have family dinner? Have family breakfast. Meet for a bedtime snack. Even one meal a week together on weekends can have a positive impact.
Even more surprising -- what you talk about may be even more important than what you eat. Research shows parents do two-thirds of the talking around the table, says Fogle. If you're doing that, you're not taking full advantage of the opportunity of the shared time together.
That sets up the best news of all: There are proven things you can do to get the most out of joint family talk time. I consulted psychologists, linguists and game designers, then tested scores of ideas with my own children and other family members.
I came up with more than a dozen that are both fun and have tangible benefits. I dubbed them the "Hunger Games." Here are three; the full list appears in my new book.
Word a day. A child in grades three through 12 is expected to learn around 3,000 words a year, says Ellen Galinsky in her book "Mind in the Making." You can help by teaching your child one new word every day.
When you're together, go out of your way to use unfamiliar words. Some suggestions: Introduce a prefix (a-, bi-, dis-) or a suffix (-er, -able, -ite) and have everyone create new words. Bring a newspaper or magazine to the table and ask everyone to find a word they don't know. Googling in this instance is allowed.
Autobiography night. One of the more valuable skills a parent can give a child doesn't cost a dime. It's the ability to tell a simple story about the child's life.
Around age 5, children develop the tools to describe past events, but these skills must be practiced. Ask your child to recall a memorable experience, then follow up with "elaborative questions." Who? What? When? Where? Why?
Don't think this matters? Researchers compared American and Asian parents. The American mothers asked more elaborative questions and provided more positive feedback, while the Asian moms focused more on discipline.
When the researchers checked back a few years later, the American children recalled more about their past, while the Asian students remembered more about their daily routines. The more kids remembered about their own history, the more confidence they had to approach challenges in their lives. Especially before a big test or sporting event, encourage your children to tell stories about their past successes or how they overcame failure. It will boost their performance.
Pain points. Family gatherings are one of the few times when members of different ages are on an equal plane. Researchers noticed that when family members tell stories at these occasions, others members join in, add details, and help move the story along. While this can sometimes be frustrating, it actually helps family members work better in teams.
How can you trigger such conversations? Ask everyone to a mention a "pain point." Maybe a child has to do a project with someone he doesn't like or Mom has to take granddad to the doctor during a kid's soccer game. Suddenly everyone teams up to dissect the dilemma and devise possible solutions, all elements of good problem-solving.
The bottom line: Family dinner is less about the "dinner" and more about the "family." With a few simple adjustments, you can use any family get-together to bring your family closer and better prepare your children to enter the world.
Does your family eat dinner together or carve out time to talk each day? What benefits or drawbacks have you noticed? Share your experience in the comments section below. | <urn:uuid:f8f88537-d6e9-4fa0-8052-ed2409686621> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/19/living/feiler-family-dinner/index.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+rss%2Fcnn_living+%28RSS%3A+Living%29 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00015-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.963768 | 1,160 | 1.734375 | 2 |
Welcome to Peace News, the newspaper for the UK grassroots peace and justice movement. We seek to oppose all forms of violence, and to create positive change based on cooperation and responsibility. See more
"Peace News has compiled an exemplary record... its tasks have never been more critically important than they are today." Noam Chomsky
13 years after the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni human rights activists Shell was brought to court in New York for complicity with the Nigerian government for these state murders.
The Ogoni were to use US Alien Tort Statute but Shell settled with them out of court on 8 June with a payment of $15.5m (the equivalent of four hours profit for Shell), seemingly to prevent evidence about their corporate entanglement with the Nigerian military dictatorship reaching the public domain.
Fortunately they have failed to stem the rapid leaking of documents which have emerged in the pages of the Independent on Sunday, the Morning Star and others.
Paying out paltry monies is a feeble attempt to stop the inevitable since there is a case brought by an Ogoni plaintiff pending in the New York District Court, and a further legal action in The Hague, Netherlands, home of Royal Dutch Shell.
The company also faces a legal action in the Netherlands for repeated oil spills, brought by residents of the Niger Delta, with support from Friends of the Earth Netherlands and Friends of the Earth. | <urn:uuid:a0361a2e-4655-4bc1-b248-f51269845daa> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://peacenews.info/node/3672/saro-wiwa-justice | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704132298/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113532-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961318 | 290 | 1.507813 | 2 |
In an interview with The Telegraph, the Work and Pensions Secretary says that he is determined to introduce radical reforms to disability benefits which will see more than two million claimants reassessed in the next four years.
Iain Duncan Smith says that the number of claimants has risen by 30 percent in recent years “rising well ahead of any other gauge you might make about illness, sickness, disability”. Losing a limb should not automatically entitle people to a pay-out, he suggests.
The cost of disability living allowance, which is intended to help people meet the extra costs of mobility and care associated with their conditions, now outstrips unemployment benefit and will soon be £13 billion annually.
Under the reform plans, the existing benefit will be replaced with a simpler “more focused” allowance and only those medically assessed to be in genuine need of support will continue to qualify.
An official impact assessment of the plans, released this month, reveals the scheme will cut benefit payments by £2.24 billion annually – and lead to about 500,000 fewer claimants.
The rigorous new process being introduced by Mr Duncan Smith could lead to those without limbs, including former soldiers, having their payments reduced as their everyday mobility is not undermined by their prosthetic limbs.
The Work and Pensions Secretary says: “It’s not like incapacity benefit, it’s not a statement of sickness. It is a gauge of your capability. In other words, do you need care, do you need support to get around. Those are the two things that are measured. Not, you have lost a limb...”
The reform of disability benefits will be the next major challenge in the Government’s welfare reform programme and is expected to lead to high-profile protests from disability campaigners.
Tony Blair was forced to abandon a plan to reduce disability benefits after people in wheelchairs chained themselves to the gates of Downing Street.
Mr Duncan Smith says that the current system has been exploited and abused because of political fear over reforming a benefit for the disabled.
His department will now replace Disability Living Allowance (DLA) with a new benefit called Personal Independence Payment (Pip) which will have tighter criteria and a simpler approval system.
“We are creating a new benefit, because the last benefit grew by something like 30 percent in the past few years,” he said. “It’s been rising well ahead of any other gauge you might make about illness, sickness, disability or for that matter, general trends in society.
“A lot of that is down to the way the benefit was structured so that it was very loosely defined…Second thing was that in the assessment, lots of people weren’t actually seen. They didn’t get a health check or anything like that.
“Third problem was lifetime awards. Something like 70 per cent had lifetime awards, (which) meant that once they got it you never looked at them again. They were just allowed to fester.”
Ministers are currently consulting on the new eligibility criteria which will be announced in the autumn but they now appear keen to begin discussing publicly the need for reform.
Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to lose the benefits which are worth up to £120 a week. Others will have them cut while some of the most severely disabled Britons are expected to be awarded higher benefits. The mentally ill may also benefit from the changes.
Each of the two million people of working age claiming the benefit will have to see a medical expert and everyone will have been assessed by 2016. There are then expected to be regular reassessments. Currently, only about half of claimants have ever been medically assessed.
Mr Duncan Smith is also working on plans to encourage and help more disabled people to return to work. Many people wrongly believe that they will lose their disability benefits if returning to work, but they are not means tested. However, officials believe that other benefit bills may fall if more disabled people return to work once the new system is explained personally to them.
The changes only affect people of working age, not children and pensioners.
The planned assessments for disability benefits are similar to those underway for incapacity benefit. The Government is currently in the process of reassessing millions of incapacity benefit claimants and has judged that almost 80 percent are either fit for work immediately or in the future.
The level of potential abuse in the incapacity benefit system has shocked ministers, who now believe that many people are also being wrongly categorised as “disabled” by the benefits system.
The Work and Pensions Secretary said: “It’s like incapacity benefit, we’ve got to be careful because these are vulnerable people. There has been a lot of nonsense talked about it in the last few months, lots of letters asking about it. It’s now just beginning to seep in what we are doing. There are all sorts of scaremongering going on about how we are getting rid of it, slashing it, cutting it. The reality is that for the most part that’s not true.”
He added: “There is a big difference between what Tony Blair tried to do and what we are doing. Tony Blair’s government tried to attack DLA, just to restrict it. We’re not doing that. What we’re saying is we need to address DLA’s problems, to reform it. We are creating a new benefit, which we think will be better. We are actually reforming this process to improve it.” | <urn:uuid:8d2fee4c-1cc2-41af-a2a0-40a8b4bce4cd> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/9263453/500000-to-lose-disability-benefit.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.975629 | 1,148 | 1.617188 | 2 |
Somewhere hidden deep within Google’s massive cache of servers, there is a blacklist unlike any other. For starters, it contains enough sexually suggestive terms to make any 15-year-old boy’s head explode. But there are also some unexpected words, like, say, Latina. And hidden from public view, the official version will never see the light of day.
But over the past few weeks, a group of hackers in New York City has been trying to crack the code.
The list started with Google’s new search function, Google Instant. Introduced in early September, it shows results as you type—as opposed to waiting for you to press enter. It works like a telepathic Internet concierge, hoping to send you along to the most relevant results on the Web.
And since its debut, the hackers at The Hacker Quarterly have been reverse-engineering search terms and making a list of words that the company’s algorithms have blacklisted, in an attempt to sanitize its real-time results. In other words, as you enter these words or phrases into your search bar, letter-by-letter, you’ll eventually be faced with a blank page.
One of the first search terms they realized Google had blacklisted was “teen.” That led to other words, like “adult,” and then certain ethnic and religious groups, but, then, not others. “Like, lesbian, why is that in there?" wondered Emmanuel Goldstein, the editor.
The group continued its experiment by compiling a list of 30 words that every kid in America wants to know to improve their “repertoire,” he explained, and then testing to see if Google Instant would return any results.
Some of the simpler terms they’ve since identified as blocked are obvious enough—words like clitoris, anal, or hookup. Others, like pedobear, rusty trombone, and wrinkled starfish are less so, and might require an embarrassing lap around the Internet to figure out the intended meaning.
On the flip side, terms such as buttcrack, fag, and “how to commit genocide” aren't blocked at all, while ass, lesbian, and Latina are.
A few bands even turned up—Barenaked Ladies and the New Pornographers. Even the 1961 film Babes in Toyland was deemed NSFW. And it wouldn’t be a true blacklist without some people on it. A number of porn stars, sex writers, and a few companies in the adult industry found themselves banned, too.
So, how did Google come up with these words in the first place? The answer, not surprisingly, is hidden in an algorithm that Google never quite explains.
Responding to a user query in a help forum post on September 14, a Google employee named "Kelly F" tried to go into the specifics of the word "lesbian." It was the result of a bug, she said, and the company was working to see if it could be fixed. "These results are available but require you to hit Enter," she added in clarifying the problem struck only when using Google Instant.
"It's important to note that removing queries from autocomplete is a hard problem, and not as simple as blacklisting particular terms and phrases," said a Google spokesperson.
Still, the blacklist is more than a computer glitch for those who found themselves on it.
Shanna Katz, a Phoenix-based sex educator whose results were deemed offensive, finds the whole episode incredibly frustrating and arbitrary. “This means that people looking for me as a sex educator may feel that I'm 'violent' or 'pornographic' because I don't show up," she told me, adding that even her Facebook and LinkedIn profiles were blocked. “It’s completely random.”
Try searching for the popular newspaper column “Savage Love” by Dan Savage in your search bar, for instance, but don’t hit enter. As you near the end of the word “love,” you’ll eventually be faced with a white screen. Or, how about “playboy?” Nothing. Try using Google Instant to find information about Ducky Doolittle, a New York City-based artist and sexologist. Nada.
The consensus among the banned is that Google is aiming to protect us from stumbling across a gallery of penises when searching for quality Italian meats. They get that.
But what’s upsetting to most is the incompetence Google’s algorithms have displayed in selecting which words and phrases can stay, and which must go.
But this blacklist isn’t really anything new for industry vets such as Anne Semans, marketing director of the Oakland-based sex-toy store Babeland.com (whose own name returns no Instant results). Hers was one of a few businesses left out by Google.
“What Google is doing is making it easier for people to find really specific information related to a search term. In a sense it's like we're not getting the same kind of courtesy of that functionality,” she said, adding, “It's easier to find a tip for how to remove an ink stain than how to have an orgasm.”
Ducky Doolittle says she’s used to being banned, having been on the Internet since the mid-'90s.
“I know some people are all in an uproar about it, but the truth is, my fans know where I am. It's so common we get censored or closed down,” she says.
But Semans says she believes the search giant doesn't want raunchy terms to be the default in Instant, so its users don't become overwhelmed. She gives the example of somebody searching for "breast cancer," who probably doesn't want to be confronted with a swatch of fake DD breasts, but she acknowledges that the double standard can go both ways.
"I just laugh because I was searching for 'condom,' as people have always confused certain words, like ‘condom’ and ‘condominium.’ So when I searched, 'How to put on a condom,' a popular and important search, the first thing it prioritized was 'condom with teeth.'" A condom with teeth is a defensive device that can be used by women in areas where rape is used as a weapon of war.
"It just leads you down these weird rabbit holes. All of a sudden you're learning about putting on a condom with teeth,” she said. “But that's the byproduct of technology; it's not always going to make sense."
Brian Ries is tech and social media editor at The Daily Beast. He lives in Brooklyn. | <urn:uuid:4fc1e2b3-e13a-4e05-af2f-3ba2e797825b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/10/04/googles-bizarre-blacklist.html?cid=blogunit | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966591 | 1,415 | 1.5 | 2 |
Last week, during an annual Strategic Update meeting with Wall Street financial analysts in New York, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer laid out his assessment of the coming year and Microsoft's plans for coping with what is clearly an historic economic downturn. Ballmer's talk was hopeful at times, but more tellingly it offered a pretty brutal overview of the problems facing the software giant as some of its traditional core products are beginning to flat-line for the first time. Looking at the state of Microsoft's businesses and ahead to the coming year, however, one thing becomes clear: The software giant still makes most of its revenues from businesses, not consumers.
In his talk Ballmer described Microsoft's seven core businesses: Windows, Windows Mobile, Desktop Productivity, Server, Enterprise Software, Search and Advertising, and Entertainment and TV. Of those seven, five are directly related to IT/business. And when you look at an eighth "other businesses" category, you'll see that two of the four emerging Microsoft businesses, Dynamics and Enterprise Services, are also IT/business related.
Microsoft is very clearly in the midst of an enormous push into consumer software solutions but its business sales remain its primary source of revenues. And from a mile-high view, all of Microsoft's IT-related businesses are profitable or highly profitable, with the exception of Windows Mobile, which Ballmer described as "somewhat unprofitable." Microsoft's consumer-oriented businesses, meanwhile, are doing notably poorly, almost across the board.
Let's take a look at each core business.
For Windows, Microsoft is ramping up operating expenses and marketing this year, both to stem the tide of bad publicity about Windows Vista and, in the future, to promote Windows 7. The Windows business has been hit hard by the economic depression. What's odd is that Windows sales are still as strong as ever. It's just that a higher percentage of them are going to low-cost netbook computers that include a low-end version of Windows XP for which Microsoft receives a much lower licensing fee. Microsoft also sees a slowdown in IT spending for 2009, which makes sense given the economy.
From a competition perspective, however, Windows has no real competition today beyond pirated copies of Windows. Even on netbooks, over 90 percent of installs are Windows. But Microsoft sees Linux being more competitive on the PC desktop going forward because it believes that Google will port its Android mobile OS to the PC. (An increasing synergy between phone and PC is a theme of Microsoft's planning going forward.) As for Mac OS X, Microsoft says that they barely register, and the actual market share figures I calculate each quarter bear that out: In the fourth quarter of 2008, the Mac controlled just 3.2 percent of the market worldwide, and less than 5 percent in the US.
My take: People have always misconstrued the real market forces that are eating away at Windows. This has nothing to do with the Mac, which remains a niche player in yesterday's market. The future of computing is online, and as the box you use to get there becomes less important--or becomes a smart phone--Windows matters less. Netbooks, of course, are a real issue for Microsoft. It's strength in this market is key for the future. But it's a smaller future, from a revenues perspective. That's true across the board, and not unique for Windows.
Windows Mobile is a bit of an enigma. Microsoft is number three in the smart phone market worldwide following Symbian and RIM, and ahead of Apple. But that's a temporary condition, and we can expect Apple's iPhone to surpass Windows Mobile this year, thanks to its consumer-heavy sales. Ballmer says that Microsoft will not build its own phone, suggesting that the company is ready to concede the consumer market to Apple. But the company is strongly positioned in the business world and should remain a RIM contender in that space. Ballmer says that the smart phone market will continue to grow despite the economy and that the low price of some Windows Mobile phone offers will help.
My take: Windows Mobile is in trouble. I see no bright future there, thanks to Microsoft's reliance on slow-moving hardware maker and wireless carrier partners. One possible exception: Microsoft takes control of its future in the mobile space and makes its own phone.
Desktop productivity is now Microsoft's strongest business by far, and it accounts for the largest slice of operating expenses as well as a result. Here, the software giant's long-term customer licensing agreements will help Microsoft offset some of the more damaging aspects of the economic downturn. But this business is not immune to challenges, Ballmer notes, and the low-priced Home and Student version of Office 2007, for example, is already the best seller (number-wise). That said, Microsoft derives far more revenues from its enterprise Office users that it does from consumers, so once again the company's dedication to IT is paying off. Looking ahead, Office 14 will ship in 2010, not this year, and will be accompanied by Web-based versions of popular Office applications.
My take: Web-based Office can't happen quickly enough, and I hope to see these Office Web Applications appear much more quickly than 2010. The time to take on Google is now, when the majority of desktop workers are still familiar with--and expect--Office. This is a market Microsoft could lose if it gets too complacent.
Microsoft's Server business is going gangbusters thanks to a strong product lineup with an incredible range of functionality and manageability. Linux remains a key competitor in Web and scientific computing workloads, but Microsoft owns more lucrative desktop infrastructure and IT infrastructure workloads. To address the financial needs of emerging markets and cash-strapped smaller businesses, it will release a Foundation Edition of Windows Server 2008 R2 this year. Ballmer called it a netbook-type release for servers.
My take: Microsoft's Server business is in great shape, and poised for future growth.
Microsoft's enterprise offerings--Exchange, SQL Server, and the like--typically dominate most of the markets in which they compete from a market share perspective. But it's light on the revenues side because of its low prices. Microsoft accounts for only 16 percent of revenues in the enterprise, for example, but has higher market share than the companies, like Oracle, that earn higher amounts. Ballmer called this a double-edged sword, suggesting that the worsening economy might actually help it pick up some new accounts from customers tired of competitors' higher prices.
Looking ahead, Ballmer pointed to an amazing set of releases coming in the next year, including the Windows Azure cloud computing platform, new versions of System Center (IT management), SQL Server, and other servers, and of course Microsoft's hosted online services (Microsoft Online Services, or MOS).
My take: Oddly, MOS and Microsoft's other online services are still considered "other businesses" as they are nascent at this time. I feel that MOS and services like it will largely replace onsite server installs as the mass market enterprise offerings of the future. As such, Microsoft is poised to take its strength in the enterprise to the next generation.
Search and advertising
Almost comically, Ballmer admitted that, with search and advertising, Microsoft "is a small share." That's for sure: Worldwide, Microsoft's search engine accounts for a piddling 1.7 percent of searches, compared to 2.5 percent in April 2008. And in the US, Live Search manages just an 8.5 percent share, down from 9.4 percent in April 2008. These aren't just bad numbers, they're dropping, and steadily.
Ballmer's take on this is surprisingly hopeful. "This is a huge opportunity," he said. "You give up, you can't get back in the game. " On the flipside, of course, is the problem where Microsoft continues to be a complete non-event, despite years of R&D and billions of dollars spent.
Yahoo! is, of course, a wild card. Ballmer says he's still open to buying the company's search business. And rumor has it that they're talking.
My take: It's not clear to me that Microsoft will ever own a significant share of the Internet search market again. If they do buy Yahoo! Search, that will change, but probably only for temporarily.
Entertainment and TV
This market is very interesting because there's a lot of upside and Microsoft, like others, is convinced that owning a part of the living room will one day be as lucrative as its current share on the PC desktop. Of course, Microsoft has been taking on the living room for almost a decade and has precious little to show for it. The Xbox 360, for example, has been reasonably successful, assuming we pretend that the Nintendo Wii doesn't exist and forgive it several billion dollars in R&D expenses that will never be paid back.
Of course, Microsoft's living room strategy isn't just about the Xbox: It has Media Center (PC-based) and Media Room (set-top box software) today--neither of which has any serious traction, and, looking forward, what Ballmer described as "new appliance devices that we or others design that sit next to a TV." These new devices, he said, would bring online TV and movie services, common on the PC, to the television.
And let's not forget Zune. While Microsoft's Zune devices will never offer viable competition for Apple's iPod, the company isn't giving up and its plan to move the excellent Zune software to the Xbox 360, Windows Mobile phones and, possibly, the aforementioned pie-in-the-sky set-top box is a good one.
My take: Give them credit for one thing here, they keep trying. None of Microsoft's living room solutions have ever been legitimately successful, but the software is all excellent. Microsoft deserves to be successful in this market. It never has been, not really.
Microsoft's product line-up is in a transitionary state this year as its customer base begins the long and probably painful move to cloud computing on both the desktop and server. This will be difficult for the software giant, because its bread and butter products--Windows, Windows Server, and Office--are very much traditional software products. But it is taking the right steps to position itself for this change, with Windows Live on the desktop and MOS on the server.
Windows Mobile's future is uncertain. I don't feel that this year's 6.5 release will accomplish anything, but its services-oriented offerings, My Phone and the Windows Mobile Marketplace, will position it for the future. Apple will eat Microsoft's mobile lunch this year and for the foreseeable future.
On the entertainment side, I'm curious to see if Microsoft can overcome endemic Xbox 360 reliability problems and antipathy about its Media Center, Media Room, and Zune solutions. Here, Microsoft has very clear and very powerful competition: Nintendo in the video game front and Apple on the digital media/living room side. Apple's digital media lineup is particularly strong, though it should be noted that even that company has been completely unsuccessful in the living room.
Whatever happens, one thing is clear: This year is going to be tough on everyone, including Microsoft. If you have opted for Microsoft's solutions, especially in business, it looks like you've made a good decision. The issue here, of course, is whether your existing infrastructure can be stretched for a few more years: Microsoft isn't the only company that will be riding out this storm. On the consumer end, you've got a lot of decisions to make. Microsoft offers increasing levels of integration, but the competition almost always offers superior products.
Edited portions of this article appeared in the March 3, 2009 issue of Windows IT Pro UPDATE. --Paul | <urn:uuid:2ec3694e-a268-4b5c-93d4-199bde0e07ab> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://winsupersite.com/windows-server/microsoft-strategic-update-2009 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.952435 | 2,422 | 1.679688 | 2 |
One of the bills stalled in the Do Absolutely Nothing 112th Congress of the United States of America is the Violence Against Women Act. The Senate version extends the protections of the Act to LGBT citizens, Native Americans, and immigrants. The GOP leadership of the House of Representatives objects to the extensions. [CD] The objections are spurious. However, that doesn’t prevent the bill from being stalled, and the Next Great Big Debt Crisis — which evidently wasn’t a problem for the Bush Administration “Deficits Don’t Matter” crowd — is chewing up the air time on the cable news networks. Meanwhile, we have a real economic problem on our hands — domestic violence.
Intimate partner violence is expensive. We’ve known this since the 2003 Center for Disease Control report. (pdf)
“The costs of intimate partner rape, physical assault, and stalking exceed $5.8 billion each year, nearly $4.1 billion of which is for direct medical and mental health care services. The total costs of IPV also include nearly $0.9 billion in lost productivity from paid work and household chores for victims of nonfatal IPV and $0.9 billion in lifetime earnings lost by victims of IPV homicide. The largest proportion of the costs is derived from physical assault victimization because that type of IPV is the most prevalent. The largest component of IPV-related costs is health care, which accounts for more than two-thirds of the total costs.”
So, as of 2003 the price tag for domestic violence was $5.8 billion annually, and the price tag for the health care component was $4.1 billion. Want to help bring down health care costs in this country, then reduce the instances of domestic violence!
For those who persist in speaking of the issue as a police matter, or a “woman’s issue,” consider the following information from that 2003 CDC study:
As of nine years ago we were pitching the equivalent of 32,114 full time jobs in the dust bin because women lost valuable work days due to incidents of domestic violence.
The Corporate Alliance to End Partner Violence updated the numbers and reported that as of 2005, “The annual cost of lost productivity due to domestic violence is estimated as $727.8 million with over 7.9 million paid workdays lost per year.” That, of course, is $727.8 million that doesn’t add anything to the national economy every year.
If we could delve only in the realm of national, and therefore generalized, statistics Nevadans might be more comfortable. However, the Silver State has a problem according to Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto:
“Victims of domestic violence comprise the largest crime victim category in Nevada. Although domestic violence is significantly underreported and statistics are incomplete, the Nevada Department of Public Safety Uniform Crime Report for 2009 reported 29,091 female victims and 12,060 children present at incidents of domestic violence. The Nevada Network Against Domestic Violence reports that 42,877 first-time victims received services from domestic violence programs in fiscal year 2010-11.” [LVSun]
The numbers sting more when they’re describing what is going on in this state alone. The sting is even greater when reading headlines like this one: “Nevada Ranks #1 in Rate of Women Murdered by Men for Third Year in a Row According to VPC Study Released Annually for Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.” That’s right… We’re Number One… in the rate of women murdered by men for the THIRD YEAR IN A ROW. But wait, the news actually gets worse.
“The state has held the top position for five of the last six years. The annual VPC report details national and state-by-state information on female homicides involving one female murder victim and one male offender. The study uses the most recent data available from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s unpublished Supplementary Homicide Report and is released each year to coincide with Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October.
Ranked behind Nevada (2.62) were: South Carolina at 2 with a rate of 1.94 per 100,000; Tennessee at 3 with a rate of 1.91 per 100,000; Louisiana at 4 with a rate of 1.86 per 100,000; Virginia at 5 with a rate of 1.77 per 100,000; Texas at 6 with a rate of 1.75 per 100,000; New Mexico at 7 with a rate of 1.63 per 100,000; Hawaii at 8 (tie) with a rate of 1.62 per 100,000; Arizona at 8 (tie) with a rate of 1.62 per 100,000; and, Georgia at 10 with a rate of 1.61 per 100,000. Nationally, the rate of women killed by men in single victim/single offender instances was 1.22 per 100,000.” [VPC] (emphasis added)
We can extrapolate that the national trends might apply to the Nevada cases. For example, 94% of the victims knew their attackers. Of the victims who knew their attackers, 65% were murdered by husbands or intimate partners. 70% of the murders were accomplished with a firearm, followed by the use of knives or cutting instruments (20%), bodily force (12%), and the ubiquitous “blunt object” was the implement of choice in about 7% of the homicides. (full study, pdf link)
For once, Senator Dean Heller (R-NV) didn’t sign on to the misogynistic agenda of some of his GOP colleagues, and he joined the Democratic majority in the Senate voting in favor of the renewed VAWA. [LVSun] Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) voted with the 67 other Senators who favored the renewal of the act. Sometimes being Number One isn’t the place to be.
Congressman Joe Heck was eager to trumpet his vote for the VAWA, however it was the watered down House version (H.R. 4970), with no protection for immigrant women, LGBT citizens, and Native American women. [NVProg] Congressman Mark Amodei (R-NV2) tapped danced around the issue of tribal jurisdiction over rapes and assaults perpetrated on tribal lands, and supported the House version of the bill. What might their positions be on the ‘real’ VAWA bill, S. 1925?
They, and their cohorts in the U.S. House of Representatives will have to work quickly to deal with the back-load of bills piling up, especially given that they are only scheduled to be in session for 126 days next year.
One of those precious days should really be devoted to the loss of the equivalent of 32,000 full time jobs, the loss of at least $727.8 million to the economy every year, and to the $5.8 billion in health care costs attributable to domestic violence. Perhaps then Nevada could lose the dubious honor of being “Number One?” | <urn:uuid:61e26745-2183-4e23-9090-a8821212be38> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://desertbeacon.wordpress.com/2012/12/04/were-number-one-female-murder-victims-in-nevada/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954339 | 1,463 | 1.703125 | 2 |
The working cornfield at Marini Farm embraces the festive spirit of autumn by wearing a different mask each Halloween season. The corn maze has featured farm-themed shapes, a giant bald eagle, and a pirate design that was featured in the Wicked Local Ipswich in 2010. This year the 10-acre field is sliced into an outline of planet Earth, an astronaut, and a spaceship thought to occupy Buzz Aldrin's secret collection of pet Martians. The maize maze is designed to be both educational and interactive, with about 20 clue stations strategically placed throughout the labyrinth to help adventurers conquer the nearly 10 miles of paths. The maze is open during the day and remains open Friday and Saturday night for flashlight-lead escapades.
The smaller, less complex Finger Fortune maze delights younger adventurers, as do the apple cannon, jumping pillow, pumpkin patch, hayride wagon, and separate play area. For parents or guests staging a corn coup, the third-generation farm serves up a cornucopia of fresh veggies, bakery treats, and plants for purchase or for hurling at scarecrows creepily staring at them in the distance. | <urn:uuid:7679c396-7171-48b4-912e-89554caa52a0> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.groupon.com/local/danvers-ma/things-to-do | 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 | 0.93313 | 228 | 1.765625 | 2 |
Workington pupils bury time capsule at new bridge site
Last updated at 21:23, Thursday, 19 July 2012
The hopes and dreams of about 70 Workington school pupils were captured for all time at a ceremony in Workington yesterday.
The youngsters from Northside Primary School buried notes about their dreams for the future in a time capsule near the new Northside Bridge.
The capsule also featured memorabilia from the diamond jubilee, pictures of each child with an Olympic torch, a school photograph, notes with each child’s birthday and the school’s uniform.
The capsule with a cast aluminum top says: ‘Northside Primary School Time Capsule 2012’ and was buried six feet underground near the new bridge’s north pier on Northside Road.
Alan Barry, vice chairman of Cumbria County Council, Mary Ann Lancaster, chairman of school governors, and Phil Dilworth, site manager, attended the event.
Pupil Kelsie Walker, 10, said: “It has been an amazing experience. Our class worked on a newspaper article on the Workington Olympics which we’ve put in the capsule.”
Jennie Carter, acting headteacher, said: “The whole school and our nursery have put something in the capsule, and they’re really excited about it being found in the future.
“We’re excited that we’re going to have a new bridge here very soon.”
First published at 19:20, Thursday, 19 July 2012
Published by http://www.timesandstar.co.uk
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- Maryport plans tourism drive with Mary Portas cash (1 comment) | <urn:uuid:f8320e11-43c6-4876-847e-9e950b4da134> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.timesandstar.co.uk/news/other/workington-pupils-bury-time-capsule-at-new-bridge-site-1.977542?referrerPath=home/1195885 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.939938 | 479 | 1.554688 | 2 |
IBM marks anniversary with mangrove planting
As part of its 75th anniversary celebration, IBM Philippines held a mangrove planting in barangay Poblacion, Aloguinsan, southwest Cebu in collaboration with the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI).
Last June 16, IBM employees joined the activity that aimed to create a healthier mangrove forest that will boost the town’s main source of livelihood.
Aloguinsan has more than 5,000 households that depend on fishing for a living.
It is said that 75 percent of all tropical fish pass through mangroves, which serve as their nursery grounds, shelter and source of food.
“Planting and maintaining mangrove forests greatly contribute not only in ensuring the balance in our ecosystem and the protection of our natural resources and people. It also helps in bringing back biodiversity, in developing eco-tourism, and sustaining socio-economic development in our country. Thus, community-based initiatives are crucial in the preservation and nurturance of the environment,” RAFI president Roberto E. Aboitiz said.
“On July 20, IBM will mark a diamond milestone – 75 years of operations and service in the Philippines, unmatched in the local technology industry, said Mariels Almeda Winhoffer, president and country general manager of IBM Philippines.
“This year will not simply be a milestone. Rather, it will be an opportunity to heighten IBM’s commitment to the country. We have been in Cebu for five decades now and we will continue to engage in partnership with Cebu to seize the opportunities and the promise of Cebu today and the years beyond,” she added.
IBM and RAFI are committed to work towards a ‘greener’ Cebu.
Last year, IBM Philippines employees and the Philippine Business for Social Progress (PBSP) Visayas worked on a mangrove reforestration project in Olango Island. | <urn:uuid:0ba6708b-bcdf-4474-bee6-575bb3e21f9d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/216473/ibm-marks-anniversary-with-mangrove-planting | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.930754 | 418 | 1.820313 | 2 |
ZESA Holdings has licensed 13 independent power producers with a combined capacity of 4 546 megawatts expected to be operational in about four years.
Zesa is producing about 1 400 MW which is about half peak demand.
Of the 13 licensed IPPs, four of the smaller ones in outlying areas are already operational with a combined capacity of 83MW, generally lighting up the Lowveld and keeping a sawmill running.
ZERC administrator Mr Peter Mufunda said the independent producers are working hard to complete their projects.
“We are happy with the pace at which the companies we have licensed are moving. They give us regular updates on every development. All things being equal, we should be able to have all of them in about three-and-a-half years latest.
“Most of the licensed companies have international partners who have been in the business of producing electricity in different countries or have partnered other financing organisations in mobilising financing of power projects.
“Other partners to the licensed companies are into construction, operation and maintenance as well as manufacturing of required components in electricity production,” he said.
Mr Mufunda said the licensing of new partners was expected to reduce the load on Zesa. He said the recent increase in electricity tariffs would see some of the companies expediting their projects as Zimbabwe moves to increase power production.
Mr Mufunda said the Council of Ministers of Energy in Sadc made a decision that power producers should have cost reflective tariffs. Some of the companies that have been licensed but not yet operational include the proposed giant Sengwa Power Station, which was licensed in September last year.
The plant is expected to have a capacity of 2 400 MW and the project is expected to take four years before it’s operational.
Lusulu Power Plant, to the north of Sengwa in Binga, with capacity to produce 2 000 MW was licensed in October last year.
The company is negotiating financing and shipment of equipment while the project is expected to be complete by 2013.
Eunafric Power Station was licensed in September last year and is in discussions with Harare City Council and the ZETDC on connection to the grid.
The plant is expected to have an initial capacity of 120 MW while the project is expected to be complete by next year, helping supply the critical shortages in Harare.
GeoBase Clean Energy was licensed in January this year to operate an initial 120 MW concentrated Solar Power System in Gwanda.
Grid impact studies have already been conducted by ZETDC to determine connection possibilities while other resources are being mobilised.
The project is expected to be complete in about two-and-a-half years.
Nyangani Renewable Energy, with a generation capacity of 18 MW mini-hydro power station, was licensed in October last year and is in the process of updating feasibility studies, processing water permits and connection to the grid.
The project is expected to be complete in two years.
Mutirikwi mini-hydro power plant was issued with a generation license in October last year to build and operate a 5 MW power plant.
The company has since done feasibility studies on the project while investors have expressed interest in revamping it.
The plant is expected to be operational in about two years.
Companies that are operational include Triangle Limited (45 MW) which uses bargasse to produce power.
The company consumes most of its power internally while the remainder is banked into the national grid.
Hippo Valley Estates (33 MW) also uses bargasse to produce power and consumes most of its power internally while banking the remainder into the grid.
There is also Border Timbers Sawmill (500kW) which uses wood waste to produce power and exports some of the power into the grid while most of it is consumed in its sawmill.
ZERC withdrew a license from Campion Financial Services after the company failed to make progress during the one year the license was subsisting.
The company was licensed in February 2009. | <urn:uuid:d9a9264d-046d-412d-999f-c0671514ce98> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.africanglobe.net/business/zimbabwe-build-3-power-stations/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703298047/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112138-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.97458 | 826 | 1.65625 | 2 |
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Adventures in the Amazon: Dolphins at the Confluence
Early one morning, just before dawn, we set out from La Turmalina in one of the skiffs once agian. Our destination was the conflunce and before long we were cutting the engines and drifting in the exact spot where the Ucayalli and Manañon met. All around us the Amazon was being formed, as the two smaller tributaries came together to form the mightiest river on the planet.
The stillness of the morning was broken by a large splash not far from the boat. Another soon followed, and before long we were all watching the surface of the river intently, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever it was that was causing the splashes. We were rewarded by some spectacular views of the freshwater river dolphins that are known to swim the entire length of the Amazon.
There are two species of dolphins that inhabit the river, a smaller gray variety, not unlike the traditional saltwater dolphins that we all know, and a larger pink dolphin which is unique to the Amazon. Both were on display that morning although the pink variety were a bit more shy, perferring to mostly stay beneath the surface. As is typical with the species, we generally only caught a glimpse of their torso as they would briefly break the surface.
In contrast, the grey, bottlenosed species was down right social. They regularly leapt from the water all around our boat, giving us ample opportunties to watch these beautiful and intelligent creatures. For twenty minutes we sat there, while the dolphins played, and while we had other places to go that morning, none of us was in a hurry to move along.
I can honestly say that watching those dolphins that morning is amongst my favorite travel memories of all time. It was a beautiful setting, with the sun coming up over the rainforest, and the most iconic river in the world flowing around me. It was a real highlight of the trip, and an experience that I can attempt to share with you in the video below. This is footage that I shot, and later edited together, to give everyone an idea of what it was like there that morning. Enjoy.
Gallery: Adventures in the Amazon
Next: Jungle Trekking
Read more Adventures in the Amazon posts HERE. | <urn:uuid:88340400-2a6d-4a9b-8455-6cd255d4e7fe> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.gadling.com/2009/05/25/adventures-in-the-amazon-dolphins-at-the-confluence/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978298 | 483 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Frank B. Gillmore of St. John, Kan., vice-president of the St. John National Bank, is one of Stafford county's prominent financiers and successful farmers. He was born June 1, 1853, on a farm in Lake county, Illinois. His parents, Benjamin P. and Mariam S. (Harper) Gillmore, were natives of Genesee county, New York. The father died in Illinois in 1862 and the mother at St. John, Kan., in 1896. Of their union were born seven childrenfive sons and two daughters: Capt. Evangelist J., the eldest, enlisted at the outbreak of the Civil war in Company B, Ninety-sixth Illinois infantry. He later became captain of his company and was killed in the battle of Kenesaw Mountain, in June, 1864. Elizabeth J., the eldest daughter, is the wife of B. H. Hall, a retired farmer at Oskaloosa, Kan.; Maria is the wife of Andrew McKinney and resides at Cottage Grove, Ore.; Myron, who was a soldier in Company B, Ninety-sixth Illinois infantry, and was wounded at the battle of Dalton, Ga., is a resident of Topeka; Dwight L., who was a soldier in a Kansas regiment, is a resident of Obiquio, N. M.; George A. died in 1900, on his farm in Lake county, Illinois.
Frank B. Gillmore, the youngest son, received a limited education in the public schools of Lake county, Illinois. After his school days he worked on his father's farm and clerked in a store for several years.
In 1876 he married Miss Mary A. Ellis, who is a native of England. In November, 1877, they came to Kansas and located in what was formerly Barton county, but now Stafford county. There Mr. Gillmore took up a homestead in what is now Byron township, where he built a sod house and stable and went to work. He had less than $500 in money, but his small capital was complemented by firm determination and pluck, which qualities, together with business acumen, have made his subsequent career a successful one. He lived on his claim four years. In 1881 he was elected register of deeds of Stafford county. He was reëlected to that office, in 1883, and held it four years in all. He opened in Stafford county the first set of abstract books, which he kept up to date and conducted for twenty-one years. In 1886, with others, he organized the Kansas Security & Trust Company of St. John, of which he served as secretary fifteen years and as president five years. In 1905, with a capital of $25,000, he, with others, organized the St. John National Bank, of which he is now vice-president. Besides his banking interests he is a large Kansas land owner, 2,100 acres of his land being under cultivation. He also owns valuable town property in St. John.
Mr. and Mrs. Gillmore have five childrentwo sons and three daughters: Robert E., the eldest, is a resident of Brownsville, Tex.; Lois is the wife of P. O. Gray; Elizabeth is the wife of B. E. Osborne; Edna is the wife of Harry Aitken; and George F., all of whom are married and all, except the eldest son, reside in St. John, Kan. Mr. Gillmore takes an active interest in public affairs, and in his political views is a Republican. He has served as a city councilman of St. John six years and was acting mayor two years, during which time the electric light system, the sewerage system and waterworks were installed. He was also at one time editor of the "St. John Advance." He associates fraternally with the Masonic order, in which he has attained the Thirty-second degree in the Scottish Rite. Mrs. Gillmore is a communicant of the Episcopal church.Pages 980-981 from volume III, part 2 of Kansas: a cyclopedia of state history, embracing events, institutions, industries, counties, cities, towns, prominent persons, etc. ... / with a supplementary volume devoted to selected personal history and reminiscence. Standard Pub. Co. Chicago : 1912. 3 v. in 4. : front., ill., ports.; 28 cm. Vols. I-II edited by Frank W. Blackmar. Transcribed December 2002 by Carolyn Ward. This volume is identified at the Kansas State Historical Society as microfilm LM195. It is a two-part volume 3.
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The KSGenWeb Project | <urn:uuid:45d41c5b-65fd-4c89-8fee-5daaf54b4175> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://skyways.lib.ks.us/genweb/archives/1912/g3/gillmore_frank_b.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00006-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981164 | 1,148 | 1.84375 | 2 |
Sunday, March 11, 2007 12:16 PM
On February 15, 2005, Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates announced that the new version of its browser would be released at the RSA Conference 2005 in San Francisco. The decision to update the browser occurred in the wake of declining market share due to the spread of the Mozilla Firefox browser. Microsoft also stated that Internet Explorer 7 is available only for Windows XP SP2 and later, including Windows Server 2003 SP1 and Windows Vista. The first beta version of the browser was released on July 27, 2005 for technical testing, and a first public preview version of Internet Explorer 7 (Beta 2 preview: Pre-Beta 2 version) was released on January 31, 2006. The final public version was released on October 18, 2006. Version 7 is intended to defend users from phishing as well as deceptive or malicious software, and it also features full user control of ActiveX and better security framework, including not being integrated as much with Windows as previous versions, thereby increasing security. It also includes important bug fixes, enhancements to support the web standards, improvements in HTML 4.01/CSS 2, Tabbed Browsing with Tab preview and management, a multiple engine search box, a web feeds reader, Internationalized Domain Name support (IDN), and Antiphishing filter. The new version also blocks applets such as Flash movies and Java, the latter of which could add malware to the user's computer. | <urn:uuid:baada918-b98b-4506-a6b4-99531b309f3f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/softwareresources/thread/60db96b1-3eee-40f2-9a2d-125b1378da42 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961009 | 289 | 1.835938 | 2 |
Most Active Stories
It's All Politics
Tue October 23, 2012
During Debates, Silence On Some Issues Was Deafening
Originally published on Tue October 23, 2012 9:13 pm
It's possible that the presidential debates will be remembered mainly for trivia — Big Bird, binders and bayonets.
But Mitt Romney and President Obama did discuss issues of paramount importance, including taxes, entitlements and the role the U.S. should play in the Middle East.
Those issues — and above all else, the economy — dominated discussion throughout the debate season. That meant other important topics such as immigration were barely mentioned, while others never came up at all.
To some extent, Romney and Obama had to respond to the topics moderators were most interested in. Still, they managed to talk about any issue they wanted — especially during Monday's foreign policy debate, in which domestic issues were discussed repeatedly and at some length.
Here are a few topics that were not touched on at all over the course of their three debates:
Climate has been a staple of presidential debates since 2000 and was a regular feature of vice presidential debates even earlier. But climate change was never mentioned in any debate this year.
The issue had gained resonance this summer after a series of powerful storms and widespread drought. CNN's Candy Crowley, who moderated last week's town hall-style debate, said there was a question about climate ready to go from the audience, but "we knew that the economy was still the main thing."
Romney criticized Obama's spending on clean energy companies more than once, while Obama criticized Romney, during last week's debate, for his bragging that as governor of Massachusetts he shut down coal-powered plants.
But neither addressed climate change directly.
"The president as a matter of foreign policy will be called upon to engage with climate change with other countries around the world," says Angela Anderson, the head of the energy and climate program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, which advocates policies to address climate change.
"There is a real confusion on the part of two campaigns in how to talk about this in a way that doesn't polarize the issue further," she says.
Through much of the spring, there was a lot of talk about how Obama's chances for re-election rested largely on the shoulders of Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany. The U.S. economy could be put at risk by a serious failure of the economies within the eurozone.
Things have calmed down on that front. "There was a change of heart in Germany about forcing Greece out of the euro, at least right now," says Desmond Lachman, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. "This kept Greece out of world headlines and took away an issue that Romney might have more forcefully exploited."
Still, as Lachman points out, Romney did warn that the U.S. could go the way of Greece if Obama's policies were continued. But neither candidate talked about how the continuing struggles of Europe could affect the U.S. economy. And Obama didn't try to point to the European recession as a warning of where Romney's policies of austerity might lead the U.S.
This is the first presidential campaign since Watergate in which neither candidate is accepting public financing of his campaign.
Perhaps it's not altogether surprising, then, that campaign finance did not come up in the debates. "Who wants to draw attention to the fact that Obama has raised more money than any candidate in history, and Romney is doing everything he can to keep up?" says Meredith McGehee, policy director for the Campaign Legal Center, which supports campaign finance restrictions.
McGehee suggests that the Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United, which allowed direct corporate spending on campaigns and indirectly opened the door to free-spending superPACs, may have left the candidates with limited policymaking opportunities to discuss.
Still, even if Obama might have been open to charges of "hypocrisy" had he decried the influence of big money in politics, as McGehee suggests, it's a little surprising that he didn't seek a chance to exploit the issue.
"It fits the Obama campaign's narrative about Romney nicely, that he's this out-of-touch plutocrat," says Michael Dorf, a Cornell University law professor. "If he's benefiting from multimillion-dollar donations, that's a good line of attack."
Gay rights have been a major issue during Obama's presidency, from his signing of a bill to allow gays to serve openly in the military to his announcement this spring that he supports same-sex marriage.
The fact that these issues were entirely absent from the presidential debates itself constitutes a victory, says Fred Sainz, vice president of Human Rights Campaign, a gay-rights group.
"It is a measure of progress in terms of how far the LBGT issue has come in that it is no longer an issue," says Sainz, referring to the lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgendered community.
He notes that public support of gay rights has grown enormously over the past decade, with even gay marriage — which was a potent tool for President George W. Bush in 2004 — now enjoying bare majority support in polls.
"Gov. Romney stays away from the issue like I stay away from five-day-old tuna fish salad," Sainz says.
Of course, support for gay rights — and gay marriage in particular — is far from universal. Obama's statement of support for gay marriage came a day after voters in North Carolina approved a constitutional ban on the practice.
Gay marriage has never been approved by voters, while it's been banned by voters in 32 states. On Nov. 6, voters in Washington state, Maine and Maryland will vote whether to allow gay marriages, while Minnesota voters will decide whether to approve a ban.
"Same-sex-marriage advocates are wrong when they suggest that gay marriage is inevitable throughout the United States," says Chip White, spokesman for Preserve Marriage Washington, which is opposing the gay-marriage measure in Washington state.
The Supreme Court
The possibility of appointments to the Supreme Court is typically an underdiscussed issue in presidential campaigns.
Still, it's notable that none of the moderators asked Obama or Romney about it, as there have been four new justices appointed since 2005, while four of the current justices are each at least 74 years old.
It's possible that the candidates' own reticence had something to do with the fact that discussing Supreme Court picks might have brought up all manner of controversial topics, including same-sex marriage, affirmative action and abortion.
Obama was eager during the debates to present himself as a champion of women and reproductive rights. But neither he nor Romney ever uttered the word "abortion." (Abortion was raised during the vice presidential debate.)
"The risk for Obama in reminding women that Roe could be overturned is that creates an opening for Romney to say that you could lose your gun rights if you get some more Democratic appointees," says Dorf, the Cornell professor, who was a clerk for Justice Anthony Kennedy.
Dorf notes that Romney presented a more moderate image during the debates than he had throughout much of the campaign. He may not have wanted to remind voters that he would very likely appoint conservative justices.
"Each of them would be likely to nominate justices who will take positions on some things that will be unpopular with a majority of Americans," Dorf says. | <urn:uuid:6044b29f-0b4f-4ba1-acfc-e25daf15973f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.boisestatepublicradio.org/post/during-debates-silence-some-issues-was-deafening | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.978724 | 1,526 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Here’s a nice, practical mounting frame for the GoPro Hero3 from Pete Prodoehl’s blog Rasterweb:
I like the acrylic housing that comes with the GoPro Hero3, but I tend to run some pretty long time lapses, and the battery doesn’t last long enough, so I made a lightweight frame, and it’s over on Thingiverse.
I’m (slowly) getting better at OpenSCAD, thanks to projects like this. I’m sure I’ll get even better in 2013.
I’ve got plenty of long USB cables and USB power supplies, as well as a Minty Boost from Adafruit to provide power for shooting hours and days at a time.
Here’s a quick time-lapse test I shot before I had the frame. I ended up balancing the GoPro on a book on top of two water bottles, which was silly, and just one more reason for this thing.
The frame has a bit of flex to it so you can easily wrap it around the camera. I may play around with some thicker housings, but for now, it does the job.
I ended up printing about 6 versions before I got one that was good. I should probably do more paper prototyping, but with how easy it is to 3D print things, sometimes you just hit “print” and hope for the best. If it doesn’t work out, you tweak things and try again. It’s just the way it works.
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here! | <urn:uuid:873e6cda-697b-4e78-a37e-6177d9dc7721> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.adafruit.com/blog/2013/01/03/gopro-hero3-frame-3dthursday/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696382584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092622-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.9411 | 517 | 1.8125 | 2 |
Seabird Care and Conservation Internship
The Seabird Care and Conservation internship has been developed to track the life cycle of seabirds and will focus on equipping you with hands on skills to work with seabirds in every stage, from egg hatching to release. After completion you will be well prepared for a career in bird care and conservation. This internship will see you work in both the Main centre as well as the Chick Rearing Unit (CRU) where you will have a more varied seabird experience.
What will I learn?
This learning experience is divided into 2 sections.
Online e-learning course – completed prior to the first day
This course is desgined to provide you with a sound knowledge base to work at SANCCOB. The course content is developed to provide you with a working knowledge of different types of penguins and seabirds of various ages, types of enclosures they live in, what does daily care entail, handling and feeding techniques, and as well as seabird behaviour and signs of illness and disease. You will also learn the basic differences between working at the Main centre vs. CRU. Scenarios, case studies, instructional videos and photos will provide the basis for self assessment quizzes that encourage understanding and application of knowledge.
SANCCOB – Practical skills development
You will have the opportunity to apply your knowledge and practice those skills that you have been introduced to. You will learn intermediate seabird care techniques for juvenile and adult seabirds and will learn highly specialised skills on how to handle, feed and care for primarily African penguin chicks, gulls and cormorants. You will also learn about the incubation process and assist with egg management.
Who can apply?
Returning volunteers who meet application requirements, university students, graduates, post graduates, employees and volunteers in the fields of conservation, husbandary, animal care and welfare, animal behavior, zoology, biology or any other animal science related fields.
Read what others have said about this programme.
If you want to make the best of your time, then why not consider one of our training courses?
Please note that dissertation projects/other under or graduate research projects can be completed as part of this 6 month internship. Click here for more information.
The nature of the work that you will be doing may see your schedule change on very short notice so flexibility is highly appreciated. You will need to have the ability to stay focused and self motivated, be compassionate and flexible, highly observant and be aware that the CRU environment is quiet by nature and you will often work on your own.
When working with juvenile and adult seabirds at the main centre, a typical work day is from 8am-5:30pm but when working in the Chick Rearing Unit (CRU), you will be required to work shifts.
CRU shift times are mostly from 05h30-14h30 & 13h30-21h30 but during times where there's an increase in bird numbers or a lack of capacity, shifts may change to a 12 hour shift (6am-6pm).
8 hours shift rotation schedule will operate 5 days a week and will include weekends and public holidays.
12 hours shift rotation schedule will operate on a long week (Mon, Tues, Fri, Sat, Sun), short week (Wed, Thurs) system.
What about accommodation?
Local participants (SA citizens/permantent residents)
Returning participants that meet the application requirements
How to apply?
Click here to download the application form | <urn:uuid:159e3ed4-6f30-4d4d-8496-d9c1b961478b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://sanccob.co.za/training/internships/seabird-care-and-conservation.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.933833 | 736 | 1.789063 | 2 |
From the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
-- Wisconsin hunters planning for the late-year seasons should register now for required hunter education certificate courses to avoid being sidelined this fall. The hunter education program offers about 1,200 courses every year, but very few of them are offered from October through December.
Every year Conservation Warden Tim Lawhern, who also serves as the state's hunting education administrator, fields calls two weeks before the gun-deer season with hunter-hopefuls looking to fulfill the mandatory hunter education course. "More than 99 percent of our courses have already been offered by that time," he says.
Anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 1973, must have completed a hunter education course and show the certificate to purchase any hunting license in Wisconsin. Also, recreational safety students are required to obtain a Wisconsin DNR Customer ID Number before the completion of any recreational safety class and must provide that Customer ID Number to the instructor.
To find a course, visit the Department of Natural Resources Web site. Look under the heading of Recreational Safety Course - Upcoming Classes. If unsuccessful, check back as courses are added to the listing as instructors alert the DNR. Find this online at http://dnr.wi.gov/org/es/enforcement/safety/coursereq.htm
"In Wisconsin, we've reduced hunting accidents by 90 percent since the hunter education program began," Lawhern says. "Hunting is safe-and getting safer-because of the volunteer instructors who teach hunter education and the number of our hunters who have graduated from our courses. Sign up now while courses are being offered in your area." For more information contact Tim Lawhern at (608) 266-1317. | <urn:uuid:eab21f5b-8651-46de-8010-b13c10474d3c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.buckmasters.com/wisconsin-hunters-should-register-now-for-hunter-ed-class.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.950355 | 347 | 1.8125 | 2 |
The Wayfinding team at Vancouver's TransLink has finally unveiled their new network map, with Frequent Network designations. In this case ... orange:
Download the whole thing here: regional transit map
The term "FTN" (Frequent Transit Network) also appears on the map here and there. This term has already been used for several years in TransLink policymaking. In fact, four years ago in Transport 2040 TransLink committed to this goal:
The majority of jobs and housing in the region are located along the Frequent Transit Network (frequent, reliable services on designated corridors throughout the day, every day).
Now, finally, the public can see it too! Disclosure: I had a review-and-comment role in a few stages of this process, but it's definitely TransLink's work, led by their excellent Wayfinding team. | <urn:uuid:c670b65a-d5a3-49bb-8740-0e737c43a478> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.humantransit.org/2012/05/vancouver-publishes-frequent-network-map.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.972295 | 176 | 1.765625 | 2 |
African business, politics and lifestyle
Time to stop aid for Africa?
Far from being all bad news for Africa, the global financial crisis is a chance to break a dependence on development aid that has kept it in poverty, argues Zambian economist Dambisa Moyo, who has just published a new book “Dead Aid”.
Moyo’s book, her first, comes out at a time when Western campaigners, financial institutions and some African governments have been warning of the danger posed to Africa by the crisis and calling for more money from developed countries as a result. The former World Bank and Goldman Sachs economist spoke to Reuters in London.
“I’m not saying its going to be easy, I’m just saying that there is a real opportunity for policymakers to focus on coming up with more innovative ways of financing economic development. In a way the crisis actually provides the African governments with the situation where they cannot rely on aid budgets coming through from the West.”
Moyo believes more than $1 trillion in development aid over the past 50 years has only entrenched Africa’s poverty, distorted economies and fuelled bureaucracy and corruption. She sees alternatives such as encouraging trade – particularly with emerging markets – encouraging foreign direct investment, microfinancing for enterprise and seeking funds from capital markets.
Moyo is not discouraged by the fact that all those options appear more difficult in the current environment.
“It just means the onus is on African governments to come up with a more compelling story as to why African governments are overseeing real asset investment not derivative products we don’t really understand.”
“If you focus on traditional markets like Europe and the United States, you come to the conclusion that markets are really damaged and it’s very hard to raise money in those markets, but if you start to look towards China for example which has $4 trillion of reserves, all of a sudden you could see there might be another opportunity to do a bond issue in the Chinese market for example.”
“The model that’s coming up, that I’m proposing, is essentially one where Africa and Africans become equal partners with the rest of the world, not one where there is kind of a donor and a recipient, where Africans are kind of viewed as secondary citizens,” she said.
“There is no other system, whether a political system or a business system, that has stayed as the status quo for 60 years when we all know it’s not doing what it’s supposed to do, it’s not generating growth and it’s not alleviating poverty.”
Moyo is not worried about the impact of aid being taken away:
“It actually tends to pool at the top so it’s not like the average African is going to suffer. They don’t see the aid anyway. Essentially it‘s going to really affect the bureaucratic processes at the top and would really impact on corruption.”
“You could take me to country X in Africa and say ‘look at this girl here and she’s going to school because of aid’. Yes, that’s true but on a macro aggregate perspective these economies are not growing. They’re not growing fast enough to ensure that when that girl is done with her schooling she can find a job.”
Moyo is unimpressed by Western campaigners such as rock stars Bob Geldof and Bono calling for lots more aid for Africa.
“I fundamentally object to the notion that Africa needs more aid and I do think it’s time to have many more Africans speak out, especially the policymakers, because many of the policymakers actually don’t support aid and yet they stay in the background and they allow this money to come into the economy.”
“You very rarely see Africans on the global stage saying ‘actually we would like to have much more aid please’.”
“I do think a gap has opened up to allow other people to formulate a view on coming to the global debate and offering opinions as to what they think Africans want. But maybe we should start a website called ‘Ask the African’ because I think you might be quite surprised to find that people say ‘we want jobs’, I wouldn’t mind a flat screen television, I wouldn’t mind having my kids go on holiday sometimes …’”
Picture: Helen Jones photography | <urn:uuid:f23aa9aa-0d41-4caf-b681-22a09dab0859> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://blogs.reuters.com/africanews/2009/02/05/time-to-stop-aid-for-africa/?cp=all | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960511 | 941 | 1.78125 | 2 |
Milwaukee's Got Books Too!!
Sometimes I am amazed when people say that they prefer the "big cities" like New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, because they have better access to "books and culture." Okay, this is a complicated statement, because "culture" (whatever that is or we make it out to be) is a hard word to define. Sure, in New York City for example, one could see maybe 4 times as many operas and probably 30 times as many classical concerts as in Chicago, and probably ten or a hundred fold that in much smaller American cities. But books? Aren't books pretty much everywhere? I have really heard people make such comments. So when it comes to books, I'm slightly puzzled, because many of America's smaller cities don't simply have "lots of books," but many of the best book stores--most of them used book shops, which believe it or not, I prefer to the larger monstrosities of the famed American metropolis--we won't mention names here!
The beauty of small (or smaller) American cities, especially those which have colleges or universities, is that they most often have great used book shops. And plenty of them for you to browse and buy or simply sit back in and enjoy a cup of tea, while you read. I remember fondly the bookshops in Champaign-Urbana, when I was in library school. Just delightful places, and all out in the rural flatness of middle Illinois.
So when I went to Milwaukee last spring for our semi-annual Chicago Area Theological Library Association (CATLA) meeting, I was more than pleased with the various and bountiful resources available to see...and surely more important: available to Milwaukeeans (or is it Milwauker?)
I drove up from Chicago with the director of the CTU library, Melody McMahon, and we all gathered at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee campus at around 9AM. The library above is the Golda Meir Library, named after its perhaps most famous resident, who lived here nearly a century ago, before heading off to the middle east and becoming the first woman head of the state of Israel. In the lobby of this library were many items, including art made out of old books: these were made into an alligator and a machine gun!
We held our sessions next to the Special Collections of the library. Below, in the hallway leading up to the Special Collections was a display of historical comics on display. This library apparently has a magnificent collection of comics.
We took a tour of the library facilities, and many of us who came from smaller libraries (or at least economically challenged ones!) were marveling at the technologies of the university campus: below is a digital sign, which displayed how many computer stations were being used, where, and how long! So if you needed a computer, you could look at this screen and find where there was an available seat in the library!
Golda, above. Below: Deirdre A. Dempsey, Ph.D. gave an outstanding performace at her lecture on the history and background of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Professor Dempsey is Associate Professor in the Theology Department at Marquette University, and her webpage can be seen here: http://www.marquette.edu/theology/dempsey.shtml
She gave a marvelous presentation as a preface to the tour we would be taking later this afternoon at the Milwaukee Public Museum, downtown.
At the museum above and below. An interesting place, which I didn't have enough time to visit all of. But it was interesting, nonetheless. You'll see that we weren't allowed--of course--to photograph the original scrolls, so I took pictures of the signs and books about them!
It was a funny and odd experience. Above is just at the top of the escalator, near the entrance of the exhibit. Once you entered the area where the scroll fragments were on exhibit, it got dark, with blue lights...and the hallways were decorated with middle eastern motifs and palm trees! There was a soundtrack of eerie middle eastern music playing, some sort of Bedouin instrument, a horn, calling into the night. Then sounds of wind and the dessert. There were maps of the ancient world and light-generated images being projected here and there. The rooms where the scrolls were held were quite cool. It was though, I must admit, a rather surreal experience. Like they were forcing you to have a particular--almost religious or spiritual--experience.
Emerging in the later afternoon, we came into the light and into the book store. You could buy books about the scrolls, if you so desired.
On the way home, I took a few snapshots of old book shops and other curiosities in Milwaukee.
They do have books, you know!
With an astounding array of culture--from local used book shops, a university library system at UW-Milwaukee boasting more than 3.2 million volumes, public libraries, a museum showing an exhibit on the Dead Sea Scrolls, and more--I think that many people could say that Milwaukee might be able to hold its own culturally. And you know, I didn't even mention the great restaurants downtown, the Calatrava-designed Milwaukee Art Museum (one of my favorite all time buildings in the world!!), the gorgeous lake-front, or even...how could we forget: the Burning Snow Center (below) for the Experimental Arts. Hey!--I think everyone needs a little bit of Burning Snow now and then. Our whole enterprise in life and books is experimental arts. So keep on reading; and keep on experimenting! | <urn:uuid:97beb3ae-4cfd-40cd-a01d-7ddb7cb1e780> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://onbooksandbiblios.blogspot.com/2010/08/books-shops-and-libraries-of-milwaukee.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368699881956/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516102441-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974138 | 1,165 | 1.695313 | 2 |
A Particularly Good Definition of Freedom
“Consider the following definition of freedom: the absence of monopoly.” – Arnold Kling
This explains why those perhaps in Hong Kong (i.e. China) may have more freedom than Americans. There is no viable exit opportunity from the American political system. Sort of like there was no viable exit opportunity from the English causing the revolution. Even if I leave America they will still tax me unlike most other countries America taxes on nationality and not just place of residence. | <urn:uuid:0d1289c2-49af-4740-b2b6-7857e3c23724> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thefreedomthinker.com/2009/08/11/a-particularly-good-definition-of-freedom/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708142388/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516124222-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.93504 | 102 | 1.578125 | 2 |
STRANGE OBJECTS WITNESSED OVER CLINTON NEW JERSEY
5-28-11 CLINTON NEW JERSEY
A friend and I were at another friends house, relaxing on the front porch. We were talking when I looked out over the treeline and saw two red/red-orange lights relatively close to us. My first thought was that they were the lights on the wingtips of a plane and that a plane was coming in for a crash landing. However there was no sound of an engine, in fact there was NO sound coming from the objects at all. Then the two lights started weaving towards and away from each other. They changed directions rapidly and appeared to bob around in the sky. They were like orbs and appeared to be lit from the inside at the bottom. The bottom was like a bright red-orange and lit the entire object to a red color. Perplexed, we moved to the porch rail to get a better look; they started moving to our left. My friend called out to our other friends father who was right inside in the living room. He came out to view it with us. Shortly after he came out a third object of the same type came out over the treeline. It followed the same path as the previous two; first moving towards us and then to the left before it changed directions again to fly off. As they began to fly off we found a pair of binoculars to try and get a better look, however by then they were too far away. They flew off and then flickered out of sight. Note: The above image is a rendering.
This case is under investigation by Ed Dobson of MUFON New Jersey.
KEN PFEIFER MUFON NEW JERSEY | <urn:uuid:1530208b-f9e9-4262-a20f-af6475561ee3> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://mufonnj.com/ufos-witnessed-over-clinton-new-jersey/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706153698/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120913-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.987449 | 360 | 1.578125 | 2 |
August 03, 2008, 12:38
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|Hand to Mouth
photography and commentary by
When she started photographing rural life in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania in 2003, Tessa Bunney was attracted to the many unique cultural differences she discovered there — rough-hewn tools and farm implements that had been used for generations, old-fashioned fabrics and textures, and a cohesive way of living in accord with the seasonal conditions of their harsh environment. However, a mere five years after she started her documentation, many of these age-old cultural practices and artifacts are disappearing.
About the beginning of this project:
Like many projects 'Hand to Mouth' came about by chance. As I was driving
home late one evening in the UK, I heard
a programme on Radio 4, 'Wild Europe', about how the lives of the travelling
shepherds are affected by bears and wolves in the Romanian Carpathian
Mountains. These few minutes were enough to inspire me to visit the shepherds
and their wild landscape.
Much of this project is a kind of ‘street’ photography relying
on chance encounters. I would get up in the morning
with no agenda and walk all day, sometimes from village to village along
dirt roads, other times following cart tracks and footpaths used by local
people through orchards and meadows. I would photograph the people I met
on the way, people who interested me for some reason — peasant farmers
working the fields, women walking along knitting in the street. I was able to meet shepherds and spend time at the sheepfolds
as they milked the sheep and made cheese for the villages. Unintentionally,
the fabrics and details of their clothing became as important in the photographs
as the actual activity.
|© 2008 Lens Culture and individual contributors. All rights reserved.| | <urn:uuid:70007548-c98b-401e-b659-e9afa64b65f1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://lensculture.com/bunney.html | 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 | 0.965461 | 393 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The seventh in an on-going series of Artist Edition Yo-Yos, this latest hardwood yo-yo features original artwork by Chicago artist, Travis Lampe.
The unadorned yo-yos themselves are a work of art. Made in the United States and turned from a single piece of Hard Rock Maple, they are made in the traditional fashion of yo-yos from the 1920s. While most modern yo-yos are made of high-impact plastic or aircraft-grade aluminum, these wooden yo-yos are meant to evoke a simpler time in American history. The yo-yo is the second-oldest toy in the world and still one of the most popular; it’s with this heritage in mind that these wooden yo-yos were chosen.
Other Yo-yos in the series featured the work of, amongst others, Brian Morris:
and Jeremiah Ketner:
This Artist Edition Yo-Yo will be $15 each, limited to 30 pieces worldwide, and will never be manufactured again. One side is laser-engraved with original art by the selected artist, while the other side is engraved with the artist’s signature and the Steve Brown Gallery logo.
The goal of this series, as expressed by Steve Brown Gallery, is to provide people with a work of art that is meant to be part of their everyday life. It is their hope that this yo-yo provides you with simple pleasure for years to come.
Yo-yos manufactured and engraved by Arizona-based YoYo Factory.
You can find other Travis Lampe originals for sale here.
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The images, text and information by laura sweet on this site are licensed and protected under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. If you reproduce or re-purpose, be sure to credit this blog and link back to the post. Thanks. | <urn:uuid:195d3543-d887-410f-b5be-780e17b840d2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://ifitshipitshere.blogspot.com/2010/11/seventh-artist-edition-yo-yo-by-travis.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702448584/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516110728-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.942526 | 411 | 1.742188 | 2 |
kirk5a wrote:DAWN wrote:There is no cause to freedom. If The Liberation has causes it's will be conditioned, and condition is a jail.
Not true."Emancipation, monks, also has a supporting condition, I say, it does not lack a supporting condition. And what is the supporting condition for emancipation? 'Dispassion' should be the reply.
http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka ... .bodh.html
Supporting conditions - they support Emantipation, they dont create it.
Supporting conditions are writen in Vinaya.
Perharps peoples thinks that by saing that "there is no choice" we can say that "we dont have a care about what is the way we live", it's not like this.
Because this words can be saing ony by ego, but when you see this Dhamma of anatta, and "no choice" you have no more ego, is you understand that intelectualy, you wahe to develop that by awereness and concentration, until you will find, reveal the refuge, after that you have just to support it by conditions, dwell in it, beyond thoughts, beyond suffering, beyond Mara, beyond the fenomenal wolrd. You have to support it until your bodies die.
When in subway you watching trough window, there is many lightelings, and you are charmed by this mouvement since countless stops, you cant exit, you dont know how. But if you close your eyes, and tryes to feeling a chair, you will find it. This chair is alway be there, but we was to much charmed by lightelings of subway, since all this time we identifying with it, we think that we create it, we think that we have a choice of it, but all these lightelings still mouve on these own, and we suffering. So, the one who practice well, will find a chair, he will exit the next stop. Until he dont feel the chair, and dont know how to exit, he have to stick off his face from window, and be awere of mouvement of lightelings... Doing this way he will find a chair under his booty.
If some one who jump with a parachute is panic, he will die, or be tangled in the parachute and die after that. But if he is calm, and see that earth comes closer and closer, he will dont spend his precious time on suffering about it, he will try to find a parachute ring, and will never drop it again.
There is no conditions to parachute or subway chair, there is conditions to find it and dont loose it. To find it we have to be awere about dhammas in our mind and our live, dont be charmed by it, dont spend our time on suffering about that, spend our time to make a good choice and after suffering one more time because fruit of this choice brings no happyness etc etc... We have to find a chair, find a parachute, and dont loose it. It's all.
When the chair will be found, the one have no care anymore about lightelings, he let them be, he keep his mind awere about the next stop for exit.
When the parachute will be found, the one have no care about the falling down, he just keep his mind awere about the ground that comes closer
I'am sorry, there is to many words. | <urn:uuid:4c76e7a7-f371-4b24-b441-70ed38e19453> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.dhammawheel.com/viewtopic.php?p=203834 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698207393/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095647-00001-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966982 | 735 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Read the Original Article at http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=189700123
A company formed after the burst of the Internet bubble to control assets of defunct ZapMedia Inc. has received a patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office that could potentially send shock waves through industries that distribute digital audio and video content over the Internet.
ZapMedia Services, which now owns Patent No. 7,020,704, has put it up for sale. Organizing negotiations, Atlanta-based Lava Group Inc., which manages patents and intellectual property, has been fielding calls from executives becoming aware of ZapMedia's portfolio.
ZapMedia's patent describes a distribution model for audio and video digital content, a combination of streaming media from a portal to many devices, and what some might consider a digital rights management platform.
The patent, issued in March, is the first in the portfolio to gain approval. Three other patents are pending, said Lava Group president and CEO Robert Frohwein on Wednesday. "The patent covers content that's acquired and licensed over the Internet, as well as content that you may have acquired or licensed and uploaded to the portal," he said. "Until now, the patent has really flown under the radar because it's not assigned to a particular company. Claim No. 7 is particularly important."
Claim No. 7, which pertains to the media asset management system, is expected to create the most controversy. The first portion of the claim refers to a user account that corresponds with at least one person, and a virtual media asset library with reference to multiple assets the user has a license to access. The second portion of Claim No. 7 refers to software that can connect the media portal to more than one device.
Andrew Floam, an attorney with Rockville, Md.-based intellectual property law firm Edell, Shapiro & Finnan, wrote and filed the patent in 1999, when he worked at the Atlanta intellectual property law firm Needle and Rosenberg. "I haven't thought about the patent in years and wondered what happened to it," he said. "I thought the idea was a little out there at the time because no one distributed audio and video media assets on the Internet."
Floam remembers ZapMedia having difficulties gaining the rights to distribute media assets over the Internet. Ironically, Apple Computer Inc. may not have been the initial innovator to many of these emerging technologies and could become subject to third-party patent rights, he said.
ZapMedia, however, isn't interested in enforcing the rights. Instead, the company plans to leave that up to the patent's new owners.
But even after the patent changes hands, for a company to successfully enforce a patent, it must withstand challenges, according to John Ward, partner at patent strategist Greenberg Traurig LLP. Many times disputes are settled with reasonable royalties, he said. It's a cost of doing business.
Maybe so, but Ward seemed most impressed that ZapMedia's patent dates back to the fall of 1999, two years before the birth of Apple Computer Inc.'s iPod. CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPod on Oct. 23, 2001, as a Mac-compatible product with a 5-GB hard drive that put 1,000 songs in your pocket, according to Wikipedia.
"The patent seems fairly broad and could potentially apply to some companies providing downloadable music and movies," Ward said. "When you enforce a patent there are many ways to interpret the actual terms of the patent, which can narrow the scope and present obstacles to enforce."
A diagram in the patent describes the business model and the method in which content would flow from multiple media providers through an Internet portal and to consumers. On the surface, some industry experts believe the drawing appears similar to the distribution model used by Apple's iTunes Music Store, RealNetwork's Rhapsody, MTV/Microsoft's URGE, Napster, MSN Music, Wal-Mart Music, as well as movie download sites Vongo, CinemNow, MovieLink and others.
The patent is owned by ZapMedia Services, successor to the assets of ZapMedia Inc., a privately held $30 million funded Atlanta-based start-up that developed the technology. In its heyday, ZapMedia co-branded products and services with others, such as Microsoft Corp., and inked a $270 million deal with media conglomerate Gannett Co. Inc. ZapMedia focused on convergence technology, bringing custom entertainment to consumers. The goal was to allow consumers to access movies, music, video via the Web, as well as play CDs and DVDs through their existing televisions and stereos. The ZapMedia "ecosystem," developed in-house, consists of the ZapStation hardware reference design (device), ZapMediaEngineSM (software), and the ZapMedia Entertainment Service (portal). | <urn:uuid:61d996f2-b870-4407-87e8-2275a151763f> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techweb.com/taxonomy/index/printarticle/id/189700123 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.955577 | 994 | 1.585938 | 2 |
Somebody had contacted me a while ago asking me for proof in the form of videos that circuses treated animals badly. Well, if you visit the following link, you will have the option thereafter of clicking on "wtach this" or something like that that shows screaming elephants being beatne by bullhocks and steel pipes. So if any of you out there need to convince a skeptical but otherwise decent person that circuses are NOT cool, please show them the video. The link is:
http://www.peta.org/feat/atspring2002/c ... index.html
And just to clear up some common misconceptions, I was talking to a group of people yesterday at school, and they actually said to me that animals in circuses perform because they WANT to and because thet are HAPPY to and because they get rewarded for doing so with lots of treats and praise. It is hard and scary to think that this group was highly educated and otherwise quite intelligent. Obviously, though, they haven't a clue about circus reality. So it is time to once anfd for all end the common misconceptions about why animals perform in circuses.
dictates that these wild animals would rather be runnng freely in the wild instead of traveling city to city in box cars in all weather extremes and performing tricks that are unnatural and terrifying to them. No wild animal WANTS to perform in a circus. ALL animals are terrified of fire, for one thing, and thus the only way to get tigers or other animal to jump through flaming hoops is to teach them that if they DON'T do the scary trick, they will be beaten and tortured. I was amazed to hear that there are people out there that think that you can get an elephant to ride a bike or a tiger to jump rthough fire with "praise and treats." Are you F$%^ing kidding me"? It takes a lot more than treats to get an animal to run TOWARDS and THROUGH a fire. Every instinct tells all animals to run AWAY from the fire, unless they know that they will have the crap beaten out of them if they do not do what their trainers have beaten them into performing. Treats - give me a break!!!!!!!!
Furthermore, it also is not rocket science that these animals would rather be free with their families and among their own kind than perform in circuses for the idiots that patronize circuses. Animals in circuses are bored, lonely and sad - they often go stir crazy, rocking back and forth - it is truly a heart breaking site that these majestic wildlife have been reduced to what they are. IT is time to give them back their dignity don't you think? It is so barbaric and uncivilized. In the words of one really smart man, "But for the threat and fear of extreme physical punishment by their oppressors, animals would NEVER be part of a circus." So get real people and take off the rose coloured glasses. The animals are the ones that will pay the price for your continued ignorance of the true nature of circuses. if you love animals and want to see them and be close to the, visit an animal sanctuary or your local animal shelter and walk a lonely and bored dog on death row. You will make his day and get some exercise in the process. Although zoos are also far from benign, they are better than circuses, so if you INSIST and supporting animal exploitation, choose the lesser of two evils and skip the circus for the zoo.
If anybody needs more convicning when it comes to circuses, contact me at: 416-822-0060 or at [email protected]
but be warned I don't check my email frequently at all. Feel free to direct anybody else that remains skeptical to me and I will gladly provide them with info and personal experience along with eye-witness testimony. But really, like I said, none of that should be necessary - the answer is all in common sense people. Just think about it honestly and candidly, putting yourself in the wild animal's shoes. Let common sense be your guide.
And in the time it took to write this, more animals in the "care" of Ringling Brothers or other circus and animal acts have been beaten and electrocuted to entertain us and bring in the $$$. | <urn:uuid:e20a907f-6330-4020-9769-7d49b53a89ba> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=127 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00007-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.962673 | 888 | 1.71875 | 2 |
DailyDirt: Flying With The Greatest Of Ease
from the urls-we-dig-up dept
The Segway was originally billed as a revolutionary new way to travel, but after it was revealed, it didn't seem anywhere near as cool as a flying car (or hoverboard). While everyone is more concerned about gas mileage nowadays, there are still some dreamers out there working on personal flying vehicles. Here are just a few examples of some ways to get yourself off the ground.
- Personal planes that can take off and land in water are almost ready to ship to their first 35 customers. Prototypes of these electric planes have been flown in successful test runs, and FlyNano expects to start production in the next year. [url]
- A personal helicopter is becoming a bit cheaper and more practical -- just imagine 4 or 5 toy quadcopters linked together with a chair in the middle. The volocopter VC1 is the first all-electric manned helicopter, and all those redundant rotors allow for a few to fail without causing too much trouble. [url]
- Adam Savage (of Mythbusters fame) tells everyone how to build their own hovercraft using a leaf blower, some duct tape and a 4 foot diameter circle of plywood. Warning: make sure you have enough gas in the leaf blower so you don't sink in the middle of a lake.... [url] | <urn:uuid:eda3d804-2a49-47fd-8934-0b3d0b805485> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100801/10472810434/dailydirt-flying-with-greatest-ease.shtml | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368697974692/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516095254-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960785 | 289 | 1.703125 | 2 |
FEATURE | spring 2002
It's late afternoon in Santa Fe, and the last rays of the desert sun are coming through the kitchen windows. The adults are cooking dinner: lemon chicken and spaghetti alla puttanesca. The baby, Sarah, who has just learned to crawl, is exploring the kitchen cabinets closest to the floor. She pulls out all the wooden spoons, the whisks, a bag of onions. Then, with a big baby grin, she hauls out a turkey baster and waves it in the air. The four adults-Sarah's mother Nancy,* her father Doug, Nancy's lover Amy, and Doug's lover Bjorn-all crack up.
The joke, of course, is that Sarah herself is the product of artificial insemination-not with an actual turkey baster, but with a technology that uses similar principles. Sarah is also part of what has been frequently described as a new "baby boom" within the lesbian community. Until very recently, most lesbian mothers had their children in previous, heterosexual relationships. But Amy and Nancy-who are both 40-are typical of a generation of women who grew up with the feminist and gay movements. Just as straight feminists have questioned the old rules that say that intercourse always has to lead to babies, lesbians are rebelling against the idea that babies always have to come from intercourse.
Some lesbian mothers are emphatic about not wanting a father in the picture. But those who do want the sperm donor to be at all involved in the child's upbringing are likely to choose a man who is also gay (although the AIDS epidemic has tragically reduced the pool of risk-free candidates). The resulting Gay Gothic tableau-gay mom and pop "forming a family," just like the Brady Bunch-flies in the face of the right-wing stereotype that gays "recruit" children since they "can't reproduce."
But gay families are different, starting with the number of coparents who may be on the scene. Amy says she's going to have a T-shirt made for Sarah to wear in the next Gay Pride Day parade with the message: "I'm proud of my gay mommies and daddies." Gay families are also made up of people who are painfully used to having no blessings from church or state for their relationships-and have therefore become adept at inventing their own ways to affirm them. Doug says he likes the fact that he and Nancy are making it up as they go along: "It's not like we're divorced people with some ancient history of bitterness with each other." In some ways, he and Nancy-and their mates-seem to regard each other as inlaws, connected by the happy coincidence that they're all part of Sarah's extended family, and therefore of each other's. Instead of two people meeting, falling in love, and having a baby, four people met, had a baby, and then became friends.
Amy and Nancy live in Brooklyn. Nancy, who has a runner's thin body and a high-cheekboned face that might remind you of Jeanne Moreau, worked as a civil servant before Sarah was born. Amy-an elfin Texan who was once a professional rock musician-now works as a secretary and is hoping to start her own gourmet-food business soon.
By the time they became lovers more than five years ago, Nancy had already begun to think about having a child. Amy, on the other hand, "had never wanted kids. But I love Nancy, and I certainly wasn't going to say, don't do it. I just wasn't saying,'Whoopee, let's do it!'" It was only after Nancy became pregnant that Amy's misgivings disappeared.
Nancy had decided early on that she didn't want to use a sperm bank. Her reasons were emotional rather than practical, since she wasn't then looking for a man to help raise the child. As far as she was concerned, the donor could drop his sperm into a test tube and then drop off the face of the earth-as long as she knew who he was. Given the possible complications, why was that so important? Nancy has a hard time explaining, except to say that she was vaguely bothered by having to tell a child that its father was an unknown quantity. She also frankly preferred good-looking genes. Friends warned her that she was being too conventional, but Nancy decided to follow her instincts.
Over the course of the next year and a half, Nancy asked at least eight men to father her child. The proposals followed a fascinating pattern: first the men would feel flattered at the honor and then they would back off-possibly aghast at the expendability that lay just beneath the honor. An old boyfriend beamed at Nancy's request over dinner, and promised to call as soon as he had discussed the project with his therapist. When she didn't hear from him after seven weeks, Nancy called him; his roommate said he couldn't come to the phone, but would call her right back. He never did.
There were similar reactions when she gave up on old beaux and began approaching friends of friends, both straight and gay. "One guy got to the point over dinner where we were even discussing private versus public schools," she recalls. "He didn't call me back either." Ultimately Amy and Nancy and their friends began to wonder if men are as freaked out at being relegated to the status of sperm donors as women are at being classified as sex objects.
Nancy was about to give up and go to a sperm bank when she and Amy happened to attend a women's tennis match one night with their friend Marta and her lover Kathy. While Navratilova and Shriver trounced their doubles opponents, Nancy poured out her story. "Gee," was Marta's reaction, "you ought to call my husband-I think he's already thinking about having a child."
It was news to Nancy that Marta even had a husband. Marta was born in Czechoslovakia, and as a lesbian, she was officially an undesirable alien in the United States. At the time that she was trying to find a way to stay in New York, her friend Doug-whose lover Bjorn was Norwegian and had to cope with similar worries-offered to marry her and make her a citizen. "The fact that he was willing to do that for Marta gave us a very good feeling about him from the start," Amy says now. Within a week, all of them were having dinner together.
Doug and Bjorn had been a couple for 10 years, and had spent the last several thinking about children. "I think it's what happens to a lot of forty-year-olds who are in a stable relationship," Doug says. If they hadn't met Nancy and Amy, he adds, he and Bjorn probably would have adopted or tried to find a woman to mother a biological child.
Although a man who wanted to play an active parenting role hadn't been part of the original calculations-much less two men-Amy remembers feeling an instant rapport when all four met. "We had been aware that we needed someone who had been around enough to not be afraid to do it, but who would also be respectful of our position. And we wanted people who were enough like us that we could talk easily and work things out."
Nancy and Doug had several more meetings. The two men were in the process of moving their primary residence from New York to New Mexico and were also about to go to Norway for several months. Both of the prospective biological parents felt under pressure to make a very fast decision, since Nancy was due to ovulate. Doug remembers "discussing our values while we subtly checked out each other's bone structure." Each would then run home and discuss details of their "date" with their respective lovers. Nancy soon decided Doug was definitely Mr. Goodbaster.
Nancy ovulated literally the day before Doug was to leave town. The two showed up at Nancy's gynecologist's office; Doug masturbated into a jar, while Nancy waited on a table in another room.
Nancy conceived, right on schedule.
Nancy's gynecologist was a lesbian who, with a gay male friend as father, had given birth the year before. The obstetrician was a supportive straight woman who had no problem with Amy's desire to be present at the birth. They went through Lamaze childbirth classes together, where they were the only female couple in the class, but no one batted an eyelash. They waited through the amniocentesis and were delighted to hear that Clove, as they had been calling the fetus, was a girl, They thought about names, and they read Dr. Spock. Their friends gave them a baby shower.
It was at the hospital just after Sarah was born that they first ran up against the reality that their arrangement was highly unusual: only one person was permitted to visit with Nancy when she had the baby in the room. Amy decided to offer that opportunity to Doug, who was in New York specifically for the birth. "It was a really lovely gesture, but what it meant was that Amy never even got to hold Sarah until we got home," Nancy says. "It also meant that Doug was there a lot-and I really didn't know him at the time. I was feeling tired and physically awful, and this man would be there holding the baby, and I'd think, who is he? He and Amy meanwhile would get into these little arguments about silly things like what Chinese food to order."
Despite the initial tension and weirdness of being in such an intimate relationship with near-strangers, the adults have spent the year since the birth carving out an extremely workable arrangement. Their relationship is so steady, in fact, that Amy, Nancy, and Sarah are moving to New Mexico later this year. "We aren't making this move to become a nuclear family and we're not going to live with Doug and Bjorn," Nancy explains. "In fact, if Amy and I could afford a bigger apartment in New York and a private school education for Sarah, we would probably stay. But we like the Southwest and of course we realize that in Santa Fe we'll be able to rely on Doug and Bjorn to do a lot of the child care."
Sarah bears her mother's last name, although her middle name is Doug's last name, and he's listed on the birth certificate as her father. (Friends argued with Nancy that she was handing Doug the ammunition he'd need to prove he was the father at a time when he hadn't established in writing that he had any obligation to the child-a deadly combination.)
Their parents and siblings have greeted their gayness with varying degrees of acceptance, but Bjorn is the only one of the four adults whose family has refused to accept Sarah. "There's never been a problem with my being gay-I thought it was understood," he says. "But now, all of a sudden, the shit has hit the fan-and there's been a real lack of response and respect for my relationship to Sarah. The funny thing is that I think my family would come around if it were my biological child." Bjorn says that he doesn't really think of himself as a stepfather or coparent: "Doug and Nancy are the parents, and Amy is really the coparent. I'd like to be more like the grandfather or the uncle-someone who can spoil Sarah."
In some ways, the most vulnerable adult in Sarah's family is Amy, since she is the coparent: the person who lives with Sarah and provides most of her financial support. But the law allows her no legal connection. Because Doug's name is on the birth certificate, Amy acknowledges, "legally, if something happened to Nancy, it would be up to Doug whether I could even see Sarah. I know that there are stepparents who are in my same situation, but they weren't there from the beginning." Doug and Nancy's wills specify that if they both should die, Bjorn and Amy will have custody of Sarah-but in real life, if any of the biological grandparents challenged the will, they'd stand a good chance of winning. Says Amy: "I know I'm risking a lot, but my own mother died when I was young, and I've always been completely aware that any time, a person can lose everything. Your choice is either to never open yourself up again or to realize that you have to do it today."
Amy isn't sure yet what Sarah will call her when she starts to talk. "I'm not Mommy, but I'm like her other parent. It's a special relationship. Maybe we'll have to make up the name for it."
Nancy originally asked for no money from Doug, and in fact spurned his repeated offers to help out with the cost of the birth. She had been struggling with an unexpected but powerful postpartum feeling that she wanted to be the undisputed primary biological parent: "When she was born, I was suddenly hit with the reality of how much I was afraid of losing her-to anyone or anything," Nancy says. "I think now that it's the sort of free-floating anxiety that any new parent feels and has to work through, but at the time it attached itself to Doug, and the vulnerability I felt within our arrangement."
Amy had planned to support them all until Sarah was a year old, and then Nancy intended to go back to work. But when the time came, Nancy wasn't ready emotionally to leave Sarah all day. By then, Doug and Nancy had gotten to know each other better, and Doug finally persuaded her to accept child support. Doug and Bjorn have also rewritten their wills to provide for Sarah.
One of the questions that outsiders ask the adults most often is whether they want Sarah to grow up gay. In fact, all four say they don't care if Sarah is heterosexual-not because they think it's better, but because all of them suffered as adolescents who weren't living up to their parents' ideas of proper sexual orientation. "The first thing children do without your permission is to pick their sex, and probably the second thing is to pick their sexual preference," says Doug.
The second most common question from the outside is whether they worry about Sarah suffering from discrimination because her parents are gay. Amy says that she imagines there might be limitations on where they can reside, and she knows there are plenty of people who don't accept them. "But we're all at the point where we know who we are and what our values are-that's just not an issue. For instance, I don't really care whether the pediatrician approves of my relationship. He just has to know that when I ask a question about what Sarah's eating, I get an answer, just the same as Nancy does. Anyway, I don't think we have to be perfect parents just because we're gay."
She adds: "Sarah's not a social experiment-she's a child. When you're living as part of a relationship every day, it's not some sort of abstraction where you're trying to work out your ideology. It's your life. And this is ours." | <urn:uuid:3ace1bc6-46bf-448e-9acf-2ba20ad0f04b> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://msmagazine.com/spring2002/vangelder.asp | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368700958435/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516104238-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.989917 | 3,130 | 1.5 | 2 |
Eric Lee is a self-taught abstract painter, born in Brooklyn, New York. Eric’s work includes back painted frameless glass paintings and functional art. He pioneered the process with an innovative method that seals the back of glass surfaces against damage from moisture and abrasion. The treatment has the additional benefit of creating an airtight backing.
According to the artist, he spent roughly twenty years as a technical consultant to some of the world's leading architectural design firms. He worked on a wide array of projects…including the Guggenheim Soho, Armand Hammer and Andy Warhol museums, among others. His involvement in numerous noteworthy “art related” architectural projects undoubtedly has had an impact on his evolution as an artist. Eric credits his career working within the design community as the source of his inspiration.
Eric says, “I feel I spent most of my adult life developing my aesthetic sensibility. Until now, the influences on my work have been largely from outside the art world. I also find myself being energized and challenged as I seek to find my path in art.... trying to stay true to the songs that sing to me.”
Eric is quoted from Art Business News as saying, “As my work evolves, I seek to explore that core concept – the effect of blending and transition from one color, form and even material to another. I suppose that in a broad sense, this is my world view as well: that the key to things is working between people of various genders, religions, national origins and sexual preferences...and colors, lies in our ability to see the beauty inherent in each. That allows us to be who we are and our willingness to see the beauty in the subtlety is what connects us.” | <urn:uuid:349582aa-e558-4f77-93a7-4f6f0cf26345> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.exposuresfineart.com/artist/Eric_Lee/biography/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.977274 | 360 | 1.703125 | 2 |
Did you read the surprising and somewhat depressing article in the Christian Science Monitor this week about Pulitzer Prize (PP) winning books? Due to low sales, one of this year’s winners, Devil in the Grove, (a nonfiction work) was scheduled for liquidation by HarperCollins. In fact, the book was already remaindered by the time the winners were announced. However, as the article points out, winning a Pulitzer Prize doesn’t necessarily mean the book will start generating lots of sales.
Two weeks after the 2013 winners were announced, all five books had increased sales, but you won’t believe the numbers. Embers of War by Fredik Logevall had sold 40 copies before the nominations. His sales jumped to 353 afterward. The Black Count by Tom Reiss went from 135 copies to 501, and Sharon Old’s Stag Leap went from 51 copies to 492. Are you getting the grim picture here? Apparently, all of these books received terrific reviews, while a runaway bestseller like Fifty Shades of Gray didn’t.
I don’t know if this is a growing trend, or whether Pulitzer nominees have traditionally sold poorly. Perhaps nominated books used to do much better, but the rising popularity of genre work has changed the public’s reading tastes. Whatever the reason, it’s an interesting commentary on the publishing industry, buying trends, and the usefulness awards to a writer’s income. I wonder if award winners in mystery, thriller, and fantasy categories have also experienced a less than dazzling spike in sales after they’ve won. To read the article, go to http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/chapter-and-verse/2013/0430/Pulitzer-Prize-huge-sales-neither-required-nor-guaranteed | <urn:uuid:91f52605-8b57-4be8-a5c2-5f73e25f10f2> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.writetype.blogspot.com/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696381249/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092621-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.95976 | 382 | 1.640625 | 2 |
What price Hong Kong Government's Land Policy?
Mr Nicholas Brooke, Chairman of Professional Property Services Ltd and Chairman of Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation, was the Foundation's guest speaker on 10 June 2010. This was what he said.
Good afternoon everybody, I'm delighted to be with you, it is nice to be with friends. What I would like today is to talk from my perspective about the impact the Government's land policy has had on Hong Kong. When I say, "What price" land policy, obviously I was talking about the dollar sign because it's an obvious consideration. But I think we have paid a number of "prices", if I may put it that way - in terms of the quality of life, the environment, and the quality of our housing. I will show you some housing statistics which I think will shock you as they do me. So, I will be talking about "price" in the wider context, but I will talk about the dollar sign as well.
Public auction of land is a familiar sight in Hong Kong. A couple of days ago, HK$10.9 billion was raised at auction for the Homantin site. This is the traditional way the government auctions land, selling "virgin" land; but they also raise revenue in a number of other ways. In terms of greenfield sites, this is how they traditionally do it - you go to auction, you're given a paddle and you bid until you have had enough.
Land revenue, history and demographics
The land premium breakdown is like this:
Land revenue received through the MTR Corporation, the Urban Renewal Authority (URA) would be described at Private Treaty Grants. A lot was received from developers who would like to enhance the value of their land, and this would be described as lease modifications, for which they have to pay a premium. And then, there is a relatively small amount generated by interest, waivers fees, etc.
Just remind you about the size of the turf, we have a total land area 1,098 square kilometers. 67% of land mass is Country Park or Green Belt. So we have not got a lot of land to play with in reality, when it comes to developing land for residential and other purposes. To date, about 18% of the land mass has been developed. So that 18% is out of government hands and is in private hands so far. The population is approximately 7 million, but if you strip out migration, our population is basically flat at the moment. There is very little growth in population and that obviously has to be put into consideration in future. About half of the population lives in the urban area -- that is in on Hong Kong Island and on the Kowloon peninsular.
First land sales and land tenure in Hong Kong up to 1984 Joint Declaration
The first land sale in Hong Kong was on 14th June 1841: 35 Marine Lots, each having 100ft frontage to Queen's Road. The Upset Price was ￡10, and successful bids ranged from ￡20 - ￡265 depending on location and site depth. This is where the Hong Kong Bank and Standard Chartered Bank are today. Those are the first ever land sales in Hong Kong and Hongkong Bank, I think, is lot number three. That is how it all started. No sooner than the British got here, they started selling.
We have also gone through some evolution in terms of the length of the lease. When the British first arrived, they were generous and granted 999 year leases, which in effect is perpetuity. Over time, they realised that they did not need to grant that length of tenure and granted 99 years, and even less, such as 75 years. That was the position up to the Joint Declaration and today we have 50 years. So we have gone from 999 to 50 years. And within that term, developers can still get their costs back and make a significant profit, probably twice or three times over. In the New Territories, it was treated differently as leases were designed to terminate three days before 30th June 1997 but now extended to June 2047. The only difference from today was, in those days the government having charged a lump sum for the land, used to charge a nominal rent - 100 Pounds or maybe up to 1,000 Pounds a year by way of ground rents.
Post Joint-Declaration, we moved to a 50 year pattern. What is interesting is that today we are granting 50 years, which takes us beyond 2047. So within the land tenure systems, it is assumed that life will go on beyond 2047. If your lease expires between now and 2047, it is automatically extended to 2047. This is the only major difference now, government charges a lump sum and but it also charges you 3% of Ratable Value by the way of a ground rent. Ratable value is the rental value of the accommodation on the site, and it can be a significant figure. Otherwise, essentially, since 1997 it has been business as usual in so far as the property market is concerned.
Current ownership pattern and land disposal system
The Government is very transparent in the primary market, and quite rightly so. Any new land for redevelopment is offered for sale by auction or by tender, and the lease conditions are pre-defined so everybody knows what they're bidding for, what the conditions of the site are, and what they can do with it. They pay everything upfront, which is what I am going to talk about later on. There is another model that we can look at in future, without impacting on existing values. So today, you pay everything upfront.
Until four to five years ago, the Government used to tell us what land would be sold and we would get two or three lots coming onto the market every two or three months and the list was published at the beginning of the financial year. It came under a lot of criticism in terms of how would the government know what the developers wanted in terms of sites for development. So the Government moved on to the current Application List system which largely prevails today. There is an application list which comprises 50 to 60 lots for all types of use. Potential developers can write to the Government saying, we would like you to release this site, but the Government will only release the site if the developer would underwrite the minimum price. And minimum price is 80% of what the Government believes the site can bring. The Government then puts the site up for auction: the applicant has to bid with the rest of the market and very often the developer who wrote in to request release of the site is not successful. But this is how the process is triggered.
Most recently of course, because government has concerns about the residential side of the market, we have seen government intervention and the Government has now decided that certain sites should be put forward by auction. We now have a blend of Application List and some intervention by government.
The other major source of income, which is worth touching on, is the lease modification process where the existing land owner does not bid against a competitive market. In this situation, an owner who wants to enhance the land use value of a site sits at the table with the Lands Department in a one-on-one discussion. The opportunity for the developer to "finesse" the situation is quite great. If a developer has a choice they might prefer to use this method rather than an open auction. A lot of time is spent on lease modification; for example buying a piece of land that has industrial use and then converting it into residential or commercial use. Converting industrial land or agricultural land to building land is something people at Henderson and New World are very sophisticated at. There is a need to pay the difference between "before" and "after" values as land premium, but there is an allowance for developer's profit. That allowance is currently 25%. So there is not only an opportunity to "finesse" the situation, there is also an opportunity for "discount", "allowance" or "profit" or whatever you call it. There is another way: by "Surrender and Re-grant", that means a land exchange.
However I want to move back into "pricing", because this is the ultimate price that we pay because of very high land value and the element that land comprises in development costs.
If we analyse our residential housing, Class A -- 350,000 units, 33% of our total private housing stock is under 40 square meters. Class B, 48% are between 40 and 70 square meters, and only 2% of our stock, Class E, is 150 meters and above. And this, I think is a direct result of affordability which in turn is directly linked to the high value of land in Hong Kong. Because of the cost of land, developers build smaller and smaller units. One of the sad things is, if you look at how we progressed in the last 10 to 15 years, the size of units have gone down. Just to give you a feeling of the market: if you see all those headlines about the Homantin sales, they do not reflect the average person's experience. Last year the average price of units sold was less than HK$3 million and the average size of unit sold was 47 square meters. That is the world most people live in, not the world some of us are associated with.
To put things into context - only 2% of our stock is over 150 square meters or what you might describe as Homantin property, luxury property; and there are only 24,000 units - that's a very small proportion. Jake van der Kamp (of Jake's view in South China Morning Post) was quite right: Homantin is not a reflection of the market at large, yet this sale received all the headlines and attention. That I think is the real price we pay for the present land policy.
But things are changing and we have, as you know, a community which cares, we are now more involved, we are looking for much more community-based planning. There is a whole range of issues there - many of them are functions of the land and planning policy that we have at the moment.
I say openly to my developer friends that they are being very irresponsible. And they still do not, in my mind, embrace the need to be responsible. This I think, groups like the HKDF should certainly be taking up. The developers ought to have a much wider responsibility than they're currently prepared to take.
In terms of the situation we are facing - there is this perception that we are facing a limited supply and prices will keep going up. The Government is now faced with a dilemma. On the one hand the Government is the trustee of the land on behalf of the community, and therefore its job is to maximise land sales value. On the other hand, the trustee has a wider responsibility and has to take care of the wider good of the community. But the government certainly holds the purse strings and the supply is very tight.
The Government has not recently been very active in terms of the public/affordable housing sector. You have probably seen this debate of whether we should or should not go back to building HOS (Home Ownership Scheme) flats, to underpin the bottom end of the residential market. I tend to favour other solutions, however.
There are serious affordability issues as we move forward. At the moment, you can borrow at between 2-3%. And if interest rate were to go up - another 2-3% over the next two or three years, we can move from an affordability-ratio of between 40-50% of income to a situation where 70-80% might have to be spent on repayment. So people are taking on commitments which in future they may regret.
When I was talking about limited supply, in the early 2000s we were building 50,000-60,000 units a year. We have drifted down and we are now building 12,000 to 14,000 units a year. So if you are a first-time buy or an up-grader - the bulk of the market - you will feel that you have to make a move to buy. You see you choice not only limited, but being reduced. The perception and reality is that new supply is getting tighter.
As a result, we now see increased intervention by the Government. We have had three land auctions recently. The one in Yuen Long and the one in Tung Chung were fairly lacklustre. But at Homantin at the beginning of this week we achieved these remarkable prices - equivalent to a land of around HK$12,500 per square foot of development. The developer will have to sell at HK$20,000 per square foot after adding on costs and profit, HK$20,000 per square foot in Homantin? - You have to wonder.
There are also intangibles and quality of life issues - the question of a better balance among public realm and open space and private ownership is not factored into the equation at all. And I think we need to look at a holistic approach to value, and the community needs to think what they're going to do.
How are we going to achieve this? Well, I am pleased to say that Carrie Lam, Secretary for Development, is already on board. We are seeing reductions in plot ratio, in building bulk, and a requirement for setbacks. There is a big exercise going on in streetscapes. Formerly, developers used to build to 100% of the site area and the podium was occupied by an ugly car park. Now the thinking is that the building will only occupy less of the site area, which will give a circulation of at least 10% around it; and the car parks will be "taxed" so that they're driven underground. So you're likely to see some shops on the ground floor and there'll be some interesting streetscapes. Sustainability should now be the norm. This is a mindset issue.
And of course at some stage, we have got to tackle the "Village House" issue, with 150,000 people in the queue with the right to build a village house. Their rights will have to be monetized. A line must be drawn, we have the money, but who's brave enough to do it?
There is a model to replace land premium, which you could think of as the Nick Brooke suggestion. I think it is possible, over time, to move from a capital value payment system to a rental system. And as long as in NPV (Net Present Value) terms, Government is not worse off, then it should not undermine values. And from the Government viewpoint, I think it is much more attractive as you get a much more certain income stream as you go forward. There is less of this chunky, lumpy situation you get now, doing well on the rise and poorly on the dip - the feast or famine situation that we have today.
Mathematically, you can make this work. In many cities in the world - London, New York and Paris - they have a leasehold system where you pay a ground rent rather than a capital sum. That ground rent can be made inflation-proof if you like, linked to CPI or to a percentage of the rent generated from the building on the site. This is doable, with the right mindset.
With this system of paying ground rent, rather than a large sum upfront, it would enable more players to enter the fray. Government will say, How am I sure I will be paid in 20-30 years time? That would be the response. But it has worked elsewhere: governments get guarantees, and the model is there and I think we should be looking at it very closely. We should also supplement the move to ground rent, as they do in Singapore now, requiring design concepts when developers bid for an important/sensitive site. It is not just about money. And developers should be judged on the combination of the two.
Obviously we need design parameters for the waterfront and many of the sensitive sites in Hong Kong. We need a complete review of building regulations. The reason we have cruciform shaped towers is a direct result of building regulations. And finally, we need to look at the heritage properties in Hong Kong; there is no use in applying modern regulations in terms of how they're upgraded. We need to look at some performance-based regulations for that particular family of properties.
Hong Kong has a large stock of industrial buildings, which are no longer needed for industrial purposes. However, only about 6% of this space is not being used; the space has been filled by users whether legally or in some grey area. So the issue is for the Government to recognise these uses - to grant an amnesty, as it were - and bring these buildings back into the fold of full legality.
Much food for thought but I hope that you find my presentation to be of interest. Thank you very much.
The above does not necessarily represent the views of the Foundation. | <urn:uuid:d6e90647-59da-4b8d-9f11-f21f15aab03e> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hkdf.org/newsarticles.asp?show=newsarticles&newsarticle=279 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00013-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.974004 | 3,490 | 1.726563 | 2 |
The Montana INBRE Program (IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence) is a five-year award (2009-2014) by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that builds on the previous successes of the first five-year MT INBRE program (2004-2009) and the three-year BRIN (Biomedical Research Infrastructure Networks) program (2001-2004) awarded to Montana State University. Montana INBRE continues to focus on increasing the biomedical research capacity of Montana by building research infrastructure, supporting faculty and student research, and fostering a state-wide collaborative network. The pathogenesis of infectious disease and health issues related to the environment are two of Montana INBRE’s research foci, areas in which the state is strategically positioned to excel. In addition, MT INBRE is expanding its research into the field of health disparities, an area of great relevance to the state. INBRE positions Montana as a leader in biomedical research and significantly increases education, research, and, ultimately, employment opportunities in the state.
|INBRE Staff News
We are very pleased to announce that three new staff have joined our program - Ms. Emily Salois, MSC, ACSW, an enrolled member of the Blackfeet Tribe, is our new Community Research Associate, and she will work with faculty and administrators at Blackfeet Community College, Fort Peck Community College, and Salish Kootenai College to develop potential INBRE-funded research projects. Emily was previously employed as a Community Organizer for the Center for Native Health Partnerships, and she also has participated as a community leader and coordinator for an INBRE project awarded to Dr. Patti Holkup (MSU's College of Nursing) as PI that focuses on Historical Trauma and Unresolved Grief: A Culturally Anchored Intervention for American Indians, Blackfeet Nation. Emily brings great awareness, sensitivity, and expertise to the needs of tribal communities and the research that has the potential to be most effective in addressing health disparities in these populations.
We are also pleased to announce that Dr. Sarah Codd, Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MSU, will assume the role of Director of Student Programs August 1st. Dr. Codd has participated in INBRE Student Programs as a Selection Committee Member, and she has been an outstanding mentor to several INBRE undergraduates who have distinguished themselves with numerous prestigious awards, honors, and graduate fellowships. In 2012, Dr. Codd was awarded the Provost's Award for Undergraduate Research/Creativity Mentoring. Her work as a senior researcher in the field of magnetic resonance microscopy gives undergraduates the ability to engage in cutting-edge research. We very much look forward to the energy, excitement, and dedication Dr. Codd will bring to this position, and we know that she will be a tremendous asset to both the INBRE Program and the undergraduate students we serve.
Dr. Codd replaces Dr. Martin Teintze, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at MSU, who has served as the Director of Student Programs over the 12 years of the BRIN/INBRE Program. Dr. Teintze has been a wonderful colleague and advocate for students, and his dedication to our program is deeply appreciated and valued. Dr. Teintze continues as Director of Student Programs through the summer, but his duties as Director of the WWAMI Program at MSU will then require his full attention. We are deeply grateful to Dr. Teintze for the many years he has served BRIN/INBRE, and very appreciative of his efforts to help shape INBRE Student Programs. He will be missed in his position of Director, but we know he will continue to be an outstanding and dedicated mentor for undergraduate students and a colleague we can turn to for advice and counsel when needed.
And, finally, Dr. Julie Baldwin, Professor in the Department of Community and Family Health in the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida, has joined our group as a consultant in developing health disparities research. Dr. Baldwin's research specializations include HIV/AIDS and Substance Abuse Prevention, Native American Populations, and Community-based Participatory Research. Her research has focused on both infectious and chronic disease prevention targeting children, adolescents, and families. She has been PI or Co-PI of several federally funded projects from agencies such as the CDC, NIMH, NIAAA, NIDA, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and HRSA/AMERSA-SAMHSA/CSAT. Dr. Baldwin also has served on several NIH review panels, including two standing committees: the Behavioral and Social Consequences of HIV/AIDS and the Community Influences on Health Behavior. An enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, Dr. Baldwin has made a life-long commitment to serving communities of color and to advocating for culturally competent health promotion/disease prevention programs. We are very excited about working with Dr. Baldwin in the coming years and confident that her expertise will be a major asset to our program. We deeply appreciate her enthusiasm for and commitment to working with INBRE.
As we enter the 12th year of the INBRE Program, we are positioned well to continue to develop the research infrastructure, research focus areas, faculty expertise, and student pipeline across our statewide network. A sincere thank you to all who have been a part of this effort. | <urn:uuid:daa0ae47-ae52-4a7d-800f-6e7f846023bc> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://inbre.montana.edu/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.964318 | 1,113 | 1.6875 | 2 |
In the Christchurch Press there is an article about a business who are making apps for other businesses for only $1000 for IOS apps.
I am tutoring a class where we are building Android apps, and the consensus was that "we could do that"! But as a class we need some commercial experience, and projects.
So are there any business out there wanting a FREE android app?
Preferably Christchurch so students can connect with the business. However will look further afield is the business is computer literate.
There are 3 areas we are looking at.
1 Apps that just live in your phone. Maybe a list of stock, or a program that allows users to work out stock quantities. - Building company with wood?? Calculations for some type of stock units?
2. Apps that download data from the net. Ie: Metservice weather, with changing data that you can see on your android phone, even in a widget. For this we would like businesses that have frequently changing data. We have already created a metservice weather app that downloads the temperature and shows the temp for a range of cities.
3. Apps that communicate with an online database. (The most interesting) Where someone in an office maintains an online DB (we can set up the DB as well) and users can view, add or delete information from it. Eg: office worker puts jobs / data on the DB at work, users in the field can view their data either privately filtered by Phone ID, or as a group, and mark off jobs as they are completed. Upload information back to the DB and to base.
Apps can be loaded privately on users phones, or uploaded to the Google store for everyone to use. We have about 7 weeks left of this part of the course. Depending on how complex your request it (we are going for simple to start with) we will turn out a complete app (although we are programmers we have access to graphic designers as well). It might be a proof of concept stage, or basic, but will give you, and us an idea of whats involved.
We use SQL and SQLite databases, both locally and on the net with PHP access. We have skill in VB.net as well.
Either post comments, ideas, criticisms, contact details here or contact me at [email protected] | <urn:uuid:48f6e6a4-651c-4c38-acd6-c836a7afca23> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.geekzone.co.nz/forums.asp?ForumId=97&TopicId=102423 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368698924319/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516100844-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.956063 | 488 | 1.625 | 2 |
9 E. Third Street,
6 people favorited this theater
In 1929, Col. J.B. Russell decided that Maysville need a theatre and he was going to build it in this scenic Ohio River town. Russell, a local business man, raised $125,000 to build a minature movie palace for the relatively small town. The Russell Theatre opened on December 4, 1930, with Eddie Cantor in “Whoopee”.
The theatre’s interior designer created a Mediterranean garden complete with ivy clad colonades, lombardy poplars, and literary busts set into wall niches. The theatre was also in an Atmospheric style with the usual twinkling stars and flying clouds. A rainbow would appear over the stage when a movie ended. The box office glistened with Rookwood tiles. The auditorium featured an orchestra pit in front of a curved stage where the dressing rooms were located beneath the stage and there was no stage-right only stage-left.
Russell ran the theater until 1935 when the Schine Group took over. In the early-1970’s, the Panther Group became managers of the theatre. It was during this time, an over-zealous manager painted over the original jewel tone colors with coats of red paint to, in his words, freshen the place up.
In 1983 the Russell Theatre closed. In the years that followed, the Russell Theatre served the community as a restaurant, a used furniture store, a used clothing store, and finally a newspaper filler operation. Eventually, the building closed completely.
It was during this time a heavy wind and rain storm ripped off a section of the roof. This allowed a damaged interior gutter to drain into the theatre. Exposed to the elements for a long period, the sodden plaster of the west interior wall collapsed into the auditorium. Eventually, the wide, comfortable seats were sold off and used to help restore another theatre.
Since 1996, the building was bought by Save The Russell, a not-for-profit organization trying to restore the little palace near the Ohio River. It will take $2 million to $3.5 million to bring the house up to par.
The fund raising is a pet project of George Clooney’s father, Nick Clooney, newsman and former host of AMC as well as his aunt, the now departed singer Rosemary Clooney. The Clooneys' were born and raised in Maysville and Rosemary performed as a child at the theatre. She used to head up a music festival each year to help with the funding.
The Russell Theatre has been place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater | <urn:uuid:b41c30a9-bf40-4126-bcdb-ca99af180dd9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://cinematreasures.org/theaters/1069 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701459211/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105059-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.973572 | 561 | 1.773438 | 2 |
An interesting and reflective article by Laurence Kaye of Shoosmiths on some of the legal issues prominent in the digital revolution.
From Paul Johnson’s FT column: “There are a host of websites and magazines for entrepreneurs, but no one who works for themselves can afford to spend hours a day surfing. So I have selected a handful of my favourite sites to save you time.”
The list is here.
“How paywalls are evolving” – Felix Salmon. Refers to MediaPass.
“…it’s a mistake — at least from a purely financial perspective — to treat all readers equally. Some readers have a much greater propensity to pay than others; ideally, you want to extract a lot of money from those readers, while also allowing the vast majority of your visitors — the ones who will never pay you anything — to still consume your content and view the associated ads…
…And certainly it seems to be a good idea to offer a range of subscription lengths, priced so that there’s a strong incentive to go for the longer-dated annual subscription, even if again that means a substantially lower rate on a per-month basis.
I’s not all that hard to tell who’s likely to be willing to subscribe, and who isn’t. Print subscribers, for instance, are much more likely to be willing to pay for a digital subscription than a reader who doesn’t already pay for the print version. And people who visit frequently, and who read a lot of local news, or sports news, are also more likely to subscribe.
In general, the trick is to get as many subscribers as you can — because once a person subscribes, they generally turn out to be surprisingly loyal and price-inelastic. You can keep on charging their credit card, even at steadily-rising rates, and they’re not going to unsubscribe. And then, for the 90% of readers who don’t subscribe, it’s a good idea to find content for them, too. The paywall shouldn’t just be a “pay here or get nothing” option: the “no thanks” button should take you to valuable free content…
…the act of putting up a paywall is the act of “essentially harvesting revenue from a loyal long-term audience” — people who have been reading the publication for years, and have turned it into a habit they don’t want to give up. That’s fine, as a short-term means of maximizing revenues. But it’s dangerous in terms of getting new loyal readers. Which is one reason why online media startups almost never have paywalls: they want as many people as possible to discover them.”
“Law offices will get smaller and more expert, and sell on their expertise alongside and within the workflow that they place with contractors”
Just come across this astute January 2013 analysis from The Media Briefing of Thomson Reuters’ acquisition of Practical Law Company:
From today’s New York Times:
“Bloomberg Place, soon to be enshrined on the London map, is currently a mud pit crawling with cranes and bulldozers. By 2016, it will be home to a futuristic campus designed by the architect Norman Foster: it is to include a pair of undulating office buildings, pedestrian plazas, spaces for 390 bicycles and, if the mayor gets his way, branches of New York restaurants.
“It’s not a timid building,” Mr. Foster said, on the phone from his home in Switzerland. “It will leave a large impression on London.” (Some neighbors are less generous, calling the development “a bulky, impenetrable mass.”)
The development represents Mr. Bloomberg’s future, but he is also buying a piece of London’s past.
In one corner of the development sits the Temple of Mithras, Walbrook, a relic from London’s days under Roman rule. First uncovered in 1954, the temple, a sacrificial altar for an ancient religion, is being restored at Mr. Bloomberg’s expense.
Last month, a team of 55 archaeologists from the Museum of London were combing the temple site. Their efforts, paid for by Mr. Bloomberg, have turned up dozens of artifacts, including coins, pewter bowls, jewelry and, preserved just where it was found, a human skull.
When the plaza is finished, visitors may descend from Bloomberg Place to view the temple in its original setting. The artifacts, however, become the property of Bloomberg L.P., spoils of an expanding modern-day empire.”
Cambridge researchers find way to use DNA to store digital data:
“Researchers at the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI) have created a way to store data in the form of DNA – a material that lasts for tens of thousands of years. The new method, published today in the journal Nature (“Towards practical, high-capacity, low-maintenance information storage in synthesized DNA”), makes it possible to store at least 100 million hours of high-definition video in about a cup of DNA.”
More here (Nanowerk).
A thought-provoking infographic on Internet use and Internet addiction here.
See also: The Shallows: what the Internet is doing to our brains – Nicholas Carr
“Reigniting the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe”: The Commission’s proposed measures on finance, digital business and business transfers in its “Entrepreneurship Action Plan”
The European Commission today published its “Entrepreneurship Action Plan” aimed at – in the Commission’s words – ”reigniting the entrepreneurial spirit in Europe”. The full Plan is here and the press release here.
The braod areas addressed by the Plan are:
- Entrepreneurial education and training to support growth and business creation.
- Creating an entrepreneurial environment:
- Access to finance
- Digital business
- Transfer of businesses
- Bankruptcy procedures
- Regulatory burden reduction
- Role models and reaching out to different groups.
All quotations below are taken from the full Plan document.
Access to finance – a new EU capital market for SMEs:
“The terms of the deal were not disclosed” – boo!
“Collider12 is looking for 10 ‘B2Brand’ Startups. These companies will receive £100,000 each and be coached by Pembridge Partnership Ltd, the Brands and selected experts intensively over 13 weeks in order to deliver their ‘Execution Plan’ for ultra-high growth.
The Startups will achieve customer validation and product market fit in the fastest possible way – by working with the big brands early in their lives and throughout their product development.”
Here, 8 December 2012.
- Points out the increasing erection of paywalls by newspapers in the US and internationally;
- Highlights the importance of tablets and mobile in supporting paywall acceptance by users;
- Discusses technological advances that facilitate cheaper paywall imposition by publishers; and
- Comments on the low-take up by UK newspapers of paywalls.
Implicitly condemns the Guardian’s historic error that content must be free.
See also: Paywalls and the future of print and online media – Gawker
Good article from Gawker on online paywalls and the future of media:
“Examples of media outlets that can support paywalls: high quality national newspapers (NYT, WSJ, probably the WaPo, and… ?), sites that offer quality financial news to an audience for whom a paywall’s cost is negligible (WSJ, FT, Bloomberg), sites that cater to very specific niche audiences with highly specific news that can’t be easily found elsewhere (Politico, trade publications of all types, small local newspapers), sites offering very high quality proprietary longform journalism published on a frequent basis. Additionally, magazines that maintain their quality should be able to offer online subscriptions to their loyal subscriber base.
Examples of media outlets than cannot support paywalls: mediocre or shitty newspapers that have decimated their newsrooms, shitty magazines with little quality content, sites full of mostly opinions and listicles and other entertaining but easily reproduced things of that nature, most blogs. For example, Gawker Media—a fine, fine company that entertains millions of readers online every month—would not be a good candidate for a paywall, simply because no matter how good our content is, a paywall would immediately cause readers to go and seek out similar (lower quality, of course) content elsewhere online, where it is freely available. The situation is different for, say, Jane’s Defence Weekly. The fact that readers like you is not enough to support an online paywall; readers must need you.”
In a speech on 21 September 2012 Clive Gordon, Head of Conduct Risk at the Financial Services Authority, gave some guidance on the regulator’s approach to using digital media for making financial promotions. Mr Gordon specifically discussed Facebook, risk warnings (particularly “roll-over” risk warning), image advertising, the absence of a “one-click rule” and the unsuitability of Twitter for many financial promotions. Excerpt (our emphasis added): | <urn:uuid:5a2ce718-080f-4088-93a5-1923434a6ff1> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://companyandfinanciallaw.co.uk/tag/digital-media/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368701852492/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516105732-00002-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931604 | 1,973 | 1.546875 | 2 |
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John C. Wright, in a comment at SF Signal (Nov 23, 2005).
My conversion was in two parts: a natural part and a supernatural part. Here is the natural part: first, over a period of two years my hatred toward Christianity eroded due to my philosophical inquiries. Rest assured, I take the logical process of philosophy very seriously, and I am impatient with anyone who is not a rigorous and trained thinker. Reason is the tool men use to determine if their statements about reality are valid: there is no other. Those who do not or cannot reason are little better than slaves, because their lives are controlled by the ideas of other men, ideas they have not examined. To my surprise and alarm, I found that, step by step, logic drove me to conclusions no modern philosophy shared, but only this ancient and (as I saw it then) corrupt and superstitious foolery called the Church. Each time I followed the argument fearlessly where it lead, it kept leading me, one remorseless rational step at a time, to a position the Church had been maintaining for more than a thousand years. That haunted me.
Holmes Rolston III, in The Christian Century (December 3, 1986), pp. 1093-1095
Both astrophysicists and microphysicists have lately been discovering that the series of events that produced our universe had to happen in a rather precise way—at least, they had to happen that way if they were to produce life as we know it. Some might find this fact unremarkable. After all, we are here, and it is hardly surprising that the universe is of such kind as to have produced us. It is simply a tautology to say that people who find themselves in a universe live in a universe where human life is possible. Nevertheless, given the innumerable other things that could have happened, we have reason to be impressed by the astonishing fact of our existence. Like the man who survives execution by a 1,000-gun firing squad, we are entitled to suspect that there is some reason we are here, that perhaps there is a Friend behind the blast.
William Lane Craig in Gospel Perspectives VI, pp. 9-40. David Wenham and Craig Blomberg, eds. (Sheffield, England: JSOT Press, 1986).
In his survey of the history of thought with respect to miracles, Craig traces the demise of the plausability of such supernatural events amongst biblical scholars, expressed first in naturalistic explanations for biblical events and ultimately in the repudiation of the reliability of the biblical texts. Craig addresses the influence of Bahrdt, Paulus, Schleiermacher, Strauss, and Bultmann before turning to their intellectual forebears, the thinking of Spinoza and Hume and the backdrop of Newton's mechanistic universe. Craig offers a response to each of these principal thinkers in turn, concluding that "the presupposition of the impossibility of miracles should play no role in determining the historicity of an event", even an allegedly supernatural one. In so doing, he challenges the notion that natural law must preclude miracles and provides a patient response to each of the principal objections. Craig's lengthy article is a worthwhile read both for its summary history of biblical scholarship and for its recommendation for appropriate criteria in the study of history. ~ Afterall
Robin Collins in Reason for the Hope Within
Suppose we went on a mission to Mars, and found a domed structure in which everything was set up just right for life to exist. The temperature, for example, was set around 70o F and the humidity was at 50%; moreover, there was an oxygen recycling system, an energy gathering system, and a whole system for the production of food. Put simply, the domed structure appeared to be a fully functioning biosphere. What conclusion would we draw from finding this structure? Would we draw the conclusion that it just happened to form by chance? Certainly not. Instead, we would unanimously conclude that it was designed by some intelligent being. Why would we draw this conclusion? Because an intelligent designer appears to be the only plausible explanation for the existence of the structure. That is, the only alternative explanation we can think of — that the structure was formed by some natural process — seems extremely unlikely. Of course, it is possible that, for example, through some volcanic eruption various metals and other compounds could have formed, and then separated out in just the right way to produce the "biosphere," but such a scenario strikes us as extraordinarily unlikely, thus making this alternative explanation unbelievable.
The Encyclopedia Britannica: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information, 11th ed., by Hugh Chisholm (1910), pp. 505-8.
The meaning ordinarily attached to the word "cross" is that of a figure composed of two or more lines which intersect, or touch each other transversely. Thus, two pieces of wood, or other material, so placed in juxtaposition to one another, are understood to form a cross. It should be noted, however, that Lipsius and other writers speak of the single upright stake to which criminals were bound as a cross, and to such a stake the name of crux simplex has been applied. The usual conception, however, of a cross is that of a compound figure. Punishment by crucifixion was widely employed in ancient times. It is known to have been used by nations such as those of Assyria, Egypt, Persia, by the Greeks, Carthaginians, Macedonians, and from very early times by the Romans. It has been thought, too, that crucifixion was also used by the Jews themselves, and that there is an allusion to it (Deut. xxi. 22, 23) as a punishment to be inflicted.
The argument from conscience is one of the only two arguments for the existence of God alluded to in Scripture, the other being the argument from design (both in Romans). Both arguments are essentially simple natural intuitions. Only when complex, artificial objections are made do these arguments begin to take on a complex appearance. The simple, intuitive point of the argument from conscience is that everyone in the world knows, deep down, that he is absolutely obligated to be and do good, and this absolute obligation could come only from God. Thus everyone knows God, however obscurely, by this moral intuition, which we usually call conscience. Conscience is the voice of God in the soul.
David Basinger in Religious Studies 30 (1994), 89-97.
Current discussions of the 'problem of evil' vary greatly in at least two ways. First, those involved in such discussions often differ on the exact nature of the problem. Some see it as primarily logical (deductive), some as primarily evidential (inductive), and still others as primarily psychological (personal, pastoral). Second, those involved in such discussions differ radically on what is required of the theist in response. Some claim that unless the theist can offer an explanation for evil (a theodicy) that is satisfying to rational individuals in general, theistic belief is rendered unjustified. Others agree that the theist must offer a theodicy, but deny that such an explanation must be found convincing by most if theistic belief is to remain justified. And still others deny that the theist is required to offer any sort of explanation (theodicy), arguing instead that the theist need only defend the logical consistency of simultaneous belief in the existence of evil and God.
Kelly James Clark in Realism/Anti-Realism, William Alston, ed. (Cornell University Press: 2002).
In this paper, I defend the importance of narrative to moral philosophy, in particular to moral realism. Moral realism, for the purposes of this essay, is the claim that there are moral truths independent of human beliefs, attitudes, desires and feelings.i Contemporary philosophers typically focus on discursive arguments and exclude narrative. But narrative is considerably more powerful than argument in effecting belief-change. I shall argue that through such belief-change one can attain to moral truth.ii This account is opposed to that of fellow narrativalist, Richard Rorty, who denies moral realism. Since I believe the clash between realists and anti-realists resolves into a clash of intuitions, I don't propose to offer a convincing argument in favor of moral realism. Instead, like Rorty I will draw a word-picture, which stands in stark contrast to the word-picture that he draws about stories; it is my hope that the reader will find my word-picture more compelling than Rorty's word-picture. In the final section I will offer some considerations in favor of moral realism.
George Washington in Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour in Company and Conversation: a Book of Etiquette (Beaver Press: 1971).
George Washington, sometime before the age of 16, transcribed Rules of Civility & Decent Behaviour In Company and Conversation. To modern ears many of these rules may seem quaint and moralistic, overly aristocratic and deferential. But though they are primarily rules of a lost formality, I take good manners to be an outward expression of respect toward others, and there is a timeless wisdom in many of them. One of the prevailing undercurrents here at Afterall.net is a desire to be competent at speaking in love what one takes to be true and not trivial. The first article I wrote here was "Recipe for Conversation", borne out of frustration with my own failure in many cases to speak with as much kindness as conviction. It is not easy to disagree without being disagreeable. Fortunately, to our great benefit, there is a long conversation in Anglo-American discourse about this subject of "civility" or "civil discourse". Indeed, the American Experiment is in large measure an attempt to live well with differences. To that end, Washington's rules with respect to civil conversation are worth considering. If nothing else, they are a glimpse into another time. Not surprisingly, incessant talkers and interrupters, not to mention gabbing with a mouth full of food, were as gauche then as they are now. As an aside, I've also added a new category, Civility & Rhetoric, to begin to gather books, quotes, and papers on this subject in one place. ~ Nate
Alvin Plantinga, Truth Journal, reprinted from Faith and Philosophy: Journal of the Society of Christian Philosophers vol. 1 (October 1984).
In the paper that follows I write from the perspective of a philosopher, and of course I have detailed knowledge of (at best) only my own field. I am convinced, however, that many other disciplines resemble philosophy with respect to things I say below. (It will be up to the practitioners of those other disciplines to see whether or not I am right.) | <urn:uuid:5f393a38-8c52-4761-a562-00ea29f0509c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://afterall.net/papers/?sort=hits&startnum=71 | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705195219/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516115315-00011-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960063 | 2,235 | 1.65625 | 2 |
Bob Dylan has been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor bestowed upon a United States civilian. The singer-songwriter was one of 13 recipients announced by President Obama on Thursday.
The Medal of Freedom recognizes "individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavors," said a press release issued by the White House. The awards will be presented there in late spring.
Other recipients include John Glenn, Madeline Albright, Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres and novelist Toni Morrison. Dylan is hailed as "one of the most influential American musicians of the 20th century."
Bob Dylan Remembers Levon Helm: 'My Bosom Buddy...One of the Last True Great Spirits'
"These extraordinary honorees come from different backgrounds and different walks of life, but each of them has made a lasting contribution to the life of our nation," Obama said. "They've challenged us, they've inspired us, and they've made the world a better place. I look forward to recognizing them with this award." | <urn:uuid:f01fd4b5-6dc6-4f30-8b86-c64dc300fef7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/489756/bob-dylan-receives-medal-of-freedom | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00009-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960938 | 234 | 1.757813 | 2 |
An Octahedral Gem Hidden in Newton's Three Body Problem (2012 Marsden Memorial Lecture)
Wed, Jul 25, 2012
Focus Program on Geometry, Mechanics and Dynamics
Marsden Memorial Lecture
Richard Montgomery, University of California, Santa Cruz will deliver a talk entitled, "An Octahedral Gem Hidden in Newton's Three Body Problem." The lecture will take place on July 25, 2012 at the Fields Institute, as part of the conference on "Geometry, Symmetry, Dynamics, and Control: The Legacy of Jerry Marsden." Richard Montgomery received undergraduate degrees in both mathematics and physics from Sonoma State in Northern California. He completed his PhD under Jerry Marsden at Berkeley in 1986, after which he held a Moore Instructorship at MIT for two years, followed by two years of postdoctoral studies at University of California, Berkeley. Montgomery's research fields are geometric mechanics, celestial mechanics, control theory and differential geometry and is perhaps best known for his rediscovery - with Alain Chenciner - of Cris Moore's figure eight solution to the three-body problem, which led to numerous new 'choreography' solutions. He also established the existence of the first-known abnormal minimizer in sub-Riemannian geometry, and is known for investigations using gauge-theoretic ideas of how a falling cat lands on its feet. He has written one book on sub-Riemannian geometry. The PIMS Marsden Memorial Lecture Series is dedicated to the memory of Jerrold E Marsden (1942-2010), a world-renowned Canadian applied mathematician. Marsden was the Carl F Braun Professor of Control and Dynamical Systems at Caltech, and prior to that he was at the University of California, Berkeley, for many years. He did extensive research in the areas of geometric mechanics, dynamical systems and control theory. He was one of the original founders in the early 1970s of reduction theory for mechanical systems with symmetry, which remains an active and much studied area of research today. The inaugural Marsden Memorial Lecture was given by Alan Weinstein (University of California, Berkeley) in July of 2011 at ICIAM in Vancouver.
You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialize correctly. | <urn:uuid:dc464c8e-2032-47e9-b1b2-37df873368f9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.mathtube.org/lecture/video/octahedral-gem-hidden-newtons-three-body-problem-2012-marsden-memorial-lecture | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00008-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.954244 | 472 | 1.84375 | 2 |
I have recently watched a number of anti-evolution/anti-big bang videos created by creationists (pardon the pun), and I cannot believe that people can be so blinded by faith.
The videos I’m referring to are from a Youtube user I follow, Potholer 54, and are all nominees for his annual Crocoduck Awards. In these videos we have a bunch of creationists who are all trying to persuade us that evolution is fake and that they can prove it; which of course not one of them manages to do.
My reason for putting pen to paper – in the digital sense – is because I was aghast at what some of these guys are trying to convince us of and, apart from shouting at the computer, the only other outlet for my frustration is this blog.
So, what is it that’s got me so annoyed? Well here are a few of the choice moments:
• A filmmaker positioned in the entrance hall to what is obviously a Christian convention asking the delegates how old they think the Earth is. Well duh! Obviously they’re all going to say it’s 6000 years old. And why is that? Because, apparently, if you add up all the years mentioned in the bible, it comes to 6000 years. Therefore, the Earth can only be 6000 years old because it’s written so in the scriptures. Yeah ok. It’s also written in the scriptures that a virgin had a baby and that, many years later, after being thoroughly crucified by the Romans (masters of execution of the time) that very same baby was able to resurrect himself enough and hold a conversation with his virgin mother. Right.
• Then we have a guy who says that the big bang never happened because all evidence for this is based on the Oort Cloud. He argues that it’s impossible for the Oort Cloud to exist because all evidence alluding to it is flimsy and, more importantly, no one has ever seen the Oort Cloud. Hence, he says, the big bang never happened and there must be a creator being instead. I put to this guy via his comments box that no one has ever seen the creator either (except in a story) and that, by his own argument, the creator cannot exist either. I got no reply.
• There’s Steve Harvey, who thinks all atheists are idiots and can’t understand how humans evolved from monkeys, if we still have monkeys today. Sorry, but who are the idiots?
• Then there are blokes – yes I say blokes; plural – who revel in telling us they find it impossible to make life by recreating the conditions similar to an early Earth in a test tube, or in one instance, a snow globe… yes a snow globe. Therefore it has been proven that life on Earth couldn’t evolve from simple proteins, amino acids etc. I mean how could it? If you can’t create life inside a snow globe, that has to be proof doesn’t it?
• In the first video there’s even a guy who is thinks he’s proving that there has to be a creator using the ‘which came first, the chicken or the egg’ argument as if he thinks no body out there can answer this question.
I could go on and on with these examples, but what I really want to talk about is why these guys feel that it’s so important to disprove evolution. If you are a true believer in God, then why can you not accept that perhaps He didn’t create the Earth and all life upon it? Does that truly undermine His ability to still be God. Well… I guess it does actually. Ok, so that’s the question posed in the title answered then. But there are still some things about anti-evolutionists that wind me up.
For example, an underlying theme of these videos is that it’s wrong to preach that evolution is factual because it has never been proved. Ok, for one, evolution has been proved over the last 200 years by the collection and assimilation of EVIDENCE. What is it about the creator story (Adam and Eve, the Earth created in 6 days, etc.) that seems to have people thinking that has been proved. Excuse me while I just bang my head on the desk… ah, that’s better.
It makes me laugh when the biggest anti-evolution argument appears to be a lack of evidence: “it’s only a theory”, “answer me this”, “answer me that”, but when you ask a creationist for their evidence, they will invariably point you in the direction of the bible. That’s it? That’s all they’ve got? And they accuse evolution of an acute lack of evidence? Oh please.
One guy in these videos is angry that a science teacher would dare to challenge the minds of 12-year olds by teaching them about evolution and allowing them to make their choices as to what they want to believe. As far as I’m aware, science in general feels that it’s fine to believe whatever you want; if you have faith and don’t believe in evolution, fine. However there are teachers out there who teach that God created the world, and if you believe in evolution you should be burned at the stake. Well, that seems fair I guess.
To me these arguments reek of desperation. I wonder if, deep down, half of these guys are saying what they do because they truly believe it, or just because they feel they have to. I’ve got nothing against people having a faith and I can see how truly uplifting it can be for many. But this banging on about evolution being a load of nonsense when the counter argument is based purely on faith just bewilders me.
Do go and watch some of these videos, but be prepared; they will wind you up…
If you have anything to say on this article, or indeed anything raised in The Green Review, please join the discussion on our facebook page. The more contentious the better… | <urn:uuid:c2383d5a-28ab-46cf-b8fc-7ad7ce4ab476> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://thegreenreviewblog.com/2012/01/09/why-cant-creationists-just-accept-that-theyre-wrong/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00000-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.966082 | 1,282 | 1.515625 | 2 |
The Burzynski clinic has responded to the flood of skeptical bloggers with a press release. They’ve apparently fired (in so many words) Marc Stephens for his harassment, yet still plan to send attorneys after UK bloggers. I’m not sure if the targeting of UK bloggers has to do with UK libel laws, or if the Burzynski clinic is oblivious to the dozens of American bloggers also pointing out their harmful pseudoscience.
But the part of the press release that intrigued me was that they finally attempt to give some evidence for all that scientific research Burzynski has to back up his claims. Wow, a list of citations! To a non-scientist, it certainly seems impressive, what with its big words and journal names and such. But as a scientist, I was still skeptical, and decided to do some digging.
Why was I skeptical? Because not all journals are created equal. Lay people know this to an extent. It’s much more prestigious to get into journals like Science and Nature because the peer review process is way more rigorous. Your research not only has to be pretty damn air tight, but it has to make a significant contribution to scientific knowledge. We can measure how good a journal is by a metric known as an “impact factor.” It’s complicated, but generally the higher the impact factor, the better the journal.
So let’s have a look at Burzynski’s research, shall we?
1. Burzynski, SR. Treatments for Astrocytic Tumors in Chiìdren: Current and Emerging Strategies. Pediatric Drugs 2006; 8: l67-178.
Pediatric Drugs: No impact factor.
Off to a great start! (Hint: That’s sarcasm)
2. Burzynski, S.R., Janicki, T.J., Weaver, RA., Burzynski, B. Targeted therapy with Antineoplastons A10 and of high grade, recurrent, and progressive breínstem gliome. Integrative Cancer Therapies 2006; 5(1):4047.
Integrative Cancer Therapies has an impact factor of 1.716. What does this number mean? Compared to other journals in the category of Integrative & Complementary Medicine, it’s ranked 6 out of 21. Not bad, but “Integrative medicine” sets off my Pseudoscience Alarms. Suspicions confirmed, the journal describes itself as emphasizing “scientific understanding of alternative medicine and traditional medicine therapies.”
To quote the brilliant Tim Minchin:
“By definition … alternative medicine … has either not been proved to work, or has been proved not to work. You know what they call alternative medicine that’s been proved to work? Medicine.”
What happens when you compare this journal in a more legitimate category, like Oncology? Its rank unsurprisingly drops to an abysmal 134 out of 185.
3. Burzynski, SR. Recent clinical trials in diffuse intrinsic brainstem glioma. Cancer Therapy 2007;5, 379-390.
When this journal’s website loaded, I started laughing and dragged my laptop to my fellow-scientist roommate. It looks like a relic from the 90s. Even more sketchy and unprofessional than the white-text-on-black-background and ugly use of frames is its repeated mentioning of its “rapid review process.” I couldn’t find out anything about the editorial board other than there’s some guy in Greece you should submit things to. And after a lot of digging, I couldn’t find an impact factor at all.
4. Burzynski, SR., Weaver, R.A., Janicki, T.J., Jufida, G.F., Szymkowskì, B,G., Kubove, E. Phase Il studies of Antineoplasîons A10 and AS 2-1 (ANP) in chiìdren with newly diagnosed diffuse, intrinsic brainstem gliornas. Neuro-Oncology 2007;9:206.
The final nine of his citations all seem to come from the Journal of Neuro-Oncology. Upon first glance, it seems legit. It has a relatively high impact factor of 5.483, which makes it 24 out of 184 in Oncology. Not bad at all, especially for a specialized oncology journal (the neuro part).
Not bad until you search the journal for articles by Burzynski. The result?
Burzynski has not published a single paper in this journal. Every single citation is an abstract from a presentation made at a conference. For those of you not in academia, we like to hold conferences where people can present their research and network. However, you’re allowed to present preliminary results that haven’t been published yet. Any scientist can submit abstracts in order to speak at conferences, and if that single paragraph sounds interesting, you get to give a talk. It’s pretty much impossible to judge how legitimate research is from an abstract (or presentation) alone, and some conferences are not competitive at all when it comes to who gets to speak – they have plenty of spaces to accept all presenters. Journals often act as archives for conferences they’re affiliated with, and will list those abstracts.
This means that none of Burzynski’s research from this journal has actually been peer-reviewed by the journal. The fact that he never actually published this data says a lot. Seriously – if you legitimately found something that helped cure cancer, prestigious journals would be tripping over themselves to have you publish in them. The fact that you can’t publish your research anywhere except in the occasional bottom-of-the-barrel shady journal means your research is terrible.
There was a final citation that stood out to me. It was the only citation that wasn’t research that Burzynski himself had done. Another key facet of science that makes it robust is that other scientists must be able to confirm your findings. And if they falsify your hypothesis, it’s back to the drawing board. So lets look at this one last citation:
11. Ogata, Y., Shirouzu, K., Matono, M., Ushìjima, M., Uchida, S., Tsuda, H. Randomized phase H study of hepatic arterial infusion with or without antíneoplastons as adjuvant therapy after hepatectomy for liver metastases from colorectal cancer. Ann Oncol 2010;21:víiî221 .
Again, this was a presentation made at a conference, specifically the 2010 European Society for Medical Oncology. Again, that means this research has not been peer-reviewed at all. In addition to the lack of non-Burzynski studies replicating his results, the National Cancer Institute also points out multiple studies (in legitimate journals) that are not able to replicate his results.
I would really like someone to take a look at the few papers Burzynski has published to see what the science looks like. One, I can’t access the couple of journal articles he actually does have because the journals are so crappy that my university doesn’t bother subscribing to them. But two, my area is population genetics and evolution, so I’m not really equipped to do an in-depth analysis of cancer research. But as a biologist I can safely remark on the quality of the journals his research was published in, and what that means.
So, Burzynski. Do you have any actual science to support your claims? | <urn:uuid:43f71786-bf4f-4efb-ab74-edb54ea5a14d> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://freethoughtblogs.com/blaghag/2011/11/a-look-at-the-burzynski-clinics-publications/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00012-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.943727 | 1,600 | 1.78125 | 2 |
* Subject to the usual Terms
Posts Tagged ‘Application Tools’
The Apple iPhone is fast becoming famous among college students and professors alike. Besides the fascinating design and style, visually appealing interface and the user- friendly features, the iPhone has applications specifically suited to meet the constant search for knowledge of both pupils and teachers.
Apart from the fascinating style, visually attractive interface as well as the user- friendly capabilities, the Apple iPhone has software especially suited to meet the constant search for understanding of both college students and teachers. In the release of new study application tools, the Apple iPhone has now turn into a handy study aid for anyone. | <urn:uuid:e79300d6-9aed-43db-a802-7ab12ae7713c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.iphoneinsurancecover.co.uk/iphone-insurance-news/tag/application-tools/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00018-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.931366 | 130 | 1.78125 | 2 |
strkjv@John:9:1 @ And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth.
strkjv@John:9:2 @ And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
strkjv@John:9:3 @ Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should e made manifest in him.
strkjv@John:9:4 @ I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
strkjv@John:9:5 @ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
strkjv@John:9:6 @ When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and made clay of the spittle, and he anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay,
strkjv@John:9:7 @ And said unto him, Go, wash in the pool of Siloam, (which is by interpretation, Sent.) He went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
bible John:9:1-7 -
John:9:1-7 Discussion Board:
Discuss this passage:
2012 - pBiblx2 Field Wise Bible System Version 2.0.9d - GPL3 | <urn:uuid:0ebce115-a93b-45bb-a5e4-fd43e1523818> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://shepherdpuplinux.us/cgi-bin/pbiblx-basic.cgi?Mode=basic&X=x&Css=1h&Version=strkjv&Book=VSEARCH&Chapter=John:9:1-7 | 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 | 0.966215 | 311 | 1.5 | 2 |
Written by Shelley Plett Tuesday, 26 January 2010 19:47
“...Then one day, when he was out for a walk by the lake, he forgot what his mother had told him. He forgot that he was not a dinosaur. He stood blinking his dinosaur eyes in the bright sunlight, feeling its familiar warmth on his dinosaur skin, watching dragonflies flitting among the horsetails at the water’s edge.”
—from “Dinosaur,” by Bruce Holland Rogers
My daughter’s a pilot. It took three days for her airplane to get here after she placed her order. The steering wheel was delayed even longer because we couldn’t find the right fit. She’s almost too big to stretch out inside a standard copy paper box, but we made it work.
Now I’m happy to report that her plane is in the hangar with a custom-fitted wooden spoon steering wheel and fresh detailing.
When she’s not soaring to Mexico or over a field full of horses, she can be found in her salon/makeup shop, putting eye shadow on her cheeks and blush on her forehead. She’s also a queen (not a princess), since she brought home a paper crown with stars from preschool.
Some might say she’s a job hopper. But she has health and dental, her rent’s cheap and meals are included, so it works for her.
I don’t remember using my imagination this creatively when I was 5, but I assume I did. More importantly, I don’t ever remember being told not to. So I don’t tell her not to either.
Creative freedom starts in childhood but is fragile. It can get lost, even unintentionally.
She says she’s a queen. Who am I to argue?
Bruce Holland Rogers is a creative writer of fiction, columns, and other work. Penelope Trunk is a career adviser, coaching young professionals on how to make their mark on the career world.
Both have written about the importance of our imaginations, one more subtly than the other. And both offer some important ideas to consider for ourselves and our kids.
In a few years, my paper-box pilot will need to cover that rent all by herself. What’s the working world going to look like then? If today is any indication, then…well, I have no idea. How much has it changed since I was 5? And 30 years before that?
The economic downturn, job losses, small-business closings, the health-care crisis, all of these negative things that have happened in the last several years are creating changes. Priorities are being jostled around. I'm beginning to think they may shake out in a much better order. Maybe more people will find balance and do what it takes to just live “well,” without settling or over-compensating.
In a career column, Trunk wrote “…staying in one job forever is today’s recipe for career suicide. At the beginning of one’s career, it is nearly impossible to find something right without trying a bunch of options.”
And more importantly, “you will experience more personal growth from changing jobs frequently than staying in one job for extended periods of time.”
In the magazine The Sun, Rogers wrote “Dinosaur,” a flash fiction story about a little boy who pretended to be a dinosaur when he was little. “Oh, for goodness sake,” his mother said. “You are not a dinosaur! You are a human being!”
His father asked him what he wanted to be. As he grew up, he was given tests and told he was good at math. So, when he was older, he became a tax accountant. When he was even older he became a retired tax accountant.
Eventually, age set in and he began to forget things like taking his medicine and where his children lived. And finally, as an old man, alone with what remained of his mind, he forgot the first life lesson his mother told him. The final paragraph is the opening quote above.
Can the eternal imagination of a 5-year-old still be there 20 or 70 years later? I would hate to be the one responsible for stifling it early on, just in case.
If I had any recognizable skills at math, I would come up with the ratio for the best odds of balancing imagination with responsibility as I raise my kids. But—for good reason—no one or no test has ever said I was. I don’t want them to sacrifice imagination for stability or stability for imagination.
We’ll just have to rely on instinct and our kids’ queues.
All I know for sure is there is one sweet airplane in the corner of my dining room. | <urn:uuid:098d8e21-2b2e-4802-8829-1fb2760a0982> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.hillsborofreepress.com/opinion/parts-of-speech/18091499-changes-are-jostling-our-priorities.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368703682988/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516112802-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.979463 | 1,020 | 1.609375 | 2 |
As a manufacturer you always have to relate to dilemmas and compromises – and a production will always emit more or less Co2 into the atmosphere.
Storm Design strives to make as environmentally conscious choices as possible:
The plastic that we use for the manufacturing of Scoop may be recycled. And if Scoop is disposed of correctly when the time comes then the plastic may be recycled completely.
The self-watering part of Scoop is always made from black recycled plastic – which reduces CO2 in connection with production as well as the use of raw materials.
Storm Design has started a cooperation with Trees for the future doing projects where they are planting trees in exposed areas on the planet. Storm Design’s aim is that the amount of Co2 in connection with our production compared to the absorption when buying trees will as far as possible balance. | <urn:uuid:5ac69867-4f86-4614-ac9f-c75da5ecaf4c> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.storm-design.dk/EN-US/Environment.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368696383156/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516092623-00010-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.960099 | 172 | 1.710938 | 2 |
News: Revealing the first of 22 Can’s experimental games, Curiosity, Peter Molyneux details what players will do in the game and what £50,000 will get you.
Are you curious to know what Peter Molyneux’s been up to at 22Cans? Oh, go on, admit it, we know you are. You’re itching to know what’s going on inside that noggin of his. What he has ticking over, what with him being free of corporate stricture and all. If only you could crack it open and take a peek. Of course to crack it you’ll need a chisel of some fashion. And how much will a chisel set you back in these hard times of inflation and poverty? £50,000, you say, not unless it were made of diamonds. It is, you say? Well, how can I resist?
And, BAM, you’ve walked right into Peter’s trap.
Yes, in his new game Curiosity (due out within the next six weeks) players are locked in a room containing nothing but a black marble cube. You can hit the cube with a tap of your finger, causing cracks to appear. You can see the cracks made by other players, too. Eventually the cube will crack, revealing the contents of the cube only to the person who hit it last.
To up the ante, you can buy an iron chisel (a mere 69p) that does 10x more damage than the tap. More damage means the odds of you cracking the cube increase. So why stop at 10x damage when, for a paltry £50,000, you can by a diamond chisel that does 10,000x damage. Better yet, there is only one on sale in the world.
The game is an experiment with two purposes. Purpose A) how quickly does news of the cube’s content spread round the interverse? And 2) how far are players willing to push their wallets in the name of rarity and cube-cracking ability?
How far indeed. | <urn:uuid:46dad891-964b-4d46-9f03-538304f3a085> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://beefjack.com/news/molyneux-unveils-50000-virtual-chisel-dlc/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.958937 | 439 | 1.796875 | 2 |
Attorney Thomas W. Teixeira started thinking about courthouse security while sitting in a Norwich courtroom during a recent murder trial.
Two factions of young people were watching the case, which involved local residents with colorful street names, and the tension was palpable. Teixeira wondered how he would escape the second-floor courtroom if violence erupted.
It was around the same time that 20 children and six adults were shot and killed by a lone gunman at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, raising questions about security in all public buildings.
Teixeira got to thinking about whether judicial marshals, who carry only a baton and pepper spray, are adequately equipped to keep the state's courthouses safe.
He wrote a letter calling on the Judicial Branch to arm at least one marshal in each state courthouse and to provide training and guns to those who transport prisoners.
In Hartford, top judicial officials said they were already reviewing existing security policies and procedures.
"Clearly it was precipitated in large part by the Sandy Hook tragedy," Judge Patrick L. Carroll III, the state's deputy chief court administrator, said in a recent phone interview.
Security at the state's 42 courts and 30 other offices has been a priority for Chief Justice Chase Rodgers since she was sworn in nearly six years ago, according to Carroll.
"She has said it's the one thing that keeps her awake at night," he said.
That was before Monday's news reports that a man involved in a custody dispute walked into the public lobby of a Wilmington, Del., courthouse and opened fire, killing his ex-wife and one other person. The man exchanged gunfire with police, then shot himself. According to reports, the Delaware state court system uses armed police officers, roaming court bailiffs and a police dog to protect the 12-story courthouse.
Back in Connecticut, all security measures are on the table for discussion and review, including arming some of the state's judicial marshals, Carroll said. The marshals have not had guns since the Judicial Branch assumed the duties of the high sheriffs in 2000.
"We've talked about that in the past," Carroll said. "Obviously times change, needs change, and it's something we are going to consider."
Teixeira hesitated to call attention to what he considers weaknesses in courthouse security but said he decided to make his letter public because he would feel terrible if something happened and he had said nothing.
"Many want to place an armed officer in every school to prevent the extremely rare occurrence when a violent, unstable person approaches or enters a school building," he wrote. "Yet every day across this state, violent, unstable people line up in numbers to enter our courthouses. They do so under extreme duress, usually facing dire consequences and often with their enemies or victims standing just a few feet away. And the men and women charged with protecting everyone in this most pressure-packed environment lack the means to protect even themselves."
Scanners, metal detectors
More than 7 million people enter state judicial facilities through metal detectors each year, according to Joseph D. D'Alesio, executive director of Superior Court operations. The facility entrances also are equipped with X-ray scanners to show the contents of purses, briefcases and other items. Marshals use hand-held metal detectors to double-check those who set off the walk-through units.
Judge Carroll said staffing the courthouse entryways is perhaps the most important duty that marshals perform. He said he has been surprised at some of the items - knives and other sharp objects - that marshals have seized from visitors.
Though courthouses are predominately gun-free, there are a few exceptions. The inspectors who work in the state's attorney's offices are sworn law-enforcement personnel who are allowed to carry concealed weapons. Police officers in plain clothes can carry concealed guns into courthouses. Uniformed police can carry guns into court, and even into a courtroom, with a judge's permission.
Connecticut's judicial marshals transport an average of 584 prisoners between courthouses and correctional facilities each day. Teixeira fears the unarmed judicial marshals would be unable to protect themselves, their prisoners and the public should something happen on a roadway.
The marshals also staff courthouse-holding facilities and are stationed inside courtrooms to maintain order. While Carroll said he would like to have a marshal stationed in every courtroom, including those where family and civil cases are heard, there are not enough marshals for that. Criminal courtrooms, lockup areas and prisoner transportation take priority, he said.
The Office of Policy and Management initially recommended that there be 1,080 judicial marshals statewide, but funded only 920, according to D'Alesio.
"With the budget the way it is, we feel the optimal number for us is 820," he said. "We're at 741 right now, including a class in session."
New marshals complete a 14-week training program covering topics such as management of aggressive behavior, CPR and crisis intervention, before they are accredited, D'Alesio said. They all undergo semi-annual training.
Shots fired in courtrooms
Superior Court Judge Kevin P. McMahon said he would feel better if there were armed marshals or former police officers in courthouses, provided they were well-trained.
"Do I think it's urgent? No," he said. "But would we kick ourselves if we didn't do something and something happened? Yes."
McMahon, who has presided over criminal cases for 20 years, says at some point in every courtroom he has ever sat in, he has thought, "How would I get out of here if something happened?"
In 2003, McMahon was presiding over a sexual assault trial in New London when a frustrated juror burst into a courtroom and shouted, "Don't shoot! I've got a gun." People fled the courtroom in panic. Marshals detained the man, who was not armed, and McMahon declared a mistrial.
So-called "panic buttons" that summon marshals are placed strategically in courthouses, but some wonder whether unarmed marshals would be able to respond appropriately to a shooting.
"If you hear shots fired and you're a marshal, are you going to go running in there to get yourself shot?" McMahon asked.
State police have jurisdiction over courthouses, and in the event troopers are not nearby, local departments may be called as backup.
"We have a good relationship with the Connecticut State Police, and when we know we have a potentially volatile situation, the chief judicial marshal will contact them and let them know," Carroll said.
McMahon said criminals tend to "play the game" in court as they try to get deals in their cases, but occasionally someone acts out.
"It's the family court where you have the problems," he said.
The last court-related shooting in Connecticut was in June 2005, when retired state trooper Michael Bochicchio, in the midst of divorce and custody proceedings, fatally shot his estranged wife and critically wounded her lawyer before turning the gun on himself on the top deck of a Middletown parking garage used by the court.
Closer to home, another divorce case ended violently in 1984, when Kenneth Spargo of East Lyme walked into a crowded courtroom in Norwich, pulled a 9 mm pistol from his coat pocket and fatally shot his estranged wife. He surrendered at the scene and was sentenced a year later to 20 years in prison, suspended after 12 years served, and five years probation. A jury had found that he acted under "extreme emotional distress."
New London attorney Edward B. O'Connell, representing the victim's estate, brought a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the court's metal detector, using as evidence Spargo's testimony that he had carried the gun through the metal detector.
O'Connell said there was evidence that the metal detector worked before and after Spargo walked through.
"For some reason, that particular gun did not set it off," O'Connell said. "They (metal detectors) were not as sophisticated as they are now." | <urn:uuid:957c7230-7694-4b6d-9aae-6a11c3e81ab4> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://theday.com/article/20130217/NWS02/302179932/0/rssthesound | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368708766848/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125246-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.976575 | 1,674 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Dr. L. Curtis Widdoes Jr.
Retired from EDA, 2006
Dr. Widdoes is widely recognized as a pioneer of the Electronic Design Automation (EDA) industry. During his thirty-year career in EDA he founded three successful EDA companies. In 1981, he founded Valid Logic Systems, which helped create the CAE (Computer-Aided Engineering) industry. Valid executed an IPO in 1983. In 1987, he founded Logic Modeling Systems, which provided simulation models of VLSI components. Logic Modeling was acquired by Synopsys in 1994. In 1996, he co-founded 0-In Design Automation, which pioneered assertion-based verification for the design of integrated circuits. 0-In was acquired by Mentor Graphics Corporation in 2004. After the acquisition, Dr. Widdoes served as Mentor Graphics’ Chief Engineering Scientist until he retired from EDA in 2006. Dr. Widdoes holds a B.S. in engineering and applied science from the California Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in computer science from Stanford University. He holds seventeen U.S. patents in EDA and is an IEEE W. Wallace McDowell Award recipient. | <urn:uuid:0ae7394f-56d8-49ad-a67f-9e3384c0bfe9> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.computerhistory.org/trustee/Dr.%20L.%20Curtis,Widdoes%20Jr./ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368709037764/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516125717-00016-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96283 | 248 | 1.765625 | 2 |
If you haven’t already heard, my first real pelagic birding trip turned out to be one of the best pelagic trips ever. Not only did we see Maryland’s first state record for Herald Petrel, we also found the target bird of the trip, White-faced Storm-Petrel. If you haven’t already booked a trip with See Life Paulagics, you may be kicking yourself even more than you are right now for missing this one.
Stormy weather was likely part of the reason why our trip list was so unbelievable. Bad weather and rough seas were also to blame for 5 out of 6 of our group members getting sea sick, including myself. After a rough night’s sleep on the top deck of the boat, first light meant that the boat finally stopped; a welcome relief for all on board. The relief was short-lived, though, as the smell of freshly butchered shark organs triggered my sea sickness. I scrambled to follow the directions of the guides to get on the early morning Cory’s Shearwaters and various storm-petrels, but I knew I’d spend the rest of the day running in and out of the cabin and hanging over the side of the boat. After finally getting to sleep in the cabin, I was awakened by shouts and loud footsteps, and before I knew it the cabin had cleared. I caught a glimpse of a distant bird that people were saying was a White-faced Storm-Petrel, but I never saw it in my binoculars. Feeling much better from sleep, I grabbed my camera and hoped it would come back. This bird proved just as cooperative as most of the other birds for the day, and the boat’s captain amazingly chased the small 1.6 ounce bird down, while the ship mates created a massive oil slick to draw it in. It nearly immediately joined a group of Wilson’s Storm-Petrels at the slick, giving us all amazing looks at its unique feeding behavior as it bounced along the choppy waters.
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- The Biggest Week in American Birding: Group Birding at its Finest! - April 13, 2013 | <urn:uuid:8b06c462-54f6-4c8f-a14e-d65b8afab4d6> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.nemesisbird.com/2012/08/maryland-white-faced-storm-petrel-8272012/ | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368702810651/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516111330-00017-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.967799 | 529 | 1.59375 | 2 |
The sign for the EcoCentre is, predictably, green.
It glows from the side of the Fladeboe complex near a heavily trafficked stretch of I-405, beckoning drivers to the building that proclaims it's "where the future starts."
Ramon Alvarez and Denice Fladeboe at the new EcoCentre store in Irvine. Fladeboe owns the first EcoCentre in the U.S. Her store sells Chinese-made Electric vehicles. Alvarez helped open the store.
ROSE PALMISANO, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
If the future of vehicles is indeed electric, as many industry insiders believe, it almost certainly will involve some electric vehicles designed and built by the Chinese.
At least that's what Ramon Alvarez is betting with his new EcoCentre dealership franchise, the first of which opened in Irvine in November. The EcoCentre deals only in electric vehicles, mostly from Wuling Motors, a Chinese-based automaker (it's partly owned by General Motors) that produces 1.2 million vehicles a year.
Alvarez, 52, is the exclusive North and South American distributor for three of Wuling's electric vehicles, including a minicar, a minivan and a pickup truck, all of which are classified as Neighborhood Electric Vehicles. All are speed-restricted to 25 mph and don't include some safety equipment found on cars and trucks. Alvarez also sells an electric motorcycle from a different Chinese manufacturer that can travel up to 60 mph. Each of the four vehicles can travel about 40 miles per charge and refuels with an extension cord and a standard 110-volt outlet.
The Eco-E minicar will retail for $9,995, the Eco-Cycle for $8,995, the Eco-Truck for $16,995 and Eco-Van for $17,995. All of them are eligible for various government incentives. Alvarez plans to add two more cars to his lineup next year.
Alvarez has been an auto dealer for more than 30 years. He owns the Riverside dealership Alvarez Lincoln and Jaguar. Three years ago, he took to heart Nissan's prediction that electric vehicles would be part of the automotive mainstream and began investigating his options.
"Anybody can sell a car. We're giving our dealers the capability of saying, 'I'm an environmental dealer,'" said Alvarez, who is signing up existing dealerships for his EcoCentre franchises.
Fifty-one-year-old Fladeboe Automotive Group, in Irvine, sells vehicles from Honda, Volkswagen, General Motors and Coda, but in November it cleared a building to house the first EcoCentre, which is now stocked with brightly colored Eco-E vehicles and other Wuling products. A row of white Eco-Vans and Eco-Trucks is parked just outside the double glass doors.
"Our location is the perfect storm for these types of vehicles," said Denice Fladeboe Mock, president of Fladeboe Automotive Group, which is Alvarez's first EcoCentre in the country. "We're surrounded by retirement communities, schools, hospitals and golf courses. That's who I intend to market the cars to."
About one-third of car drivers never take their vehicles on the freeway. EcoCentre is targeting these drivers, as well as households that own other gas-powered vehicles, with low-speed, low-cost electric vehicles intended for short errands.
"Golf courses need small vehicles to get around ... Hotels need to shuttle people or food. These vehicles are perfect for that because they're small," said Fladeboe, who is loaning test vehicles to students at UC Irvine and hosting events at the Laguna Woods retirement community as a sales strategy.
"I'm not into traditional advertising with this car because it's not a traditional car," Fladeboe said.
So far, the EcoCentre has sold Wuling electric vehicles in Riverside as fleet vehicles to city government and to UC Riverside. About a half dozen have been purchased by retail customers.
There's little hesitation among Americans to buy toys, appliances, even seafood imported from China. But it remains to be seen whether they will buy into Chinese cars. The EcoCentre is the first dealership franchise in the country to center a business around Chinese electric vehicles, Alvarez said.
Alvarez has been to China five times this year. During his most recent trip he personally checked every vehicle on its way to his franchises, the idea being that he would ensure that quality meets the expectations of Neighborhood Electric Vehicle buyers.
In late November, Alvarez signed up his second EcoCentre at another existing dealership: Jack Ellis Dodge Chrysler Jeep in Glendale. Singh Chevrolet in Riverside will be next. Alvarez said he plans to have 18 dealerships up and running throughout the state by the end of next year before expanding to Arizona, Nevada, Texas and Florida.
"The electric car is here. The acceptance is here," Alvarez said.
The rest is up to buyers.
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Pfeiffer University News
Freedom Writer Tiffony Jacobs speaks of overcoming adversity through determination
- Published on Monday, February 18, 2013 ( 2:18 pm )
On Mon., Feb. 18, original Freedom Writers member Tiffony Jacobs spoke at Henry Pfeiffer Chapel to a group of students, faculty and staff.
As a high school sophomore, Ms. Jacobs joined the Freedom Writers, a group of students in Ms. Erin Gruwell’s English class at Wilson High School in Long Beach, Calif., who wrote anonymous journal entries about the challenges of living in their community. She found strength and determination to achieve a successful future through Ms. Gruwell’s emphasis on Holocaust education.
Tiffony spoke about her own experiences with domestic violence and abuse, and her journey as a member of the Freedom Writers. Additionally, she showed the audience several clips from the 2007 film The Freedom Writers to help further explain elements of her personal story.
To learn more about the Freedom Writers Foundation, visit www.freedomwritersfoundation.org. | <urn:uuid:9364183c-ae91-4374-b38d-98129bc52604> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.pfeiffer.edu/news-media/4349-freedom-writer-tiffony-jacobs-speaks-of-overcoming-adversity-through-determination | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368704392896/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516113952-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.944421 | 214 | 1.804688 | 2 |
I watched today as Yuki chan decided to eat the pine shavings in her little box, I was expecting her to spit them out again but she did not ... so started looking on the net about it and came across this
The Truth About Pine Shavings
aka Pine shavings are safe to use
By Corinne Fayo
Hop Back to Bucky's
This article has been published in the following newsletters:
Mt. Ears (12/97)
Valley Voice (9/97)
PGNDRC Newsletter (1/98)
The News Disrict II NDRC (3/98)
This article has been reviewed by Carol Green a rabbit breeder with a Ph.D. in Pharmacology and Toxicology, her area of research is drug metabolizing enzymes and she has more than 80 publications in the field. She said the article is accurate.
And by a medical doctor & research writer who had studied the HME system for six months. Her comments to me were; "If all the phenols do is to induce some of the microsomal enzymes, that's nothing to be concerned about."
This article started out as an internet post on the alt.pet.rabbit list because I wanted to find out the truth about pine shavings. I have used pine shavings for as long as I've had rabbits and have never had respiratory problems, cancer, or liver disease in my animals. I have not heard stories or rumors of problems, just posts or articles on the internet which often didn't cite studies or articles but made outlandish claims of health problems. I did e-mail Harriman and Flentke regarding their articles, and the "Rat "Lady e-mailed me once and asked if I had read certain studies which I had, I let her know she mis-quoted a study never heard back. To date no one has challenged the information in the article, rather they say since I'm not a Ph.D or a vet I can't be believed, or the new one that since it wasn't published in a major scientific journal that it is to be discounted. It was never intended to be published in a scientific journal, rather to explain what the studies found about pine and cedar. However the other articles on the 'net which claim a danger in using shavings also have not been published in any major scientific journal, why the double standard?
The Truth About Pine Shavings
The great pine/cedar debate has been raging on the internet for quite awhile and many people have been mislead about the use of softwood (pine and cedar) bedding for small animals. Many people have been spreading incorrect, inaccurate information and have misinterpreted several scientific studies. Actually reading the studies and correctly interpreting them reveal there isn't a danger in using softwood bedding for animals. After reading this article you will learn that treated shavings are safe and even recommended by veterinarians, the effects untreated softwood beddings cause is not harmful to the animals, and the claims they cause problems such as liver disease, damage, or cancer are not correct.
Hepatic Microsomal Enzymes (HME)
The real "debate" is over whether or not untreated pine and cedar shavings are a danger. It has been proven that untreated pine and cedar contain an inducing agent of HME activity. HMEs are by-products of the liver after processing drugs. "It is simply the way the body-or more specifically, the liver-handles many of the elements it comes into contact with each day."(20). I was also lucky enough to run into a medical doctor/research writer who had studied the HME system for six months. Her comments to me were; "If all the phenols do is to induce some of the microsomal enzymes, that's nothing to be concerned about." She continued with "I know that there are lots of things that both induce and suppress microsomal enzymes in humans, and it's no big deal except when it causes a concomitantly administered drug to be metabolized differently. When that occurs, all you have to do is to adjust the dose of the drug appropriately." After reading the studies which are most often quoted as providing evidence untreated shavings are harmful I must state I don't see where any demonstrate a danger. What I have learned from the studies about HME is that there are many factors which can affect this sensitive system and cause an increase or decrease in activity (2,3,4). This is a partial list from one study (4): Table 1 list of factors affecting drug disposition: air exchange and composition, barometric pressure, cage design, cedar and other softwood bedding, cleanliness, coprophagia, diet, gravity, handling, humidity, light cycle, noise level, temperature, age, cardiovascular function, castration and hormone replacement, circadian and seasonal variations, dehydration, disease, fever, gastrointestinal function, genetic constitution, hepatic blood flow, malnutrition, starvation, pregnancy, sex, shock, stress..." "Dirty environments should now be added to the growing list of factors that affect the extremely sensitive hepatic microsomal system for metabolizing drugs. Among others, these factors include, age; sex; strain; litter of origin; painful stimuli; ambient temperature; degree of crowding; time of day or season of drug administration; hormonal; nutritional; and physiological status; and type of bedding." (2)
As you can see by the factors listed many things can set off a change in HME activity. Dr Hawley's article also mentioned grapefruit juice can induce HME, as did the medical doctor I spoke to (20). So why are the scientists so concerned by HME and the inducing effects of pine and cedar? Several studies mentioned the problem of getting standardized test results in pharmacological studies (1,2,3,4). "Differences in the capacity of various beddings to induce may partially explain divergent results of studies on drug- metabolizing enzymes." (1) "These experiments offer an explanation for differences in the results of studies on drug-metabolizing enzymes in mice and rats." (1) "These numerous factors contribute to large day-to-day variations that have become a major problem impeding investigation of drug disposition and response in laboratory animals." (4) "These data suggest that commercial bedding materials differ in their ability to affect microsomal enzymes. Thus, interlaboratory variability in basal enzyme activities reported in the literature may be partly due to bedding materials used in animal cages." (19) "Pharmacological and biochemical investigations of hepatic microsomal enzymes (HME) in rodents have been plagued by large day-today variations in control values for these enzyme activities" (4).
It seems HME activity to the scientists is actually a sort of "background noise" in their experiments, but important to note so test results can be accurately interpreted.
Do the scientists feel untreated pine and cedar should not be used in any laboratory? Not from what I have read in the studies. "Rejection of all softwood beddings because they are potent inducers of hepatic microsomal enzymes does not appear justified." (3). However in an effort to standardize certain test results it is suggested untreated softwood not be used (6). "Softwood beddings have been used, but the use of untreated softwood shavings and chips is contraindicated for some protocols because they can affect animals' metabolism (Vesell 1967, Vesell and others 1973, 1976)." (6). "White spruce may provide a relatively inexpensive alternative to hardwood for studies that require bedding that does not alter barbiturate sleeptime" (3). I think the above quotes illustrate that the inducing effect of untreated softwood shavings is important only to the scientific community in the process of studying drugs and their effects. In addition Dr Hawley writes that "Nearly every commercial laboratory today uses pine, cedar, or other hardwood beddings, except when conducting specific drug metabolism studies." (20).
I did come across an interesting result shown in several studies, accumulation of urine and feces which increase ammonia levels cause a decrease in HME activity (2,3,4). Now we all know increasing ammonia levels can cause damage in our animals. It has been associated with causing increased susceptibility to Pasturella infections and respiratory damage. "The present experiments reveal that drug metabolism in hepatic microsomes was inhibited when urine and feces of rodents were not removed twice daily but permitted to accumulate for 1 week. Inhibition of drug metabolism in rats kept under these conditions may arise from hepatic toxicity due to increased concentrations of ammonia (5) in such environments." (2). May I also point out that I have yet to find in a study a reference to pine or cedar causing hepatic toxicity. Dr Hawley also points out that the presence of these enzymes do not suggest there is damage to the liver (20).
I also found another study which reported that oral administration of praziquantel at a dosage of 1600 mg/kg and 2000 mg/kg caused a significant decrease in 3 drug-metabolizing hepatic enzymes (16). The rabbits who received the dosage of 2000 mg/kg all died within 10-20 hours. In another study rabbits were given aflatoxin to see the effects it would have on liver enzymes (17). None died but body weight gain was altered and again a decrease was noted in some HME, "Biochemical exploration of plasma components revealed a dose-dependent hepatotoxicity characterized by cytolysis and cholestasis." (17). And finally in a study comparing the activity of HME in rats given single or repetitive fluke infections HME decreases were noted (18). Given this evidence I can't come to the conclusion that increased HME activity is a sign of harm being done to a small animal.
Pet owners also argue that untreated cedar and pine cause shortened barbiturate sleeptimes and that would be harmful for an animal undergoing surgery. The increased HME activity does shorten barbiturate sleeptimes in the studies (1,2,3,4) but note that the scientists were testing for this, not performing surgery. The studies have found that sleeptimes were shortest for cedar shavings compared to the softwoods (3,19). There were also differences among different types of pine bedding with white spruce not significantly different than hardwoods but longer than white pine (3). "In other studies, mice kept on pine beddings exhibited hexobarbital sleeptimes intermediate between those of mice kept on red cedar or Douglas Fir (9), and intermediate between mice kept on red cedar or ground corn cobs (10)." (3). Heat treated pine shavings have been shown not to alter sleeptime in comparison to control animals (19).
But does any of the above really affect us and our pets? I don't believe so, there are many factors which affect HME and therefore barbiturate sleeptime (2,3,4,). A study also found increased ammonia levels alter sleeptime and that lowering the room temperature lengthens sleeptime (3). The same study also showed that two different strains of mice studied had significantly different sleeptimes. Also consider this quote "No alteration in the hexobarbital concentration in the brain at the time of restoration of the righting response occurred on any of the softwood beddings tested." (1). "While sleeptimes are decreasing and the microsomal enzyme activity is increasing, the amounts of hexobarbital in the brain on awakening remain unaltered in mice put on softwood bedding; thus, the responsiveness of the receptor sites seems unaffected by softwood bedding." (1). I have not been able to find any scientific references or entries in veterinary books warning of a danger in regard to surgery when animals are exposed to softwood shavings. If altered barbiturate sleeptimes due to softwood exposure were critical during surgery I would think there would be a warning about it.
I also found an interesting section in the Harkness and Wagner book relating to injectable anesthetics in rats. It is stated that sodium pentobarbitol used in rats "poses considerable risk" (7) pg.109. "Pentobaribitol also has poor analgesic properties in rats and produces profound hypothermia and causes excitement on induction (Wixson et al., 1987a,c,d). The young, the females, cooled animals, and possibly the albinos are more susceptible to the drug, whereas males, animals receiving low caloric diets, and animals on cedar bedding are more resistant." (7) Pg 109. The same book also states pentobarbital is not recommend for rabbits.
Heat Treated Shavings
Heat treated pine shavings are fine for use as bedding and litter for small animals including rabbits. The first piece of evidence is the fact that many people have been using pine shavings for years without any ill effect to their rabbit(s). The next pieces are what the veterinary books and others have to say about the use of shavings for litter. Harkness and Wagner Pg 61: "Bedding, which may be paper, sawdust, or soft pine, aspen, or cedar shavings should be nonallergenic, dust free, inedible, absorbent, nontoxic, and free of pathogenic organisms. Soft pine and cedar wood shavings are used for pet rodent bedding because of their pleasant aroma. However, because volatile hydrocarbons from these shavings may stimulate microsomal enzymes, they are avoided as bedding material for research animals. Softwood shavings and tissue paper make excellent rodent nesting material" (7) TBLR Pg 29 "Bedding must be used in nest boxes. It may be straw, hay, excelsior, wood shavings, or other such material." (8). Hillyer and Quesenberry pg 292 small rodent section: "Pine shavings remain the most commonly used bedding for small pet rodents in many parts of North America. Corncob products and recycled paper products are excellent for certain rodents such as gerbils and dwarf hamsters. Cedar shavings also are popular but their use is controversial. Cedar has been shown to affect microsomal oxidative liver enzymes. Although these changes affect factors such as drug metabolism, no clinical signs associated with them have been documented." (10) Rabbit Production Pg 90 "The nest box should ...contain bedding of hay, straw, shavings, or similar material." Pg 93 "If the does are being fed a ration consisting only of pellets, they may eat any palatable material used for bedding, and in this case softwood shavings...may be used" (9) If the use of softwood bedding was dangerous why on earth would any of these books mention it as good bedding material. All of these books are recent publications and the studies many cite showing a "danger" were published closer to 30 years ago.
Finally we have evidence treated pine is safe from the scientific studies pet owners often quote from (1,3,4,19). The process of heat treating removes the HME inducing agent as demonstrated in the above mentioned studies. It is also mentioned in the National Institute of Health guide to Laboratory animals "Heat treatments applied before bedding materials are used to reduce the concentration of aromatic hydrocarbons" (6). "By two different experimental approaches Wade et al. (47) showed that cedrol and cedrene were active agents in the inductive response of mice to cedarwood bedding. In the first experiment cedar shavings from which cedrol and cedrene had been extracted...produced hexobarbital sleeping times indistinguishable from those observed in control mice housed on inert corncob bedding." (4). I also offer this quote from an HRS educator I wrote to "There are some shavings which are safe, and these are the kiln-dried pine."
I have also heard the rumor cedar causes cancer. I found three studies (11,12,13) and none of them came to the conclusion cedar bedding caused or contributed to the occurrence of cancer. "From these results, the high incidence of cancer in the C3H-AvyfB strain could not be attributed to the routine use of cedar shavings in the bedding material." (11). "Hepatoma incidence in males at 18 months of age was not affected by the presence or absence of cedar shavings in the bedding " (12). "There was no evidence that the cedar shavings were carcinogenic." (13).
Sorting Through Rumors
The arguments presented by those against softwood bedding often sound convincing on the surface, however closer inspection reveals discrepancies. For example the HRS has made statements that softwood bedding has caused liver disease in rabbits they have fostered and caused the death of rabbits during surgery. I have read the article by HRS founder Marinell Harriman, "Litterboxes and Liver Disease" and question her conclusions. Apparently HRS began investigating softwood bedding after one rabbit died during a routine spay surgery. They maintain that rabbits housed on pine or cedar may risk death during surgery, however they also have made statements that they have not lost many rabbits during spays or neuters. They stopped using softwood bedding after Sarah the rabbit died in 1989 so prior to her death they must not have had problems with surgery on other rabbits exposed to softwood. The article also discussed several foster rabbits had elevated liver enzymes and some had liver disease. Dr Hawley points out that the enzymes tested by veterinarians in a serum or plasma chemistry panel are "leakage enzymes" and not the same enzymes the researchers studied in the softwood bedding experiments (20).
So what could explain the liver disease in the HRS foster rabbits? I checked into liver disease in rabbits, there is very little about it but what I did find is hepatic coccidiosis, which causes an enlarged liver and it is contagious (7,8,9). I would assume the HRS members had adopted the rabbits that had liver disease so it is possible that the rabbits were exposed to hepatic coccidiosis, I feel it is a pretty big leap to assume untreated shavings caused their deaths. From TBLR: Pg 206 long section on hepatic coccidiosis, clinical signs included enlarged liver. pg 267: Liver cancer: "The tumor appears to have little potential as a research model, primarily because of the difficulty of case findings." (8). The common causes of liver spots in rabbits are hepatic coccidiosis, migrating tapeworm larvae, Tyzzer's disease, and colibacillosis (7). So there doesn't seem to be any evidence linking untreated softwoods to liver disease or other problems in rabbits.
Another opponent of softwood bedding is Debbie "The Rat Lady" Ducommun who wrote a long article pointing out the "dangers" of softwood bedding. She stated "Because of the toxic effects of softwood shavings, laboratories have pretty much stopped using them for their animals." Well as we now know this is not the reason some labs would not use them. Also where is the evidence that their effect is toxic? The liver disease connection was also brought up and she stated "unless these animals [rabbits housed on softwood] received full autopsies at death with no sign of enlarged livers or liver disfunction, respiratory infection, or altered immune system, how can they claim that the pine or cedar did not affect them?" I submit that even with a full autopsy how can you tell softwood did, afterall the animal died of something so we would expect to see problems. An enlarged liver is a sign of hepatic coccidiosis (8) so that can't be used as proof. And we know there are other causes of respiratory infection and other things that can alter the immune system. Also obesity can cause elevated liver enzymes and contribute to problems. An autopsy showing the above problems would not be proof that softwood bedding or HME induction caused liver damage.
I think there has been too much "interpreting" of scientific studies and that is what is causing the great pine/cedar scare. As an example let's look at chloroform. If you have municipal water then you and your animals are being exposed to chloroform. Is this harmful? What do the studies say, "Present in the water supplies of many of our cities in concentrations reaching 311ug/1, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, chloroform has also been identified as a contaminant of the air. Thus chloroform can gain entry and accumulate in organisms by both the oral and inhalational routes. From the point of view of this symposium, the question of the effects on laboratory animals of environmental exposure to chloroform is raised. Chloroform is toxic to both the liver and kidney of laboratory animals (12), liver tumors arising after chronic chloroform administration (13)." (4).
It looks like it is, and if you have been giving your animals municipal water you are killing them! Make sure you get a full autopsy done after they die and check for liver and kidney damage as well as respiratory problems to "prove" the chloroform was the cause. Oh wait a minute the study says a little more, "Chloroform is only one of a large number of newly identified environmental pollutants to which laboratory animals are being continuously exposed: continuous exposure of laboratory animals to chloroform, as well as to many other environmental pollutants, could affect the responsiveness of these animals under a wide range of experimental conditions." (4). Well I guess the scientists weren't warning us of the dangers of using municipal water afterall, just discussing how it could affect experimental data.
We and our animals are exposed continually to different "pollutants" in our environment, what matters is the health of an individual and the concentration of pollutants they are exposed to. Some chemicals in small concentrations are harmless but in larger doses are lethal. An example of this is benzoic acid in Listerine. Benzoic acid is toxic if ingested in large enough quantities, the amount in Listerine is well below that amount and therefore is safe for use in humans. It is important not to over-interpret what scientific studies are showing us.
In closing I just want to say I still have not read, experienced, or heard anything that leads me to believe the use of pine shavings are harmful to rabbits. What I have read and experienced shows me they are safe. I still won't use cedar because in the past I heard it could be toxic for a rabbit if they ingest too much of it, plus it has a very strong odor. I included many quotes in this article so you are able to read exactly what the scientists have discovered about softwood bedding and the effects on HME. If one closely looks at the evidence offered that pine shavings are harmful you will see the arguments are weak and lack evidence. Dr Hawley reports pet retailers are being subjected to anger from animal rights advocates who accuse them of selling "dangerous" bedding material (20). It's too bad these people didn't first read the studies instead of subscribing to the "I heard it was bad, so it must be true" theory. But those of you reading this now know more than you ever wanted to about softwood shavings and HME!
(1) "Induction of Drug-Metabolizing Enzymes in Liver Microsomes of Mice and Rats by Softwod Bedding" Vesell 1967, Science.
(2)"Hepatic Drug Metabolism in Rats: Impairment in a dirty Environment" 1973 Vesell, Lang, White, Passananti, Tripp, Science
(3) "Barbiturate Sleeptime in Mice Exposed to Autoclaved or Unautoclaved Wood Beddings." Cunliffe-Beamer, Freeman, Myers 1981, Laboratory Animal Science
(4)"Environmental and Genetic Factors Affecting the Response of Laboratory animals to Drugs" Vesell, Lang, White, Passananti, Hill, Clemens, Liu, Johnson. 1976, Federation Proceedings Vol 35 #5.
(5)Bacterial counts associated with recycled newspaper bedding. 1990 Hogan, Smith, Todhunter, Schoenberger
(6) From the"Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" formerly called the NIH Guide
(7) Harkness & Wagner Biology and Medicine of Rabbits and Rodents 4th ed 1995.
(8)TBLR 2nd Ed, Manning, Ringler, Newcomer 1994
(9) Rabbit Production 7th ed., McNitt, Patton, Lukefahr, Cheeke 1996
(10) Ferrets, Rabbits, and Rodents: Clinical Medicine and Surgery; Hillyer and Quesenberry 1997
(11) Possible Carcinogenic effects of cedar shavings in bedding of C3H-Avy fB mice. Vlahakis G, J Natl Cancer Inst. 1977
(12) Spontaneous hepatomas in mice inbred from Ha:ICR Swiss stock: effects of sex, cedar shavings in bedding, and immunization with fetal liver or hepatoma cells. Jacobs BB, Dieter DK. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1978
(13) Testing for possible effects of cedar wood shavings and diet on occurence of mammary gland tumors and hepatomas in C3H-A-vy and C3H-Avy-fB mice.Heston WE, J Natl Cancer Inst, 1975
(14)Bacterial counts associated with recycled newspaper bedding, Hogan JS, Smith KL, Todhunter DA, Schoenberger PS. J Dairy Science 1990
(15) Comparison of in vitro drug metabolism by lung, liver, and kidney of several common laboratory species. Litterst CL, Mimnaugh EG, Reagan RL, Gram TE, Drug Metab Dispos, 1975
(16) The effect of praziqunatel on the activities of some drug-metabolizing hepatic enzymes in rabbits. Kheir WM, Elsheikh HA, Hapke HJ, DTW Dtsch Tierarztl Wochenschr, 1995
(17) Dose related effect of aflatoxin B1 on liver drug metaboling enzymes in rabbit. Guerre P, Eeckhoutte C, Larrieu G, Burgat V, Galtier P, Toxicology 1996
(18) Comparison of hepatic and extrahepatic drug metabolizing enzyme activities in rats given single or multiple challenge infections with Fasciola hepatica.Biro-Sauveur B, Eeckhoutte C, Baeza E, Boulard C, Galtier P. Int J Parasitol 1995
(19) Effects of cage bedding on microsomal oxidative enzymes in rat liver. Weichbrod R, Cisar J, Miller R, Simmons A, Alvares A, Ueng T. Laboratory Animal Science 1988
(20) "Bedtime Story" by Dr S. Blake Hawley, Pet Age magazine, Nov. 1997 pg. 14-19
we sell lots of pine and cedar to be used as small animal bedding and have never had a report of anyone's animal getting ill as a result! -Howard McMurrian, President GEM Shavings & Sawdust Co.
Our company is over 100 years old. My family has owned the company for over 50 years. I have been with the company since 1987. Like GEM Shavings and Sawdust Company, we have never had anyone report that their animal(s) have become ill or died as a result of our Pine Shavings. Thank you for taking the time to dispel the many myths that softwood bedding is dangerous to small animals. General Manager Pioneer Sawdust e-mail 12/12/06
Thank you for that article. I am a UK rat breeder and also a scientist and have been plagued with this rubbish for years now. I would agree with all that you say, having bred rats for 40 years.(snip)
I was quality manager under GLP regulations for a research lab and shared my office with a rat liver toxicologist. She told me everything that is in your article, plus, in one study we did, a full life study where one group of rats had their microsomal enzyme systems significantly raised. The ones with high enzymes lived much longer than the others and on autopsy had decreased abdominal fat." Ann Storey Pres National Fancy Rat Society e-mail April 2007
The author has a Bachelor of Science degree, wrote "Caring for Your Pet Rabbit" & the Rabbit Education Society Rabbit Care Guide, as well as Bucky Bunny's Guide Pet Rabbit Care CD, was interviewed on Television (including nationally broadcast Fox's Pet News), has had several articles about rabbits published in various magazines (including Animal Life, Exotic Market Review, Domestic Rabbits, & Dwarf Digest) has raised rabbits as pets and for show since 1982, is educated in all aspects of rabbit care including health, and is an educator for the RES. The author is a member of the following organizations: World Rabbit Science Assoc.-American Branch, American Rabbit Breeders Association (has held position of committe chairperson), American Netherland Dwarf Rabbit Club, District II NDRC, NYSNDRC, New England NDRC, MVRBA (Past President).
The author wishes to thank her husband, a research scientist in organic analytical chemistry with the NYS Dept. of Health, for technical assistance in the preparation of this article.
Additional Information About Pine and Cedar
Is there a financial reason why certain groups want people to stop using pine and cedar and use another product?
From NJ HRS summer 2000 newsletter
"Donate to HRS by Saving Yesterday’s News UPCs!"
" NJ House Rabbit Society is part of a savings program offered by the Yesterday’s News litter company."
Hmmm perhaps there is.
Check out the back of a bag of alternative litters, many have printed on the bag a reference to the phenols that softwood litter contain and that their alternative litter is much safer. Problem is these alternative litters have not undergone testing to see if they affect HME or respiratory function. It seems that the alternative litter companies are taking full advantage of the pine/cedar scare to increase their market share. Keep in mind that most of these alternative litters are also much more expensive than shavings.
A look at the opponents of Pine/Cedar usage
Petbunny site Pine/Cedar with reprints of some of the studies and commentary. Good reading as the commentator points out that the studies cited do not show what so many say they do.
HRS article "The Dangers of Softwood Shavings" George Flentke, Ph.D.
"The phenols in the softwood (pine and cedar) shavings causes changes in the liver's enzymes."
Those changes are not a sign of damage as already reported. I hate that this is stated by so many but they neglect to mention that the "changes" are part of the normal function of the body. I believe that putting it this way easily leads people to misinterpret what actually happens.
"The second objection to softwood shavings exposure as a cancer risk is less concrete. Epidemological studies in humans point to increase risks in people who work in saw mills, but the issue of volatile phenol involvement is not clear. Cedar shavings have caused increased risk for cancer in certain rodents, but in many ways this work was skewed by the nature of the experiment. Thus the evidence is, at best, only suggestive."
Again with the sawmill studies, but there is a big difference in environment between sawmills and a small animal with processed shavings in a cage tray or litterpan. Basically the author hasn't found a link between cancer and shavings use in small animals.
Listed under references for "Pine/Cedar Shaving Toxicity" the HRS lists the following:
"1.Rabbit Health Newsletter (Nov. 1991) cites U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health pamphlet No.86-23 titled "Guide for the Care and use of Laboratory Animals" A quote is listed as saying: "Aromatic hydrocarbons from cedar and pine bedding materials can induce the biosynthesis of hepatic microsomal enzymes (Vesell, 1967; Vesell, et al., 1976; Cunliffe-Beamer et al. 1981."
Rabbit Health Newsletter was published by an HRS chapter manager and more importantly the partial quote they use has been explained in my article. This section was what prompted me to research pine and cedar as I wondered what exactly "biosynthesis of hepatic microsomal enzymes" meant and was that bad. A classic example of how to mislead people by using scientific terminology.
Respiratory toxicity of cedar and pine wood: A review of the biomedical literature from 1986 through 1995 Written by Jeff Johnston, doctoral candidate in epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hil
The above internet post is often referred to by opponents to pine/cedar use, however it appears that it was written by a student, wonder what his grade was. Again all it does is refer to studies done in sawmills on occupational hazards. Another paper that has not been published in any toxicology or pharmaceutical journals. If all this information from Johnston and HRS and others is accurate then why have they not had their articles published in scientific journals? All it boils down to is a bunch of people giving their opinion of published studies and interpreting them (or mis-interpreting) as they wish.
-WHAT'S THE SCOOP? or, What's Wrong with Cedar Shavings? by R. Kelly Wagner
The only merit in this article is that she lists excerpts from some of the studies, otherwise it's just a rehash of the above mentioned articles and studies that discuss occupational asthma and allergies, again nothing to show there could be a danger in using cedar or pine as small animal bedding. She does discuss her own experiences with people who have allergies to cedar or pine and how when they changed litter they stopped sneezing. It seems the danger of pine and cedar really only applies to owners and rabbits who happen to be allergic to them. | <urn:uuid:02cfd0a7-2a72-4a3c-af76-fffa5773f70a> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/122140/Default.aspx | 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 | 0.955627 | 7,247 | 1.578125 | 2 |
Why the Rush on Trade?
The House is set to vote today on a free-trade pact with Peru. What's not clear is why.
The Bush administration, of course, supports trade deals with just about anyone, as it has made clear by promoting an accord with Colombia, where murdering a union activist entitles the killer to a get-out-of-jail-free card. But Congress is run by the Democrats now, and some of its leaders have sought to craft a different kind of trade bill -- one that takes workers' rights and the environment almost as seriously as it does the right of global companies and investors to do what they will anywhere they roam. In particular, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charles Rangel and trade subcommittee Chairman Sander Levin have taken it upon themselves to devise these new-model trade bills.
How successful they've been is open to interpretation. "For the first time," Levin wrote in a letter to his Democratic colleagues, "the U.S.-Peru FTA incorporates international labor standards in the trade agreement, enforceable like all other provisions." This could be a breakthrough, since the enforcement of labor standards has generally been relegated to explicitly unenforceable side agreements in our trade pacts.
But Mark Barenberg, a Columbia University law professor who has drafted petitions for the AFL-CIO protesting the lack of labor rights in China, questions whether the Peru accord signals a breakthrough at all. The agreement, he argues in a paper released yesterday by groups opposing the pact, "does not require the Parties to comply with core labor rights" but rather with "vague, undefined, and unenforceable labor 'principles' and with their own domestic labor laws." Rangel and Levin have won a pledge from the Peruvian government to toughen its labor laws, but, writes Barenberg, the agreement actually imposes lighter sanctions for labor standard violations than current trade law does.
The pact has created a rift in the labor movement. Some unions, led by the Teamsters and Unite Here (the hotel and clothing workers union), staunchly oppose the bill. Others are holding their fire in the hope that their non-opposition now will position them better to defeat upcoming pacts -- with Colombia and South Korea in particular -- that they feel pose a more direct threat to their members or to labor generally.
Democrats have reverted to their accustomed divisions on trade as well, after mustering near-unanimous opposition to the Central American Free Trade Agreement -- the last accord to emerge from the Bush administration without Democratic input -- in 2005. Barack Obama supports the pact while John Edwards opposes it. Hillary Clinton has yet to take a position, though she has suggested the nation may need a little "timeout" from new trade agreements pending a review of the effects previous pacts have had on American workers.
In the House, some longtime opponents of these trade accords, such as Toledo's Marcy Kaptur, oppose the Rangel-Levin effort. Particularly striking, however, is the opposition from Democratic freshmen. When they swept into office last November, Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch division counted 27 of the 30 new members as critics of free trade.
Today, a number of those new House members who took previously Republican seats last year will vote against the pact.
In general, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have avoided votes on issues that divide their party -- but not, evidently, when the issue is trade. The party's Wall Street backers, who always have friends on the Ways and Means Committee, want those votes to go forward, while many in labor adhere to the idea Clinton floated: that a strategic pause is needed to reassess the effects of such pacts and to implement some offsets to the leveling effects that globalization has had on the incomes of American workers.
In essence, the calls for a timeout on trade pacts are the corollary of demands for a timeout on immigration. Both proposals arise chiefly from working-class Americans whom our more-pro-business-than-business government has left at the mercy of every downward pressure on incomes. Democrats have an advantage over Republicans, since they support policies that would mitigate these trends, such as universal health insurance and protections for workers who wish to form unions, while Republicans have no incomes strategy.
The Republicans will probably counter by ratcheting up their war not just on illegal immigration but on immigrants themselves.
But why the Democratic rush on trade? Globalization does pose real challenges to working- and middle-class Americans. Democrats should wait until they're in a position -- say, in 2009 -- to begin to restore some security to Americans' economic lives before they return to cutting trade deals. Their electoral prospects, and the nation's economic prospects, demand no less. | <urn:uuid:5dd8945b-42ea-4b58-ac3e-c9e461aaa5f7> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/11/06/AR2007110601809.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368707435344/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516123035-00004-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.961363 | 974 | 1.632813 | 2 |
Whether to minimize utility expenses or save the planet, consumers are now more than ever concerned about “going green.” Accordingly, it came as no surprise that South Korean based LG Electronics sought relief in a D.C. court after its refrigerators were stripped of the “Energy Star” label by the U.S. Department of Energy. Often seen on computers, home appliances, and heating and air conditioning units, the “Energy Star” label functions as a stamp of approval from the U.S. Government that a certain product is energy efficient (generally, products displaying the energy star badge use significantly less energy).
Seeking to enjoin (or halt) the removal of the “Energy Star” labels from its refrigerators, LG Electronics filed a motion for preliminary injunction against the Department of Energy. The proposed injunction was based on two primary grounds: 1) that the removal of the “Energy Star” label was procedurally and substantively improper; and 2) that labels’ removal would cause substantial harm to the company’s reputation. The Court, however, was not persuaded, ruling that LG Electronics failed to show the requisite likelihood of success on the merits and irreparable harm. Accordingly, LG Electronics’ injunction was denied, and the company’s refrigerators remain on the market, minus the “Energy Star” stamp of approval.
As the filing of this injunction suggests, the “Energy Star” label is a valuable endorsement in this day in age. And because Masuda Funai’s client base includes a variety of manufacturers and dealers of consumer electronics, appliances, and other goods, this decision and its corresponding facts provide an important framework for maintaining a product line’s “Energy Star” approval and other like endorsements from the U.S. government, trade associations, and other ratings/certification agencies. Synthesizing this recent LG Electronics matter with the firms’ extensive litigation and counseling experience, Masuda Funai is well-equipped to advise its clients and fight in their favor on matters involving product certification and injunctive relief. | <urn:uuid:fd673b60-3238-4085-b593-efc1a51ac8ee> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=5d839f7e-5950-4442-b99f-1f73bb680edb | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368711005985/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516133005-00003-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.948553 | 436 | 1.726563 | 2 |
Becoming a Very Significant Asset
Retirement plan assets have replaced the home as the largest asset owned by the typical family. Because retirement assets may be substantial in size and because they may be subject to both income and estate taxes at death, they are often considered a preferred asset to give to charity. They may be donated at death to the Foundation, by beneficiary designation form, to fund an endowment, or they may be donated the same way to fund a charitable remainder trust for family. The agreements to receive these at-death gifts need to be prepared while living.
An illustration of a Trust for Family Funded with a Retirement Asset
Example: Henry Thompson, a widower, is 72 and has been withdrawing his RMD or Required Minimum Distribution from his individual retirement account (IRA). He hopes to continue withdrawing just the minimum amount and then pass the remainder to his children. Henry is active in supporting benevolent causes through his church and would like to ensure that this ministry is provided for beyond his lifetime. He decides to meet both objectives by naming the foundation as the beneficiary of his IRA for the purpose of funding a 20-year-term Charitable Remainder Unitrust for his children. The Baptist Foundation assists his attorney in getting an unfunded trust agreement in place. At his death, the IRA assets will be transferred to the Foundation, and no income taxes will be owed on the gift. Because Henry’s estate is sizeable and will likely be subject to estate taxes, the unitrust will provide needed estate tax relief for a portion of the gift. The trust will make sizeable payments to the children for 20 years, and they are only taxed on the income as they receive it. He is able to pass significant assets to the children over time and also ensure that his support for Kingdom work will continue through a permanent endowment fund. | <urn:uuid:8a08bb44-3272-4d09-9c8b-3f78ac56c7cb> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://www.ncbaptistfoundation.org/retirement_plan.aspx | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368705953421/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516120553-00005-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.981854 | 371 | 1.625 | 2 |
Sorry for the late post. I came home for the reading week and have run out of premade posts.
This is what I would call a "creative nonfiction". It is a book based heavily on the story behind the Oxford English Dictionary.
It tells you the embellished facts about the two main contributors to the dictionary, Professor James Murray who headed the campaign for the majority of its run, and Dr. W.C Minor who submitted more than 10,000 entries to the work.
Minor was incarcerated for murder, and Murray was a professor at Oxford.
It tells their stories, using historical truths and backed up data... and filling in the gaps with narrative.
I like the style of this book, it goes back and forth between narrative and laying out pure fact. It makes everything bite sized. It helps that I am interested in language and dictionaries.
All in all a good gateway book to fiction from nonfiction or vice-versa. | <urn:uuid:73a10394-a3e1-4737-8ab6-de80e2b70235> | CC-MAIN-2013-20 | http://centrifugalforwardmotion.blogspot.com/2012_02_01_archive.html | s3://commoncrawl/crawl-data/CC-MAIN-2013-20/segments/1368706890813/warc/CC-MAIN-20130516122130-00014-ip-10-60-113-184.ec2.internal.warc.gz | en | 0.96046 | 197 | 1.796875 | 2 |
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